The Pact Book Review Essay Example

The Pact Book Review Paper Name: Instructor: Course: Date: We will write a custom essay sample on The Pact Book Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Pact Book Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Pact Book Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Pact Book Review Plot Summary The Pact is the story of three young men who made a promise to each other that they would go to college and succeed in life. This seemed impossible considering where they lived. They did not have anyone in their lives that they could look up to and consider role models. They encountered many challenges in their lives before they realized their goals. They lived in a dangerous neighborhood, where they had to contend with violence, drug dealers and drug addicts. One of the men had a childhood dream of becoming a dentist, and he convinced the others to study hard for the scholarship Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Plus Program offered at Seton Hall and become doctors. The book reveals how the young men continued facing challenges in school, how they almost gave up their dreams, and how they finally managed to overcome those challenges and realize their dream, thus fulfilling their pact. It is a story of friendship, and it shows the importance of having role models and good social support systems so that one can realize his or her dreams in life. Opinion I was inspired and impressed by the friendship and determination of the three young men. I believe that this kept them focused and it gave them the strength they needed to overcome obstacles. It is often rare to read of young men who influence each other positively. In many cases, people in similar situations often end up falling to negative peer influences. The three decided to support and encourage each other, and this made them realize their goals. I was emotionally moved by the people who decided to make positive changes in the men’s lives and encourage each other. George talks of his friend’s father who treated him like one of his sons. He believed in George’s dreams and he never discouraged him from achieving his goals. Some of the teachers and counselors acted as role models for the boys. They encouraged them in pursuing their goals and they gave them the morale and inspiration they needed in life. It was interesting to read that the men made bad decisions in their lives but they did not let that determine their future. Two of them had already faced the criminal justice system even before they were eighteen years. They committed some offences, which could have destroyed their future. The men had friends who were not positive influences in their lives. However, the pact that they had made and the fact that they continued making their friendship stronger, made it possible for them to get on the right path. They admit that it was not easy for them to go to college and become doctors. They faced hard situations, which almost made them give up in life and forget their dreams. I was angered by the social and economic systems in our country, which force some people to live in abject poverty as others live in extreme wealth. The families living in the projects were poor. Most of the people involved in dealing drugs did not do so out of choice but they were forced by their circumstances. Poverty has led to many social ills and disadvantages in the country. Many children are forced to live without their fathers around because they are serving time in prison, while others have decided to abandon their families. I was also angered by the fact that some children are exposed to so much violence when they are young. The men had grown up in tough and rough neighborhoods. They committed crimes and offences such as stealing and beating other people. However, they managed to change their negative ways and they became positive influences and role models to other people in their community. Another thing that made me angry was the discrimination that continues to plague t he society. People continue to be defined by the color of their skin and not by their abilities. This has often discouraged many from achieving their dreams. Had it not been for the support that the young men received from few individuals, then they would not have reached where they are today. Although I liked all the characters because of their determination, my favorite was George. I think that it would not have been possible for the three to become doctors had he not held the dream he had of becoming a dentist. His fascination in dentistry made him have a dream. Not many people enjoy dentist visits, but George seemed to enjoy them when he was young. He urged the others to join medical school and this contributed to positive changes in their lives. Although George’s mother, Ella Jenkins Mack, is not one of the prominent characters in the book, I admire her persistence and courage in bringing up her children. She was resilient and she managed to discipline and provide for her children. It was not easy bringing up two boys with no other source of support. She ensured that she got her family out of the projects. She did not let the fact that she was a single mother discourage her from hoping for a better life. Overall Evaluation I would recommend this book to a friend and to people who have to face challenges in their lives. The book remains relevant because many people continue experiencing the same situations that the young men went through in their lives. Many people still live in the ghetto, and they continue to experience hardships and challenges in life. They continue living in violent environments and they have to deal with many social ills. This is an inspirational book and it shows that one does not have to conform to his or her environment. The three young men could have decided to become part of the statistics, as is often the case with many African American men and other people living in the ghetto. They could have felt sorry for themselves and given up on their aspirations just because they did not have role models around. However, they made a different decision. The book is written in such a simple and engaging way. The book also describes the events that happened plainly. The authors do not tr y to hide some of the information or exaggerate other details. This book is both engaging and entertaining, and it promotes the values of true friendship, hard work, discipline, and positive influences in life.

Canada Boundary

Fifty-four Forty or Fight- The U.S./Canada Boundary In 1818, the United States and the United Kingdom, which controlled British Canada, established a joint claim over the Oregon Territory, the region west of the Rocky Mountains and between 42 degrees north and 54 degrees 40 minutes north (the southern boundary of Russias Alaska territory). The territory included what now is Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as land up the western coast of Canada. Joint control of the region worked for more than  a decade and a half, but ultimately the parties set out to divide Oregon. Americans there outnumbered the Brits in the 1830s, and in the 1840s, thousands more Americans headed there over the famed Oregon Trail with their Conestoga wagons. Belief in the United States Manifest Destiny A big issue of the day was Manifest Destiny or the belief that it was Gods will that Americans would control the North American continent from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea. The Louisiana Purchase had just about doubled the size of the United States in 1803, and now the government was looking at Mexico-controlled Texas, the Oregon Territory, and California. Manifest Destiny received its name in a newspaper editorial in 1845, though the philosophy had been very much in motion throughout the 19th century. The 1844 Democratic presidential candidate, James K. Polk, became a big promoter of Manifest Destiny as he ran on a platform of taking control over the entire Oregon Territory, as well as Texas and California. He used the famous campaign slogan Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!- named after the line of latitude serving as the territorys northern boundary. Polks plan was to claim the entire region and go to war over it with the British. The United States had  fought them twice before in relatively recent memory. Polk declared that the joint occupation with the British would end in one year.   In a surprise upset, Polk won the election with an electoral vote of 170 vs. 105 for Henry Clay. The popular vote was Polk, 1,337,243, to Clays 1,299,068. Americans Stream Into the Oregon Territory By 1846, the Americans in the territory outnumbered the British by  a ratio of 6-to1. Through negotiations with the British, the boundary between the United States and British Canada was established at 49 degrees north with the Treaty of Oregon in 1846. The exception to the 49th parallel boundary is that it turns south in the channel separating Vancouver Island from the mainland and then turns south and then west through the Juan de Fuca Strait. This maritime portion of the boundary wasnt officially demarcated until 1872. The boundary established by the Oregon Treaty still exists today between the United States and  Canada. Oregon became the nations 33rd state in 1859. Aftereffects After the Mexican-American War, fought from 1846 to 1848, the United States won the territory that became Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. Every new state fueled the debate about slavery and which side any new territories should be on- and how the balance of power in Congress would be affected by each new state.

Female Objectification in Contemporary Films from Different Origins Research Paper

Female Objectification in Contemporary Films from Different Origins - Research Paper Example This is due to the fact that individuals are physical beings and thus present themselves to others as objects via their behavior and dressing (Caterina 709). Objectification is an issue because of its frequency among women especially as portrayed by the media. Contemporary examples of women objectification as sexual beings are reflected through various films. This research paper uses the feminist theory of gender equality to give critical discussion of women objectification as portrayed in three contemporary films. The research is based on different film productions to achieve sufficient analysis and discussion of female objectification within contemporary films that emanate from different social cultural origins. The research is specifically an investigation into the roles and objectification that is revealed by female characters within the films. The way female characters in the films are labeled is used to discuss the influence it has on the manner men treat women in relationships . A qualitative research methodology is employed in the research. The presentation of research findings will specifically apply psychoanalysis, semiotics, ideological analysis and historical and rhetorical models. The movie Pretty Woman was directed by Garry Marshall and became one of the most successful romantic comedies in the history of cinematic production (Hulse 23). The movie depicts implausible romantic relationship between Edward and Vivian. The disparity between the two is presented by the fact that while Edward is a multimillionaire in the wheeler-dealing business, Vivian is a Hollywood prostitute (Hulse 23). The film How Much Do You Love Me on the other hand is a French production which also has same thematic as Pretty Woman. In the film How Much Do You Love Me, the themes of love, money and desire are presented through a relationship between Francois and Daniela (Clark 15). Daniela is an Italian prostitute while Francois is portrayed as a regular who earns just enough fo r expenses and rent. The Movie Moulin Rouge is British production directed by Baz Luhrmann. On the other hand, the movie Moulin Rouge is about Christian, a British poet who meets a seductive courtesan called Satine in a night club and falls in love with her (Business Wire 1). The three films have a commonality in themes and the fact that female objectification is apparent as they unfold. The feminist theory as postulated by feminist scholars argues that female objectification emanates from the disregard of intellectual abilities of women. This leads to labeling women as instruments of physical pleasure through sexual encounters with men (Felicia 178). The movie Pretty Woman rankle feminists. This is due to the fact that Vivian objectifies herself by presenting herself as a commodity (Turner B1). Feminists are most likely disappointed by the manner in which Vivian dehumanizes herself. Vivian is also portrayed as yearning for a knight who would rescue her. The objectification that is represented by the manner Vivian is dressed, behaves and talks is a requirement for her line of work is not definitely acceptable by the proponents of feminism. It is evident that women are labeled as sexual objects within the movie Pretty Woman especially in its early scenes. Pre-feminists are represented by a historical view of the role of women within the society. Pre-feminists stand against labeling a woman as a mother who stayed at home and acted as submissive wife (Fredrickson and Tomi-Ann 173). Watching the

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants Essay

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants - Essay Example Leonardo’s father was one of the traders who traded in Bugia; a Mediterranean port found in North Eastern Algeria. He always accompanied his father on his journeys across North Africa, and through travelling, he gained valuable knowledge of the mathematical systems that were popular in the countries they visited. After travelling for fifteen years, he quit his long travels and went back to his hometown (Robertson & O’Connor, www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk). While in Pisa, his hometown; Leonardo decided to write books based on his mathematical foundation. Examples of these books include; Liber Abaci, Practica Geometricae, Flos, Liber Quadratorum, among others. Influences from Indian, Arabian and Greek mathematicians can be detected in his methods. Therefore, it is correct to say that Leonardo’s works represents the developments of results he acquired from his predecessors. Leonardo’s published his first work, Liber Abaci (Book of Abacus), in 1202. The Book of Abacus was based on algebra and calculations that he accumulated during his several voyages. The book introduced the use of Arabic numerals and the Hindu-Arabic place value system into Europe: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 (Robertson & O’Connor, www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk). Prior to this time, Roman numerals were being used in Europe, and they were extremely awkward for arithmetic. For example, I =1, V=5, X =10, among others. Leonardo also described in Latin the rules being learnt at elementary schools for subtracting, adding, dividing and multiplying numbers. Several arithmetic problems handled in the book were similar to the ones that appeared in the Arab sources. Liber Abaci’s second section contained several mathematical problems faced by merchants. These problems related to the pricing of goods, how profit calculations were to be conducted, how currencies used in the Mediterranean countries were to be converted, and problems that had originated from China. The third section

Health Care Financing & Information Systems Essay Example for Free

Health Care Financing Information Systems Essay Assignment 1: Decision-Making Do you believe your design of the detailed organization chart indicates centralized or decentralized lines of authority for decision-making? Can you explain your approach in one or two sentences? Yes, I do believe that this Hospital has centralized lines of authority for decision-making. Since financing and budgeting are always a consistent issue in a hospital, a need for formal or a rational organizational model of hierarchy is necessary to achieve budget goals. References Baker, J. J. Baker, R. W. (2011). Health Care Finance, Basic Tools for Nonfinancial Managers (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones Bartlett Publishers.

Shakespeares Comedy of Errors and Plautus Menaechmi and Amphitruo Ess

Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors and Plautus' Menaechmi and Amphitruo One of Shakespeare's earliest plays (its first recorded performance in December 1594), The Comedy of Errors has frequently been dismissed as pure farce, unrepresentative of the playwright's later efforts. While Errors may very well contain farcical elements, it is a complex, layered work that draws upon and reinterprets Plautine comedy. Shakespeare combines aspects of these Latin plays with biblical source material, chiefly the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistle to the Ephesians. While Menaechmi is the most frequently cited classical source for Errors, Plautus' Amphitruo is just as relevant an influence; Shakespeare's treatment of identity and its fragility is derived from this latter work. Of course, there are many other structural and thematic resonances between the three texts: each of the plays, to varying degrees, deal with the issues of identity, violence and slavery, while displaying a keen awareness of aspects of performativity, specifically the figure of the p laywright, and the role of the audience. The structural similarities between Comedy of Errors and Plautus' Menaechmi and Amphitruo are quite clear. In addition to adopting the traditional five-act structure, Shakespeare creates act divisions which comply with the Evanthian and Donatian definitions of comic structure (prologue, epitasis, protasis, catastrophe), and draws upon the classical stock of characters: the senex, servus, parasitus, matrona and meretrix. Of course, this does not mean that Shakespeare is a slavish imitator of all things Plautine. While both of the Roman source plays for Errors begin with a formal prologue, set apart from the first act, Errors instead laun... ...s.): Plautus: Five of his Plays, London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1914. Crewe, Jonathan V.: "God or The Good Physician: The Rational Playwright in The Comedy of Errors, in Genre, XV (1/2), 1982, pp. 203-223. Dorsch, T.S (ed.): The Comedy of Errors, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Hall, Jonathan: Anxious Pleasures: Shakespearean Comedy and the Nation-State, London: Associated University Presses, 1995 Hunt, Maurice: "Slavery, English Servitude, and The Comedy of Errors," in English Literary Renaissance, 27(1): 31-55, Winter 1997. Miola, Robert S.: Shakespeare and Clasical Comedy: The Influence of Plautus and Terence, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994. Riehle, Wolfgang: Shakespeare, Plautus and the Humanist Tradition, Cambridge: D.S Brewer, 1990. Segal, Erich (trans.): Plautus: Three Comedies, New York and London: Harper and Row, 1969.

Assessment Worksheet Essay

1. What is the goal or objective of an IT risk management plan? – The purpose of the Risk Management Plan is to define how risks will be managed, monitored and controlled throughout the project. 2. What are the five fundamental components of an IT risk management plan? -The components of a Risk Management Plan are: Risk Identification, Risk Analysis, Risk Evaluation, Risk Monitoring and Review. 3. Define what risk planning is. – Risk planning is developing and documenting organized, comprehensive, and interactive strategies and methods for identifying risks. 4. What is the first step in performing risk management? – One of the most important first steps for a risk management plan is to establish the objectives. 5. What is the exercise called when you are trying to identify an organization’s risk health? -Health Risk Assessment 6. What practice helps reduce or eliminate risk? -Risk Management. 7. What on-going practice helps track risk in real-time? – Risk Mitigation. 8. Given that an IT risk management plan can be large in scope, why is it a good idea to develop a risk management plan team? -Scope identifies boundaries. So, if the plan is that large in scope, a team would work obviously together and not against to maintain its structure in nature and have consensus. 9. Within the seven domains of a typical IT infrastructure, which domain is the most difficult to plan, identify, assess, remediate, and monitor? -LAN-WAN 10. From your scenario perspective, with which compliance law or standard does your organization have to comply? -Honoring that the law requires a student to receives grades from instructors physically. Complaince 11. How did the risk identification and risk assessment of the identified risks, threats, and vulnerabilities contribute to your IT risk management plan table of contents? -It was detailed properly to locate provided information needed. 12. What risks, threats, and vulnerabilities did you identify and assess that require immediate risk mitigation given the criticality of the threat or vulnerability? – Among other things, faculty and/or students weak or being subject to falling short to financial, pleasure or any other immoral selfish gain. 13. For risk monitoring, what techniques or tools can you implement within each of the seven domains of a typical IT infrastructure to help mitigate risk? – Anything possible, man or man-made to properly assess, identify and deal with possible risks. 14. For risk mitigation, what processes and procedures are needed to help streamline and implement risk mitigation solutions to the production IT infrastructure? -Control, remediation, assess and reporting are key. 15. How does risk mitigation impact change control management and vulnerability management? -Change control is a systematic way to approaching change, within an organization, it can prevent the possibility of services becoming interrupted and if so, provide a plan to bring them back up as soon as possible