Some Surrender :: English Literature

Some Surrender I have recently reviewed the short story â€Å"Some Surrender† written by Bernard MacLaverty. It deals with the relationship between the father and the son however wider issues including bigotry and prejudice are also incorporated into the story. Maclaverty choose to set the story in Belfast and the strained relationship between the father and son. The two men are meeting to celebrate the fathers 75th birthday. They meet on a local hill on the outskirts of Belfast. We see the symbolic relationship between the struggle up the hill and the men’s relationship. â€Å"†¦.The steep angle of the hill†¦.† They have not been speaking to each other for the last 20 years and only in recent times have the met. We soon discover the source of the struggling and damaged relationship is the mother. After marrying a roman catholic and having a baby with his wife before they were married he was shunned from his family as his actions conflicted with his mothers strong sectarian beliefs. The father also mentions â€Å"†¦.done this climb since you were small†¦.† This shows that much time has passed and also that the characters are familiar with the setting. The son based a book he has created of photos taken in Belfast this also shows that the son has returned to Belfast in the past but not to be with his family. The title of the book is â€Å"Some Surrender† which is based on the protestant slogan â€Å"No Surrender.† The story is divided into four parts during which we learn about the characters and plot. It is also told in present tense. The first part forms the climb of their journey. We learn about the background of the two men their secret meetings and the son’s alienation from the mother. The story is told in the dialog of the two men through which we see humour, honesty, strain etc between the two characters. They are celebrating the fathers 75th birthday and are reminiscing and catching up with each other. The main focus is on Roy we hear of the broken relationship with his mother and the damaged relationship with his father. We learn that Roy is a photographer with some success. â€Å"I see your postcards all over the place. Supermarkets even.† He lives in Dublin and is now separated from his wife. We also her how much is his mother disapproved of the son’s marriage. â€Å"She wasn’t even a good catholic.† It is evident that bigotry is the main cause of the problems. In the second part we hear again through the humour and dialog of the characters the problems that exist in Ireland and why each thinks the

Spirituality & Story

While growing up in an environment that was more conducive to pain and suffering than to enjoying life it was easier to challenge believers to show me God then to actually see Him around me. I’d say, â€Å"close your Bible and prove to me God exists. †I always received one of three responses. Usually, I would get a bewildered stare. The second response was for me to just look around because God was all about me. Finally, the believer might tell me that God moves in mysterious ways. I truly hated this final response.If I had been born two-thousand years ago, I would have persecuted and thrown stones at Christians. As suggested I would look around, and I could not have faith or believe in a God that allowed so much pain and suffering to exist in the world.I would hear people say after surviving some great tragedy, or natural disaster, or loss of life that God was watching after them. My question was, â€Å"where was God when the hurricane was blowing your house away? â⠂¬  It didn’t make sense that God would be with one person but not their neighbor who drowned in the storm.Epicuras’ question concerning God and evil seemed legitimate: â€Å"Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent? He is both able and willing? Whence then is evil. † (163) Of course this delves into the freewill/theodicy argument. Within the Christian tradition people are free to make their own choices. And there are negative or positive consequences associated with freewill. Just as there are negative and positive consequences associated with rejecting or accepting Christ.During a particularly despondent time in my life, a friend offered me a Bible, some rather persuasive advice, and a pastor’s phone number. She said Christ would help me, but I needed to ask him into my life and for him to help me. So I began reading the Bible, and I called the pastor. If I asked a question, he answered it knowledgably.And I began praying. Gradually my mood and outlook on life did change. God is everywhere, but he first has to live in the heart. Works Cited Pojman, Louis. â€Å"THE PROBLEM OF EVIL. † Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1994. 163.

Advantages Due to Hiring Maid

The maid is a system that involve non-local who is not from our family members who work at our home. According to Zuhaila (2012) the article in NSTP dated March 11. â€Å"Some families say their household will just not be able to function well without a maid†. So with the existence of a maid, it not only brought many benefits for the community but it can ease the burden of parental in order to taking care the home, children and others, especially for careers parents.Although many people have negative perception of hiring maid, I believe that hiring maid is important due to several advantages. The first advantage is it will cut the cost of sending children to nursery. As we know that the cost of sending children to nursery is expensive nowadays. Not only the nursery, hired a babysitter just for a few hours will cost much higher than hiring a maid. According to Kwa on her speech â€Å"Now days, a fee for a monthly babysitter is around RM750 and above, and the cost will increase depend on how many children in the house† (Kwa, The Star, 2012).On the other hand, parents can reduce the times that wasted of sending and fetching children from the nursery. Because of that, hiring a maid can take care of children when parents go to work. Parents also do not worry about the payment every month because our government is standardizing the fee that parents need to pay the maid. The second advantage is it will reduce the burden of doing the house chores. As we know, as a parent their needs to taking care about their career and their duty of doing house chores.Because of that, many locals are waiting to hire maids again as to meet their needs (Raja Zulkeply Dahlan, 2012). In addition, the maid is also a savior for parents who are experiencing stress over the situation in the workplace and home. For a career parents, sometimes the stress at the workplace will be carried away to the house and if at home, the condition not very smooth it will give more pressure on t he parents. Therefore, the extra time will help parents to relax which also increases their productivity at workplace.The third advantage is it will encourage parents to spend more time with their family members. As we know, maid can help doing house chores and allow parents to spend quality time with their families’ member. Because of that, parents will have a valuable period of time to spend their times with families’ member. According to Orlandoyts (2005) â€Å"maid rid you and your daily chores allowing you to spend quality time with your family†. For example, parents can have a picnic on a weekend or bring their children to shopping.In addition, parents can give love and paying more attention to their children. Parents who have time in a long weekend can pay more attention and giving a full of love to their children spend more time with them. Therefore, parents can secure the safety of their children every day. All in all, hiring maid can give parents much advantage to manage the children and parents also their career in workplace. Therefore, the government should play an important role in the entry of domestic workers to meet market demand of maid to the families who needed.

Banning Smoking in Pubic Places Speech Essay

Have you ever come home with the stench of smoke just protruding from your clothes? Have you ever coughed and choked as you inhaled a cloud of smoke as a group of immature smokers passed by? If you have, then you would agree that neither one of these experiences is very pleasant, and could have been avoided if smoking was banned in public places. Everyone knows that smoking is not the healthiest activity for your body. The inhaled fumes go directly to the smoker’s lungs and can result in a number of terminal illnesses in the long run. There’s no doubt that your body would appreciate it if you would just set that lighter down. However, one thing that everyone forgets, or chooses to ignore, is that second hand smoking is just as harmful. Second hand smoking comes in two forms, which are sidestream smoke and mainstream smoke. Sidestream smoke is the smoke that comes from the lightened end of a cigarette, pipe, cigar, or whatever the case may be. Mainstream smoke is the smoke exhaled by the smoker. When non-smokers inhale these fumes, they are being exposed to involuntary smoking, or passive smoking. These chemicals are also extremely unhealthy for your body, especially as they accumulate in your system the more you breath them in. Here’s something you may not know. According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco smoke itself contains more than 7,000 chemical compounds. More than 250 of these chemicals are known to be harmful and at least 69 are known to cause cancer. Just keep that in mind the next time you sit next to your buddy while he/she smokes away. But before you do, let me throw some more facts at you. Second hand smoking has been linked to lung cancer, and there is also some evidence that it might be linked to lymphoma, leukemia, and brain tumors in children, as well as cancers of the larynx (vocal box), pharynx (throat), nasal sinuses, brain, bladder, rectum, stomach, and even breasts. These side effects are very dangerous and very real. For example,  I’m sure all of you have come across heavy smokers, including women, who have developed rough, raspy voices. Yeah, that’s not normal. That happens because their vocal cords have been damaged by all of the smoke they have inhaled. But not only is second hand smoking negatively affecting the generations of today, but also the generations of tomorrow. This is because of the fact that pregnant women exposed to second hand smoking are proven to often have difficulties with the birth and health of their child. Birth weight is the most important determinant for the survival, health, growth, and development of an infant. Low birth weight is linked to fetal and neonatal and cognitive development, and risk of chronic diseases in later life. Smoke is considered a dangerous risk factor for low birth weight in newborn infants. In a study done in Malaysia, a total of 420 pregnant women were tested, 209 exposed to second hand smoking, 411 non-exposed. The experiment concluded in the fact that not only was there a significant reduction in birth weight because of second hand smoking (12.9 grams for each unit of cigarette), but more exposed women had premature deliveries. In another study done, researchers found that exposure to second hand smoke increased a non-smoking pregnant woman’s chance of having a stillborn baby by 23 percent and increased the risk of delivering a baby with birth defects by 13 percent. In some cases, pregnancies may result in SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), which is the sudden, unexpected death of an infant within its first year of life. As you can see, smoking is not just a personal choice or bad habit, it is something that affects everyone, and encompasses the well being of people other than the smoker. You do not have to have the cigarette in your mouth to suffer from its deadly consequences. So not only do the smokers tear themselves down, but they also drag along with them other adults, kids, and even babies that are yet to be born. It is with much urgency that I say that smoking must be banned in public places.

The Six Sigma Management Approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Six Sigma Management Approach - Essay Example The concept of ‘six-sigma’ however dates back to the nineteenth century with Gaussian idea of the normal curve. Gauss developed a concept that measured variance in products and processes. Using the normal curve as a basis and integrating both statistical techniques and management concept, Shewhart developed the concept of three sigma as an identification of the point of standard deviation beyond which errors should not be tolerated. The actual development of the six sigma approach was however a result of Motorola Company’s initiative, spearheaded by Smith to improve quality of its product and change its image that had lost reputation in the press and industry. It was however not until the year 1995 when the approach became popular through General Electric’s Welch who made the approach his organization’s identity. The ‘six-sigma’ approach is therefore a mathematical concept that has been applied in business management to eliminate wastes for efficiency (Islam, 2006). The purpose of ‘six-sigma’ approach is to eliminate errors in processes in order to satisfy consumers’ needs. This purpose is achieved by identifying intolerable levels of errors for necessary actions (Islam, 2006). Implementation of the ‘six-sigma’ Implementation of the ‘six-sigma’ involves four major steps that are further divided into sub steps. The first step in implementation of ‘sigma-six’ is assessment of an organization. This stage involves exploration of the organization’s internal factors, a competitive organization for benchmarking, and a subsequent comparison. This is followed by deciding on the approach and allocation of responsibility. The second step involves planning in which the scope of the business, its objectives and drivers as well as its resources is identified for budgeting and approval. Implementation of the strategy, the third step, involves training, application of the approach’s concepts, evaluation, and management of results. The last step in implementing the ‘six-sigma’ involves a continuous monitoring and evaluation of processes for better quality (Harrington, 2006). The scope of healthcare and application of ‘six-sigma’ in health care The scope of healthcare involves meeting patients’ needs through diagnosing their problems and administering medication for curative or preventive purposes. Healthcare therefore aims at ensuring people’s well being. This scope provides a variety of avenues and reasons for application of the ‘six-sigma’ program. The approach, as a tool for quality improvement is effective in developing potential in technology dependent processes such as in the X ray department. The method is also used to enhance patients’ utility levels by ensuring that their needs are efficiently met. The scope of the program that allows for identification of wastes for co rrective measures also establishes its applicability in ensuring accuracy in processes such as laboratory testing and determination of results, billing and medical processes (Antony, Antony and Tanner, n.d.). Benefits of the approach in my organization The approach, based on its possible application in my organization, induces a number of benefits. One of the benefits of the strategy is its quality improvement potential that ensures customers’ satisfaction. As a result, it develops a good corporate image of an organization among consumers. The ability to reduce errors in processes also safeguards patient’

The British Government, the Bank of England, and the British Economy Essay

The British Government, the Bank of England, and the British Economy - Essay Example Presently, it is the bank in charge of the financial activities of the U.K government (Capie 2010). The bank has its headquarters at London, and has been the case since 1734. As from 1946, the bank was nationalised, and it has since monopolized the provision of banknotes in England and the Wales. The Bank’s roles of managing the country’s monetary policy are overseen by the Monetary Policy Committee (Goodwin, 2013). During times of public interest issues and economic adversity, the committee is authorised by the parliament and the treasury to employ the strategies it deems fit towards correcting the issue or situation in question. The major roles of the bank include supporting the country’s price and economic stability. Monetary stability is pursued through employing strategies to ensure that price increment does not go beyond the inflation projections of the government. Financial stability is pursued, by the bank, through the well-timed neutralization of the thr eats facing the country’s financial system. Financial and monetary stability are attained through the stimulation of the economic system and the manipulation of policy instruments. These strategies entail the bank’s cooperation with the treasury and the FSA (Financial Services Authority) (Capie 2010). The British Economy 2011 was a difficult year for the global economy with the UK not spared. In effect, this forced many forecasters to revise their yearly forecasts throughout the year. An example is the case of the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility), which cut its GDP projections for the period between FY 2011 and 2013; it cut the projections from 2.4 percent, for the previous year, to 1.2 percent for a financial year, during November 2011. Furthermore, the events that followed continue to raise questions as to whether the revised figures will be realised following the worsening of the situation by the crisis in the Euro zone (Goodwin 2013). This outlook demonstrate s that the financial and the monetary strategies that are altered by the bank of England, which works under the directives of the British government particularly the parliament and the treasury, which determine the stabilization strategies adopted. The poor outlook of the economy shows that the two actors have not been effective, in manipulating financial and monetary instruments to the favour of stabilizing the British economy (Gordon, Scanlon, Travers and Whitehead 2009). The Double Dip of 2012 The UK economy entered year 2012 from a weak point. The preliminary projections of GDP growth from the fourth quarter of 2011 showed that the output of the economy had contracted by 0.2 percent at the end of year 2011. The monthly output projections from official reports demonstrated that manufacturing capacity had reduced throughout the summer time. The reports showed that the service sector had demonstrated higher resilience during the same period. However, the worsening of the Euro zone crisis, starting July of 2011, triggered a sharp price decline and an increase in the volatility of equity pricing that consequently affected the outlook of both consumers and businesses. These changes demonstrate that the British Government and the Bank of England had failed in controlling price levels, and employing the strategies of containing price volatility. Partly, the situation could have been triggered by the Euro zone crisis, but it demonstrated a lack of competitiveness and skilfulness, among the two economic controllers, in manipulating financial and monetary policy to favour the resultant economic outlook (Goodwin 2013). The adverse effects of the non-controlled economic outlook were evident from the downturn evident among many businesses,

Jury Nullification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Jury Nullification - Essay Example However, this is observed by those opposing the concept, as making certain crimes in the society acceptable, since the perpetrators of such crimes can go unpunished by the laws. Further, the concept of jury nullification appears to contravene the provisions of the law, regarding the roles and jurisdiction of the jurors. Jurors are supposed to identify and determine the facts surrounding a certain case, while determining the case based on such facts, and leaving the interpretation of the laws to the judges. However, under the concept of jury nullification, jurors perform both the roles of investigating the facts surrounding the case and determining whether the laws applicable to the case are valid. This is because, under the concept of jury nullification, the jurors can disregard the instructions given by the judges, as well as the laws applicable to the case, and instead apply their conscious to determine the case (Shari, 4). Nevertheless, in consideration of the benefits and the problems posed by the concept of jury nullification in the justice system, this discussion seeks to develop a comprehensive argument in favor of the concept of jury nullification. Most fundamental is the fact that Jury Nullification serves as a substantial and necessary defense against discriminative laws. The Jury system is enshrined within the concept of the public justice system. This works towards ensuring that the judgments offered by the jurors resonate with the public opinion, more than the laws. While the laws adapted by many countries are meant to ensure that justice is done to the aggrieved parties, there are some instances where the legislators enacts certain laws in total disregard of the public opinion or interest, but solely fashioning such laws to suit their interests (Keneally, 944). This leaves the general public exposed to the wrath of the legislators, who may be