The Life of D. H. Lawrence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Life of D. H. Lawrence - Term Paper Example In fact there are only few subjects which failed to grab the attention of DH Lawrence. Since many of his opinions were against the traditions and existing laws of English social life, he earned many enemies during his life span. In fact he forced to live in exile just like the current literature writers Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrin because of the controversial remarks he made against English social life through his literatures. His liberal views about sexual life earned him the reputation or title as a pornographer during the latter stages of his life. In short, DH Lawrence was a misunderstood a person during his life period even though he got wide recognition at present. This paper analyses the life of DH Lawrence and his contributions as a novelist, poet, play writer, essayist, literary critic and painter. â€Å"David Herbert Lawrence was born on September 11, 1885, in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, central England. He was the fourth child of a struggling coal miner who was a hea vy drinker. His mother was a former schoolteacher† (DH Lawrence). His mother had better education than his father and therefore his father developed some inferiority complex which caused many problems in the family. As his father spent majority of his earnings for drinking, only the mother’s earning were used for the family expenses. However, her earnings were not sufficient enough to meet the living expenses of a big family and therefore DH Lawrence faced poverty during his childhood life. In fact his bitter early childhood experiences made him tougher as he grown up. DH Lawrence was a smart student during his childhood and has completed his school studies with some scholarships. After the completion of school education or matriculation, he failed to get college education because of poverty in his family. He accepted various jobs like clerk, school teacher etc immediately after the completion of his school education in order to support his family. At the age of 25, DH Lawrence lost his mother. In fact, â€Å"he helped her die by giving her an overdose of sleeping medicine† (DH Lawrence). Even though mercy killing is acceptable up to certain extent in the current society, it was not so in the past. Lawrence’s action of assisting his mother die brought many criticisms during that period. The conservative English society was not in a position to accept such activities at that time. DH Lawrence suffered lot of criticisms because of this act and even though his intentions were positive. DH Lawrence started his literature writing even before the death of his mother. In 1909, a number of Lawrence's poems were published by Ford Max Ford in the English Review. The appearance of his first novel, The White Peacock (1911), launched Lawrence into a writing career. In 1912 he met Frieda von Richthofen, the professor Ernest Weekly's wife and fell in love with her. Lawrence's novel Sons and Lovers appeared in 1913 and was based on his childhood. In 1914 Lawrence married Frieda von Richthofen, and traveled with her in several countries. Lawrence's fourth novel, The Rainbow (1915), was about two sisters growing up in the north of England. Lawrence started to write The Lost Girl in Italy. He dropped the novel for some years and rewrote the story in an old Sicilian farmhouse near Taormina in 1920 (DH Lawrence). The beginning of

Reggio Emilia Approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reggio Emilia Approach - Essay Example According to Gandini, this was the time when men and women became motivated towards building schools by themselves for their children. At the same time, teachers also began to work hard in creating fresh methods of educating in order to "support the new democratic society." The schools built up at that time merged the theory of "social services with education." There was a sequence of national regulations accepted during the years 1968 and 1971 which made it feasible for the progress of Reggie Approach. According to Rinaldi, who is an educational director, the teachers worked as a steady piece in order to establish a new strength, and had rights to assign certain working terms like the authority to suppose, to arrange, and to understand various things. Every single child has prospective, inquisitiveness, and divert ness in communal dealings, creating affiliations, building their knowledge, and bargaining with whatever their surroundings offer them. When a child takes part in a commotion, it is necessary that they pick out their wrong doings and correct them. This step can help kids in becoming more practical and solving matters more by themselves. Teachers' role here is vital, as they should give children enough space to correct and improve themselves without being criticised and pointed out by teachers. Due to their young age group, they are tending to be more proficient than any other age group. The Reggio Emilia Schools take this picture of children as being more enthusiastic and confident towards life instead of being dull and dependent. "Children's Relationships and Interactions Within a System" Schooling involves paying attention to each child individually with respect to their behaviour with their family, other mates, their teachers, their surroundings, and their society. "The Rights of Children, Parents and Teachers" All children have their own rights of getting worthy care and proper schooling which could further enhance their prospective and abilities. "Parents have the right to be involved in the life of the school; teachers have the right to grow professionally." "The Value of Relationships and Interactions of Children in Small Groups" Children get this chance to work along with their teachers and in a form of huge cluster of children, or a small one, or as an individual. Teachers are supposed to choose that which type of grouping is suitable for each child depending on the type of project and work assigned to children, children's interest in the project, and the duration of time taken by them to complete the task. The teachers play a vital role while making children work in small groups in order to make children comprehend their tasks better. "Cooperation and Collaboration as the Backbone of the System" Collaboration between all elders in the educational institute should be inclusive of asking questions about various things, sharing their views, and developing a trust in each other. For the sake of achieving this goal, all teachers should pay close attention towards children, enquire about their interests and explore their knowledge and ideas.

The Life of D. H. Lawrence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Life of D. H. Lawrence - Term Paper Example In fact there are only few subjects which failed to grab the attention of DH Lawrence. Since many of his opinions were against the traditions and existing laws of English social life, he earned many enemies during his life span. In fact he forced to live in exile just like the current literature writers Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasrin because of the controversial remarks he made against English social life through his literatures. His liberal views about sexual life earned him the reputation or title as a pornographer during the latter stages of his life. In short, DH Lawrence was a misunderstood a person during his life period even though he got wide recognition at present. This paper analyses the life of DH Lawrence and his contributions as a novelist, poet, play writer, essayist, literary critic and painter. â€Å"David Herbert Lawrence was born on September 11, 1885, in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, central England. He was the fourth child of a struggling coal miner who was a hea vy drinker. His mother was a former schoolteacher† (DH Lawrence). His mother had better education than his father and therefore his father developed some inferiority complex which caused many problems in the family. As his father spent majority of his earnings for drinking, only the mother’s earning were used for the family expenses. However, her earnings were not sufficient enough to meet the living expenses of a big family and therefore DH Lawrence faced poverty during his childhood life. In fact his bitter early childhood experiences made him tougher as he grown up. DH Lawrence was a smart student during his childhood and has completed his school studies with some scholarships. After the completion of school education or matriculation, he failed to get college education because of poverty in his family. He accepted various jobs like clerk, school teacher etc immediately after the completion of his school education in order to support his family. At the age of 25, DH Lawrence lost his mother. In fact, â€Å"he helped her die by giving her an overdose of sleeping medicine† (DH Lawrence). Even though mercy killing is acceptable up to certain extent in the current society, it was not so in the past. Lawrence’s action of assisting his mother die brought many criticisms during that period. The conservative English society was not in a position to accept such activities at that time. DH Lawrence suffered lot of criticisms because of this act and even though his intentions were positive. DH Lawrence started his literature writing even before the death of his mother. In 1909, a number of Lawrence's poems were published by Ford Max Ford in the English Review. The appearance of his first novel, The White Peacock (1911), launched Lawrence into a writing career. In 1912 he met Frieda von Richthofen, the professor Ernest Weekly's wife and fell in love with her. Lawrence's novel Sons and Lovers appeared in 1913 and was based on his childhood. In 1914 Lawrence married Frieda von Richthofen, and traveled with her in several countries. Lawrence's fourth novel, The Rainbow (1915), was about two sisters growing up in the north of England. Lawrence started to write The Lost Girl in Italy. He dropped the novel for some years and rewrote the story in an old Sicilian farmhouse near Taormina in 1920 (DH Lawrence). The beginning of

Effective strategies in dealing with DUI offenders - Incarceration and Research Paper

Effective strategies in dealing with DUI offenders - Incarceration and Treatment - Research Paper Example This essay analyzes the traditional model of solving the issues of driving under the influence (DUI) is that the offender is incarcerated or fined. However, with increasing frequency, the traditional model of incarceration of fines has been supplanted by other ideas. Specifically, one of the ideas is that DUI offenders are amenable to treatment. Treatment programs have been around at least since the early 1970s, with the innovative for its time pilot project instituted by the City of Phoenix. Additionally, programs were also aimed at schoolchildren. These programs, unlike later programs, were geared towards individuals who had not yet offended, in hopes that they never would offend. The program which worked the best in this context was a â€Å"shock† program – students were shown grisly pictures of accidents. These programs were aimed at the primary audience. Other programs were aimed at a secondary audience, which consisted of individuals who had already offended. Thes e programs had limited success, according to Ross. However, other programs which concentrated on a variety of approaches have had success. These programs are considered to be DUI court programs. These programs typically require the offender to complete some kind of treatment protocol, check in with the judge on a regular basis and be intensely monitored. One program, in South Dakota, only monitored the offenders, on a continuous basis. These programs all showed a great degree of success, as indicated below. Less successful are traditional incarceration programs, according to Weinrath & Gartrell. (2001). They found that those sentenced to incarceration generally had a very high rate of recidivism. Incarceration treatment programs are a hybrid of incarceration and treatment programs, and this has had success, too, in reducing recidivism. Another aspect which has long been overlooked, however, and could be the key to long-term remission of alcohol-related problems, especially drunk dri ving, is the existence of psychiatric problems in persistent DUI offenders (Shaffer et al., 2007). Up until recently, this is a factor which has been rarely studied and is not generally made a part of typical DUI rehabilitation programs. That said, this article will go into detail about this aspect, because it is such a new factor which has been studied with regards to DUI treatment protocols. The hypothesis regarding the high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities with DUI offenders is that these psychiatric problems are going untreated, even in a typical DUI rehabilitation program. Because of this, long-term prospects for DUI offenders are limited. After all, the treatment programs listed in this paper do not posit about long-term effects of their programs, only short term ones of up to two years after the program has ceased. Incorporating psychiatric screening for every DUI offender might be the most effective program in the long run. TREATMENT The idea of treatment of the persi stent DUI offender has been around for a long time. For instance, in 1970, authors Ernest Stewart and James Malfetti wrote a book called Rehabilitation of the Drunken Driver. In this book, they advocated for the Phoenix DWI curriculum. The Phoenix DWI curriculum acknowledges that DWI violators can be helped if they â€Å"understand the foregoing assumptions [that 'Alcohol reduces the skills needed in driving: vision, perception, judgment, motor response] and to consider and adopt ways to improve their own DWI behavior† (Stewart & Malfetti, 1970, p. 25). In other words, the Phoenix program during this time was geared towards helping individuals understand the effects of alcohol consumption upon driving, and how alcohol consumption is detrimental to driving. This pilot program included a class which had the stated purpose of helping the students of the class understand how alcohol affects driving skills. The students are also reinforced that their behavior

Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel Essay Example for Free

Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel Essay Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel is said to be the â€Å"Father of the Kindergarten† for his huge involvement, and devoting his life to the development of a system of education for young children. In German, the word kindergarten means children’s garden, and he thought that this was best in the age of six and younger. He spent his entire life helping with the development of the young and early childhood development. Wilhelm Froebel was born in the Thuringia region of Germany. He had a childhood that was not so fond for remembrance because of how terrible it had been for him. This is what shaped him to be able to come up with the idea of kindergarten. Froebel lost his mother before the age of one, and this meant that he had been left with this father who had to take care of three boys because Froebel had two other brothers. Their father never had much time for any of them. As a boy that would be hard for any child, and this caused him to have to spend most of his time alone at his home. He spent a lot of that time in the gardens by his home, and would play there for most of the day (Coron 4). Exploring all day was what he loved to do the most, and this would make a major influence on what he would do for the rest of his life. He started teaching at a school when he was a young man at Frankfurt Model School, and this school was a school that was focused on the teachings of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who was a very well respected teacher of his day. This school accepted poor children, and orphans. He believed that children needed to be involved in very active ways. As he left this school, he left it with his very hands on learning approach, and went to privately tutor children. The parents of the children that he tutored were very kind in giving him space in their garden to use to help teach the children. In 1837 Froebel founded his first school, and called it Kindergarten, or the children’s garden (Coron 4). This was a very exciting thing because before he opened this school, if you were under the age of seven, you did not attend school. At the age of seven, you then could go to school. Now that Froebel opened his school, children at the age of two were able to go to school (coron 3). Froebel was very free with the children, he allowed them to have a lot of activity time to be free with themselves, and figure things out. He believed that this was the best idea for them to have their own space, and time to figure out, as he did as a child. The mot that Froebel gave the children was a classroom, he believed that giving children a place to create, and imagine freely was the best gift anyone could have given them. Froebel wrote books, and in his book â€Å"Education of Man† he wrote â€Å"Play is the highest phase of child development-the representation of the inner necessity and impulse.† (coron 5). He thought that teachers should be friendly people who are helpers, not discip linarians. In his classroom there were blocks, pets, and finger plays. (Coron 5). He was inspirational to all. Froebel designed his classroom to have the following things as meeting a child’s needs; Physical activity, because it is important for a child to move, the development of sensory awareness and physical dexterity, creative expression, exploring of ideas, the pleasure of singing, the experience of living among others, and satisfaction of the soul. (Coron 4). These are all things we teach today to our children, and encourage our children to do. I think going back and looking at the bones of things could really help our society as a whole. Froebel was a very inspirational man to a lot of other great theorists such as Maria Montessori, who started Montessori schools. (Coron 2). I am in great belief of how much of a influence Froebel had on the early childhood education as a whole. He really was the father of kindergarten. I think that him having such an influence, really helped us shape the early education now. Froebel believed that â€Å"Humans are essentially productive, and creative† (coron 1.) I believe he is right, no matter what age you are, you are creative in your own way. It starts out at birth, even with how you relate to your mother, and father is creative, and how you interpret things as a young child is important. I know that if Froebel had not been involved, that what we call early childhood now, would not be the same as it is now. I am a firm believer in how he started to do things, letting children develop their own ideas about who they are, and how to do things in the world around them is really all a part of life.

Impact of Colonization on Aboriginals | Alcoholism

Impact of Colonization on Aboriginals | Alcoholism Introduction The native tribes of Canada include the Inuit, The Metis and the First Nations. The term ‘First Nations is widely used to describe Canadian Aborigines who fall in neither of the above two groups. The Inuit comprises of indigenous people leaving in the colder regions of Canada, the Arctic, Russia, and Alaska in United States. The Metis people are the direct descendants of the mixed First Nations. The characteristics of their civilization included strict traditional networks and values, highly developed societal hierarchies, agricultural practice and permanent settlements. Aborigines and alcohol consumption Before their colonization by the Europeans, the Aboriginal people took alcoholic drinks made from various plants with relatively low alcoholic content. These included; alcoholic drinks made from the purple orchid tree and honey, pandas plant which would be soaked and pounded to make alcohol, mien cider gum, fermented honey, and the coconut. After the Europeans invasion, alcohol consumption patterns among the Aboriginals changed drastically. The Europeans brought trade. The Aborigines traded with fur for other essential commodities brought by the Europeans. As this trade developed, the Europeans started to use alcoholic drinks as a bargaining tool to soften the fur traders on their prices. â€Å"Alcohol was used as an inducement to participate, as a medium of exchange, and as a standard of competitive access.† (Smillie, Dec 16, 2009) The drinking patterns of the Aborigines commonly took the form of binging, spending whole days drinking. Women were also involved in excessive drinking and intoxication and this largely resulted in increased acts of violence and the eventual neglect of the children’s welfare. The women would engage in prostitution, which in turn affected childrearing and accelerated the birth rate of mixed race children who usually were abandoned by their European fathers. It is however instructive to note that alcohol consumption was later abolished, and the Aborigines largely abstained from it. This compliance to the abolition was, to a large extent a result of the lessons learned from the social problems it had created. Furthermore, even some of the trading partners requested that alcohol should not be made available to the band members. Impacts of alcohol consumption among the Aboriginals The following socio-economic impacts were normally associated with the Aboriginal people who consumed alcohol excessively; Let us take a look into Australia’s case, which bears great similarity to that in Canada, (this source was selected due of its readily available data and its similarities with Canada’s case) Violence: According to a new study that finds alcohol as the biggest risk factor (Sharp, April 9, 2010), indigenous people are up to 20 times more likely than the rest of the population to commit violent crime. According to a criminologist, most of the arrests made of indigenous people were due to minor physical assault, more than sexual abuse, and that these offenders were much more likely to repeat their actions on non-indigenous people. It was also found out that; a violent act against an indigenous person was most likely to be perpetrated by a fellow indigenous person, most likely f a family member. From the police data used, it was found that the apprehension figures for indigenous people were 20 times higher than those for the non-indigenous. These violent acts were found to have direct link to excessive consumption of alcohol. This reinforces an indigenous lawyer Noel Pearson’s view that alcohol consumption should have been tackled directly, through the formation of protective factors such as family links, coping skills and cultural resilience, rather than seen as a consequence of their past oppression by the colonialists (Sharp, April 9, 2010). Mortality: The indigenous people of Australia on average die earlier than their non-indigenous counterparts. This is partly attributable to excessive consumption of alcohol. It is estimated that 7% of these deaths, are as a direct result of alcoholism. The Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision also estimated that alcohol related deaths among these peoples were 5 – 20 times more than among their non-indigenous counterparts in WA, NT and SA. Self-inflicted injuries such as suicides are also high among these people, and alcohol has also been deemed to contribute a considerable percentage of these; with 40% and 30% of the male and female population respectively falling victim. Between 2000– 2004, the figures for the males and females who died from alcohol related suicides were 159 and 27 respectively, compared to the non-indigenous Australians whose figures were 123 and 27 respectively. This is a major source of concern given that the indigenous people comprise of only 3% of the entire Australian population (Wilson, 2010). Social breakdown: excessive consumption of alcohol has also been blamed for most social and emotional breakdowns. For example, Tyson and colleagues found that of the 4% of females and 9% of males with an alcohol use disorder in the general Australian population, 48% and 34% respectively, also met the criteria for anxiety, affective or drug use disorder. While there appears not to be any directly comparable studies for Indigenous Australians, it is likely that comorbid conditions occur more frequently among this population. To date, most of these indigenous people, both male and female, have been hospitalized for mental disorders associated with alcohol use, whose figures are 3-4 times higher than those of the non-indigenous population (Wilson, 2010). Other impacts of alcohol among the Aboriginals include; theft and crime, accidents and deaths, unemployment, community breakdown and fetal alcohol syndrome, all of which are high among these people compared to the rest of the non-indigenous population. Other problems that affected the Aboriginals The Indian Act of Canada â€Å"Indian Act of Canada, law designed to integrate Indians in Canada into the mainstream economy and culture (Indian Act of Canada, n.d).† This act was introduced in 1876, which allowed the Canadian government to have total control over the lifestyle of all Indians and their mode of interactions with the non-Indians. It was also given the power to look after the lands, education and health of these people. In 1951, the government agreed to abolish the existing Act and introduce a new one, after revelations of the suffering caused to the Indians came to the limelight occasioning a public uproar. However, despite the drastic measures taken, not all power was removed from the hands of the government, thus resulting in impacts different from what was anticipated. This further led to isolation of the Indians from the rest population. How the Act was passed; the establishment of Canada as a confederate state took place in 1867. It was done under a constitutional Act that gave it massive power over the lives of the Aboriginal people, including their property and lands. This was followed by the formation of many Aboriginal-related laws in the following years. By 1876, these laws were so many, that for ease of interpretation and implementation, the government decided to consolidate all of them to a single Act, known as the Indian Act. This Act gave definition on who was and was not Indian, basing lifestyle as its selection criteria. Thus it was the government’s prerogative to decide on who was and was not an Aboriginal Indian. The act stated the rights and protections the Indians were subject to, which included; fishing, hunting, education and healthcare which were state funded. The Indians were also protected from land grabbing by the white settlers and the non-Indians, but were denied the opportunity to govern themselves and to acquire Canadian citizenship. Thus, they could not participate in public functions such as voting in federal elections, business and commerce, land ownership, consumption of alcohol, and freedom of movement from their reserves without government permission. Despite its apparent segregation, the Act aimed at assimilating the Indians into the European lifestyle, giving guidelines which if any Indian could meet, he or she would be rewarded with Canadian citizenship. The reformation of the Act: The Act was later reformed in 1956 after World War II, which had proved that the Indian men were equally good soldiers in the battle field, an indication of their unwavering service to the Canadian Army. Further, the release of a federal report that exposed the extreme poverty levels of the Indian community caused a public uproar that led the government to revise the Act in 1951. The level of power and control of the federal agents was reduced, and the Indian people were given some level of self-governance. They were also allowed to consume alcohol, move out of their reserves without government permission and participate in any business activity. Further amendment saw the Indians allowed to vote by 1962. By 1985, they were not forced to reveal their identity in any circumstance, and by 1990 the Indians had gained more ground on self-governance. Residential schools In the early 1980s, the Canadian Federal government tried hard to convince the Aboriginals that they needed schools in order to become important and productive individuals in the society. This was as a result of the government’s deep rooted belief that it was its responsibility to take care of the Aboriginals and educate them. The government believed that the only chance at success lay in the natives’ learning English and therefore adopting the European way of life. They had to learn the Canadian customs as well as convert to Christianity. This adopted lifestyle would be passed down to their children and grandchildren, and the primitive native traditions would disappear in a few generations. Thus the Canadian Federal government developed an attitude of aggression towards its assimilation policy by ensuring it was preached in churches and taught in the government schools, which were later transformed into residential schools. The boarding school programs were initiated b ecause it was felt that it would be easy to convert and shape children than adults under similar circumstances, in preparation for them to join the mainstream societal lifestyle. These schools ; residential schools, were government funded and placed under the care of the Department of Indian affairs which oversaw the running of its daily activities including the learning exercises for its Aboriginal students. Attendance to these schools was made mandatory and thus the government employed agents to enforce these orders. â€Å"Initially, about 1,100 students attended 69 schools across the country. In 1931, at the peak of the residential school system, there were about 80 schools operating in Canada (Residential Schools: A History of Residential Schools in Canada, May 16, 2008).† At the time of closing of these schools in 1996, there were about a total of 130 schools in each province and a total of about 150,000 children of Aboriginal descent who had been forcefully removed from their communities to attend these schools. The major problem in these schools was that, right from their conception, the Aboriginal culture was considered inferior, and that with it, they would totally be unable to modernize and therefore adapt to the developed society. Therefore, there was a strong believe that children would bridge this gap should they shun that ‘primitive’ lifestyle and get exposure to developed society. That they would learn and accustom themselves to these new changes, by conversion to Christianity and speaking of English or French. These students were thus discouraged from using their first language as a medium of communication, or practicing any traditions. The living conditions in these schools were substandard and students were subjected to constant bullying and sexual harassment. Children would stay away from their parents for more than 10 months, and correspondence from the children was done in English which their parents didn’t understand. When children finally would go home, they found it difficult to fit in and therefore became ashamed of their native heritage. Further, the education and training received was minimal meaning that they could not survive in an urban setting. Thus, the objectives of these programs meant devastation to these children. This resulted in opposition, demonstrations and formation of commission of inquiries that investigated the matter. This later culminated to government agreeing to abolish the system and compensate its victims in 2007, where $1.9 billion was initially set aside as compensation package. Community based intervention A case scenario is presented here below, that shows how a combination of the above stated problems resulted to an increase in alcohol consumption, which thus led to moral degradation of a community, and how the problem was eventually solved. Let’s consider a case study of the Alkali lake community story. According to the elders, there was no alcohol drinking before 1940 on the reserve. But â€Å"just before World War II, a general store and trading post was set up at Alkali Lake by a European immigrant to the area. The people brought their furs to the store and received cash or merchandise, such as food staples, in exchange† (The Alkali Lake Community Story, n.d). The traders then introduced alcohol to soften them during negotiations. Once it entered the community, there was gradually shift in the health of the people, as many fell sick. Other pressures started mounting also as a result of the residential school system that saw many children sent away from their homes. These children would grow far away from their parents and family lifestyle, forced to abandon their first language for English or French. They were also taught that they cultures were ‘primitive’ compared to those of the Europeans, and therefore they had no choice but to leave them. Their conversion to Christianity was also made mandatory against their spiritual believes. These led to the Alkali people believing that unless they are converted into white race, they were of no good to the society. These beliefs were demonstrated in every facet of life, even to their subconscious level. Another major blow of these residential schools was the introduction of massive bullying that often accompanied both physical and emotional torture, and the wide spread sexual abuse of the students. When these students later returned home after months of schooling to start their own lives, they could not fit in because they had not been taught their traditional family values and virtues, and because they themselves had not been parented, they found it hard to grasp the concept of parenting and family life in general. Hence these people were more vulnerable to over consumption of alcohol which they did without control, making them violent and committed to more crimes. In 1965-1985, life in this society was unbearable. It was the height of all negative impacts of life pressures coupled with overconsumption of alcohol. â€Å"As one prominent community member put, We had become what others called us: the Indians of Alcohol Lake. Most of the people were so immersed in this reality that they were unable to see any other possibility for themselves. As another young man put it, I thought that was how Indians lived (The Alkali Lake Community Story, n.d). Economically, all the money received from the government as social assistance, was wasted on alcohol, and hence stores selling alcohol made tremendous profits from this region. Illegal selling of alcohol was also wide spread. It was accessible to underage children so long as they had money. Despite their social degradation, these people were willing to stop alcohol consumption and begin a new life of prosperity. This, however did not happen until in 1972 when a new chief by the name of Andy Chelsea was elected. A story is told of Andy’s daughter, Ivy Chelsea who refused to live with her mother until she quit drinking. Her mother, on hearing that, promised to quit. She went back home and poured all liquor on the floor. Four days later, the father also quit, thus becoming the first two non-alcoholic drinkers in the Alkali community. The following seven years, other people also quit and joined Andy and his wife Phyllis, in an effort to bring some sanity within the community. The community desire to quit its consumption saw Andy elected as the chief of the Alkali community in 1972. Solution to alcohol problem: As a chief, Andy took various steps including; banning the sale of alcohol in the community. He then thus refused entry of the Dog Creek Stage who was the main distributor of alcohol in the community, bringing it three times a week. He ensured that the sale of alcohol to minors was stopped. He called the RCMP who used marked bills to track these sellers, and ensured that they were arrested and their businesses put out. He also oversaw their severe punishment, which acted as a warning to others who thought of venturing into similar business. A voucher system was introduced that saw people with drinking disorder not allowed carrying cash but, their money converted to vouchers that were exchanged for food and other basic needs in the stores. Those who were caught committing crimes, both violent and non-violent under the influence of alcohol were given choice to book treatment or face a jail term. Since many people feared imprisonment, they chose treatment. Andy also sort help from the church to help eradicate alcohol consumption by approaching a priest of the Catholic Church. As it turned out, the priest was also an alcohol addict, and was actively fanning opposition against the chief. In light of those revelations, he was expelled from the community. At first, these measures were met with extreme opposition coupled with great anger and hostility from many community members. But by 1975, 40% of the community’s population had been set free from alcohol consumption and by 1979, 98% of the Alkali people were clean and sober. Conclusion The combinations of excessive consumption alcohol and the unfair Acts, instituted by the government, contributed greatly to the social ills that afflicted the Aboriginal communities. But through strict discipline, as indicated in the case study, it was possible to overcome the alcohol consumption problem, and through revision of the Acts by the parliament, the Aboriginal livelihoods have since improved. 1 Merce Cunningham: Symbolism in Dance Merce Cunningham: Symbolism in Dance Merce Cunningham is one of the pioneers in the field of dance and choreography. He had been a mentor to most of the choreographers who have now become major names in modern times. In addition, there are certain body movements and symbolism in his dancing techniques that make him a distinctive pioneer in choreography; also, there are numerous choreographic pieces by Merce Cunningham that are still being imitated by many choreographers of our present time. Most importantly, I have analyzed the dancing techniques, music, costumes, and movements in certain dancing pieces by Merce Cunningham. The choreographic pieces that I have analyzed for this purpose are Changing Steps, Deli Commedia, and Beach Birds for Camera. The choreography piece Changing Steps profoundly reflects the true geometrical dancing manner of Merce Cunningham. As per my analysis, Merce Cunningham had made use of steps and body gestures in the form of dance to reflect movement. I observed that Merce Cunningham has been successful in highlighting that subtle and weightless footwork has been used to form the dancers movement. Moreover, when the dancers change their body gestures quickly, that left an impression of light weighted foot stepping. Additionally, I have also observed that in order to create extensions to the movements of the body, special focus has been made on certain movements, such as the physical contact among the dancers during the sequence (Merce Cunnigham Dance Company). In my view, the highlight of the dance sequence is that it is another successful collaboration of music and choreography by John Cage and Merce Cunningham respectively. The work done by the cooperation of both invites the spectators to experience something that has never been focused on before; which is the way the collaboration had presented joy and freedom through the context of the dancing steps of the dancers. I believe that the collaboration of John Cage and Cunningham is the success factor as the dancing language of Cunningham is independent, but somehow John Cages music is irreplaceable. I also think that John Cages music in the dancing piece works as a catalyst. In addition, I would also like to mention that the wider acclaim to the dance sequence Changing Steps is increased because of the three-dimensional gesture stepping. Three-dimensional gesture stepping means that three dancers collaborate and make body movements that together make up a three-dimensional posture (Copela nd). Furthermore, the costumes used in the choreography sequence have been designed by Mark Lancaster. The colors of the costumes are single toned and darker colors. The costumes in the three-dimensional stepping had been used in a way that two of the dancers wear the same colored costume while the third dancer wears another color (Merce Cunnigham Dance Company). My experience with the dance sequence Changing Steps has been full of delight. The dance sequence greatly reflects an entirely new idea and form of dance. The usage of the title perfectly suits the dancing sequence, and as viewed in the sequence, changing in steps has been quite swift, thus, the title also elaborates the same idea. Also, the flow of stepping in the dance sequence of Changing Steps is so powerful that the spectator would feel that he or she is actually dancing with the dancers. I observed that in the beginning of the dance sequence the choreography has been done in a way that makes a rectangular box and further forms a curved structure of stepping and to me, the setting appeared to be something that I did not expect in a dance. In addition, I think that the union of dancers after every three-dimensional stepping of feet appeared to be amazingly active and fresh. Moving on to another great piece by Merce Cunningham entitled Deli Commedia. Deli Commedia is another accurately choreographed piece that represents the legacy of his contributions to the dance. He contributed in the field of dance by introducing the concept of geometry in his dance sequences. For instance, I have observed the concepts of geometry when one dancer stood perpendicularly while other dancers made curves through molding their bodies into an arch-like structure. Moreover, the costumes which have been used in the dance sequence were rather colorful, which exactly matched the theme of the stage. The usage of colors such as blue, yellow, green, magenta etc. is catchy which creates a distinction every time a new fragmentation is made while dancing. Deli Commedia reflects the collaboration of the musician, John Cage as the music played during the sequence holds beats in a synthesized manner (Ib50ib50 Channel). Deli Commedia managed to impress me as the dance sequence was filled with fragmentation and quick body movements, and I also liked the colorful costumes of the dancers which made use of the stage distinctively. Last but not least, the choreography sequence of Beach Birds for Camera illustrates the movement of coastal areas. The inspiration that I got from such a dance piece is freedom because the stepping of the feet and hand gestures are more bird-like movements. Birds usually symbolize freedom and the basic intrigue that one would get by applying the dancing gestures as in Beach Birds for Camera explains the Eastern dance themes. I also noticed that the theme of Eastern dance is evident from Cunninghams dance sequence because Eastern dancers perform in a way that is apparently similar to that of dancers of Beach Birds. Most of the Eastern dances are especially choreographed in outdoor locations reflecting nature (Copeland). The idea of stepping that illustrates the scenario of beach birds gives a joyful awakening in the field of the dance. Beach Birds for Camera is another victorious teamwork between Merce Cunningham and John Cage. According to my perspective, the music and choreography h ad complimented the theme of the ocean as the dancers use fragments imitating the effect of water, also the music of the dance sequence sounds like rain drops, or drops of water (Ib50ib50 Channel). If I compare Beach Birds for Camera and other dance sequences by Merce Cunningham, I have observed here that the fragmentation is used lesser in this sequence, and the layering of the body gestures is most prominent, which is something that I have liked, and what I mean about the layering of the body gestures is in terms of the postures the dancers take where they come in contact with other dancers through leg touch, or back touch. Also, the change in directions is more obvious than in any other dance sequence making the spectators navigate towards the dancing steps more (Merce Cunningham Dance). Moreover, the costumes designed by Marsha Skinner are according to the theme of the dance sequence. The costumes are especially made black and white in order to reflect the color of coastal birds; also, the use of black and white enhances the body gestures used in the fragmentation manner (Daly). I believe that costumes greatly suited the main theme of the dance sequence. Through my analysis of the three dance sequences by the collaboration of Merce Cunningham, the choreographer, and John Cage, the musician, it comes to my understanding that the field of dance had been made wide because of the legendary collaboration. In addition, being a spectator of such dance sequences helped me observe the development that has taken place in terms of the dance. I would also say that the development which had taken place in dancing by the advent of geometrical dance sequences by Merce Cunningham in 1956; also, making Merce Cunningham a legendary figure in making use of fragmentation, body gestures in a layering manner, and foot stepping. Overall, my experience of watching dance sequence by Merce Cunningham was joyful and thoroughly entertaining.

Astrology :: essays research papers

Have you ever wondered what astrology is? Astrology has been around for many years, but many people don’t understand what astrology is, who used astrology, and it’s connection with the zodiac. Many people don’t know this, but the actual term astrology comes from two words, which are â€Å"astra† and â€Å"logos†. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) When people believe in astrology, what they believe is that the planets and stars directly or indirectly influence their lives and determine what happens to them in life. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) The stars are said to show guidance and meaning for the lives of people. (Woolfolk, p.297) Most people think that astrology is a recently thought up science, but it has actually been around for many generations. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.1) The actual science of astrology can be dated to about six thousand or so years before the birth of Christ! (Woolfolk, p.297) The oldest astrology chart dates back to 4,200 BC (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) At this time, astrology and religion went hand in hand with each other. (Woolfolk, p.297) Most astrologers were priests. (Woolfolk, p.297) Many people looked up to these astrologers as â€Å"taught men†. (www.astrology.net/about.html) Astrology has had its ups and downs through history, but it always maintained that station of being. (www.astrologers.com/history.html# Relevant, p.1) After some aspects of religion became prevalent, astrology became known as the â€Å"work of the devil†. (Weblinker.com Enterprises, p.1) During the Renaissance, though, astrology became more liked than before. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) Even religious leaders began to practice astrology more often. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) People of the royal families had their own astrologers. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) That is how worldwide astrology was. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) Modern day astrology is meant to be a philosophy to put into detail different aspects of life instead of predicting the future. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.2) Astrology has been the stuff that has brought people together. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.2) It explains the power that people contain in their lives. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.2) Of course, there are many different aspects or branches of astrology. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.3) Some are medical, business, stock market, weather, mundane, electrical, horary, and natal. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.3) They are practiced for health, financial, politics, marriage, business, and other things that concern people in their lives. (www.astrology.net/about.html, p.3) As a matter of fact, even Hitler used an astrologer during World War II. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) One of the astrologers said that he should seek peace, and Hitler became mad at the astrologer and burned him and all astrology books.