Did Women Gain from the Revolution

Women’s place before and after the revolution was no different. They were regarded not as masters of the house nor the maternal backbones of great men, but they were almost possessions of husbands, property no more or less valuable than slaves. According to Forrest McDonald, the generation after the Revolution saw the first gains for American women, but those who lived through it saw no significant improvements in their lifetime.His argument relies on the words used during the construction of the new government as being masculine words such as â€Å"Republic† which formal definitions of at that time excluded slaves, non-property holders, children, and women. Men at the time of the Revolution, asserts McDonald, subscribed to a theory by a popular political theorist of the seventeenth-century, who claimed that men should cultivate their land, as well as their homes. This notion disagrees with some of the arguments that Elizabeth Fox-Genovese put forth, that women took car e of the home and family and men took an active role in the public sphere.Fox-Genovese believes that women had established a different perspective of themselves after the war, that they were seen less dangerous or deviant and more as mothers of patriots and respected for the work they put in raising the children and taking care of the household while the men fought the war. While this may or may not be true, judging how mass social perspectives change in this case is not easy. For example it is much easier and reliable if today we wanted to see how peoples perspective on the role of women in the workforce has changed.We could look up Gallup polls conducted over the past fifty or more years and be able to see a definite concrete assessment of how people’s opinion over the years has changed. Today women are interchangeable in almost every profession that men occupy, but in the 1950s and early 60s a good majority of the American population still believed that women’s plac e was in the home. But in the 18th century they did not conduct Gallup polls, and to assert that men’s perception of women changed in any significant way is going far out on a limb.Women could have gained more respect after the revolution, but was it necessarily a result of the revolution, or perhaps they just riding a wave of social enlightenment that was happening all over the world at this time, not just in the Americas. This may have indeed been the case, also one must ask was anything significantly gained for women during the revolution that has some concreteness, something written in law or legislature. Maybe it would be correct to say women gained from the revolution if there was something written in for women in the Constitution.The fact of the matter is women before the revolution had no rights, and the new â€Å"free† republic formed after the revolution still had no formal clause granting women citizenship, or any guarantees to the rights protected by the Co nstitution. The Revolution itself did little for women, it was a war fought by men for men who believed in an ideology that was constructed by men. At the time of the revolution there were no factories, or large manufacturing plants in cities where large numbers of people could be employed.This was a characteristic of the Industrial Revolution, which started more than half a century after the Constitution was written. The Industrial Revolution also saw large exoduses of people from the farms to large cities, where the factories were located. But during the revolution, the majority of the population lived far away from cities. They lived off the land they cultivated by hand and sweat. They were farmers. They owned their land and profited from the things they made or grew or raised.This meant that going to work was as simple as going out the front door on to the large corn-field to plow. The men were always home, so there was not a need for women to take a dominant role in taking care of the day to day duties of the home. If the man viewed himself as the head of his family, then there was no need to make women in charge of the home because he should already be in charge of the home himself, with the children and wife subjugated below him. The man at this time raised his children, controlled his wife, and basically was the dominant figure in the household.It is noted by Fox-Genovese that Abgail Adams, Sam Adams’ wife wrote to her husband and asked him to â€Å"remember the ladies. † But that is not all she wrote, she also warned in that same letter that arrived to her husband during the construction of the Constitution at the Continental Congress, â€Å"If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies, we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice or Representation. Even with this message in mind, Sam Adams did not fight hard enough for his wife in order for there to be an y rights or priveledges guaranteed for women in the Constitution. I think that it is important to note that, because the threat that the wife posed was not strong enough there was nothing done for women in the Constitution. It was not strong enough because at the time women could not strike, for what would they stop doing?At that time they were not the sole responsibility of taking care of the house, nor did they work for one particular industry at all. Women at the time were not much better off than slaves, often uneducated and unable to perform any time of skill that would get them employed. They were basically just there to bear children and help their husbands. And unfortunately that would remain the case for years to come.

Minor Assignment Marketing Mix Essay

Introduction This report has been compiled in order to describe the four most common elements of the marketing mix which are described by Elliot, Rundle-Thiele and Waller (2010 p.18-21) in the following few sentences. * Product – â€Å"A good, service or idea offered to the market for exchange.† (p.18) * Price – â€Å"The amount of money a business demands in exchange for its offerings.† (p.20) * Promotion – â€Å"The marketing activities that make potential customers, partners and society aware of and attracted to the business’s offerings.† (p.20) * Place (Distribution) – â€Å"The means of making the offering available to the customer at the right time and place† (p.21) In conjunction with these descriptions, all four marketing mix elements will be analysed and shown how they can be applied to retail petrol outlets and the products which are made available to customers. The Marketing Mix Elliot et. al describe the marketing mix as â€Å"the different elements that marketers need to consider.† (2010 p. 18) When using the marketing mix to market retail petrol outlets such as Caltex Woolworths or Coles Express, marketers need to consider the Product, Price, Promotion and Distribution (Place) of not only petrol, but many other consumer and specialty products which retail petrol outlets offer. Product It can be seen in retail petrol stations that other than the expected fuels like unleaded and diesel which are generally relatively low in terms of their profit margin, â€Å"some oil firms claim that supermarkets sell petrol at a loss in order to attract customers.† (The Economist, 1996 p.58) Other products are required in order to boost profits for the retail petrol chains’ owner. These other products are mostly the convenience type and can range from the daily newspaper and chewing gum, to a bottle of orange juice or a loaf of bread. There are three categories of convenience products outlined by Elliot et al. which are all found in retail petrol outlets and include staple products, impulse products and emergency products. (2010 p. 207) * Staple products – These are considered to be everyday grocery products like bread and milk, purchased regularly by consumers and therefore aren’t heavily promoted * Impulse products – These are considered to be only purchased when seen, like confectionary or magazines which are eye catching and are usually found around the cash register. * Emergency products – These are considered to be those products which are only purchased when really needed, like a raincoat or an umbrella. Although there are a lot of products sold by retail petrol outlets like Caltex Woolworths and Coles Express, the obvious product centred on all retail petrol outlets is the fuel supplied to consumers. The varieties of fuels which can be purchased can include: * E10 – 10% Ethanol. * E85 – 85% Ethanol. * E95 – 95% Ethanol. * Unleaded – Standard fuel. * Hi Octane – Offered for high performance vehicles. * LPG – Alternative to liquid fuel, a Gas product. * Diesel – More efficient lower sulphur producing by product. There is a vast selection of fuels for consumers to choose from and although the blends of fuels stay similar, the names and descriptions of these fuels tend to change from outlet to outlet. For example, when you drive into a Caltex Woolworths you are confronted with the choice of â€Å"Caltex Vortex 95 or 98,† both are hi octane blends offered to a prospective purchaser. (Woolworths fuels, Website.) Price When dealing with topic of pricing in retail petrol stores, the outcome of the price has to be both beneficial to the seller, and seen as a good deal to the buyer, otherwise no trades will take place. As stated previously, petrol itself tends to have a lower margin for profit which means the strategic pricing of other products in-store needs to be addressed as well as ensuring that the price of petrol is not seen as out of balance with other suppliers. There is an obvious demand for petrol, as almost everyone who is able, drives or rides a vehicle which requires fuel to run. So it could be argued that retail petrol stations don’t necessarily set their own prices, but go off supplier guidelines which base their fuel pricing strategy on demand, â€Å"Demand based pricing sets prices according to the level of aggregate or individual customer demand in the market.† (Elliott et al. 2010 p. 250) Elliott et al. also continue to write that both Caltex Woolworths and Coles Express hold more than 60% of the Australian fuel market share (2010 p.268) so high demand from their suppliers will enable them to lower their fuel prices and therefore gain more customers, earning higher profits. Pricing of other products offered by retail petrol outlets such as bread or milk tend to have the opportunity to be competitive and more fairly priced than a standard petrol station, the major grocery companies behind retail petrol outlets like Woolworths and Coles focus on gaining more ground off one and other, price drops are reflected in store and this also proves more profitable, because consumers are drawn into purchasing something they wouldn’t normally associate with their petrol. Promotion An important aspect in the success of retail petrol outlets is in their promotion, or the way in which their fuels and other products are portrayed to potential customers. There are many numbers of ways in which retail petrol outlets use promotional tools to make the public more aware of what their outlet has to offer. Using the Coles Express website for example, it can be seen that promotion plays a major role in the marketing of retail petrol outlets, on the homepage can be found five key promotional campaigns designed to catch the eye of potential customers. The opportunity to win â€Å"the ultimate weekend Ferrari drive experience† or â€Å"two Cadbury chocolate bars for four dollars† (Coles Express, website) are two examples of how Coles Express use promotion as a tool to gain the interest of potential customers. The use of shopper dockets and rewards cards are also a major way in which retail petrol outlets have promoted themselves, using incentives of cheaper fuel by spending amounts of money in store or purchasing earlier in their supermarkets and bringing the docket to the petrol station in order to gain the fuel discount. In the recent past, retail petrol outlets have encouraged shoppers to buy big in store in order to earn big discounts off fuel â€Å"motorists who spend more than $300 during one supermarket visit during the next three days receive a 40 cent per litre petrol discount. Shoppers who spend more than $200 or more receive a 25 cent a litre discount, while those who spend $100 or more get a 10 cent a litre discount.† (Cranston 2009) Woolworths have the â€Å"Everyday Rewards† program, and Coles have the â€Å"Fly buys† rewards program. Both these programs offer rewards point in exchange for purchases made in their outlets. Another way in which retail petrol outlets can promote their product is through sponsorship, Coles Express for example are sponsoring Daffodil day, a program not normally associated with fuel but this can help to grow an organisations image, by supporting such a worthy cause, Coles express may gain respect from the community and in turn boost their profits. Place (Distribution) The transportation and distribution of products including fuel to retail petrol outlets operates under the marketing mix category of â€Å"Place.† â€Å"The science (or art) of ensuring products are in the right place at the right time in the right quantity is known as logistics and the various partners that contribute to the process make up is called the supply chain.† (Elliot et al. 2010 p.21) Retail petrol outlets operate somewhat differently to conventional service stations, the retail petrol outlets are often situated near to a parent supermarket company (in the same complex) which makes supply of products other than fuel relatively easy as the distance for stock to travel is minimal. When looking at the fuel aspect, it can be seen that the logistics tend to become a lot more involved and a more defined supply chain emerges. * First fuel is sourced from their respective supplier (Caltex or Shell) on a relatively routine basis, as fuel is a required product for most of the community. * The fuel is then transported by truck from oil refineries which are based in more coastal areas (Caltex oil refinery in Kurnell NSW) which makes it easier to transfer oil from overseas oil barges when new shipments arrive. * When the trucks reach the retail petrol outlet the fuel is then pumped into underground holding tanks, where the fuel can now be distributed to the customer via the petrol pump and now exchange of fuels can be made for a profit. Conclusion This report was compiled in order to describe the four elements of the marketing mix: * Product * Price * Promotion * Place (distribution) The descriptions of these marketing mix elements were also shown in application; how they are applied when breaking down the four aspects in relation to retail petrol outlets. Focusing on the Caltex Woolworths and Coles Express partnerships it was able to be shown how the marketing mix elements are applied. Products have been broken down into specific fuels and other items which are available to potential customers, these products have also been categorised as either: Staple, Impulse or Emergency. Price has been shown to be of vital importance, and the outcome of the price has to be both beneficial to the seller, and seen as a good deal to the buyer. Promotion has also proven to be of high importance to the overall marketing of retail petrol outlets, the use of shopper dockets for discounts, and sponsorship for awareness and image are important promotional tools outlined above. Place (Distribution) outlines the logistics and supply chain which is in place for retail petrol outlets to gain their product in order to forward it onto the paying public to gain an overall profit. All four of these marketing mix elements play their own equally pivotal role in ensuring the successful operation of retail petrol outlets. References Coles Express website www.colesexpress.com.au Cranston, B. (2009) NSW: ACCC investigating supermarket petrol promotion. AAP Australian National News wire Elliott, G. Rundle-Thiele, S. & Waller, D. (2010) Marketing. Pump Action, The Economist. (1996) Vol. 338 Issue 7950, page 58 Woolworths petrol website www.woolworthspetrol.com.au

Angina Pectoris Care Plan

Care Plan For Angina Pectoris Angina Pectoris Chief Complaint: Patient complains of having tightness and pain in his chest that seems to move down the left arm. Patient describes the pain as being sharp and can be sometimes a mild pain or an immobilizing pain. Medical Diagnosis: Coronary Artery Disease Pathophysiology of: Angina Pectoris Angina Pectoris develops when coronary blood flow becomes inadequate to meet myocardial oxygen demand. This causes myocardial cells to switch from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism, with a progressive impairment of metabolic, mechanical, and electrical functions. Angina pectoris is the most common clinical manifestation of myocardial ischemia. It is caused by chemical and mechanical stimulation of sensory afferent nerve endings in the coronary vessels and myocardium. These nerve fibers extend from the first to fourth thoracic spinal nerves, ascending via the spinal cord to the thalamus, and from there to the cerebral cortex. (http:// emedicine. medscape. com/article/15021 5-overview, 6/1 5/10 12:30 pm) Medical Interventions: Diagnostic Tests: 1. Coronary intravascular ultrasonography A coronary intravascular ultasonography is an invasive ultrasound performed rom a transducer within the lumen of the coronary arteries. (Laboratory test and diagnostic procedures, By: Cynthia Chernicky, 5th Edition 2008). Electrocardiography is a noninvasive acoustic imaging procedure that determines the size, shape, position, thickness and movements of the heart valves, walls, and chambers during each cardiac cycle. (Laboratory test and diagnostic procedures, By: Cynthia Chernicky, 5th Edition 2008). Lipid Profile; Blood 3. Lipid profile; blood is a test to check the units of each of the following: Total lipids, A. Triglycerides B. HDL Cholesterol C. LDL Cholesterol D. E. Total HDL Cholesterol ratio. 4. Stress Exercise Test Stress exercise test measures the efficiency of the heart during a period of physical stress on a treadmill or on a stationary bicycle. Medications: 1. Nitroglycerin Tablets: Classification: Vasodilator, antihypertensive. Action: Reduces preload and afterload, decreasing myocardial workload and oxygen demand. Uses: To prevent or treat angina pectoris, hypertension, and heart failure. Contraindications: Acute Myocardial Infarction, angle- closure glaucoma, cerebral hemorrhage, concurrent use of phosphodiesterase inhibitors, constrictive ericarditis. Route and Dosage: Adults: PO 1 mg. tablet every 5 hours while awake. (Buccal) 0. 1 To 0. 8 mg. hr. worn 12 to 14 hours at a time. (Transdermal Patch) Adverse Reactions: Some side effects of this drug that should be reported to a healthcare provider if they become severe are as follows: headaches dizziness flushing lightheadedness reported to a healthcare provider immediately. The adverse effects of nitroglycerin are: Nausea vomiting Weakness blurred vision fainting spell abdominal pain sweating chest pain pale skin rashes Ђ peeling of the skin blisters on the skin hives itching difficulty breathing Surgery: 1 Transluminal coronary angioplasty Your hearts arteries can become clogged from a buildup of cholesterol, cells or other substances. This can reduce blood flow to your heart and cause chest discomfort. Sometimes a blood clot can suddenly form or get worse and completely block blood flow, leading to a heart attack. Angioplasty opens blocked arteries and restores normal blood flow to your heart muscle. Angioplasty, a type of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is not major surgery. It is done through a small puncture in a leg or arm artery and opens a clogged heart artery by inflating a tiny balloon in it. Assessment: Subjective: Patient is a 68 year old male with a history of coronary artery disease, and hypertension. Vital Signs as follows: -r: 986 R: 25 p: 102 Objective: Patient seemed to be crying and in severe pain. Skin was flushed, and clammy. Right hand was over left shoulder as if he were trying to relieve the pressure of the pain. Nursing Diagnosis: 1 Physical: 1. Acute pain related to decreased oxygen supply to the myocardium. Nursing Intervention: . Patient will remain on oxygen as ordered for the next 12 hours. 2. Give Nitroglycerin Tablets sublingually every 5 minutes for the next 1 5 minutes. . Patient will sleep for at least 30 minutes every 2 hours for the next 8 hour shift. Nursing Evaluation/Outcome: 1. Patient was able to be taken off of oxygen after the first 12 hours. 2. Patients pain had stopped after 1 5 minutes of administration of the nitroglycerin tablets. 3. Patient was able to sleep for 30 minutes every 2 hours with no interruptions in the last 8 hour shift. Nursing Diagnosis: 2 Psychosocial: 1. Anxiety related to change in lifestyle. Nursing Interventions: 1. Patient will be informed of the importance of taking the nitroglycerin at first sign of pain within an 8 hour shift. 2. Patient will learn how to decrease personal activities within 30 days. 3. Patient will Join a stress management course within the next month. 1. Patient was able to better understand the use of the nitroglycerin tablets after an 8 hour shift. 2. Patient was able to decrease physical activities in the last 30 days. 3. Patient was able to Join a stress management course in last month. Potential/ Risk: 1. Deflecient Knowledge related to coronary artery disease. . Patient will learn the causes of angina pectoris within an 8 hour shift. 2. Patient will learn the importance of side effects to medications within 8 hours. 3. Patient will make sure to get all information of medications before leaving the hospital. 1. Patient was better able to understand what caused the angina pectori by the time he left the hospital. References 1. Laboratory test and diagnostic procedures, By: Cynthia Chernicky, 5th Edition 2008. 2. http://emedicine. medscape. com/article/1 5021 5-overview, 6/1 5/10 12:30 pm

Impact of adopting information system management in Lagos state local Dissertation

Impact of adopting information system management in Lagos state local governments - Dissertation Example DECLARATION I hereby certify that this dissertation constitutes my own product, that where the language of others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate credit is given where I have used the language, ideas, expressions, or writings of another. I declare that the dissertation describes original work that has not previously been presented for the award of any other degree of any institution. Signed, Charles Adeshina â€Å"This dissertation contains material that is confidential and/or commercially sensitive. It is included here on the understanding that this will not be revealed to any person not involved in the assessment process.† ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the employees of the local government of Ifako Ijaiye for their gracious hospitality that enabled me to gain insight of their challenges both formally and informally if an information management system has been pursued. Their candid statements and disclosures made me appreciate the importance of the other factors in the success of an information management system. I also wish to acknowledge the help and assistance of Mr Dapo Okeniran, Head of the Information Office for Ifako Ijaiye local government whose valuable insights made me realize the rationale for the challenges. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES vii Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Chapter 2. Background and review of literature 5 Chapter 3. Theory 8 3.1.1 Project Planning 10 3.1.2 System Analysis and Design 13 3.1.3 System Design and Coding 15 3.1.4 Implementation and Roll Out 15 3.1.5 Acceptance and Full Deployment 17 3.1.6 Maintenance and Operation 17 3.1.7 Benefits 18 3.1.8 Challenges 20 3.2 Other Impacts 22 3.2.1 Anticipation 22 3.2.2 Failure 22... An information system management system shall also include the digitization of the documents generated over the years from the various local government units operations. And to be truly paperless, the ISM in fact includes an email system that would enable the various departments of the local government units to communicate with each other. The three systems is a start that will make the operation of the local government of Ifako Ijaiye truly paperless. Further along, to provide Ifako Ijaye with a good decision support system an Enterprise Resource Management system with a financial system module capable of handling government accounting can also be installed and used to manage its finances for a more transparent operation. The impact to the organization comes in several different ways as well. The psychological impact; pertains to the effects on the confidence, motivation and the dynamics or the relationship of each personnel in the organization with each other. Efficiency impact the process flow itself and the performance of the organization including its service level. Cost impacts the operating expenses related in the mainte-nance of the Information System Management.

Voice Command Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Voice Command Technology - Essay Example Once the software is correctly set up, it should be able to recognize approximately 95% of the speaker’s utterances when spoken clearly. The software has been subject to develop for the purpose of providing a faster method of writing to the electronic device and also be able to help people having various disabilities. The technology is similarly useful to those people having physical disabilities but often find typing to be difficult, painful, or impossible. The same technology may also be helpful to those people having spelling difficulties since the recognised words are easy to spell out correctly (McGee, 2004). Engineers have been working on the voice command technology for over 40 years now. Scientists believe that around 90 percent of the face-to-face communication consists of body language (Gardner-Bonneau & Blanchard, 2008). One can only realize on this when speaking or emailing a message. The same concept explains why the cell phone was subject to invent and the protocol of telephone voice adopted. Through the vast increase in the computing power, backed up with relatively growth in the mobile communication technologies, more renewed interests into voice and speech recognition technology have occurred. Having all these reasons in mind, voice command technology has been gaining availability over years. Through its growing use, voice command technology is difficult to use in environments that require maximum silence. For example, it is difficult to use in classroom settings because of the noise interference that it will cause. Looking at the future of technology in society and individual capacities, voice recognition technology will be able to revolutionise on the manner of which people will be conducting their activities and businesses.

Globalization and International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Globalization and International Relations - Essay Example As a result of globalization, nations could improve their political as well technological relations globally. This paper will analyze globalization and its impacts on international relations. The concept of global economy came into existence with the emergence of globalization. This process notably assisted different segments of the international market. Globalization has significantly contributed to the creation of a global market and a global system of production. Capital marketers also enjoy the benefits of globalization as it has contributed to the integration of financial systems. This concept aided financial organizations like International Monetary Fund to disseminate â€Å"a particular view of the state’s role within the international economy† (Robinson, 2006). In addition, globalization enhanced the development of telecommunications media which in turn fastened the spread of global mass culture. And the key production factors such as capital and labor became globally mobile. Globalization eliminated international trade barriers and thus promoted international relations once this concept weakened the ability of nations to control transnational operations and economic activities. Companies transplanted their production facilities to other countries where costs are comparatively lower. Before the emergence of globalization, developing and underdeveloped countries had little access to developed markets and improved technology. However, since globalization, the global economic environment has undergone tremendous changes. According to Devetak and Hughes (2008, p. 34), globalization connects nations through a global network, and it assists a nation to get access to foreign markets and customers. Since the nations got ranges of benefits from globalization, governments adopted a liberal approach towards international trade.

Silverstone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Silverstone - Essay Example be required in the circuit in the near future, or some variable that the company may need to keep under consideration while taking strategic decisions. In order to evaluate the business environment, tools such as PESTEL and SWOT have been used. SWOT analyses internal environment as well as the external environment of the entity, whereas PESTEL is thorough external environmental analysis. Silverstone enjoys amazing brand equity and can easily attract sponsorships from people whenever an event is taking place there. Their biggest strength, the brand equity should be capitalized for further expansion plans and channelizing it towards catering to weaknesses. The biggest weakness is the fact that they are not allowed to increase their ticket price (Wadham, 2010); while pivoting through brand equity and the services Silverstone has been providing, they can increase the price marginally to reap greater profits. Also, such a successful organization needs to develop an organizational structure to increase responsibility and accountability. There is no presence of an organizational structure that may hamper its pace towards success (Silverst one, 2010). The biggest opportunity that Silverstone is already working on is to provide the extended accommodation to people who want to have an extended stay at the track. This along with their extended marketing plans to reach out to women should help them gain a competitive advantage in their favour. In today’s market, it is very important to gain advantage and increase market share; Silverstone is on the right track to get a better market share. Silverstone should focus on marketing the brand name and not serve as a host, as it will diminish brand recognition of the customers (Silverstone, 2010). Further analyzing the external environment through PESTEL, one realizes that one of the biggest issues that Silverstone faces is political. Silverstone may feel political pressure in the future to vacate the land as it does not bring in

Great Depression in West Chester, PA Research Paper

Great Depression in West Chester, PA - Research Paper Example West Chester, PA1 is the village which had been ravaged by the Great Depression. The Great Depression took place in October 1929. The depression was triggered by the stock market crash. The crash was the offshoot of the social protest movements. The people had a growing sense that the government should step into the economic debacle. The people wanted the government, especially in Chicago, to directly give a positive impact on the ordinary citizen’s lives. The hardest hit community was Chicago. More than 50 percent of the 1929 Chicago factory workers had been retrenched due to the onslaught of the Great Depression. Chicago imposed taxes on its residents in 1928. In response, the citizens staged a strike. The strikes forced the Chicago government into bankruptcy because it could not collect the taxes needed to pay the government’s daily operating expenses that include government employee payroll. The 1929 Great Depression2 did not significantly reduce customer revenue in West Chester, P.A. On the other hand, the sales of movie theatre tickets increased during the difficult years. The West Chester movie scene indicates a stark difference between from the movie theaters in other parts of the United States. Specifically, the movie sales of theaters in other parts had declined to unprecedented levels. The secret of West Chester’s movie theater revenue increase is innovation. ... On the other hand, most of the movie theaters in many parts of the United States did not include a sound system. The movies were soundless. Popular movies during the soundless movie era included the many movies of Charlie Chaplin, a comedian. In terms of the movie theater industry, West Chester, PA profitably continued its sound-engineered movie theater programs. In addition, Robert Himmelberg (3) emphasized â€Å"unforeseen and unexpected, inexplicable and inexorable, the Great Depression was a traumatic experience for many of the men and women of the 1930s and exercised a profound influence on the generation that lived through it. In its duration and magnitude, it was infinitely more severe than any other episode of â€Å"hard times† in American national life and was unquestionably the dominant force molding the nation’s history during the long decade reaching from mid-1929 through 1940†. The Great Depression had established great hardship and economic difficul ties to a majority of the Americans, especially in West Chester. The 1929 Great Depression also produced a political and social environment that was ripe for a major negative transformation rippling across the entire range of economic, political, and social institutions and policies of the United States government. The 1929 Great Depression had created a strong impact on people’s everyday lives, especially in West Chester, PA. Many had suffered from economic hardship and insecurity. The majority of Americans escaped actual retrenchment from their current jobs or disappearance of their farm or home. However, the people’s faces shaped by the 1929 Great Depression in a significantly unfavorable manner because they had lived in an insurmountable fear that the 1929 Great Depression can easily swallow

Progressive Islam and Environmental Research Paper

Progressive Islam and Environmental - Research Paper Example Any change in Islamic region has often been resisted because it was seen as bringing about western values into the religion. However, with globalization there is need for inter-religious interaction. This necessitates for religions being more accommodative to other religions. This is why many organizations have come about to bring about progress in Islam. This is aimed at making the religion more flexible and only to be based on Islam values and not on strict and rigid rules. This paper discusses the progressive Islam and the environment in which it operates. It is first important to look at the history of Islam in order to discover the need for progressive Islam. By the end of the section you will discover that Islam in itself was not such a strict and rigid religion. The pre-Islamic Arab society was made up of unbelievers. There was need for change at social and political and moral and spiritual level. The need for change at moral and spiritual level met greater resistance than nee d for change at social and political level. This is because the Meccan Society was spiritually and morally stagnant. The spiritual and moral values kept going down. The tribes in the society carried out trade, which brought profits and great wealth. The wealth was concentrated in the few which led them to neglect others. There were all sorts of Idol worship and superstitions in the society. This sort of spiritual degradation was common among the Meccan Arabs. Their customs and traditions became an obstacle to change. Examples of this included burying girl child alive, maltreatment of women and sexual immorality. During this time there were no teachings or writings that could guide the society. The society worshipped the ancestors. There was great religious vacuum in the society. The religion that was around the Arabs was Christianity which they were unwilling to accept because it was associated with Roman dictatorship, which they were against. They argued that accepting Christianity was like losing their independence. The gap between the rich and the poor began causing tensions among the Meccan society. This led to the rise of Qur’an teachings. The teachings responded to these tensions by stressing on knowledge, justice by redistributing wealth in the society and spiritual and moral uplift. This was to solve most of the problems in the Meccan Society. As it can be seen, Islam arose not only as a movement for change but also as a moral and spiritual force. Its insistence on knowledge, social justice, spiritual and moral justice makes the religion inherently progressive. Islam taken from its origin does not need advocating for progressiveness. It responded to moral spiritual and social needs of all. The Qur’an teachings are sympathetic to the weak in the society and gives equal rights to women as men in the society. The Qur’an gives out the rights of women in marriage and inheritance of property and states that women should be given equal di gnity. For this religion to be progressive it must accept the gender equality. The progressive aspects of Islam were lost. The pre-Islamic traditions were not abandoned even after embracing Islam. The poor attitude towards women remained. The people even attempted to interpret the Qur’an together with their traditional believes. This led them to develop their own rules alongside the Qur’an. These laws were known as Sheri’ah. Some of these laws went against the teachings of Qur’an. Take for example allowing triple divorce which was a condemned

Financial audit Essay Example for Free

Financial audit Essay Generally, ethics refer to moral principles and values. Random House Webster’s College Dictionary notes that ethics are â€Å"the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or governing a particular group, culture, etc. † An individuals ethics generally define what that individual believes to be right and wrong. Professional ethics are typically expressed by a code of conduct adopted by an organization that represents a profession. Professions adopt such codes to encourage moral conduct among their members. Following is a list of the individuals involved in the AMRE case: Robert Levin, Chief Operating Officer Dennie Brown, Chief Accounting Officer Walter Richardson, Vice President of Data Processing Steven Bedowitz, Chief Executive Officer Mac Martirossian, Chief Financial Officer Edward Smith, audit engagement partner Joel Reed, senior audit manager My experience has been that students differ markedly in their assessments of the ethics of these individuals. In particular, students generally have difficulty arriving at a consensus assessment of Martirossian’s conduct in this case. I believe that the lively debate typically produced by this exercise is healthy for students since such debates allow them to begin developing or fleshing out their attitudes regarding important ethical issues and concepts. 2. The executives involved in the AMRE fraud agreed in a consent order to refrain from violating federal securities laws in the future. In addition, Robert Levin and Dennie Brown forfeited funds they realized from sales of AMRE stock during the fraud. Levin also paid $1. 8 million to the federal government, including a $500,000 fine for insider trading. Finally, Levin and Steven Bedowitz contributed approximately $9 million to a settlement pool to resolve a large class-action lawsuit. Most students conclude that the AMRE executives who participated in the fraud were appropriately punished. Their actions were motivated by greed and self-interest and they paid a heavy price for their indiscretions. The two auditors involved in this case, Edward Smith and Joel Reed, were prohibited from being assigned to audits of SEC registrants for nine months. Again, students typically find that this punishment was appropriate given the apparent mistakes made during the AMRE audits. These mistakes included failing to adequately test the computerized lead bank, allowing AMRE personnel to observe certain inventory sites, accepting client explanations without applying sufficient audit procedures, and failing to require the client to disclose large and suspicious period-ending accounting adjustments in the financial statements. The SEC issued a separate enforcement release criticizing Martirossian for his failure to take appropriate measures upon learning about the fraud. Students frequently disagree with the SEC’s criticism of Martirossian. Many of them view him as an ethical person who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is important to point out to students that it is not unusual for accountants to find themselves in these types of ethical dilemmas. Martirossian’s experience provides an excellent example of the potential consequences an accountant may face if he or she violates the Code of Professional Conduct. 3. Among the alternative courses of action available to Martirossian were the following: a. Aid in the cover up of the fraud. b. Demand that the executives involved disclose the fraud to the auditors. If they refused to comply, report the fraud to the SEC. c. Report the fraud to the auditors and to the Board of Directors immediately. d. Secretly report the fraud to the auditors. e. Resign his position with AMRE, Inc. Probably the best course of action for Martirossian would have been to demand that the executives disclose the fraud to the auditors. If they refused, Martirossian should have considered disclosing the fraud directly to the SEC. This action would have resulted in Martirossian upholding his professional responsibilities as a CPA. Although he may have lost his job, he would have avoided being sanctioned by the SEC. Most important, this course of action would have prevented innocent parties, such as potential AMRE investors and creditors, from being harmed by the fraudulent scheme. 4. The relevant accounting concept in this context was the matching principle. The matching principle requires that expenses be matched with the revenues they produce. A cost can be deferredtreated as an assetwhen it is expected that the cost will produce future economic benefits (generally, revenue). It seems reasonable that a portion of AMRE’s advertising costs benefited future periods and, thus, could be appropriately deferred. Nevertheless, AMRE’s policy of deferring all of the advertising costs related to unset leads was very aggressive and probably resulted in the booking of assets that would provide no future benefits for the company. 5. Listed next are key audit risk factors that were present during the 1988 and 1989 AMRE audits. a. AMREs management had a strong incentive and desire to maintain the companys stock price at a high level. b. AMRE’s unset leads increased dramatically during 1988. c. The company’s inventory also increased significantly during 1988 and increased much more rapidly than the company’s sales. d. The efforts of AMRE’s executives to influence important audit planning decisions should have been of concern to the auditors. e. The percentage-of-completion accounting method was an unusual method to apply to AMRE’s installation jobs since those jobs typically required only four to ten days to complete. f. AMRE had several large and unusual fourth-quarter adjusting entries in 1989. . Martirossian’s secret meeting with the AMRE auditors should have caused them to question the integrity of the client’s financial statements. When taken together, these items suggest that the overall audit risk for the AMRE audits was relatively high. Most of these risk factors were discovered by Price Waterhouse or were apparent to the audit firm. For example, the audit planning memo for the 1988 audit identified the large increase in inventory as a key risk factor and called for an increase in the number of inventory observation sites. Likewise, the AMRE audit partner originally requested that the company disclose the large period-ending adjustments in its 1989 10-K. Although the auditors identified these risk factors, it appears that they failed to adequately consider them during the performance of fieldwork. For example, company executives convinced the auditors to allow client personnel to observe several of the inventory sites selected for observation at the end of 1988. During the 1989 audit, client management persuaded the auditors not to require disclosure of the large fourth-quarter adjustments in AMREs financial statements. Why did the auditors apparently defer to AMRE’s executives in several situations and fail to adequately question their decisions in others? Possibly, the auditors simply succumbed to client pressure in each of these instances. During the 1989 audit, the auditors may have relied too their detriment on Martirossian, a former colleague, to inform them of any major problems in AMRE’s financial statements. Whether Price Waterhouse was justified during the 1988 audit in agreeing to allow client personnel to observe the physical counts at certain inventory sites is a matter of professional judgment. Apparently, members of the audit team did not believe that the client’s request posed a major problemthat is, did not result in a material scope limitation, otherwise they would not have agreed to it. Client management should not be allowed to influence key audit decisions such as sample size determinations, assignments of auditors to given areas of the audit, and the types of audit tests applied to specific accounts. Generally, any time a client request would prevent an auditor from satisfying the requirements of the third standard of fieldworkobtaining sufficient competent evidential matter to support his or her audit opinion, that request should be denied. 7. In most situations, the key management assertion for an expense item is the completeness assertion. That is, auditors are generally concerned that a client may attempt to understate expenses. However, in this case the fourth-quarter write-offs in 1989 were initiated by AMRE management. When management voluntarily recognizes a large and unusual expense item, an auditor may want to consider the possible motives underlying management’s decision. Certainly, an auditor in such a case will want to investigate the completeness assertion, but the existence/occurrence assertion should also be examined by the auditor in such circumstacnes. In recent years, many large firms have taken â€Å"big bath† write-offs to improve their chances of returning to a profitable or more profitable position in the near future. In fact, the management assertion of most concern to Price Waterhouse regarding the 1989 fourth-quarter write-offs may have been the â€Å"presentation and disclosure† assertion. This assertion â€Å"addresses whether particular components of the financial statements are properly classified, described, and disclosed† (AU Section 326. 08). The large year-end adjustments that resulted in AMRE reporting a net loss for 1989 were clearly not adequately described in the company’s financial statements. 8. Listed next are the key responsibilities an auditor assumes for quarterly financial information included in the footnotes to a clients audited financial statements. Refer to AU Section 722 for a more detailed discussion of these responsibilities. a. The auditor should apply â€Å"review† procedures to the interim financial information. (Such procedures consist principally of inquiries of client personnel and analytical procedures. ) b. The auditor should ensure that the quarterly data are presented as supplementary information and that each page of the data is clearly marked as unaudited. . If the results of the review procedures are satisfactory, the auditor does not need to modify his or her report on the audited financial statements to make reference to the review of the interim financial information. However, if the interim financial information does not appear to be in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, including adequate disclosure, the auditor’s report should generally be expanded to address this issue.

What Is Angelman Syndrome Biology Essay

What Is Angelman Syndrome Biology Essay Parents: What is Angelman Syndrome? Me: Angelman syndrome is a nervous disorder of the brain also called as Puppet syndrome. The syndrome was first reported by a British pediatrician Dr. Harry Angelman in 1965. It leads to mental disorder accompanied with speech problems. This is a very rare condition that sometimes even doctors are not completely aware of it. The syndrome is often misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy, autism or other mental disorders of children. The occurrence is approximately 1 in 25,000. Parents: What is the Prognosis of the syndrome? Me: The individuals with this condition have quite a healthy and normal life span. Some of the common features that can be noted are sleeping disorders, attention deficiency, speech problems and hyperactivity. Even these can slowly diminish with age. Their sexual development is normal. Puberty and menstrual cycle are also normal and occur at the right approximate age. There are high risks of having severe developmental delays which can be minimized or avoided to an extent by early diagnosis and therapy. They can lead an independent adult life except people who also have epilepsy along with this syndrome. Parents: We found her being slightly abnormal, she wasnt able to grasp what we are telling and is really struggling to pronounce words. What are the other possible symptoms? Me: The main symptoms of the disease are mental retardation, speech problems and hyperactive behavior. It is usually present right from birth but the symptoms of it are mostly not noticed until the age of 3. But certain developmental delays can be noted between 6 to 12 months of the child. Usually their MRI and CT scan reports show structurally normal brain features. They may have no speech or very low speaking capacity. They have higher tendency in actions rather than verbal communication. They show some unique behavior like hand flapping, attention deficiency, frequent laughter, sleeping disturbances, delayed toilet training, feeding problems and easily excitable personality. Seizures are noted only after the age of three so the possibility of identifying the syndrome before this age is not always possible. Their Electroencephalography (EEG) reports turn out to be abnormal; EEG is a test used to check the neural activity of the brain. They have much attraction to water and are highly sensitive to heat. It is not completely known why laughter is so frequent in this syndrome. Continuous smiling, abnormal facial gestures followed by burst of laughter in public are noted in almost 70 75% of the cases. They may not have good balancing capacity to walk. Trembling legs are noted along with ataxia. Ataxia is a condition where there is no co-ordination of muscular movements. They have trembling feet resulting is disability to walk. Normal sitting and walking may take 3-4 yrs of age. In highly severe cases walking is not possible until they are older, or it may be robotic. 100% of the cases are mentally retarded with attention deficit and which is non-progressive. They may be severe in most of the cases. Mostly they would need a sheltered life in their adulthood. Parents: Oh! Do they show any abnormal physical features? Because our daughter seems to look quite normal. Me: Yes! They do. Some of the common ones are a flat head at the back, wide opened mouth with spaced teeth, light hair and eye color, deep set eyes, excessive chewing behaviors, lightly pigmented skin texture, uplifted arm position, enlarged toes, soft and tender palms, tongue thrusting, and frequent drooling. A small head may be found in certain cases. All the symptoms which I have said both physical and clinical need not necessarily be found in all kids with this syndrome. They may occur in different combinations and in different levels. Parents: How did the condition arise? Me: Angelman syndrome occurs due to the deletion of a part of the chromosome 15 known as 15q11-13 that comes from the mother which results in abnormal or no expression of the maternal chromosome in the child. And hence all the functions of the chromosome 15 are being affected. Around 60-65% patients are affected by this cause. In 2-5% of the cases there may be two copies of chromosome 15 from the father and no chromosome from the mother. This condition is termed as uniparental disomy. Sometimes the chromosome obtained from the mother functions exactly the same as the chromosome obtained from the father. Rarely AS may result due to breaks in the chromosome like translocation where two chromosomes break and exchange their broken pieces. The other type is inversion where a chromosome breaks and gets attached in the opposite direction. In both these cases the exact combination of amino acids is changed which would affect the production of ubiquitin ligase protein. And finally in 20% cases there may be a fault in the UBE3A gene which is present on chromosome 15. UBE3A is ubiquitin ligase, which is considered as one of the major factors for the normal development and functioning of the brain. The relevancy of this gene to the disease is not yet completely known. 15-20% of the cases are unidentified mutation. They are still under study and a clear cause is not defined. Parents: What is the importance of these chromosomes? Me: Every chromosome is made of DNA which consists of specific amino acids. Different combinations of amino acids help in producing different proteins which are responsible for specific functions in the body. So when there is an alteration in the chromosome it affects the production of the particular protein. So automatically the protein function is lost and the relevant disorder arises. The protein that is involved in brain growth and function is called as ubiquitin ligase protein which is produced from the chromosome 15 of the mother. The condition is always from the chromosome 15 of the mother. The same chromosome from the father is also equally important but alterations in the fathers gene would lead to a different condition called the Prader Willi Syndrome. Parents: What are the ways of diagnosis? Me: Diagnosing AS is difficult during infancy. The criteria for diagnosis was developed only in 1995 and further revised in 2000 by the Angelman syndrome society (USA). In certain cases parents or doctors may find developmental delays between 6-12 months of the child. Even all brain scan reports turn to be quite normal. Only after the age of two or three notable changes can be found like concentration problems, speech impairment, balance disorder, frequent smiling or flapping of hands. After the age of three EEG reports can be found abnormal which is be followed by DNA analysis. Sometimes even genetic reports turn out to be normal which can lead to a lot of confusion and misdiagnosis. Family history of the syndrome and development history of the child is completely studied and genetic expression of the ubiquitin protein is confirmed. The confirmatory test for the Angelman Syndrome involves testing of blood in four steps: The size, shape and number of chromosomes in a cell sample are noted for changes. This is known as karyotyping. Genetic analysis to find missing chromosomes. This is done by a specialized process called FISH (fluorescent in-situ hybridization). A test called DNA methylation test is done where the result will confirm whether the DNA of both the parents is expressed. If both the DNA copies are expressed it means that they are active. In cases of AS only paternal or the fathers DNA is expressed. Finally UBE3A protein is sequenced. This is done because sometimes DNA methylation test turns to be normal. This is due to the condition that maternal DNA is normally expressed but mutated. Parents: Is Gene therapy possible. What are the other possible treatment methods? Me: There is no possible treatment for the disease at the genetic level. Since 99% of the cases are spontaneous mutation the possibility of prevention is also at the least level. Angelman syndrome is a collection of various medical conditions; hence separate therapies can be carried out for every symptom to provide a better lifestyle for the patient. The therapies are selected according to the noted symptoms and their level of effect on the individual. From the age of 3 speech and communication therapy is recommended for improving their speaking and communicating skills. Occupational therapy is carried out for everyday living skills. Physiotherapy can help in better walking and other motor activities. Sometimes hypermotoric behaviors cant be controlled by behavioral therapy so perfectly safe environment must be provided. If the condition is accompanied by epilepsy, separate medications are followed as prescribed by the physician for treatment of seizures. Medications are also available for sleeping problems, hyperactivity etc. Non prescribed sedatives are not to be given because they may lead to negative side effects. Because that they have feeding problems their nutritional status should be frequently monitored. Surgeries are available for conditions like strabismus and other orthopedic problems. Surgical rod stabilization is done for severe curvatures. During old age the individuals become less mobile and are not much active. They must be given scheduled work under supervision to avoid obesity and scoliosis. Scoliosis is a condition of severe curvature side to side in the spinal cord. Parents: What is the mode of inheritance? Will our future children be affected? The risk of inheritance is based upon the type of mutation that occurs in the parents. With no family history for the disease and if the occurrence is completely spontaneous during cell division then the chances of getting the disorder in consequent children is

Capital Punishment Essays - Benefits of the Death Penalty :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Capital Punishment Essays - Benefits of the Death Penalty    In the eighteenth century,England would punish by death for pickpocketing and petty theft. Ever since the 1650's colonist could be put to death for denying the true god or cursing their parents advocates. Capital Punishment have clashed almost continuously in the forum of public opinion in state legislatures and most recently in courts. In 1972,the case of furman vs.Georgia reached the supreme court. The court decided that punishment by death did indeed violate the eighth amendment to containing that "excessive fines imposed,nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted." By this decision death sentences all over the country were set aside. The three most common death penalties are the gas chamber,lethal injection,and the electric chair. Capital punishment has become an increasingly controversial issue over many decades. The problem lies between, is the death penalty being accepted in murder cases or ruled out completely. While some people feel that Capital Punishment will not discourage crime, Capital punishment should be legalized in all states, because it is morally just and it will deter crime.    The many opponents of capital punishment who are against it feel that the death penalty is not a deterrent and that it is barbariaertic of the past. It has no place in a civilized society today. One of the biggest arguments against capital punishment is people feel that it violates the eighth amendment which forbids cruel and unusual punishment. People against Capital Punishment believe the death penalty is absurd and is in un-christian practice. Further more, they feel society should not" encourage sentiments of vengenance cater to morbid interest in ritual execution." Criminologists also built a strong case that the threat of death failed to deter murder, anymore effectively than prison. Therefore, to inflict harm to one,it is simply useless.    However, the punishment fits the crime therefore, it is morally just. Capital punishment is an expression of society's moral outrage at offensive conduct. This may be appealing to many but it is essential in an ordered society. It asks our citizens to rely on legal procedures rather than to self-help their wrongs doings. It is morally right to sentence a person to the death penalty who has commited a serious crime as murder. If someone has murdered a person it is unethical to let the murderer live when you have an innocent person who is dead. Capital Punishment has to be based entirely on consideration of justice and morality.    Finally, the death penalty is a deterrent against crimes. Statistics show that the crime rate is reduced in all states that hold the death penalty.

Gender Equity :: Economics

Gender Equity Gender equity is a very important subject matter that teachers must deal with in the classroom. As I taught at RAA middle school some differences begin to stand out between the genders. One thing that popped out at me the most was the maturity level of the two. In saying that I mean the sexual desires of the students at their age. That is important for teachers to see for when we begin to group students together for activity. One instance is that of boxing out in basketball. The skill calls for the one boxing out to push out with their butts against the other player. This at the middle school level is not appropriate for the girls and boys to interact in. Their hormones just a little too much. Another difference I noticed was the desire of guys to be with guys and girls to be with girls. This had nothing to do with attraction but dealt with the misunderstanding of skill level. The men perceive the women to be inferior in sports skills so in their group they want guys. The men seem to rather have the least skilled guy over the best skilled girl. I feel they do this because it would be embarrassing for them to be shown up by a girl. So it is our job, as teachers, to do away with this stereotype, and make both genders understand they can benefit skill wise from mix gender activities. In the elementary level the major difference was the age-old argument that girls nasty and guys nasty. The girls definitely do not want to be paired with guys and vice versa. In elementary it had nothing to do with skill level but everything to do with just the gender. I remember putting a boy with a girl at Buck Lake and it was like I had made a kid eat peas for the first time. So the difference in elementary and middle school is just the reason why the boys don't want to be paired with girls. So in noticing that I feel that yes I was biased at the elementary level and I figure I did that because I really wanted to keep the interest up. I noticed that the one time I paired different genders the productivity of the boy went down. I guess that scared me so I shied away from it, but now looking back maybe I should have paired them up. The students will have to learn one day that the two genders can work together to accomplish a goal and what better time than in elementary.

Supernatural in Shakespeares Macbeth - The Witches Role :: Macbeth essays

In Shakespeare's time, many people were superstitious; they believed that that their lives were strongly influenced, if not dictated by fate. They also thought that the world was full of supernatural creatures, such as witches, ghosts, and many other such beings. Shakespeare incorporated these aspects of belief in his play Mac Beth. The witches, although accurately predicting what would occur, i.e., Mac Beth would be king, they did not specify how their prophecies would be realized. The witches did possess some sort of power (unless they were privy to some political information which MacBeth was not aware of), otherwise, how could they have known that MacBeth had been appointed Thane of Cawdor? Of course, once MacBeth, who, living in such a society, was superstitious, is presented with Cawdor's title, he believes that the other prediction, namely his kingship, must come true. Banquo notes the danger inherent in believing (and subsequently acting on) the witches' predictions; he says, "Were such things here as we do speak about?/Or have we eaten on the insane root/That takes the reason prisoner?" Act I, scene 3, ll.83-85. MacBeth is quite overwhelmed when he hears that he is now the Thane of Cawdor. However, almost immediately, he starts thinking about how to bring about his rule as king. "{Aside} Two truths are told, As happy prologues to the swelling act Of the imperial theme.—I thank you, gentlemen. {Aside} This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? I am the thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings; My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man that function Is smothered in surmise; and nothing is But what is not." (1.3.127-141) MacBeth seems to be fantasizing about having a direct role in Duncan's downfall. He apparently believes that the only way to make the witches' predictions come about, is to act on his urges (although he attained the title of Cawdor without any extraneous effort). A wife has a large influence on her husband's thinking. Lady MacBeth tries to persuade MacBeth to murder Duncan. Throughout Act I, scene 5, there are many speeches in which she tries to convince him. However, the monologue most relevant to my theme is Lady MacBeth's first speech:

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 8

A sharp, acrid odor assaulted her nostrils. She had to blink away tears as she held the bottle over the fire and very carefully tipped it. One drop, two drops, three. The fire flared, burning blue. It was ready. The balefire that was the only way to get a spirit from the other side-apart from crossing the veil and fetching it back yourself. Thea took Phoebe's amulet in both hands and snapped it, cracking the clay and breaking the seal. Then, holding the broken amulet over the fire, she said the words of power she'd heard the elders speaking last Samhain. â€Å"May I be given the Power of the Words of Hecate.† Instantly, she found words coming to her, rolling off her tongue. She heard them as if it were somebody else talking. From beyond the veil†¦ I call you back! Through the mist of years†¦ I call you back! From the airy void†¦ I call you back! Through the narrow path†¦ I call you back! To the heart of the flame†¦ I call you back! Come speedily, conveniently, and without delay! She felt a rumbling vibration like an earthquake rock the floor. Above the ordinary fire different flames seemed to burn; cold, ghostly flames that were pale blue and violet and rose to lick at her knuckles. She started to open her hands, to let the amulet fall into the magical flame. But just as she was about to do it, there was a bang. The door to her bedroom swung open, and for the second time in twelve hours she found herself horrified to see Blaise. â€Å"The whole place is shaking-what are you doing?† â€Å"Blaise-just stay back!† Blaise stared. Her jaw dropped and she lunged forward. â€Å"What are you doing?† â€Å"It's almost finished-â€Å" â€Å"You're crazy!† Blaise grabbed at the amulet in Thea's hands, and then, when Thea snatched her hands back, at the silver box. â€Å"Leave it alone!† Thea grabbed the other side of the box. They were struggling with it, each trying to pull it from the other. Fire scorched Thea's hands. â€Å"Let go!† Blaise shouted, trying to twist the box away. â€Å"I'm warning you-â€Å" Thea's fingers were damp with sweat. The box slipped. That was when it happened. The silver box flipped in Blaise's hands, sending a spray of amulets everywhere. Locks of gray hair, black hair, red hair, all flying. Most of them hit the floor-but one landed directly in the balefire. Thea heard a crack as the clay seal broke. For one second she was frozen, then she plunged her hand into the fire. But the clay was already burning-not red hot, but white hot. She couldn't close her fingers around it. For just an instant she seemed to see a symbol etched in blue flames, and then a flash like sheet lightning exploded from the fire. It knocked her into Blaise's bed and Blaise into the wall. The lightning formed a column and something shot out. Thea didn't so much see it as sense it. A wraith shape that tore around the room like a blast of arctic wind. It sent books and articles of clothing flying. When it reached the window, it seemed to pause for an instant, as if gathering itself, and then it shot through as if the glass didn't exist. It was gone. â€Å"Great Mother of life,† Blaise whispered from against the wall. She was staring at the window with huge luminous eyes-and she was scared. Blaise was scared. That was when Thea realized how bad things were. â€Å"What have we done?† she whispered. â€Å"What have we done-what have you done, that's the question,† Blaise snapped, sitting up and looking more like her ordinary self. â€Å"What was that thing?† Defensively, Thea gestured at the scattered amulets. â€Å"What do you think? A witch.† , â€Å"But who?† â€Å"How should I know?† Thea almost yelled, fear giving way to anger. â€Å"This is the one I was going to call back.† She snatched up the â€Å"auburn hair and cracked amulet of Phoebe Garner. â€Å"That one was just whichever one fell out when you grabbed the box.† â€Å"Don't try to make this my fault. You're the one doing forbidden spells. You're the one summoning ancestors. And whatever happens with that one†- Blaise pointed at the window-â€Å"you're the one responsible.† She got up and shook out her hair, standing tall. â€Å"And that's what you get for trying to sic the spirits on me!† She turned and stalked out the door. â€Å"I wasn't trying to sic the spirits on you!† Thea shouted-but the door had already slammed shut. Thea's anger collapsed. Feeling numb, she looked at the overturned silver box, where she had temporarily stored the tissue with Eric's blood. I was just trying to find a protector for him. Somebody who'd help him fend off your spells, who'd understand that he's a person even though he's a human. She looked forlornly around the room. Then, feeling older than Gran, she struggled to her feet and started mechanically cleaning up the mess. When she dumped the ashes out of the bowl she found some sort of residue sticking to the bottom. She couldn't wash it off and she couldn't pry it off with a steak knife. She stashed the entire bowl under her bed. All the while she cleaned, her mind kept churning. Who got out? No way to know. Process of elimination wouldn't help, not with all those unmarked amulets. What to do now? She didn't know that either. If I tell anyone-even Gran-they'll want to know why I was trying to summon the dead. But if they find out the truth, it means death for me and Eric. Around sunset, a limousine pulled up in the back alley. Thea saw it from her window and rushed downstairs in alarm. Grandma was being helped out of the car by two politely expressionless vampires. Servants of Thierry's. â€Å"Gran, what happened?† â€Å"Nothing happened. I had a little weak spell, that's all!† She whacked at one of the vampires with her cane. â€Å"I can help myself, son!† â€Å"Ma'am,† said the vampire-who might have been three or four times Grandma's age. To Thea, he said, â€Å"Your grandmother fainted-she was pretty sick there for a while.† â€Å"And that good-for-nothing apprentice of mine never showed up,† Gran said, making her way to the back door. Thea nodded good-bye to the vampires. â€Å"Gran-it was my fault about Tobias. I let him have the day off.† Her stomach, which had been clenched like a fist all day, seemed to draw even tighter now. â€Å"Are you really sick?† â€Å"I'm good for a few years yet.† She began laboriously working her way up the stairs. â€Å"Vampires just don't understand old age.† â€Å"What did you go there for?† Gran stopped to cough. â€Å"None of your business, but I had to settle some arrangements with Thierry. He's agreed to let the Inner Circle use his land on Samhain.† Upstairs, Thea made some herb tea in the tiny kitchenette. And then, when Gran was in bed with the tea, she gathered her courage. â€Å"Gran, when the elders call up the spirits on Samhain-how do they send them back?† â€Å"Why should you want to know?† Gran said crossly. But when Thea just looked at her, she went on. â€Å"There are certain spells that are used for summoning-and don't you ask me what they are-and you say those backwards to send them back. The witch who calls a spirit has to be the one to dismiss it.† So only I can do it. â€Å"And that's all?† Thea asked. â€Å"Oh, of course not. It's a long process of kindling the fire and strewing the herbs-but if you do it all right, you can draw the spirit down from between the standing stones and send it back where it came from.† Grandma went on muttering, but Thea had snagged on a earlier phrase. â€Å"From between-the standing stones†¦ ?† she got out. â€Å"The standing stones that encircle the spirits. Well, think, Thea! If you didn't have a circle of some kind to hold them in, they'd just-voom.† Gran made a gesture. â€Å"They'd zip out and how would you ever find them again? That's why I went to Thierry today/' she added, taking a noisy sip of tea. â€Å"We need a place where the sandstone forms a natural circle†¦ and naturally it's up to me to arrange everything†¦.† She went on grumbling softly. Thea felt faint. â€Å"You have to be-physically close to them-to send them back?† â€Å"Of course. You have to be within spitting distance, And don't think I don't know why you're asking.† Thea stopped breathing. â€Å"You're planning something for Samhain- and it's probably all Blaise's idea. You two are like Maya and Hellewise. But you can forget about it right now- those spells are for the elders, not for girls.† She stopped to cough. â€Å"I don't understand why you want to be crones before you're done being maidens. You ought to enjoy your youth while you have it†¦.† Thea left her still grumbling. She hadn't cast any kind of a circle before calling the spirit. She hadn't realized she was supposed to. And now†¦ how could she ever get close enough to the spirit to send it back? Well-it'll just have to stay out in the world, she told herself bravely. Too bad†¦ but it's not as if there aren't other spirits floating around out there. Maybe if it doesn't like roaming around, it'll come back. But she was sick with guilt and disheartened. Not to mention worried-if only a little-about Gran's fainting spell. Blaise didn't come to bed. She stayed downstairs and worked on her necklace long into the night. On Monday, everyone at school was talking about Randy Marik and the ruined dance. The girls were annoyed about it and furious with Blaise; the boys were annoyed and furious with Randy. â€Å"Are you okay?† Dani asked Thea after world lit class. â€Å"You look kind of pale.† Thea smiled wanly. â€Å"It was a busy weekend.† â€Å"Really? Did you do something with Eric?† The way she said â€Å"do something† alerted Thea. Dani's heart-shaped face looked as sweet and concerned as ever†¦ but Thea couldn't trust even her. She was a Night Person, a witch, a human-hater. It didn't matter. Thea was so edgy that the words just seemed to burst out. â€Å"Do something like what? Smash his car? Turn him into a toad?† Dani looked shocked, her velvet-dark eyes wide. Thea turned and walked quickly away. Stupid, stupid, she told herself. That was so dumb of you. You may not have to pretend to be playing with Eric in front of Blaise anymore-but in front of the other witches you've got to keep acting. She headed almost blindly for Eric's locker, ignoring the people she passed. I've only been here a week. How can everything in my life have become so awful? I'm at war with Blaise; I've worked a forbidden spell; I don't dare talk to Gran-and I've broken Night World law. â€Å"Thea! I was looking for you.† It was Eric's voice. Warm, eager-everything that Thea wasn't. She turned to see green eyes flecked with dancing gray and an astonishing smile. A smile that drew her in, changing the world. Maybe everything was going to be all right, after all. â€Å"I called you yesterday, but I just kept getting the machine.† Thea hadn't even looked at the answering machine. â€Å"I'm sorry-there was a lot going on.† Eric looked so kind that she groped for something that had been going on that she could tell him about. â€Å"My grandmother's been sick.† He sobered at once. â€Å"That's terrible.† â€Å"Yes.† Thea fished in her backpack for the small herb pillow she'd put there this morning. Then she hesitated. â€Å"Eric†¦ is there somewhere we could go to talk alone? Just for a few minutes? I want to give you something.† He blinked, then waggled his eyebrows. â€Å"Nothing I'd like better. And I know just the place. Come on.† He led her across campus to a large building that stood apart from the rest of the complex. It had a shabby look and the paint on the double doors was blistered. A banner announced in orange and black letters: don't miss the .ultimate Halloween party. â€Å"What is this?† Eric, who was opening the door, put a finger to his lips. He glanced inside, then beckoned to her. â€Å"It's the old gym. They're supposed to be renovating it as a student center, but there isn't enough money.† He snorted. â€Å"Probably because they're spending too much on renovating downtown. Now- what was it you wanted to give me?† â€Å"It†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea stopped dead as she took in her surroundings. All thoughts of the herb pillow vanished. â€Å"Eric-†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stared around her, feeling a slow wave of sickness roil through her stomach. â€Å"Is this†¦ for the Halloween party?†. â€Å"Yeah. They do a couple fund-raisers a semester here. This is kind of a weird one-but they did it last year and it brought in a lot.† Not weird, Thea thought numbly. Weird doesn't begin to describe it. Half the room was empty, just scuffed hardwood floor, a broken basketball backboard, and exposed pipes in the ceiling. But the other half looked like a cross between a medieval dungeon and a casino. She walked slowly toward it, her footsteps echoing. Wooden booths of various sizes were decorated with orange and black crepe paper and fake spider webs. Thea read one banner after another. â€Å"Fortune telling†¦ Drench a Wench†¦ Bobbing for Shrunken Heads?† â€Å"It's bobbing for apples really,† Eric said, seeming embarrassed. â€Å"And the gambling isn't real. You do it all with goblin money and exchange it for prizes.† Thea couldn't stop looking at the booths. Wheel of Torture: a money wheel with a dummy dressed like a witch spreadeagled in the middle. Bloody Blackjack. Devil's Darts†¦ a dart game with a cork witch as a target. And there were witch figures everywhere. Cloth witches on nooses hanging from the overhead pipes. Cardboard witches leering from the tops of booths. Paper witches dancing on the wall. They were fat, skinny, white-haired, gray-haired, cross-eyed, squint-eyed, warty, funny, scary†¦ and ugly. That was the one thing they all had in common. That's what they think of us. Humans. All humans†¦ â€Å"Thea? Are you okay?† Thea whirled. â€Å"No, I am not okay.† She gestured around the room. â€Å"Will you look at this stuff? Do you really think it's funny? Something to party about?† Hardly aware of what she was doing, she spun him around to face The Iron Maiden-a wooden replica with rubber spikes. â€Å"What are people going to do? Pay to step into that? Don't they realize that it used to be real? That real people were put in it, and that when the door closed, those spikes went into them, into their arms and their stomachs and their eyes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She couldn't go on. Eric looked as stricken as Dani had earlier. He'd never seen her like this. â€Å"Thea-look, I'm sorry†¦ I never thought†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Or that.† Thea gestured toward the Wheel of Torture, the words tumbling out. â€Å"Do you know how they really put a witch on the wheel? They broke every bone in her body so they could just thread her arms and legs through the spokes like spaghetti. Then they put the wheel on a pole and left her up there to die†¦.† Eric's face contracted with horror. â€Å"God, Thea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And these pictures–the witches who got tortured didn't have green skin and evil eyes. They weren't monsters, and they didn't have anything to do with devils. They were people.† Eric reached out for her, but she spun away, staring at a particularly ugly hag on the wall. â€Å"Do you think this place is all right for a party? That this is good fun? That witches look like that?† She flung out an arm, close to being hysterical. â€Å"Well, do you?† In her mind's eye she could see the world: Dani and Blaise and all other witches on the left; Eric and the students here and all other humans on the right, both races hating and despising each other-and herself somewhere in the middle. Eric caught her shoulders. â€Å"No, I don't think it's all right. Thea, will you just listen to me for a second?† He was almost shaking her-but she could see that there were tears forming at the corners of his eyes. â€Å"I feel awful,† he said. â€Å"I never thought about taking this stuff seriously-and that's my own stupid fault, and I know it's not an excuse. But now that you say it, I do see how terrible it is, and I'm sorry. And I never should have brought you here, of all people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea, who had been starting to relax, stiffened again. â€Å"Why me ‘of all people'?† she demanded. He hesitated a moment, then met her eyes and spoke quietly. â€Å"Because of your grandma's store. I mean, I know it's just herbs and positive thinking- but I also, know that in the old days, there would have been somebody out there pointing a finger and calling her a witch.† Thea relaxed again. It was okay for people to think Gran was a witch-if by â€Å"witch† they meant someone who talked to plants and mixed up homemade hair tonic. And she couldn't disbelieve Eric, not under the intensity of those steady green eyes. But she saw an opportunity and seized it. â€Å"Yeah, and they'd probably have burned me for giving you this present,† she said, opening her hand. â€Å"And you'd probably have been scared or superstitious if I asked you to keep it with you all the time: you'd think I was putting some kind of a spell on you-â€Å" â€Å"I wouldn't think anything,† he said firmly, taking the little green pillow from her. It smelled like fresh New Hampshire pine needles, which was what was in it-mainly. She'd also added a few protective herbs and an Ishtar crystal, a golden beryl in a star cut with thirty-three facets, carved with the name of the Babylonian mother goddess. The charm was the best she could do to help him fend off Blaise's spells. â€Å"I would just kiss it and put it my pocket and never let it out of my sight,† Eric went on. And he did, stopping after the kiss to say, â€Å"Mm, smells good.† Thea couldn't help smiling at him. She chanced saying, â€Å"Actually, it's just to remind you of me.† â€Å"It will never leave my pocket,† he said solemnly. Well, that worked out nicely. â€Å"Look, there's probably something we can do about this place,† Eric said, glancing around again. â€Å"The school board doesn't want any bad publicity. Why don't I run and borrow a camera from the journalism class, and we can take some pictures so people will see what we mean when we complain?† Thea glanced at her watch. â€Å"Why not? I think I've already missed French.† He grinned. â€Å"Back in a minute.† When he was gone, Thea wandered slowly among the silent booths, lost in her own thoughts. For a few minutes there, when I was ranting, I almost told him the truth. And then later I thought maybe he'd figured it all out for himself. And would that be so terrible? He's already under sentence of death just because I love him; it doesn't matter if he knows or not. But if he did know†¦ what would he say? Witches may be okay in the abstract-but does he really want one for a girlfriend? The only way to find out was to tell him. She leaned against a ladder and gazed sightlessly at an oilcloth lying beneath a hanging noose. Of course, it was probably all academic anyway. What kind of future could they possibly have†¦ ? Suddenly Thea realized what she was looking at. Underneath that oilcloth was a shoe-and the shoe was connected to something. Subconsciously, she'd been assuming it was another witch dummy†¦ but now she focused. And she felt the hairs on her arms lift and tingle. Why would they dress a witch in black Nike high-tops?

Letter To My Future Self Essay

I hope that time has been kind to you. I hope your high school experience was what you hoped it would be, and I hope you lived it up in college. I can’t sit here and say I know what growing up was like, because I don’t. I also can’t say that from what my parents have told me that it was easy. I know your plans in life were to go far, and reach for the stars and I have no doubt that you haven’t done that. I hope that where you are right now, is where you want to be, and if it isn’t, don’t give up, keep pushing. Remember you are the only person who can control your happiness. Depending on what age you are reading this, hopefully you have a special boy in your heart, whether it be the ginger you spent your 8th, freshman, and sophomore years hung up on, or it be someone new. I hope they give you their best, and nothing less, because thats all you deserve. see more:future me essay Hopefully you have the career you wanted, which sophomore year you were interested in pharmaceutical work, who knows where you have ended up, but hopefully you are more decisive than you were back then. As a child, you had dreams of going big. You never would settle for ordinary. The first time you got a B+ on your report card in 4th grade you cried, because that was your first B+ ever. Those were the best times, yet you’ve probably experienced many more within the time frame you wrote this letter. You wanted to be a model at one point, and you used to love when dad painted your nails and dressed up with you and let you do his hair.

The road to polyamory

Will same-sex matrimony extend marriage's stabilizing effects to homosexuals? Will gay marriage undermine family life? A lot is riding on the answers to these questions. But the media's reflexive labeling of doubts about gay marriage as homophobia has made it almost impossible to debate the social effects of this reform. Now with the Supreme Court's ringing affirmation of sexual liberty in Lawrence v. Texas, that debate is unavoidable. Among the likeliest effects of gay marriage is to take us down a slippery slope to legalized polygamy and â€Å"polyamory† (group marriage).Marriage will be transformed into a variety of relationship contracts, linking two, three, or more individuals (however weakly and temporarily) in every conceivable combination of male and female. A scare scenario? Hardly. The bottom of this slope is visible from where we stand. Advocacy of legalized polygamy is growing. A network of grass-roots organizations seeking legal recognition for group marriage alre ady exists. The cause of legalized group marriage is championed by a powerful faction of family law specialists.Influential legal bodies in both the United States and Canada have presented radical programs of marital reform. Some of these quasi-governmental proposals go so far as to suggest the abolition of marriage. The ideas behind this movement have already achieved surprising influence with a prominent American politician. None of this is well known. Both the media and public spokesmen for the gay marriage movement treat the issue as an unproblematic advance for civil rights.True, a small number of relatively conservative gay spokesmen do consider the social effects of gay matrimony, insisting that they will be beneficent, that homosexual unions will become more stable. Yet another faction of gay rights advocates actually favors gay marriage as a step toward the abolition of marriage itself. This group agrees that there is a slippery slope, and wants to hasten the slide down. To consider what comes after gay marriage is not to say that gay marriage itself poses no danger to the institution of marriage.Quite apart from the likelihood that it will usher in legalized polygamy and polyamory, gay marriage will almost certainly weaken the belief that monogamy lies at the heart of marriage. But to see why this is so, we will first need to reconnoiter the slippery slope. Promoting polygamy DURING THE 1996 congressional debate on the Defense of Marriage Act, which affirmed the ability of the states and the federal government to withhold recognition from same-sex marriages, gay marriage advocates were put on the defensive by the polygamy question.If gays had a right to marry, why not polygamists? Andrew Sullivan, one of gay marriage's most intelligent defenders, labeled the question fear-mongering–akin to the discredited belief that interracial marriage would lead to birth defects. â€Å"To the best of my knowledge,† said Sullivan, â€Å"there is no p olygamists' rights organization poised to exploit same-sex marriage and return the republic to polygamous abandon. † Actually, there are now many such organizations. And their strategy–even their existence–owes much to the movement for gay marriage.Scoffing at the polygamy prospect as ludicrous has been the strategy of choice for gay marriage advocates. In 2000, following Vermont's enactment of civil unions, Matt Coles, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, said, â€Å"I think the idea that there is some kind of slippery slope [to polygamy or group marriage] is silly. † As proof, Coles said that America had legalized interracial marriage, while also forcing Utah to ban polygamy before admission to the union.That dichotomy, said Coles, shows that Americans are capable of distinguishing between better and worse proposals for reforming marriage. Are we? When Tom Green was put on trial in Utah for polygamy in 2001, it played like a dress rehearsal for the coming movement to legalize polygamy. True, Green was convicted for violating what he called Utah's â€Å"don't ask, don't tell† policy on polygamy. Pointedly refusing to â€Å"hide in the closet,† he touted polygamy on the Sally Jessy Raphael, Queen Latifah, Geraldo Rivera, and Jerry Springer shows, and on â€Å"Dateline NBC† and â€Å"48 Hours.† But the Green trial was not just a cable spectacle. It brought out a surprising number of mainstream defenses of polygamy. And most of the defenders went to bat for polygamy by drawing direct comparisons to gay marriage. Writing in the Village Voice, gay leftist Richard Goldstein equated the drive for state-sanctioned polygamy with the movement for gay marriage. The political reluctance of gays to embrace polygamists was understandable, said Goldstein, â€Å"but our fates are entwined in fundamental ways. â€Å"Libertarian Jacob Sullum defended polygamy, along with all ot her consensual domestic arrangements, in the Washington Times. Syndicated liberal columnist Ellen Goodman took up the cause of polygamy with a direct comparison to gay marriage. Steve Chapman, a member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board, defended polygamy in the Tribune and in Slate. The New York Times published a Week in Review article juxtaposing photos of Tom Green's family with sociobiological arguments about the naturalness of polygamy and promiscuity.The ACLU's Matt Coles may have derided the idea of a slippery slope from gay marriage to polygamy, but the ACLU itself stepped in to help Tom Green during his trial and declared its support for the repeal of all â€Å"laws prohibiting or penalizing the practice of plural marriage. † There is of course a difference between repealing such laws and formal state recognition of polygamous marriages. Neither the ACLU nor, say, Ellen Goodman has directly advocated formal state recognition. Yet they give us no reason to suppose that, when the time is ripe, they will not do so.Stephen Clark, the legal director of the Utah ACLU, has said, â€Å"Talking to Utah's polygamists is like talking to gays and lesbians who really want the right to live their lives. † All this was in 2001, well before the prospect that legal gay marriage might create the cultural conditions for state-sanctioned polygamy. Can anyone doubt that greater public support will be forthcoming once gay marriage has become a reality? Surely the ACLU will lead the charge. Why is state-sanctioned polygamy a problem?The deep reason is that it erodes the ethos of monogamous marriage. Despite the divorce revolution, Americans still take it for granted that marriage means monogamy. The ideal of fidelity may be breached in practice, yet adultery is clearly understood as a transgression against marriage. Legal polygamy would jeopardize that understanding, and that is why polygamy has historically been treated in the West as an offense against s ociety itself. In most non-Western cultures, marriage is not a union of freely choosing individuals, but an alliance of family groups.The emotional relationship between husband and wife is attenuated and subordinated to the economic and political interests of extended kin. But in our world of freely choosing individuals, extended families fall away, and love and companionship are the only surviving principles on which families can be built. From Thomas Aquinas through Richard Posner, almost every serious observer has granted the incompatibility between polygamy and Western companionate marriage. Where polygamy works, it does so because the husband and his wives are emotionally distant.Even then, jealousy is a constant danger, averted only by strict rules of seniority or parity in the husband's economic support of his wives. Polygamy is more about those resources than about sex. Yet in many polygamous societies, even though only 10 or 15 percent of men may actually have multiple wive s, there is a widely held belief that men need multiple women. The result is that polygamists are often promiscuous–just not with their own wives. Anthropologist Philip Kilbride reports a Nigerian survey in which, among urban male polygamists, 44 percent said their most recent sexual partners were women other than their wives.For monogamous, married Nigerian men in urban areas, that figure rose to 67 percent. Even though polygamous marriage is less about sex than security, societies that permit polygamy tend to reject the idea of marital fidelity–for everyone, polygamists included. Mormon polygamy has always been a complicated and evolving combination of Western mores and classic polygamous patterns. Like Western companionate marriage, Mormon polygamy condemns extramarital sex. Yet historically, like its non-Western counterparts, it de-emphasized romantic love.Even so, jealousy was always a problem. One study puts the rate of 19th-century polygamous divorce at triple t he rate for monogamous families. Unlike their forebears, contemporary Mormon polygamists try to combine polygamy with companionate marriage–and have a very tough time of it. We have no definitive figures, but divorce is frequent. Irwin Altman and Joseph Ginat, who've written the most detailed account of today's breakaway Mormon polygamist sects, highlight the special stresses put on families trying to combine modern notions of romantic love with polygamy.Strict religious rules of parity among wives make the effort to create a hybrid traditionalist/modern version of Mormon polygamy at least plausible, if very stressful. But polygamy let loose in modern secular America would destroy our understanding of marital fidelity, while putting nothing viable in its place. And postmodern polygamy is a lot closer than you think. Polyamory AMERICA'S NEW, souped-up version of polygamy is called â€Å"polyamory.† Polyamorists trace their descent from the anti-monogamy movements of the sixties and seventies–everything from hippie communes, to the support groups that grew up around Robert Rimmer's 1966 novel â€Å"The Harrad Experiment,† to the cult of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Polyamorists proselytize for â€Å"responsible non-monogamy†Ã¢â‚¬â€œopen, loving, and stable sexual relationships among more than two people. The modern polyamory movement took off in the mid-nineties–partly because of the growth of the Internet (with its confidentiality), but also in parallel to, and inspired by, the rising gay marriage movement.Unlike classic polygamy, which features one man and several women, polyamory comprises a bewildering variety of sexual combinations. There are triads of one woman and two men; heterosexual group marriages; groups in which some or all members are bisexual; lesbian groups, and so forth. (For details, see Deborah Anapol's â€Å"Polyamory: The New Love Without Limits,† one of the movement's authoritative guides, or Goog le the word polyamory. ) Supposedly, polyamory is not a synonym for promiscuity. In practice, though, there is a continuum between polyamory and â€Å"swinging.† Swinging couples dally with multiple sexual partners while intentionally avoiding emotional entanglements. Polyamorists, in contrast, try to establish stable emotional ties among a sexually connected group. Although the subcultures of swinging and polyamory are recognizably different, many individuals move freely between them. And since polyamorous group marriages can be sexually closed or open, it's often tough to draw a line between polyamory and swinging. Here, then, is the modern American version of Nigeria's extramarital polygamous promiscuity.Once the principles of monogamous companionate marriage are breached, even for supposedly stable and committed sexual groups, the slide toward full-fledged promiscuity is difficult to halt. Polyamorists are enthusiastic proponents of same-sex marriage. Obviously, any attem pt to restrict marriage to a single man and woman would prevent the legalization of polyamory. After passage of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, an article appeared in Loving More, the flagship magazine of the polyamory movement, calling for the creation of a polyamorist rights movement modeled on the movement for gay rights.The piece was published under the pen name Joy Singer, identified as the graduate of a â€Å"top ten law school† and a political organizer and public official in California for the previous two decades. Taking a leaf from the gay marriage movement, Singer suggested starting small. A campaign for hospital visitation rights for polyamorous spouses would be the way to begin. Full marriage and adoption rights would come later. Again using the gay marriage movement as a model, Singer called for careful selection of acceptable public spokesmen (i. e. , people from longstanding poly families with children).Singer even published a speech by Iowa state legisla tor Ed Fallon on behalf of gay marriage, arguing that the goal would be to get a congressman to give exactly the same speech as Fallon, but substituting the word â€Å"poly† for â€Å"gay† throughout. Try telling polyamorists that the link between gay marriage and group marriage is a mirage. The flexible, egalitarian, and altogether postmodern polyamorists are more likely to influence the larger society than Mormon polygamists. The polyamorists go after monogamy in a way that resonates with America's secular, post-sixties culture.Yet the fundamental drawback is the same for Mormons and polyamorists alike. Polyamory websites are filled with chatter about jealousy, the problem that will not go away. Inevitably, group marriages based on modern principles of companionate love, without religious rules and restraints, are unstable. Like the short-lived hippie communes, group marriages will be broken on the contradiction between companionate love and group solidarity. And chi ldren will pay the price. The harms of state-sanctioned polyamorous marriage would extend well beyond the polyamorists themselves.Once monogamy is defined out of marriage, it will be next to impossible to educate a new generation in what it takes to keep companionate marriage intact. State-sanctioned polyamory would spell the effective end of marriage. And that is precisely what polyamory's new–and surprisingly influential–defenders are aiming for. The family law radicals STATE-SANCTIONED polyamory is now the cutting-edge issue among scholars of family law. The preeminent school of thought in academic family law has its origins in the arguments of radical gay activists who once opposed same-sex marriage.In the early nineties, radicals like longtime National Gay and Lesbian Task Force policy director Paula Ettelbrick spoke out against making legal marriage a priority for the gay rights movement. Marriage, Ettelbrick reminded her fellow activists, â€Å"has long been th e focus of radical feminist revulsion. † Encouraging gays to marry, said Ettelbrick, would only force gay â€Å"assimilation† to American norms, when the real object of the gay rights movement ought to be getting Americans to accept gay difference.â€Å"Being queer,† said Ettelbrick, â€Å"means pushing the parameters of sex and family, and in the process transforming the very fabric of society. † Promoting polyamory is the ideal way to â€Å"radically reorder society's view of the family,† and Ettelbrick, who has since formally signed on as a supporter of gay marriage (and is frequently quoted by the press), is now part of a movement that hopes to use gay marriage as an opening to press for state-sanctioned polyamory. Ettelbrick teaches law at the University of Michigan, New York University, Barnard, and Columbia. She has a lot of company.