Difference Between Your Mother and Your Grandmother

Difference between Your Mother and Grandmother ‘Grandma’, a word which fills you with emotion as soon as you hear it. She is a person who would go over the top to fight for you. Be it her own son, or even her soulmate, she would fight with anybody to defend you. Even if you’re wrong, even if you hurt her, she would be good to you no matter what. Your mom, for once, might hit you, scold you, but your grandma would never do that. Mothers have the household to look after, but you; believe me, you mean the world to your grandma.She, being elder to your mom, has several stories to share with you, her own life experiences as well, though some turn out to be boring, I bet you’d enjoy most of them. She’d even make false promises, like if you’d make a mistake, she’d stand by your side, saying, â€Å"Oh, he’s just a kid. Forgive him this time, he’ll never do it again,† to the person who’s scolding you. She’d bla me herself for your mistakes, saving you from the trouble, and being in soup herself. But despite all this, grandmothers are believed to spoil children.Parents often shout at them for giving so much of ‘unconditional’ love and all they do is listen, without a word. Now, I’d like to share my personal experience. My grandma was a talented and well-educated lady. We’d often sit and gossip about stuff, and play cards with each other. I also enjoyed her company. She, till class VII, was my teacher as well. All I am today is because of her. Everybody asked me to take tuitions at home, but I refused every time because she was more of a friend to me, than a teacher.Being the oldest woman in the family, she was in charge of all the money matters of the house. She used to keep some change in her purse, which always ended up in my pocket. Though dad often asked her not to give me so much of money, she used to agree, but I somehow managed to butter her up and get the notes and she also could not say ‘no’ to me, and was ready to give me whatever I wanted, as and when demanded. I cannot recollect a single occasion when she did not pay me. But due to her old age, her health was deteriorating for some time now.She was undergoing depression for the past seven-eight months and finally, she left for heaven earlier this year. In the end, I’d like to tell my fellow classmates who still have their grandparents with them that guys, you’re lucky to have such great people in your life. Respect them, and spend time with them. I wish I had practiced what I’m preaching because when on the bed, she used to call me, but all I did was giving a silly reason continuing to enjoy my own life and I still regret it. I wish I could thank her for all she did for me, but life is not always the way you want it to be.

African Poetry

It is a historical irony that the same language serves the African writer in voicing his thoughts and feelings to the world at large. While discussing the future of English, Simeon Porter observes, It will adopt to meet new needs and in that incessant reshaping and adaptation, every speaker and writer consciously or unconsciously will play some part. (181) Today, the prediction of Porter came true of African writing in English. It brought strength and appeal to the English language by adding a large range of new vocabulary and usage. Writing on the problems faced by the African English writers,  Chinua Achebe  the famous Nigerian writer says, The African writer should aim to use English that brings out his message without altering the language to the extent that its value as a medium of international exchange will be lost. He should aim at fashioning out an English, which is at once unusual and able to carry his peculiar experience. (61) It is applaudable that the writers of Africa succeeded in accomplishing the above task set by Achebe, which is by any means not an easy one. Their successful integration of native experience and expression in an alien tongue received worldwide acclaim. Their success proved, as critics like Srinivasa Iyengar pointed out, A shot in the arm of modern English Literature has had to come from West Africans like Amos Tutuola,  Wole Soyinka  and Gabriel Okara. (16) The role of poetry, in African literature, has been highly effective in providing the people with the needful inspiration and the necessary insight. The language of poetry, for the African people, is a source of learning and becoming aware of their destiny that necessitates the knowledge of their past, present and the possible future. These and several other ideas fuelled African poetry in English. For the African poets, poetry became a powerful medium through which they conveyed to the world audience, not only their despairs and hopes, the enthusiasm and empathy, the thrill of joy and the stab of pain but lso a nations history as it moved from freedom to slavery, from slavery to revolution, from revolution to independence and from independence to tasks of reconstruction which further involve situations of failure and disillusion. (Iyengar, 15) When we read African Literature, we should, by obligation remember that, colonization was at its harshest in Africa. As history stands proof, it was highly exploited and savaged by the ambitious white man. This experience is on the minds of all thinking poets. Despite getting uhuru or in dependence, the bitterness returns again and again. The unforgettable colonial past comes angrily alive in a poem by Kenyas poet Joseph Kareyaku thus, It is not as you suppose, your lands, your cars, your money, or your cities I covet It is what gores me most, that in my own house and in my very own home you should eye me and all thats mine with that practiced, long-drawn, insulting sneer. (quoted in Iyengar, 30) In a poem entitled If you want to know me Noemia De Sousa writes ruefully of Africa, by effectively using the literary device of personification thus: This is what I am mpty sockets despairing of possessing of life a mouth torn open in an anguished wound a body tattooed with wounds seen and unseen from the harsh whipstrokes of slavery tortured and magnificent proud and mysterious Africa from head to foot This is what I am. (Narasimhaiah, 137) The much-brutalized Dark Continent is tellingly depicted in the following lines of a poem named The Shapes of Fear by Richard Ntiru. Like an arrested breath when breathing makes silence imperfect and the ear cannot differentiate between the conspiratorial whispers and the winds singing. .. a twig in the courtyard snaps and report of a gun is understood. (Narasimhaiah, 137) Nigerian poet , the Nobel laureate Wole Soyinkas masterful irony skillfully conceals anger at the racist attitude in his famous poem, Telephone Converstion. After negotiating for a house on rent on telephone, he tells the landlady of his being a black African. He was rudely shocked when he was caught foully by the ladys query regarding his darkness thus: HOW DARK? I had not misheard Are you light OR VERY DARK (Narasimhaiah, 149) The ill- mannered silence between the two is filled with images such as stench of rancid breath of public- hide-and-speak, Red booth, Red- Pillar-box, Red double-tiered Omnibus squelching tar that subsume the age-old and still hopeless and violent colour- conflict. The theme of English superiority glares through David Rubadiris poem A Negro Labourer in Liverpool: Here his hope is the shovel And his fulfillment resignation. (Narasimhaiah, 134) One of the most important phases in African poetry is  Negritude, a powerful literary movement founded by Aime Cesaire of Senegal. Among other things, the Negritude poets favoured the theme of glorification of Africa. They worshipped anything African in scintillating rhymes. Anger at injustice meted out to the colonized Africa is also one of the oft-repeated themes of their poetry. Heres an example from David Diops poem Africa. Africa, my Africa Africa of proud warriors in ancestral savannahs. Is this you, this back that is bent This back that breaks under the weight of humiliation This back trembling with red scars And saying yes to the whip under the midday sun.. That is Africa your Africa That grows again patiently obstinately And its fruit gradually acquires The bitter taste of liberty. (Narasimhaiah, 153) Dennis Brutus, a South African poet, was subjected to torture by a cruel regime. His writing is full of images of love contrasted with images of death thus, Desolate Your face gleams up Beneath me in the dusk Abandoned A wounded dove Helpless Beneath the knife of love. (Quoted in Theroux, 2) Great feeling for Africa is felt in Abioseh Nicols poem The Meaning of Africa thus: Africa, you were once just a name to me So I came back ailing down the Guinea coast . You are not a country Africa, You are a concept I know now that is what you are Africa Happiness, contentment and fulfillment. (Quoted in Povey, 39) A poets affirmation of his love for Africa shines radiantly through the following verses. Dark Africa! My dawn is here; Behold! I see A rich warm glow in the East, And my day will soon be here. (Iyengar, 30) Deification of Africa is a fit topic for many African p oets. Perhaps this is their reaction to the self glorification and the civilizing zeal of the imperial powers of Europe. Bernard Dadies poem attains special significance viewed in that light. He says in a poem entitled I Thank God, I thank you God for creating me black. White is the colour for special occasions Black the colour for every day And I have carried the World since the dawn of time And my laugh over the World, through the night creates The Day. (Narasimhaiah, 122) In Africa, the advent of the white mans civilizing mission displaced scores of native societies from their own cultural roots. The impact of the spread of Christianity combined with material benefits such as classroom education and well-paid jobs forced many Africans abandon their own faith and adapt the religion of the pale-faced aliens. This situation is responsible for the natives to suffer from culture shock. Nevertheless, the native is expected to owe allegiance to his own tribal culture and embrace Christianity for material benefits. This cultural confusion is well articulated by Mabel Segun in a poem thus: Here we stand Infants overblown Poised between two civilizations Finding the balance irksome. (Quoted in Povey, 39) Gabriel Okara expresses the same sentiments in a lyric thus: When at break of day at a riverside I hear jungle drums Then I hear a wailing piano Solo speaking of complex ways. (Quoted in Gleason, 143) However, there are poets like Kofi Awoonor Williams of Ghana whose passion for past is expressed in his rediscovery themes with the help of extended rhythms as in the following lines. Sew the old days for us our fathers that we wear them under our old garments after we have washed ourselves.. ( The Anvil and the Hammer) gain, Sew the old days for me my father Sew them so that I may wear them For the feast that is coming. (Quoted in Theroux, 4) He accomplishes the same excellence of evolving extended rhythms in poems like The Long Journey and My Song. Poetic excellence and rare innovative creative ability are seen in  Christopher Okigbo  poems such as The Stars Have Departed. He says, The stars have departed The sky in a monocle Surveys the world under The stars have departed And I- Where am I? ? Stretch, stretch O antennae, To clutch at this hour, Fulfilling each movement in a Broken monody. (quoted in Walsh, 48) Images that can evoke a situation beyond hope which are reminiscent of Eliots war poetry are visible in the following verses from K. Brews poem The Search. The past is but the cinders Of the present The future The smoke That escaped Into the cloud- bound sky. (quoted in Walsh, 50) Some of the poets have realized the futility of fighting over issues such as race, respect and national identity. What more can be more illuminating than the enlightened poets words such as, You must leave the sifting sands of self- seeking and deceit nd erect far mightier mansions on the rock of healthy soil. (Iyengar, 36) Lenrie Peters poems are short on the print but deep on ones mind like the one cited below Open the gates To East and West Bring in all Thats good and best. The memorable lines of Peters poem On a wet September Morning with their sheer beauty of imagery and the underlying thought of universal brotherhood celebrate the oneness of the human family. To c ite a few verses, The echo burst in me Like a great harmonic chord- Violins of love and happy voices The pagan trumpet blast Swamping the lamentation of the horn Then the heraldic drums In slow crescendo rising Crashed though my senses Into a new present Which is the future. After this brief glance at African poetry, we realize that it is not simply an offshoot of British literary tradition. Despite the many disadvantages such as a scarred past, colonial trauma, expression in a foreign medium, inability to travel abroad, unstable economic and political state of affairs in their respective nations, lack of educational opportunities, the African poet has effortless creative capacity. It is an enriching combination of rich oral literature, native experience and imported tradition of writing in English that made African poetry a tremendous success both at home and abroad. The Black Orpheus (African Poets) is no longer an unknown or an unwanted quantity but a fascinating and often enviable and beneficent literary marvel from what was ignorantly termed as the dark continent.

Effective outsourcing allows companies to focus on their core business Essay

Effective outsourcing allows companies to focus on their core business - Essay Example For example India has about 5-6% of the global outsourcing market share and from it, it was able to generate revenue of US $ 10.9 billion in the year 2008 (Bijan 2009). By description, outsourcing is a process by which a company contracts a third party to perform for them a particular function that is not considered as one of the company’s core activities. The third party can be another company or a person. Outsourcing is more prominent in countries with high wage rates where companies outsource their non-core functions to countries with low wage rates for example China and India. The main advantages or reasons for outsourcing include gaining access to globally competitive capabilities, control and reduce operation costs, accelerate re-engineering benefits, share risks, and reduce time and efforts for marketing. It also enables a company to utilize resources that are not available internally, free their resources for development of other resources and improve their focus on th e core business activities of the company (Bijan et al 2002). The intention of this essay is to show how effective outsourcing enables/allows companies to keep a focus on their core businesses. Various writers have identified various dimensions that should be considered when making outsourcing decisions. This paper gives a discussion of four of these namely, core competencies, spatial, geographic and product innovation dimension. Under core competencies dimension, a company should not only consider growing in size and scope but it should also ensure that it maintains it specializes in and sustains focus on its core competencies. This means it should not only focus on repetitive tasks but extend to include a wider range of activities. These include knowledge-intensive tasks and sensitive functions for example R&D and design. This will enable the company to increase knowledge from external sources and hence be flexible in responding to challenges and pressures from competition (Stark et al 2006). According to (Bijan et al 2002) the process of outsourcing non-core activities allows a company to step up its resource allocation and managerial attention to those tasks it does the best. These tasks constitute the core business activities/core competencies of the company. This leads to workers and managers being more committed to the company’s core activities. This in turn increases flexibility and responsiveness which generate beneficial impacts on the performance of the firm. Such a specialization leads to high quality production. This is important in the current local and global sectors and markets characterized by very competitive pressures, complex technologies and short product life cycle. Another dimension to be considered in outsourcing decision making is spatial dimension. In this dimension, the company should explore the geographic span of the outsourcing activity. This includes the spatial distribution of all activities that are to be outsourced and the geographic extend of the value chains that will result from this. Dhanapal et al (20080 explains that this dimension has to receive adequate attention because it can result to larger inventories, greater flexibility and longer lead times. Larger spatial span can also result to coordination and communication difficulties and lowered advantage of costs that are fixed in nature. The company therefore has to consider the competitive advantages of the territories and competitive strategies of their firms. In the

Globalization of Financial Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Globalization of Financial Markets - Essay Example The impact on the stock markets themselves is difficult to predict, and could change investments and trading styles in ways that cannot be suggested from this naà ¯ve point (Sabri, 2006). For example, moving all stock exchanges from the physical to the electronic will create what is essentially one grouped exchange, meaning that any differences in the exchanges and their consequences will be eliminated (Sabri, 2006). Additionally, there may be consequences for the NASDAQ because of this conglomeration, as lower performing exchanges are incorporated into the more resilient. It is difficult to say whether this will improve the poorer performers or decrease the impact of the vital markets, but it is evident that there will be a distinct change in market performance (Arshanapalli & Doukas, 2003). The globalization of financial markets will also have inevitable consequences for the way that corporations themselves do business. If financial markets were truly globalized, there would be a need for many corporations to offer a 24-hour trading system to match the state of the exchanges, and thus many would require a greater financial output and labour input (Sachs, 1998). The globalization of financial markets could also lead to a greater amount of competition in many markets, with Eastern companies utilizing cheaper labour sources to provide cheaper services. This could cause corporations a number of problems, and introduce a need to investigate how to further improve profit margins to become competitive on a global scale. (Lahiri, Perez-Nordtvedt & Renn, 2008). Another element for business that is often discussed in the literature is a change in mind set. Along with more physical changes, an increase in globalization will require a number of changes in interaction with foreign m arkets, and understanding differences in financial systems worldwide. Lahiri, Perez-Nordtvedt & Renn (2008) suggest that there are a number of different elements that are required for the success of a corporation in the global market, including an increased appreciation of communication and cooperation, readiness to deal with temporal and cultural differences, and realizing sources of unexpected competition. These all come from an increased diversity in the market and a number of difficulties that come from dealing with previously unknown customers and investors. In conclusion, there are a number of ways in which financial markets are going to need to

Sentencing Guidelines Reform Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sentencing Guidelines Reform - Research Paper Example Likewise alternatives have been looked at for offenders of non-violent crime, such as community service. The Need for Sentencing Reforms The prison population has been rapidly growing for many years, with an increase of 7% in the period from 2000 to 2005 (King, 2007). The cost per day per prisoner of keeping criminals incarcerated is significant making the increases in prison population detrimental to the budgets of many states. In addition, there are costs associated with building new prisons if the population increases to that extend, and the associated space and land use. This places heavy demand on policy makers to try and determine sentencing laws and reforms that will limit the prison population. Punishments for crime are developed for multiple reasons including political, such as trying to win votes in an election, however one of the predominant drivers is decreasing the level of crime. The potential outcomes for committing a crime play a large role when individuals decide whe ther to follow through with a crime. For example, crime and punishment can be viewed as part of an economic model, where those who consider crimes weigh up the benefits of the crime versus all the potential costs. If the punishment for crime is high compared to the reward, then they are more likely to reconsider, this is especially true if the likelihood of prosecution and punishment is high (Reynolds, 1990). For this reason changes in sentencing must look at a balance between keeping the number of prisoners low, but still providing effective punishment and deterrent for crimes. In addition, punishment for crime can act to change behavior in criminals. For example, drug offenders are often driven largely by a need which comes from their addiction, and thieves may be responding to greed. Prison life may change this desire in a portion of those who are incarcerated, giving them time to think about who they are and what they are doing. Programs within prison and outside of it that focu s on breaking addictive behaviors, such as treatment options for drug offenders can also be very productive methods of reducing crime rate. This is because without the addiction driving them, many criminals that committed drug offenses will no longer have the same strong need or desire to. Finally, incarceration is not an effective solution in all cases. When a crime is committed out of a perceived need, particularly in the case of drug addiction, incarceration acts as a punishment, but does nothing to reduce the likelihood of re-offense. When the criminal is released, the drivers that caused him to offend in the first case are still present, and re-offense is very likely. Drug Based Sentencing Reforms Sentencing reform legislation has focused on criminals who have committed low level offenses. This section will examine some of the types of legislation in more detail. Thirteen states passed legislation that looked at increasing the available options for drug treatment for the large number of non-violent drug-based crimes. Of these states, nine passed laws that created or extended sentencing diversion for drug offenders. Sentencing diversion involves sentencing sending the criminal to a facility or a program that worked with them in treating their drug problem. This was already present in a number of states, but sentencing reforms worked to clarify ambiguities within the law, thus allowing sentencing diversion to be used in an increased number of cases. Louisiana established a different sentencing diversion model for drug crimes than is used in other states. The model in this state allows for the sentence to be diverted and the individual to begin the treatment program without a statement of guilt, or a

Wikipedia entry. The Global city . Focusing on London Area Essay

Wikipedia entry. The Global city . Focusing on London Area Spitalfields - Essay Example A global city bears a large percentage of the world’s financial transaction, and there are twenty-five cities in the world which control almost the entirely global financial transactions. Among them, New York, London and Tokyo stand out as the most influential cities in the world, in matters of economy and financial transactions, and they are characterized by large scale in-migrations from different countries, societies and cultures throughout the world [1]. According to Sassen, a global city refers to the central â€Å"command and control point† of the global economy, where corporate presence is the fundamental characteristic, with many of the multinational corporations based in the city as their headquarters. Further, productive service companies such as accounting, management and law firms have also been attracted into the city, to provide services to the major corporations with their headquarters in such cities [1]. Productive Support Services in London Area Spitalf ields The concept of global city developed in the past two decades, and has become a phenomenal concept in the modern world, owing to the ability of the global cities to influence the financial and the economic activities of the world. ... Aspects of different socially stratified classes of societies The rise of the London Area Spitalfields as a global city started in the early 17th century, specifically in 1669, when Truman’s Brewery was opened and was followed by a major boost in 1682, when King Charles II issued a charter allowing for market activities to be held on two market days, namely Thursday and Saturdays [3]. It is the success of the market that encouraged people to settle in the region, and in-migration then followed, with the French being the first group to immigrate into the region, to bring their silk weaving skills which were highly desirable in the market. Subsequently, the Irish in-migrated into the region escaping from the potato famine, and were followed by the Jews. Between 1880s and 1970s, the area became an overwhelmingly Jewish community area, representing the largest Jewish community in Europe [4]. The Bangladeshi also followed the in-migration route, and by the early 20th century, the c ommunity had established itself in the London Area Spitalfields, and introduced further Eastern cultures, businesses and trades. Therefore, the London Area Spitalfields suits the definition of a Global city, because it has become the societal and cultural melting and fusion point, where different cultures from the East and the West were integrated, to create a unique regional culture of its own [5]. The evidence of the people who have given the London Area Spitalfields its unique name and culture is still observable to date, with the existence of Jewish synagogues, Methodist Chapel, Muslim mosques and Huguenot church for Christians [3]. Characteristics of London Area Spitalfields

Creating of a Product in Python Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Creating of a Product in Python - Assignment Example The paper tells that Python’s design philosophy mainly accentuates on code readability that is a concept the author clearly understood more than the other team members. Jason, the team leader, ensured that every team member understood the role they were supposed to play. Therefore, the author had a perfect understanding of the role he had to play in the project, and this understanding did not change at any point during the process of completing the project. The author’s team was knowledgeable about all the stages involved in completing this project. They all worked for a common good that was to produce a workable project that is the best in our class. Being a group that was formed by people that hardly knew each other the researcher does think that their performance was high even though they had a slow start. Their performance was high because the group members had complementary skills and talents that were aligned with and devoted to a common objective. Their high-perf ormance was also as a result of high levels of innovation and collaboration consistently showed by all the group members from the start of the project to the end. They all functioned as a team. All team members contributed their energy and time to the project. More outstandingly, all team members played a part in the decision-making process. All members trusted each other and this added value to the project. However, during the beginning of project management, the speed of working was slow. They had fallbacks due to lack of communication skills. They corrected this and ensured that they functioned as a team by having open communication where every team member contributed ideas, asked for clarification on anything in the project that was confusing, and we listened to each other carefully. Teams function if all its member roles are clearly defined. Moreover, teams function better if all the roles of a project have been evenly distributed to the members.