...Being true to yourself is not always as simple as it sounds living in the modern world. Conflicting cultures, expectations, values, beliefs and the mindset of your peers are all obstacles to maintaining personal independence. Sometimes the world that we are brought up in to puts limits on our ability to do what we want to do. For example, in Take Me Away Please, Lily Chan explains how she has been brought up living and working in a Chinese restaurant. “Getting to work wasn’t an issue, but getting away was, as our small living quarters were attached to the shop.” Not only did she have to deal with school then working from 4:30 onwards 6 days a week, but there was no real escape for her as she basically lived at her workplace with her parents. Living in this constant working environment with no real place to relax and have time to one ’s self would greatly affect the development of a person’s independence. Personal independence is about being true to yourself and acting in a way that is not dictated by the people around you. Peer groups often play a big role in a person losing a sense of who they are in an attempt to fit in and feel accepted by others. In Sticks and Stones and such like, Sunil Badami is made fun of at school for his culture and his name. In an effort to fit in, he decides to “change” his name to sound more western, so he calls himself Neil. While this may make Sunil feel more accepted at school, it means that he is sacrificing a big part of who he is and...
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...Introduction to theme 2) Poetic techniques 3) Language to create meaning 4) Creation of character 5) Manipulation of tone and diction Page 2-3 B. Persuasive Prose: Advertisements Bibliography Plagriasm document Page 4 – 5 Page 6 Page 7 1|Page Assignment 01 ENG2602 A. Prose: Fiction Assignment Midnight’s Children is written by Salman Rashied, who was born in Bombay, India but lives in England. This is an English novel written in the first person narrative that is from the perspective of Saleem Sinia. Reading the passage it is quite clear that the theme here is Saleem Sinia’s attitude towards and the significance of India’s independence on the day of his birth.The distress and dismay of being born on this day is clearly established: ‘Oh spell it out, spell it out: at the precise moment of India’s arrival at independence, I tumbled forth into the world.’ (Rushdie, 1982). Repition is used to reflect Saleem’s irritation of having to specify his birth date. The protagonist and narrator of the story is Saleem Sinia, born at the exact moment India became an independent country. Saleem was born with telepathic powers and had an enormous and constantly runny nose with an extremely sensitive sense of smell gifts Saleem did not ask for, as he states, ‘For the next three decades, there was to be no escape.’ (Rushdie, 1982) The way the writer plunges the reader into the situation without a contrived introduction and writing from personal experience could be referred to as...
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...Interpretation of President Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points I. Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view. The purpose of this point is to forbid arrangements, segments of settlements or indulgences that are formed in secret with making it available to the members of the public. The expression "openly arrived at” was used by the president to disclose to the Senate that the expression was not intended to reject private strategic arrangements including fragile matters, but to address that anything that occurs through any classified arrangements or consultations might not tie, unless it shows up in the Final agreement that is made known to the world. The point also proves that in future; each bargain most be a law that covers the general public and the world as a whole by making each country accepts a sure commitment with respect to its requirement. Clearly, countries can't expect commitments in matters they are not aware of; and subsequently any mystery settlement has a tendency to undermine the whole structure of universal agreements that will be proposed in future. II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the enforcement of international covenants. The purpose of this point is to explain...
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...Al-Qaeda making comeback in Iraq, officials say BAGHDAD (AP) — Al-Qaeda is rebuilding in Iraq and has set up training camps for insurgents in the nation's western deserts as the extremist group seizes on regional instability and government security failures to regain strength, officials say. / Iraq has seen a jump in al-Qaeda attacks over the last 10 weeks, and officials believe most of the fighters are former prisoners who have either escaped from jail or were released by Iraqi authorities for lack of evidence after the U.S. military withdrawal last December. Many are said to be Saudi or from Sunni-dominated Gulf states. Teenage School Activist Survives Attack by Taliban At the age of 11, Malala Yousafzai took on the Taliban by giving voice to her dreams. As turbaned fighters swept through her town in northwestern Pakistan in 2009, the tiny schoolgirl spoke out about her passion for education — she wanted to become a doctor, she said — and became a symbol of defiance against Taliban subjugation. / On Tuesday, masked Taliban gunmen answered Ms. Yousafzai’s courage with bullets, singling out the 14-year-old on a bus filled with terrified schoolchildren, then shooting her in the head and neck. Two other girls were also wounded in the attack. All three survived, but late on Tuesday doctors said that Ms. Yousafzai was in critical condition at a hospital in Peshawar, with a bullet possibly lodged close to her brain. Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu calls for early elections JERUSALEM...
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...Sunflower Movement in Taiwan The Sunflower Movement, which was an Anti-Globalization Movement represented a sophisticated understanding movement of globalization from the university students of Taiwan. Between March 18 to April 10, 2014, hundreds of university students and other protestors occupied the chamber of parliament of Taiwan (Legislative Yuan). On March 17, day before the occupation began, the legislature's Internal Affairs Committee was about to begin a three day debate on the Cross-Strait Services Trade Agreement (CSSTA). However, the CSSTA chairman, Chang Ching-Chung, and a member of Taiwan's governing party of the KMT (Kuomintang), had abandoned and bypassed the committee's review and moved straight forward for legislative approval. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) immediately objected strongly on the floor of the chamber once they recognized the action of the Chairman. On March 18, around three hundred students gathered outside of the Legislative Yuan building, protesting to the Ma Ying-Jeou's government for mishandling the CSSTA. They expressed their frustration by the hasty review of the CSSTA, and demanding an article-by-article review of the trade agreement before moving it to the legislative floor. Finally, the government agreed to postpone the adoption of CSSTA and allowed the Internal Affairs Committee reviews all cross-strait agreement before passing for approval. Students waited until all cross-strait agreements had passed before they...
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...China-Taiwan Cross-Strait Relations: A General Overview The topic of Taiwan’s independence has been a decidedly sensitive subject for both those who are from either implicated party and outside nations alike, since the defeat of Kuomingtang (KMT) by the Communist Party in 1949. After so many decades of debate and political conflict, there has yet to be a concrete solution – the Taiwanese increasingly identify themselves as citizens of an independent nation, while the majority of the world has yet to recognize them officially as a nation separate from the PRC. Both parties involved – the PRC and Taiwan – have taken incredibly stubborn stances on this issue for the past several years, and it does not look like there will be an easy solution in the near future. China-Taiwan cross-strait relations are quite complicated, but for the sake of simplicity, it can be broken down into the period following the Japanese control over Taiwan, the defeat of the KMT, the period between the rise of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and contemporary times, and finally, the rest of the world’s – namely the US’ – involvement in the entire matter. Prior to 1949, China’s governing group was the KMT – a nationalist party, as they call themselves. For 50 years, the Japanese controlled Taiwan – though arguably, they did more good than bad, as Taiwan developed much quicker than mainland China through their help – but was forced to relinquish its hold in 1945, when the Axis Powers were defeated...
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...aspects and that communities like to be recognised as their own state. The idea of separatism in many cases can also arise when there is a perception that exploitation of local resources by national government produces little economic gain for the region. This was the case in Scotland recently and was one of the main arguments for Scotland leaving the UK. Before its union with England, Scotland was a separate kingdom, with its own national church, separate education and legal systems and its own language called Gaelic which is spoken in parts of the country. One of the main problems the Scottish National Party felt was that the exploitation of the North Sea oil and gas had done little to develop the economy of Scotland. The drive for independence was partly satisfied by the establishment in 1999 of a parliament with limited tax-raising powers. In 2007, the Scottish National Party became...
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...----------------------- 3 Chapter I General information ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Chapter II Arguments for and against the Scottish independence Arguments for the independence ----------------------------------------------- 6 Arguments against the independence ----------------------------------------- 7 Conclusion --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Bibliography ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Introduction The subject I have analyzed in this research paper is the possible independence of Scotland. I chose this topic because the Scottish independence is a problem of great importance not only for the UK and Scotland, but also for the whole Europe. While doing my research I found very strong and opposing opinions about this recent topic. Scottish independence is a relevant and important matter that has been debated for many years but is now at the pinnacle of debate. Both public and politicians and opposing opinions about independence and throughout this work I will evaluate the most current and most emotive arguments for and against independence. First, I will speak about the historical background of this issue and about the parties “fighting” for independence. Next, I will represent for and against arguments, which will help to understand this complicated issue. Chapter I General information Scotland was an independent country...
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...The Problem of Taiwan The future of Taiwan may provide the Prime Minister with a most testing challenge, writes Hamish McDonald. When, three weeks from now, China celebrates the lunar new year and enters the Year of the Monkey, its leaders will see plenty of mischief already afoot in two of the country's fringe territories. In Taiwan, President Chen Shui-bian's plan to hold a referendum simultaneously with his re-election bid on March 20 is a dangerous tweak at the Beijing dragon's nose, even though the plebiscite only asks the island's 23 million people their predictable opinion about the Chinese ballistic missiles aimed at them. In Hong Kong, the heightened political awareness shown in last July's half-million-strong march against a new security law will almost certainly carry through into elections for the territory's Legislative Council in August, and will increase pressure for constitutional reform to let the successor to Chinese-appointed "chief executive" Tung Chee-hwa be chosen by popular vote when his term ends in 2007. Both developments call for determined diplomacy by the many foreign countries with a strong interest in supporting democratic trends in these two Chinese outposts, in the face of intense hostility by Beijing to any outside "interference" in what it asserts to be purely domestic issues. No country would be more awkwardly caught in the middle of conflicting security and economic interests than Australia if the simmering Taiwan dispute actually...
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...The UK would benefit greatly from the wider use of referendumss? Discuss. A referendum is a form of direct democracy that involves a public vote on a single issue of public policy. It is a way of presenting a debated issue to public decision. The most recent referendum was in the UK; the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum which asked the question whether Scotland should break away from the UK or not. There are a variety of arguments both for and against the wider use of referendum in the UK. The use was greatly favoured by Tony Blair and his new Labour government in 1997 because they took the view that referendum was a democratic device that allows people the opportunity to give a direct voice in decision making. Therefore, any decision made via referendum acquires legitimacy because it has popular approval. Moreover, referendums can encourage political participation which will help the declining participation of the UK in the way that as referendums are where people can get directly involve in the decision making, they will see this as opportuniy to contribute to the political world as themselves, thereby encouraging them to turn out in election to vote and increase participation like in the 2014 Scottish referendum where the participation brough about a turnout of 84.59% compared to the 2010 general election turnout of 65.1%. Shown clearly in the example is the clear difference between participation of direct democracy and representative democracy which would greatly...
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...Art 108 04 February 2015 Descriptive Essay, Independence and the Opening of the West In June of 1958 Thomas Hart Benton signed a contract with the former President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, to provide a mural which would inspire people of all ages while visiting the Truman Library. According to Thomas Hart Benton, “The 1950s had been a bad time for my art,” Benton wrote in a memoir of his time with Truman. “Although I still had a good deal of journalistic support, the art galleries and museums had little interest in my paintings.” Fortunately he added, “My reputation a muralist had survived.” This was to serve President Truman well as he was to commission Benton to create one of his greatest masterpieces by painting the mural at the Truman Library titled, “Independence and the Opening of the West”. This mural according to Thomas Hart Benton, has two different subject matters. The top of the mural, “told in a great sweeping, energetic arc the story of the westward movement of American civilization through the Indian lands west of Independence.” (Geselbracht, 2009) Some of the great things about this mural would be the multiple symbolic figures associated with it, represents real people from the west, and it has the original Missouri river landing where the majority of people arrived heading towards the west. There were several things which struck me when I first encountered this mural, the vivid colors, I also love all the action portrayed in the piece of art...
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...Harry S. Truman was born on May 8th, 1884 in Missouri and spent most of his childhood on his family’s farm. His name was chosen after his mother’s brother. He had a brother and a sister. Their names were john Vivian (1886-1965), and Mary Jane (1889-1978). His father’s name is john Anderson Truman (1851-1914), and his mother’s name is Martha Ellen young Truman (1846-1916). John was a livestock dealer. Harry and his family moved to a farm near harrisonville when he was 10 months old. They went on to live in Belton and in 1887 they moved to his grandparent’s 600 acre farm in Grandview. When he was 6 years old his family moved into a small town called independence, so he could attend a Presbyterian Church Sunday school. Harry did not go...
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...Unit 3: Thinking Report ‘Scottish independence’ Lauren Pratt – 1200370 As the SNP came to authority four years ago there has been a surge of interest across the country. Becoming independent will mean the people who care most about Scotland will be taken the decision about our future. A debate was presented by Stewart Hosie, a Member of Parliament for Dundee East, who was in favour of the motion besides Jenny Marra, who was the second presenter, who is a member of the Scottish Parliament for Dundee North East, Scottish Labour, was in opposition to the motion. Stewart Hosie gave an analytical, quantitative and fact driven argument. Jenny Marra gave a biographical, personal and historical argument. Both played a conception of their audience as largely conservative. In the debate ‘It is time for Scotland to become independent,’ presented on the 17th of September at University of Abertay, Stewart Hosie stated that for many countries, independence is taken for granted, and Scotland should be given that opportunity also. The biggest part of his argument was a number of statistics which he used to show the sustainability and competency to succeed of an independent Scottish nation by use of taxation, and by exploitation of the North Sea. He encouraged that large manufacturing plants should be returned to Scotland, and through these opportunities, this nation would thrive if no longer dependent on the rest of the UK. On the other hand Jenny Marra took a less statistical approach...
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...What would happen if one day you found out that from that point on, every minute you spent working would pay you money for the rest of your life? Would you work a hour and live with a few dollars per day for the rest of your life? Or would you spend a few hours a day working till you made $100 per day and then stop? Better yet , might you spend several hours a day for a month working make $500 per day for the rest of your life? --Think About It-- Normal Jobs Pay For A hour of work, Passive Income Sources pay for a lifetime from a hour of work. This job however isn't normal , for every hour you work, you make money and get paid for the rest of your life! This is the secret of "Residual Income" that the world's wealthiest people talk about. Wouldn't it be nice not to have to worry about where the next paycheck is coming from? Instead, you would have the satisfaction of knowing the exact date and time your check will be in the mail, all you have to do is pick it up. No more living paycheck-to-paycheck No more back breaking work for someone else Setting your own hours of business Working from the comfort of your own home Job SECURITY - Your job can't be shipped overseas I know what you're thinking "This Is Too Good To Be True" But look at a recent "ScreenShot" Of only 2 weeks In January I have been using the Google Money System since October 2008 , and am now up to an astonishing $10,000 PER WEEK! The best part is I only continue...
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...All unit 1 government and politics past questions: 2011 1) Explain the term turnout used in the extract. (5 marks) 2) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider why some commentators have spoken of a ‘participation crises in recent years. (10 marks) 3) ‘Deciding which party to vote for is now essentially a rational exercise.’ Discuss. (25 marks) 4) Explain the term wasted votes used in the extract. (5 marks) 5) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider why the first-past-the-post system disadvantages some parties. (10 marks) 6) ‘The use of referendums in the UK since 1997 has done little to strengthen democracy.’ Discuss. (25 marks) 7) Explain the term party conference used in the extract. (5 marks) 8) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, outline the ways in which the Conservative Party and the Labour Party select their leaders. (10 marks) 9) ‘The main UK parties differ on economic policy alone.’ Discuss. (25 marks) 10) Explain the term cause groups used in the extract. (5 marks) 11) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider why direct action could be said to undermine UK democracy. (10 marks) 12) ‘The most successful UK pressure groups still tend to focus on lobbying the Westminster Parliament, despite the availability of numerous other access points.’ Discuss. (25 marks) January 2012 13) Explain the term class dealignment used in the extract. (5 marks) 14) Using your own knowledge as well...
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