Medicaid Health Care Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medicaid Health Care Finance - Essay Example Medical Science is still in its development stages as cures for diseases that were incurable are being developed. Such an example is of cancer, Hepatitis B and etc. These diseases were incurable some time ago but the advancement in medical sciences has enabled doctors to cure such diseases. Treatment for these diseases is not only available but is also done at cheap rates that are affordable, but still affordability has been a problem. Medical Science has experienced two major problems in the last decade. Number one is the affordability of treatment and medicines for people and secondly the fraud and abuse of medicines which has become very common around the world (Kelman & Straker, 1999). In this paper we will discuss how the federal government of US has controlled the cost associated with the Medicaid program and how it has helped reduce the Medicaid fraud and abuse. Good health is significant to everyone. If a person can't pay for medical care right now, Medicaid can make it probable for him or her to get the care that is needed so that the person can get healthy and stay fit. Medicaid is obtainable only to certain low-income individuals and families who fit into an eligibility cluster that is recognized by federal and state law. Medicaid does not disburse money to a person instead, it sends payments straight to the person's health care provider (Heiser, 2008). Depending on the state's rules, a person may also be asked to compensate a small division of the charge for a few medical services. Medicaid is a state administered plan and each state sets its individual guidelines regarding eligibility and services. Many groups of people are roofed by Medicaid, even within these groups, though, definite requirements must be met. These may comprise of age, pregnancy, disability, blindness, or old age, income and resources and if a person is a U.S. citiz en or a lawfully admitted immigrant. The regulations for counting the income and resources differ from state to state and from group to group. There are particular rules for those who reside in nursing homes and for disabled children living at home (Commerce Clearing House, 2007). A child may be entitled for coverage if he or she is a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted immigrant, even if his or her parents are not. Eligibility for children is based on the child's status, not the parent's. Also, if someone else's child lives with a person, the child may be qualified even if that person is not because the earnings and resources will not add up for the child. Fraud and Abuse The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS is dedicated to fighting fraud and abuse, which redirect dollars that could or else be spent to preserve the health and welfare of Medicaid customers. To fortify its obligation, CMS has implemented a Medicaid veracity module. This is in reply to the requirements of the Deficit Reduction Act DRA of 2005, finalized on February 8, 2006 by the President, in which Congress proposed CMS to establish the Medicaid Integrity Program MIP. In doing so, it spectacularly augmented the resources accessible to CMS to fight fraud, misuse and exploitation in the Medicaid program. The DRA says that a five-year Comprehensive Medicaid Integrity Plan CMIP be printed to guide MIP growth and functions. This CMIP specially discusses statutory necessities, program

Job search project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Job search project - Assignment Example In addition, the work will present an in-depth study of the present shortage and the reasons behind. Environmental health specialists are professional health workers mandated to ensure safe and healthy condition within residential, commercial, industrial and even recreations settings. These professionals also carry the name environmental health or safety inspector. Their primary duty involves checking the presence of any health hazards and making proper plans to sort out the problems. Majority of environmental safety inspectors are found working in government institutions that monitor federal, state and even local safety and environmental policies. This takes in such duties as monitoring factories and plants for industrial wastes or any other pollution; inspecting hotels for cleanliness; and inspecting day cares institutions, schools and nursing homes to find if there is any heath hazards that may include lead paint or radon. In addition, environmental safety inspectors also check ho w hospitals deal with biological waste while at the same time ensure recreational facilities such as swimming pools are in good condition to be used by the public(NEHA). State employed environmental safety inspectors issue certificates and permits, which qualify that a certain recreational facility, place of business or residence has met the required safety and health standards to begin its operation. On the other hand private environmental health inspectors found working in private companies serve to keep the firms facilities within the standards prescribe by the government. Here, they ensure that environmental health specialists send from the government do not any violations of the set policies. In many cases, the environmental health inspector job requires that one possesses a minimum qualification of a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. Addition qualification in any course related to biology, chemistry, physical science, public health and environmental engineerin g is of great significant. Individuals intending to work with government agencies need to undertake a certification offered by the concerned federal, state or local institution. Such is the case that many states have set up a licensing board to examine possible candidates who are then granted certification after going through the process successfully. In this case, the certification granted depends much on the nature of the concerned facilities. Certification is also possible through the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). In addition to the academic qualifications, a competent environmental health inspector should demonstrate certain skills deemed vital for this profession. First, he/she should display strong employee relation and good interpersonal skills. This will help one relates with other stakeholders in this field without much difficulties. Secondly, a professional in this field needs to have good skills in both verbal and written communication. Such is the cas e that this job will require proper record keeping and at the same time good presentation of the findings. Other important skills required are problem solving, analytical and organizational that will help in accomplishing the task given easily and more effectively (NEHA). Lastly, an environmental hea

A Little Cloud typical of Joyces maturity stories Essay Example for Free

A Little Cloud typical of Joyces maturity stories Essay Refer to themes, language and setting. A Little Cloud is the first of the maturity stories in Dubliners, preceded by Counterparts, Clay and A Painful Case. The story is archetypal of Joyces style and embraces all the key themes of, class, materialism, escapism and above all the paralysis and struggle of Ireland. The opinion that Ireland is a country lowly in comparison to the rest of Europe is enforced at the beginning of the story when Little Chandler says it was something to have a friend like [Gallaher] because he worked for the London press. The emphasis here is on the great city of London and Little Chandler has immeasurable respect for Gallaher as he has escaped the paralysis of Ireland in favour of this thriving city. The environment Chandler lives in is lacklustre and uninspiring, his writing tiresome the nurses he sees are untidy and the old men dozing on benches are decrepit. When Little Chandler thinks of his situation in Dublin a gentle melancholy [takes] possession of him which he feels [is] useless to struggle against. In A Painful Case a number of adjectives are used to convey the environment, such as disused, sombre and shallow. Joyce has subtly emphasised the burden of being a Dubliner and in particular the feeling of restriction which the characters are unwilling to challenge and from which they feel escape would be futile. There are recurring references to the colour brown (not just in the maturity stories) and Maria in Clay wears a brown raincoat, thus inadvertently resigning herself to the drab and motionless life of Dublin. Joyce contrasts two worlds in the story; the domestic, insular and paralysed Dublin with the fast-moving, energetic, cosmopolitan London and Europe. Little Chandler desires to belong to the wider, modern world and begins to despise his life with his family in Dublin. By juxtaposing Little Chandler with the successful, exuberant Gallaher, Joyce sets up an antithesis between the two worlds which they represent. The Act of Union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1800 abolished Irelands political centre, resulting in Dublin being a city in limbo, without a clear purpose and with a confused identity. This is evident throughout Dubliners, with inhabitants such as Little Chandler and Farrington all feeling trapped by the narrowness of Dublin life. There is a pervasive feeling that to be glamorous, like Ignatius Gallaher, one has to leave Ireland. Little Chandler believes London to be the key to his dreams and that if you wanted to succeed you had to go away. You could do nothing in Dublin. The attitude of Little Chandler to social class is indicated throughout. He encounters children in the slums of North Dublin as he passes on his way to meet his glamorous friend, Gallaher. The children are described as a horde, grimy and populating the street and depicted as vermin who crawled and squatted like mice. Little Chandler, like Duffy in A Painful Case feels himself to be superior to the people whom he passed, above the parochial, narrow interests of Dublin. He aspires to be a poet, loved by the more affluent English people. Chandler is shallow and materialistic, obsessed with appearance and class, excited about going to Corlesss because he knew the value of the name and the richly dressed ladies caught his eye. Gallaher says if he ever married, his wife must have a good fat account at the bank otherwise she wont do for me. If he marries he intends to play [his] cards properly and secure one of the thousand of rich Germans and Jews. He dismisses the sacrament of marriage as just business that could go stale, emphasising the immorality of London. The maturity stories all contain the presence of resentment in the main characters at the inevitable situation they have resigned themselves to living in. Joyce conveys Little Chandlers anger with a number of adjectives such as trembled, burst, convulsively and a paroxysm of sobbing. His cheeks later suffuse with shame which gives way to tears of remorse at his failure not only to fulfil his dreams but for the resentment he feels towards his family for thwarting his freedom. In Counterparts there is an established mood of anger with a bell rung, a heavy step and Farringtons spasms of rage. Joyce uses the symbol of the little cloud as an image of entrapment, not just hope; the little cloud of unhappiness hovering over his marriage to Annie, which restricts him from being the fun-loving bachelor like his idol Gallaher. Joyce incorporates the fantasy and captivation of exoticism and wealth in the dark Oriental eyes of the Rich Jewesses. Similar to fantasies of the East Joyce uses alcoholism as a method of escape from the stifling lives of the Dubliners and this is particularly prominent in A Little Cloud. Gallaher states that he drinks [his whisky] neat and that Little Chandler, who drinks very little doesnt know whats good for [him]. Sobriety is here seen as the reason why Chandlers life is so inartistic and dreary in comparison to Gallahers. Ireland is belittled and viewed as an engaging absurdity by the English when Gallaher says theyve got a great feeling for Ireland and the English were ready to eat [him] because he was Irish. Little Chandler wishes his name was more Irish-looking so as to endear the British with his book he dreams about publishing in London. This is ironic as Little Chandlers wishes to flee the restraints of Ireland yet feels dependant on his heritage. The story is highly symbolic of Irelands historical state; how the rest of Europe refuses to treat Ireland with respect symbolising Gallaher continually refusing Little Chandlers invitations to come for supper and to meet his family. Gallahers visit gives rise to an epiphany within Little Chandler, a feature Joyce includes in each of his stories, an anti climax when a character realises his escape to be defective. In the maturity series it is through the characters own personality flaw they render themselves incapable of escaping the life they constantly bemoan. In A Little Cloud Gallahers visit evokes a dull resentment within Little Chandler; he was useless, useless! A prisoner for life and he feels acutely the injustice of his life is next to Gallahers. Little Chandler believes the only way of escape is if he publishes a book in London, but he cannot complete this because the wailing of the child permanently permeates his ear. Little Chandler projects the resentment he feels at his lack of achievement in comparison to Gallaher, onto his wife and he is repelled by her passionless eyes and fantasises of the dark Oriental eyes of the Jewesses which Gallaher mentioned earlier in Corlesss. Little Chandler begins to feel a little disillusioned and Gallahers accent did not please him. London, which Gallaher hitherto represents, is now seen as gaudy and vulgar imprinting itself upon his original old personal charm and his vagrant and triumphant life upsets the equipoise of [Chandlers] sensitive nature. Little Chandler believes that Gallahers alleged friendliness to him is in fact patronisation just as he was patronising Ireland by his visit. He has been too consumed with his own anger and resentment at his own entrapment and the failure of his own dreams, to see through Gallahers version of an exotic, successful life. In A Painful Case Duffy becomes disillusioned with escaping, when Mrs Sinico caught up his hand passionately and similarly Little Chandler begins to wildly question Could [I] go to London?, [is] it too late? But Duffy bids his only distraction from the paralysis of Dublin Mrs Sinico, goodbye and is blatantly scared of commitment. The reunion with a conceited Gallaher reminds Little Chandler of what he hasnt achieved and he feels resentment which he thus inflicts on those around him. A Little Cloud is an evident example of Joyces maturity stories in keeping with the aspect that binds them together, the characters comprehension that all endeavours to escape are fruitless. Little Chandler and Duffy lacked conviction and ignored the opportunity that was once given to them for escape, something they blame everyone but themselves for. The characters Joyce writes of do not appreciate what they have, mourning instead for what they do not. The Dubliners are, like the city, reluctant to change and yet are embittered by the injustice of their paralysed lives. Duffy does not appreciate until the death of Mrs Sinico, that he will never have a chance of marriage, or to love, through which he could have forgotten the monotony of the city he cannot escape. Congruously, Little Chandler dismisses his family throughout A Little Cloud and when his personal epiphany dawns on him he realises his failure to his family, his cheeks suffuse with shame and he cries with tears of remorse as much out of guilt at the egocentric way he has behaved, as for his hopeless venture of escape.

The Sense Of Community Cohesion In Britain Sociology Essay

The Sense Of Community Cohesion In Britain Sociology Essay Socio-anthropologists hold the opinion that people think, feel and act in certain ways based on the environment in which they have grown. The environment in this context could be inferred as the community that has influence their make-up or identity. In recent times, public debates in the media by politicians, journalists, experts and other stakeholders have focused on what is or constitute being British. These debates have sharply bordered on socio-religious identities, and raised questions such as: Does religious beliefs supersede community bonding? To what extent is ones loyalty to the community in which one lives?. Other debates have been on profiling and condemnation of racially motivated violence and harassment, a hand wringing debate on institutional racism following the publication in 1999 of the Macpherson Report into the death of Stephen Lawrence (Amin, 2002). Government policies and legislatives on equal opportunity to highlight awareness of sense of community, presuppose that the very fabric of the concept of community is weakened and threatened in our contemporary Britain. Community is A body of people having common rights, privileges, or interests, or living in the same place under the same laws and regulations (http://www.brainyquote.com/words/co/community146100.html) The meaning of the word Community has changed over the years. Smith (2001)explores the theory of community in the article entitled Community and highlighted on why the attention on social capital and community may be important. the use of the term community has remained to some extent associated with the hope and the wish of reviving once more the closer, warmer, more harmonious type of bonds between people vaguely attributed to past ages (Elias 1974, quoted by Hoggett 1997: 5). People lived in groups sharing faith, religion and other social norms during pre industrialization era. Community was redefined after this when people became workers in industries. They were many studies about community in the middle of the 20th century leading a deeper analysis of the term. The free Dictionary however defines individualism as a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence. This definition  highlights on the word belief anything held as true. Thus in this context the individuals opinion is held in high esteem and supplants that of any others. Hofstede (1991) in his cultural dimensions describes individualism as pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family. Hofstede scaled Britain on high individualism index of 89, and that people thinks in terms of I and not We. Researchers found that Britain was the most individualistic society in the world one that valued the self over the group more than any other country.(Richard A, 2009) According to the Kwintessential website certain traits are common to countries that have high individualism. personal goals and achievement are strived for, it is acceptable to pursue individual goals at the expense of others, individualism is encouraged whether it be personality, clothes or music tastes and finally the right of the individual reign supreme; thus laws to protect choices and freedom of speech. (http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/individualism.html) A recent report for the Childrens Society highlights the above facts. Leading experts today identify excessive individualism as the greatest threat to our children. In a landmark report on A Good Childhood, commissioned by The Childrens Society and published by Penguin, they show that childrens lives have become more difficult than in the past, and they trace this to excessive individualism. (http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/whats_happening/media_office/latest_news/14758_news.html) Other organisations like Joseph Rowntree Foundation have express the fear over the changes that are taking place in Britain. They have classified excessive individualism as a social evil. The JRFs recent public consultation revealed a strong sense of unease about some of the changes shaping British society. This Viewpoint continues the discussion about modern social evils on the theme of inequality. Chris Creegan argues that until we can reconcile the problems of excessive individualism, consumerism and greed at the heart of contemporary society, life opportunities will continue to be lost, limited and wasted. (Creegan C, 2008) To enable all different groups to get on well in all communities, community cohesion should take place. A cohesive community is one that affords the people in the community knowledge of their rights and responsibilities. People from different backgrounds in this community should have similar opportunities. They must also trust their local institutions like the police and the courts. They should believe that the local council will offer fair services to all in the community and not for instance place all new immigrants looking for accommodation from social landlords into areas that are deprived and unwanted by the rest of the community. The community must recognize the contributions of both new arrivals and those already settled and not be intimidated by the change it brings. A typical example is the arrival of the Polish immigrants. Some people in Britain could not recognize the skills, experience and knowledge they brought to the nation but rather were fearful that they had taken jobs from the British. Also, that there are positive relationships between people of different backgrounds at school, work and home. According to Ted Cantle Community cohesion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦micro-communitiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦mesh into an integrated whole. These divided communities would need to develop common goals and a shared vision (Home Office, 2001b: 70). In his recommendations, Cantle draws on the importance and the need for Social networks and social capital, social order and social control, social solidarity and reductions in wealth disparities. Worley (2005) also demonstrates how the concept of   community is vi tal to the community  cohesion, and suggests that whilst the  concept of community is highly ambiguous, it has continuing significance in New Labour policymaking.   Excessive Individualism is concerned with each one for him/herself and God for us all and therefore undermines the sense of community cohesion in Britain. People have become increasingly self-reliant. Families are not so extended anymore but reliant on one, two or the most three people. People are not in contact so much with their relatives and tend to rely on their immediate family only. Family homes are acquired to accommodate the immediate family and not the extended family. People hire child minder, nannies and do not rely so much on their relative anymore. Everyone aspires to be rich or amass wealth that will meet his and her families needs. Some researchers have even blamed the recession on individualism. From the public consultation we did last year, there was a strong sense that the decline of community has corresponded with a rise in individualism. Participants suggested that people increasingly look after their own individual or family interests without considering the needs of society or the community. (Urwin J, 2008) People are no more interested in what the community achieves but what they the individuals can achieve. Even industries encourage people to be individualist by offering DIY packages which take attention from tradesmen to the individual. Thus a sense of togetherness is non existent. If the advent of industrialization has promoted individualism, then what about information age. Computerization, in terms of games development such Wii, Playstation and Xbox 360 are all means and mediums that does not encourage people to go out and socialize in the community, rather it encourages people to engage with themselves. Online shopping has brought the benefit of purchasing items from the comfort of our homes; however, this goes a long way to kill social interaction. Most social activities are now targeted at the individual in his home. People have become lazy at forming relationships with others especially those who live in urban areas. The East end of London was once a upon a time described as dark in the night and dark in day dark in the day meaning it was not lit up by the middle classs Christianity. That has diminished in todays Britain leaving little bulbs of religion here and there making religion or faith very individualistic.And yet the old east end is often held up as the epitome of community. Peoples values vary and individual behaviour has become very personal and cant be corrected by community as before. You cant correct other peoples children without being murdered or abused. Everyone keeps themselves to themselves and its hard to get to know your neighbours. There are some very sweeping generalizations in these preceding statements they referencing or at least phrased with greater nuance. This is what happened in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford when communities lived in different areas went to different schools and had little to do with each other. Whilst the physical segregation of housing estates and inner city areas came as no surprise, the team was particularly struck by the depth of polarisation of our towns and cities. The extent to which these physical divisions were compounded by so many other aspects of our daily lives, was very evident. Separate educational arrangements, community and voluntary bodies, employment, places of worship, language, social and cultural networks, means that many communities operate on the basis of a series of parallel lives. (Independent Review Team, 2001; 9) Peoples inability to relate to others goes a long way to affect community cohesion. It creates fear, tensions and misunderstanding which is what was experienced in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham. Fears about the overwhelming and negative effect of diversity on social cohesion and national identity have been expressed by journalists and policy makers alike. For example, David Goodhart, the editor of The Prospect, targeted his February 2004 article at the detrimental impact of ethnic diversity in modern Britain on the sense of community and solidarity among citizens, and on the viability of the British welfare state (Goodhart 2004), while Trevor Philips, Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, reiterated this argument by stressing the need for strengthening common values and core Britishness (Baldwin and Rozenberg 2004). (http://www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/Politics/papers/2005/NLetki_social%20capital%20and%20diversity_final.pdf) This paragraph is all a quote authors citing other authors. It needs some link to your argument pulling out those elements that directly bear on it. Having said all of the above, community cohesion issues are multifaceted and function differently in specific areas. There are many parts to building community cohesion, from tackling inequalities to developing peoples understanding and tolerance of others. (http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2627) Excessive individualism is not the only factor that works against community cohesion. There are other factors like integration which needs to happen for new residents and existing residents to understand and accept one another. In the Cantle report the issue of intergration came up and the comments were as follows: The other problematic issue is that of levels of integration/segregation. Again there is a perception within the established white community that minority communities do not do enough to integrate into what they see as British culture or society, instead forming a separate community (a view which seems at odds with the observed white flight when such integration is attempted). Yet to an extent segregation will always occur through choice- whether naturally gravitating towards people who share your views or seeking minority-specific facilities such as places of worship or particular shops and services that would not be financially viable in a more dispersed community- and this is not necessarily a cause for concern. The Cantle Independant Review team notes: (Wntrmute 2003) A cohesive community must also have the ability to create opportunities to bring people together, confront myths and intolerance so that people in the community can realise their full potential. Every area is unique and will therefore face different challenges. Britain has a rich diversity in towns, cities, urban and picturesque villages. Community cohesion must be able to meet the differing needs of its residents before cohesion can be promoted. For community cohesion to function well there needs to a sense of safety. People must feel safe and welcome. There should be jobs so that establish residents do not start to blame new residents of taking their jobs. Social trends have also influenced the experience of poverty within England. For example, unemployment figures are roughly comparable with those of the 1970s, but changes in social structure (more single home owners or single parent families) mean that a greater number of homes lack a source of income. The UK is the only EU country in which households with children are more likely than households without children to include no one with a job. This is attributed to the high proportion of UK lone parents without a job. (from the Social Inclusion National Action Plan) (Wntrmute 2003) Lack of jobs in certain communities in Britain has created a gap of have and half not in communities. Priorities should be given to regenerating run down areas in the community to promote community cohesion. If run down areas are not regenerated residents will start to become bitter and it will create tensions in the community. This will also attract businesses to the area which will in turn impact on the community. The provision of affordable housing will also help promote community cohesion. Housing is recognised as a major determinant of the shape of communities (Independent Review Team, 2001; Home Office, 2001) In communities like Slough where there has been a large in flux of immigrants, there are accusations that local residents are being passed over in social housing. Also, when there is housing, communities do not break up and move away looking for housing elsewhere. In recent times, we have seen young people move away from villages because properties there are too expensive. Residents in the community should also be provided with the opportunities for training for jobs. This will boost confidence and enhance job seeking opportunities. There should be good transport links in the community. This should put the community on the map. Make people get to places quickly and conveniently. Give access to shops and amenities. There should be good environmental improvement which will enhance communities. An insert of cultural and leisure facilities should aid the promotion of a cohesive community. Cultural and community centres which promote belonging. Britain is now made up of people from different backgrounds and for them to get on well together community cohesion must happen. This will however, be difficult if excessive individualism is prevalent. Having said that, community cohesion cannot be undermined by excessive individualism alone other factors like housing, poverty, race etc are contributing factors. . .

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The Life of Nelson Mandela Most people have heard the name Nelson Mandela from recent news, but many of them haven't heard his whole story. Mandela not only had a monumental impact on South Africa's history, but also helped to shape the country into what it is today. He's not only had a significant influence on his country, but also the world. From early on, he dreamed of helping the South African people fight for their freedom. This dream definitely became reality. Mandela and the legacy he left behind will be remembered for years to come. Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 as Rolihlahla Mandela, but one of his teachers later gave him the name Nelson. He was adopted at the age of nine, and his father died when he was twelve. For college, Mandela started out at the University of Fort Hare, but was expelled nearly a year later for taking part in a protest. He then picked up his education at the University of Witwatersrand and continued studying law. He didn't get his official degree until 1989, during the last few months of being imprisoned. In 1944, Mandela became a part of the ...

America Can Save Its Schools from Violence Essay -- Argumentative Pers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The late 1990s brought some frightening headlines to the public consciousness. Deadly shootings were happening in our public schools (Columbine, Littleton). Unfortunately like all other events that appear for the first time, we went from being shocked and dismayed, to a feeling of numbness as they continued and continued. To understand why this is happening in American culture, we need to look at the last two decades of social evolution. We had a distortion of the classic family, an abundance of role conflict, and a move towards sensationalism in our media. We are constantly being bombarded by images of violence on the television and lyrics about acts or threats of violence on the radio. All members of society need to take an active part in a revolution of our priorities. The violence in our school systems will decrease when parents, teachers, peers, and role models start paying more attention to our students.    Breakdown of Traditional Family    Many correlations can be made between acts of violence and the breakdown of the traditional family. In a 1995 study conducted by the Council of Families in America, "50% of first marriages end in divorce"(A1). As result families have been forced to mutate. This often results in a household consisting of one parent (mom or dad) and the child/children. Typically the parent, who has custody, has a job to provide for the family. Oftentimes this leaves the child/children home alone or with some sort of caretaker (daycare, babysitter, nanny). This situation could lead to a wide array of problems. The child may not receive the attention they need from their parent that is proven to aid in the development of proper morals and values. Doctor John Gottman of the Marital an... ...ools can be curbed.    Works Cited Alexander, Kelly. "Is spanking Ever Okay?" Parent. May 2001 Vl. 76 #5: 94. Council of Families in America. "Low Marriage, High Divorce Rates Hits Kids Hard." Reuters. 4 Apr. 1995 <http://www.vix.com/pub/men/nofather/articles/usa-marriages.html: A1. Dominick, Joseph R. "Social Effects of Mass Communication." The Dynamics of Mass Communication. 6th Ed. 1999: child 1; B. Gottman, John. Marital and Family Research Institute. Pamphlet. Feb. 2001: A2. Kagan, Donald; Steven Ozment; Frank M. Turner. "The Age of Napoleon and the Triumph of Romanticism." The Western Heritage. 2001 Vl. C 7th Edition: 690. Kornblum, William. "Education and Communications Media" Sociology: In A Changing World. 2000 5th Edition: Hamburg 1992. Pearlman, Robert. "Cruelty of Culture." Time 27 Dec. 1999 Vl. 54 I. 25: 40.

Imagining Society: Hegemony in Poetry and Fiction Essay

The concept of hegemony, which asserts that society is ruled by a set of beliefs ingrained within the minds of individuals figures heavily into not only the ideals of society but also the representation of images and ideas. In poetry, we can see it in the references to nature, literature, and common social themes that reach beyond national boundaries to be easily relatable to the masses. In fiction, we can see the same concept in the attitudes and behaviors of characters and their respective communities. The poems â€Å"The Love Song of J.  Alfred Prufrock,† â€Å"A Song on the End of the World,† and â€Å"Odessa† the poets use universally relatable images to invoke imagery and emotion within the characterization of humanity. Kazuo Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day uses a similar notion but rather than representing these ideals through imagery, he exerts the dominance of hegemonic ideals in the behavior and beliefs of an individual character. Each work shows the hegemonic concept in practice, relating the easy acceptance of beliefs and ideals both blatantly as shown in Ishiguro’s story and through a coercion of imagery. They show that Gramsci’s theory applies beyond acceptance of societal norms to the emotional and tangible evidence of the connectedness of perceptions within society. The reading from Kazuo Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day, shows the ability for hegemonic ideals of the upper class to penetrate within an individual’s consciousness in a seemingly unaware manner. For Mr. Stevens, the butler, the silver polish represents a bygone era in his life. This was the height of the society in which he found himself in the periphery. His participation in this ritual, which he describes as significant in an outsider’s view of that particular household, â€Å"no other objects in the house were likely to come under such intimate scrutiny from outsiders as was silver during a meal, and as such, it served as a public index of the house’s standards† (Ishiguro 86). As butler, he was directly tied into the representation of these standards. The question is why this silver, which had no discernable effect on his own personal life carried such weight for him? Quite simply, Mr.  Stevens as part of the mechanism of upper class society had adopted their views as his own. Though the presentation of silver at the dinner table has little to no relevance in a lower or working class home, the ideal of finely polished silver represents a dream of upper class affluence. The influence of this upper class practice on Stevens is evident in the pride he retains in the â€Å"pleasing impact† (86) of the Darlington Hall silver on guests. The only relevance this has on his life, and for that matter the lives of the other butlers in great houses, is a matter of hegemonic assignation. They have inherited this ideal of silver from their employers, given their own servant status it would be unlikely they would adopted this view of silver without the influences of the great houses. Similarly in the poem â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† the images created by Eliot are easily associated within the mind of the reader. He in fact relies on the hegemonic ideal to help the reader associate his imagery with the correct feelings and sensations. The character of the poem, struggles himself against the constraints of such ideals which relate the world around him to concepts he accepts but cannot reconcile. He is playing his part in the larger play of life, â€Å"There will be time, there will be time/ To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;/ There will be time to murder and create† (Eliot 137. ll. 26-28). He is a middle-aged man fighting the depressions of the sameness, the women â€Å"Talking of Michelangelo† (138. ll. 36) but ignoring the living. Prufrock is left in uncertainty between the ideals, which have been ingrained within him by society, and his own desires to break free, â€Å"Do I dare/ disturb the universe? † (138. ll. 45-46). His struggle is accented with Eliot’s imagery of a broken man that is highlighted by references easily discerned and relatable in the ideas and literature of modern society, â€Å"I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;/ Am an attendant lord, one that will do/ To swell a progress, start a scene or two,/advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,/ Deferential, glad to be of use† (139. ll. 111-115). In this reference to Hamlet, Eliot identifies Prufrock as a tragic figure though less so than a hero or villain; Prufrock’s sorrow is of a peripheral kind that never reaches the passion of Hamlet’s excesses or madness. Prufrock’s melancholy is tempered by his knowledge of what he ought to be and what he wants to be, â€Å"Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? / I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. / I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. / I do not think that they will sing to me† (ll. 122-125). He has grown accepting of his role as assigned by society, while Eliot highlights his sadness in the silent songs of the mermaids who even mythical fail to acknowledge or recognize this unremarkable man. His tragedy lies in his anonymity, having absorbed too much of the upper class ideal as part of himself. While the two above readings center in part around a particular class of society, and through that representation show their ideals and the roots of the hegemony within the individual context, Czeslaw Milosz’s poem â€Å"A Song on the End of the World† offers a departure in the lack of specificity to an upper or middle class society. Instead Milosz’s poem relies are universal images of nature, that are easily put into context regardless of class or nationality. By doing this, he is showing the capability to tragedy to reach beyond these boundaries. He juxtaposes the heavy line â€Å"On the day the world ends† (ll. 1) with the natural and everyday details of nature, â€Å"A bee circles a clover†(ll. 2). He is playing off the religious idea of the world ending in great catastrophe. However, in this poem the â€Å"world† is not meant to imply the Earth as a scientific fact to be destroyed by natural or manmade disaster. Instead the â€Å"world† is humanity, an idea of community and the individual that is implied throughout in the singular, though relatable images of a â€Å"drunkard† (ll. 9), a â€Å"yellow-sailed boat† (ll. 11), and a â€Å"violin† (ll. 2) to show both the universal and personal nature of such an event. Milosz’s relies on hegemony to help the reader understand the interconnectedness of life. He uses easily associated and common images to avoid alienating the audience, instead bringing them into the idea of oneness that was behind the 1944 Warsaw uprising against the Nazis. For the Polish of Warsaw, this defeat represented an ending to the world they had known. Ilya Kaminsky’s â€Å"Dancing in Odessa,† like Milosz and Eliot’s poems relies heavily on imagery to bring the reader into the moment. Though her images to do not carry the universal relatability of Milosz’s nature images, the emotional and mental effects of the invasion of the German’s into Odessa. She builds the first part of the poem with imagery to evoke a sense of freedom, which contrasts sharply with the restrictions of the German invaders. Where once the family had lived â€Å"north of the future† (Kaminky 12. ll. 1) and the invaders reveal this removal from the future as a removal from the damages of reality that are encroaching on this community. The danger that arise smother this future and the people live in the past, even before they are so roughly brought to the present, â€Å"my mother danced, she filled the past/ with peaches, casseroles† (ll. 9-10). Her retelling of the story, is meant to evoke memory buried within the individual. The imagery is such as to show the dreamlike quality of the past seen through the brutal truth of the future. Unlike Eliot and Milosz’s poems she does not rely solely on cultural markers such as Shakespeare or Michaelangelo nor does her nature carry the same universality of the images of nature. However, the day-to-day life as imagined by Kaminsky allows for an understanding that plays on emotion and historical allusions. More separate than the other writers from the hegemonic ideal, the emotions evoked by displacement are meant to strike at the basic human core. Her search for understanding is not so unlike the other poets’ expression of reality and the altering effects of the human mind on this reality. Any longer in literature language and imagery overlap with history to provide a core understanding that branches barriers of class, nationality, and culture. An understanding of the world is gleaned through these works by the use of the relatable and hegemony of the ideals which dominate the context of their subjects. In both Kaminsky and Milosz’s poems we can easily see and understand the references to the Nazi dominance of World War II and the loss of hope. For Eliot’s Prufrock, so influenced by the ideals of society, the loss of hope is highlighted by his inability to move beyond his melancholy and the life role assigned to him. He has become and will remain what is expected of him. Assigned to a particular class, carrying all of its restrictions and belief within his actions, Prufrock is stunted by his inactivity against this structure. Similarly, Mr. Stevens has taken on the role of butler and absorbed not only the ideals of his status but also those of his employers. In mindset, he is upper class in his equal obsession with silver as a marker of status but in reality he remains a servant without status. The hegemonic concept is apt in the looking at the relationship between language and perception, allowing writers and poets to impart imagery and feeling through easily relatable conclusions. We do not doubt the sadness of Prufrock or the hopelessness that accompanied the Nazi occupation of Warsaw or the subsequent crackdown on the rise the rebellion, nor can we deny the sadness, which accompanies remembering in Kaminsky’s poem. We do not doubt them because we can relate, we can accept these images as representative of the beliefs and ideals of the society to which we are also a part.