Hedging an Equity Portfolio Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hedging an Equity Portfolio - Coursework Example Zero cost collars can be defined as a strategy which is created by buying a put and selling a call in the same underlying security so that the strike price of the call gives rise to the exact amount of profit to negate the loss in the put option, so that the underlying scenario leads to neither loss nor gain. This action or strategy is mostly used by the bullish traders or investors who anticipate always a rise or a hike in value of the underlying securities and thus the investors want to protect their position by offsetting the excessive rise in prices by putting a collar or a ceiling and simultaneously creating a put to offset the hike in prices leading to profit. The zero cost strategy is mostly carried out using LEAPS options. The profit of the zero cost collars can be calculated by using the formulae- Purchase price of the shares – strike price of the call whereas the minimum loss can be a stock price at the beginning- strike price of put-/+ net credit or debit on trade.T he zero cost collar can be used to protect the investors investment effectively since utilizing this strategy we can mitigate the losses completely and even if the investor is a bullish trader then the zero collar strategy can be used to even reduce the amount of price hike or value hike in the case of the afore mentioned underlying securities. We have taken the date on 3/7/2014. Thus we have shown the strike price, sale price of the call and sell price of put of FTSE 100 index.

Playing Upon the String of Emptiness Essay Example for Free

Playing Upon the String of Emptiness Essay Nowadays, the search for something new has been greatly pursued. The availability of resources helped individuals to innovate. It impels them to work beyond the existing rules and surpassing limitations, be it in the field of music, architecture, literature, etc. The modernity of this world brought upon by globalization made it easier to reach cultures. Cultures that were bound by their physical territories before have been accessible because of modern technologies. This easy, unlimited exposure provides endless ideas and innovations that bring about different works of art. For Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, this infinite flow of innovations or novelties offers unrestricted venues for artists to produce their works—venues that are free from rules and do not conform to a certain set of standards. According to him, this poses a threat to the morality of society as well as of the artists’. He argued that novelty is an art with unlimited freedom and thus equates to a soulless art. This perspective was explained in the context of Russian’s struggle with communism which Solzhenitsyn directly experienced. He focused on the deterioration of arts’ standard after the fall of Communism, specifically with literature. Due to the given freedom, arts do not fall under a set of standards, causing the artistic value to suffer. He then related that Communism promoted a new society. To be able to build a new one, the old cultures and traditions should be thrown away: To start a new world is to start from scratch. Solzhenitsyn then compared this situation to the literary artists in his country. They were writing outright criticisms of every aspect of Russian roots like language, religion, and traditional cultures—a move that was so desperate for a change to be made by who he termed as ‘desperate innovators’. The author disapproved of forgetting the roots of any artistic work, for this is important in the development of a new face of art. Solzhenitsyn does not believe in the aggressive step of aiming forward in the arts starting from nothing. Novelty becomes relentless with the absence of ancient roots. It is an unintelligible art with no significant value to the world—an art without a purpose and is useless. Solzhenitsyn cited what kinds of arts were produced because of the frantic novelty frenzy. The arts arising from novelty does not have that spiritual connection from the artist with the world. Since the ‘great cultural tradition’ has been detached, the spiritual grounds that were developed from it are missing as well. Arts were not produced for a greater purpose anymore. Thus, it does not emanate a higher sense of value for the world. It is reduced to a mere display without a profound significance. It was from the author’s observation that the absence of artistic limits has resulted in irresponsibility and apathy. Solzhenitsyn mentioned the ‘what do you care’ attitude of the Russian writers who created literary works when the censorship has been lifted after the downfall of communism. This kind of artistic mindset alienates the welfare of its audience. The line between right and wrong has become thinner, its boundaries blurry and sometimes interchanging. The arts, according to Solzhenitsyn, have been turned into more of a personal ambition of the artists rather than an intentional product of passion and love. He stressed that artists do not bring the world as the subject; they are the focal point. The arts became a movement of personal interests of the artists. Novelty becomes like a venue for affectation. Going back to Solzhenitsyn main argument, novelty became ruthless because it eradicated the classical foundation of arts. Arts cannot push for development if its foundation will be forgotten. It would be more disruptive if it will be forced to progress aggressively without any fundamentals to back it up. Alexander Solzhenitsyn sees novelty as a cause for a more individualistic nature rather than being communal in interaction. He was alarmed by how the current generation responded to old traditions. These traditions were treated as something useless and irrelevant in the present. Novelty was portrayed by the author as something anti-cultural and antagonistic of anything universally accepted. The saying ‘to each his own’ in arts or in general constitutes obscure distinction between good and evil. Another supporting factor for Solzhenitsyn’s argument is that this particular freedom attached with novelty developed into a negative relativity. This has been embraced by young artists who turn self-expression into a lack of sensitivity with regard to the effects of their work to other people. Social responsibility slowly ceased to exist anymore. Artistic freedom has always been believed to be helpful in maximizing an artist’s work. However, Alexander Solzhenitsyn presented an opposite view. The freedom vested on the artist implies a threat of producing an art with is a much lesser value. With no artistic limitations and no principles to follow, art becomes less of a recreation instead of serving a higher purpose. Solzhenitsyn emphasized the need to take the cultural tradition into account because without it, progress will be impossibly successful. He sees novelty as a trend resulting in chaos—socially and morally disruptive. It promotes an individualism that is obviously selfish and divides humanity even more. Innovations should be created for the benefit of others. Arts may be a compiled output of an individual’s unique skills and talents, but there will always be a responsibility attached to it because people get to grasp these works. An art is a huge factor in contributing to the formation of an ideology in a society. It is a powerful tool to propagate a message that can reach a huge number of people. Hence, Solzhenitsyn sees its development as critical because this will determine where the world will be heading to. The world will not be able to move forward without revisiting and considering the past. The cultural traditions within human society should be embedded for development. It is an important basis to learn from past mistakes and to improve on the present. It can be seen that Solzhenitsyn somehow views relentless novelty as the anarchism of art that will later on transcend into society. He mentioned the absence of laws in the process of arts and the lack of absolute truth. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn provided the view of novelty enclosed in a reckless handful of freedom and a lack of traditional grounds. He presented it as something negative because he had witnessed what it did to his people especially to the younger generations. As an artist himself, the author poses a huge concern on what kind of directions the arts would take since he knows the powerful influence of it to the society. He hopes to spread his view to make the younger generations be exposed of what history has brought the Russian country and what were its implications. Solzhenitsyn firmly believes that through history, it may shape the new artists to work for a greater purpose for humanity.

Road Not Taken :: Free Essays

Critical Interpretation of â€Å"The Road Not Taken† by Robert Frost As a poem, â€Å"The Road Not Taken† is a great source of inspiration and able to be understood by all readers from an intuitive reader to a novice poem reader. A short poem with 4 sections, Robert Frost has given the main theme of the poem in its title, â€Å"The Road Not Taken.† Depending on the reader, the â€Å"road not taken† can ultimately imply any journey in life in which a decision between two paths must be made. â€Å"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood† provides the introduction and gives the main idea that a path must be chosen from two roads. Frost has further added to the drama of the decision in that both paths are desirable with â€Å"and sorry I could not travel both.† Frost implies that the path to be chosen is a personal decision in â€Å"and be one traveler.† In describing the two paths, Frost uses reverse language to describe. The first path was â€Å"bent in the undergrowth,† meaning it was well worn with no opportunity for overgrowth. The second path was â€Å"grassy and wanted wear† meaning it was overgrown and lacked wear (or a path). Frost foreshadows his decision by his use of language in describing those two paths. With both roads or paths equal, ultimately a decision must be made with no regret is the meaning Frost is providing in â€Å"And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black.† As Frost has made his decision as to which path to pursue, he introduces another idea that after traveling the selected path perhaps he can come back to the philosophical fork in the road and chose the other path. But then he reminds himself that as one decision leads to other decisions and time moves on, he will more than likely never be able to get back to this point in his life or journey. Road Not Taken :: Free Essays Critical Interpretation of â€Å"The Road Not Taken† by Robert Frost As a poem, â€Å"The Road Not Taken† is a great source of inspiration and able to be understood by all readers from an intuitive reader to a novice poem reader. A short poem with 4 sections, Robert Frost has given the main theme of the poem in its title, â€Å"The Road Not Taken.† Depending on the reader, the â€Å"road not taken† can ultimately imply any journey in life in which a decision between two paths must be made. â€Å"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood† provides the introduction and gives the main idea that a path must be chosen from two roads. Frost has further added to the drama of the decision in that both paths are desirable with â€Å"and sorry I could not travel both.† Frost implies that the path to be chosen is a personal decision in â€Å"and be one traveler.† In describing the two paths, Frost uses reverse language to describe. The first path was â€Å"bent in the undergrowth,† meaning it was well worn with no opportunity for overgrowth. The second path was â€Å"grassy and wanted wear† meaning it was overgrown and lacked wear (or a path). Frost foreshadows his decision by his use of language in describing those two paths. With both roads or paths equal, ultimately a decision must be made with no regret is the meaning Frost is providing in â€Å"And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black.† As Frost has made his decision as to which path to pursue, he introduces another idea that after traveling the selected path perhaps he can come back to the philosophical fork in the road and chose the other path. But then he reminds himself that as one decision leads to other decisions and time moves on, he will more than likely never be able to get back to this point in his life or journey.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells Essay -- Papers HG Wells Essays

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells Works Cited Not Included Time traveling, a concept known to modern man as inconceivable, but in The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells, this fathom of human fantasy has come to life. Wells entangles a unique blend of contrasting characters, conflicts of capitalist verses laborer divisions, and foreshadowing of the destruction of humanity to seem together this novel of visionary proportions. "The Time Machine is a bleak and sober vision of man's place in the Universe."(McConnell Pg.1581) Well's use of characters in The Time Machine brings a heavy sense of contrast and diversity into the story. There are five main characters around which the story revolves. Beginning with the Eloi and the Morlocks, which are the two branches of humanity in the year 802,701. The Eloi, who are our capitalist force, and whom resemble modern humans the most, live above ground and feed on the vast vegetation that has engulfed the Earth. The Eloi are lazy and mind spans to that of a five-year-old. The Eloi never fully mature for the cannibalistic Morlocks harvest them at a certain age as food. The Eloi are described as fair of skin and hair and are considered childlike and frail. "Fragile little creatures perhaps four feet tall, they pass their time in playing gently, in bathing in the river, in making love in a half-playful fashion, in eating fruit and sleeping. Human vigor and energy have passed into languor and decay."(McConnell Pg.3865) The Eloi live in splendid castles, but these bea utiful porcelain castles are crumbling because of a lack of maintenance due to inferiority and lack of concern from the Eloi. "But a second look reveals that is only a ruined splendor. All human artifacts are slowly crumbling. Some of th... ... try to make a difference on the people of that time. He leaves and tells Mr. Hillyer to prepare for his return, but he never makes it back. "Wells leaves unanswered the question whether the Time Traveler succeeded, for the man never returns. Thus our future, insofar as the reader is concerned, remains in jeopardy, since we cannot know what effects the Time Travelers warning might have had on future humans."(Magill Pg.867) H.G. Wells' use of contrasting characters, capitalist verse laborer conflicts, and the foreshadowing of humanities destruction have made this book not only one not to be overlooked, but one not ever to be forgotten as well. The possibilities of the future are endless, but The Time Machine clearly goes to show that the fate of the future will be what we as a society make of it, and the possibilities and impossibilities are merely consequence.

Cache Dpp3

P1- There are many legal requirements to an inclusive practice in a pre-school these are:  ·Inclusion-special Educational needs code of practice and SEN DFES 2002  ·Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001  ·The National Care Standards 2001  ·Convention for the Rights of children 1999  ·Human Rights Act 1998  ·Disability Discrimination Act 1995, 2005 section 1 (1)  ·The Beginning of statementing –the Education Act 1981  ·supporting children under5 years, extending parents and publishing codes of practice- education Act 1996  ·children’s Act 1989  ·The criminal Law 1967 (2000)  ·Race Relations Act 1976 Sex discrimination Act 2000  ·The Equality Act 2006  ·Standard 9 of the National Standards  ·The disability Discrimination Act 1995  ·The UN Convention on the rights of the child- to be protected from all forms of discrimination  ·NCPCC  ·Education Act 1996 To protect the children and their families within the setting from discrim ination and their human rights, practitioners will need to organise and plan the setting and activities, for an inclusive practice. Practitioners have a responsibility to help children and their families to resect and value each other within the setting. P2- The importance for a setting to have an inclusive practice is every child and their family is legal entitlement to have access to an inclusive education, what every their gender, age, accomplishment, ethnicity, special educational needs, or ability in spoken English. All Early years settings are required to develop and promote an inclusive policy and encourage children, parents the community and practitioners in sharing values of every individual in the setting and to adapt the setting to include everyone, so they discover and play and be supported by a key worker. P3 – the policies required to provide a healthy pre-school setting are:  · Risk assessment  ·Food and drink  ·Infection control  ·Fire safety  ·Accidents and emergencies  ·Evacuation of medicine  ·Hygiene and health safety  ·First aid  ·EYFS  ·Safeguarding children  ·Behavior management and bullying  ·Sickness  ·Safety of adult  ·Complaints procedures  ·Equipment and resources  ·Intruder  ·Lost child  ·Special Educational needs/ disability  ·Staffing and employment  ·Student placement  ·Parental involvement  ·Curriculum planning  · Emergency closure  ·Confidentiality  ·Nappy and soiled clothes changing No smoking  ·Valuing diversity  ·Record keeping  ·Child protection  ·Accident book  ·Hygiene  ·Windows, doors, floors and security  ·Outdoor area  ·Insurance  ·Safety on outings  · Pets in the sessions  ·Signing in and out the setting  ·Children’s and staff allergies P4- practitioners should have He alth and Safety training and regularly update their knowladge and the understanding. The pre-school should display the necessary health and safety posters prominently in the main room and control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH) certificate were needed to make aware to all. There are Five steps to sensible risk assessment:  · Identification of risk or hazards Before pre-school starts a daily risk assessment should be done, checking each room all the equipment that is out of the session making sure there is no hazards. The outside area practitioners need to vigilante to make sure that no animals have got in to the garden and the plants are safe. Using the risk assessment check sheet when you have passed a hazard.  ·Decide who is at risk- Basically anyone that is in the setting, if you share the setting with someone else their need to be informed about the risk. Evaluate the risks decide on precautions: Make a plain of action and implement further action and implement further safety measures. Grade the risk High risk, medium risk, and low risk.  ·Recording the risk- if the setting has more than five members of staff you need to record the risk. Although if the setting has less than five it still makes good practice to record the findings.  ·Monito ring and review- how do you know if what has been decided is working, or is through enough? If it is not working, it will need to be amended. P5- Providing an environment to promote emotional security for babies is important as they need to feel secure, safe and happy so there will be able to grow and develop and can reach their full development potential. A key worker is allocated to each child that starts at the setting, the key people’s role is to ensure that the child and their parent are settled and understand the key person’s role. This is a good way for each child and parent to see a familiar face and the parent can be reassured that their child is going to get temporary security from the key worker when the parent eaves the child at the setting. A variety of experiences should be on offer to help the babies’ emotional security:  ·Mirrors  ·Baby gym  ·Eye contact  ·Smiles  ·Rattles and mobiles  ·Talking  ·Gentle handling  ·Holding the baby whilst feeding  ·Bright color books  ·Encourage laughing Staff needed to be attentive of the signs when a baby’s low self-esteem, k eep praising the child, creating a happy relaxing atmosphere with lots of physical reassurances. P6-

Spiritual Wellness Essay Example

Spiritual Wellness Essay Example Spiritual Wellness Essay Spiritual Wellness Essay What is spiritual wellness The key to my spiritual wellness consists of the following five characteristics. Family, which is an important aspect of my life. My family will always support me whether I am right or wrong. They appreciate my hard work to better myself and to better us as a family. Throughout my college journey, my family has made unlimited sacrifices to see me complete college successfully. My husband has paid a majority of our household bills as well as taken over the day to day responsibilities of our children. Without his support, I believe that the goals I have set would truly be harder to achieve. My children have been my motivation. I always want to be there for my children to express my parental love and to teach them the right ways of living. I did not want them to grow without the presence of their parents as was my case. I came from a broken home in which my father was absent until I was an adult. My mother married a man named Ron who raised me as his own since I was a small child. He was a very strict man, as I could not allow me to interact with boys. My stepfather ensured that I was forever busy as he kept me engaged in sports and extracurricular activities. With everything that he and my mother instilled in me, it laid a foundation for my future success. Spiritual health Friendship is another motivating factor that gives me enthusiasm and encouragement when I face life challenges. I respect and value my friends because they are my partners in arms in times of happiness and hardships and make my life meaningful. They give me momentum to continue the life journey whenever I feel like giving up. Since I was a young child, friendship has been a great pillar that revolves through my world. My friends have walked with me through thick and thin helping me overcome and cope with life situations. I realized that by interacting with people who have the same belief as mine I was able to succeed in many things. Such friends have my back whenever I need them and always share ideas with me. They have helped me to develop a virtue of loyalty and that is how I have been able to maintain the friendship. I can mirror myself through the help of my friends and so get challenged by the steps and choices that they make. Friendship is the most important key towards realizing my potential and making the right decisions. I learned to respect the different ideas they have and has helped me to view life from a different perspective. I have good judgment since friendship is a choice and not an optional reality. With my friends support, love, and affection I can view and establish the life structure that I would want to be in the future. Defining myself as an individual and joining a group to associate with others is the greatest step I have taken towards success. Leadership is an essential part of my life values that I treasure. Since I have a family, I want to show my children that they can look up to me for anything that they might need. I want to motivate and energize children to grow in a God fearing way. It is my responsibility to love my family and help them identify their potential by guiding and advising them to help them accomplish the best in life. Spiritual wellness examples I want my children to look up to me like my stepfather Ron did. Though he was strict, he laid a good foundation for me helping me to become a strong woman today. Being a parent has its ups and down, but I know taking responsibility of being a mother and a leader is one of the most valuable things I would have for my family and me. Security is a value that aspires to have in my life and that of my children. The values that we all have evolve, and we find ourselves maturing through some known stages of life. For us to feel that we have fulfilled both our souls and body, we need to be financially secure so that we can meet all the basic, secondary and tertiary needs. The security aspect would help me and my family to live comfortably. I have a family to take care of and for that reason security would be the most important aspect to consider. The security that I need covers a vast area including security of finance, security of my children and family is a great value since without it I cannot feel like a responsible parent and all the values I have tried to instill in my life would be lost. Security will enable me to realize my dreams, live in any location that suits and make me happy and give my family the best they would need. Striking a balance in my activities is another crucial aspect that determines my success. If I put effort into being the best parent, partner, friend and leader without striking a balance in each, I would not be able to deliver my full potential. Balancing every aspect of my life have been my dreams, and that include spending some time in my career and equally spending time with my family. Acknowledging priorities have been my greatest gifts and thats why I value family since they are my most treasurable gain, which makes me have the energy to grow intellectually and spiritually. What is a component of spiritual wellness Power is a value that I have for long considered insignificant, but it has been more prominent in my actions and decisions more than I ever imagined. I had considered this value to be irrelevant in my life, but most of the things that I do like in organizations and places of the meeting is making people recognize me and my expertise. I have noticed that I control and make people do things when I am in power and authority. The less value that I ignored seemed to take a whole toll on me since it is imminent that it is inside me; the ability to control and mobilize a crowd. I spent my life running from the value that defined the authority to me to rule and assign tasks. I focused on what mattered to me leaving what can make people realize that I am better when ruling and leaving a legacy. The aspects and art made in the revelation have made an official purpose to my life, and that is to find both career and life success. The main issue though is to find the missing pieces in my life and try to evaluate the stages of life that I must go through to have the spiritual fulfillment. I would try not to live in perfection but in acquiring knowledge and purpose of life. I would find out the value that makes me thrive in doing good and deciding to do good and not to harm others. All the aspects that I value will lead me to a spiritual fulfillment which will secure me from any disillusionment and unhappiness. I learned that the purpose of all the values is to take us through all the stages of life and it is up to us to make the right decisions on how much material recognition we will have and how much spiritual growth will be made. Our choice in occupation, life partners and friends should lead us to best rewards that would enable us to value our goals and purpose in life. The scenes that relate to me most is sharing of knowledge and values to my friends helping me to optimize on both the spiritual and material growth. I think making people aware of the plans that would improve their growth is the most recent scenes that have stricken me as important. Linking myself with individuals who recognize and respects my decisions will advance my progressions in the direction that we decide to choose.

Vlad Dracul and utilitarianism essays

Vlad Dracul and utilitarianism essays Vlad Dracul killed all of the poor and crippled people in the kingdom of Wallachia. By doing so, he eliminated the problems of poverty and welfare. This essay will discuss whether his action would be viewed as right or wrong by an act-utilitarian and by a rule utilitarian. Vlad Dracul was the prince of Wallachia, which is now a province of Romania. He earned the nickname, Vlad the Impaler for the sadistic punishment he inflicted on his enemies. An example of this is his treatment of the poor and crippled. He believed that these people were beggars and were diminishing the wealth and quality of life of the hard working people. To remedy the situation, he decided to invite all the old, poor, ill, and lame people to a great banquet with food and drink. At the conclusion of the banquet, he boarded up the building and set it ablaze, killing all of the people inside. This quickly put an end to poverty in the land. I am assuming that he really did make the people of Wallachia happier. This was not the only option that Dracul had to eliminate or reduce poverty in the land. To completely evaluate whether an act or rule utilitarian would view his action as right or wrong, I would have evaluate the amount of happiness that each option would generate, and compare that with the amount of happiness that his action produced. I will simplify this process by assuming that if his action generates a lot of happiness then it is probably right (i.e. would generate more happiness than other options), otherwise it is wrong. An act-utilitarian would calculate the total amount of happiness resulting from this particular action (killing the poor and crippled people). They have to identify all of the people who are affected by the action and then combine the amount of happiness generated for each person, to get the total happiness. The poor and crippled people who were killed, probably did not want to die, otherwise they could have killed ...

Tips for Finding Your Memoir’s Theme

Tips for Finding Your Memoir’s Theme Writing memoir: Tips for Finding Your Memoir’s Theme - By Julia Scheeres Julia ScheeresA few months ago, we had an interesting piece on our blog from our Reedsy editor and advisor Rebecca Heyman  on why authors should think twice before writing a "memoir". We believe that in a subjective industry like this one, it's important to showcase a variety of opinions. So when we interviewed narrative non-fiction author Julia Scheeres a few weeks ago, we asked her if she would contribute a blog post on writing memoir.  Julia is the bestselling author of Jesus Land  and one of our best memoir editors on Reedsy.  She luckily  accepted our  offer, and  leaves  us with some great nuggets of wisdom on finding your memoir's theme. Memoir authors, this is for you.My students often look stricken when I ask them this question:â€Å"What’s your memoir about?†I don’t blame them – I also struggled with this question, even after my memoir was published. During dozens of radio interviews about Jesus Land, the host - who frequently di dn’t have time to read my book – would bluntly ask: â€Å"So, what’s your book about?† and expect a zippy answer. I so dreaded that question. How was I supposed to reduce a 350-page book down to a single sentence or word?â€Å"What’s your memoir about?† is also a confusing question because it can be answered two ways. The asker may merely want to know the general plot, or story arc, of your book, which you probably had figured out a long time ago. But she’s also usually curious about something deeper - the emotional story you’re trying to convey. Not just the what, but the why.It was only in honing my sound bytes for radio interviews that I understood what my theme was. â€Å"Jesus Land is about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.† That’s the emotional story. The longer version hints at the plot: â€Å"Jesus Land is about the unbreakable bond between a brother and a sister raised in a hostile envi ronment.†Like me, you may not be able to put your theme into words until after several drafts of your book. But if you’re able to sort it out beforehand, you’ll waste a lot less time with superfluous events and characters. Most memoirs are essentially survival stories. The author survives an ordeal - a harsh childhood, cancer, alcoholism, divorce, a loved one’s death, kidnapping, a plane crash - and lives to tell the tale. The theme therefore conveys something the author learned by enduring the experience: inner peace, resilience, empathy.Examples of famous memoirs' themes:Some memoirs are easier to categorize than others.Mary Karr’s third memoir, Lit, for example, is about battling alcoholism with prayer;Wasted is about Marya Hornbacher’s struggle to overcome a nearly-fatal eating disorder;Tracy Ross sums up the theme in The Source of All Things, which details her painful relationship with her stepfather, in a single word: forgiveness.Having an identifiable theme gives your memoir universal appeal. Readers who’ve likewise struggled to overcome a hardship will relate to your book and want to read it, feeling they share a commonality with you and may learn something about c oping from your experience. And readers who’ve had the Hallmark card version of life will also read it to broaden their worldview and experience some vicarious drama.Writing memoirs: tips for finding your memoir’s theme:Tell someone your story. Note which parts arouse their curiosity and the questions they ask. The more you talk about your memoir, the clearer your theme will become in your mind.Think about how you were changed by your experiences. You start your memoir at point A and end up at point Z. What did you learn between those two points?Ask yourself, â€Å"why am I writing this book?† or â€Å"what do I want to say?† Lodge these queries in the back of your mind. The answers may come when you least expect them, such as at 5 a.m. or when you’re doing laps in the pool - moments when you’re relaxed and undistracted.Consult someone who knows your story well. Ask them what they think are the most moving/ dramatic parts of your experience and why. As memoirists, sometimes we can be so close to our material that we become myopic - we can’t see the bigger picture or recurring threads that weave through our work. You may hear them say something like, â€Å"how did you survive xyz?† or â€Å"you were really abandoned as a child† - comments that could help you articulate your theme.Write down the major events of your life and see if there is some connection between them. In doing so, you may well find the beats of your story. You may find it takes several drafts before your true theme emerges. (Hint: it’s hidden in the events that you find yourself obsessing over the most, or that place where your deepest shame resides). When you figure it out, you’ll be able to slice off the flab – all the digressions and superfluous material that bogs your narrative down.For me, it took several rewrites to figure out what Jesus Land was really about. I narrowed down my material to my dramatic teenage years. But I didn’t know which aspects of those years to focus on - moving to the countryside, my strict Christian household, the seething racism of rural Indiana, trying to fit in at a new school or being sent to a reformatory with my brother David. As I wrote, I kept coming back to David - my adopted black brother. My parents adopted David when he was 3 and I was a few months older. I gradually realized my relationship with David should be my â€Å"through line,† or the one constant ag ainst which all the other elements (racism, religion, abuse) unfolded.Once this became clear, I was able to go through my pages and cut out the extraneous details that watered down the book’s central focus (such a long sections involving my high school boyfriend or various cliques). The result, I believe, is a more powerful and poignant book.Narrative nonfiction must have a focused, deliberate arc and structure. As a memoirist, it’s your job to impose order and meaning on the chaos of life. That’s the art of writing memoir.

Assignment prompt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment prompt - Essay Example The extensive use of the apocalyptic setting is a bit confusing and the query revolves round its purpose more than anything else. For â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†, the only query that would come to a reader’s mind is that why does the author show the death or rather the brutal murder of his only protagonist who attains almost a stature of superhero. Does this incident bear any special symbolic connotation? â€Å"August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains† by Ray Bradbury falls in the genre of science fiction but if one delve deep into the plot of the text and try to gaze behind the apparent presentation of the story, it is not easy to find the symbolic interpretation of the story. Bradbury uses the personification deliberately to display the emptiness. Bradbury wanted to reveal the readers that amidst the hustle and bustle of the house, something is amiss and this indicates a persistent absence of human being and human emotion. Bradbury wanted to portray that the fate of the house and the fate of humanity is synonymous. The impact of the complete absence of human characters makes the story all the more symbolic. The intention of the author to portray that too much mechanical life will destroy human civilization is also aptly displayed through the absence of human characters. The effect of the absence of human character on the plot of the story is far reaching and the absence makes the inner theme of the story line poignant. Here, the personified objects of the house are the characters. The protagonist of the house can be considered as the empty house whose inhabitants are dead because of nuclear reaction. The story line, due to the personification of inanimate objects not only renders a proper appearance of a science fiction but also helps to carry forward the underlying powerful message of the story that humans are slaughtering the planet and all the innovation and technologies created to make life easy and better,

Discuss the impact of Franklin D. Roosevelt's personal and Essay

Discuss the impact of Franklin D. Roosevelt's personal and professional experiences prior to 1932 on his political, social, and - Essay Example Nonetheless, the individuals whose personal experiences played an immense role in obtaining the appropriate outcomes achieved heroic status with history classes filled with lessons about these personalities. One such personality is Franklin Delano Roosevelt whose experiences contributed to his political, social, and economic views, which were instrumental in defining the approach that he used to handle the Great Depression. Roosevelt was born as the only child of Sara and James in Hyde Park, New York on the January 30, 1882 (â€Å"Franklin D. Roosevelt†). Hyde Park used to be an estate for farmers who lived a rural life in the Hudson Valley, which played an immense role in the life of young Roosevelt who developed a lifelong passion for forestry, which was instrumental in shaping some of his political, social, and economic views. In addition, his love for the rural life and people contributed to some of the policies that were immense in his career. Roosevelt went to school in various places and he joined Harvard Law School in 1900. However, he focused more on his social life and extracurricular activities, failed to complete his LL.B. degree, and only joined Columbia University Law School although he did not complete the courses required to get a degree although he gained admittance to the bar. Nonetheless, Roosevelt ventured into law practice, which effectively made him venture into politics and started his rise on the political ladder of the United States. In this case, he became a freshman senator for the State of New York in 1990 and the first legislation that he introduced was a legislation that was meant to protect farmers (â€Å"Franklin D. Roosevelt†). In line with this, it is important to point out that this first legislation was a result of his personal upbringing among the rural people and his love for these people. In addition, Roosevelt headed the Senate Committee on Forest, Fish, and Game and this role helped him emerge as a leading conservationist. However, his conservation efforts did not emerge from his role in this Senate committee, but it was due to his background and his personal life in the rural setup. Following the election of Woodrow Wilson, Roosevelt was appointed to the position of assistant secretary of the navy for seven years. This role was instrumental since he was able to thrust the navy into the limelight with the navy participating in the First World War. Importantly, Roosevelt advocated for a strong military that played an influential role in the war despite the then president advocating for a lesser military role. Consequently, Roosevelt played an instrumental role in absorbing the president from the war and he consequently gained a combination of idealistic and realistic ideas that helped him during the formation of the United Nations (â€Å"Franklin D. Roosevelt†). Roosevelt suffered the effects of polio at the age of 39 years, which paralyzed his lower part of the body starting at the waist region going down to the legs (â€Å"Franklin D. Roosevelt†). In effect, he could not walk again although he knew â€Å"with characteristic energy, optimism, ingenuity, and determination† that he would regain his strength (â€Å"Franklin D. Roosevelt†). Consequently, he was able to start exercise regimens that helped him regain his

Business strategy in financila services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business strategy in financila services - Essay Example A host of modern pharmaceutical companies all started out as Rhine-based family dyestuff and chemical companies e.g. Hoffman-La Roche, Sandoz, Ciba-Geigy (the product of a merger between Ciba and Geigy), and Novartis1 etc. Most are still going strong today2. Over time many of these chemical companies moved into the production of pharmaceuticals and other synthetic chemicals and they gradually evolved into global players. There are certain factors like the introduction of the penicillin during the late 1940s, its success and relative success of many other innovative drugs which actually institutionalized the efforts of research and development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical industry. The industry expanded rapidly in the sixties, benefiting from new discoveries and a lax regulatory environment. During this period healthcare spending boomed as global economies prospered. The industry witnessed major developments in the seventies with the introduction of tighter regulatory controls, especially with the introduction of regulations governing the manufacture of 'generics'3. The new regulations revoked permanent patents and established fixed periods on patent protection for branded products, a result of which the market for 'branded generics'4 emerged. PESTLE Analysis PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding the "big picture" of the environment, in which you are operating, and the opportunities and threats that lie within it. By understanding the environment in which you operate (external to your company or department), you can take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats (RAPIDBI). Specifically the PEST or PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding risks associated with market growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for a business or organization. Technological advancements, tighter regulatory-compliance overheads, rafts of patent expiries and volatile investor confidence have made the modern pharmaceutical industry an increasingly tough and competitive environment. An analysis of the structure of the pharmaceutical industry using the PEST (political, economic, social and technological) model (Susanne, 2004) is given below. Increasing Political Attention Over the years, the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed increased political attention due to the increased recognition of the economic importance of healthcare as a component of social welfare. Political interest has also been generated because of the increasing social and financial burden of healthcare. Examples are the UK's National Health Service debate and Medicare in the US. Increased Economic Value During the year 2003, there were many high value mergers and acquisitions which were witnessed by the global pharmaceutical industry. With a projected stock value growth rate of 10.5% (2003-2010) and Health Care growth rate of 12.5% (2003-2010), the audited value of the global pharmaceutical market is estimated to reach a huge 500 billion dollars by 2004. Only information technology has a higher expected growth rate of 12.6%. Majority of

Debate against humans being rational.. humans are irrational Coursework

Debate against humans being rational.. humans are irrational - Coursework Example Altruisms is necessarily being counted under the voluntary giving away of one’s financial resources or acting in a way which deliberately provides benefit to the other person at the cost of their own benefit. Hence in this way, humans act irrational defying the rules of the rationality. (Jensen, 2008). The expected utility model which is essential model which is based on the rational behaviors however it is not the case in all conditions. Through anchoring people are often overly influenced by outside suggestion. People can be influenced even when they know that the suggestion is not being made by someone who is better informed. (Kahneman & Tversky, 1999). Besides Expected Utility theory also do not seem to be in conformity with the rationality. The famous experiments conducted by Tversky and Kahneman suggested a revolutionary shift from the expected utility theory and clearly suggested than we humans are not essentially rational. These experiments were: Few of the surveys conducted by Stuart Sunderland widely suggest that the irrational behavior is far more widespread and is normal than the supposed. (Sutherland, 1994). According to Sunderland there are various natural phenomenon which suggest that the man can act in irrational way. There is also a growing debate among the cognitive psychologists which suggest that we act according to the principal that differ from those we ought to follow. (Stein, 1997) There is also a phenomenon called framing effect which basically outlines that we decide differently depending on how we frame the decision based on the losses and gains. (Wang & Fischbeck, 2004) This therefore necessarily does not mean that in all situations we act rationally. We don’t always seem to be behaving according to rationality. The deviation from the rationality seems to be due to Satisficing and heuristics effects. The

Corporate Governance Approaches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Corporate Governance Approaches - Essay Example The stakeholders within this form of corporate governance are basically the employees of a company and, thus, they are given prime priority in making corporate choices (Vaaler and Burkhard 621). State ownership as an approach of corporate governance refers to the state control of industries, assets and enterprises. The state control in the state ownership corporate governance transcends all levels of governance. This means that at national, municipal and community levels, the state takes full ownership of its corporations (Charreaux and Philippe 113). State ownership is normally achieved through nationalization, which is a process of transforming the ownership of assets by making them state owned. The major characteristic of shareholder capitalism form of corporate governance is the fact that the top management or executives of companies are monitored through rewards and penalties which are market-based (Vaaler and Burkhard 629). This is demonstrated by the fact that company executiv es are rewarded in accordance to the profitability and general performance of the company. This approach to corporate governance, therefore, leads to committed effort among company executives and making of decisions which are focused on profitability and high performance of the company. The motivation that top executives derive from performance based compensation is absent in the stakeholder approach to corporate governance. In countries such as China where the stakeholder approach of corporate governance is applied, company top executives are poorly paid which makes them less motivated to apply their leadership skills into the successful attainment of company goals, vision and mission (Charreaux and Philippe 108). In this sense, it is argued that the shareholder approach to corporate governance is a more appropriate method of management of companies. State ownership approach to corporate governance is characterized to corporations which are owned by the government in which the stak e of the shares is wholly owned by the government. The state owned corporations and enterprises may not be focused at generating profits. However, profit making ventures may be run within government entities (Vaaler and Burkhard 624). The state owned enterprises demonstrate a sharp contrast with both the shareholder and stakeholder approaches of corporate governance which are purely focused in the generation of profit. The state ownership approach, therefore, makes corporations to be less competitive in the market. On the other hand, shareholder and stakeholder corporate governance of companies makes them very competitive in their production and supply of various goods and services (Charreaux and Philippe 125). The similarity between the shareholders and stakeholder forms of corporate governance include their commercial manner of operation. This similarity is not shared with state ownership in which corporations may not be run for commercial gain but for the sake of providing essent ial services to the public. Government ownership of companies is also different from the stakeholders and shareholder capitalism because of its monopolistic nature within the market (Vaaler and Burkhard 637). The state ownership form of corporate governance is, therefore, the least effective form of governance of com

Debate against humans being rational.. humans are irrational Coursework

Debate against humans being rational.. humans are irrational - Coursework Example Altruisms is necessarily being counted under the voluntary giving away of one’s financial resources or acting in a way which deliberately provides benefit to the other person at the cost of their own benefit. Hence in this way, humans act irrational defying the rules of the rationality. (Jensen, 2008). The expected utility model which is essential model which is based on the rational behaviors however it is not the case in all conditions. Through anchoring people are often overly influenced by outside suggestion. People can be influenced even when they know that the suggestion is not being made by someone who is better informed. (Kahneman & Tversky, 1999). Besides Expected Utility theory also do not seem to be in conformity with the rationality. The famous experiments conducted by Tversky and Kahneman suggested a revolutionary shift from the expected utility theory and clearly suggested than we humans are not essentially rational. These experiments were: Few of the surveys conducted by Stuart Sunderland widely suggest that the irrational behavior is far more widespread and is normal than the supposed. (Sutherland, 1994). According to Sunderland there are various natural phenomenon which suggest that the man can act in irrational way. There is also a growing debate among the cognitive psychologists which suggest that we act according to the principal that differ from those we ought to follow. (Stein, 1997) There is also a phenomenon called framing effect which basically outlines that we decide differently depending on how we frame the decision based on the losses and gains. (Wang & Fischbeck, 2004) This therefore necessarily does not mean that in all situations we act rationally. We don’t always seem to be behaving according to rationality. The deviation from the rationality seems to be due to Satisficing and heuristics effects. The

English language learning challenges facing Saudi students in America Thesis Proposal

English language learning challenges facing Saudi students in America - Thesis Proposal Example The demand for internalization and globalization of the world has resulted in cross-border student mobility. Consequently, the United States has recorded an increase of international students seeking admission places in its universities. A report revealed that America recorded a five percent increase in the number of international students admitted to the learning institutions (Al-Mahrooqi & Denman, 2015). Most of the students were of the Asian origin with Saudi Arabia and China topping the list. The international students get admission slots in various universities and colleges across the US. The international students play a major role in creating diversity and internalization of the classrooms and campuses (Lippman & Council on Foreign Relations, 2012). The students share the different experiences regarding culture thereby enhancing a mutual appreciation of cultural diversity. The United States, therefore, should positively embrace the international students and welcome them to th e universities and colleges because of the contributions they bring at different levels including cultural exchange (Raddawi, 2014, Moraya, 2013). However, the Saudi students experience many academic and linguistic challenges while at the United States. The academic challenges experienced include communicating with the lecturers, instructors and staff (Raddawi, 2014). They thus have to deal with social isolation when interacting with different groups of people. They find it difficult to learn and do their activities according to the American culture.

Experiment on the Effects of Eating Breakfast Essay Example for Free

Experiment on the Effects of Eating Breakfast Essay It is always said that it is important to eat a hearty breakfast before a big day to ensure success. However, does this statement hold true when it comes to eating breakfast before taking standardized tests? We designed an experiment which would put an answer to this question. The experiment tests the spectrum of standardized test scores of those who ate breakfast versus the scores of those who ate nothing. This experiment would be a single blind study because the scientists would not be biased therefore they would have no reason to alter the test results; it is a purely research type experiment. There would be two groups involved in the experiment- the experimental group, which would be given a hearty breakfast thirty minutes prior to taking the test, and the control group, which would be given nothing to eat. The two groups would then be given the same amount of time to take identical tests. The test scores of the experimental group would be compared to the scores of the control group. If, as a whole, the breakfast-eating group’s scores were higher than the other group’s, it would prove that eating before taking a test would be beneficial to the grade received. The breakfast would be the independent variable and the scores would be the dependent variable. It would be important for the scientists to receive informed consent because they could not just experiment without the person’s permission because of ethical reasons. We learned a lot from doing this project. We learned how to set up a psychological experiment and identify different components of that experiment. We liked the satisfaction of setting up and describing our own experiment successfully. We disliked the rest of it. We designed an experiment to test how eating breakfast impacts the outcome of test scores taken shortly afterwards.

The Crucible and Hamlet | Analysis

The Crucible and Hamlet | Analysis In The Crucible and Hamlet, the main themes of manipulation, ambition and religion are used frequently. Nonetheless, these themes are found in either the initial conflict, climax or conflict resolution for the plays. The initial conflict reflects the theme of ambition, manipulation starts to fail during the climax, and religion is a common theme throughout both plays but can be seen during the conflict resolution. In The Crucible, Abigail is considered to be the antagonist and in Hamlet, the villain is Claudius who kills his brother in order to become King. Both these characters put to use these themes, and have many things in common in terms of their goals. Three main themes are found common between the antagonists of both plays, and ultimately, they intertwine with one another. Manipulation plays a great role in both The Crucible and Hamlet. Claudius was the most manipulative character in Hamlet, he was the antagonist. Abigail from The Crucible was also the villain and antagonist in the play and was not able to meet her end goal just like Claudius. The striving King manipulated the people of him using his remarkable language and speech which he used as his weapon. He used his language to persuade the people of the kingdom that he is a noble and loyal King; also, he used this to manipulate Gertrude into believing that he is a good man and can replace her husband. In The Crucible, Abigail also has a weapon, however it is not like the one Claudius has. Abigail has leverage against Proctor. Thus, Abigail uses Proctors adultery as influence over John and uses it to manipulate the entire town. The only people who know the antagonists true intentions are the protagonists of the story. The quote A murderer and a villain,/ A slave that is not twentieth part the tith / Of your precedent lord, a vice of kings,/ a cutpurse of the empire and the rule/ that from a shelf the precious diadem stole,/ And put it in his pocket-(Shakespeare, act 3, scene 4), was said by Hamlet while talking to Gertrude and convincing her that Claudius is not the person she thinks he is. He says that Claudius is a murderer and he was able to take the throne by stealing using his manipulative powers. The only two people who knew who Abigail really was, was John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor, the audience sees this when Proctor says, She thinks to dance with me on my wifes grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whores vengeance, and you must see it.(Miller,73) . The theme of ambition is recognized in the initial conflict of both stories. The initial conflict in Hamlet was the sighting of the ghost, when Hamlet finds out what happened to Hamlet Sr., his father, the audience understands how ambitious Claudius really is. Claudius would do absolutely anything to maintain his power, so the audience understands, because it is said that he killed his brother in order to become King. The initial conflict in The Crucible is when the girls were dancing in the woods the audience sees that she would curse just to be with him. Abigails main objective is to be with John Proctor. She was the cause of the deaths of innocent people in the town. Claudius killed his brother for his objective and Abigail had no problem killing innocent people of Salem just so she could be with John. Claudius knew what he did was wrong but cannot come to admit it to others. His ambition blurred his ability to admit and take the blame for the death of his brother. In act 3, scene 3, he reflects on his guilt, My fault is past. But oh, what form of prayer/ Can serve my turn, Forgive me my foul murder? (Shakespeare, Scene 3 Act 3). We do not see this form of confession about her wrong-doings from Abigail. She was there to complete her goal, and was not able to do so; therefore, she ended up leaving Salem. Religion plays a great role in both stories, we see this particularly in Hamlet. Claudius goes into confession to reflect on his sins, which is ironic because if he cared so much about cleansing his soul, why would he commit murder in the first place? At the most, he should admit to his guilt and deal with the consequences. However, in his confession we see that he cannot bring himself to resign his assets, he says, I am still possessed/ of those effects for which I did the murder, / my crown, mine own ambition and my queen. (Shakespeare, Act 3, Scene 3). In the Crucible, society is so sure about the existence of the devil, and they are all religious, therefore, Abigail uses religion to get what she wanted. She knew that if she used religion, she would have an effect on society as a whole. Which she tries to do by saying that she is associated with the Devil. In conclusion, the main themes of manipulation, religion and ambition play a great role in Hamlet and The Crucible. These three themes are common in the antagonists of the plays and also are found in either the initial conflict, climax or conflict resolution. In both plays, the protagonists know the truth behind everything. Claudius occasionally showed signs of guilt as well as signs of love towards Gertrude. However, Abigail only showed signs of love toward John Proctor, and throughout the story there are no signs of human feeling from her. All these themes are intertwined with one another. In the Crucible, Abigail uses religion as a form of manipulation to attain her goal. In Hamlet, ambition causes the death of Claudius brother, which results in him manipulating Gertrude and the kingdom, and ultimately allows him to show human feelings in confession. Therefore, the audience notices that both antagonists share common themes that occurred in each play.

My Educational Philosophy Essay -- Philosophy of Education Teaching Te

My Educational Philosophy I can remember as a child being in the classroom scared to death! I remember being the little kid in the back that was scared to raise my hand, in fear of having the wrong answer. I can remember how my hands trembled when it was my turn to go to the board and work out a problem in front of the class, terrified that everyone would laugh at me. These are feelings that I never want a child in my classroom to experience. I have a strong desire of becoming an early childhood special education teacher. I want to be the one that will teach a child that my be a slow learner or has special needs how to not be afraid and to learn, because learning is fun! I want my classroom to be a comfortable and relaxed environment where children can be themselves and lea...

Hamlet Essay -- essays research papers

Contrast Between Hamlet, Laertes And Fortinbras Hamlet (prince of Denmark) can be greatly compared to Laertes (son of a noble), and Fortinbras (prince of Norway) in the play. They all are very similar but yet different at the same time. They all had love and respect for their fathers and felt the need to avenge their deaths, which all were brutally killed. All three believed that the murderers had dishonoured their fathers as well as themselves. They all reacted and took different approaches in attempt to restore honour in their families. Hamlet seems to be the one who lets things dwell in his mind before taking any action or making an attempt at trying to get on with his life. After the death of his father he becomes depressed and gradually becomes enraged with his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle Claudius. He was lead to believe his father died of natural cause but he became aware of the murderer when his father’s ghost appeared to him. When Hamlet learns the truth of his father’s murder, he cries, but promises action, though he delivers none. He says â€Å"Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge.† (Act 1, Sc. 5, 29-31). At the end of the scene he says â€Å"The time is out of joint: O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!† (Act 1, Sc. 5, 188-189). This shows that he is no longer in such a rush to avenge his father’s death by killing his uncle Claudius. The appearance of...

John Gotti Received More Publicity Any Crime Figure

Differential Association Theory Differential association theory was Sutherland's major sociological contribution to criminology; similar in importance to strain theory and social control theory. These theories all explain deviance in terms of the individual's social relationships. Sutherland's theory departs from the pathological perspective and biological perspective by attributing the cause of crime to the social context of individuals. â€Å"He rejected biological determinism and the extreme individualism of psychiatry, as well as economic explanations of crime.His search for an alternative understanding of crime led to the development of differential association theory. In contrast to both classical and biological theories, differential association theory poses no obvious threats to the humane treatment of those identified as criminals. â€Å"(Gaylord, 1988:1) The principle of differential association asserts that a person becomes delinquent because of an â€Å"excess† o f definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law.In other word, criminal behavior emerges when one is exposed to more social message favoring conduct than prosocial messages (Sutherland, 1947). Sutherland argued that the concept of differential association and differential social organization could be applied to the individual level and to aggregation (or group) level respectively. While differential association theory explains why any individual gravitates toward criminal behavior, differential social organization explains why crime rates of different social entities different from each other's.The first explicit statement of the theory of differential association appears in the 1939 edition of Principles of Criminology and in the fourth edition of it, he presented his final theory. His theory has 9 basic postulates. 1. Criminal behavior is learned. This means that criminal behavior is not inherited, as such; also the person who is not al ready trained in crime does not invent criminal behavior. 2. Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication. This communication is verbal in many cases but includes gestures. 3.The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups. Negatively, this means the impersonal communication, such as movies or newspaper play a relatively unimportant part in committing criminal behavior. 4. When criminal behavior is learned, the learning includes (a) techniques of committing the crime, which are sometimes very simple; (b) the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes. 5. The specific direction of the motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable.This different context of situation usually is found in US where culture conflict in relation to the legal code exists. 6. A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions fa vorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law. This is the principle of differential association. When people become criminal, they do so not only because of contacts with criminal patterns but also because of isolation from anticriminal patterns. Negatively, this means that association which are neutral so far as crime is concerned have little or no effect on the genesis of criminal behavior. . Differential association may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity. Priority seems to be important principally through its selective influence and intensity has to do with such things as the prestige of the source of a criminal or anticriminal pattern and with emotional reactions related to the association. These modalities would be rated in quantitative form and mathematical ratio but development of formula in this sense has not been developed and would be very difficult. 8.The process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal a nd anti-criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning. Negatively, this means that the learning of criminal behavior is not restricted to the process of imitation. A person who is seduced, for instance, learns criminal behavior by association, but this would not be ordinarily described as imitation. 9. While criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those general needs and values since non-criminal behavior is an expression of the same needs and values.Thieves generally steal in order to secure money, but likewise honest laborers work in order to money. The attempts to explain criminal behavior by general drives and values such as the money motive have been, and must completely to be, futile, since they explain lawful behavior as completely as they explain criminal behavior. They are similar to respiration, which is necessary for any behavior, but which does not differentiate criminal from noncri minal behavior. (Sutherland, 1974: 75-76)In summary, he believed that an individual’s associations are determined in a general context of social organization (for instance, family income as a factor of determining residence of family and in many cases, delinquency rate is largely related to the rental value of houses) and thus differential group organization as an explanation of various crime rates is consistent with the differential association theory. (Sutherland, 1974: 77) Much of Sutherland’s theory relied upon the work of Chicago school theorists, Shaw and McKay (1931,1969).According to Shaw and McKay, they found that â€Å"delinquency rates increased as one moved away from the center of the city, and ecological rates of delinquency remained stable over generations despite a complete turnover of ethnic composition and social disorganization explained the high rates of delinquency in the inner-city. † (Matsueda: 1988: 280) As a matter of fact, this statement requires qualification because once you pass through the zone in transition, delinquency rates drop as you move out towards the suburbs.Criticism and Contemporary Views Many criticized Sutherland's differential association theory; supporters argued that criticism often resulted from misinterpretation of Sutherland's theory. Donald R. Cressey argued persuasively that many of the critiques were simply â€Å"literary errors† or misinterpretation on the part of the critics. For example, the theory was judged by critics to be invalid because not everyone who had come into contact with criminals became criminal as a result.This misinterprets the theory's proposition that criminal behavior is learned through differential association (relative exposure to criminal and noncriminal patterns) not simply through any contact with persons who have violated the law. (Akers: 1996:229) However, Cressey also pointed out two major weaknesses of Sutherland's theory. the first problem was that t he concept of â€Å"definitions† in the theory was not precisely defined, and the statement did not give good guidance on how to operationalize the ratio or â€Å"excess of definitions† favorable to criminal behavior over definitions unfavorable to criminal behavior.The second real problem was that it left the learning process unspecified. There is virtually no clue in Sutherland's theory as to what in particular would be included in â€Å"all the mechanisms that are involved in any of other learning (Akers: 1996:229-230) Another important criticism argued that Sutherland's theory is a â€Å"cultural deviance† theory as a way of showing that it made wrong presumptions about human behavior and the role of culture in deviant behavior. Matsueda (1988) believed it â€Å"reduces his (Sutherland’s) theory to a caricature† and Bernard objected to the way in which the cultural deviance label has been applied to the original differential association and so cial learning revision†(Bernard and Snipes, 1995: Vold and Bernard, 1986: 227-229) But Akers denies this criticism as another misinterpretation of Sutherland's theory: According to this critique, differential association/social learning theory rests on the assumption that socialization is completely successful and that cultural variability is unlimited, cannot explain individual differences in deviance within the same group and applies only to group differences, has no way of explaining violation of norms to which the individual subscribes, and proposes culture as the single cause of crime. I conclude that the usual attribution of cultural deviance assumptions and explanation to differential association is based on misinterpretations. (Akers: 1996:229) Merton TheoryLike many sociological theories of crime, Robert Merton’s strain/anomie theory has advanced following the work of Emile Durkheim. In Merton’s theory anomie is very similar to the very meaning of the wo rd strain, as he proposed anomie to be a situation in which societies inadvertently bring to bear pressure, or strain, on individuals that can lead to rule-breaking behavior. This pressure, or strain if you will, is caused by the discrepancy between culturally defined goals and the institutionalized means available to achieve these goals. To illustrate this Merton argues that the dominant cultural goal in the U. S is the acquisition of wealth, as a message was depicted that happiness often equated with material success which is often associated with wealth.The socially accepted institutionalized manner of achieving these material goals was believed to be hard work and education, meaning it is widely believed that people who apply themselves to study and work will succeed financially and that those who do not succeed are labeled as either lazy or defective. According to Merton, the problem with this type of society is that the legitimate means for achieving material success are not u niformly distributed. In other words, those from wealthier backgrounds have considerably more access to legitimate means than do those who are economically disadvantaged. As a consequence, anomie, or strain, is generated and produces certain ‘modes of adaptation’, or (simply put) coping strategies, that the disadvantaged use to deal with the pressures that are brought to bear on them. Merton identifies five modes of adaptation: conformity, innovation, retreatism, ritualism, and rebellion.According to Merton, the innovator is the most likely to engage in criminal behavior, as the innovator accepts the socially recognized goals of society, but reject the legitimate means to achieve these goals. Consequently, the innovator uses proceeds from crimes such as fraud, theft, and illegal drug dealing to access culturally defined goals. Critique of Strain/Anomie theory Although Merton’s Strain theory continues to play a role in the sociological theorization of crime today, there are limitations to this theory of crime that have been identified. The first critique of this theory, put forth by Albert Cohen, addressed the fact that there is an ample amount of crime/delinquent behavior that is â€Å"non-utilitarian, malicious, and negativistic† (O’Grady, 2011), which highlights that not all crimes are explicable using Merton’s theory.Although Merton could explain crimes such as fraud and theft on the basis of innovation, he is unable to explain youth crimes that are often engaged in for social status rather than material acquisition. Furthermore, Strain/Anomie theory fails to adequately address issues such as race and gender. Additionally, Strain/Anomie theory is unable to explain the phenomena of white collar crime. [edit] Robert DubinRobert Dubin (1959) viewed deviance as a function of society, disputing the assumption that the deviant adaptations to situations of anomie are necessarily harmful to society. For example, an individua l in the ritualistic adaptation is still playing by the rules and taking part in society. The only deviance lies in abandoning one or more of its culturally prescribed goals.Dubin argued that Merton's focus on the relationship between society’s emphasized goals, and institutionalized prescribed means was inadequate. Dubin felt that a further distinction should be made between cultural goals, institutional means and institutional norms because individuals perceive norms subjectively, interpreting them and acting upon them differently. The personal educational experiences, values, and attitudes may predispose an individual to internalize a norm one way. Another individual with different experiences may legitimately internalize the same norm differently. Both may be acting rationally in their own terms, but the resulting behaviour is different.Dubin also extended Merton’s typology to fourteen, with particular interest in Innovation and Ritualism. Merton proposed that the innovative response to strain was accepting the goal, but rejecting the institutionally prescribed means of achieving the goal. The implication seemed to be that that not only did the individual reject the means, he must actively innovate illegitimate means as a substitute which would not always be true. Dubin also thought that a distinction should be made between the actual behaviour of the actor and the values that drove the behaviour. Instead of Innovation, Dubin proposed Behavioural Innovation and Value Innovation.Similarly, in Ritualism, he proposed Behavioural Ritualism and Value Ritualism (Dubin, 1959: 147-149). Merton (1959: 177-189) commented on Dubin’s revisions, claiming that although Dubin did make valid contributions, they took the focus off deviancy. [edit] Robert AgnewIn 1992, Robert Agnew asserted that strain theory could be central in explaining crime and deviance, but that it needed revision so that it was not tied to social class or cultural variables, but re-focused on norms. To this end, Agnew proposed a general strain theory that is neither structural nor interpersonal but rather individual and emotional, paying especial attention to an individual's immediate social environment.He argued that an individual's actual or anticipated failure to achieve positively valued goals, actual or anticipated removal of positively valued stimuli, and actual or anticipated presentation of negative stimuli all result in strain. Anger and frustration confirm negative relationships. The resulting behavior patterns will often be characterized by more than their share of unilateral action because an individual will have a natural desire to avoid unpleasant rejections, and these unilateral actions (especially when antisocial) will further contribute to an individual's alienation from society. If particular rejections are generalized into feelings that the environment is unsupportive, more strongly negative emotions may motivate the individual to engage in crime.This is most likely to be true for younger individuals, and Agnew suggested that research focus on the magnitude, recency, duration, and clustering of such strain-related events to determine whether a person copes with strain in a criminal or conforming manner. Temperament, intelligence, interpersonal skills, self-efficacy, the presence of conventional social support, and the absence of association with antisocial (e. g. , criminally inclined) age and status peers are chief among the factors Agnew identified as beneficial. [edit] Akers' operationalization of Agnew's theory: Sources of strainAkers (2000: 159) has operationalized Agnew's version of the Strain Theory, as follows: Failure to achieve positively valued goals: he gap between expectations and actual achievements will derive from short- and long-term personal goals, and some of those goals will never be realized because of unavoidable circumstances including both inherent weaknesses and opportunities blocked by othe rs; and the difference between the view of what a person believes the outcome should be and what actually results increases personal disappointment. Frustration is not necessarily due to any outside interference with valued goals, but a direct effect on anger, and has indirect effects on serious crime and aggression. Agnew and White (1992) have produced empirical evidence suggesting that general strain theory was positively able to relate delinquents and drug users, and that the strongest effect on the delinquents studied was the delinquency of their peers.They were interested in drug use because it did not appear to represent an attempt to direct anger or escape pain, but â€Å"is used primarily to manage the negative affect caused by strain. † Up to this point, strain theory had been concerned with types of strain rather than sources of strain whereas the stress of events can be shown to interfere with the achievement of natural expectations or just and fair outcomes. These may be significant events or minor â€Å"hassles† that accumulate and demoralize over time. Frustration leads to dissatisfaction, resentment, and anger — all the emotions customarily associated with strain in criminology. It is natural for individuals to feel distress when they are denied just rewards for their efforts when compared to the efforts and rewards given to similar others for similar outcomes.Agnew (1992) treats anger as the most critical emotion since it is almost always directed outwards and is often related to breakdowns in relationships. Research shows that the stress/crime relationship appears to hold regardless of guilt feelings, age, and capacity to cope when events occur simultaneously or in close succession. [edit] Zhang JieThe strain theory of suicide postulates that suicide is usually preceded by psychological strains. A psychological strain is formed by at least two stresses or pressures, pushing the individual to different directions. A strain can be a consequence of any of the four conflicts: differential values, discrepancy between aspiration and reality, relative deprivation, and lack of coping skills for a crisis.Psychological strains in the form of all the four sources have been tested and supported with a sample of suicide notes in the United States and in rural China through psychological autopsy studies. The strain theory of suicide forms a challenge to the psychiatric model popular among the suicidologists in the world. The strain theory of suicide is based on the theoretical frameworks established by previous sociologists, e. g. Durkheim (1951), Merton (1957), and Agnew (2006), and preliminary tests have been accomplished with some American (Zhang and Lester 2008) and Chinese data (Zhang 2010; Zhang, Dong, Delprino, and Zhou 2009; Zhang, Wieczorek, Conwell, and Tu 2011).There could be four types of strain that precede a suicide, and each can be derived from specific sources. A source of strain must consist of tw o, and at least two, conflicting social facts. If the two social facts are non-contradictory, there would be no strain. Strain Source 1: Differential Values When two conflicting social values or beliefs are competing in an individual’s daily life, the person experiences value strain. The two conflicting social facts are competing personal beliefs internalized in the person’s value system. A cult member may experience strain if the mainstream culture and the cult religion are both considered important in the cult member’s daily life.Other examples include the second generation of immigrants in the United States who have to abide by the ethnic culture rules enforced in the family while simultaneously adapting to the American culture with peers and school. In China, rural young women appreciate gender egalitarianism advocated by the communist government, but at the same time, they are trapped in cultural sexual discrimination as traditionally cultivated by Confucia nism. Another example that might be found in developing countries is the differential values of traditional collectivism and modern individualism. When the two conflicting values are taken as equally important in a person’s daily life, the person experiences great strain. When one value is more important than the other, there is then little or no strain. Strain Source 2: Reality vs. AspirationIf there is a discrepancy between an individual’s aspiration or a high goal and the reality the person has to live with, the person experiences aspiration strain. The two conflicting social facts are one’s splendid ideal or goal and the reality that may prevent one from achieving it. An individual living in the United States expects to be very rich or at least moderately successful as other Americans do, but in reality the means to achieve the goal is not equally available to the person because of his/her social status or any other reasons. Aspirations or goals can be a col lege a person aims to get in, an ideal girl a boy wants to marry, and a political cause a person strives for, etc. If the reality is far from the aspiration, the person experiences strain. Another example might be from rural China.A young woman aspiring to equal opportunity and equal treatment may have to live within the traditional and Confucian reality, exemplified by her family and village, which interferes with that goal. The larger the discrepancy between aspiration and reality, the greater the strain will be. Strain Source 3: Relative Deprivation In the situation where an extremely economically poor individual realizes some other people of the same or similar background are leading a much better life, the person experiences deprivation strain. The two conflicting social facts are one’s own miserable life and the perceived richness of comparative others. A person living in absolute poverty, where there is no comparison with others, does not necessarily feel bad, miserabl e, or deprived.On the other hand, if the same poor person understands that other people like him/her live a better life, he or she may feel deprived because of these circumstances. In an economically polarized society where the rich and poor live geographically close to each other, people are more likely to feel this discrepancy. In today’s rural China, television, newspaper, magazines, and radio have brought home to rural youths how relatively affluent urban life is. Additionally, those young people who went to work in the cities (dagong) and returned to the village during holidays with luxury materials and exciting stories make the relative deprivation even more realistically perceived. Increased perception of deprivation indicates relatively greater strain for individuals. Strain Source 4: Deficient CopingFacing a life crisis, some individuals are not able to cope with it, and then they experience coping strain. The two conflicting social facts are life crisis and the appr opriate coping capacity. All people who have experienced crises do not experience strain. A crisis may be a pressure or stress in daily life, and those individuals who are not able to cope with the crisis have strain. Such crises as loss of money, loss of status, loss of face, divorce, death of a loved one, etc. may lead to serious strain in the person who does not know how to cope with these negative life events. A high school boy who is constantly bullied and ridiculed by peers may experience great strain if he does not know how to deal with the situation.Likewise, a Chinese rural young woman who is frequently wronged by her mother-in-law may have strain if she is not psychologically ready to cope with a different situation by seeking support from other family members and the village. The less capable the coping skills, the stronger the strain when a crisis takes place. [edit] ReferencesO'Grady W. (2011). â€Å"Crime in Canadian Context. † Strain/anomie theory 92-94 Agnew, R. (1992). â€Å"Foundation for a General Strain Theory. † Criminology 30(1), 47-87 Agnew, R. & White, H. (1992). â€Å"An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory. † Criminology 30(4): 475-99. Agnew, R. (1997). â€Å"The Nature and Determinants of Strain: Another Look at Durkheim and Merton. † Pp. 7-51 in The Future of Anomie Theory, edited by R. Agnew and N. Passas. Boston: Northeastern University Press. Agnew, R. (2009). â€Å"Revitalizing Merton: General Strain Theory. † Advances in Criminological Theory: The Origins of American Criminology, Volume 16, edited by F. T. Cullen, F. Adler, C. L. Johnson, and A. J. Meyer. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. Akers, R. (2000). Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application. Los Angeles: Roxbury. Cloward, R. (1959). â€Å"Illegitimate Means, Anomie and Deviant Behavior. † American Sociological Review 24(2): 164- 76. Cloward, R. & Ohlin, L. (1960). Delinquency and Opportunity. NY: Free Pr ess. Cohen, A. (1955). Delinquent Boys.NY: Free Press. Cohen, A. (1965). â€Å"The Sociology of the Deviant Act: Anomie Theory and Beyond. † American Sociological Review 30: 5-14. Cohen, A. (1977). â€Å"The Concept of Criminal Organization. † British Journal of Criminology 17: 97-111. Dubin, R. (1959) â€Å"Deviant Behavior and Social Structure: Continuities in Social Theory. † American Sociological Review 24:147-163. Durkheim, E. (1897/1997). Suicide. NY: Free Press. Featherstone, R. & Deflem, M. (2003). â€Å"Anomie and Strain: Context and Consequences of Merton's Two Theories. † Sociological Inquiry 73(4):471-489. Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.Marwah, Sanjay, and Mathieu Deflem. 2006. †Revisiting Merton: Continuities in the Theory of Anomie-and-Opportunity-Structures. † Pp. 57-76 in Sociological Theory and Criminological Research: Views from Europe and the United States, ed. M. Deflem. Amsterdam: Elsevier/JAI Press. Messner, S ; Rosenfeld, R. (1994). Crime and the American Dream. Belmont: Wadsworth. Polk, K. (1969). â€Å"Class, Strain and Rebellion Among Adolescents. † Social Problems 17: 214-24. Polk, K. , ; Schafer, W. (eds. ). (1972). Schools and Delinquency. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Agnew, Robert. 2006. â€Å"General Strain Theory: Current Status and Directions for Further Research. † Pp. 01-123 in Taking Stock: The Status of Criminological Theory-Advances in Criminological Theory, edited by F. T. Cullen, J. P. Wright, and K. Blevins. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. Durkheim, Emile. 1951. Suicide: A Study in Sociology. New York: Free Press (Original work published in 1897). IOM, (Institute of Medicine). 2002. Reducing suicide: An American imperative. Washington, D. C. : National Academy Press. Mann, J. J. , C. Waternaux, G. L. Haas, and K. M. Malone. 1999. â€Å"Toward a clinical model of suicidal behavior in psychiatric patients. à ¢â‚¬  American Journal of Psychiatry 156:181-189. Merton, R. K. 1957. Social Theory and Social Structure, rev. ed. New York: Free Press. NIMH. 2003.Research on Reduction and Prevention of Suicidality: National Institute of Mental Health. Phillips, Michael R, Gonghuan Yang, Yanping Zhang, L. Wang, H. Ji, and M. Zhou. 2002. â€Å"Risk factors for suicide in China: a national case-control psychological autopsy study. † The Lancet 360:1728-1736. Spitzer, R. L. , J. B. W. Williams, M. Gibbon, and A. B. First. 1988. Instruction Manual for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID, 6/1/88 Revision). New York: Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute. Zhang, Jie. 2010. â€Å"Marriage and Suicide among Chinese Rural Young Women. † Social Forces 89:311-326. Zhang, Jie, Nini Dong, Robert Delprino, and Li Zhou. 2009. Psychological Strains Found From In-Depth Interviews With 105 Chinese Rural Youth Suicides. † Archives of Suicide Resea rch 13:185 – 194. Zhang, Jie and Shenghua Jin. 1998. â€Å"Interpersonal relations and suicide ideation in China. † Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 124:79-94. 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Resurgence of Conservatism

DBQ 15: The Resurgence of Conservatism, 1964-2005 Liberals had dominated American society for most of the 1900s. The 1960s was widely known for being the age of counterculture, social reforms, and liberals. The era witnessed many advancements like racial equality such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a strong advancement in political liberalism, and a significant increase in the power and influence of government-funded social programs as a result of Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society reforms.Beginning with the election of Nixon, however, followed a gradual return to conservatism whether religiously, politically, or economically. The resurgence of conservatism in American politics and government in the years 1964-2005, was caused in reaction to 1960s liberal political, economic, and social policies as well as the rise of religious political groups and the controversy over the Vietnam War. The government's political and economic policies contributed to the rise of conservatism. Most no table of the federal reforms were initiated by liberal Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson and his Great Society schemes.His â€Å"War on Poverty† speech, delivered on March 16, 1964, called for a war on poverty to give people a second chance by spending millions on education, job training, housing, and healthcare. Johnson's intention was in some ways a conservative one. He wanted to give people a hand-up, not a hand-out and make them dependent on the money earned from taxing the more fortunate (Document A). Reflecting the liberal mood of the 1960s, voters flocked to the polls to vote for Johnson because in part by their faith in Great Society programs. Johnson received 61. 1% of the popular vote and 90. % of the electoral college vote and captured all but six southern states, traditionally Democratic â€Å"solid south†, who were alienated by Johnson's advocasy for civil rights (Document B). The higher taxes involved in the Great Society programs, however, were resented by cons ervatives, who saw the social programs as a sign of the increasing government influence. Richard Nixon promised a policy of New Federalism, transfering some of the powers previously held by the federal government to the states, to counter the Great Society programs. He also apppointed four conservative justices to the Supreme Court including Chief Justice Warren Burger.Nixon and other conservatives denounced the previous court under Chief Justice Earl Warren, whose decisions drastically changed sexual freedom, the rights of criminals, and the role of religion in schools. At the representation of two Supreme Court justice nominees in 1971, Nixon stated that it is the duty of the judge to base his decisions on strict interpretation of the Constitution and not on his personal political or social views, indirectly referring to the liberal Supreme Court of Earl Warren. (Document E). By winning the presidential election of 1980, Ronald Reagan confirmed the return of modern conservatism.He received 50. 8% of the popular vote and 90. 9% of the electoral college votes (Document G). Reagan applied supply-side economics, dubbed â€Å"Reaganomics†, keeping the budget under control and reducing taxes, ultimately stimulating the economy and reducing the federal deficit. He distanced politics from the interventionist government of the 1960s, appealing to conservatives' belief of small government. Between 1981 and 1982, the economy suffered the deepest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, unemployment reached 11%, and several bank closings occurred.Democrats attacked Reagan's tax and spending cuts, claiming that it favored the rich and hurt the poor. However, it was actually the â€Å"tight money† policies to bring inflation under control under President Carter that caused the recession. In 1983 the recession ended, which seemed to vindicate Reaganomics. Robert Samuelson stated in â€Å"The Enigma† that Reagan's â€Å"presidency was very su ccessful† (Document H). Built-up inflation from the Carter years was gone, the economy was in its second-longest expansion since World War II, and Reagan dealt efficiently with the Soviets.His social agenda of challenging abortion and advocating school prayer was only pirsued half-heartedly. Since the nation under Reagan was going so well, it's no surprise that many Americans turned from liberalism and began to embrace conservatism, and that his effectiveness was even able to convince some conservative southern Democrats to abandon their own party and follow the president. Consequently, the failures of the policies of liberal presidents like Carter and the success of conservatives like Reagan lead to the resurgence of conservatism.The rise of religion in American politics also contributed to the growth of conservatism. The most prominent was a coalition of conservative, evangelical Christians known as the religious right. The Moral Majority, founded by Reverend Jerry Farwell, emerged to combat what they saw as an irreligious and corrupt society. They focused more on the social aspects of government than the economic concerns. They preached successfully against abortion, feminism, and the spread of gay rights and had registered between 2 and 3 million voters.By using multiple media devices like the radio and TV, televangelists were able to reach huge audiences and collect millions of dollars to support political conservative candidates. Ralph Reed stated in his book, Active Faith: How Christians Are Changing the Soul of American Politics, that the Republican's conservative and pro-life position is an important element of the party that garnered the support of millions of pro-life individuals and families in elections, and that they should not abandon their views (Document I).In 1964, representation in the House of Representatives in southern states was mostly dominated by Democrats. However, by the year 2000, the seats occupied became increasingly Republi can (Document J). Most Americans lived in the Bible Belt South and West, where religious Fundamentalism and suspicions of the federal government due to scandals like the Watergate scandal, thrived and so more Republicans than Democrats were elected into their respected offices because they appealed to the Southern citizens with their conservatism.Thus, the rise of religious and moral awareness in politics prompted many Americans to become increasingly conservative and contribute to its resurgence. Another cause for the resurgence of conservatism was the controversy over the Vietnam War. During Johnson's presidency, the war had become the longest and most unpopular war in the nation. He helped escalate the war by authorities granted to him under the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, after which he promptly sent thousands of American troops into combat. As the war wore on, many Americans became weary of it.While Johnson dreamed of a â€Å"Great Society†, his presidency was haunted by the Vietnam War (Document D). Much of the funding he hoped would expand his social reform went towards financing the war. After Nixon's Vietnamization of the war, only 30,000 American troops remained in Vietnam. The powerful federal government of Lyndon B. Johnson as depicted by the controversial Vietnam War, lead many Americans to turn their support towards conservative Republicans who championed small government and contribute to the return of conservatism onAmerican politics and government. The resurgence of conservatism in American politics and government was chiefly a reflection of the liberal 1960s and 1970s. The Moral Majority arose to denounce the irreligious movements such as the sexual and feminist movements that advocated abortion and homosexuality. The government's political and economic policies further herded Americans into conservatives' arms as the government's influence increased and Reagan's conservatist presidency proved effective.