Dona Perfecta Essay

Dona Perfecta, written by B. Perez Galdos, is a novel that explores the conflict between the new progressive movement and the old religious school of thought. This conflict takes place in the small Spanish village of Orbajosa. Narrow-minded Catholic zealots dominate Orbajosa. The most prominent of the zealots is Dona Perfecta. Dona is traditional catholic and strives to fight any opposition to her fixed beliefs. Pepe Rey, her nephew, presents the biggest challenge to Dona because he is an engineer who relies on scientific fact rather than religious faith. Dona feels as though Pepe is challenging her and the towns’ livelihood. This belief leads Dona to not only turn the town against Pepe, but also to have him killed. Dona’s Catholic belief system is only a facade to her evil nature. The town of Orbajosa is presented to be a small yet inviting town. Pepe is welcomed to the town warmly and happily. Dona is the first to greet Pepe when the narrator states, â€Å"the sincere expression of her affection, was receiving him at the gate itself in her loving arms† (23). Dona appears to be a very loving and hospitable character. She also surprises Pepe with her lengthy preparations to his room when the narrator states, â€Å"Pepe recognized in all the details of the room the diligent and loving hand of the woman† (24). Dona has proven that she is capable of being kind and loving towards those who pose no threat to her lifestyle. However, it is only when Pepe denounces religion that Dona feels threatened and begins to revel her evil nature. When Pepe and the town canon, Don Inocencio, meet, the men clash with their ideals. Both are intelligent and therefore, are stubborn. Pepe reveals to Don Inocencio that science is more valid than religion when he states, â€Å"Mysticism in religion, routine in science, mannerism in art, are failing, as the Pagan gods fell† (36). Pepe expresses his opinions about science and religion without any hesitation. Don Incencio and the towns’ people of Orbajosa feel that Pepe is resolutely against their beliefs. Increasing animosity is the result of Pepe’s progressive mind-set. Dona feels as though Pepe is a liability to the town’s way of life and the only way to get rid of the problem is to exterminate it completely. Dona is desperate to get rid of Pepe. She knows that Pepe poses the possibly to contaminate the towns ideals with his progressive philosophy. Dona decides that the town must turn against Pepe. Dona accuses Pepe of being disrespectful in the church when she states, â€Å"between thinking things and showing them in that irreverent manner, there is a distance which a man of good sense and good breeding should never cross† (56). Dona feels the need to make baseless accusations about Pepe in order to sway the public opinion against Pepe. Pepe himself recognizes the absurdity of Dona’s accusation when he states, â€Å"I have shown no contempt for any one, nor do I entertain the ideas which you attribute to me† (57). Pepe is troubled by the idea that his own aunt would accuse him of such trivial acts. Pepe knows that his progressive ideals are threatening to the town and are creating distrust between him and Orbajosa. Dona knows that the only way to truly get rid of Pepe is to kill him. Dona is consumed with the idea that the town of Orbajosa is transitioning from a traditional mindset to a progressive mindset. In reaction, Dona orders the killing of Pepe. She then lies about the killing saying that Pepe committed suicide when she states, â€Å"Pepe Rey at about twelve o’clock last night entered the garden of the house and shot himself in the right temple† (218). Dona manufactured this lie in order to cover up her evil action. Dona resorted to extreme and evil measures in order to preserve her way of thought. Her name Dona Perfecta is ironic in the sense that Dona is far from perfect because she is evil. The injustice that Dona commits revels not only the true hypocritical nature of Dona but also the hypocritical nature of Orbajosa as a whole. Dona Perfecta uses the conflict between Pepe and Dona to show the strong opposition the progressive movement faces. While Pepe was welcomed at first, he was soon ostracized and persecuted for his thoughts. The towns’ people of Orbajosa felt Pepe might threaten their way of life. Extreme measures were taken by Dona to put Pepe to rest. Perhaps Galdos intends the reader to see that while people may appear to be good, in reality, they are not what they seem.

Exchange Rates Volatility and Risks Essay

There are a number of factors that could change the value of a currency with respect to another. If the inflation rate in a country is low with respect to the inflation rate in other countries, the prices of goods and services in the country with the low inflation rate become attractive for foreigners. However, increases in demand for the goods and services in the country with a low inflation rate are expected to appreciate the value of the country’s currency (Ana, FS 2004). Changes in interest rates tend to have a similar affect on exchange rates. Foreigners would like to invest in countries where the rates of return on investment are high. As the demand for investment in a particular country increases – because it enjoys a high interest rate in comparison with other countries – the value of its currency is expected to appreciate (Ana, FS). The exchange rates at a given time are also dependent on differences between the current account balances of countries. If a country is running a current account deficit, it generally means that the country is importing more than it is exporting, so therefore investments in the country may not be considered lucrative. A country with a current account surplus, on the other hand, is considered attractive for investment. As a matter of fact, the currency of this country is as attractive to foreigners as its products and services. By increasing their demand for the country’s products and services, foreigners are expected to appreciate its currency’s value. As its currency’s value appreciates, however, investing in the country becomes less affordable (Ana, FS). When a country is experiencing a current deficit, its government may decide to borrow money to finance the self same deficit. Inflation may ensue. Moreover, if the lenders believe that there is a default risk, they may decide to sell off the debt on the open market. In the United States, treasury securities may be used for this reason. In any case, the selling of the debt on the open market is expected to exert downward pressure on the foreign exchange rate (Ana, FS). Exchange rates are also affected by the political climate of a country at any given time. Political disturbance in a country may result in a loss of investor confidence in its currency. Conversely, countries that enjoy relatively stable political climates are able to attract investment and experience appreciations in the values of their currencies (Bergen, JA 2007). Undoubtedly, a firm must be able to manage the different kinds of political risks that it may have to face by investing in a particular country. There are three main types of political risks: firm-specific risks, country-specific risks, and global-specific risks. Of the three types of political risks, firm-specific risks include the volatility of exchange rates. These risks are expected to affect the multinational enterprise at the corporate and/or project level (Frenkel, M, Karman, A, & Scholtens, B 2004). For this reason, an exchange rate risk or currency risk – from the perspective of an American investor – is defined as follows: The risk that a business’ operations or an investment’s value will be affected by changes in exchange rates. For example, if money must be converted into a different currency to make a certain investment, changes in the value of the currency relative to the American dollar will affect the total loss or gain on the investment when the money is converted back. This risk usually affects businesses, but it can also affect individual investors who make international investments (Exchange Rate Risk 2007). There are three types of exposure to exchange rate volatility that an investor may have to confront. The firm faces translation exposure when its reported accounting profits must be adjusted as a result of foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Transaction exposure is the result of the firm’s agreement to undertake certain â€Å"foreign exchange transactions during the current period (Bolster, P 2006). † As an example, an importer may sign an agreement to purchase a specific quantity of goods from Country A and pay a certain amount of money to the country in ninety days. Through this agreement the importer is obligated to pay Country A by purchasing the units of Country A’s currency in ninety days. Seeing that the exchange rate may change in ninety days, the importer is exposed to currency risk (Bolster, P). Lastly, investors may have to face economic exposure to exchange rate volatility. This type of exposure to exchange rates volatility results from the need of the firm to conduct business activities in another country in future. Bolster, P describes economic exposure as â€Å"the need for foreign exchange transactions and exposure to exchange rate fluctuations that results from future business activities. † The experience of Toyota in the U. S. utomobile market helps to explain this type of exposure to exchange rate volatility. The company had managed to attain a sizeable market share in the United States. But, when the Japanese yen started to appreciate in relation to the U. S. dollar, the revenues of the company dropped significantly (Bolster, P). The good news is that it is possible for investors to manage the political risks, including the firm-specific risks that they may be exposed to. â€Å"Limiting, diversifying, and hedging† are all viable methods of managing political risks (Frenkel, M, Karman, A, & Scholtens, B p. 20). †

Education in Culture Essay

Education in today’s world is far more different from the education it was before. Nowadays, as technologies and industries progress onwards, the need for education becomes more vital. Education is about learning and also teaching skills. As a part of the society, education has played major roles not only on passing culture from one generation to another but also in helping establish a more stable society. Education also denotes on the process of drawing out certain skills or making someone realize the use of some skills that he has on its own. And as the world develops, the entirety of education also has changed. Now, it encompasses different disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, biology, history, sciences, sociology and many others. Education is believed to have started once a person is born and ends until he dies. Each and every person defines education differently from others. Education can be attained even without the presence of proper schooling. It is the experience and the applications of the things learned that counts on what one has attained. Different cultures in the world have a different point of view on the idea of education. Their definition and ideas about education is highly embarked on the way they spend their everyday lives, how they eat their food, how they please their gods or how they rear their young. Basically, perspectives about education and how learning is done in a particular place is based on their culture. The United States is one of the countries that belong to the Western culture. Its culture started even before it became a country. Now, as the world progresses and along with the different factors of culture combination and transfer, the United States is one of the diverse and multi cultural nations. Due to the strong British ties that have happened in the past, the United States’ culture is greatly influenced by the British culture. Other influences also include European countries who once take part in the history of the US such as Poland, Italy, Germany, Ireland and the Natives of America. Due to rampant migration and trade during the past, the western part of Africa has also played important roles in the structure of culture of the United States today. As one of the leading countries in the world today, the culture of the United States requires education as one of the needs of its each and every citizen. In its education system, children ranging from the ages five to six are necessitated to attend school. At the age of five most children starts schooling in kindergarten, then, they attend elementary from ages six to eleven, middle school from eleven to fourteen then high school from fourteen to eighteen. There are two forms of education in the States: public and private. Public education in the United States is funded by the federal government and by each of the individual states. These funds came mainly from the taxes in the city of the states and not as education fund given by the federal government. On the other hand, private education in the United States receives little or no government support at all. And since most of the private schools are governed by religious organizations, these private institutions are disqualified from direct government support. Students who have graduated from the secondary level may still pursue education in universities. There are different Universities in the States. Some are funded both by the local and federal government and some are governed by private institutions. Due to the status of the United States in the world today, it is one of the countries in the world with the most advanced and most extensive educational systems and procedures. Education as a primary requirement in the States is offered in all levels: from the children to the youth and even to the adults. Aside from learning as its main propose, education in the States seeks to promote wisdom, democracy, nationalism, equality and development not only of the state and the country but also the self. References: Greenberg, I. (2007). Vocational education, Work Culture and the Children of Immigrants in 1930’s Bridgeprort. Journal of Social History. Volume 41. No. 1. Reed. T. V. (2007). Popular Culture: Resources for Critical Analysis, Retrieved, November 23, 2005, from http://www. wsu. edu/~amerstu/pop/. USA Study Guide. (2007). American Culture: US Culture Info. Retrieved, November 23, 2007, from http://www. usastudyguide. com/americanculture. htm.

Frankenstein Film Adaptation Comparison Essay

Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein greatly differed from the original novel written in 1818. Not only were certain elements altered however in addition, the personalities of several major characters, and how the audience portrays them was quite different. For example, the main distinction within the novel and the film are the role of women. In the novel, Elizabeth is treated as a trophy; her opinions are not important to Victor. In the novel, Victor treats women passively and feels superiority to them; he cannot take advice from them. Women play a more relaxed role in the novel. They do not make any decisions, and allow me to take advantage of them. This is seen primarily when Victor decides the fate of Elizabeth when they are young and that how one day they will be wed. However in the novel, Elizabeth is a young determined and driven woman. She does not allow Victor to take advantage of her, nor does she let Victor make her decisions. For example, Elizabeth walks out on Victor before the wedding. She does this out of anger and frustration due to not understanding the current situation; the creatures ultimatum. This demonstrates the audience that Elizabeth is not afraid of taking initiative and standing up for what she believes to be right. Next, the character of Victor Frankenstein has greatly differed from the novel to the film. For example, in the novel, Victor is conveyed as a monster whose decisions cause the death of many, including his loved ones. However, the film does not portray his demonic character traits, but those of a kind noble gentleman. For example in the novel, when Justine is being trialed, Victor does not care to help her. He would rather protect his image, than save the life of a young innocent girl. In addition he believes her death to be collateral damage and unimportant to him. Contrary, in the film, Victor attempts to save Justine, making him look less like a monster and more humane. He runs through the village attempting to save her. Moreover, in the film, when Victor creates life, he does not abandon it. He attempts to help it up and save it, however the creature becomes caught in chains and hung, therefore leading Victor to believing it was dead. The film does not transmit Victor’s evil and malicious personality; rather it showcases Victor’s internal self as a good individual whose fate was predetermined by God. The film does not depict how Victor Frankenstein, in the novel, is a shallow, self centered, egotistical individual. Moreover, I preferred the novel to the film for the sole reason that in the film Victor’s internal character was falsely depicted. Victor is supposed to be a monster who does not think rationally, however in the film, his character stood for the exact opposite. His character attempted to save the life of Justine, as well as save the creature he had bred life into. Furthermore, in the film, the creature’s character is show to be more like a monster. For example, in the novel, the creature does not steal from the cottagers, whereas in the film he steals food from the starving cottagers. Next, when the creature and the Victor are discussing the ultimatum, the creature tells Victor that he enjoys murdering people. On the contrary, in the novel, especially at the end, the creature admits that the guilt of murder is overwhelming and therefore he cannot live with his shame. Furthermore, I did appreciate the ability for women to seize power of their decisions however, the over glorification of Victor’s personality is a complete disgust, and therefore changes my appreciation of the film. In my personal opinion, the lesson of never judging someone for their appearance was not properly showcased. Unlike the novel, the film does not deliver the idea that even if someone where to look like a normal human, they could in fact be a monster, and that people must look beyond the superficiality of one’s exterior to fully appreciate the individual.

NUTRITION RELATED DISEASE Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

NUTRITION RELATED DISEASE - Research Paper Example Nutrition on other side can be defined as food that works in the body; components that are required in the body so as to grow, reproduce, and live a normal healthy life. Foodborne illness also known as foodborne disease is the term used to refer to symptoms associated with consumption of contaminated foods (Duggan, Walker and Watkins 179). Food poisoning entails eating contaminated foods as a result of poisons, or disease causing micro-organisms. On the other hand, nutrient related diseases are diseases that result from deficiency of some nutrients in the diet or over-consumption of some nutrients. According to Berdainer, Dwyer and Feldman, safe food is the major concern of all living things as well as food industry. Safe food contributes immensely towards protecting living things from foodborne illness. Additionally, observance of food safety contributes immensely towards reducing the rate of immortality as a result of consumption of contaminated foods. Safe food also entails taking in good diet. In tandem to this, consumption of safe food lowers the cases of nutrient related diseases. Food contamination is among the key elements that contribute to health problems. In most occasions, it is caused by the presence of unwanted micro-organisms, chemicals and physical elements in food. Food contamination is very crucial because it leads to occurrence of food borne illness. For instance, it is through consumption of bacteria as a result of food contamination that one develops gastrointestinal problems. Food contaminants have also the potential to cause death if not controlled in ti me. For instance, it is evident that typhoid leads to death if not treated effectively. Food additives are ingredients added to the produced food in order to increase its shelf life, enhance its flavor or change its physical appearance. Despite their contribution to successive maintenance of the quality of food, it is evident that they also cause some problems to people who are

Econ Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Econ Assignment - Essay Example The fall in income earned by the consumers in the U.S. could be viewed as its impact on the current account. It is estimated that almost 10% of every Dollar spent by U.S. customers is on purchase of imported goods (Kaplan) however as the income falls in the U.S. the customers demand for imported goods will surely be affected. As consumers spend less on goods and services the proportion they spend on imports will reduce. The effect would be rising current account surplus and positive balance of payments. If the inflation in the foreign country increases it will have an upward effect on the cost of production in that country and making its exports to the U.S. more expensive than its imports. This suggests that U.S. consumers would end up paying more for imported goods that will provoke them to switch over to less costly goods produced domestically (Kaplan). This can also have a reverse effect on the U.S. exports thereby increasing the current account surplus with that country in the short run till inflation remains comparatively higher in the foreign country. The interest rate fall in the U.S. has its impact on the capital account of the country. The decline in interest rates in the U.S. implies the reduction in the return on savings and relative return in the financial markets of the U.S. This suggests that foreign investors will be reluctant to invest in the financial markets who will be seeking greater returns in other foreign markets. This makes the local financial markets unattractive and may lead to outflow of funds through capital markets. The exchange rate is the relative price of a currency against other currencies. The exchange rate is typically driven by the demand and supply of the currency. As consumers will use less of the local currency due to fall in their income it suggests a lower demand for it as less money will be spent on imported goods and services therefore its supply dampens. The net result is decline in the exchange rate against

Foundation of scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Foundation of scholarship - Essay Example 1)" and the end of nation states. Since the time of their emergence national states have always been among the key participants in the world economy. However, the time when nation states were highly effective in creation of wealth is over, and nation states of this epoch have turned into simple mechanisms of wealth distribution. The function of wealth creation has shifted toward and distributed among four forces, namely: investment, corporations, consumers, and information technology. Ohmae does a really great job explaining capital and organizational benefit from the advanced modern instruments of communication thus facilitating international transaction and how modern type of consumers affects the flow of goods and services. As a result, investments have ceased to be domestically driven and become so profit driven, that even the nation states increasingly invest abroad these days instead of reinforcing their domestic potential. Similarly, industries and corporations also do not perceive the state interests as the primary guideline in their operations and become increasingly involved in transnational activities.