Sudan and the USA: A comparison

Sudan and the USA: A comparison Sudan and the USA All countries in the world are unique in one way or another. When most people think of Sudan â€Å"the place of my birth†, they think of the south/north war and the recent genocide claims in Darfur. What many people do not realize is that not all of the countries in Africa are diverse as Sudan. While it does not compare to the USA, THERE ARE FEW DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES SUDAN AND THE USA from my point of view. In fact, this paper will focus on Sudan and the USA in view of their economy, education, and family. The first difference between Sudan and the USA can be traced through their economy. As an example, the USA is a stable, modern nation with a strong economy. The USA has a capitalist mixed economy, which is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. One the other hand, Sudans economy is not good. The aftereffects of the 21-year civil war and very limited infrastructure, however, present obstacles to stronger growth and a broader distribution of income. Sudans primary resource is agricultural, but oil production and export have taken on greater importance since 2000. Although the country is trying to diversify its cash crops, cotton, and gum Arabic remain its major agricultural exports. Sudans foreign debt is exceeding $21 billion, more than the countrys entire annual gross domestic product. Sudans inadequate and declining infrastructure inhibits economic growth. As you can see, there are stark differences between the economies of Suda n and the USA. Another difference between Sudan and the USA is their education systems. To illustrate, in Sudan, the education system is not that good. There are many people who dont have any possibility of going to school due to limited opportunities or lack of money. Schools are clustered in the vicinity of Khartoum (capital city) and to a lesser extent in other urban areas, although the population is mainly rural. This concentration was found at all levels but was most marked for those in situations beyond the four-year primary schools. The north suffered from shortages of teachers and buildings, but education in the south is even more inadequate. On the other hand, in the USA, American public education is operated by state and local governments. Children are required in most states to attend school from the age of six or seven until they turn eighteen; states allow students to leave school at sixteen or seventeen. Small percentages of children are homeschooled. The United States has many compet itive private and public institutions of higher education, as well as local community colleges with open admission policies. Education is often regarded as the key to opportunity, including financial security. Americans take a practical approach to learning, so what one learns outside the classroom through internships, extracurricular activities is often considered as important as what is learned in the classroom. Therefore, lifelong learning is highly valued, which results in many adult and continuing education programs. Americans have many choices in school. They decide their major field of study, perhaps with or without their parents influence, and students even get to select some of their courses. USA and Sudan also share some similarities. Indeed, both gained independence from Great Britain. Sudan declared its independence on January 1, 1956, whereas, USA declared independence from Britain in 1776. Other similarity is how both countries view family and family life. In Sudan, the extended family provided social services. Traditionally, the family was responsible for the old, the sick, and the mentally ill, although many of these responsibilities had been eroded by urbanization. In many cases, however, the burden of these social services normally falls upon the women. Conversely, in the USA, people value their family and the way they live. The main purpose of the American family is to bring about the happiness of each individual family member. The traditional family values include love and respect for parents, as well as for all members of the family. Regardless of nationality, race and religion, we as people must learn to care for one another, appreciate and respect our differences. As we move on to the next century, we are closer than before. Globalization will continue to be a challenge in the new world, and most influential force in determining the future course of our planet. Reference Central Intelligence Agency The World Factbook. (NOV 28, 2009). CIA The World Factbook Publications. Retrieved Nov 28, 2009 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

The Narrator as Literary Device in “Luck,” by Mark Twain

Mark Twain uses the narrator as a literary device in his short story, â€Å"Luck.†Ã‚   The author first uses his own voice to give the story an air of authenticity.   He then changes narrators, building on the original air of authenticity to create a second authentic narrator.   By using the literary device of a first person point of view for both narrators, Twain is able to manipulate not only the actions that take place in the story, but he is also able to manipulate the reader’s understanding of, and his or her opinion of, the characters and events in the story. The narrator that an author chooses creates the perspective of the story.   The narrator is rarely synonymous with the author; however, it is not an unheard of occurrence for the two to be identical.   Twain is briefly the narrator of this story, given that he manipulates the readers’ perspective by declaring this story to be a true one and not â€Å"a fancy sketch† (Twain page). He increases this authenticity by signing his initials to the statement, thereby injecting himself into the action of the story.   Because this practice is not a common one in fictional stories, although it was more common at the time that this story was written than it is now, Twain’s â€Å"appearance† in his own fictional work gives it a suggestion of being a work of nonfiction. The first person narrator that Twain chooses to tell the majority of the story is ostensibly a unnamed clergyman, formerly a â€Å"cornet† (second lieutenant) in the British army under a lieutenant-general the first narrator gives the pseudonym â€Å"Scoresby.†Ã‚   Simply by setting the fiction of the need for a pseudonym for the lieutenant general, Twain has created the suggestion of literal truth for the story about to follow.   The second narrator, however, is an unreliable one. By stating that Scoresby’s success comes solely from luck, it is clearly apparent that the clergyman’s opinion would differ from that of the lieutenant general.   There is some question as to why these opinions would differ, at least from the clergyman’s perspective.   While it should come as no surprise that Scoresby would certainly prefer to characterize his success as deriving from skill, the clergyman could have one of three reasons for having a different opinion.   All of these reasons extend from his knowledge of how Scoresby came to be a member of the military.   First, it is possible that Scoresby is truly an inept, but lucky, man. The reader is left to reason for him or herself whether Scoresby could possibly be that fortunate.   Twain relies on the knowledge that many people have had surprising luck in their lives, or know of people who have had such luck.   By failing to mention names of actual battles and by failing to provide the â€Å"real† name of the lieutenant general in question, the series of events might seem plausible. Second, clergyman might be operating from a feeling of guilt that he allowed Scoresby to cheat his way into the military without speaking up about his role in that cheat.   His guilty feelings might color his perspective on Scoresby’s actual successes.   After all, having gotten into a military school, it seems logical that Scoresby might have learned some practical knowledge and skills no matter how he came to be enrolled. The narrator appears to be unwilling to acknowledge this fact, however.   Finally, the clergyman might be operating from the desire to have his name attached to that of a successful man.   By crediting himself for getting Scoresby into the school while at the same time denigrating the lieutenant general’s own skills and knowledge, the clergyman makes himself more important in his own military role–at least in his own eyes. Twain uses the role of the narrator as a literary device for controlling the reader’s perspective of the subject of the story.   By injecting a first person narrator into the action of the story, Twain creates a situation whereby the reader’s perception is easily manipulated.   Ultimately, however, the reader is left to decide on the authenticity of the story, due to the unreliability of the narrator.   Ã‚  In the end, the reader must decide on the actual role of both the narrator and of the possible role of luck over the course of Lieutenant-General Scoresby’s career. Work Cited Twain, Mark.   â€Å"Luck.†   Publication.   City: Publishing House, date.

Personality Profile Essay

In modern business, it is important to have a mindset of sustainability and environmentally friendly business practices. Two fundamental characteristics of an effective and sustainable leadership model are having the foresight of what the company is trying to attain and identifying the worth in the process and supplying the leadership to reach the companies goals. Leadership begins with trusting in the process, and adhering to the steps themselves. The single best way to achieve this is to lead by example. In this paper the author will explain how Marie Ziegler of John Deere help set the company on the path it follows today. Marie Ziegler has set the standard for John Deere and the employees of the company. As the vice president and treasurer for the John Deere Corporation it is within her responsibilities to ensure that the product that they are producing meets and exceeds the standards of the industry. All of John Deere’s products meet the Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) off-highway equipment emission regulations as of 2011. The regulations set out to reduce the particulate matter in the atmosphere by 90% in addition to reducing oxides of nitrogen emissions by as much as 50% (John Deere, 2012). In one position or another Marie Ziegler has preformed various duties within John Deere since 1978. During this time Marie has grown to know the company and industry well and has helped the company to grow, remain profitable and become an industry leader. The decision to make sure that John Deere’s products met the EPA standards was just another stepping stone towards the goal of being an industry leader. The virtues of a good leader within an effective and sustainable business include vision, values, strategy and systems. Marie began with the vision to achieve a product that met the standard set forth by the EPA guidelines and pushed forward with that goal (Weitzman, H . 2010). Values, values include the practices and beliefs that the company uses to achieve success. These include people, people being the employees of John Deere who treat each other with respect which in turn promotes teamwork and the ability for the company to succeed and grow. Marie recognized that the  customers are the reason a company exists. As a good leader she understood that without customers, there is no need for the products that John Deere provides. The product and the service that any company provides is a direct reflection of the dedication of a company, its values and its employees. The conduct of a business from the president and CEO all the way down to the staff on the sales floor reflects a company’s values. Strategy is what a leader uses to develop a set of actions to follow that supports long term visions, values and objectives (Desjardins, 2007). Strategy is the crucial aspect for the integrated management system. There are key elements to developing the strategy that surrounds all the health, safety, and environmental considerations required to fulfill the strategic plan. Included within this are the planning process, setting targets and objectives, establishing and environmental policy that backs the vision of the company, contemplating which industry code of practices will be instituted, and defining the framework for communication. When these aspects are combined, they create an environmental policy that states a company’s base principals and projected intentions for environmental performance. Marie exhibits a take control type personality which is a strong leadership style. As an effective business leader she knows what needs to be done, she develops a plan and sets it in motion. When the EPA established new emissions standards Marie knew how to strategize a plan to implement the changes to John Deere’s production process in a timely manner. This meant that she had to clearly communicate the needed changes to her team of employees to enact the strategy that she developed. Communication is the key aspect to ensuring a plan is enacted properly, effectively and efficiently. One of Marie’s actions as a leader in sustainability was instilling a culture of sustainability amongst her employees by implementing sustainable practices and adhering to those policies herself in order to lead by example. In addition to leading by example she uses clear communication skills to communicate her needs to her employees to ensure her decisions as a leader are disseminated down the chain and that policies are understood by all employees and team members. Marie displays strong leadership skills and knows John Deere inside and out, she believes in the product they produce and this is an important aspect to being an effective leader in sustainability. With the leadership of Marie Ziegler John Deere can set  forth a standard that allows the company to be a leader in green sustainability. The author of this paper tries to uses general management strategies that promote sustainability within the work environment but finds that it can be difficult for an individual to do so considering the following. As an employee of EC3 International, the author’s duties are usually prescribed by test plans which leave little room to enact sustainable management methods of his own. However, the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of the Army (DoA) have been enacting environmental standards and practices that promote sustainability and are more environmentally friendly for many years now. The army has most recently switched its primary small caliber ammunition to more environmentally friendly ammunition in order to reduce the negative environmental effects on weapons ranges. Many years ago the DoA along with the Proving Grounds implemented a new policy of no longer indiscriminately firing depleted uranium (DU) tank rounds out on to ranges. The DoA mandated that all DU test rounds must be fired into a catch box that can be cleaned out and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. In summary as a leader in sustainability within a company it is crucial to lead by example. No manager or business leader can expect his or her employees to conduct themselves in a professional and responsible manner unless they practice what they preach. When a leader takes a shortcut employees take note and will feel that it is not a problem to do so because their leadership does it. Marie Ziegler is an excellent example of how to conduct oneself who wishes to become a leader in sustainability. References DESJARDINS, J. R. (2007). Business, Ethics, and the Environment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Lomborg, B. (2008). Cool It. New York, NY: Vintage Books. John Deere, Products, (2012). Retrieved August 10, 2012 from http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/corporate/our_company/citizenship/environmental_stewardship/products/products.page Weitzman, H. (2010, Nov 25). Deere counts cost of emission controls. Financial Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/811393069?accountid=458

The Search for Truth in Anton Chekhovs The Cherry...

The scholar is engaged in the interminable quest for truth. The knowledge that one can never understand everything makes a person wise. Ignorance is the assumption that one can understand all about the world around them. An ignorant person is so confident they comprehend the truth, that they are blind to the greater truth. Anton Chekhov and Sophocles deal with the idea of this sinful pride that leads to ignorance in their respective works, The Cherry Orchard and Oedipus Rex. In each drama, certain characters are slapped in the face with the truth; the light is revealed. However, these characters make the connection when it is too late. Their destruction is already destined to become a reality, a horrid fate that could have been prevented.†¦show more content†¦The timing of the chorus’ plea as Oedipus enters the stage clearly demonstrates that Oedipus is the man whom he seeks, the murderer of the king. The truth of the play is revealed, yet Oedipus remains ignorant. Chekhov also makes use of a symbol to represent truth in his play. In The Cherry Orchard, the Ranevskayas are an aristocratic family that squander away their final days at their beloved cherry orchard. It shall soon be auctioned off, yet the family merely sits about and engages in meaningless chatter. They assume that everything shall be taken care of, the way it always has been in their lives. However, there is one man who seems to be above the careless atmosphere that surrounds him—Lopakhin, the hard-working son of generations of peasants. This man of great ambition represents truth. The truth that Chekhov reveals in the play is the emerging changes in the Russian social structure. The industrious middle class is on the rise, and the lazy aristocracy is doomed to fade away. In the end, Lopakhin buys the cherry orchard, which is the â€Å"estate where [his] father and grandfather were slaves† (Chekhov 366). The cherry orchard was the security, the wealth, and the power of the aristocracy; it is bought by a merchant, the son of peasants. Could the aristocracy not see what was happening, or did they choose to remain ignorant? By constructing summer cottages, the Ranevskaya family could have prevented the loss of the beloved