Romulus, My Father – Essay

Explore how perceptions of belonging and not belonging can be influenced by connections to places in Romulus, My Father. An individual's capacity to belong is primarily dependent on their personal experience, and varies in difficulty depending on the dynamics of each individual's personality and temperament. The landscape in which an individual resides has a definitive impact upon an individual’s sense of belonging. Furthermore, the specific place, in relation to where the individual literally resides, too influences ones sense of belonging.In Raimond Gaita's biographical memoir Romulus, My Father, the notion of belonging is strongly influenced by place. Both belonging and not belonging are explored through the characters sense of place, Romulus and Christine respectively. Romulus is able to successfully transition from Yugoslavia to Australia as he effectively endeavours to integrate his native culture – through Slivovitz, Yugoslavian friends and his native trade †“ into his newfound home. In contrast, Christine is unable to find any means of connection to the place or landscape and as a result becomes alienated.Raimond connects to place in his own unique way, using the landscape of rural Australia as a metaphor for belonging and subsequently finding a ‘place to call home’. Ultimately, Romulus, My Father explores the powerful influence that place holds over an individual’s sense of belonging. Throughout Raimond Gaita’s Romulus, My Father, Romulus Gaita’s sense of belonging is heavily influenced through a connection to place and landscape. Born in Yugoslavia, Romulus emigrated on an assisted passage in 1950 at the age of 28, with his young wife Christine and their four-year-old son Raimond soon after the end of World War II.While the transition between countries can often hold harsh and ominous repercussions on an individual’s sense of self, Romulus seems to successfully establish himself within the A ustralian community. Foremost, Romulus does so though an integration of his native culture. Immediately upon arriving at Baringhup in order to work, Romulus specifically seeks out his fellow Romanians and ultimately finds them in Hora and Mitru. Furthermore, his frequent drinking of Slivovitz, a Romanian brandy, coupled with his commitment to the trade he perfected in Romania highlights his commitment to his native country.This patriotism is ultimately accepted by the individuals Romulus associates with, and as a result strengthens his sense of belonging. The landscape of the Australian outback also has an impact on Romulus’ sense of belonging. Raimond often reflects on how Romulus feels isolated from the world, as a result of being away from the winterly forests of Europe. The effect is a slight diminution of Romulus’ sense of belonging as he at times longs to return to Yugoslavia.The peppercorn tree, situated in Frogmore, symbolises Romulus’ tether between his desire to return to Yugoslavia and his current location of Australia as it represents his native country, albeit located in his newfound home. Christine, Romulus’ wife, in contrast to Romulus himself, has her sense of belonging wrought through a disconnection towards place and landscape. It is evident at the beginning of the memoir that Christine feels a lack of belonging through living in Germany and as a result is the driving force behind the Gaita’s move to Australia.This act shows Christine’s inability to stay and commit to one place. Even upon arriving in Australia, Christine displays an inability to connect with the place she resides, and furthermore the landscape she is presented with. Despite only leaving Europe recently, Christine too seems to feel isolated by the Australian outback. The rural Australian landscape of Frogmore ultimately becomes too much for Christine, who subtly still longs for the winterly forests of Europe.Whether it is a result of h er unaccepted values in the eyes of the local community, her largely misunderstood mental illness or a strong disconnection to place and landscape, Christine is constantly on the move, which further highlighting her temporary nature. Time after time, Christine feels alienated by the landscape she surrounds herself with and ultimately feels the need to escape the alienation for good, resulting in her suicide. The dead red gum tree becomes a metaphor for her desolation, oppression and inability to become accustomed to the land.The tree, like Christine, is of complete contrast to its landscape; drawing parallels to Christine’s alienation. â€Å"The scraggy gum delineated against a dark blue backdrop of a sky. † Raimond is able to fashion his own sense of belonging through place in a way this is distinctively different from Romulus and Christine. The distinctive difference between Raimond and his parents is that Raimond is able to grow up in Australia. This ultimately has a major impact upon the way place shapes his sense of belonging. Raimond embraces his Australian environment, most notably through his school.Raimond, once again unlike his parents, is able to fully embrace the Australian culture without any significant ties to the European culture. It is in this way that Raimond is able to fully feel at home within the landscape of the rural Australian outback. Raimond relishes the rural landscape, which is further explored during his epiphany. Ultimately, an individual's capacity to belong is primarily dependent on their personal experience. However, the difficulties in belonging are derived from the dynamics of an individual's personality as their subjective perceptions of themselves and their surrounds influence their capacity to belong.Raimond Gaita's memoir, Romulus, My Father depicts the varying difficulties in belonging through the parallel portrayal of Christine and Raimond; asserting that Christine' temporary nature prevented her from achi eving a sense of belonging. Raimond's sense of belonging is shaped through coming to terms with his bucolic setting, in contrast to the innate connection to the land of his father. Thus, belonging is seen as a subjective notion whereby the hazards and difficulties of achieving belonging are varied dependent on the dynamics of the individual’s personality and temperament.

Financial institution

Bridgecorp is a financial institution that operates in New Zealand and in Australia (McNabb). As a financial institution it is their responsibility to make sure that the investments of their respective investors will earn profit in a respectively manner. We all know that crises came along in every instance we face in our business. With regards to the concern of Bridgecorp, we know that they have suffered from crises that have led to the collapse of their financial institution.As a business sector, it is expected that there will come a time that they will be facing such problems and with this they need to sacrifice a portion of what they have to make sure that the crises that will come along their way will not have any more conflicts with respect to their business. Yet on the first place, it should also be common to any business that they should look forward to possible problems lying along their way. In this manner they will have at least an idea to overcome such problems and to avoi d further complications that these problems can bring to their business.With respect to Bridgecorp, we have been given the chance to know that they have been given a 3. 5 out of 5 rating y a certain agency which aims to give rating to financial institutions based upon their effectiveness as a business sector (Davies). Yet, what we did not have is the chance to know about the criteria from where the rating came. Having a rating of 3. 5 out of 5 means that Bridgecorp is a financial institution that gives a respectfully, good quality service to their clients and investors (Davies). This rating was given on February and should have an effectiveness that will last until November (Davies).But by the month of November we have know that Bridgecorp have been undergoing several operations in an attempt to save the institution to a near closure. We have known that by this time Bridgecorp has already been suffering from crises that have led them to a situation where they should sell their prope rties in order to regain something out of nothing they might have in case the institution will be closed in no time. As to the respectful agency who gave a 3. 5 out of 5 rating to Bridgecorp, they should have look further to the capability of Bridgecorp to operate in the long run.The agency should have also look at the present health of Bridgecorp as a financial institution. They should have seen if Bridgecorp still have the ability to their jobs well. As we have known, Bridgecorp came up to a point where they came up short upon the cash flow regarding the payment for their maturing term debenture stock deposits, interest on loans and the capital notes (McNabb). From such situation these shows that any financial institution who are coming up short regarding their payments have something wrong going on behind the scene.Having investors close to 18000 individuals and an investment being estimated to be $600 million these show that there are a lot of people who entrust their money to B ridgecorp (McNabb). And according to this information, a little shortage regarding the budget and funds of Bridgecorp will show a large amount of money and if it turned out to be a net loss then it only shows that Bridgecorp have lost a large amount of money. Once a financial institution have lost a great amount of money it will eventually turn out that they should have made such actions to have refund of what they have lost.They should make ways in where they can regain what they have lost. In such manner, the fund raising ability of the institution should double their work in an attempt to regain their lost and if possible to have a higher income. But, on the blind side that we have seen after the collapse of Bridgecorp, we have known that the fund researchers of Bridgecorp have been misinterpreting their duty (Cruickshank). The fund researchers of Bridgecorp turn out to be ineffective and show that they have not performed their duties very well which is very vital to the sensitiv e situation that Bridgecorp have undergone (Cruickshank).As their fund researchers fail to do their job, given that their financial institution is in a situation where they are being close to disclosure, Bridgecorp had lost the chance of having a great back up in terms of their shortage in their cash flows (Cruickshank). If only their fund researchers have been able to find such ways to support their shortage of funds and if possible if they have been able to manage an activity where they will earn extra profit that could help them have an additional income then it could have been a great help to the situation of the financial institution.Also according to surveys, it runs out that most of the investors are looking forward to the interests that the financial institution is giving rather than the reputation that the financial institution has (Benett). It turned out that it doesn’t matter whether the financial institution can give the investors a high rate security regarding th eir investments. Investors on their views at their investments to be a sure-earning investment and it should have a profit in every time that it has been handled by the financial institution (Benett).In effect to Bridgecorp it turns out that in order to have more investors then they should give higher interests upon the investments being handled to them. It could have been great if only Bridgecorp have been able to manage the investments properly. According to a source, Bridgecorp has not been able to lend the investments to other investors in order to earn profits. This is opposite to the point of view of Bridgecorp’s investors. Bridgecorp’s investors were confident that their investments were earning profit as it was being lent to other investors.With such lack in action like this, Bridgecorp have lost another way of earning profit from the investments of their investors and at the same time they should still pay the interest they should give to the investments they are handling. Thus, it means that instead they should have been earning from the investments they are handling then these investments have lured them closer to disclosure. As an action to then upcoming collapse of Bridgecorp, their management had come up to the point where they have decided to sell Bridgecorp’s properties.In doing so, they think that they can have an income from the sell profit of the financial institution rather than losing more as they were trying to revive their financial institution. As they were trying to revive their financial institution they have found out that instead of having profits from their actions and activities reviving the institution they are on the other hand losing more as their investors are pulling out their investments from Bridgecorp leaving them less capital to revive their financial institution.At the act of selling the financial institution, Bridgecorp have been able to use the previous rating that they have earned from a certain c ompany (Ryan). They have been able to use the high rating they have earned in order to have a higher price offer to Bridgecorp as it was being sold. Yet, the rating is not the only factor to be considered if the management of Bridgecorp wants to sell their financial institution at a higher price. Advertisements and other factors like the reputation of the institution have played a very vital role in the essence of giving Bridgecorp a higher value (Ryan).Being the only way they have by then, Bridgecorp’s management have agreed that they should no longer try to revive their financial institution but it is rather an advantage for them if they will sell its properties because buy selling the properties of Bridgecorp they will still have a chance to at least earn rather than continue losing their assets as they try to find ways to revive the institution. In such manner, the collapse of Bridgecorp has happened. It started from the lack of focus on the duties of the management until they have realized that it was too late to revive the financial institution they once have.From the misinterpretations of duties to lack of efforts towards their duties came up the shortage to their cash flow which eventually leads to more complications and more net lost. If only they have given an immediate and proper action to then not yet full blown crises that the institution has suffered then it would have been possible that Bridgecorp has not yet collapsed and on the other hand could have been a financial institution with a stronger foundation. . References: McNabb, Denise. (2007, July 4. ). BRIDGECORP: Signs of a Troubled Company: The Independent Financial Review, p.4. Benett, Adam. (2007, August 21). Do your homework, investors warned. The New Zealand Herald, NEWSTALK ZB. Davies, Anthony. (2007, July 5). Bridgecorp collapse highlights role of ratings vs rankings. Retrieved Sept. 3, 2007. Ryan, Peter (2007) Ratings agencies criticized after Bridgecorp collapse Cruickshank, R ichard (2007, August 8). The important role of research – is it being misunderstood? Retrieved Sept. 3, 2007, from Seekingmedia. com. au < http://www. seekingmedia. com. au/news. php? newsid=133&PHPSESSID=5107571974ff403aafc27f779f500b64>

Bacteria produce gold by digesting toxic metals

Bacteria produce gold by digesting toxic metals High concentrations of heavy metals like copper and gold are found to be toxic for most of the organisms. But scientists have discovered a modern alchemist that can extract valuable trace elements from a compound of toxic metals without poisoning itself. One of the interesting side effects is the production of gold nuggets. This microbial magician, C. metallidurans, when placed in a minilab full of gold chloride converts it to 24-carat gold in a week’s time, a process that this bacterium is thought to carry out regularly in nature. This finding by Kazem Kashefi and Adam Brown has been exhibited as an art instalment called â€Å"The Great Work of the Metal Lover†. The art work consists of a portable lab which consists of a glass bioreactor containing the bacteria. While Kashefi calls this as microbial alchemy, Brown calls it as neo-alchemy which is a cross between modern microbiology and alchemy. This artwork received an honourable, mentioned in the world renowned cyber art competition, Prix Ars Electronica, held in Austria. Producing pure gold from bacterium seems to be a boon at a time when the price of gold has reached an all-time high. But, does this mean that the scientists have got the answer to the international debt crises? Although this bacterium can produce the 24-carat pure gold, but it has been said that it will be cost prohibitive to carry out this experiment at a larger scale. So, one should not see this as a golden investment in economic crisis. But, this discovery has surely created a debate over the use of science and technology, the greed and other economic and environmental impacts associated with it. This work can be used to address questions regarding the ethics related to science and the magnificent engineering of nature. When discovered, the bacterium was initially found to be resistant to cadmium but subsequent studies identified that this strain is multi-metal resistant and has two plasmids pMOL28 and pMOL30 which harbour multiple loci for metal resistance. The bacterium’s ability to thrive in toxic environments with a high number of heavy metal resistant genes makes it an excellent model organism to study the means by which microbes deal with heavy metal stress. Such unique ability of this extremophile to metabolize toxic substances might also provide an insight into understanding the origin of life. When too much copper has accumulated inside the bacteria, it is normally pumped out by the enzyme CupA. However, when gold compounds are also present, the enzyme is suppressed and the toxic copper and gold compounds remain inside the cell. Copper and gold combined are actually more toxic than when they appear on their own, says Dietrich H. Nies. To solve this problem, the bacteria activate another enzyme CopA. This enzyme transforms the copper and gold compounds into their originally difficult to absorb forms. This assures that fewer copper and gold compounds enter the cellular interior. The bacterium is poisoned less and the enzyme that pumps out the copper can dispose of the excess copper unimpeded. Another consequence is that the gold compounds that are difficult to absorb transform in the outer area of the cell into harmless gold nuggets only a few nanometres in size, says Nies. In nature, C. metallidurans plays a key role in the formation of so-called secondary gold, which emerges following the breakdown of primary, geologically created, ancient gold ores. It transforms the toxic gold particles formed by the weathering process into harmless gold particles, thereby producing gold nuggets. The study conducted by the joint German-Australian research team provides important insights into the second half of the bio-geochemical gold cycle. Here primary gold metal is transformed by other bacteria into mobile, toxic gold compounds, which is transformed back into secondary metallic gold in the second half of the cycle. Once the entire cycle is understood, gold can also be produced from ores containing only a small percentage of gold without requiring toxic mercury bonds as was previously the case.

The Emergence and development of landscape painting Article

The Emergence and development of landscape painting - Article Example The essay "The Emergence and development of landscape painting" explores landscape painting, its development, and emergence. A painter must capture the actual features of the scenery ensuring the use of appropriate colors among other elements of the art. The art has grown progressively to become a fundamental aspect of nearly every form of painting, landscape painting often form appropriate backgrounds for numerous paintings. Landscape painting has been an integral aspect of panting among other types of art for numerous years. However, the first actual landscape paintings were the frescos developed in Greece around the 1500BCE. Such were a series of paintings that had no human depiction. Besides the frescos, numerous other paintings at the time had depicted natural scenery owing to the importance of nature. Painters captured hunting scenes provided a detailed representation of the natural scenery thus giving rise to landscape painting. Landscape painting thus changed throughout the h istory of art. During such periods as the medieval, the renascence and earlier centuries, numerous artists contributed to the development of the landscape maintaining by adding new twists thus contributing to the development of the contemporary landscape painting. During the medieval times, landscape painting remained a reserve as backgrounds in other paintings. Most painters at the time depicted natural scenery only as part of other paintings. As explained earlier, natural scenery forms appropriate backgrounds for painters.

Solar energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Solar energy - Essay Example Using oil as a major resource to generate power is insufficient, as oil is a non-renewable energy source and there is no way to obtain more once it has been depleted. This fact has the potential to cause a major threat to the country. In addition, using oil produces considerable amounts of gases that result in damaging our environment. Topic and thesis This research will examine power generating in the United Arab Emirates. It will analyze the importance of changing the method of using oil to generate power. Furthermore, this proposal will discuss how renewable energy can be beneficial to this country. The emphasis of this research will be on the significance of using solar energy instead of using oil. The government of the UAE should communicate the importance of solar energy to the major cities due to the following three reasons: Solar energy is completely renewable Solar energy doesn't create pollution UAE has a good environment and conditions to consider using solar energy Backgr ound Information The UAE is located in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is considered to be one of the richest countries in regard to oil. Indeed, oil has a large array of uses in the UAE. One of its main uses is to generate power. For example, conventional steam is created, which is when oil is burned to heat water to create steam to generate electricity. Also, they can burn the oil so that it produces hot gases, which spin a turbine to generate power. This method is known as combustion. This massive consumption of oil leads to many serious environmental problems. These problems should be controlled by using an alternative way of generating power, which can be done by using solar energy. This kind of energy, unlike the burning oil, doesn't produce pollution. Solar energy can be used through technology devices such as solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal electricity and solar architecture. Sources of Information Future Energy - Improved, Sustainable and Clean Options for Our Planet (book) Photovoltaic Systems for High-Performance Housing Solar Energy Masdar City website Organization and the scope of the Proposal What is solar photovoltaics? Why is the UAE a good place to use solar energy? Is solar energy renewable? What is the impact of both solar PV and burning oil to our planet? Key Terms Solar energy: energy that uses the power of the sun's light and heat to produce electricity Photovoltaic: a piece of equipment that changes light into electricity How do solar photovoltaics work? Here is an explanation from Science NASA News about how PV works: The diagram below illustrates the operation of a basic photovoltaic cell, which is also called a solar cell. Solar cells are made of the same kind of materials as semiconductors, such as silicon, which is used in the microelectronics industry. For solar cells, a thin semiconductor wafer is specially treated to form an electric field, positive on one side and negative on the other. When light en ergy strikes the solar cell, electrons are knocked loose from the atoms in the semiconductor material. If electrical conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides, forming an electrical circuit, the electrons can be captured in the form of an electric current -- that is, electricity. This electricity can then be used to power a load, such as a light or a tool. Environment and climate The UAE has a great environment and climate to implement solar energy to generate power

Delta Airlines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Delta Airlines - Essay Example By 1953, Delta Airlines had expanded into the Southeast and were now serving the citizens and the southern airlines (Fojt, 2006). It took time for them to expand to the Northeast but by the early 1970s, all this was implemented (Partsch & Wellens, 2009). In 1956, they installed radars in all their aircrafts and later launched the Convair 880 jet service in 1960. The most significant strategy that Delta Airline undertook was merging with the Western Air Lines in 1986 that was hubbed in Salt Lake City. For the reason that Delta Airline’s management treated their employees well, they enjoyed amicable relations regarding their labor and a number of union contracts. There was high productivity, high work morale and excellent service that kept customers coming back and sticking to their services. In 1996, the motivated workers made an effort and dug from their pockets to but the company a jet. In 1997, Delta airlines introduced the Boeing 777s and became the first to board more than a hundred million passengers in one year. More advancement was made in the next year when they lay the foundation to include the first international cargo alliance with Swiss Cargo. They also installed automatic defibrillators on all their aircrafts. In 2003, Delta airlines became the first airline in America to provide pre-recorded audio information regarding flights at the gate (Katel, 2008). In 2005, the company filed for reorganization that is provided under chapter eleven of the bankruptcy code of the United States. In the same year, they started more expansions with more routes to the Caribbean and Latin American routes. After the expansions, the management decided to go into Africa and first invested on the Southern African side with flights to Dakar and Johannesburg South Africa. They were able to reemerge from bankruptcy in 2007 after they defeated the takeover by the US Airways. Delta merged with

Research proposal about special education Major P.H.D program

About special education Major P.H.D program - Research Proposal Example For this purpose, the researcher has formulated the research aim and objectives that have been stated below: The research aims to state the importance of special education at the PhD level along with highlighting its importance in creating a difference in the society by supporting and guiding students with special needs. For this purpose, few research objectives have been designed stated below. The literature review is aimed to present an understanding over the literature written in the context of special education highlighting its relevance and importance along with its benefits in the social environment. The idea is form an understanding that will help in gaining knowledge about special education along with its worth and importance as adding value in the personal and professional setups. Special education is meant for students with special needs covering individual differences in a systematic manner. It involves individually or group planned objectives, teaching procedures and useful and innovative interventions designed to help students to attain higher level of understanding leading to self sufficiency (Swan, Morgan, 1993). Special education can be offered within a school, college or community with the prime motive of paying focus on special needs of students. Special needs may include challenges with learning, physical disabilities, emotional and mental disorders and developmental disorders. Education can be offered to anyone using classroom setting or sharing of knowledge. However, special education demands more of a systematic and compassionate approach as students’ special needs often reduce their ability to learn independently and thus thwarting their progress in the learning phase (Goodman, 1990). Special education requires more of a compassionate app roach that cannot be offered in a general classroom setting. With social stigma attached with special education, it is