Maya Angelou Essays - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Essays - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou Maya Angelou A poet, an author, a play-write, an actress, a mother, a civil-rights activists, historian and most important a survivor. Perhaps Maya Angelou, award winning author of many books is one of the most influential African Americans in American history. I believe that she rates at the top of the list of American authors, with Hemingway, Hawthorne, and Voight. I believe through my research and reading of Maya Angelou that she should be among the members of The American Authors Hall of Fame. Maya was born on, April 4th, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson, in St. Louis Missouri. She was raised in Stamps Arkansas, by her Grandmother Annie Henderson and Her Uncle Willie. Stamps was a rural segregated community. However, it was tight knit between the African Americans. Maya grew up during a very difficult time period in American history. They were just recovering from the Great Depression, and learning how to deal with different races of people. Maya knew this and made it clear in her writing. "It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit quietly and listen to charges brought against my color with no chance of defense. We should be dead. I thought I should like to see us all dead, one on top of each other. A pyramid of flesh with the whit folks on the bottom, . . . and then the Negro's." (Angelou Caged Bird 153) "If growing up was painful for the Southern Black Girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat." (Angelou, Caged Bird) Page 2 Grandma Henderson was a very religious person, and a key factor in Maya's upbringing. as with the rest of the people of Stamps. Maya and her brother Baily were punished as necessary. She kept Baily and Maya out of trouble and on the right track. "A devout woman Grandmother Henderson led her family in prayer each day at 4:00am." (Aging and Human Development 181) When Maya was about six, she and Baily moved to St. Louis to live with her mother, and her boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. While staying in St. Louis, she was raped by Mr. Freeman. Afterwards, Mr. Freeman was killed. Maya was certain that her voice had the power to kill, after all, she was the one that told on him, so Maya became mute for the next two years. After returning to Stamps, a woman by the name of Bertha Flowers brought Maya out of her mute. "Mrs. Flowers she had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest of weather... she acted just as refined as the white folks." (Angelou, Caged Bird 76-78) Mrs. Flowers brought the works of Shakespeare, Hawthorne, and many others to Maya. Mrs. Flowers made her read and recite the verses. Maya was about 11, Grandma Baxter moved her and Baily to San Francisco, California to escape to racial fights in the south. Maya was just as mystified with her mother now as when she first meets her in St. Louis. Maya would go to see her father every so often, until one summer he asked Maya to live with him for the summer. Maya's father often took trips to Mexico on the weekend. Maya went with him on one, just to find herself driving her drunken father home. When Maya returned home, she got into an awful fight with her father's girlfriend. Maya then ran away, became homeless, and lived in a junkyard. One year after Maya became homeless, she returned home with her mother. Maya Page 3 attended secondary school, and found herself a job being the first black conductorette on the San Francisco street cars. This was a great accomplishment in Maya's mind, she had done something that no one else has ever done. Maya was now about 16 years of age, and curious about sex. She thought that maybe she was lesbian, so to find out, she had sex with a friend, and ended up pregnant. Maya was only 16 years old. She was now the Mother of Guy Johnson. Maya moved to West Africa, and took up the job as a professor at The University of Ghana.

Crime Justice and Criminals Vocabulary

Crime Justice and Criminals Vocabulary These words are used when talking about crime and criminals. Each word is placed in a related category and defined. Crime Types Assault: To hit/injure someone physically. Blackmail: To threaten to reveal incriminating materials if someone doesnt do something. Burglary: To steal or break into a home or car, etc. Fraud: A deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. Hijacking: Unlawfully seizing an aircraft, vehicle, or ship while in transit Hooliganism: Volent or rowdy behavior that occurs (typically) in crowds or gangs. Kidnapping: The act of abducting someone and holding them captive. Mugging: The act of attacking and robbing someone in a public place. Criminal Terms Mugger: A person who attacks and robs another in a public place. Murderer: A person who kills another person. Robber: A person who steals from another person. Shoplifter: A person who steals from a store. Smuggler: A person who imports/exports prohibited goods. Terrorist: A person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. Thief: A person who steals. Vandal: A person who defaces property of another person. Justice System Terms Appeal: Asking for a reversal of the decision of a court. Barrister: A British term for a lawyer. Caution: Care taken to avoid danger or mistakes. Cell: An area considered a living space for inmates within a prison. Community service: Voluntary work intended to help people in a particular area. Court: Place where cases and legal matters are conducted. Court case: A dispute between two parties that is decided in a court of law. Death penalty: The punishment of execution. Defense: The case presented by or on behalf of the party being accused. Fine: The payment of money for being caught. Gaol, jail: The place where accused persons and criminals are held. Guilty: Found responsible for wrongdoing or an unlawful act. Imprisonment: The state of being imprisoned. Innocent: Not being guilty of a crime. Judge: An official appointed to decide cases in a court of law. Jury: A group of people (typically twelve in number) sworn to give a verdict in a legal case on the basis of evidence submitted in court. Justice: A judge or magistrate, or, the quality of fairness. Lawyer: Someone who practices or studies law. Offense: A breach of law/illegal act. Sentence: Length of time a prisoner is imprisoned. Prison: A building where people are legally held as a punishment for a crime they have committed or while awaiting trial. Probation: The release of an offender from detention, subject to a period of good behavior under supervision. Prosecution: The legal proceedings against someone in respect of a criminal charge. Punishment: The infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense. Capital punishment: The legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime. Corporal punishment: Physical punishment, such as caning or flogging. Remand home: Detention/reform school for juvenile offenders. Solicitor: An officer having charge of a legal business. Trial: A formal examination of evidence before a judge and/or jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings. Verdict: The legally binding decision on a case. Witness: A person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident, take place. Crime Verbs Arrest: To take someone into custody legally. Ban: To forbid or limit something. Break-in: To enter somewhere without consent or by force. Break-out: To leave somewhere without consent or by force. Break the law: To go against the law. Burgle: To enter (a building) illegally with the intent to commit theft. Charge: To accuse someone of an illegal act. Commit a crime: To do something illegal. Escape: To break free from confinement or control. Getaway: An escape or quick departure, especially after committing a crime. Get away with: To avoid prosecution for a criminal act. Hold up: To point a weapon at someone to make them give them money or a valuable good. Investigate: To look deeper into a matter and gather information about what happened. Rob: To take something forcefully from someone unwilling. Steal: To take (another persons property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it. Other Crime-Related Words Alibi: A story given to explain that one was not near the location of a crime. Armed: To be in the possession of a firearm (gun). Burglar: Someone who steals from others, a thief. Car alarm: An alarm on a motor vehicle. Alarm: Loud noise meant to draw attention when disturbed. Legal: Pertaining to the law, on the right side of the law, allowed. Illegal: Against the law, criminal. Store detective: Someone who watches over a store to make sure people dont steal from it. Private detective: Someone who is hired to investigate a matter. Weapon: Something designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage.

ATT Income Report Assignment Example

AT&T Income Report The paper "ATT Income Report" is an extraordinary example of an assignment on finance and accounting. ATT Company has reported a net income for the fourth quarter of 2009 of $3 billion. This is a 26% increase as compared to the 2008. This has been attributed to the increase in mobile subscribers. The revenue of the company has fallen from $31.1 to $30.9 billion. The earnings per share was reported at $0.51 which met the expectation made by several business analysts. According to the company, the increase in income was fueled by broadband and mobile growth. During the fourth quarter, the company added 2.7 million subscribers. This was the second-best performance that the company has ever achieved. The increase was driven by the fast adoption of products by the apple company like e-readers, iPhone, and netbooks. The mobile operating revenue for the company increased by 7.6% from $12.9 billion in the 2008 fourth quarter to $13.8 billion in 2009 fourth quarter. Furthermore, the company activated about 3.1 million iPhones in the quarter. In the companys report, it assured its clients that it will offer the best services in iPad. The company has embraced the new innovation by Apple which has planned connectivity on its network. This was a report from John Stankey, the president of ATT Company. The company has an understood the technical operation of iPad thus will maximize on its usage. In addition, the mobile data revenue of ATT increased by 26.3% to $3.9 billion. The company had a solid year, 2009 and led the company to the biggest growth driver. The company is in a good position to provide for the high demand in connectivity of IP data and mobile broadband. Therefore, the company aims at adding vital mobile capacity in 2010.

The Crucible Theatre Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

The Crucible Theatre Case Study - Essay Example What is the basis of strategy formulation in the Crucible Theatre Trust Comment on the management of the risk and the crises evident in the Case Study. The Crucible Theatre (from hereon referred to as "Crucible") is an enterprise that is owned, operated, and managed by a legally registered company with the Trust as its board of directors (or, strictly speaking, trustees). Like any other enterprise, the theatre receives income, has expenditures, hires employees, and faces many problems. As part of its strategic management function, the Trust should have focused on the long-term identification, development, and exploitation of the Crucible's core competencies, thought about the concept of the corporation and its mission, and designed the management processes to achieve the mission, which is why the Crucible existed in the first place. In effect, the Trust's main function is to set the strategy: give an over-all "direction" and "destination" for the business and the guidelines on how to get there. Then, operating management takes care of the details that are part of making the business enterprise succeed. It is understandable that at the beginning, the Crucible's management had problems as shown by the theatre's construction cost over-runs (by 184,000 or 26 percent over budget) and the low theatre attendance. But as the years passed, the number of "empty" seats, the financial losses (if not for the increasing amount of grants), the recurring cycles of financial crises, and a general lack of direction showed that the Trust could improve the way it did strategic management. In its first decade (1971-1981), the Trust may have done well in identifying and developing the Crucible's concept, core competencies, and its mission, but it had not done well in exploiting those core competencies and in managing the processes of marketing (audience development) and finance (non-government sources). As a result, its resources were under-utilised and the Crucible became a financial burden to the government. The second decade (1982-1991) saw "improvements" in the Trust's management, hitting "lower" attendance targets, increasing box office income (average annual growth of 23 percent) and its percentage (from 40 to 50 percent) of total income, and decreasing the growth rate of income from grants (average annual growth dropped from 16 percent from 1971-1981 to 7 percent from 1982-1991) for its operations. However, the financial burden remained for reasons easy to see: the "strategic" decision to bring down attendance targets made it easy to achieve, and as expenses rose, it was only due to effective lobbying by the Trust in the Arts Council and with Sheffield's local government that the Crucible secured the grants that allowed its financial survival. Balancing accounts and fund-raising could be

Personal Brand (i.e. a human being) Research Paper

Personal Brand (i.e. a human being) - Research Paper Example It is for this very reason; it is more difficult to manage personal brands as compared to products or services associated brands (Vitberg, 2010). Oprah Winfrey happens to be the single largest one-woman personal brand in the world (Haig, 2011). This is because the brand Oprah is associated with specific personality traits and the mass perception of the brand Oprah has been managed till date with apt astuteness, finesse and dexterity (Haig, 2011). As a result, Oprah commands a very high mass popularity and many of the leading brands in the world aspire to associate with brand Oprah to leverage their net brand appeal. Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................... 2 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................... 4 2.0 SWOT Analysis of Brand Oprah ................................................................. 4 2.1 Strengths ......... ............................................................................................ 4 2.2 Weaknesses .................................................................................................. ... ........................................................................................................... 9 1.0 Introduction It is a matter of public knowledge that not only Oprah Winfrey happens to be the largest one-woman brand in the world, but also that the leading brands in the world aspire to associate with this top notch personal brand (Haig, 2011, p. 131). The appeal of brand Oprah is such that it has not only revolutionized and redefined the history of television, but has indeed been successful in configuring a successful commercial empire around the attributes and mass appeal of the name Oprah (Haig, 2011, p. 131). In that context, brand Oprah is associated with a Midas touch. The mere association of a product or service with the name Oprah is just enough to make it a public rage. For instance a slight association of the brand Oprah with Spanx not only helped this little known under-garments brand evolve into a lead seller, but also helped it accrue a net annual turnover of ?220 million (Stylist, 2013). The mere mention of the brand Kindle at the Oprah show was enough to make people run for buying a piece of this gadget (Stylist, 2013). The book recommendations made by Oprah Book Club are a guarantee to make a publication an international best seller in a matter of days (Stylist, 2013). Thereby, it goes without saying that commercially speaking, brand Oprah commands an immense brand value and appeal (Haig, 2011, p. 132). However, the thing that needs to be understood is that brand Oprah commands such a successful consumer appeal owing to certain specific brand strategies, which not only make the brand Oprah soar over the social limitations ascribed to race, ethnicity and social status, but make it a name closely associated with reliability,

Reading stories with children Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reading stories with children - Research Paper Example I decided to read two different books in terms of their themes and setting. The first book was a religious book with religious themes while the second book was more of a fun book. The interaction with the kid, who is about five years of age, was rather eye opening. During the reading session, the kid interjected the process severally asking various questions regarding the stories. He constantly asked questions regarding the meaning of words he did not understand. This trait was a bit interesting as it portrayed the kid as an inquisitive person who wanted to know more. Various facial expressions accompanied my reading to the kid so as to further make him understand certain aspects of the stories. He was keen on the kind of expression that he saw on my face as I continued to read the books. Whenever there were frowns on my face he could also frown. This was a sign that the kid personalized the reading through the expressions that I was portraying to him as the reader. After reading the books to the kid I did further analysis on his reactions during the time I read the books. This revealed something interesting as I realized that the child scrutinized details of every picture that was shown to him. The scrutiny of the fin details in the pictures portrayed the kid as an individual who is interested in both the pictorial aspects of the stories as well as the word flow. This was even more interesting when it came to recalling the reading on the side of the child when I asked him questions. Even after reading the two stories to the kid certain aspects of his traits were outstanding. The kid was able to recall the outline of the two stories though note as exact or fair as it should have been. The first story was titled chocolate me which talks about the skin color in different people. It was more religious and encouraged the readers to appreciate

What are the major ethical issues associated with conflict in the Research Paper

What are the major ethical issues associated with conflict in the contemporary workplace - Research Paper Example Drug testing is one of the areas that can lead to ethical issues in the workplace. The use of drug testing in the workplace can create an environment where employees are in constant conflicts with the management (Sterba, 2009). For instance, the management of a firm can insist that workers undergo drug testing even when they do not want. This practice can be forced without mutual agreement with employees being threatened by their employers. All these instances present ethical scenarios that undermine relations in the workplace. Falsification of information is also another area that depicts the extent of ethics within a business organization (Chonko, 2000). Conflict can arise between workers and their employees because of falsified information. For instance, an employee can falsify information to receive a promotion or to portray others on the wrong thus leading to conflicts. Sexual harassment represents another area of ethical concern in a work place. According to Allhoff and Vaidya (2008), sexual harassment entails the harassment of people in a sexual manner. This practice is of ethical concern given that it moral permissibility in a workplace is debatable. With sexual harassment, the relationship between perpetrators of this act and their victims can suffer and translate to reduced interactions at work. It can also lead to limited commitment at work. In the workplace, sexual harassment can occur when workers touch their colleagues with approval in a sexual manner. It may also mean compromising with other workers by forcing them into sexual acts for them to receive favors. Lack of fairness can be considered as another area that presents ethical issues. In a business environment, workers expect to be treated fairly like others workers. Unfair treatment can affect the morale of workers and leads to high turnover of workers. As an example, the