Rujm el-Hiri (Golan Heights) - Ancient Observatory

Rujm el-Hiri (also called Rogem Hiri or Gilgal Rephaim) is the largest ancient megalithic monument in the near east, located 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of the Sea of Galilee in the western part of the historic Bashan plain of the Golan Heights (a contested area claimed by both Syria and Israel). Located at 2,689 feet (515 meters) above sea level, Rujm el-Hiri is believed to have functioned at least partially as an astronomical observatory. Key Takeaways: Rujm el-Hiri Ruhm el-Hiri is the largest megalithic monument in the Near East, a site built of some 40,000 tons of basalt rock arranged in concentric circles which once stood up to 8 feet high.  Once thought to have been built during the Bronze Age, recent studies suggest the monument must have been built during the Chalcolithic period, about 3500 BCE.  Ã‚  Although the redating means that the original astronomical suggestions would not have worked, new studies have found new alignments that would have enabled tracking of the solstice.   Built and used during the late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age between 5,500–5,000 years ago, Rujm el-Hiri is made of an estimated 40,000 tons of uncut black volcanic basalt fieldstones piled and wedged into between five and nine concentric rings (depending on how you count them), reaching to 3–8 ft (1 to 2.5 m) high. Nine Rings at Rujm el-Hiri The site consists of a central cairn with a set of concentric rings encircling it. The outermost, largest ring (Wall 1) measures 475 ft (145 m) east-west and 500 ft (155 m) north-south. This wall measures consistently between 10.5–10.8 ft (3.2–3.3 m) thick, and in places stands up to 2 m (6 ft) in height. Two openings into the ring are currently blocked by fallen boulders: the northeastern measures some 95 ft ( 29 m) wide; the southeastern opening measures 85 ft (26 m). Not all of the internal rings are complete; some of them are more oval than Wall 1, and in particular, Wall 3 has a pronounced bulge to the south. Some of the rings are connected by a series of 36 spoke-like walls, which make up chambers, and seem to be randomly spaced. At the center of the innermost ring is a cairn protecting a burial; the cairn and burial came after the initial construction of the rings by perhaps as long as 1,500 years. The central cairn is an irregular stone heap measuring some 65–80 ft (20–25 m) in diameter and 15–16 ft (4.5–5 m) in height. About and around it is a stack of small to medium sized-stones constructed like a shell around the central cairn. When intact, the appearance of the cairn would have been a stepped, truncated cone. Dating the Site Very few artifacts have been recovered from Rujm el-Hiri—limited to pottery fragments from the surface—and the harsh local environment has resulted in the lack of suitable organic materials recovered for radiocarbon dating. Based on the few artifacts recovered at the site, the excavators suggested that the rings were built during the Early Bronze Age, of the 3rd millennium BCE; the cairn was built during the late Bronze Age of the late 2nd millennium. The huge structure (and a series of dolmens nearby) may be the origin of the myths of the ancient race of giants, mentioned in the Old Testament of the Judeo-Christian bible as led by Og, King of the Bashan. Archaeologist Yonathan Mizrachi and archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni, studying the structure since the late 1980s, suggested that the possible interpretation: a celestial observatory. Summer Solstice at Rujm el Hiri Late 1990s research by Aveni and Mizrachi noted that the entranceway to the center opened on the sunrise of the summer solstice. Other notches in the walls indicate the spring and fall equinoxes. Excavations into the walled chambers did not recover artifacts indicating that the rooms were ever used either for storage or residence. Calculations of when the astronomical alignments would have matched stars support the dating of the rings at having been built at about 3000 BCE /- 250 years. Aveni and Mizrachi believed that the walls at Rujm el-Hiri pointed to star-risings for the period and may have been predictors of the rainy season, a crucial bit of information for the sheepherders of the Bashan plain in 3000 BCE. Redating Rujm el-Hiri and Realigning the Astronomy More recent and extensive studies were carried on at the site in the 21st century and reported by Michael Freikman and Naomi Porat. These investigations, which included a landscape survey of sites and features within 5 km of the site identified a dense Chalcolithic occupation of some 2,000 people in 50 settlements. At the time, there was a crescent-shaped row of large houses surrounding Rujm el-Hiri, but none were within the immediate vicinity of the monument. Optically-Stimulated  Luminescence dating (OSL) supports the new date, with dates falling between the mid-3rd to early 4th millennium BCE. The new dates mean that the astronomical alignments identified by Aveni and Mizrachi no longer work (because of the suns progression), Freikman and Porathave discovered a small irregularly shaped opening in the wall of the central cairn that on the solstice would have allowed the suns rays to enter and strike the large flat stone at the entrance of the central chamber. Frieikman and Porat also suggest that one focus of the site was on the dormant volcano visible to spectators looking through the northwest gate. The team suggests that the original construction may predate the end of the fifth millennium BCE. Sources Aveni, Anthony, and Yonathan Mizrachi. The Geometry and Astronomy of Rujm El-Hiri, a Megalithic Site in the Southern Levant. Journal of Field Archaeology 25.4 (1998): 475–96. Print.Freikman, Michael, and Naomi Porat. Rujm El-Hiri: The Monument in the Landscape. Tel Aviv 44.1 (2017): 14–39. Print.Mizrachi, Yonathan, et al. The 1988–1991 Excavations at Rogem Hiri, Golan Heights. Israel Exploration Journal 46.3/4 (1996): 167–95. Print.Neumann, Frank, et al. Holocene Vegetation and Climate History of the Northern Golan Heights (Near East). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 16.4 (2007): 329–46. Print.Polcaro, A., and V.F. Polcaro. Man and Sky: Problems and Methods of Archaeoastronomy. Archeologia e Calcolatori 20 (2009): 223–45. Print.Zohar, Mattanyah. Rogem Hiri: A Megalithic Monument in the Golan. Israel Exploration Journal 39.1/2 (1989): 18–31. Print.

Introduction . The Assaultive Behavior Displayed By...

Introduction The assaultive behavior displayed by psychiatric individuals in patient care settings has become a serious healthcare concern. Current research shows that the most common adverse event among hospitalized psychiatric patients is physical assault or fighting. â€Å"Thousands of assaults occur in American hospitals each year, including psychiatric units and emergency rooms, resulting in the labeling of such workplaces by some as occupationally hazardous† (Rueve Welton, 2008). This has led to increased cost of providing healthcare Services derived from additional diagnostic tests for injuries, treatment, destruction of facility property, and injury to staff and other individuals. Background Patient assault is the most commonly†¦show more content†¦When a patient-to-patient assault occurs, staff members are often stressed from fear of reprimand for lack of adequate observation (Luckhoff, et al.2013). This may lead to high turnover rates which further create understaffed units resulting in unsafe patient care ratios and demoralized staff. (Luckhoff, et al.2013). Furthermore, assault brings an increased chance of injuries which may lead to compromised health and even permanent disability. Taking these problems into account, it is evident that assault among patients can negatively impact the provision of healthcare services and management of care provided (Luckhoff, et al.2012). Significance The consequences of assault on patients can severely destabilize optimal well-being. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in 2013, reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that â€Å"psychiatric aides experienced the highest rate of violent injuries that resulted in days away from work, at approximately 590 injuries per 10,000 full-time employees. This rate is more than 10 times higher than the next group, nursing assistants, who experienced about 55 such injuries per 10,000 full-time employees. Registered nurses experienced about 14 violent injuries resulting in days away from work per 10,000 full-time employees†. OSHA (2013) recommends â€Å"A workplace violence prevention program can also fit effectively into a broader safety and health management system, and it can help

Marketing Marketing Analysis on Facebook Inc.

Question Facebook Inc is a global online social network that has about one billion member accounts. However the organisation is less than 10 years old. Despite intense media excitement when Facebook listed as a public company in May 2012, the share price has bobbed around quite a bit since. Many business analysts are beginning to question the companys long-term viability because it is difficult to discern a coherent business strategy. Your task in this case analysis is to answer two questions by critically analysing Facebooks history, resources and market situation. Please do not just describe events, although you should read Facebooks history to understand the background to your analysis. You should use the principles and concepts that you have learned throughout the unit to answer the following three questions: (1) What marketing strategy or strategies has Facebook adopted since it was created? Answer this question by applying one or more of the theoretical approaches discussed in the course. (2) What marketing options can you describe for Facebook if it wishes to remain a successful organisation throughout the next decade? Answer this question based on the circumstances that exist in 2014 and your best forecasts of relevant future industry factors. Answer Introduction Social Media has evolved as the modern resource in the hands of the common man belonging to the digital age, to keep in touch with his near and dear ones. This medium of interaction has grabbed lot of popularity all around the world, all due to its convenient and free of cost social interaction which has enabled to its end users to keep in touch with their friends across globe on a continuous basis. Face book Inc. provides one such user friendly and convenient social media platform, to its one billion users that enable easy real time interaction between all the related social groups and friends at no additional costs than setting up an internet connection. The users of the Face book services have to create their respective profiles on the social media site face book, by posting few of the mandatory information. The viral nature of the social media has the capability of spreading out real time social information within the users own network. Further, the individuals reading the users post also have the option of sharing the information ahead to their group of friends. Thus, any information posted by the user reaches the other people in his network within a fraction of seconds. This sharing of social information is the key concept that keeps several of the face book users hooked to this platform. Background to the Company Face book was launched in the year 2004 by its founder Mark Zukerberg that initially offered social networking service to a close group of Harvard University students. Currently the company has one billion registered users availing virtual social networking facilities through this website. The company handles large volume of social data posted by its users and maintains strict compliance with its privacy policies that supports its user base. The company became publicly listed on the stock markets in the year 2012 and launched its Initial Public offering in February 2012. The stock of this company received tremendous response from the public that reached its peak market capitalization of dollar 104 billion within three months of public offering. In the year 2012, the companys CEO was ranked in the top 10 worlds billionaires. The core webpage of Face book offers simple and user friendly content to its users. The users having no technical knowledge or web knowledge are also in position to easily adapt to the amazingly simple user interface of this website. The company as of today highly influences on personal and social relationships in context to the web behavior of its registered users. The companys marketing and branding strategies of attracting more and more registered users are thus revolved around the web behavior of the people. Personal Branding is a very prominent factor that has helped sustain the popularity of the Face book platform, allowing its users to constantly stay in touch with their relatives, friends and acquaintances located in any part of the globe (Whadcock, 2010).The Face books business has grown tremendously in the recent past. The Revenues of this company have surged by approximately 60 percent in the last nine months and the companys spokes personnel expect this impressive growth to continue in the near future. Apart from its core website, the company has other additional platforms that make it a market leader in the virtual social networ king business. These additional platforms include Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Search applications. Marketing Analysis The Marketing strategy implemented by the company Face book Inc., have always been closely associated with the attraction of maximum customers and keeping the customers regularly hooked to the website. This strategy was intended to achieve instantaneous popularity to the website and that would be reflected in the companys bottom line. The company face book Inc. had never invested in any of the heavy promotional activities. The company was an instant hit since its inception and had never designed any major ad campaigns. The sheer business model of allowing personal branding on a virtual media helped the user base growth for face book (Jurevicius, 2013). (1)The Nature of Face books Marketing Strategy or Strategies since it beganLet us understand the key Marketing Strategies adopted by face book since its inception in the year 2004-(a) Word of Mouth PromotionThe publicity of the social networking site Face book, was mainly on account of tremendous word of mouth publicity by the existing users of the Face book that raved to their acquaintances and close friends about the features and usability of this site.(b) Publicity in the MediaThis is one of the prominent marketing activities and one of the most applied strategies by Face book since it began operations. The huge media coverage given to the innovator business model Face book helped a lot in the companys promotion. The Company face book also intently shared its success story through a huge number of television interviews and print media articles. (c) Third Party Promotions (through advertisers) we will take example of KIA campaign to explain how face book marketed its presence in a ssociation with third party advertisers. KIA motors, a Korean company had launched I Like campaign in association with face book. This campaign was indeed to strengthen the brand image of KIA motors and build an emotional relationship with public through the Fan Page of Face book (Klein, 2014).(d)Introduction of real time social online gaming activitiesThis was one of the unique features offered by Face book that competed with the prevailing online gaming websites. There used to be several online gaming websites that allowed single users to play multiple online games. But Face book introduced the concept of social gaming that allowed multiple friends across the globe to share a single online gaming screen. This feature immensely increased the popularity of Face book and attracted more registered users. (e)Introduction of Face book Music Service toolThis is another innovative feature of the Face book that attracted huge users on Face book. The launch of the music streaming service th rough its Music Service tool with attractive features attracted a lot of music lovers to the plat form. (2) Strategic Marketing Options for Face book moving forwardLet us undertake a Porters 5 forces analysis to gauge strategies for Face book business to move forward with the prevailing cut throat competition in the social networking business (Trefis, 2014): (a) The intensity of rivalry among the established firms is expected to be at moderate to high level in the near future, as a large number of existing competitors like Google plus is providing full featured social networking platforms on web as well as through new mobile applications. (b) The Bargaining power of the Buyers is extremely high as the users may easily switch to the competitor platforms, without any switching costs. (c) The Risk of entry by the potential competitors is moderate as the rapidly evolving technological advancement may attract new innovative players to enter the social networking business. (d) The Bargaining Power of the suppliers for the Face books business would be low as the Face book would be a prominent customer for these hardware and software suppliers. (e) The Threat of the substitute products may be moderate to high due to the constant evolution of the technological landscape and development of alternative mobile applications to face books business. The careful study and analysis of the business landscape and marketing strategies of the company-Face book, has clearly indicated the following are the List of strategic Marketing options for the Company Face Book to remain competitive and move forward in the virtual social networking business:(a) Including a More user friendly and effective social search toolThe company may also introduce more user friendly and effective social search tools in their core web pages to stay competitive in their business. The users for example should be able to search most visited hang outs and most preferred costumes by their list of friends (Mourdoukoutas, 2014).(b) Creation of additional value for advertisersThe company is expected to face tremendous business competition in the near future and can use effective marketing strategies like promoting its social networking platforms through third party advertisers to avert the business competition. The advertisers tying up with face book for web promotio ns may also have the option to have in store Face book merchandise as cross-promotional activity.(c) Continuously innovate its offerings to the end users and adapting to changing user trends-The social networking business is gradually becoming highly competitive due to the introduction of new technologies in the market. The Face books business would require to accordingly matching its user expectations to keep the users stable and engaged on the Face Book Platform. This business would clearly require an effective pull marketing strategy that keeps the users hooked to face book screen. This would be only possible by continuously updated to new technology and adapting to changing user trends thorough innovative applications. (d) Effective development of Mobile device compliance and overall platform development for face bookThe number of users opting for face book usage on mobile devices is increasing day by day. The overall platform development and achieving technological competence i n terms of mobile device technology are the two key areas that would support the future competitive strategy and indirectly the marketing strategy of the company face book (Mourdoukoutas, 2014). Conclusion Overall, the Face books marketing strategy is revolved around promoting its users posted content and also giving a social spin to the content posted by the commercial entities on Face book page. The Company face book Incorporation is the most visited social networking site on the internet. The companys high dedication to the mobile and web globalization and its right timing in entering the virtual social networking business has made the company successful. The companys marketing and business strategy was also supported by the first mover advantage that the company got in exploring the virtual social networking world enabled due to high technological advancement of the twenty first century. Thus, the companys simple business model enabled its business to multiply quickly without using any of the direct marketing or heavy promotional strategies. Face book has already become a part and parcel of every common web user and is extremely popular connectivity tool between various social grou ps. The user friendly and simple appearance of the user interface screen of this website has further attracted the senior generation web users apart from the generation X and Y users. The Face books business hence forth would be showered with additional responsibilities in order to protect its current users from switching to another social media website/application. References Distaso Marcia and McCorkindale Tina, 2013, A Benchmark Analysis of the Strategic use of Social Media for Fortunes most admired U.S. companies, Public Relations society of America, Journal vol.7, No. 1, ISSN 1942- 4604. Fair Lindsey, 2011, Face Book may be in the lead, but theres a storm in the forecast, Cape Breton University, Retrieved on January 6th 2015, from https://www.academia.edu/4666187/Facebook_may_be_in_the_lead_but_theres_a_storm_in_the_forecast Jurevicius Ovidijus, 2013, SWOT analysis of Face book, Strategic Management Insight, Retrieved on January 6th 2015, from https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/facebook-swot-analysis.html Klein Karen, 2014, The End of Free Facebook Marketing? Bloomberg Business Week, Retrieved on January 6th 2015, from https://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-11/the-end-of-free-facebook-marketing Mourdoukoutas Panos, 2014, Whats Wrong with Facebooks Business Model and Innovation Strategy? Forbes, Retrieved on January 6th 20 15, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2014/02/23/whats-wrong-with-facebooks-business-model-and-innovation-strategy/ Stelzner Michael, 2014, Social Media Marketing Industry Report, Social Media Examiner, Retrieved on January 6th 2015, from https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/SocialMediaMarketingIndustryReport2014.pdf Team Trefis, 2014, Facebooks Mobile Business: Where is it headed? Forbes, Retrieved on January 6th 2015, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/03/25/facebooks-mobile-business-where-is-it-headed/ Team Trefis, 2014, Facebook through the lens of Porters Five Forces, Forbes, Retrieved on January 6th 2015, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/11/28/facebook-through-the-lens-of-porters-five-forces/ Whadcock Ian, 2010, Profiting from Friendship, The Economist, Retrieved on January 6th 2015, from https://www.economist.com/node/15351026 Xiaoyan Hu, 2011, Social Media Business Model Analysis- Case Tencent, Face book and Mys pace, Aalto University School of Economics, Retrieved on January 6th 2015, from https://epub.lib.aalto.fi/en/ethesis/pdf/12544/hse_ethesis_12544.pdf

Reaction Paper. Expectations. free essay sample

Reaction paper My expectations for this class are not the highest, although I do expect people to take it seriously, so we can get to learn something, because it is in fact my favorite class. Im convinced that this class will be much more difficult than what Im used to, so I have to hold on, really be active and follow In class, so I dont fall behind, which I think will be easy. I look forward to learn a lot of new things about the English language and of cause expand my vocabulary more. The stuff we have to learn, I expect to be hard, so its required that I do my best and stay focused.When It comes to my class mates, I expect them to respect each other, and not laugh or make fun of anybody. There will always be some who are better than others, so I believe that Its Important to make room for everybody to learn. We will write a custom essay sample on Reaction Paper. Expectations. or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page That Includes the teacher to. Some pupils will be very Interested In learning new things, and some might be a little shy or scared of speaking in class, and I know how that Is, so I think the teacher should be ware of those who dont speak as much, and take extra care of them and the ones who are less good. I never really had problems with this language, but Im still not the best. Not that I want to be the best. I just want to be more confident when I talk to other people, because Ive always been afraid to say something wrong. I have to make sure, that Im speaking correctly, so as I said, I really expect myself to step up, and really get something out of this class.I always had I problem with spelling in English though, and my grammar is not that good either, so that is two things Id like to focus on. My punctuation is definitely bad, so now there are three things. But I still do believe that I have an k foundation for learning this properly. My impression so far is good. We speak mostly English in class, but I get the feeling, that were not as excited as we could be. I look forward to really get started, so all of us can improve.

Specal Ed Observation Essays - Segregation, Disability,

Specal Ed Observation Special Education Visitation For my visitation I went to the public high school in my hometown of Vineland, NJ. Due to time constraints I was not able to visit the school on a weekday when classes were in session. I did however get to witness another part of the special education/inclusion program called the Rooster Buddies. I did, however, get some information on the special education program from an administrator via phone and fax. The special education program at Vineland High School (VHS) is only seven years old. VHS is on a seven-period day, and the Severely Handicapped (SH), Special Day Class (SDC), and Resource Special Program (RSP) teachers are only assigned students two or three periods. The majority of students are only enrolled in a Special Education class one or two periods, depending upon their individual need. The breakdown of each individual section of the special education program at VHS looks like this: SH 10 Students 1 Teacher 1 Aide SDC 30 Students 2 Teachers 2 Aides RSP 50 Students 2 Teachers 1 Aide The administrator that I spoke to wrote in a fax the Special Education classes are transitioning into study skills classes so the teacher can provide additional help and support for the student to succeed in the regular class environment. During the four or five periods, when the teachers and instructional aides do not have students assigned to them, they are providing support for their students in the regular education classroom. The level of support is directly related to two factors: 1) What the student needs to be successful. 2) What the teacher needs to help the student succeed. So the support provided by the teacher may be provided daily in the regular education classroom, in the form of helping the student take notes, monitoring behavior, doing a lab activity, etc. The support may also take the form of weekly program checks with the regular education teacher, modifying and/or adopting curriculum, or teachers meeting informally to talk. As I mentioned before, I didn't get to actually sit in on a class but the weekend that I was home the Rooster Buddies were holding a fund-raiser. At the annual City Series basketball game between my alma-mater Sacred Heart and VHS the Rooster Buddies were selling an assortment of baked goods. The Rooster Buddies is a student club that was started with the intent of helping students with severe disabilities make the adjustment from a self contained classroom in a county special education school to the relatively unstructured experience of a large high school. VHS has over 4,000 students. There are more than 75 non-handicapped students in the club and they work with over 30 students who have disabilities ranging from severe physical handicaps to students with learning disabilities. At the game there were about 15 students without obvious handicaps and 4 students with visible physical handicaps. Since I was not with the administrator at the game I was unable to determine just how many of the seemingly normal students were non-handicapped. From what I saw, the students seemed to work well with each other and actually they were pretty efficient. At halftime they were really swamped by fans and they worked well. The physically handicapped students weren't just ornaments. They actively participated, as much as they could. One of the students, Alex I'll call him, was apparently paralyzed from the waist down. He had full use of his upper body and was one of two kids taking money. Another student in a wheelchair, who appeared to be afflicted with a more serious handicap (perhaps a form of cerebral palsy) was using the tray on his chair as a table displaying various cookies. The purpose of the bake sale was to raise money for a trip to a local amusement park. I thought that this was a good way to entice non-handicapped students to participate in the program. Another thing that I noticed that I found encouraging was the fact that the students with handicaps were into the game, as fans. Up until about two minutes before halftime and then again two minutes into the third quarter the physically handicapped students found their way out into the gym and watched the game from right near the student section. They were cheering just

Representation of gender in Wong Kar Wais movies Essay Example

Representation of gender in Wong Kar Wais movies Essay Example Representation of gender in Wong Kar Wais movies Paper Representation of gender in Wong Kar Wais movies Paper Essay Topic: Film Men, who are masculine, physically strong, aggressive, intellectual, active, in dependent, production and rational; Women, who are feminine, weak, submissive, passive, dependent, consumption and emotional. Such gender stereotypes of male and female had deeply rooted in our society and had became a hegemonic definitions between men and women. The hegemonic definitions of Men and Women are more explicit in movies. There are traditional gender roles in movies, especially in main-stream commercial movies, male characters are usually strong, powerful, tough, dominate (female) and heroic; while female characters are usually being- rotected, weak, femme fatale and desire for love and romantic. These traditional gender representations on screen have been generally accepted / accustomed by audiences. Hence, producers and directors tend to follow the gender stereotypes of male and female, no matter they are producing / directing a rom-com, martial film, tragedy or cop-robber film. In this article, Im going to look into Wong Kar Wais movies, which categorized as alternative, and find out hows the differences and similarities in gender representation between his film and other commercial, main- stream movies. Firstly, I want to state some similarities in gender representation between Wongs movies and main-stream movies. Something very interesting is women are always femme-fatale in Wongs movies. Maybe they have no intention to make troubles, but hey are really mentally / physically destructive to men in his movies. For example, in the movie Fallen Angels, the female agent (Michelle Reis) employed by the hired killer Wong Chi Ming (Leon Lai) is obviously a femme-fatale to himself. In the movie, the killer tried avoid to meet or even have connection with his agent because e thinks they could no longer to keep on their partnership if theres any relationship or friendship between them. The agent played by Michelle Reis is totally invisible in the killers life. Before killer Wong Chi Ming meet his agent, he completes every mission assigned by her excellently. However, once the killer meet his beautiful female agent, death comes and knock his door. Hes attracted by his agent and want to terminate his business relationship with the agent. She asks him to kill someone as a parting favor, but Wong Chi Ming turns the hit into a suicide mission and died. Perhaps the pretty agent doesnt mean to make her partner die, but she is obviously a femme fatale in Wong Chi Mings destiny. Other than Fallen Angels, women also acted as femme fatale or trouble-maker in his movies. For example, in the 2 stories of ChungKing Express, 2 cops are lost themselves and deeply hurt after dumped by their girlfriends. In this film, both of the cops 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and 633 (Tony Leung) fell into lovesick after broke up. Cop 223 became a man without his soul and started to addict to canned-pineapples after his girlfriend left. He was hurt by his ex-girlfriend and even cannot thinking logically. He drunk himself, call his old classmates with no reason, run in the rain, meet stranger in bar all of this action mean he has got troubles in his mind and these troubles was caused by his girlfriend. In the second part of the film, Cop 633 also hurt by his girl, he started to talk with Dolls, towel, soap etc. n his house, he lost his sense and just like Cop 223, many crazy thinking blow up in his mind. In this film, women play the role of trouble- maker again that make 2 men become the victim in love and suffer from lovesick caused by women. In Happy Together, a love story about 2 men, we can also see the emme fatale, troublemaker image of women. There is heres no female character in this film, howe ver, Ho Po Wing (Leslie Cheung) is playing the female role in the romance between Lai Yiu Fai and him. In this film, we can see Ho Po Wing is totally rely on his boyfriend Lai Yiu Fai and caused a lot of troubles to him. Ho spent all of Lais money that Lai cannot return to Hong Kong. Ho betrays Lai in love again and again. In the early part of the film, Ho and Lai failed to go Iguazu Fall and lost their way due to Ho Po Wings mistakes. However, in the late part, after Ho left Lai, Lai Yiu Fai travel to Iguazu Fall alone and he could arrive the Fall at last. If you compare this 2 scene, you would find that female played the role of troublemaker again. Except the image of femme fatale, something in Wong Kar Wais films is quite similar to those main-stream movies. That is women are always act as homemakers or helpers for men. In Fallen Angel, killer Wong Chi Mings female agent find business for him and make decision for him. She decides who will be killed, how, where and when. She also go to his apartment and do housework for him when hes not there. In Chungking Express, Faye (Faye Wong) get the key of Cop 633s partment and break into 633s flat while hes away. She cleans 633s flat and redecorated with new bedspreads, new clothes, new toiletries, new food. Faye even drugs 633s bottled water to make sure he gets to sleep. Both killers agent and Faye are playing the tradition role of women as homemaker and helper for men. However, they are doing these works for non-traditional purposes. Traditionally, women are stereotyped as housewives. They do housework and other things for men just because of responsible. But both the killers agent and Faye are not clean and decorate their mens flats because they have to act like housewives. They do housework for men in the purposes of fulfil their suspicions and satisfying themselves rather than acquiescing to the role of the stereotypical homemaker and be a home maid for men. Other than the those similarities mentioned above, we can find some differences in gender representation between Wong Kar Wais films and other main-stream movies. One of those differences is the representation of men. In Wong Kar Wais films, men are no hero or even weak behind their muscular body. In Fallen Angels, killer Wong Chi Ming claims to have become a contract killer because he is lazy and likes to ave others make decisions for him, so he is not presented as a hero. We never know why any of Chi-Mings victims are marked for death, he takes others life because its his job. He kills people just because he completes his duty, like post officer deliver letters, but no relation to any sense of heroism. Moreover, Wong Chi Ming fails to complete his mission and being shot down at last. The scene of Wong killed in action is totally violate to the tradition of heroism that hero are never defeated. So, Wong Chi Ming is not hero but a normal person like you and me. In Chungking Express, weakness of men is more clearly shown. Both 223 and 633 are Cop and they are traditionally supposed to physically and also mentally strong. However, we cant see Cop 223 and 633 act like hero to stop crimes and maintain law and order in the movie. Instead, we can see hows their weak image after deeply hurt by their girls. 223 forces himself to eat a can of pineapple everyday and talk to his dog to release his anxiety, while 633 hugs and chat with his dolls, dreams of his ex-girlfriend will come back soon. All these action shown men can be weak or even weaker than women sometimes. Such weak image of men is far different from the tradition which men hould be tough in physically also mentally. On the contrary, women in Wong Kar Wais films were tough, independent, free-spirited, calm, cool and usually less emotional than men. The most typical example in Wongs film is the drug smuggler (Brigitte Lin) in Chungking Express. Shes in cool style that blonde-wigged, wears long coat, and sun-glasses, always with a gun in her purse. She keeps calm when she is chasing by people want to kill her and shoots down her master and also those drug couriers who double-crossed her. She is actually playing the role of hero and presenting heroism which traditionally played by men. Women in Wong Kar Wais film act active and can say to be aggressive in many aspects, especially in love. Women usually be the active side in romance. They dare to get close to guys they liked and no fear to take action to attract mens attention. Maybe people may think that Wong Kar Wai presents women in this way just because following the traditional patriarchal ideology and fulfilling what men wanted (women play the active role in love) and have no different to the main-steam films. But in my point of view, women be active in love means they are liberated, freed in love. In Wongs movies, women no longer wait for mens love, they are not products on shelf and wait for someone to pick them up. They have rights and freedom to choose, to approach those guys they loved. For example, in Chungking Express, Faye loved Cop 633 from her first sight on him. She doesnt wait for 633 put attention on her, instead, she decides to break into his flat to discover him. She cleans and wander in his flat everyday in order to fulfil her romantic feeling on him. One more example, Baby (Karen Mok) in the Fallen Angels seduces Wong Chi Ming into a sexual relationship. I dont think its presenting the idea of patriarchal, but presenting an idea that women can be active in love or even sex. In opposition, Men are more passive than women. No matter Lai Yiu Fai in Happy Together and Chow Mo Wan in In the Mood for Love, they choose to keep their feeling of love inside instead of tell the person they like. Lai Yiu Fai has special feeling to his co- worker Chang (Chang Zhen), but he chooses not to tell him and let him leave. Similarly, Chow Mo Wan fall in love to his neighborhood Su Li Zhen (Maggie Cheung). But he chooses not to tell how deep he loves her and keep it as secret. To avoid get involve between Su and her husband, Chow leaves Hong Kong and mine his secret (his love to Su) in the tree hole. Obviously, men and womens roles of love in Wongs movies are quite different from other films. In conclusion, gender representation of men and women in Wong Kar Wais films have no bias any side. Neither men nor women are superior to each other. However, binary opposition between two sex is always played in Wongs films. Rivalry between men and women is always the main theme of his stories. We can see mind games between two sex in his films, each of them compete for control, regulate and dominate its other.

Medicaid in Texas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medicaid in Texas - Essay Example While some states spend as much as 75 percent of every new tax dollar on Medicaid, in Texas the amount is just over 25 percent, still a substantial amount (Recap of 80th Texas Legislature). Budgetary concerns and federal mandates have forced the Texas legislature to successfully implement significant Medicaid reform in the last ten years. The overriding problem for Texas, and Medicaid's biggest impact, has been the escalating costs during the last ten years. Since 1998, the total Medicaid budget in Texas has nearly doubled, and the 80th legislature session in 2007 budgeted almost $20 billion dollars for the program for 2008 of which over $8 billion was from Texas state taxes (State & Federal Medicaid Spending in Texas; Recap of 80th Texas Legislature). Texas's biennial process, and their low level of per capita state taxes has presented Texas with significant financial challenges as they are forced to budget well in advance during uncertain economic times (Kaiser Commission 1). Affected by this uncertainty are the citizens in Texas where Medicaid, "provides health coverage for one out of every three children in Texas, pays for more than half of all births and covers two-thirds of all nursing home care" (State & Federal Medicaid Spending in Texas). The once simple program has expanded to become a complex institution w ith complicated eligibility requirements and federal guidelines. ... In an effort to bring more children under the Medicaid umbrella, the federal government enacted the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1997 to cover children who lived in families that earned too much money to qualify for Medicaid assistance. By 2005, 72 percent of the non-elderly participants in Medicaid were children who were eligible for "a full range of health services including regular checkups, immunizations, prescription drugs, lab tests, X-rays, hospital visits and more" (State & Federal Medicaid Spending in Texas). In 2001, the 77th legislature further expanded access to the children's program by eliminating the "face-to-face interview requirements for application and recertification of children's Medicaid benefits in an effort to ensure that Texas Medicaid eligibility verification procedures will be no more difficult than those of the Children Health Insurance Program" (Stout 31). Today, children comprise the largest portion of aid recipients, but the majo rity of the costs are incurred by the elderly and nursing home care. This has prompted Texas to fully implement the SCHIP program and fundamentally change the way Texas finances their health care. Medicaid, and the SCHIP program, have helped move Texas from a system of public hospitals and county health support systems to a system of expanded public coverage (Kaiser Commission). In Texas more than 25 percent of the population is uninsured and their reliance on emergency room care and safety net providers has led to poorer health, higher cost of care, and an increase in insurance premiums in an effort to shift the cost of health care to insurance premium holders (Texas Health and Human Services Commission (1) 3). To alleviate these pressures, Texas has