Discuss the social context that influences Othello’s labelling of Desdemona as that “cunning whore of Venice”

In Othello many issues are undertaken. According to the time that the play was written, men hold all the power and women are considered to be of low intellect. Throughout the play Desdemona is a symbol of innocence and helplessness. At first she appears to be mature and quite perceptive of events around her. Iago often tells Othello that she is unfaithful. It seems that she refuses to accept what is happening and her views are impartial. She has a tendency to be sympathetic towards other people's situations, like Cassio. This is what triggers Othello's jealousy when Iago pointed out they were speaking in privacy. She often pays attention to other peoples thoughts yet remains cynical if they differ to her own. She has a loyalty to her husband in all aspects of life, whether it is mental or physical. Othello shows us how a woman's character, reputation and power can be manipulated and distorted by men. The relationship between Desdemona and Othello is very peculiar, and would have been considered even more so at the time at which Shakespeare was writing, it therefore stands out in the play, not least because it is a mixed-race marriage but also because at the start of the play they appear to be on an equal standing, they have a mutual â€Å"respect† for one another. We are presented with a very powerful image of women at the start of the play; Desdemona has disobeyed her father and taken her chosen husband, although Desdemona does acknowledge that Othello is her â€Å"Lord† and that it is her â€Å"duty† to obey him. However, in that state, Desdemona does act as a dramatic device, bringing Othello into a domestic situation where he is inexperienced. This causes his obsession with Desdemona to grow because she has become his whole world; Iago finds it easy to manipulate this situation because Othello is unfamiliar to life only in the domestic side. Although Desdemona was rational in trusting, her trust was often misplaced, for example Iago. As well as this regardless of her intellect of what goes on around her in some cases, this was not enough to rise up in society, as women had no opinion in the time of the play. Although Shakespeare undertook many modern day ideas, he did not do this for a modern day society, as it would not have allowed so many events to occur, and it would not have been considered realistic by the public. When Othello talks of wooing Desdemona he is portrayed as an eloquent storyteller and lover: â€Å"She gave me for my pain a world of sighs. † It is through her relationship with Othello that his failure is shown not only by her spoilt opinion of him, he was previously an ideal to her, but by the end of the play she has realised that â€Å"men are not gods†, but also by Othello's swift dismissal of her as a â€Å"fair devil† and a â€Å"lewd minx† after his view of her where he would â€Å"deny her nothing† has been destroyed by Iago. The downfall of Othello is marked by the destruction of their once close and trusting relationship, which Iago has convinced Othello that it is a â€Å"foul disproportion. † Desdemona's physical and vocal absence from the opening scenes speaks about women's place in the Venetian society. It is through Desdemona's absence that we are able to conjure up our own mental image of her based on what we have heard.

The 1931 Central China Floods know as the yellow river floods Research Paper

The 1931 Central China Floods know as the yellow river floods - Research Paper Example The region began to experience heavy snowfall due to cooling of the warm winds from the north, which were deposited majorly in the mountain areas close to the Yellow River basin (Chen, pp.184). As the spring of 1931 approached, the weather started to change coupled with the high temperatures. The high temperatures led to the melting of the snow that flowed into the three major rivers causing a rise in water levels. At the same time heavy rains stroke Central China due to cyclones that increased from the normal two to about nine cyclones causing storm surges in the region. These storm surges increased further the rising water levels of the three rivers especially the Yellow River. For several centuries, farmers had built dikes along the river banks to prevent it from bursting. In turn, this caused accumulation of silt along the riverbed and hence reduced the porosity of the soil around the riverbed and further increased the rising water levels (Shiyang, pp.175). The increasing water levels alongside the heavy rains overcame the dikes in Huayankou around Zhengzhou city in Henan province causing the river banks to burst leading to a massive flood of the central China plains. The drainage routes of the melting snow in the North, West and East Mountains were the three rivers that burst their banks. The water levels rose so high and by August, 1931 the capital city of China by then, Nanjing City was surrounded by an island of water of about a hundred thousand square kilometers. The two major rivers were also affected by the rising snow storms and heavy rains. Yangtze water levels rose to its worst between July and August due to high rainfall in this period, which was recorded to be around 24 inches of rain. On the other hand, Huai River burst its banks and led to an average rise in flood levels at an average of 5.6 ft above Shangai Bund. By

Using Lean Six Sigma to Improve Hospital based, Outpatient Imaging Article

Using Lean Six Sigma to Improve Hospital based, Outpatient Imaging Satisfaction - Article Example Therefore, the paper focuses on improving the service of the imaging department and brings into consideration the expectations of patients regarding the hospital. Unlike any commercial business, where greeting the customer and asking him to pay another visit soon, shall be considered good, such is not the case of the healthcare industry. In order to create an experience in the mind of the patients, service has to be personalized and focused. Previously, the hospital had wrongly focused on the process, procedure, safety and time to deliver the service; however, recent analysis suggested that customer satisfaction is about the consistency in the smooth conduct of the process as well as behavior of the staff. In order to ensure that Methodist achieves its objectives, it has decided to adopt a process that involves six sigma approaches and includes steps that are Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. Moreover, the customer satisfaction is the function of the service that is delivered to outpatients; therefore, the department has decided to pay special attention to these patients. Furthermore, the hospital uses Press Ganey service to assess its patient’s satisfaction.... The volume modality table seems to confirm the strategy of the hospital as outpatients seems to be the most frequent user of the machinery as compared to others while their share is approximately 50% in the case of Ultrasound, MRI and nuclear medicine. Thus in order to measure the performance in achieving those objectives, a more focused approach was laid down by reviewing the past data of outpatient imaging. The data revealed that the customer’s satisfaction has a very strong correlation with the time that the patient has to wait after being called down to testing area. Thus, based on this finding, a research was conducted that also confirmed the earlier finding. Therefore, the process was redesigned in order to improve efficiency in the system such that the lagging time shall be minimized. This was initiated by forming the workflow of all the four areas involved in the process which includes scheduling, registration, imaging and specific modality. However, more important in this regard was the communication regarding the appointments that were made with the patients since the time can be interpreted in more than one ways, while there used to a background noise that made communication difficult. In this regards, the email system was proposed as the solution to the problem. The most important part is the process of registration which used to take a lot of time due to its complex nature, such was simplified. Further, the outpatient was not being focused upon, as inpatient was being prioritized more over to outpatient regardless of the condition of the patients. To ensure further patient satisfaction, he will be communicated and briefed about the time the tests will start and details related to it. In case, he is late then he can be

Operatint a Successful Restaurant Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Operatint a Successful Restaurant - Assignment Example These limits include procedures of delivery, storage and cooking (Alonzo, 2007). Thirdly, critical limits for the critical control points should be determined for every menu item. These limits must be adhered to so as to minimize any possibility of food poisoning. For instance, poultry storage and preparation should meet the appropriate temperature controls. Poultry should be cooked at temperatures above seventy-five degrees Celsius. On the other hand, beef should be cooked at temperatures above one hundred and sixty degree farenheight. Duration of cooking should also be definite so as to ensure appropriate cooking (Dismore, H., & Entrepreneur Press, 2006). Fourthly, the critical control points should regularly be monitored. The restaurant manager should monitor every food handler. They should ensure that appropriate procedures are followed. Fifth, corrective measures for a breach of any steps above shall be recommended. To cater for this, staff members should undergo refresher training on food safety, menu development and ensuring quality service. Corrective action may be necessitated due to various reasons. These reasons include unattractive food, complaints from customer, storage of out of date foods, and sighting of pests and unclean utensils (Alonzo, 2007). Sixth, system verification strategies should be implemented and verified. In adherence to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCPP) standards, the restaurant should ensure that the plan is developed. Availability of thermometers to ensure appropriate temperatures of food items should be ensured. Finally, appropriate record keeping procedures for the staff members would be necessitated. Daily corrective actions applied should be recorded in flow charts accurately. The HACCP demands that every restaurant keep checklists and time and temperature logs. Record keeping shall be considered for every stage in food handling and preparation (Alonzo, 2007). Guidelines

Cultural Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Cultural Identity - Essay Example It creates a certain stereotype that is more often not well justified or has no basis at all. My cultural identity is shaped and influenced by an ancient cultural Chinese tradition of filial obedience based on the teachings of Confucius, a feeling of belonging and affiliation with the entire Chinese nation, including the overseas Chinese in many other countries, and it is because of the Chinese civilization being the oldest continuously existing civilization in the world today, with its unique language (the most difficult to learn and master) and system of its writing (based on characters), and pride in resurgent China after two centuries of being under Western colonial powers. There is equality among sexual genders although under the present regime, families prefer baby boys to baby girls because of its one-child per family policy to help contain its ever-increasing large population. Although the Chinese people is composed of many ethnic groups, there is only one national language, which is Mandarin, and despite its huge geographic size, China officially has only one time z one (it covers five time zones) for easier governance and administration. A Chinese person is able to connect and feel an affinity with another Chinese anywhere in the world due to this single language for communication. I have come over to the United States of America as an international student, and one of my subjects in school is inter-cultural communications. This is the first time I experienced the concept of white privilege, in which people of the white race feel a sense of entitlement to all the good things in life, and taking these things for granted as something that is due to them (Martin 55) in a daily pattern of dominance, subordination, and privilege. It is unspoken type of privileged class, with white males looking down on the females (regardless of skin color) as sexual objects, made of

Untying the Knot by Melanie Thernstrom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Untying the Knot by Melanie Thernstrom - Essay Example Monetary concerns played vital role for the outcome of their 11 years of marriage. The couple. Kate is an impulsive career-oriented woman who is not afraid of risks in whatever decision she might come up to, who happened to be wed to Max, a controlling man who preferred art rather than increase of salary. It's surprising to know that in eleven years of marriage none of the couple adjusted to one's flaw in order for the marriage to last. Though it seems that Kate did submit herself to her husband's term, it was her character as financially domineering in the marriage that held her back for total submission or to give way. It always boiled down to financial reason. Her impulsiveness often resulted in disappointments, and the result of her marriage to Max is a failure as expected. Was the marriage salvageable The former couple (not yet married at that time) was revealed as vacationing at the Costa Rica, where they had a serious argument for looking at different birds in the same tree. This incident depicted the seriousness of their indifferences to prolong being tied in a commitment. It was stated that Max still longed for reconciliation; the only problem is that, lately, they both realized that Kate doesn't wanted to get married not only to Max, but to anybody else. She longs for freedom and always had preferred it all along unconsciously.

Report on Housing Prices Statistics in Oregon from a Sample of 108 Houses Essay Example for Free

Report on Housing Prices Statistics in Oregon from a Sample of 108 Houses Essay From the eleven variables identified, area of living space in the house (sq_ft), age of the house in years (age) and selling price of the house in thousand dollars (price) were identified to be in the ratio scale for the level of measurement while number of bedrooms (beds), number of bathrooms (baths) and number of spaces for cars in the garage (garage) were identified to be in the ordinal. Lastly, the variables architectural style (style), school district were the house is located (school), method of heating the house (heat), presence of fireplace (fire) and presence of basement (basement) were identified to be in the nominal scale. These levels of measurement were the basis on what type of tests were done for the different analyses (See Appendices for table 1). On all the tests and comparisons with p-values, a 95% level of confidence is used. Descriptive Statistics on the Variables With the results gathered, most of the houses use the gas forced air method of heating. Out of the 108 houses, 96. 3% use this method while only 3. 7 use the electric baseboard heating. Also, most houses are of ranch architecture. Of the 108 houses, 40. 7% are of this architectural style, 36. 1% are of the tri-level style while 23. 1% are of the two-story type. Moreover, 84. 3% of the houses have basements. Similarly, 88. 9 of them have fireplaces. Lastly, the largest part sampled houses are located in the Apple Valley School District. From the 108 houses, 60. 2 are located in this school district while the rest are in Eastville (See Appendices for tables 2, 3, 4, 5 6). For the ordinal variables, the median number of bedrooms in the house is four which means that fifty percent of the houses have less than four bedrooms while the rest have more than four bedrooms. Similarly, fifty percent of the houses have less than three bathrooms while the other fifty percent have more than three bathrooms. In the number of spaces for cars in the garage, fifty percent of the houses can accommodate no more than two cars while the other fifty percent can. From the sample, most of the houses have three bedrooms, three bathrooms and can accommodate two cars. Since these three variables are rank variables, the means for each cannot be computed (See Appendices for tables 8, 9, 10 11). For the ratio variables, it was found out that the mean selling price of the house in Oregon is 97. 99226 thousand dollars. With a relatively small standard error of 2. 543183, the statistic for the selling price is considered accurate. Fifty percent of the houses are priced below 92. 46950 thousand dollars while the other 50% have selling prices greater than 92. 46950 thousand dollars. Having a variance of 698. 520, the data from the sample are considered to be extremely dispersed. On the average, the selling price of a house in Oregon deviates by 26. 429529 thousand dollars from the mean selling price of the house generated from the sample. The mean area of living space in the house in square feet is 1745. 72. However, the standard error of the mean, which is 42. 836, is sufficiently large. The data values for this variable are the most dispersed among the three ratio variables having a variance of 198173. 39. Fifty percent of the samples houses have areas which are below 1758. 00 square feet while the other fifty have areas greater than 1758. 00 square feet. On the average, the area of living space in the house deviates by 445. 167 square feet from the mean. For the last ratio variable, the mean age of the house in years is 11. 23. Having a standard error of 0. 448 which is very small, this statistic is considered accurate. Fifty percent of the sampled houses are below 11 years of age while the rest are more than 11 years of age. The distribution of the variable is not that dispersed. With a variance of 21. 675, the age variable is the least dispersed among the three ratio variables. On the average, the ages of the houses deviates from the mean by 4. 656 years only (See Appendices for table 13). Summing up the descriptive measures obtained on the eleven variables, a typical home in Oregon has an area of 1745. 72 square feet, approximately 11 years of age, has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and can accommodate two car spaces in the garage. Furthermore, it is of ranch architecture and uses the gas forced air method of heating. It has a basement and a fireplace. It is located in the Apple Valley School District and its selling price is 97. 99226 thousand dollars. Correlation From the scatterplots, the selling price is identified to have a positive linear relationship with area of living and a negative, close to nonlinear relationship with age of the house (See Appendices for figures 12 13). Since the data do not follow the normal distribution Spearman’s rho was used to determine the correlation between the dependent variable, price, and the other ratio scale variables (See Appendices for table 24). With a correlation coefficient of 0. 828, there is a positive very strong linear relationship between the selling price and area of living space in the house. Moreover, even if there is a negative weak linear relationship between selling price and age of the house in years, both the correlations of selling price with area and age are significant with p-value equal to 0. 000 (See Appendices for tables 14 15). Also, though there is a negative weak linear relationship between the ratio variables age and area for the -0. 292 Pearson correlation coefficient, the 0. 000 p-value says that the correlation is significant. Pearson correlation was used for the two ratio variables because both are normally distributed (See Appendices for table 22). For the ordinal variables, all of them have a significant correlation with selling price with p-values 0. 007, 0. 000 and 0. 000 for number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms and number of car spaces in garage, respectively. The number of bedrooms in the house has a positive weak linear relationship with selling price having a correlation coefficient of 0. 259. Moreover, the number of bathrooms in the house has a positive strong linear relationship with selling price having a correlation coefficient of 0. 675. Also, the number of spaces for cars in the garage has a positive moderate linear relationship with selling price having a correlation coefficient of 0. 475 (See Appendices for table 16). Among the ordinal variables, the number of bedrooms and number of bathrooms, and the number of car spaces and number of bathrooms has a significant correlation, with p-values equal to 0. 000 and 0. 003 respectively, and has a positive weak linear relationship, with correlation coefficients of 0. 358 and 0. 283 respectively (See Appendices for table 23). Among the nominal variables, only the architectural style has a positive moderate association with selling price having an Eta coefficient of 0. 485 (See Appendices for table 18). The rest has either weak or very weak associations with selling price (See Appendices for tables 17, 19, 20 21). For the two categories of method of heating, it was found out that the use of gas forced air in the house, presence of basement and presence of fireplace increases the selling price of the house. The school district location also affects the selling price. Houses located in Apple Valley School District tend to have higher prices than that of Eastville School District. Moreover, there are no significant differences on the selling prices of houses with tri-level and two-story architectural style. However, houses that are of ranch architectural style tend to have higher selling prices than that of the tri-level and two-story architectural styles (See Appendices for tables 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41 43). Predictors of Selling Price Using the regression model, the selling price of a house, when all other factors are held constant, decreases by 16. 113. The interpretation for the intercept is significant since the confidence interval of the estimate includes zero. Holding other factors constant, the selling price is estimated to increase by 0. 042 thousand dollars for every square feet increase in the area of living space of the house. Also, there is an estimated increase of 3. 269 thousand dollars on the selling price for every unit increase in the number of bedrooms holding other factors constant. The selling price is estimated to increase by 13. 876 thousand dollars for every unit increase in the number of spaces for cars in the garage holding other factors constant. Similarly, an increase of 6. 953 and 4. 269 thousand dollars on selling price is estimated if there is a basement and a fireplace, respectively, in the house. The selling price is also estimated to increase by 4. 874 thousand dollars if the house is located in Apple Valley School District with other factors held constant. Furthermore, the selling price is estimated to increase by 11. 053 thousand dollars if the house is of ranch architectural style holding other factors constant. If the house is of a two-story type, there is an estimated increase of 1. 714 thousand dollars. If the architectural style is tri-level, then the value to be multiplied with the beta estimates for two-story and ranch will be equal to zero since the coded value for tri-level in the dummy variables is zero (See Appendices for table 44). With a Durbin-Watson statistic of 1. 746, then the residuals are independent. Having an adjusted R square of 0. 820, the variation in the selling price of the house can be explained by the eleven variables. A mean square error of 126. 070 implies that the sum of the squared deviations of the selling prices to the true value is relatively small. With a computed F statistic of 45. 169 and a corresponding p-value of 0. 000, then the regression adequately represent the data and can be useful for prediction (See Appendices for tables 45 46). To test, given the following data on a certain house: two-story house with 1600 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a one car garage, gas heat, a basement, no fireplace, is 9 years old, and is in the preferred school district, then the predicted selling price of the house is 60. 804 thousand dollars. Summary The larger the area sizes of the living space of the house, the more expensive the selling price. Also, more number of bedrooms and spaces for car in the garage would also increase the selling price. In terms of architectural style, the ranch type would increase the selling price of a house most than the other two styles. Finally, the house with a basement, a fireplace and which is located in the Apple Valley School District increases also the selling price.