National Flood Insurance Plan: Efforts in Reducing Flood Los

National Flood Insurance Plan: Efforts in Reducing Flood Los In this report, the City of St. Petersburg has several contingency plans set to reduce the risk of flooding. First and foremost, they advise through a statement of warning. According to the St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library (section 16.40.050.1.6, 2017) states that although the Florida Building Code is considered the minimum. The city informs that larger floods are bound to happen and will. The citys ordinance code discusses that flood levels may depend on the intervention and or support of natural -vs- man-made causes. The city places emphasis on flooding outside of the zone areas is not impossible and that it could happen and not to assume that it will not. The designated flood zones are based on Global Information Systems (GIS) maps called Flood Insurance Rate Maps or (FIRM). Their requirements can be found on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website. (FEMA), reserves the right to require city regulations to be revised as necessary as discussed in Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 59 and 60 (St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library, 2017). According to (Adamides et al., 2016) the city code statutes of the City of St. Pete uses what is referred to as a Community Rating System or (CRS). Prior to; July 1st, 2010 NFIP CRS Section 553.73(5) of Florida Statutes are the following a) limitations on use of enclosures below buildings b) limitations on use of nonstructural and no compacted earthen fill c) limitation on installation of manufactured homes in certain flood hazard areas d) requirement to locate buildings at least 10 feet landward of the reach of mean high tide e) submission of operations and maintenance plans for dry flood proofed buildings A broad overview of the scope of the St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library states in section 16.40.050.1.2. That provisions of the section including but not limited to subdivision of land; filling, grading, and other site improvements and utility installations; construction, alteration, remodeling, enlargement, improvement, replacement, repair, relocation or demolition of buildings, structures, and facilities that are exempt from the Florida Building Code (St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library, 2017). Other methods the City of St. Petersburg educates the populous to help reduce the risk of flooding is by passing out brochures, education of students of all ages and by amending if necessary any city ordinance codes or reform bills. Further education for the citizens of the city is on a detailed web page for the City of St. Petersburg. There is an in-depth overview of flood information including educational videos found on their website. The website resources also allow the community to access maps, contacts, and educational information on Biggert-Waters act and what it is. The City of St. Petersburg also allows access to mitigation strategy plans, the National Flood Insurance Plan or (NFIP) for the city; along with a Community Rating System or (CRS). Other relevant programs in Pinellas County on flood information, Floodplain Management for the city of St. Petersburg and its ordinance can be found on their main website as well as www.fema.gov. As a last measure of prevention, the city also alerts its citizens by the use of a public warning system. (Adamides et al., 2016). In order to enforce the minimum floodplain management regulations, the City of St. Petersburg employs building codes. Section 16.40.050.1.3 of the St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library references this. The code states that its purpose is to establish minimum requirements to safeguard the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizens. It also minimizes public and private losses due to flooding through regulation of development in flood hazard areas (St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library, 2017). The St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library, states the following: Minimize unnecessary or prolonged disruption of commerce, access, and public service during times of flooding; Require the use of appropriate practices, at the time of initial construction, in order to prevent or minimize future flood damage; Manage filling, grading, dredging, mining, paving, excavation, drilling operations, storage of equipment or materials, and other development which may increase flood damage or erosion potential; Manage the alteration of flood hazard areas, watercourses, and shorelines to minimize the impact of development on the natural and beneficial functions of the floodplain; Minimize damage to public and private facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located in floodplains; Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and development of flood hazard areas in such a manner as to minimize future flood blight areas; Minimize the need for future expenditure of public funds for flood control projects and response to and recovery from flood events; Meet the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program for community participation as set forth in the Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations, section 59.22; Protect human life and health; Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public; Ensure that property owners are notified yearly the property is in a flood-prone area; Restrict or prohibit uses which are dangerous to health, safety, and property due to water or erosion hazards or which result in damaging increases in erosion or in flood heights or velocities; and Prevent or regulate the construction of flood barriers which will unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards to other lands. So what is flood insurance the Biggert-Waters act? According to Harrington a journalist with the Tampa bay Times, it is a Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, which removed the subsidies on about 20 percent of policies nationwide for homes that were built prior to 1975 (Harrington, 2016). Harrington writes that Congress after considering the damages that accrued after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy they needed to make the NFIP meet yearly criteria. Congress found that after the storms the program was more than $23 billion in debt due to claims in those years. Another drawback of the Flood Insurance Reform was that some of its recipients were grandfathered in at low flood insurance rates (Harrington, 2016). Harrington writes that Florida of all the other states was the most affected by the new reforms. In 2014 in hopes of improving the Flood Insurance Reform Act, Congress decided due to the losses to revise the cost of insurance. This act created a 20% hike in insurance rates. In consideration to the homeowners, the new rates would not be in play until 2016 and the homeowners were allowed extra time to prepare for the rates to go up. This ended with renewals beginning April 1st, 2016. Previously mentioned, GIS maps or FIRMS were drawn up to show Floodplain Zones. They were designated with letters such as A, B, C, V, and X. Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) or high-risk areas are designated with A and V; whereas low-risk zones are everything else. They are known as Non-Special Flood Hazard Areas (NSFHAs) (Harrington, 2016). Harrington notes that more than 50% of Floridas 2 million insurance policies are zones designated in the X area. Collected data over the past decades reflects a great deal on the City of St. Petersburg. The NFIP was able to project a 100-year plan. This plan shows coastal flooding inland as far as 10 miles in some areas where others are only a few (Boland, 2017). According to the significant flood events data on FEMA.gov Superstorm Sandy, on the other hand in October of 2012 paid 131,031 losses in policies with an estimated $8,494,205,096 in damages with an average loss payment of $65,00 Granted Superstorm Sandy minutely affected Florida and the City of St. Petersburg it still did its fair share of damages. Tropical Storm Debbie who sat on the coast of Florida in June of 2012, did do a great deal of damage. One thousand seven hundred and ninety-two policies were affected, with $42,694,074 in total damages paid out. Each with an average amount of payment at $24,000 (Significant Flood Events | FEMA.gov, 2017). It is with this type of data that the City of St. Petersburg is able to compile projections of future disasters. According to the Repetitive Loss Area Analysis, Shore Acres represents a repetitive loss area within St. Petersburg which attribute to over 200 affected flood policies. Shore Acres alone attributed to $13.7 million in losses that were paid out. Before development in 1923 Shore Acres was designated as costal marshlands. It was later developed in the mid-1950s with land varying from 5 to 6 feet above sea-level (Shore Acres Repetitive Loss Area Analysis, 2016). The Repetitive Loss Area Analysis states that Shore Acres along with Belleair Shores and Clearwater Beach attribute to 21.95% of the State of Floridas pay out. The three totaled $67,976,750.33 in damages alone. These high loss areas in Pinellas County are considered Hot Spots for the county and are targeted areas for future mitigation programs (Shore Acres Repetitive Loss Area Analysis, 2016). Bibliography References Cited Adamides, D., Dunn CBO CFM, R., Frey PE, C., Holehouse CPCU, J., Kinsey, L., Seeks, A. et al. (2016). CITY OF ST PETERSBURG NFIP PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION REPORT (1st ed.). Saint Petersburg: St. Petersburg City Council. https://www.stpete.org/emergency/flooding/docs/NFIP-CRS%20PPI%202016%20Report.pdf Taylor CFM, N. (2017). Flooding St. Petersburg. Stpete.org. http://www.stpete.org/emergency/flooding/ Significant Flood Events | FEMA.gov. (2017). Fema.gov. https://www.fema.gov/significant-flood-events NFIP Policy Growth Percentage Change. (2017) (1st ed., pp. 1-3). Retrieved from Significant Flood Events | FEMA.gov. (2017). Fema.gov. https://www.fema.gov/significant-flood-events http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/even-with-shore-acres-st-petersburg-paid-8-times-more-into-flood-insurance/2150628 Shore Acres Repetitive Loss Area Analysis. (2016) (1st ed.). City of St. Petersburg. https://www.stpete.org/emergency/flooding/docs/Shore%20Acres%20RLAA%20-%202016.pdf Boland, C. (2017). FEMA NFIP 100 Year Flood Zones in St. Petersburg. Arcgis.com. https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=489ebde40c834cf8b90a197b5cdc4d56 Harrington, J. (2016). Remember the flood insurance scare of 2013? Its creeping back into Tampa Bay and Florida. Tampa Bay Times. http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/banking/remember-the-flood-insurance-scare-of-2013-its-creeping-back-into-tampa/2288308 Federal Emergency Management Agency, (2013). Analysis of Floridas NFIP Repetitive Loss Properties using geospatial tools and field verification data (pp. 19, 25, and 26). Pinellas County: FEMA. https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1711-25045- 7431/analysis_of_florida_s_nfip_repetitive_loss_properties_using_geospatial_tools_and_field_verrification_data.txt St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library. (2017). Municode.com. https://www.municode.com/library/fl/st._petersburg/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIISTPECO_CH16LADERE_S16.40.050FLMA_16.40.050.1.3INPU

The Whale Rider (2002) Summary and Analysis

The Whale Rider (2002) Summary and Analysis â€Å"The whale rider† Abstract â€Å"Whale Rider† is a drama film of the 2002, based on the novel of Witi Ihimaera, and directed by Niki Caro. The world premià ¨re was on September 2002, at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film gained much respect from critics, it went on in film festivals such as Sundance and Tribecca, and gained international recognition. It has a lot of awards through the world: BAFTA Childrens Award, Best Feature Film 2003; Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Best Young Actor/Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes) 2004; Chicago Film Critics Association Award, Most Promising Performer (Keisha Castle-Hughes) 2004; Cinemanila International Film Festival, Special Jury Prize 2003; Humanitas Prize, Sundance Film Category 2003; Independent Spirit Award, Best Foreign Film (New Zealand) 2004; Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival and others. â€Å"Whale Rider† is a contemporary re-telling of the 1000-year-old legend about legendary first ancestor named Paikea. This film combines elements of history, traditions, depicting them from the point of view of a child, that sees the world not in black and white terms. On the other hand, it is a drama about relationship of a young girl and her grandfather. Heroes and characters The film †Whale rider† is considered to be a personal and family drama, showing that families even in the most far away parts of the world have similar relations and personal problems. All People have the same emotions: they upset and cry, they feel happy and laugh. A Maori family, despite their beliefs or rituals, can be just like an American family, or any other one. The story takes place in the small town Whangara in New Zealand. Many centuries ago a legendary ancestor named Paikea brought there the Maori people, who still lives there. The myth about Paikea says that he was rescued by a whale, after his canoe was lost in the sea. He rode the whale and founded the Maori people, and from that day the tradition exists: an eldest son is the Chief of the tribe and the leader. Once deep within the ocean, a herd of whales was responding, and when the whales began stranding on the beach, this seemed to be a signal of an apocalyptic end to his tribe. Until one person prepares to make the sacrifice to save the peoplethe Whale Rider. â€Å"Whale Rider†shows emotional experience of a young Maori girl, Pai, who is the main character and the most bright personality in the film. She struggles to gain the approval of her grandfather and her people. From the beginning, Paikea, or Pai, is a young girl in a mans world. Though she is loved by her grandfather named Koro, who is the Chief of the Maori tribe, she is not accepted as a future leader, and as a person as well. A special attention should be paid to a the concept of shadows in the story, as it has an important meaning. The symbolism from the beginning foreshadows Pais future as a leader: a close up of the crying babys green eye mirrors the close up of a whales eye. So the focus of the eye humanizes the whale and connects the young girl to the animal. As Pai grows older, her defiant character of a leader becomes evident. Pai herself is interested in the leadership, learning traditional songs and dances, and Taiaha fighting a traditional stick fighting method used by the Maori men. Pai feels, that she can become the leader, but it is impossible for a woman to do so, and she is given little encouragement by her grandfather. Paikea: â€Å"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the whale rider. Im not a prophet, but I know that our people will keep going forward, all together, with all of their strength.† Even when Pai becomes rather proficient in taiana fighting, this still does not prove to Koro that she is good enough to be a leader of the people. Koro, who is the Chief of the Maori tribe, is the other important character of the film. The conflict between him and Pai is caused by Koros refusal to acknowledge Pai as the inheritor of the tradition, Koro is blinded by prejudice, and nobody can convince him that Pai is the natural heir. First of all, because Paikea is a woman, she is not fit to be the Maori leader. The old Chief is convinced that the tribes misfortunes began at Pais birth, and calls for his people to bring their firstborn boys to him for training. He is certain that through a process of teaching the ancient chants, tribal lore and warrior techniques, the future leader of their tribe will be revealed to him. This confidence was shattered when all boys failed in his final test of leadership, they have lost Koros closest symbolic representation of his faith: the whales tooth. Koros eyes, mirrored in these events, portray a great sadness to the films audience. The characters and relationships are rather complex and intricate, they are developing through the film, and the audience makes a â€Å"journey† through heroes lives. The most rewarding of these is that of Pai and her grandfather. At the beginning of the film, we see that Koro genuinely cares for his granddaughter, but his disappointment about her gender is evident. As for Pai, all she wants to do is to earn Koros respect this point is brightly illustrated in the scene where she gives a speech dedicated to Koro. Though the film has a strong female character, there are still male dominant elements throughout it. So â€Å"The Whale Rider† shows deep levels of character development: as we see Koros great sadness, Nannys love for the family, and how Pais world is slowly crashing down around her. Pai is just a young girl in the beginning of the film, and a leader in the end. It is shown that all people have their depth of sadness, yet in this sadness we can find out what truly connects us with those we love. Problems shown in â€Å"Whale rider† â€Å"Whale Rider† is a great example of the problems that many cultures and families are facing around the world. The main social issue that is brought up by the film is the function of the woman in a world controlled mostly by men. The theme ofâ€Å"Whale Rider†is female empowerment is not unique, but the context in which it is presented is very interesting and unusual. This is a hot issue of many cultures through the world even today, as women try to gain a respectable place by hard working. The movie shows this visually and thematically all throughout the story. It is a film for everyone who wants to learn the story of a young girl, her future and her success in a â€Å"mens world†. When the audience is watching the film, they compare their own family experiences with the ones in the story. From this point of view, the film establishes a personal form of communication in the family, despite all cultural, racial, and geographical boundaries. So it may be considered as the film about interpersonal relations. Conclusion â€Å"Whale Rider† is a unique, untypical and fascinating film. It is not just a family film, just an Australian film it is a film that can touch the hearts of millions. The film is from New Zealand, though it has many Australian elements, it shows the connection between the land and the native people. The old culture is continuously struggling to keep alive, to keep its people, its unigue traditions and customs, in a quickly changing world, that leaves the past behind. The film shows New Zealanders, as an example for the rest of the world, that the past civilizations and cultures can continue to live on in harmony with todays world. â€Å"Whale Rider† shows so many interesting and emotional themes: failure and hope, strength, and determination, all of them are witnessed in the points of past, present, and future ideals.

Investigating Business - Ownership Essay -- Business Management Studie

Investigating Business - Ownership Investigating Business Unit One Task One: Ownership Introduction I have chosen to base my assignment on the following businesses: Sole-Trader for which I have chosen Errol Anderson’s business: Errol Anderson Motors PLC for which I have chosen Sainsbury’s I have chosen these businesses because a Sole-Trader and a PLC make a good comparison and therefore I have chosen a sole-Trader and a PLC. I have chosen Sainsbury’s as my PLC because firstly my teacher recommended this PLC to me. Another reason for choosing this PLC is that it is one of the UK’s successful businesses and also is a well known business in the UK. I am also a regular customer of Sainsbury’s and there for it is easier for me to talk about the services they provide their customers with. The website of this PLC also is very useful because it provides us with a Student Section in which the website allows us to look at the company’s history, company information and also it provides us with a Media Centre detail. Sainsbury’s has many articles in local newspapers and reports on television. It is a very popular business in the form of a PLC and therefore I have Chosen this business. I have chosen Errol Anderson, as my Sole-Trader because my teacher recommended me to do this Sole-Trader if I didn’t know a LTD, a Sole-Trader or someone in Partnership business. Errol Anderson is Sole-Trader who set up his own garage and called it Errol Anderson Motors. Another reason for me choosing Errol is that I didn’t have any friends or family member who were able supply me with information on either a Sole-Trader, a Partnership business or a LTD business so therefore I have chosen Errol Anderson and his business Errol Anderson Motors to base my assignment on. Sole-Trader A Sole-Trader is someone like Errol Anderson who has set up his own business. Errol’s business is called and is known as Errol Anderson Motors. Sole-Trader is someone who does a one-person business according to my assignment that one businessman is Errol. This is the simplest form of ownership in which the owner in this case who is Errol is fully controller of his business. Errol makes all decisions because he is the owner and has to spend a small amount of Capital to set up business such as a Sole-Trader. The financial information is private and t... ...PLC and Sole-Trader is that shareholders selling their shares can damage a PLC. But the Sole-Trader can also be damaged if it is on unlimited liability that can force them to sell their personal belongings. Decision-making The differences between the decision making in a PLC and a Sole-Trader is that a Sole-Trader like Errol does one-person business so therefore the Sole-Trader (Errol) makes his decisions himself and is in control of the business. So therefore a Sole-Trader like Errol decides for himself. The decision making of a PLC is made by the Boards of Directors. The Board of Director are shareholders who are elected by other shareholders to be the Board of Directors and have most of the power in the PLC in which the shareholders form partnership and groups to become Board of Directors. Overall the differences between decisions making of a Sole-Trader and a PLC is that a Sole-Trader is the owner of the business so they make decisions. But the owners of a PLC are the shareholders and if a shareholder or shareholders who own more than 50% of the company then they are made the Board of Directors and they are the ones who make the decision for a PLC.

A Critique of Bushs Speeches after September 11 -- Speaking Analysis

A Critique of Bush's Speeches after September 11 After the terrorists attacks on September eleventh, President Bush had to prepare himself to address the nation with intensions to calm the United States citizens and give them some answers. The President had many speeches in the week after this happened and some words he used were not as concise as they could have been. These words and phrases are his attempts to comfort the United States people but only anger the terrorists he has declared war with. In a critique of Bushs speeches in the weeks after the tragedy, it is written, He called for revenge, called Osama bin Laden the prime suspect and asked for him dead or alive. (Max 1) Using such strong words gives an impression that Bush is overly confident and jumping to conclusions. Using revenge would imply retaliation and in result would come a war. Bush seems so sure that bin Laden is responsible when, still as of this day, he has no hard evidence. Asking for him dead or alive is probably the first threat he made. The only accompli shment Bush got out of making these accusations and threats was making the American people nervous. The citizens of the United States may not agree with the decisions he is making for the country. Bush needed another chance to redeem himself and comfort his people. A committee of speechwriters and George Bush spent time writing the speech that was given on September twentieth. In this speech, the President made more sense and brought his ideas together more clearly, with phrases and topics that would calm the citizens of the United States. Americans were still unclear of who had performed these acts of terror and were nervous because Bush was being rash, and wasnt speaking with confidence. The president answers questions, revealing which organization was responsible and their mission as people. Bushs speech on the twentieth reveals that, The terrorists directive commands them to kill Christians and Jews, to kill all Americans, and make no distinction among military and civilians, including women and children. (pg. 2) The president clarifies that bin Laden is the leader of the terrorist organization, Al queda, so that the Americans can understand whom we are going to war with. As said in The End Of Innocence, And today the enemy must be named as terrorism, or more broadly as any who might disrupt the spread of "open societi... ...ed States and to provide its people with knowledge of what to prepare for in the future. The president spoke to the nation numerous times in the week after these attacks, and he began to reveal that his situation was making him nervous and even scared in his speeches. The president had to show his confidence and reassure the nation with relief in his speech on September twentieth. The president was there most of the time his writers were working on the speech, and it seemed he was comfortable speaking the topics of the speech. After the speech was recited, Ted Kennedy stated that The presidents speech was exactly what the nation neededa message of determination and hope, strength and compassion.(Words that Changedetc. 11 par. 1) The president allowed the citizens of the Unites States of America to feel confident with the status of our nation in the future, after he gave this speech. Works Cited 1. Max, D.T. The 2,988 Words That Changed a Presidency: An Etymology. The New York Times, 7 Oct. 2001 2. Bush, George W. "President Bush's Speech to the Nation." Capitol. Washington, D.C. 20 Sept. 2001. 3. Rogers, Joel. The End Of Innocence. The Nation, 17 Sept. 2001

Microwaves :: essays research papers

You might remember the heroic role that newly-invented radar played in the Second World War. People hailed it then as "Our Miracle Ally". But even in its earliest years, as it was helping win the war, radar proved to be more than an expert enemy locator. Radar technicians, doodling away in their idle moments, found that they could focus a radar beam on a marshmallow and toast it. They also popped popcorn with it. Such was the beginning of microwave cooking. The very same energy that warned the British of the German Luftwaffe invasion and that policemen employ to pinch speeding motorists, is what many of us now have in our kitchens. It's the same as what carries long distance phone calls and cablevision. Hitler's army had its own version of radar, using radio waves. But the trouble with radio waves is that their long wavelength requires a large, cumbersome antenna to focus them into a narrow radar beam. The British showed that microwaves, with their short wavelength, could be focussed ina narrow beam with an antenna many times smaller. This enabled them to make more effective use of radar since an antenna could be carried on aircraft, ships and mobile ground stations. This characteristic of microwaves, the efficiency with which they are concentrated in a narrow beam, is one reason why they can be used in cooking. You can produce a high-powered microwave beam in a small oven, but you can't do the same with radio waves, which are simply too long. Microwaves and their Use The idea of cooking with radiation may seem like a fairly new one, but in fact it reaches back thousands of years. Ever since mastering fire, man has cooked with infrared radiation, a close kin of the microwave. Infrared rays are what give you that warm glow when you put your hand near a room radiator or a hotplate or a campfire. Infrared rays, flowing from the sun and striking the atmosphere, make the Earth warm and habitable. In a conventional gas or electric oven, infrared waves pour off the hot elements or burners and are converted to heat when they strike air inside and the food. Microwaves and infrared rays are related in that both are forms of electromagnetic energy. Both consist of electric and magnetic fields that rise and fall like waves on an ocean. Silently, invisibly and at the speed of light, they travel through space and matter. There are many forms of electromagnetic energy (see diagram). Ordinary light from the sun is one, and the only one you can actually see. X-rays are another. Each kind, moving at a separate wavelength, has a unique effect on any matter it

Psychology Process Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although psychological pioneers such as Jung and Freud dominated much of the early dialogue regarding psychoanalytic theory in the early through mid twentieth century, the contribution of Erik Erikson to modern psychology has proven to be no less enduring than it was originally regarded as radical. Some evidence suggests that Erikson’s theories of the eight stages of personal development have enjoyed a more widespread acceptance among contemporary twenty-first century thinkers and scholars than many of his predecessors and colleagues. Erikson was a pioneer in adult psychoanalytic theory: â€Å"he stands alone as the one thinker who changed our minds about what it means to live as a person who has arrived at a chronologically mature position and yet continues to grow, to change, and to develop.† (Hoare 3); because Erikson’s theories went â€Å"beyond† those extended by Freud and others, his contributions to modern psychology are still regarded as important second-stage psychoanalytic theory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although for Freud â€Å"humans were psychosexual creatures† (Hoare 4). ,for Erikson the human psyche presented a much more complex and evolving entity, one which developed over a series of specifically defined stages, and the successful or unsuccessful navigation through these stages, which numbered eight, indicated whether or not an individual had successfully attained a working self-identity. Perhaps Erikson’s break-through inn psychoanalytic theory were at least partially based upon his personal life-experiences. Certainly within the context of Erikson’s theories of identity development, one’s personal experience played a crucial role in the development of identity. As his many biographers have noted, Erikson â€Å"lived in dramatic times† (Hoare 4). and in his life he experienced â€Å"two world wars[†¦] and, later, living in the United States, saw the origin and first use of nuclear weapons.† (Hoare 4).; whether or not these historical experienced shaped his intellectual vision is debatable. What is less ambiguous is whether or not Erikson’s personal life, outside of any historical context, influenced his theories and it certainly did.   Erikson’s early life: â€Å"born on June 15, 1902, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany† (Hoare 7). Erikson first lived alone with his mother and then later, â€Å"The two lived among his mother’s artist friends, who provided early identifications for him† (Hoare 7).   The fact that Erikson was essentially an artist rather than a pure scientist allowed him to bring a sensitivity to his psychological studies and theories which many scholars believe was previously lacking in psychology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is well known that Erikson in nineteen sixty-three â€Å"postulated eight stages that must be encountered successfully and lived through in the development of the self† (Hattie 118).; the navigation of these eight stages produced an enduring self-identity which continued to develop adn meet challenges right on through until personal death. (Hattie). The specific stages were looked at by Erikson as challenges and one either â€Å"won† or â€Å"lost† them. Such a vision was radical when Erikson proposed it and his ideas are still regarded, by some, as quite radical today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For example, Christian educational theorists belive that not only Erikson, but many of the psychoanalytic theorists of the twentieth century have replaced the traditional role of ministers, and other mentors and societal influences over the upbringing of children in Western society. These people believe that â€Å"the vocabulary of the psychologist frames virtually all public discussion[†¦] Anthropologists and sociologists are likewise absent from the discussion.†Ã‚   (Hunter 5).a and this is viewed as being highly detrimental to educational strategies and programs. However, despite the criticism of groups like these, Erikson’s theories continue to be deeply referenced and relied upon by modern psychologists, and he is revered as the primary thinker in psychology who extended the recognition of the development of self-identity beyond the early stages of adolescence and envisioned a paradigm which covered the evolution of the self over the entire duration of an individual life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Hattie, John. Self-Concept. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992. Hoare, Carol Hren, ed. Erikson on Development in Adulthood: New Insights from the   Ã‚   Unpublished Papers. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Hunter, James Davison. â€Å"When Psychotherapy Replaces Religion.† Public Interest Spring   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     2000: 5.

Mirza Ghalib’s Prose Essay

One of the most influential luminaries of the Subcontinent literature, Mirza Asad Ullah Khan, continues to win the hearts of the posterity with his evergreen literary works. His is renowned for his poetic endeavors in Urdu and Persian language with thousands of high quality verses to his credit. He bagged a major chunk of fame through his rich philosophical verses which often eclipse his status as a prolific prose-writer. Many notable writers proclaim that Ghalib could have garnered the same magnitude of fame only on the basis of his amazing prose. He gave a new and refreshing facet to the genre of prose-writing and thereby, is often referred to as â€Å"the father of prose-writing† in the realm of Urdu literature. He is the most written about of all the poets of Urdu literature , so much so that the study of his works has surprisingly been converted into a branch of exhaustive Urdu literature named â€Å"Ghalibiyaat†. Ghalib truly excelled in the domain of letter and journal writing (especially letter-writing which he started in 1857), endowing the style a novel characteristic. Before Ghalib ventured into literature, the prose literature included only a few theological and fictional books unnecessarily encumbered with heavy Persian and Arabic words. Ghalib divorced this highly artificial style in vogue, and hospitably welcomed his peculiar austere writing style. He effortlessly wrote two significant Urdu collections of letters; Urdu-e-Muallah (The Royal Urdu) and Ud-i-Hindi (The Indian Amber), laying a solid foundation of easy, popular and yet literary Urdu. He added another prominent feather to his literary cap through his narrative of historical accounts penned into impressive journal/diary format. This format includes Dastanboo (Pellet of Perfume) and Mihr-e-Nim Roz (Midday Sun), both in Persian language. His idiosyncrasy became so popular that even the most popular writers including Maulana Hali and Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan embraced his unpretentious style and carried forth the valuable legacy. Through analysis it becomes clear that there cannot be encountered any essential difference between the style that Ghalib adopted, and the style which is prevalent in today’s era which demands simplicity as well, rather than the complex and incomprehensible literature, embodying the heavy dose of flowery vocabulary and low content value. Ghalib was a gifted and an erudite writer with no dearth of creativity; introducing the new style being the biggest example of his treasure of creative skills. His letters project a clear, uncomplicated, natural and fascinating style, characterized with unimaginable flow, rhythm and spontaneity in his language. He adopted a conversational manner in his letters, giving the impression that he is conducting a conversation with a friend who is ostensibly sitting in front of him, discussing the everyday matters face-to-face. Such open and frank style even assists a reader to bond and gel with writer’s flow of thought. His words are impregnated with loud and fearless expressions of his innermost feelings, and at the same time reflect Ghalib’s highly developed taste and knowledge, owing to his aristocratic lineage. He expresses them openly and frankly, and at the same time he expects the correspondent to reciprocate the same intensity of emotions and frankness. Apart from being simplified linguistically, the letters are quite informal, progressing from the rhyming sentences and flattering epithets/long salutations, which were the characteristic features of the letters written by the educated Muslims, to simple salutations. Indebted to non-ornamental language, the commencement of a letter just by addressing the name of the recipient showed the transition in the long held tradition. Being celebrated for intense, intelligible poetry does not lessen Ghalib’s exceptional talent in wit and humor. A pioneer of informal writing, Ghalib’s recipes never lacked the spice of satire and comedy. His letters are rife in delighting humor and sharp wit, elucidating and highlighting Ghalib’s jolly, candid and loving nature. He even smiled at the gloomiest moments because the severe jolts of life had made him learn to smile in order to strengthen himself in the face of even the most terrible scenarios so as to mitigate the bitter and painful pangs of the agonizing life. For instance, when the 3rd wife of one of his friends died, Ghalib remarked: â€Å"Allah Allah, there are some among us who have been freed from this prison three times and I have for the past 50 years this rope around my neck; neither this rope breaks nor it takes my life. Another such example of his light-heartedness can be seen in one of his letters to Saif-ul-Haq, in which Ghalib candidly and cleverly talks his friend out of sending the predictable gift of mangoes, a fruit, of which he was awfully fond of, but was also flooded with, by his friends and companions. â€Å"I cannot think of anything which I can ask you to send me from Surat. What is there to be had which cannot be had here. I like mangoes no doubt, very much, not less than grapes, but how can they reach here safely from Surat and Bombay. The Malda mangoes are known here as Pewandi and Vilayati. They are fine indeed and they would be finer still at Surat, but it seems you would be going out of the way to send them from there to Delhi. The expense of sending mangoes worth a rupee would amount to about Rs. 4 by the parcel post and even then perhaps 10 out of 100 will get here in a sound condition. Please give up the idea of sending me any. Delicious mangoes of various kinds can be had here in plenty. The Nawab of Rampur often sends presents of fine mangoes from his own garden. While I am writing I have just received two baskets of mangoes from a friend at Bareily. They have been opened in my presence but all except 83 out of 200 sent to me have become rotten. † Ghalib’s inexhaustible fund of humor not only eased his sorrows, but also pacified bereavement of the others. Ghalib himself said: â€Å"I want to write the lines that whoever reads those should enjoy it. † Similarly, his journals are also the epitome of simplicity and the natural flow of language characterized by the starkness of his sadness and the reflection of a bleeding heart. Thematically, Ghalib’s letters are really pivotal and significant as they give a thorough insight into his exceedingly sensitive personality and thought patterns. Ghalib started penning letters to his friends around the tumultuous and chaotic period of Indian Mutiny 1857. This period not only marked profound change in Subcontinent’s history, but also in Ghalib’s life. Ghalib’s beloved city crumbled to the ground, turning into rubbles and waste as a result of aggressive fight between the British and the Indian rebels. It drowned Delhi into the blood of not only the common Indians, but also in the blood of many of Ghalib’s friends. A lot of his friends migrated from crimson-coated Delhi to seek refuge in other parts of the Indian Subcontinent. This left Ghalib in a lot of pain because he could not bear this agonizing disunion as he used to cherish his camaraderie. He once in one of his letters told a friend: â€Å"From hundreds of miles talk with the tongue of pen and enjoy the joy of meeting when you are separated. † To give vent to his gregarious urges, he took a step to compose letters so that he could keep in touch with his comrades, thereby writing 5 to 6 letters a day. His letters mostly written to friends can also be seen as a testimony of his true regard for the pure relationship of friendship and his dependence on this means of communication. Being a writer he was definitely a man of words and therefore, craved to have an outlet of the immense sea of expression that he possessed especially lovingly freed among people that he loved and owning to his affable nature there were many regardless of them being his contemporaries and supposed competition. These feelings can be found in the following extract from a letter to one of his closest friends Tafta: pg 51 â€Å"Well sir would you continue to be cross or would you make peace with me? If you cannot get reconciled to me you should at least tell me the reason of your being cross. In my solitude I live chiefly on letters from friends. When I get a letter from a friend I take it to be a visit from him. There is not a day on which I do not receive several letters from various directions. In fact on some days the postman brings my letters more than once, a few in the morning and a few in the evening. This keeps me busy as well as amused and I easily pass my day in enjoying their perusal and in having the pleasure of writing replies to them. † Through his letters, he communicated well his sentiments regarding the War of Independence 1857, and the decline of the Mughal Empire, including the excruciating effect it rendered on him and his friend’s lives. In his graphic letters, Ghalib presented the horrid picture of how Delhi was converting into a desert due to the scarcity of water, and also how the ruling Indian elite was coming to a dismal end which he so consciously belonged to and boosted off. He gives a picturesque account of the gory annihilation with a deep streak of gloom in it: â€Å"An ocean of blood churns around me – Alas! Were these all! The future will show what remains for me to see! † In addition to this, he shared with his friends the other happenings that manoeuvered his life through the travails of life(Thus, the letters become autobiographical in nature). He also conversed about the mannerism and the propriety observed at that point in time in Delhi. He himself belonged to the royal family of Seljuks, and invariably followed the decorum rampant at that time. A lot of his letters provide the testimony and several allusions to his nobility, the pride he took in it and his high self-respect as he proudly led a resplendent life of a royal person though he always was out of money and depended on the patronage of the royal court and the generosity of his friends. Moreover, Ghalib took great pride in his literary works, and in a letter to his friend and contemporary Majruh, he conscientiously acknowledged his role as the reformer of Urdu writing by introducing a much needed and ground breaking change that was openly adopted by his contemporaries so as to popularize Urdu prose. An extract of it is as following: â€Å"All the wealth of Delhi in gold and pearls and jewellery has flowed into the Punjab as a result of the loot that followed the Mutiny, but this style of writing was my peculiar property. This wealth has been looted by the cruel hands of a man from Panipat who resides in the Ansari’s quarter. However I bear him no grudge for this loot. May God bless him. † This small passage alone holds an array of cultural, historical and autobiographical dimensions. The exquisite letters also bring into light the poet’s unstable monetary conditions as only his poetry could qualify as his ‘property’ for he never even had a house to his name. Needless to say that a talent like Ghalib’s must be rightfully considered as a treasure, but the orphan despite being the owner of such a priceless possession survived owing to his friends’ favors or royal rewards. In the following extract from a letter written to his friend and fellow poet Saif-ul-Haq Sayyah, Ghalib discloses a dependable source of income: â€Å"For 12 years the late Nawab Yusaf Ali Khan of Rampur used to send his verses to me and to send a draft for Rs. 100 every month, but never asked me for a receipt for this money. He used to enclose the draft in his letter and he used occasionally to send a lump sum of Rs. 200 or 250 as a present. During the disturbed period following the mutiny my income from the fort (that us the Red Fort of Delhi) had vanished and the pension from the British government had been stopped. It was through the kindness of the Nawab of Rampur, who continued sending the fixed salary every month and other sums in addition, that I and my dependents managed to live in those days. The present Nawab, his successor, may God preserve him long, continues to send me my monthly salary as usual, though I do not know whether the occasional gifts would continue or not. † This letter shows his unfavorable dependence on others’ generosity and appreciation of literature. However, in the particular era, the royals and the aristocracy deemed all arts to be an asset to the heritage of their nation and did not hesitate in investing in it physically, mentally or financially. Kings, princes, nobles, common men delved into poetry, and it was socially compulsory for men of respectable parentage to show their talent in verses so as to affirm the capability of their cultured and refined minds. Therefore, literary men from all walks of life esteemed Ghalib to be a patron of literature and made him the receiver of many deserved rewards. Unfortunately, the officials and courtesans of that time could be easily regarded as an early manifestation of the corrupt worm that is so dominatingly residing in the insatiable bulging bellies of the clerks and officials of our 21st century government. Ghalib as well became a victim of an absolutely unjust scheme of the devious courtiers which he aptly pens in a letter to his good friend Tafta of which an extract is given below: â€Å"You have reminded me of a very old story, which has revived a sore spot in my heart. A Qasida was submitted through Munshi Husain to Roshan-ud-Daula and through the latter to Nawab Naseer-ud-Din Haider of Lucknow. The Nawab ordered Rs. 5000 to be sent to me on the very day when the Qasida reached him. Muhammad Husain, the middle man, never informed me of the order. The late Muzaffar-ud-Daula came to Delhi from Lucknow sometime after this and told me about it, but he asked me not to tell Muhammad Husain that he had given me this information. I wrote to Sheikh Imam Baksh Nasikh to enquire what had been the fate of my Qasida. He wrote back in reply that a reward of Rs. 5000 had been given by the ruler of Lucknow, but Roshan-ud-Daula himself kept Rs. 3000 out of the sum and gave Rs. 000 to Muhammad Husain telling him to send Ghalib any sum that he liked out of Rs. 2000. Nasikh enquired from me whether Muhammad Husain had sent anything out of the sum to me. I replied that I had not received even five rupees out of the whole sum of Rs5000. Nasikh on hearing this wrote to me again that I should write him a letter stating that I did not know whether any reward for my Qasida had been given by the king and he promised that he would manage to place the letter before the king and to get the person who had taken my money to disgorge it. I wrote a letter to the above effect as desired and posted it; but on the 3rd after the dispatch of the letter I heard a report in Delhi that Naseer-ud-Din Haider was dead. You can see for yourself what I could do and what could be done by Nasikh after this misfortune. † Through Ghalib’s letter, the modern generation is facilitated to learn about the long sowed seed of corruption and injustice and also the mistreatment and exploitation of artists. Although the financial situation of writers, poets and other creative upholders has improved through the progressive times but even now they are not given their due share especially in the East. Similarly in another letter of his to Mir Mahdi Majruh, Ghalib reveals his priority to be his work and not the sales or the profits acquired from his work of art. This shows Ghalib’s respect for his creativity and his unmatchable dignity. As acknowledged before by critics he was â€Å"too much of a poet to think like a business man† which also depicts the older generations’ simplicity and sensitive ego. The passage goes as: â€Å"You tell me that there are many people desirious of purchasing the book and that I should let you know the price. I am not a broker, a bookseller or the manager of a press. The owner of the Ahmadi press, where it has been published, is Muhammad Husain Khan. Its manager is Mirza Ammun Khan, the press is at shahdara. The owner lives at Delhi in Kucha Rai Man. The price of the book is -/6/-, postage extra. You may give this information to intending purchasers, who may send for any number of copies they may like by post. They may remit the price either in cash or in postage stamps to the above address. You and I have nothing to do with the matter. Owning to his self-confidence and self-assurance, Ghalib did not indulge in building facades and rightfully took the responsibility of a much needed literary reformer. Through his auto- biographical letters, many of the decadent literary traditions of the past times are revealed to us. For example, in those days authors and poets had the habit of sending their works and books to their fellow esteemed colleagues to write eulogistic notes on them as a guarantee of the writer’s brilliance and talent regardless of its actual existence which in Urdu is known as â€Å"Taqriz†. The friends asked of the favor used to be under an unspoken oath of flooding their notes with excessively high praises and ostentatious bouquets of compliments, deserving or undeserving, which tainted the credibility of the author himself and the notes were cleverly ignored by the clever audience as a blank page of any book. Ghalib put a stop to this hollow practice and became moderate in offering praises due to which many of his friends felt mistreated at the hands of the usually generous Ghalib. Tafta, also once complained of the unkindness with which he was met when he received a meager gratification for one of his books which is illustrated in the following extract: â€Å"I cannot give up my principles. I do not know that style of Indian writers of Persian in which they begin to praise one like professional bhats. Look at my qasidas you will find that the proportions of poetical flights on general subjects of a literary nature is much larger in them than the verses devoted to the eulogy of the person praised. The same principle I follow in my prose. Look at the Taqriz I wrote on the book of Nawab Mustafa Khan and see how small the space devoted in it, to his praise is. See again the preface I wrote for the Diwan of Mirza Rahim-ud-Din Haya or look at the Taqriz I wrote at the instance of Mr. John Jacob on his edition of the Diwan-i-Hafiz. There is only one verse in praise of him and the rest of the writing, in prose, is on other interesting topics. I assure you if I had written a preface to a collection of poems of a prince I would not have given him more space than I have given to the praise of your work. If you knew this peculiarity of mine, you would have regarded the praise that I have bestowed on your work as enough. † Similarly being one of the most celebrated and prominent writers of those times and also of the times ahead, Ghalib was a recipient of many books and works of his colleagues and reverent pupils for corrections, criticism, improvements and advice, a common practice in the era in question. It was commonplace for men of education to indulge in literary writings regardless of their parentage. Therefore, more room for criticism and professional help was made. Masters also, openly accepted this tedious and monetarily fruitless challenge so as to increase the number of their subservient pupils, a matter of pride and popularity in those days and also to encourage and invest in literary taste which in the 18th century was a testimony of refined culture. Ghalib in order to help his colleagues and pupils ran in extra mile by not only correcting their mistakes but by also writing helpful but lengthy additional notes so as to ensure improvement and fulfill his responsibility. An example of this is the following extract from a letter to Tafta in which Ghalib dutifully criticizes his sent work: â€Å"Well done. What a nice Qaida you have written? The continuity of sense and the simplicity of words are praise-worthy. One of your lines coincides with a line of a verse from Shaukat of Bukhara that is chak gardidamo az jaib badaman raftam. I think you may well be proud of your thought having reached the same height as that of Shaukat in this line, but the line preceding this in your poem does not come up to the corresponding line of Shaukat.