Childhood Immunizations and Vaccinations Research Paper

Childhood Immunizations and Vaccinations - Research Paper Example From then on, several vaccines have been developed which have helped in the control of several infectious diseases. During vaccination, an antigenic material is introduced into the body that evokes immune response to the host similar to the one that occurs when the infectious agent enters the body. Thus, when the individual is presented with the concerned pathogen, the already present immune response prevents the pathogen from either entering the body or evoking a disease process of both (Shah, Nitin and Kukrej, 2007). The antigens introduced for vaccination purpose either resemble the pathogen against which the immune response is expected, or are non-viable or attenuated forms of the pathogen. Since the time of introduction of vaccines, several diseases have been able to be controlled. Small pox could be eradicated mainly because of vaccination. However, vaccination is still a debated topic in several corners, eliciting medical, religious, political and ethical implications. Vaccina tion is associated with several disadvantages too because of which, many researchers often wonder if vaccination is necessary for mankind. In this essay, the advantages and disadvantages of vaccination will be discussed through review of suitable literature. Benefits of vaccination Vaccines mainly act by eliciting immunity against a particular disease. There are basically 2 types of immunity and they are innate and acquired. While the former develops after actual exposure to the disease, acquired develops following exposure to vaccination and this may be passive or active. Passive immunity occurs when the antibodies against a particular organism are directly injected into the body. Active immunity develops when antibodies are produced by the individual itself after providing an antigenic stimulus. While passive immunity offers short-term protection, active immunity renders long term protection. Examples of passive immunity are administration of anti-rabies serum following exposure t o rabies. The vaccinations given in the immunisation schedules are examples of active immunity. Depending on the which type of T-lymphocyte series which are stimulated, the immune response can be humoral, cell mediated or both. Each vaccine is given at a distinct time, dose and schedule. The timing of any vaccine is based on susceptibility to the disease, presence of maternal antibodies and reactogenecity. Thus oral polio vaccine, hepatitis B and BCG vaccines are given at birth, because of lack of maternal immunity to diseases protected by the vaccines, tuberculosis, Hepatitis B infection and Polio. Diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus are given in early childhood in order to provide maximum reactogenecity and effective protection against these diseases (Shah, p.14). The advantages of childhood vaccinations are innumerous and it is because of these advantages that most countries in the world have adopted vaccination as a main strategy to prevent childhood diseases in their public healt h policies. There is no doubt that vaccination is the best strategy to prevent certain types of infectious diseases in newborns, infants, children and even adults who are vulnerable to some diseases. In some cases, despite vaccination, disease due to the pathogen may manifest. In these cases, the

Strategic Management Accounting and applying it

Strategic Management Accounting and applying it With the rapid development of the global economy, traditional management accounting has been difficult to meet the business strategic management and requirements. Strategic Management Accounting(SMA) for the modern enterprise is of great significance. However, it is a new techniques and approaches. Although strategic management accounting has been developed over 20 years, the SMA is still debatable. In addition, a number of scholars have experienced to define what SMA is, however, the opinions of the scholars is still not yet able to be generalized. Yet, strategic management accounting is still at the exploratory stage. Management accounting plays a crucial role in the business world. It provides important advice in order to make decision for the firms in the western society. The costs of offering excellent products strategically need to be fully integrated into the enterprise cost system and being reported by these systems. Management accounting helps monitoring the performance of the management. Therefore, the customers can then be securely kept in the same market. This could also be helpful on understanding the market in a better way. Strategic management market aims to obtain the information of the rivals in the same market; this provides support to their business when making decision since the owner could adjust their budget plan according the reports of the strategic management market. Strategic management accounting is recently developed in management accounting. It involved in planning, control and requires financial information. In the strategic management planning and control systems, R.N.Anthony believes that there are two different oriented processes which are externally and internally. Externally oriented process is a financial accounting. Moreover, an internally oriented process is including strategic planning, management control and operational control. During the strategic planning process, it is the role of formulating strategy and it emphasis on planning. Planning defines aims, objectives and targets of organizations and also does formulation, evaluation and selection of policies, strategies, tactics and actions to achieve them. The orientation is planning outside the organization which is relating to the organizations environment. Secondly, after strategic planning, management control would be followed. The main function of this process is implementing strategy which can be a part of the planning. In the final stage, operational control is mainly responsible for controlling however also performing the tasks as well as planning. In this process it ensure that resources and obtained and used effectively and efficiently to achieve organizational goals and procedures adhered to or appropriate remedial action taken. It normally occurs within the organization. Strategy orientated accounting complements the traditional concerns of the West accounting. It focuses on the additional costs in order to maintain competitive advantages of enterprises of actual and potential rivals. It focuses on the cost impact enterprise products and marketing strategies and it can be seen as an essence for success in todays meeting the challenges of an increasingly global market. Generally speaking, such re-orientation is another license management accounting focused on the value of consumer generated relative to its competitors. It also helps monitoring the companys performance in the market variables using a series of strategic decisions over the horizon which would be long enough to achieve the strategic plan. These concepts form the core of the new concept of SMA. In addition, there are 12 strategic management accounting practices. They are competitive position monitoring, strategic pricing, competitor performance appraisal, competitor cost assessment, strat egic costing, value-chain costing, brand value monitoring brand value budgeting, attribute costing, quality costing, life-cycle costing and target costing. However, the main methods in SMA which are strategic costing, target costing and product life-cycle. Although there are a lot of practices, there is still of a lower usage and recognized by a couple of organizations. In 1981, Ken Simmonds has firstly proposed the strategic management accounting, he developed the SMA definition. After his speech, SMA has been concerned day by day. In the speech, he mentioned to collect management accounting information about a business and the competitors for the uses in developing and monitoring the business strategy. He argues that management accounting should be more outward looking and should help the emphasis to place upon relative levels and trends in real costs and prices, cash flow, market share and stewardship of the resources available to the business. It can be developed and controlled the enterprise strategic. Ken Simmonds suggested that profits are not from internal efficiencies but from the companys competitive position in its market. He raised several ideas for the application of SMA in the business. He stressed the importance of the learning curve with respect to achieve strategic advantage by forecasting cost reductions and thus selling price reductions of competitors. He also drew attention to the importance of early experience to the new product as a meaning to give a unique advantage over competitors. Major competitor should be able to reduce the sales price of the products which should further increase its production and enhance its market share; which eventually force some competitors to leave the industry. Secondly, Simmonds shows that the cost-volume-profit relationship of competitors could predict the price response and management accounting functions to help assessing the cost structure of each major competitor and relating this to their prices. In addition to handling costs and prices, Simmonds concentrated on volume and market share by monitoring the movement of the market share as the main products, companies can see if it is acquired or lost status and competitors will show different strength in the market share. Including detailed information on the market, management accounting report will help to enable more strategic management accounting-related. Simmonds suggested that the market share of the statements may be included in managed accounts. He believes that SMA will develop in management accounting in the future. One of the main advocates of Strategic Management Accounting is M.E. Porter(1985). His argument on strategic management is considered as the important information. Porter mentions a two pronged approach. First, he assessed various aspects of the industrys long-term profitability. He believes the five competitive forces will contribute to strategic balance. This is a threat to new entrants, substitute products or services enter the market, competition among existing institutions within the industry, bargaining power of suppliers and consumers. These five forces fully reflect the competitiveness of many enterprises in an increasingly competitive. However, Porter has also raised the question of the relative position of the enterprise in the industry. This issue is important because it affects the ability of enterprises to create profits above or below the industry average. Returns may be higher than average to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. This is achieved by three basic generic strategies which are cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Cost leadership means that companies intended to serve as the lowest cost of production in the industries. This is achieved by economies of scale; capital of the experience curve effect, tight cost control and cost minimization. Also, the company aims to provide a number of different levels of product and service value to customers. It can generate a premium price. This is the differentiation part. Focus is another part of the bargaining power which concerns about the cost and differentiation focus. Porter mentioned that the value chain is needed to determine the future of the practice of strategic management accounting. Value is the customer willing to pay which is a function of the image products. In the value chain, there are nine elements. Some of these cost drivers may be controllable. The nine elements of the value chain can also be separated as either support activities or main activities. For the support activities, they are firm infrastructure, human resources, technology development and procurement. And the main activities are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales and services. For example, Internal value chain analysis is the objectives of promoting enterprises to eliminate useless operations and reduce waste. The factory analyses the operating level step by step. The main reason is to focus on the market and customer. The operations and the activities of the business-internal price chain analysis enable the cost management of enterprises to maintain the basic operating level, and explore each layer of worth operations, eliminating useless operations. The value of Competitors chain analysis can identify the merits and shortcomings in the company. The conclusion of the market and competitors analysis that compared to the competitors on the market, production quality and diversification may not have too much effect. If the strategic can improve the quality or diversification in product to enhance competitiveness, it would be hard to achieve. On the other hand, if firm blindly relying on low prices to gain market share, it will lead to greater losses. In the analysis, the impact of the cost drivers on each of the elements must be assessed by efforts. Also, there must be a satisfactory margin which produced by the cost of the nine elements. Once this is completed, manager must try to make analysis of their own competitors in the same way. Strategic advantage will be able to establish if the elements of the total cost is less than competitors. It is necessary to adopt a more positive attitude to assess if the profit margins higher than those of competition. If not, it is needed to develop strategies to achieve the low cost advantage by controlling the cost drivers. The cost savings would lead to a reduction on costs or improve productivity. Marketing, sales and service costs may be reduced more efficiently, if the reduction in external fault. An obvious example provides a good customer support services to the public. If a Volkswagen breaks down occurs, while the car is in a warranty period, the rescue vehicles comes out and fix it. If it cannot be fixed, and then provide replacement. This is would be good way handle but the cost would be expensive (C.DRURY, 2008). Shank based on Porter (1985) proposed three generic strategies in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Shank also mentions the needs for management accounting to support the enterprises competitive strategy and clarify two different types of competitive strategy the first one is cost leadership and product differentiation. The second one is demand different cost analysis perspective. For example, standard product cost is likely to be a very important tool for management control in the company that pursuing a cost leadership strategy in a mature commodity business. On the contrary, standard product cost is probably not important after the differentiation strategy of enterprises. With the market-driven, there is rapidly changing and fast-growing business. A companys pursuit of product differentiation strategy may require more information than on the cost of the leading about new product innovation, design cycles, research and development expenditures and marketing cost analysis. The difference between the cost leadership and product differentiation which depend on the primary strategic thrust of the firm. Recently, Professor Bromwich(1994) further discusses strategic management accounting and definition of strategic management accounting such as the provision analysis of financial information on the firms product markets, competitors costs, cost structures, the monitoring of the enterprises strategies and those of its competitors in these markets over a number of periods. Bromwich found that SMA is a development of management accounting. This new techniques needed to be further discussed by the accountants in the future. Moreover, Bromwich mentioned that the role of accounting is going to extend in two directions when adding the strategic perspective to traditional management accounting. First, in strategic cost analysis, costs need to integrated into it and thus align costs with strategy. Secondly, in a fairly general way, the cost structure in competitors businesses and to record the changes over time. To achieve this, Bromwich also highlights this distinction identifying two domina nt approaches to SMA. One seeks to cost the product attributes offered by a companys goods. It is to attract customers. The other approach is to cost the functions in the value chain which provide value to the customer. (Bromwich and Bhimani ,1994) In the cost leadership strategy development trends, as well as obsolete the traditional cost accounting. SMA focus is based on the benefits and it is doubtful for the standard costing performance measurement; suspected the use of flexible manufacturing costs, budget control, a worship of the budget; strict adherence to the traditional product cost pricing decisions; one to consider the cost of competitors; the absence of formal consideration of the marketing costs. Roslender (1995) determine the target cost as a domain within strategic management accounting. This is the reason why focus on the external part and this is a market-oriented approach for product pricing and cost management. In addition, it involves the proliferation of management accounting throughout the organization and active participation of staff in a broad range of management functions. Their goal is to achieve the target cost, including the identification, evaluation and use of cost functional analysis of the product attributes and research opportunities to reduce costs throughout the value chain. Moreover, a recent contribution to the role of SMA, emphasizing the management accounting in the development and support the overall competitive strategy of an organization is the Balanced Scorecard. The purpose of the Balanced Scorecard is to encourage behavior consistent with organizational strategy. It includes a comprehensive framework for performance measurement to clarify, com munication and management strategy. (Kaplan and Norton, 1992). He sees SMA as an approach that to account for strategic positioning by the trials to integrate the views from the previous marketing texts into management accounting. Robin Roslender and Susan J.Hart mentions that SMA is intimately associated with both management accounting and marketing management because SMA is on a strategic level who attends to change in the environment outside the enterprise but not limited to this one part of the enterprise, SMA explore the whole industry value chain in the business information and improve the enterprises economic environment. It emphasis that enterprise development and environmental change are consistent, in order to achieve the optimal effectiveness of industry, SMA requires marketing management to collect the information of competitors. The management accountants collect, compare, and analyze the information. The analysis of SMA is depending on the information from marketing management. It is controversial that if it is necessary for the management accountants to handle to the marketing information or the marketing management can obtain the information with their own tool. Innes (1998) believes that strategic management accounting for the provision of information to support strategic decision-making in enterprise. Strategic decision-making usually involves in a long-term period, there is a significant impact on the organization, even though they may have an internal element, and they also have external factors. This definition was introduced that provide information in order to support an organizations principal long-term decisions, such as the use of activity-based costing information, provide the relevant information product structure, the introduction and abandonment decisions are the domain of SMA. This view is support by Cooper and Kaplan (1988) who state that strategic accounting techniques are designed to support the entire organizations competitive strategy. Generally speaking, the power of using information technology is to develop more sophisticated product and service costs. Despite strategic management accounting has received, there is still no comprehensive conceptual framework of what strategic management accounting (Tomkins and Carr, 1996). For example, Coad(1996) states that SMA is an emerging field whose boundaries are loose and there is still no unified view of what it is or how it might develop. The existing literature in the field is both disparate and disjointed (Coad, 1996:332). There is an exception such the survey which conducted by Guilding et al. (2000). The survey sample included 312 large companies. Guilding et al. found that recognition of what is difficult to determine the composition of the strategic management of generally accepted accounting practice. According to the review of the literature, they identified 12 strategic management accounting practices including value-chain costing, strategic costing, target cost, life-cycle costing, attribute costing etc. These are being used to determine the practice, it is a must demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics: the environment and market position focus on competitors; and long-term, forward-looking direction. At the end of the experiment, Guilding et al concluded that 12 strategic management accounting practices are of relatively low usage, there are two factors that should not dismiss their potential. First of all, all the evaluation of SMA practices may be significantly higher than expected utilization of the advantages of scoring points. Secondly, there are still many companies have abandoned the usages of the SMA. These findings showed that there is a difference between the neediness and the actual reports conducted. It finds that there the practicing accountants do not familiar with the usage of the SMA. This gives supports to the findings of Tomkins and Carrs (1996) while they believed that the SMA is ill-defined. In addition, it is still lacking of the strategic management accounting consensus. (Lord, 1996) stated that a number of strands have been used to describe the strategic management accounting. It magnifies the internal focus of traditional management accounting and the external information to competitors. The linkage between the strategic position which decided by the companies and the anticipated emphasis on management accounting and lastly obtaining competitive advantage by interpreting methods to reduce costs or to boost the varieties of the companies goods by exploiting the relationship between the value chains and generalizing the cost drivers. In conclusion Strategic management accounting is recently developed in management accounting. It involved in planning, control and requires financial information. Nevertheless, SMA have not formed a unified knowledge. While some firms may have heard SMA. They may lack for a clear understanding in SMA. Although SMA has lots of different views from various authors. For example, Simmonds is the earliest to introduce the strategic management accounting. He mentions to collect information on business competitors. Than Bormwich has further information SMA is not only to collect information . It still need to Research and competitors on their own competitive advantage and value creation process and research a long-term decision-making cycle in the enterprise perspective, for the marketing of these products and services give enterprises the total revenue. In addition, Porter identified 3 generic strategies in SMA to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. .However ,Innes (1998) believe that strategic management accounting for the provision of information to support strategic decision-making and Cooper and Kaplan (1988) views that Strategic Accounting technology is designed to support the entire organizations competitive strategy to develop more sophisticated products and services costs . On the other hand,lord (1996) identified SMA not only analysis external competitor information but also extend the main point of traditional management accounting. They are all authors who hold different evidence to support their own mind in SMA, so SMA is totally confide, it is remains a mystery .,In my opinion, the main reason of SMA occurs because Economic is developing very fast and SMA is reclamation and atone for traditional management accounting in a new environment. However,SMA has many of obstacles in developing process such as enterprise keep continue to apply the SMA in the practical application and do adjustment and innovation , thereby it can promote the development of SMA application to make it update. So I believe that Although SMA lack of consistent theory at this moment , it will be a big management accounting develop in the future. Bibliographies: Bromwich, M. Accounting information for strategic excellence Bromwich, M.,1990 The case for strategic management accounting : the role of accounting information for strategy in competitive markets.Accounting Organization and Society, Vol 15, No  ½ , pp.27-46 Cadez, S.,2008 An exploratory investigation of an integrated contingency model of strategic management accounting ,Accounting, Organizations and Society,33,pp.836-863 Drury,C. 2008, Management Costing Accounting, 7th ed. , London: South-Western. Horngren,C. T. ,1999,Management and cost accounting London: Prentice Hall, 1999 Lucey,T.,1988 Management accounting 2nd ed. London: DP Publications Roslender,R. and Hart,S.,2003 In search of strategic management accounting : theoretical and field study perspectives .Management Accounting Research 14 , pp.255-279 Ryan, B.,1998, Strategic Accounting for Management 5th ed ,Australia: Thomson Learning Tillmann, K.,2008 Strategic management accounting and sense-making in a multinational company, Management Accounting Research ,19,pp.80-102 Wright, D.,1996 Management accounting London: Longman

Vaccination and Eradication of Smallpox Essay -- Biology Medical Biome

The Vaccination and Eradication of Smallpox Smallpox, a disease caused by the variola virus, has devastated humanity for many centuries. Because of its high mortality rate, civilizations around the world sought to protect themselves from this disease. Throughout the 1700's, these protective methods became more sophisticated, and led up to Edward Jenner’s vaccination method in 1796. Indeed, the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and the Agency for International Development began a joint program to eradicate smallpox in 1967. It utilized methods of mass vaccination, surveillance, and containment. The endeavor was successful, and in 1980, WHO officially declared the eradication of smallpox. Since 1000 B.C., the world had been plagued by the variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox. The disease has a 30% mortality rate (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2004). Consequently, it was a great victory for humankind when the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the eradication of smallpox from the world. The smallpox vaccine was the first vaccine ever developed, and the eradication was the first successful eradication of a disease. Therefore, it is very important for society to study the processes that led to the vaccination and eradication of smallpox. Inoculation, a process that offered protection from smallpox, can be dated back to 1000 B.C. In China, the smallpox scabs were powdered and blown into noses, and in India, pus was rubbed into skin lesions to immunize the healthy individuals against future infections. Throughout Asia and Great Britain, inoculation was also frequently practiced (History and Eradication of Smallpox, n.d., p.2). Inoculation methods improved over time. Originally, ... ...enner's smallpox vaccine. Great Britain: Heinemann Educational Books. Centers for Disease and Control. (2004, December 30). Smallpox Overview. In Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved July 20, 2006, from http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/overview/disease-facts.asp History and Eradication of Smallpox. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2006, from http://www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/studentwebs/session4/32/history.htm Ogden, H. G. (1987). CDC and the smallpox crusade. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Razzell, P. (1977). The conquest of smallpox. Sussex: Caliban Books. World Health Organization. (n.d.). The World Health Organization Smallpox Eradication Programme. In WHO smallpox eradication programme. Retrieved July 20, 2006, from University of Toronto Web site: http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/fis/courses/lis2102/KO.WHO.case.html Vaccination and Eradication of Smallpox Essay -- Biology Medical Biome The Vaccination and Eradication of Smallpox Smallpox, a disease caused by the variola virus, has devastated humanity for many centuries. Because of its high mortality rate, civilizations around the world sought to protect themselves from this disease. Throughout the 1700's, these protective methods became more sophisticated, and led up to Edward Jenner’s vaccination method in 1796. Indeed, the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and the Agency for International Development began a joint program to eradicate smallpox in 1967. It utilized methods of mass vaccination, surveillance, and containment. The endeavor was successful, and in 1980, WHO officially declared the eradication of smallpox. Since 1000 B.C., the world had been plagued by the variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox. The disease has a 30% mortality rate (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2004). Consequently, it was a great victory for humankind when the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the eradication of smallpox from the world. The smallpox vaccine was the first vaccine ever developed, and the eradication was the first successful eradication of a disease. Therefore, it is very important for society to study the processes that led to the vaccination and eradication of smallpox. Inoculation, a process that offered protection from smallpox, can be dated back to 1000 B.C. In China, the smallpox scabs were powdered and blown into noses, and in India, pus was rubbed into skin lesions to immunize the healthy individuals against future infections. Throughout Asia and Great Britain, inoculation was also frequently practiced (History and Eradication of Smallpox, n.d., p.2). Inoculation methods improved over time. Originally, ... ...enner's smallpox vaccine. Great Britain: Heinemann Educational Books. Centers for Disease and Control. (2004, December 30). Smallpox Overview. In Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved July 20, 2006, from http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/overview/disease-facts.asp History and Eradication of Smallpox. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2006, from http://www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/studentwebs/session4/32/history.htm Ogden, H. G. (1987). CDC and the smallpox crusade. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Razzell, P. (1977). The conquest of smallpox. Sussex: Caliban Books. World Health Organization. (n.d.). The World Health Organization Smallpox Eradication Programme. In WHO smallpox eradication programme. Retrieved July 20, 2006, from University of Toronto Web site: http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/fis/courses/lis2102/KO.WHO.case.html

Kite Runner Social Divisions Essay

Two main themes in the novel The Kite Runner are that of social class and gender roles. Everywhere that Amir, the main protagonist, turns, society is divided. From his earliest childhood memories to living in America, there always seems to be some sort of invisible line drawn between his people. There is separation between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras, between Americans and Afghans, between men and women, and between the Talibs and the people of Afghanistan. â€Å"’Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our wantan. They dirty our blood†¦. Afghanistan for Pashtuns, I say. That’s my vision. ’† This quote reflects the hatred some people had for the Hazaras, or â€Å"Flat-Noses,† in Afghanistan. The Hazaras were the lower class, while the Pashtuns were the wealthy class. If there was a Hazara in Kabul, the bet was that he was â€Å"a beggar or a servant or both. † This severe social divide was not just economical. Only the Pashtuns were able to attend public school, and barely any, if any, Hazaras were literate. However, Amir grew up with Hassan, his Hazara servant, and didn’t know the hatred the rest of the Pashtuns harbored for the Hazaras. â€Å"Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words. † After Amir Joel Huff-2 returned from school, he and Hassan would go up to â€Å"a bowl shaped hill just north of [his father’s] property† that had a cemetery atop it, with a luscious pomegranate tree just outside the fence. They climbed the tree’s large branches, and carved into it the words â€Å"Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul. † After they ate the fruit and wiped their hands on the grass, Amir would read to Hassan. Despite the social divide, Amir and Hassan were like brothers. This shows that the unfair division of people can be broken – people don’t have to follow trends – that change can arise and equality can grow. The opinion on gender division, however, is slightly different in Hosseini’s book. There are two types of gender division in this book: the traditional, formal wait-until-marriage-to-be-alone kind, and the kind that made life harder on women. Hosseini somewhat supported the former, because that was the way of his people, and looked down upon the latter. In the novel, Amir sees a girl by the name of Soraya Taheri at the flea market where he and his father have a stall. This girl amazes him, as he has not actually seen a real girl of his age almost all his life, due to the separation of sexes in his homeland. He describes her as his â€Å"Swap Meet Princess,† but never actually talks to her for months. When he finally grew the nerve to talk to her, he asked where her father was, but eventually asked what she was reading. â€Å"I held my breath. Suddenly, I felt the collective eyes of the flea market Afghans shift to us. I imagined a hush falling. Lips stopping in midsentance. Heads turning. Eyes narrowing with keen interest. Up to this point, our encounter could have been interpreted as a respectful inquiry. But I’d asked her a question and if she Joel Huff-3 answered, we’d be†¦. Well, we’d be chatting. Me a mojarad, a single young man, and she an unwed woman. † This would be gossip material to the entire Afghan community in Los Angeles, just as it would have been back in Kabul. Rumors were deadly to anyone’s reputation in that community, and reputation was one of the only things that actually mattered. What made it worse was that Soraya had a â€Å"history. † Rumors, as everyone knows, are sometimes true. Unfortunately for Soraya, her â€Å"history† was entirely true. â€Å"When we lived in Virginia, I ran away with an Afghan man. I was eighteen at the time†¦rebellious†¦stupid, and†¦ he was into drugs†¦. We lived together for almost a month. All the Afghans in Virginia were talking about it. † This gossip traveled everywhere, as everyone in Afghanistan knew everyone else in Afghanistan. Soraya, daughter of the war hero, General Taheri, was hit especially hard by this gossip, and it traveled with them to Los Angeles. Though she tells Amir about the horrible past she has, Amir still pursues marriage with her, loving her all the same. â€Å"How could I, of all people, chastise someone for their past? † This shows a common double standard in the Afghan culture that also exists in our culture, to an extent. â€Å"Their sons go out to nightclubs looking for meat and get their girlfriends pregnant, they have kids out of wedlock and no one says a goddamn thing. Oh, they’re just men having fun! I make one mistake and suddenly everyone is talking nang and namoos and I have to have my face rubbed in it for the rest of my life. † To add to the extremity that Afghans see this sin as, after he made Soraya come home, Soraya’s father sat her in a chair, handed her a pair of scissors, and Joel Huff-4 calmly told her to cut off all her hair. He watched while she did it, his pride hurt more than hers. Along with the distinct division of men and women even in America, there was also a class division between Americans and Afghans. While the Americans had all white-collar jobs, Afghans were given the blue-collar jobs, despite some of them being professionals back in their homeland. Amir’s father, once a rich and powerful businessman, was forced to take up odd jobs and transactions to get by. He â€Å"sold his Buick and bought a dilapidated ’71 Volkswagen bus for $550 from an old Afghan acquaintance who’d been a high school science teacher in Kabul. † He bought this bus to go around to garage sales, buy items, take them to the flea market, and sell them for a small profit. â€Å"By that summer, Afghan families were working an entire section of the flea market. † â€Å"All of them high ranking officials, lawyers, businessmen, professors, doctors, now reduced to haggling over 2 dollars. † This shows the distinct difference between foreigners and natural born citizens in America. Racial prejudice and fear separate classes, even in a free society such as ours. The worst of any social divide mentioned in this book, however, was that between the Taliban and the citizens of Afghanistan. The Taliban, or just Talibs, took over Kabul after Amir and his father moved to America. When they were there, they destroyed everything, imposed strict laws, and committed random acts of violence. The citizens hated them, even though they â€Å"were all cheering when the Taliban came to take power† from the previous king. â€Å"I feel like a tourist in my own Joel Huff-5 country,† said Amir as he was entering the area around Kabul. As he was searching for his half-brother’s child, Amir attended a soccer match to find a â€Å"tall Talib with black sunglasses. † At halftime, three trucks rolled out into the field, one with a woman, one with a blindfolded man, and one carrying a load of stones. They unloaded each truck, placing the woman and man in separate chest-deep holes at the ends of the goal posts. â€Å"A chubby, white-bearded cleric dressed in gray garments stood near the goalposts and cleared his throat into a handheld microphone. Behind him the woman in the hole was still screaming. He recited a lengthy prayer from the Koran, his nasaly voice undulating through the sudden hush of the stadium’s crowd. I remembered something [my father] had said to me long ago: Piss on the beads of all those self-righteous monkeys. They do nothing but thumb their rosaries and recite a book written in a tongue they don’t even understand. God help us all if Afghanistan ever falls into their hands. â€Å" And sure enough, it had. The reign of terror of the Taliban swept through the streets of Kabul, as it had so many other Afghan towns. This was proven by the ruthless execution of the man and woman in the soccer stadium. The tall Talib in the black sunglasses picked up an unloaded stone, and hurled it at the man’s face, striking him in the side of the head. He continued to throw stones at the two until they were but bloodied corpses, at which point they were loaded back up into the trucks and hauled away. As Hosseini exposes the divisions in Afghan society, we in American society should reflect on the cultural fallacies that made Afghanistan the war-ravaged state that it is today.

Movie Impact Outline Speech

To inform my audience about how the movie â€Å"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind† had an impact on me. Thesis Statement: â€Å"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind† had an impact on me because its unique take on a love story showed me the bittersweets of romantic relationships in general. Preview: I will discuss the impact that the movie had on me. I will also tell how the movie's storyline made me appreciate and fall in love with the movie.Body: 1. This movie is one of the only genuine love stories I have ever seen. A. Both of the main characters, Joel and Clementine, were Just so dysfunctional real. B. You experience all the emotions that the characters in the movie experience. Feelings such as loss, regret, anger, instability, sureness, self-discovery, and so much more. 2. This movie also taught me lessons about relationships and breakups. A. It shows why painful memories are Just as important as the good ones. B.It really put into respective how relationships are difficult at times and getting through those hardships will ultimately make you stronger whether It be alone or as a couple. Conclusion: In conclusion, â€Å"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind† Is one of those movies I'll probably be going back to throughout all parts of my life. I don't think our culture teaches us how to deal with sadness and loneliness properly, a feeling that Is as vital for the full human experience Just as happiness and comfort Is.