Bernard MacLaverty More Than Just The Disease Essays

Bernard MacLaverty More Than Just The Disease Essays Bernard MacLaverty More Than Just The Disease Essay Bernard MacLaverty More Than Just The Disease Essay the cupboard of black lacquer with a yellow inlay of exotic birds. Such items may make the reader think that the owner is well-travelled and open-minded but the rest of the house is neat and orderly with a place for everything and everything in its place as typical of those times. This portrays an image of an inhibiting environment much more typical of Victorian attitudes and standards. Importantly, the house does not belong to Michaels family but is used to represent an image of the family. The garden which is steep and terraced is also described as being equally well tended to. The house-owner, Mrs Wan, stays in a caravan at the bottom of the garden when the house is rented out. This setting is described in stark contrast to the main home. It is untidy and unkempt. This lady lives in an apparently slovenly and unrestrictive environment which seems to present an image of open-mindedness. Perhaps this lady has better things to do with her time than be preoccupied with trivia. The author maybe uses this contrast to highlight the various attitudes of the characters to Neils condition. The main character is Neil who suffers from severe psoriasis on his chest. He is ashamed and embarrassed by this ailment which is generally typified by inflamed patches of skin called lesions covered by silvery white scales. His outbreaks are described as: a redness with an edge as irregular as a map. Due to this skin condition, he will not go swimming with the rest of Michaels family. This causes them to ask questions because the weather is so warm: Im boiling already states Michael. Neil does not confide in Michael the true reason why he will not bear his skin probably partly because he may never have done so before and because as a peer, he assumes that Michael would probably be less than understanding. However, the friends relationship changes due to Neils efforts to stay covered and we can see from Michaels reactions: I might as well have asked a girl to come on holiday and useless bloody mamas boy that Michael is frustrated. Neil doesnt explain why he isnt joining in with all the activities so Michael presumes that he is dull and boring. Neil is used to being regarded as less sporty, less macho and altogether less useful as a companion. Michael is obviously regretting bringing Neil on holiday which makes Neil feel misunderstood . Neil perhaps would like to tell Michael of his problem but is afraid of rejection just because he is different. It ,then distances the friends from each other. Neils fist bunched in the sand. is a physical representation of his own frustration. In his interactions with Michaels mother, an element of humour is introduced as Neil puts all efforts into finding a valid excuse for not going swimming. The fact is Ive got my period. This obviously echoes from his mothers range of excuses but amuses the family as he clearly fails to understand the term. Michaels mother, however, does not probe any further probably to save him any further embarrassment but maybe also because she has no interest in solving his problem. Michaels sister was obviously quite keen for him to join in the fun at the beach but she too loses interest in him when he refuses to participate in the fun. Neil is probably quite used to feeling treated in this way and also quite adept at hiding any feelings of self-pity, anger, embarrassment and loneliness. In fact, he may often prefer to be alone to save having to make excuses at all. Throughout the text, Neils own views reflect those of his absent mother and he imagines what her comments would be in many situations: If there is one thing I cannot abide its a milk bottle on the table. It seems that his mothers views about his condition have also affected his own. When he suffered an inflammation which was apparent above his collar: that week his mother had kept him off school. The reasons for her actions could be numerous perhaps she herself did not know how to deal with it; perhaps she understood the condition but felt those around him would not; perhaps she felt that they wou ld be regarded as unclean and she already had the stigma and efforts of being a single parent to cope with. Whatever her reasons, Neils ability to deal with his condition and form relationships is affected by her views. He is very reluctant to confide in anyone. He also behaves much like a stereotypical only child in many ways very polite and good at casual conversation with adults. Neils life changes, however, when he encounters Mrs Wan for a second time. He has noticed that she seems different to those around him in that she wears baggy trousers, a turban-shaped hat and mens garden gloves. She appears in real contrast to his own mother who is portrayed as neat, orderly, thrift and concerned about appearances. Mrs Wan seems taken by Neils caring nature and mannerly disposition when he returns a stray kitten to her caravan although he may just also be taking the animal back as a way of avoiding the attentions of Michaels family and the whole beach experience at the time. Similarly, Neil also strikes her as very different from the other children such as Michael who habitually throws stones in her pond and who we suspect she has little time for because she mistakenly calls him Benjamin. The pair strike up a conversation and before he knows it, he has revealed his secret to her. Everything about this woman is honest and apparent which seems to set the standard for their conversation: this old woman seemed to demand the truth. He may have found it so easy to be honest with her because she was a stranger, because she was obviously quite worldly and little concerned with looks and because she seemed so approachable. She is unflinching when she examines his psoriasis and offers words of wisdom: Watch that you dont suffer from more than the disease. He claims that he does not understand and she elaborates: Its bad enough having it without being shy about it as well. This reaction is completely new to Neil and this conversation is a turning point in his life. He seems stronger and more mature after his conversations with her. When Michael suddenly approaches, he does not hurriedly cover up as he may well have done previously although there is obvious surprise and shock in Michaels voice on seeing the affected skin. Michael responds favourably as he appears to understand the reasons for Neils behaviour. The pair are re-united in friendship which is demonstrated by their late night swim. Neil is able to take part in a regular boy experience for the first time even if it is after dark. The short story therefore ends on a promising note. This boy who was so obviously troubled by his condition has been transformed and finds that through sharing his problem, he cements his friendships. Maybe he will find a popularity based on his own personality now rather than on his mothers ability to provide passes to the cinema. Neils disease had consumed him and dictated his lifestyle. He seems to have learned that that did not have to be the case.

Technetium Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements

Technetium Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements Technetium (Masurium)Â   Atomic Number: 43 Symbol: Tc Atomic Weight: 98.9072 Discovery: Carlo Perrier, Emilio Segre 1937 (Italy) found it in a sample of molybdenum that had been bombarded with neutrons; erroneously reported Noddack, Tacke, Berg 1924 as Masurium. Electron Configuration: [Kr] 5s2 4d5 Word Origin: Greek technikos: an art or technetos: artificial; this was the first element made artificially. Isotopes: Twenty-one isotopes of technetium are known, with atomic masses ranging from 90-111. Technetium is one of two elements with Z 83 with no stable isotopes; all of technetiums isotopes are radioactive. (The other element is promethium.) Some isotopes are produced as uranium fission products. Properties: Technetium is a silvery-gray metal that tarnishes slowly in moist air. Common oxidation states are 7, 5, and 4. The chemistry of technetium is similar to that of rhenium. Technetium is a corrosion inhibitor for steel and is an excellent superconductor at 11K and below. Uses: Technetium-99 is used in many medical radioactive isotope tests. Mild carbon steels may be effectively protected by minute quantities of technetium, but this corrosion protection is limited to closed systems because of technetiums radioactivity. Element Classification: Transition Metal Technetium Physical Data Density (g/cc): 11.5 Melting Point (K): 2445 Boiling Point (K): 5150 Appearance: silvery-gray metal Atomic Radius (pm): 136 Covalent Radius (pm): 127 Ionic Radius: 56 (7e) Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 8.5 Specific Heat (20Â °C J/g mol): 0.243 Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 23.8 Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 585 Pauling Negativity Number: 1.9 First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 702.2 Oxidation States: 7 Lattice Structure: Hexagonal Lattice Constant (Ã…): 2.740 Lattice C/A Ratio: 1.604Â   Sources: CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics (18th Ed.)Crescent Chemical Company (2001)Langes Handbook of Chemistry (1952)Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001)

Briefly Describe the Nature of the Recent Global Financial Crisis Essay

Briefly Describe the Nature of the Recent Global Financial Crisis (GFC) - Essay Example The governments of almost all the nations had to come up with packages that are required to move out from such a situation. The financial crisis will shed its impacts around the globe due to globalization. The livelihood of all people at every corner will feel the heat of crisis (World Bank, 2009). Financial Crisis The collapse of the U.S. housing market regarded as the housing bubble is characterized as one of the prime reason for the situation to arrive. The collapse resulted in surge of mortgage loan defaults (World Health Organization, 2009, 2). The collapse of the real estate market and the subprime mortgage market of the U.S. had the severe effects around the globe. Uncertainties accrued in the financial systems. The creditors involved themselves in pulling out their funds and cashed out securities that were issued by the financial institutions (Jalilian, n.d., 1). These lead to failure of many institutions while others struggled to survive poorly. The loan and credit possibili ties from the bank dried up (Baily, Litan, and Johnson, M., 2008, 11). There was a downturn in the share market as investors dumped their holdings. The system lost the confidence. In order to create securitization, the banks started to borrow more money. As long as the banks can pull out money by selling loans on the basis of securities, they did not feel the dependency to rely on the savers (European Commission, 2009, 8). Some of the banks even moved into mortgages. There was pressure from the government to serve the poor and the loans offered to the poor were risky as there was the fear of default (Roitman, 2009). They used to buy the mortgage in order to securitize them and then sell them. Some of the banks started to buy securities as well. This increased the exposure of the banks to risks. When the problem got realized, the process of lending got slowed. Some of the banks were on the verge of the most risky loans which was beyond the intention of the investors. The lenders fell upon to take back their loans. The investment banks fell drastically as they had no or little deposits. The problem got intensified and even the banks with large capital reserves began to feel the pressure. They turned to the government for support. The banks began to feel nervous to loan out the injected money and the shrinking banks sucked money out of the economy. Many economies are (or have been) in recession, technically defined as 2 or more quarters of negative growth or contraction of real GDP, for example the economies of the US, Japan, the Euro area, UK, and New Zealand (but not Australia). Among the other effects include rise in the level of unemployment, rising in the levels of international and domestic debt, crisis in housing and mortgage, failure of key businesses such as automobile industry of U.S., along with various banks and housing lenders. There were downturns in the share market along with declines in the wealth of the consumers. The volumes of international tr ade and investment declined. There has been some recovery with the assistance of the governments such as stimulatory spending (but often financed by further debt), financial institution guarantees and buyouts, and assistance to industries (but needed to be within the framework of WTO rules and agreements). In order to combat with the situation of fall in confidence it was necessary to inject liquidity into the financial institu