Thursday, January 30, 2020

Suburbs and the use of space Essay Example for Free

Suburbs and the use of space Essay A suburb is a residential place or a district that is situated a round a city, a central business district or a town (Kruse Sugrue, 2006). Also the suburbs can be defined as the communities that live around the cities and town centers with time the urban centers and cities have been experiencing rapid growth and this has led to development of new modern residential places around the cities and towns. The suburbs offer a bigger space for living at a lower cost than it would be in towns. The availability of residential space at a lower cost makes many people opt go live in the suburbs (Newman, 1991). In regard to this the suburbs have been found to accommodate a higher population of the people unlike the neighboring cities and town centers. Suburbs are seen to spread over a large geographical area than any other living environments. A good transport system and infrastructure and the clean environment makes people to avoid living in the city centers so that they can avoid the untidy conditions and the high density (Jahn Frances, 2006). Living in a suburb offers the resident with the freedom and independence as people are able to decide for themselves what rules to govern them and how to live. The people in suburbs are able to even come up with bodies that govern their welfare. These bodies include those that deal with matters concerning the housing among other things (Head and Pat, 2007). Suburbs have become popular because the research shows that most people in a given suburb come from the same ethnic group or same community. This makes people feel more secure as they will always have a common way of life (GarciÃŒ a, 2003). The suburbs developed due to the development of transport system. Good transport system and infrastructure is one of the key factors that leads to development and establishment of the subur bs around the cities and towns. The evolution of transport technology for the ancient time where animal were used an a means of transport up to today where we have better automobiles such as busses ,cars ,ships and even airplanes which offer the people with the fast and convenient way of transport.(Kruse and Sugrue, 2006). Transportation in urban center and cities defined the size of the geographical area where people worked from. The growth of urban centers for the ancient time has directly influenced the development of the suburbs. In New York the establishment of the Levittown after the First World War in 1944 was the first suburbs in United States. The development of the Levittown was due to high number of people and this caused the shortage of houses. Due to high demand of housing facilities Gl bill in 1944 gave people money to start building houses for the soldiers who were returning form the war. It was at this time where a man named William Levitt decided to buy thousands of acres of land outside cities such Philadelphia and New York. He then constructed houses and living areas which were fully fabricated. Later in 1946 the first Levittown community was started in a town known as Hempstead. The firm owned by the Levitt sons funded this town by providing a lot of housing facilities. On top they offered and rented the homes at an affordable and low cost. The homes in this town had a lot of shopping centers, the playground for the families and even swimming pools. This developed to a bigger suburb. Suburbs have led to the sustainability of the towns. The high demand for good housing at an affordable cost has geared the and promoted the establishment of businesses that offer this services most entrepreneur take this chance to invest in housing industries among other ventures. Due to this the construction of better houses and homes has taken place. This leads to overall development in the suburbs. Through this the cities and town are gain the capability to hold the high population of the people around. This is one of the facts that we can say that through the suburbs the cities sustainable in terms of holding the population living there without constrains. The transport and infrastructure have been developed to meet the high demand of the people living in the suburbs. The automobiles have played a very crucial role in the transport system (Newman, 1991). The easiness of the movement of people to the places of work and other places is one of the reasons the suburbs are sustainable. In suburbs also one can easily transport his goods in and out due to better road and transport system. The issue of security also makes the suburbs to be termed as the most sustainable places. This is due to the fact that most suburbs are occupied by the communities of the same ethnic groups and the people living there have a common factor that unites those (Mees, 2010). The good measures taken in maintaining the clean environment in the suburbs makes them more sustainable. Policies that regulate environment have been used .for instance proper mechanisms to regulate the greenhouse gases and maintaining general cleanliness of the suburbs. Another factor that m akes most suburbs more sustainable is the good health systems. The quick access to medical care and heath surfaces is usually available. Good medication ensures that people are prevented from the dangerous diseases. Education of the public for proper health activities and protective measures vacillates this (Bridgman et al., 1995). On the other hand some suburbs can be seen as the limiting factor toward the country achieving sustainability. For instance some suburbs may suffer economic problems due to increased number of unemployed people in the society. This lead to poor living standards due to lack of sufficient funds to sustain the living requirement of the people. The architectural view of space is quite different to other peoples’ perception and understanding about the space. In architecture the great concern when we talk about the space is how the design of a house should be. Considering the environmental factors and social-cultural factors is put in place by most architects in viewing the space of a building. In design space is used in programming that is architects conduct the space survey and planning. This is a very important task in architectural planning (Newman, 1999). The architects also collect data and information from the clients and decides on the proper space allocation standards to be used (Jahn and Frances, 2006). In the house the family space is necessary. These are rooms in a house that are used by the family members this includes the bed rooms and kitchen. During the design the architect must include this space (Newman, 1991). The suburban houses are usually big than those in the city or the central business district s. This house are characterized with a large size which include a garden in them. However it is important to note that space is an important aspect in every design. Space utilization and management need to be observed in order to ensure that there is maximum utilization of space without wastage. Space in homes inside the suburbs is managed in various ways. So many people around the cities reside in suburbs so we find that the suburbs become densely populated. To accommodate the large population the house are designed in apartments therefore saving on space (Head and Pat, 2007). The suburbs also develop gardens cities to ensure that the space is profitably used. The gardens cities offer quality and sustainable places. The new garden cities are the places where one can get facilities that provide good transport low air pollution due to carbon energy, leisure and cultural services and also the green infrastructure and network. All this facilities are available at place near the homes. With time the space of the house in Australia has evolved and changed abundantly. Most houses in the Australian suburbs were consisted of a three bedroom, a bathroom and separate living area. This has transformed so much where you find the modern houses have extra rooms such a kitchen, walk-in wardrobes among others. This is due to the increased sizes of new residential building and houses. The use of space in the houses in Australia has been of great concern. The floor space of a house, is designed in respect to the amount of space available. When a lot of space is available the floor space may include a walking path in the house. However when there is limited space such a design cannot be implemented (Bamford, 2009). The space inside the house can be used for several purposes. In a story building some space can be used for stairs and even the lift to take people from one floor to the other. In broad spectrum, questions about the realism of space in the fields the fields of engineering, physicality and architecture have been raised since time immemorial. Essentially, this happens because the human diversity is basically surrounded by space and matter in all spheres (Brayn, 2004). As a matter of fact, space in architectural terms is a flexible and ubiquitous aspect that creates the flow of architectural activities that include the designs and the real structuring. In housing, space is defined by different phenomena that range from walls, column as well as windows among many other features which conceive space. It is worth noting that space in the built environment language refers to what cannot be seen. In other words, space refers to the neutral and the subjective part of the built environment and is what human beings conceive in the event when spaces are created for specific purposes. For instance, a staircase is a good example of the most used space in the built enviro nment as it is commonly used for moving up and down in storey buildings (Bamford, 2007).Since this research paper focuses on the architectural space, it is worth noting that only thorough use and not design that space becomes architectural space not only in how the space is used but how the structures are designed. In practical terms, space in the built environment is most not given the required concern in most of the architectural designs hence posing the greatest problem of how some pieces of designs in the architectural field are viewed as artistic while others are viewed as social objects (Head and Pat, 2007). The greatest aspect that leads to such an issue with respect to space in the built environment is the connection between people and the realism of the desired architectural space as well as the relations of space themselves. To create reliable spaces in regards to structures in the environment, individuals should focus on majoring on the intuitional aspects of space by focusing on the natural strategies as well as respecting the cultural and environmental factors. Most importantly, human beings tend to divide most of their time into sections as well as dividing space into locations an endeavor that separates activities in similar architectural spheres into physical diversities in the similar environment. The locations created after dividing space in the built environment are what human beings use as a means of spontaneously allocating the necessary space for a particular activity thus easing the daily human life (Brayn, 2004). In architecture, structural designers should work towards designing the most sustainable built environment through allocating each space activity as a means of differentiating space into many pieces thus making the final product fit for human use. In this way, it is therefore significant to acknowledge the importance of space with respect to the benefits that result from architectural and planning space in the housing units, neighborhoods as well as in the suburbs in general. When this is acknowledged the critical role played by architectural space in all built environment dimensions will be cognizable to all. Structural designs in the suburbs are essential in that they create a bio directional dialogue in any design off architecture in recognition of location of the particular space, the desired movements, the utility created as well as the incorporated symbols. This allows for proper planning and design of suburbs within the context of providing the best architectural plans for the benefits of the targeted population (Hayden, 2004). In the case of the Australian suburbs, the general economic, cultural and social significance of the suburb built environment in the space perspective. Irrespective of the radical changes of the suburb life over the last few years, little changes have been realized in the structuring of the space in suburbs by the professionals in the field of planning and architecture. As a matter of fact, the role of the public spaces in the suburbs has been ignored (Ellegood et al., 2002). If these professionals can be briefed of the importance of the inclusion of the most important dimensions of social open spaces in suburbs environment as well as considering spatial architectural characteristics. According to Bently (1993), spaces in suburb gardens acts as a potential center of the entire community life as well as serving a sustainability maintenance role in its own. In addition, the spatial planning for the suburb spaces is a critical aspect as it brings people together by encouraging a social interaction. Therefore, the responsible bodies should be advised to work towards creating more spaces for the as a means to serve the economic, social, cultural and environmental purpose. Creation of more effective policies in the Australian suburb environments can serve as basic foundation for the effective inclusion of the spaces in architectural and planning designs hence serves as a key catalyst in ensuring economic and environmental sustainability (Bentley et al., 1993). The philosophy of the privacy of the Australians life’s can be greatly dealt with through the creation of more public spaces in neighborhoods, gardens and housing structures in the Australian background. To sum up, the efforts in leaving major spaces in the suburb areas has suffered a major blow as a result of the recent changes in road network expansion approaches in planning, changes in housing structuring designs as well as the diversity in housing units development. The major issue is the difference between the architectural designs adopted in the suburbs to those adopted in the high and the medium density areas an aspect that brings in confusion in relation to planning and architectural variance. References Bamford, G.(2007) ‘The Rules of the Game’, Landscape Architecture Australia. Bamford, G.(2009). Spooked by Sprawl. Architecture Australia Bentley, Ian. ‘Community Development Urban Design’. In R. Hayward S. McGlynn (eds.). 1993. Making Better Places: Urban Design, Oxford: Butterworth Architecture. Besley, J. (2002) ‘Home Improvement: Suburban Works-in-Progress.’ Paper presented at Suburbia, National Trust of Australia (NSW) conference, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Observatory Hill, Sydney. Brayn. B. (2004). Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service through Sustainable Architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural. Bridgman, Howard, Robin Warner and John Dodson 1995 Urban Biophysical Environments. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ellegood, A., Howard, R. L., Wigley, M., New Museum of Contemporary Art (New York, N.Y.), Henry Art Gallery. (2002). Out of site: Fictional architectural spaces : New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, 6.27.2002-10.13.2002 : Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, 11.8.2002-2.2.2003. New York: Published by the New Museum of Contemporary Art in association with the Henry Art Gallery. GarciÃŒ a, M. R., International Association for People-Environment Studies. (2003). Culture, environmental action and sustainability. Cambridge, Mass: Hogrefe Huber. Hayden, D.( 2004).Building Suburbia: Green Fields and Urban Growth. 1820-2000. New York: Vintage Books. Head, L. and Pat M. (2007).Backyard: Nature and culture in suburban Australia. Wollongong: University of Wollongong Press Jahn, G., Frances, S. (2006). Contemporary Australian architecture. Sydney: State Library New South Wales Press. Kruse, K. M., Sugrue, T. J. (2006). The new suburban history. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mees, P. (2010). Transport for suburbia: Beyond the automobile age. London: Earthscan. Newman, P. (1991). Sustainable Settlements: Restoring the Commons. Habitat Australia Newman, P.(1999). Sustainability and Australian Cities. Australian Planner . Source document

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

city history :: essays research papers

The Roman Empire had started at Anatolia. Byzantine Empire had lived between 330 and 1453. The Seljuk Empire had started with having most of Anatolia in the early part of 11th century. The Roman Empire, Byzantine and The Seljuk Empire, all of them have a special place in history. Also there are some similarities and differences among them in terms of their political and administrative structures, socio economic organization, daily life and regional hierarchy. A-) Roman Empire consisted of kings, magistrates, and senators. The king had a big power. He could accept, reject, or overrule senatotors’ decions because he was sen as a God of the earth. In Roman cities, councils transformed city states to central government officals. So urban councils’ functions were seperated two parts. These were civil and military authorities because of centralization. Value of political power and situation of city councilmen diminished with the transformation of authority. The consuls were not the only kings in Roma. Also Roman Empire gave importance to army. They had very organised army, military and farmer soldiers. The farmer soldiers were given grain and they made it such as porridge and wheat. Because of centralization urban councils in cities of Roman Empire. Central government had to divided to seperate civil and military authority. The Roman Empire, political organization was higly centralized and administration structure of the The Roman Emp ire had an ecclesiastic property so that the emperor was accepted as the representative of God. The church had a close relationship with the emperor of The Roman Empire because of this belief. Also christianity became state religion in the beginning period of The Roman Empire. For instace, one of the criterias to be citizen of Roman Empire was belonging to the christian church.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Roman Empire had continued with the Byzantine so major of characteristics of both empires were similar. The Byzantine Empire had city-satates as a heritage from The Roman Empire. The main changes between The Roman Empire and The Byzantine Empire were establishment of the political center and tendency to growing cetralization and reletive compactness of Byzantines’ borders that contrasted with the basic pattern of The Roman Empire. In The Byzantine Empire, church had a big importance at the political instution of senate, the court, and bureacracy. Also political organization was very centralized and the major pivotal forces of the centrality was the emperor, thebureacracy, the army and the church in Byzantine.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Night World : Dark Angel Chapter 8

Gillian stood perfectly still and watched David disappear around a corner. (It's not time for the plan yet, kid. Now buck up. A cheery face is worth diamonds.) Gillian tried to put on a cheery face. The strange day continued. In each class, Gillian appealed to the teacher for a new book. In each class, she was bombarded with offers of notes and other help. And through it all Angel whispered in her ear, always suggesting just the right thing to say to each person. He was witty, irreverent, occasionally cutting-and so was Gillian. She had an advantage, she realized. Since nobody had ever noticed her before, it was almost like being a new girl. She could be anything she wanted to be, present herself as anyone, and be believed. (Like Cinderella at the ball. The mystery princess.) Angel's voice was amused but tender. In journalism class, Gillian found herself beside Daryl Novak, a languid girl with sloe eyes and drooping contemptuous lashes. Daryl the Rich Girl, Daryl the World-weary World Traveler. She talked to Gillian as if Gillian knew all about Paris and Rome and California. At lunch, Gillian hesitated as she walked into the cafeteria. Usually she sat with Amy in an obscure corner at the back. But recently Eugene had been sitting with Amy, and up front she could see a group that included Amanda the Cheerleader, Kim the Gymnast, and others from The Clique. David and Tanya were at the edge. (Do I sit with them? Nobody asked me.) (Not with them, my little rutabaga. But near them. Sit at the end of that table just beside them. Don't look at them as you walk by. Look at your lunch. Start eating it.) Gillian had never eaten her lunch alone before-or at least not in a public place. On days Amy was absent, if she couldn't find one of the few other juniors she felt comfortable with, she snuck into the library and ate there. In the old days she would have felt horribly exposed, but now she wasn't really alone; she had Angel cracking jokes in her ear. And she had a new confidence. She could almost see herself eating, calm and indifferent to stares, thoughtful to the point of being dreamy. She tried to make her movements a little languid, like Daryl the Rich Girl's. (And I hope Amy doesn't think I'm snubbing her. I mean, it's not as if she's back there alone. She's got Eugene.) (Yeah. We're gonna have to talk about Amy sometime, kid. But right now you're being paged. Smile and be gracious.) â€Å"Jill! Earth to Jill!† â€Å"Hey, Jill, c'mon over.† They wanted her. She was moving her lunch over to their table, and she wasn't spilling anything and she wasn't falling as she slid in. She was little and graceful, thistledown light in her movements, and they were surging around her to form a warm and friendly bulwark. And she wasn't afraid of them. That was the most wonderful thing of all. These kids who'd seemed to her like stars in some TV show about teenagers, were real people who got crumbs on themselves and made jokes she could understand. Gillian had always wondered what they found so funny when they were laughing together. But now she knew it was just the heady atmosphere, the knowledge that they were special. It made it easy to laugh at everything. She knew David, sitting quietly there with Tanya, could see her laughing. She could hear other voices occasionally, from people on the fringes of her group, people on the outside looking in. Mostly bright chatter and murmurs of admiration. She thought she heard her name mentioned. †¦ And then she focused on the words. â€Å"I heard her mom's a drunk.† They sounded horribly loud and dear to Gillian, standing out against the background noise. She could feel her whole skin tingling with shock and she lost track of the story Kim the Gymnast was telling. (Angel-who said that? Was it about me-my mom?) She didn't dare look behind her. â€Å"-started drinking a few years ago and having these hallucinations-â€Å" This time the voice was so loud that it cut through the banter of Gillian's group. Kim stopped in mid-sentence. Bruce the Athlete's smile faltered. An awkward silence fell. Gillian felt a wave of anger that made her dizzy. (Who said that? I'll kill them-) (Calm down! Calm down. That's not the way to handle it at all.) (But-) (I said, calm down. Look at your lunch. No, at your lunch. Now say-and make your voice absolutely cool-â€Å"I really hate rumors, don't you? I don't know what kind of people start them.†) Gillian breathed twice and obeyed, although her voice wasn't absolutely cool. It had a little tremor. â€Å"I don't know either,† a new voice said. Gillian glanced up to see that David was on his feet, his face hard as he surveyed the table behind her as if looking for the person who'd spoken. â€Å"But I think they're pretty sick and they should get a life.† There was the cold glint in his eyes that had given him his reputation as a tough guy. Gillian felt as if a hand had steadied her. Gratitude rushed through her-and a longing that made her bite down on her lip. â€Å"I hate rumors, too,† J.Z. Oberlin said in her absent voice. J. Z. the Model was the one who looked like a Calvin Klein ad, breathlessly sexy and rather blank, but right now she seemed oddly focused. â€Å"Somebody was putting around the rumor last year that I tried to kill myself. I never did find out who started it.† Her hazy blue-green eyes were narrowed. And then everyone was talking about rumors, and people who spread rumors, and what scum they were. The group was rallying around Gillian. But it was David who stood up for me first, she thought. She had just looked over at him, trying to catch his eye, when she heard the tinkling noise. It was almost musical, but the kind of sound that draws attention immediately in a cafeteria. Somebody had broken a glass. Gillian, along with everyone else, glanced around to see who'd done it. She couldn't see anybody. No one had the right expression of dismay, no one was focused on anything definite. Everybody was looking around in search mode. Then she heard it again, and two people standing near the cafeteria doors looked down and then up. Above the doors, far above, was a semi-circular window in the red brick. As Gillian stared at the window she realized that light was reflecting off it oddly, almost prismatically. There seemed to be crazy rainbows in the glass†¦ And something was sparkling down, falling like a few specks of snow. It hit the ground and tinkled, and the people by the door stared at it on the cafeteria floor. They looked puzzled. Realization flashed on Gillian. She was on her feet, but the only words that she could find were, â€Å"Oh, my God!† â€Å"Get out! It's all going to go! Get out of there!† It was David, waving at the people under the window. He was running toward them, which was stupid, Gillian thought numbly, her heart seeming to stop. Other people were shouting. Cory and Amanda and Bruce-and Tanya. Kim the Gymnast was shrieking. And then the window was going, chunks of it falling almost poetically, raining and crumbling, shining and crashing. It fell and fell and fell. Gillian felt as if she were watching an avalanche in slow motion. At last it was over, and the window was just an arch-shaped hole with jagged teeth clinging to the edges. Glass had flown and bounced and skittered all over the cafeteria, where it lay like hailstones. And people from tables amazingly distant were examining cuts from ricocheting bits. But nobody had been directly underneath, and nobody seemed seriously hurt. (Thanks to David.) Gillian was still numb, but now with relief. (He got them all out of the way in time. Oh, God, he isn't hurt, is he?) (He's fine. And what makes you think he did it all alone? Maybe I had some part. I can do that, you know-put it into people's heads to do things. And they never even know I'm doing it.) Angel's voice sounded almost-well-piqued. (Huh? You did that? Well, that was really nice of you.) Gillian was watching David across the room, watching Tanya examine his arm, nod, shrug, look around. He's not hurt. Thank heaven. Gillian felt so relieved it was almost painful. It was then that it occurred to her to wonder what had happened. That window-before the glass fell it had looked just like the mirror in her bathroom. Evenly shattered from side to side, spidery cracks over every inch of the surface. The bathroom mirror had cracked while Tanya was being catty about Gillian's room. Now Gillian remembered the last thing she'd wanted to ask Angel last night. It had been about how the mirror came to do that. This window †¦ it had started falling a few minutes after someone insulted Gillian's mother. Nobody had heard it actually break, but it couldn't have happened too long ago. The small hairs on the back of Gillian's neck stirred and she felt a fluttering inside. It couldn't be. Angel hadn't even appeared to her yet†¦ But he'd said he was always with her†¦ An angel wouldn't destroy things†¦ But Angel was a different kind of angel. (Ah, excuse me. Hello? Do you want to share some thoughts with me?) (Angel!) For the first time since his soft voice had sounded in her ear, Gillian felt a sense ofover- crowdedness. Of her own lack of privacy. The uneasy fluttering inside her increased. (Angel, I was just-just wondering†¦) And then the silent words burst out. (Angel, you wouldn't-would you? You didn't do those things for my sake- â€Å"break the mirror and that window-?) A pause. And then, in her head, riotous laughter. Genuine laughter. Angel was whooping. Finally, the sounds died to mental hiccups. (Me?) Gillian was embarrassed. (I shouldn't have asked. It was just so weird†¦) (Yeah, wasn't it.) This time Angel sounded grimly amused. (Well, never mind; you're already late for class. The bell rang five minutes ago.) Gillian coasted through her last two classes in a daze. So much had happened today-she felt as if she'd led a full life between waking up and now. But the day wasn't over yet. In her last class, studio art, she once again found herself talking to Daryl the Rich Girl. Daryl was the only one of that crowd that took art or journalism. And in the last minutes before school ended, she regarded Gillian from under drooping eyelashes. â€Å"You know, there are other rumors going around about you. That you and Davey-boy have something going behind Tanya's back. That you meet secretly in the mornings and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Daryl shrugged, pushing back frosted hair with a hand dripping with rings. Gillian felt jolted awake. â€Å"So?† â€Å"So you really should do something about it. Rumors spread fast, and they grow. I know. You want to either deny them, or†-Daryl's lips .quirked in a smile-â€Å"disarm them.† (Oh, yeah? And just how do I do that?) (Shut up and listen to her, kid. This is one smart cookie.) â€Å"If there're parts that are true, it's usually best to admit those in public. That takes some of the punch out. And it's always helpful to track down the person starting the rumors-if you can.† (Tell her you know that. And that you're going to see Tanya after school.) (Tanya? You mean-?) (Just tell her.) Somehow Gillian gathered herself enough to repeat Angel's words. Daryl the Rich Girl looked at her with a new expression of respect. â€Å"You're sharper than I thought. Maybe you didn't need my help after all.† â€Å"No,† Gillian said without Angel's prompting. â€Å"I'm always glad for help. It's-it's a rough world.† â€Å"Isn't it, though?† Daryl said and raised already arched eyebrows. (So it was Tanya who spread that stuff about my mom.) Gillian almost stumbled as she trudged out of art class. She was tired and bewildered. Somehow, she'd have thought Tanya was above that. (She had help. It takes a really efficient system to get a rumor to peak circulation that fast. But she was the instigator. Turn left here.) (Where am I going?) (You're gonna catch her coming out of marketing education. She's alone in there right now. The teacher asked to see her after class, then unexpectedly had to run to the bathroom.) Gillian felt distantly amused. She sensed Angel's hand in these arrangements. And when she poked her head inside the marketing ed room, she saw that Tanya was indeed alone. The tall girl was standing by a cloudy green blackboard. â€Å"Tanya, we need to talk.† Tanya's shoulders stiffened. Then she ran a hand across her already perfect dark hair and turned. She looked more like a future executive than ever, with her face set in cool lines and her exotic gray eyes running over Gillian in appraisal. Without Angel, Gillian would have dried up and withered away under that scrutiny. Tanya said one word. â€Å"Talk.† What followed was more like a play than a conversation for Gillian. She repeated what Angel whispered to her, but she never had any idea what was coming. The only way to survive was to give herself up completely to his direction. â€Å"Look, I know you're upset with me, Tanya. But I'd like to deal with this with a little maturity, okay?† She followed Angel's instructions over to a desk and brushed absent fingers over its imitation-wood top. â€Å"I don't think there's any need for us to act like children.† â€Å"And I don't think I know what you're talking about.† â€Å"Oh, really?† Gillian turned and looked Tanya in the face. â€Å"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about.† (Angel, I feel just like one of those people in a soap opera-) â€Å"Well, you're wrong. And, as a matter of fact, I happen to be busy-â€Å" â€Å"I'm talking about the rumors, Tanya. I'm talking about the stories about my mom. And I'm talking about David.† Tanya stood perfectly still. For a moment she seemed surprised that Gillian was taking such a direct approach. Then her gray eyes hardened with the clear light of battle. â€Å"All right, let's talk about David,† she said in a pleasant voice, moving tigerishly toward Gillian, â€Å"I don't know about any rumors, but I'd like to hear what you and David were doing this morning. Care to tell me?† (Angel, she's actually enjoying this. Look at her! And she's bigger than me.) (Trust me, kid.) â€Å"We weren't doing anything,† Gillian said. She had to tip her chin up to look Tanya in the face. Then she looked aside and shook her head. â€Å"All right. I'll be honest about that. I like David, Tanya. I have ever since he moved in. He's good and he's noble and he's honest and he's sweet. But that doesn't mean I want to take him away from you. In fact, it's just the opposite.† She turned and walked away, looking into the distance. â€Å"I think David deserves the best. And I know he really cares about you. And that's what happened this morning-he told me you guys had made a promise to each other. So you see, you've got no reason to be suspicious.† Tanya's eyes were glittering. â€Å"Don't try to pull that. All this †¦Ã¢â‚¬  She waved a hand to indicate Gillian's dress and hair. â€Å"In one day you turn from Little Miss Invisible to this. And you start prancing around the school like you own it. You can't pretend you're not trying to get him.† â€Å"Tanya, the way I dress has nothing at all to do with David.† Gillian told the lie calmly, facing the chalk-misted blackboard again. â€Å"It's just-something I needed to do. I was-tired of being invisible.† She turned her head slightly, not enough to see Tanya. â€Å"But that's beside the point. The real issue here is what's best for David. And I think you're best for him-as long as you treat him fairly.† â€Å"And what is that supposed to mean?† Tanya was losing her legendary cool. She sounded venomous, almost shrill. â€Å"It means no more fooling around with Bruce Faber.† (Oh, my God, Angel! Bruce Faber? Bruce the Athlete? She's been fooling around with Bruce Faber?) Tanya's voice cracked like a whip. â€Å"What are you talking about? What do you know?† â€Å"I'm talking about those nights at the pool parties last summer in Macon's cabana. While David was up north at his grandma's. I'm talking about what happened in Bruce's car after the Halloween dance.† (In a cabana?) There was a silence. When Tanya spoke again, her voice was a sort of icy explosion. â€Å"How did you find out?† Gillian shrugged. â€Å"People who're good at spreading rumors can be a two-edged sword.† â€Å"I thought so. That brat Kim! Her and her mouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then Tanya's voice changed. It became a voice with claws and Gillian could tell she was moving closer. â€Å"I suppose you're planning to tell David about this?† â€Å"Huh?† For a moment Gillian was too confused to follow Angel's directions. Then she got hold of herself. â€Å"Oh, of course I'm not going to tell David. That's why I'm telling you. I just want you to promise that you're not going to do anything like that anymore. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop telling people things about my mom-â€Å" â€Å"I'll do worse than that!† Suddenly Tanya was standing right behind Gillian. Her voice was a yelling hiss. â€Å"You have no idea what I'll do if you try to mess with me, you snotty little midget. You are going to be so sorry-â€Å" â€Å"No, I think you've done plenty already.† The voice came from the door. Gillian heard it, and in that instant she understood everything.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

The Police Officers Are Portrayed As Racist Profilers

Approaching the ongoing situation in Paris, where police officers are portrayed as racist profilers, rather than people who are just simply trying to make the streets safe is not an easy task. Through his ethnographic work, Didier Fassin is able to portray an ethnographic study in one of the largest precincts in the Paris region. Fasin attempts to prove that police work isn’t simply enforcing the law; rather the police are engaged in the task of enforcing an unequal social order in the name of public security. In general, it seems that Fassin wants to explain how minorities, and low-income communities in the banlieues experience police work after events such as riots, which create civil unrest. Fassin considers ethnography to be, â€Å"about entering and communicating the experience of men and women in a given context: their way of apprehending the world, of considering their place in society and their relations with others, of justifying their beliefs and actions. It is an attempt to†¦ explore another universe, often initially foreign but progressively becoming more familiar†(Fassin, XX). He sticks true to his believes in Enforcing Order, since he conducts his ethnographic research by having first person interactions with both those in the side of the law as well as those that are posed to be criminals. Fassin is able to provide quality accounts of how each of the sides in the story sees themselves, and how they view their relationships with others. By getting different points