Tuesday, November 26, 2019

A Successful Tourism Operation Management Tourism Essay Essay Example

A Successful Tourism Operation Management Tourism Essay Essay Example A Successful Tourism Operation Management Tourism Essay Essay A Successful Tourism Operation Management Tourism Essay Essay Traveling to go to in athletics or to watch featuring events is perennial. Equally early as 900 BC the Greeks were going to take portion in and watch the Ancient Greek Games ( Gibson, 1998 ) . Back to recent decennaries, even though there are many factors affect touristry growing, in most people s head, the most part comes from planetary events, particularly mega-sport events that, in peculiar, are considered to imply important benefits for the host state in footings of touristry reachings, both at the same time with the event and as a bequest of it ( Baade A ; Matheson, 2003 ; Baade A ; Matheson, 2004 ; Hagn A ; Maennig, 2009 ; Matheson A ; Baade, 2004 ; Preuss, 2004 ; Preuss, 2007a ; Preuss, 2007b ; Solberg A ; Preuss, 2006 ) . It can be apparent that in 2008 the universe s travel and touristry generated about US $ 5,890 billion of economic activity. With the part of travel A ; touristry to Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) expected to lift from 9.9 % in 2008 to 10.5 % by 2018, the following decennary will see touristry grosss transcending US $ 10,000 billion ( Bangkok, 2012 ) . And sport touristry, which is enormously affected by mega-sport event, is at the bosom of this growing and as the fastest turning sector in the planetary travel and touristry industry, accounted in 2008 for an amazing US $ 600 billion or +10 % of the international touristry market ( Bangkok, 2012 ) . As the hosting a mega-sport event, it make the host metropolis easy gain the market portion by set up a touristry finish image and besides heighten the finish trade name consciousness from hypertrophied market. Furthermore, the relevant touristry subdivision such as concern touristry besides gained immense donee after mega-sport event. Fo r illustration, Barcelona s convention agency concern increased by 129 % in the twelvemonth following the 1992 games, concern visit reachings to Australia increased by 78 % between 1993 and 1997 and by 17 % between 1997 and 2000 ( DCMS, 2006 ) . Therefore, historically, hosting a mega-sport event is viewed by the host metropolis as a stimulator of touristry and economic industries if the event is decently leveraged ( Karadakis, et al. , 2010 ) . In another word, the economic systems of metropoliss, parts and in the instance of pulling mega events such as the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup full states are progressively reliant on uniting event and touristry to leap get down economic and socio-economic alteration For case: the South African travel and touristry sector, of which athletics touristry is a subdivision, was set to lend 8.7 % to the gross domestic merchandise ( GDP ) in 2009 ( WTTC, 2009 ) . One possible ground should be the extent of event touristry, which consists of those tourers who are attracted to a state or part with the specific purpose of devouring event-specific goods ( Fourie A ; Spronk, 2011 ) . The success of hosting events of this nature has arguably assisted South Africa in constructing its touristry substructure and has helped construct its repute as an international tourer finish ( Rogerson A ; Visser, 2004 ) . And the event bequest has led the state s ability to export travel services sustainably, bettering the balance of payments, making occupations and hiking economic growing ( Fourie, 2011 ) . However, a batch of bookmans consider the impact of touristry of mega-events as holding been excessively optimistic ( Matheson, 2002 ; Matheson, 2006 ; Matheson A ; Baade, 2004 ; Preuss A ; Kurscheidt, 2009 ) . In peculiar, Maennig and co-authors ( Allmers A ; Maennig, 2009 ) found that, in connexion with the hosting of the 2006 FIFA World Cup by Germany, the visitant Numberss experienced at the clip appeared small different from normal touristry reachings, despite the 2006 World Cup being widely considered as one of the most successful World Cup events yet ( Fourie A ; Spronk, 2011 ) . And it may besides do tonss of negative impacts to the host such as fiscal disease, environment pollution. Even though mega-sport event merely last less than one month, its impacts on touristry are long-run and assorted. Therefore, the event organisers face the challenges that develop touristry at the pre-event phase, during event phase and post-event phase every bit good, and exploit assorted touristry markets such as athletics touristry, concern touristry in properly scheme through the event host. This research will concentrate three facets: selling scheme, finish service quality and sustainable development. Through selling scheme, the nexus is established between touristry and mega-sport event ; finish service provides choice circuits experience to visitants and sustainability form a standard of all strategic activities. Aim and aims The purpose of this survey is to carry on a strategic analysis of the touristry operation direction of mega-sport events. The stairss to accomplish the purpose are formulated into four aims: To demo an overview of impact of the mega-sport event on touristry. To look into selling scheme for a mega-sport event by analysing motive phase theoretical account that divide tourer market and set uping a nexus between event and touristry through selling mix. To look into finish service quality by analyzing the proficient quality such as adjustment, attractive forces and conveyance ; and functional quality such as voluntary and cab driver. To look into the bequest of mega-sport event by societal, environment and economic system facets and measure their impacts on sustainable development of touristry. Research principle Hosting a mega-sport event provides host metropolis an international market to advance itself with assorted supports such as fund and policy. The success of hosting these events will help host to better touristry substructure and assist construct its repute as an international tourer finish. However, as the purchase power and demands of tourer addition, the organisation still have infinite to develop their scheme to run into the demand and to maximise the gross. Equally good as the post-event period, there are tonss of challenges needed to get the better of such as low utilizing rate of locales while high maintain fee occurs. Harmonizing to Jeffrey ( 2010 ) , the host besides should see the negative impacts of hosting an event. Since an event takes topographic points in a societal and political environment, there ever will be some issues with citizens who are against this event like local citizens. Therefore, it is really of import to look at the long-run effects for the finish after the event takes topographic point. Major events are short-run events with long-run effects for the hosted ( Winter, 2010 ) . In order to minimise these effects, a successful touristry operation direction is necessary in order to develop a sustainable athletics touristry finish. The hosts should develop a finish that meets the demands of the present without compromising the ability of future coevalss to run into their ain demands. Organization of research The thesis is divided into five chapters. Following this debut, the topics of what would be a successful touristry operation direction of a mega-sport event are so reviewed with the penetration and restriction of literature in Chapter 2. Following the literature reappraisal, the factors of host s operation that influential to the touristry will be explored in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 covers the methodological analysis employed in this research subject, and the findings, analysis and rating will be presented in Chapter 4. Finally, the decision and recommendations are drawn in Chapter 5.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Understand Chemistry Unit Conversions

Understand Chemistry Unit Conversions Unit conversions are important in all sciences, although they may seem more critical in chemistry because many calculations use different units. Every measurement you take should reporting with the proper units. While it may take practice to master unit conversions, you only need to know how to multiply, divide, add, and subtract to do them. The math is easy as long as you know which units can be converted from one to another and how to set up conversion factors in an equation. Know the Base Units There are several common base quantities, such as mass, temperature, and volume. You can convert between different units of a base quantity, but may not be able to convert from one type of quantity to another. For example, you can convert grams to moles or kilograms, but you cant convert grams to Kelvin. Grams, moles, and kilograms are all units that describe the amount of matter, while Kelvin describes temperature. There are seven fundamental base units in the SI or metric system, plus there are other units that are considered base units in other systems. A base unit is a single unit. Here are some common ones: Mass kilogram (kg), gram (g), pound (lb) Distance or Length meter (m), centimeter (cm), inch (in), kilometer (km), mile (mi) Time second (s), minute (min), hour (hr), day, year Temperature Kelvin (K), Celsius (C), Fahrenheit (F) Quantity mole (mol) Electric Current ampere (amp) Luminous Intensity candela Understand Derived Units Derived units (sometimes called special units) combine the base units. An example of a derived unit is a unit for area, square meters (m2) or the unit of force, the newton (kg ·m/s2). Also included are volume units. For example, there are liters (l), milliliters (ml), cubic centimeter (cm3). Unit Prefixes In order to convert between units, youll want to know common unit prefixes. These are used primarily in the metric system as a sort of shorthand notation to make numbers easier to express. Here are some useful prefixes to know: Name Symbol Factor giga- G 109 mega- M 106 kilo- k 103 hecto- h 102 deca- da 101 base unit 100 deci- d 10-1 centi- c 10-2 milli- m 10-3 micro- 10-6 nano- n 10-9 pico- p 10-12 femto- f 10-15 As example of how to use the prefixes: 1000 meters 1 kilometer 1 km For very large or very small numbers, its easier to use scientific notation: 1000 103 0.00005 5 x 10-4 Performing Unit Conversions With all of this in mind, youre ready to perform unit conversions. A unit conversion can be thought of as a sort of equation. In math, you may recall if you multiply any number times 1, it is unchanged. Unit conversions work the same way, except 1 is expressed in the form of a conversion factor or ratio. Consider the unit conversion: 1 g 1000 mg This could be written as: 1g / 1000 mg 1 or 1000 mg / 1 g 1 If you multiply a value times either of these fractions, its value will be unchanged. Youll use this to cancel out units to convert them. Heres an example (notice how the grams cancel out in the numerator and denominator): 4.2x10-31g x 1000mg/1g 4.2x10-31 x 1000 mg 4.2x10-28 mg Using Your Calculator You can enter in these values in scientific notation on your calculator using the EE button: 4.2 EE -31 x 1 EE3 which will give you: 4.2 E -18 Heres another example. Convert 48.3 inches into feet. Either you know the conversion factor between inches and feet or you can look it up: 12 inches 1 foot or 12 in 1 ft Now, you set up the conversion so that the inches will cancel out, leaving you with feet in your final answer: 48.3 inches x 1 foot/12 inches 4.03 ft There is inches in both the top (numerator) and bottom (denominator) of the expression, so it cancels out. If you had tried to write: 48.3 inches x 12 inches/1 foot you would have had square inches / foot, which wouldnt have given you the desired units. Always check your conversion factor to make sure the correct term cancels out! You may need to switch the fraction around. Key Points Unit conversions only work if the units are the same type. For example, you cant convert mass into temperature or volume into energy.In chemistry, it would be nice if you only had to convert between metric units, but there are many common units in other systems. For example, you may need to convert a Fahrenheit temperature into Celsius or a pound mass into kilograms.The only math skills you need to do unit conversions are addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Biodiesel an Alternative Source of Fuel Research Paper

Biodiesel an Alternative Source of Fuel - Research Paper Example Due to the emergence of many industries involved in converting â€Å"raw materials into finished goods†, biodiesel proves to be an alternative source of fuel to suit the operations of the existing and emerging industries (Kowalski, 2010). This fuel is also suitable for diesel vehicles. Biodiesel is a kind of energy generated from fats or vegetable oils combined with alcohol (Kowalski, 2010). This fuel is ideal for diesel engines, as it does not require the modifications of the engines for its use. The United States of America generates this fuel by using soybean oil. Many companies prefer to generate this fuel from already used fats and at times use grease. Biodiesel is effective, as one may prefer mixing it with diesel or use it alone. Biodiesel is ideal during its use as it is friendly to the environment and nontoxic. It is a recyclable fuel. Biodiesel tend to burn cleanly with minimal chocking smell and emits an insignificant portion of smoke. This fuel is not a source of p ollution as it emits insufficient amounts of pollutants such as â€Å"carbon (1V) Oxide and hydrocarbons and no sulfur† is contained in this substitute source of fuel (Kowalski, 2010). During its preparation, filtration of the fats or oils extensively is necessary to remove the contaminants and water present. Biodiesel contains high amounts of energy and its accurate tackiness makes it apposite for use in all vehicles and equipment that require diesel. In order to realize energy liberty, Biodiesel is the initiative to take and follow (Kowalski, 2010). Preparing Biodiesel Transesterification is the procedure of coming up with biodiesel. This process involves a chemical reaction thus a catalyst is necessary to augment the speed of reaction. Since the fats and oils are hydrocarbons, filtration is a prerequisite to clean them. After they are clean, alcohol is added to the mixture and a catalyst introduced. Sodium hydroxide is the preferred catalyst to speed up its manufacture. Th e catalyst does not become part of fuel in any way. The resulting product of the chemical reaction is biodiesel fuel (Demirbas, 2008). Biodiesel has become popular as heating oil in many countries with many residents of the United States using this fuel in place of household oil. Letter â€Å"B† comes along with a certain number to mark it. The number represents the percentage of this fuel in a mixture of petroleum and biodiesel. For example, a combination of 30% biodiesel and 70% petroleum is denoted as B30. B20 is the most popular biodiesel globally. Compared to the fossil fuels, biodiesel emits fifty percent less hydrocarbon and minimum amounts of sulfates and oxides (Demirbas, 2008). Over the past twenty years, biodiesel has proved to be a substitute fuel. It offers preventive measures of handling and transporting as its biodegradable. To eliminate low temperature gelling, additives are readily available in the market. The companies announce on a gel additive that blends well with B100 to prevent gelling of temperature without altering the engine components. To maintain the stability of the fuel, recommendations are that blends of biodiesel above B20 to be used not more than six months after its production. Uses of fuel functions optimally above B20 in older vehicles, precautions are necessary due to deposits left by petrol diesel. Biodiesel dissolves the sediments that in turn obstruct the fuel sift. â€Å"Positive Impacts of Biodiesel on the Environment† Biodiesel as an alternative source of fuel offers some positive impacts on the human health as well as the environment. The largest impact made by this fuel on the environment is that it serves to reduce smog.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Philosophy and literature- Antigone by Sophocles Essay

Philosophy and literature- Antigone by Sophocles - Essay Example The king decides to give his predecessor a decent burial and formulates harsh law to punish the Polyneices. Where else it is right to accord traitors the harshest punishment so as to discourage others from trying it, according to Sopholes (441 BC), leaving dead bodies to decay without being buried is not acceptable by the gods. The whole story has evidence of the conflict when choosing between the good and bad. Ismene is also faced with a hard decision to make when confronted by Antigone to lend a hand in burying their brother Polyneices. Unlike Antigone, Ismene decided to stick by the rules of the government, only to latter feel the weight of the cause of action taken by Antigone, which makes her willing to die with her. This conflict begins to manifests immediately after Oedipus, the father of Eteocles and Polyneices leaves the throne and moves out of the kingdom. The two brothers are left behind and they fail to agree on the rightful heir to inherit the throne. Eteocles drives Polyneices out of the kingdom, only to return to challenge the throne with war. The war results to the demise of the two brothers. King Creon takes over the throne and feels that Polyneices acted out of bad faith and portrayed actions of a traitor when he engaged the king in a battle that resulted to both their demise. As a punishment to Polyneices, Creon decides that his dead body will be left to decay and be eaten by vultures while Eteocles was buried with honor. With the love of a brother and the need to do right, Antigone then decides to go against the ruling of the king and decides to bury her brother. The main characters are Antigone and Creon. Antigone is committed to bury her brother regardless of the consequences that are set for anyone who will go against the law. She represents the common man who despite the presence of rules and regulations that are set to govern them, at one point

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Exploratory Data Analysis Essay Example for Free

Exploratory Data Analysis Essay Exploratory Data Analysis Using the dataset Chamorro-Premuzic. sav, exploratory statistical analysis was carried out on the variables in the dataset. Scatter plots were formulated t give a clear visual view of the data for Extroversion and Agreeableness. Descriptive statistics were also formulated for the variables. 2. Decision about the missing data 3. Correlation A correlation analysis was carried out on the data for Extroversion and Agreeableness. 4. Regression.  A regression analysis was carried out on the data for Extroversion and Agreeableness to examines whether or not one can predict if a student wants a lecturer to be extroverted using the student’s extroversion score. The analysis was two-tailed since the answer sought to determine if the student wants a lecturer to be extroverted or not, and hence any deviation from the answer either positively or negatively would lead to rejection of the null hypothesis. (Triola, 2009) 5. Multiple Regression A multiple regression analysis was carried out to determine whether age, gender, and student’s extroversion can predict if a student wants the lecturer to be extroverted. (Lewicki, 2007) Part B. Applying Analytical Strategies to an Area of Research Interest 1. Research area of interest. The research was aimed at examining the relationship between extroversion and Agreeableness by lecturer and students on what to consider for extroversion. a. Pearson Correlation A parametric correlation analysis that seeks to identify any relationship between two variables. b. Spearman’s Correlation This is a correlation analysis that is non-parametric and aimed at identifying any relationship between two variables. c. Partial Correlation vs. Semi-Partial Correlation Partial correlation analysis is an analysis that seeks to identify the degree of a relationship between two variables when controlling factors has been introduced in the analysis. Semi-partial correlation analysis is an analysis that seeks to control the effect of a third variable in multiple regression and then finding the relationship between the remaining two variables. The method however retains the variation caused by the third variable that is removed from the equation. d. Simple Regression e. Multiple Regression f. Logistic Regression Logistic regression is a regression that seeks to identify the probability of occurrence of an event in a logit function. The regression model is used for binomial regression models. References Hill, T. and Lewicki, P. (2007). Stataistics Methods and Applications. London: Croom Helm. Triola F. (2009). Elementary Statistics (11th Edition). New York, ACM.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Compare Nothing’s Changed to Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two :: English Literature

Compare Nothing’s Changed to Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes’, showing how the poets reveal their ideas and feelings about the cultures and traditions that they are writing about. The poem ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes’ has been chosen to be compared to ‘Nothing’s Changed’. The two poets Tatamkhulu Afrika and Lawrence Ferlinghetti reveal their ideas and feelings about the cultures and traditions that they have talked about through the tone, language and the structure of the poem. The reader can notice that both poets reveal that in an angry way. The poem that Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote tells us how the poor people feel about the rich when they see them living and staying in a better place than they are. The poem also tells us the separations between the rich and poor. The poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’ talks about the separation between the whites and the blacks and how the whites usually treat the black people. The tone in ‘Nothing’s Changed’ is very angry and violent, to show the poets attitude to the fact that nothing has changed. His ideas and violent feelings are revealed in his tone. He shows a very bad attitude towards white people. The tone can be seen as that of a resigned way, as if he knows that it almost too much to hope that things can change. The poem ‘Two Scavengers †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ can be seen as a loud angry tone, to protest about the failure of democracy. It can also be seen as a somber, muted tone, to express sadness that a gap remains between rich and poor. Comparison in detail has been done between the two garbage men and the cool couples. The poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’ is written in the present tense. Even though he is talking about a past experience, it’s like it is happening now. This is one of the features that were used in the language to make us read the poem. The poet uses alliteration in all the stanzas except stanza four. In the first stanza he used alliteration when he used the words cuffs, cans and crunch. In the third stanza the poet uses alliteration on ‘g’. He also uses rhythmic echo in ‘hands’, ‘bones’ and ‘lungs’ in the second stanza. Repetition and assonance is also used in the second stanza. Sound pattern has been used in the fifth stanza. All this shows how the poet reveals his ideas and feelings about his culture and tradition. So the language he used helped him a lot to reveal his thoughts and feelings. The poem title ‘Two Scavengers †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ shows us that the poem will be about Compare Nothing’s Changed to Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two :: English Literature Compare Nothing’s Changed to Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes’, showing how the poets reveal their ideas and feelings about the cultures and traditions that they are writing about. The poem ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes’ has been chosen to be compared to ‘Nothing’s Changed’. The two poets Tatamkhulu Afrika and Lawrence Ferlinghetti reveal their ideas and feelings about the cultures and traditions that they have talked about through the tone, language and the structure of the poem. The reader can notice that both poets reveal that in an angry way. The poem that Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote tells us how the poor people feel about the rich when they see them living and staying in a better place than they are. The poem also tells us the separations between the rich and poor. The poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’ talks about the separation between the whites and the blacks and how the whites usually treat the black people. The tone in ‘Nothing’s Changed’ is very angry and violent, to show the poets attitude to the fact that nothing has changed. His ideas and violent feelings are revealed in his tone. He shows a very bad attitude towards white people. The tone can be seen as that of a resigned way, as if he knows that it almost too much to hope that things can change. The poem ‘Two Scavengers †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ can be seen as a loud angry tone, to protest about the failure of democracy. It can also be seen as a somber, muted tone, to express sadness that a gap remains between rich and poor. Comparison in detail has been done between the two garbage men and the cool couples. The poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’ is written in the present tense. Even though he is talking about a past experience, it’s like it is happening now. This is one of the features that were used in the language to make us read the poem. The poet uses alliteration in all the stanzas except stanza four. In the first stanza he used alliteration when he used the words cuffs, cans and crunch. In the third stanza the poet uses alliteration on ‘g’. He also uses rhythmic echo in ‘hands’, ‘bones’ and ‘lungs’ in the second stanza. Repetition and assonance is also used in the second stanza. Sound pattern has been used in the fifth stanza. All this shows how the poet reveals his ideas and feelings about his culture and tradition. So the language he used helped him a lot to reveal his thoughts and feelings. The poem title ‘Two Scavengers †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ shows us that the poem will be about

Monday, November 11, 2019

From Rejection to Acceptance: the Transformation of Maya

From Rejection to Acceptance: The Transformation of Maya Through Childhood Experiences In this novel, the main character, Marguerite Johnson or Maya, experiences many events that put her through a variety of psychological states. From the time that she is abandoned as a child and sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, to giving birth as a sixteen year old woman, Maya experiences a wide variety of events and challenges, each having their own outcome and own effect on her state of mind.Angelou embodies these effects and feelings of displacement and alienation when she says â€Å"If growing up is painful for the southern black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult. † (Angelou 4). Through this reflection, Angelou shows the turmoil that Maya is going through even during her early stages of life, and foreshadows the future struggle that is yet to come. The first event that has a significant effec t on Maya is the discovery that she was willfully given up by her parents.This discovery leads Maya to feel betrayed, and alienated from the rest of her family. This new knowledge leads her to see that not only was she given up by choice, but also the self-doubt that causes her to ask herself what she did wrong to deserve it. â€Å"The gifts opened doors to questions that neither of us wanted to ask. Why did they send us away? and What did we do so wrong? So wrong? † (Angelou 53). This introduction of self-doubt and feelings of alienation are what set up the opportunity for future tragedies and painful events in Maya’s life.One of these tragedies that occur is the molestation and rape of Maya by Mr. Freeman. Because of the fact that Maya is in a place of darkness and confusion in her life because of the new environment that she I thrust into, her need for love and attention gives Mr. Freeman the chance to take advantage of her. Though Maya does not feel completely comf ortable with the situation she likes being held my Mr. Freeman and does not realize what has happened. This need for attention and stability in her life is shown when she says â€Å"Finally he was quiet, and then came the nice part.He held me so softly that I wished he wouldn’t even let me go. I felt at home. From the way he was holding me I knew he’d never let me go or let anything bad ever happen to me. † (Angleou 73). Maya’s world is then once again shaken after Mr. Freeman is found dead shortly after the trial that she testified in. Even though he was her molester and rapist, she still feels responsible for his death, thus proving again that she is developing even deeper issues of self-doubt and alienation. After Maya’s return to Stamps, things are different than they were before she left.Even though she is shortly coaxed out of silence by Mrs. Flowers, she soon begins to feel the same feelings of alienation because of the fact that she is now beginning to personally confront the culture of racism in the south. With her employment under Mrs. Cullinan and the speech of Mr. Dunleavy given during the graduation ceremonies, Maya is shown the true sentiments of racism and prejudice in the south, and finally she is once again uprooted from her home and her life as Momma feels as if best for them to not be exposed to scenes of death and despair that the south will have in store for them.The move to California represents the last time that Maya will have to be uprooted from her home. The main events that contribute to the molding of Maya as a character and her mindset is her experiences with Big Bailey and the homeless children in the empty junkyard. Because of the experience with Dolores, Maya runs away from Big Bailey and spends a month on her own in this society made up of other homeless children, and because of this, Maya is beginning to realize that adults don’t really have any power over her and her life.She is final ly becoming her own person. This new sense of self-worth then gives her the confidence to become the first black streetcar operator in San Francisco. However, she still has some feelings of insecurity about her own body that become evident when she states that â€Å"In front of the mirror I detachedly examined my body. For a sixteen year old my breasts were sadly underdeveloped. They could only be called skin swellings, even by the kindest critic.The line from my rib cage to my knees fell straight without even a ridge to disturb its direction† (Angelou 274). This self-examination began to bring up thoughts of lesbianism and other possibilities, convincing Maya that she needed to have sex in order to determine the truth, however, in the process she becomes pregnant. Though the pregnancy was unintended it gave Maya the human connection that she had been craving her entire life. Throughout this novel Maya yearns for a sense of belonging but is typically only met with some form o f rejection.She is discriminated against, abused, neglected and abandoned. However despite all of this the development of her character leads from the helpless, alienated child in the beginning of the novel, to the proud African-American mother that we see at the end. Though some things that we see are disturbing and heart wrenching, they make Angelou into the the proud successful woman that she is today. Works Cited Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1970. Print.