Remembrance of Empire in the Nomenclature of Belfast Streets ::

Remembrance of Empire in the Nomenclature of Belfast Streets I Belfast is Northern Ireland’s principal city and at times its centre of government. Its size and past prosperity can be attribute to its role as a major seaport in the former British Empire. In administrative terms at least the city remains â€Å"British† today. A clear result of its history is the present demographic pattern of the city and the nomenclature that accompanies it. I intend to discuss an aspect of this nomenclature — the names of Belfast streets, which are evocative of an Imperial past. Such titles should be seen in respect of the political implications and literary function of naming. It is safe to assert that a name is a construct and therein has a degree of fictionality. To place this in context one could suggest that the naming of an object is less tangible than say its design, naming is governed by few substantial constraints, design by many; physical, financial and so on. However, it would be incorrect to suggest naming is pure fiction; indeed names can be seen as the bridge between the actual object that exists and our ethereal mental image of said object. In light of this a useful definition of fiction would be to see it as â€Å"groups of signs† often extremely large groups if one considers the average novel. Thus names in their smallest form would be best seen as individual signs. it would then be possible to theorise that up to a certain point the more signs collected in a single group the broader the fictional and communicative possibilities are. Consider then if the collector of a group of signs — in literary terms the author — were to bring certain signs together with a thematic intent based upon, for example, an ideological belief. What would be the effect of street names that could be collocated in the same semantic field? A fine working example is a part of Belfast referred to as â€Å"The Holy Land† this moniker not being a reflection of the devout nature of its residents but an acknowledgement of the area’s street names, prefixes being â€Å"Jerusalem†, â€Å"Palestine†, â€Å"Damascus† and â€Å"Cairo.† Such groupings of street names are certainly noticed, but do they have the power to shape public attitudes? This is doubtful, for example merely renaming the streets of Britain after famous poets would not change its public’s apathy towards the art form single-handedly, it would probably only have an effect in support of say an authoritarian campaign of enf orced poetry appreciation.

Marriage in ancient Rome Essay -- essays research papers

The Roman institution of marriage has been lauded as being the first purely humanistic law of marriage, one that is based on the idea of marriage being a free and freely dissolvable union of two equal partners for life. (Schulz, 1951;103) This is quite a simplistic view, as there were many differing forms of marriage in Rome, from the arranged marriages of the elite to the unions of slaves and soldiers. As we shall see, the Romans' actual expectations of married life and the gains they envisioned they would receive from the experience depended greatly on their age, sex and social status. Unlike our contemporary society, no specific civil ceremony was required for the creation of a marriage; only mutual agreement and the fact that the couple must regard each other as husband and wife accordingly. (Gardner,1986;47) Although not a legal necessity, some weddings, usually the first marriage of elite couples was accompanied by much revelry and song, as featured in one of Catullus' poems. It describes the celebration of the marriage with dancing, singing and the brandishing of torches. Ribald jokes are shouted at the bride and nuts are scattered as she makes her way towards her husband's house. The groom arrives before the bride so that he can personally invite her to come and share his home. Now married, what does the couple expect to gain from the experience? The young bride is most probably in her early teens, as is the girl described in Catullus' poem with the words, "Young boy, release the little girl's small smooth arm". After marriage she will be transformed from a "little girl" into a respected wife. Elsewhere Catullus assures his readers that young daughters are unloved by their parents until they are married. "If, when she is ripe for marriage, she enters into wedlock, she is ever dearer to her husband and less hateful to her parents†¦" (Catullus, Poems 62.57-65) If we are to take this at face value, then marriage for young girls gains them the affection of their parents. A similar sentiment is found in the funeral eulogy from Rome for a woman named Murdia. It speaks of her dealing with her arranged marriage with obedience and propriety and "as a bride to become more beloved because of her merits†¦". (Reading 139, Lefkowitz and Fant, 1982;135) Marriage, for both males and females granted them a larger network of fam... ...her image. He wanders lovesick to her room only to discover she is not there. It is safe to say that one of the gains from marriage for both partners was sexual satisfaction, even if certain men did look outside the marriage bed occasionally. Were the Roman's expectations of marriage likely to be met? The foremost function of marriage, the production of children, was likely to be met by most marriages. Having those children survive and succeed you as heirs or to look after you in old age was another matter. Cornelia bore twelve children of whom only three survived. In an age of high mortality, in which both childbirth and military campaigns were a factor, it could be difficult to establish a lasting partnership, the ideal Roman marriage of one partner for life. It is recorded on the tombstones of the long dead that indeed these marriages did exist, and even if it is but a literary cliche, it is still a testament of their devotion to one another. "Pythion son of Hicesius set up this common memorial to himself and to his wife Epicydilla daughter of Epicydes. He was married at eighteen and she at fifteen, and for fifty years of life together they shared agreement unbroken†¦" Marriage in ancient Rome Essay -- essays research papers The Roman institution of marriage has been lauded as being the first purely humanistic law of marriage, one that is based on the idea of marriage being a free and freely dissolvable union of two equal partners for life. (Schulz, 1951;103) This is quite a simplistic view, as there were many differing forms of marriage in Rome, from the arranged marriages of the elite to the unions of slaves and soldiers. As we shall see, the Romans' actual expectations of married life and the gains they envisioned they would receive from the experience depended greatly on their age, sex and social status. Unlike our contemporary society, no specific civil ceremony was required for the creation of a marriage; only mutual agreement and the fact that the couple must regard each other as husband and wife accordingly. (Gardner,1986;47) Although not a legal necessity, some weddings, usually the first marriage of elite couples was accompanied by much revelry and song, as featured in one of Catullus' poems. It describes the celebration of the marriage with dancing, singing and the brandishing of torches. Ribald jokes are shouted at the bride and nuts are scattered as she makes her way towards her husband's house. The groom arrives before the bride so that he can personally invite her to come and share his home. Now married, what does the couple expect to gain from the experience? The young bride is most probably in her early teens, as is the girl described in Catullus' poem with the words, "Young boy, release the little girl's small smooth arm". After marriage she will be transformed from a "little girl" into a respected wife. Elsewhere Catullus assures his readers that young daughters are unloved by their parents until they are married. "If, when she is ripe for marriage, she enters into wedlock, she is ever dearer to her husband and less hateful to her parents†¦" (Catullus, Poems 62.57-65) If we are to take this at face value, then marriage for young girls gains them the affection of their parents. A similar sentiment is found in the funeral eulogy from Rome for a woman named Murdia. It speaks of her dealing with her arranged marriage with obedience and propriety and "as a bride to become more beloved because of her merits†¦". (Reading 139, Lefkowitz and Fant, 1982;135) Marriage, for both males and females granted them a larger network of fam... ...her image. He wanders lovesick to her room only to discover she is not there. It is safe to say that one of the gains from marriage for both partners was sexual satisfaction, even if certain men did look outside the marriage bed occasionally. Were the Roman's expectations of marriage likely to be met? The foremost function of marriage, the production of children, was likely to be met by most marriages. Having those children survive and succeed you as heirs or to look after you in old age was another matter. Cornelia bore twelve children of whom only three survived. In an age of high mortality, in which both childbirth and military campaigns were a factor, it could be difficult to establish a lasting partnership, the ideal Roman marriage of one partner for life. It is recorded on the tombstones of the long dead that indeed these marriages did exist, and even if it is but a literary cliche, it is still a testament of their devotion to one another. "Pythion son of Hicesius set up this common memorial to himself and to his wife Epicydilla daughter of Epicydes. He was married at eighteen and she at fifteen, and for fifty years of life together they shared agreement unbroken†¦"

Compare the Presentation of War in ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen and ‘for the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon

‘For the Fallen’ and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ are two very different poems indirectly expressing Wilfred Owen and Laurence Binyon’s views on war. The contrast of the poems is mainly down to when they were written as Binyon wrote his poem at the very beginning of the war, meaning the poem has a very propagandist and optimistic outlook on the war. He also wrote it before he visited the front in 1916. However Owen wrote his poem near to the end of the war, in hospital, after fighting on the western front.Many of his close friends had died during the war, which probably influenced a lot of the anger in his poems. It is clear in Owen’s poem that he feels there is absolutely no honour in dying for one’s country. He describes a fellow soldier killed in a gas attack, ‘flound’ring like a man in fire or lime’ followed by, ‘behind the wagon that we flung him in. ’ The second quote gives the impression that this soldie r is just one of many thousands of unnamed individuals who were killed and carted off without any funeral.It gives a message to propagandists and people who think war is glorious, that it is nothing of the sort. Also Owen’s title ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’, means: ‘It is sweet and fitting’. However the poem completely undermines the title saying the opposite and ending with ‘The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. ‘ Owen uses heavy irony in the title and could also be directing this quote at officers who originally led many soldiers to their death. By contrast, Binyon describes the death of the soldiers at war very differently: ‘Death august and royal’.Binyon personifies death and makes it honourable, dignifying the death of the soldiers. Binyon also describes the dead soldiers ‘As the stars are known to the Night,’ which implies that they are always there, even if they are not seen in the day, but remembe red in their family’s dreams every night. Furthermore the title: ‘For the Fallen’ is a euphemism, which like the poem avoids the fact that the soldiers actually died in many gruesome ways during battle. The images that Binyon and Owen create through their language in their poems are very different.Owen’s descriptions are extremely graphic and create very strong images: ‘You could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth corrupted lungs. ’ One can almost see and hear the reality of war through all these descriptions. Owen also manages to create a few quite unnatural and sometimes impossible images: ‘Dim, through misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. ’ The word ‘drowning’ gives us an image of someone drowning in air, which is impossible.By doing this, Owen shows the extreme horror of having to watch someone die in a gas attack. Binyon’s imagery, by contras t, is much more idealised and glorifies the soldiers. There are many references to stars and the heavens: ‘immortal spheres’, ‘As the stars are known to the night’, ‘the heavenly plain’. In the penultimate line the word ‘stars’ is even repeated: ‘As the stars that are starry in the time of our time of darkness’. By comparing the soldiers to stars, Binyon is erasing any negative references to the horrors of war and creating an image of heaven instead.The use of tone in the two poems is very contrasting as while Binyon adopts a very dignified, patriotic and mournful tone, Owen, on the contrary uses quite a pessimistic and sometimes aggressive tone. Owen does this by using spondees at the beginning of lines: ‘Bent Double’, ‘Knock-kneed’, and ‘Gas! Gas! ’ By putting two stressed syllables at the start of lines, Owen is avoiding a gentle iambic rhythm, and instead creating more of a ch aotic effect which is helped by the sudden change to present tense. Owen also uses many words like: ‘sludge’, ‘blood’ and ‘zest’.This sort of vocabulary adds to the poem’s slightly aggressive tone, with the use of quite hard-hitting and monosyllabic words. However, Binyon, on the contrary is much more formal and uses a mixture of latinate and anglo-saxon vocabulary creating both a warm but at the same time, respectful tone. Binyon also plays with word order, using inverted syntax: ‘They mingle not’, and ‘At the going down of the sun’. This gives the poem a greater sense of authority and importance, and even sometimes sounds slightly biblical: ‘Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit’.In ‘For the Fallen’, the form is relatively simple with short four-line verses with the last line always slightly shorter. This could relate to the soldiers lives being cut short but interestingl y, these last lines can also be of significance by themselves, describing the soldiers who died: ‘Fallen in the cause of the free’, ‘They fell with their faces to the foe’, ‘To the end, to the end, they remain. ’ The poem is also made up of antonymic lines, the structure being A, B, C, B. The rhyming 2nd and 4th lines represent the harmony of the poem, while the non-rhyming 1st and 3rd represent the disharmony.There are also antonyms within certain lines: ‘music’ and ‘desolation’, ‘glory’ and ‘tears’. The rhythm of the poem is quite irregular, possibly to emphasise the fact that the subject of the poem is too important to give a ‘rum-ti-tum’ rhythm. Unlike ‘For the Fallen’, which is an elegy, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ is a narrative. The verses are longer in Owen’s poem, the first two stanzas 8 lines, and the last 12 lines. The four extra lines in the last stanza almost come across as a personal message from Owen himself: ‘My friend, you would not tell with such high zest†¦ Also, the last line of the poem, a bit like the ends of Binyon’s verses, is cut short representing the soldier’s lives being cut short: ‘Pro patria mori. ’ Not only this, but the fact that the poem ends with the word ‘mori’-death- again refers to the soldiers’ lives. The poem is also set out like a story as it starts by setting the scene, which is followed by the climax in the 2nd stanza, and then the ending. Owen uses alternate rhyme which knits all the lines together, making them flow.The rhyme scheme also draws attention to the specific rhyming words at the end of each line which, if read alone, describe the events taking place e. g. ‘trudge’, blind’, ‘stumbling’, ‘drowning’, ‘blood’. Owen uses repetition to emphasise certain words: ‘G as! Gas! ’, ‘All went lame; all blind’. The repetition of ‘gas’ creates much more urgency than if it was just written once. Also, the repetition of ‘all’ really makes the reader realise that Owen is trying to not just say it was one or two people who were hurt, but everyone.Owen also uses caesura: ‘Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All†¦ ’ The full-stops in the middle of the lines disrupt the rhythm and maybe draw attention to the fact that the marching is not orderly. Binyon, like Owen, uses some repetition: ‘Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit’, ‘To the end, to the end they remain’. The repetition, in this case, with its lulling rhythm, adds to the overall proud and majestic feel of the poem. Another word that Binyon repeats almost constantly through the poem is ‘they’.This, in contrast to Owen who specifically describes one p erson dying in gory detail, unifies all the soldiers into one. Both ‘For the Fallen’ and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’, in their own ways, describe soldiers who went to war. However, the two poems are opposite to each other in almost every way, as the points above show. Binyon shows us the glory of patriotism and self sacrifice while Owen shows the brutal reality of what it was truly like in the battlefield. These two poems show us how differently war can be described and interpreted.

A research proposal

Children always gesture while explaining what they have to answer, narrate or describe. Almost all the studies, which have been made on children gesture, concluded saying gesture is a vehicle through which children express their knowledge.When children are asked explain a concept they are acquiring, they will always gesture discordant, which means conveying one message in speech and another in gesture. These children are shown to be in a transitional state in the sense that they are particularly receptive to instruction- in fact, more receptive to instructions than the children who convey the same procedure in speech and gesture (1993).Although it is important to be able to describe the learner’s state before and after the task has been mastered, characterizing the process that bridges these two states is the key to understanding learning. Unfortunately, in many studies of learning in both adults and children, performance, procedures, and mental representation are described be fore and after learning.While little attention is paid to the transition between these states (1989). One potential source of information about unverbalized mental processes is the spontaneous gestures that accompany speech.Studies have also shown that child’s gestures can be used to predict child’s performance on a learning task. When a child produces gesture – speech mismatch on a given problem, that child by definition conveys deferent information in gesture and speech.Surprisingly the information child expresses in gesture in such mistakes is typically not ever conveyed in speech during that assessment period, even across a series of test problems(1995). This finding suggested that the child who produces mismatches posses at least some knowledge that he or she cannot verbalize but can only express it in gesture, that is, knowledge that is uniquely expressed in gesture.The studies concluded this assumption saying this concept necessarily rest on the assumptio n that the child’s gestures are an accurate reflection of what the child knows (1998). If the gestures are the accurate expression what the child knows the gestures will have a great deal to do with the source of the knowledge the children have. Studies have not discussed much about the source of knowledge child has really influencing the gestures the child make.Indeed, all of the gesture – speech mismatch studies reported have been based on the assumption that gesture is a vehicle through which children can express meaning. And the fact that these studies have yielded coherent results provides indirect evidence for this assumption (1998).The studies also undoubtedly state that gesture has the potential to offer a unique source of insight into the mind of a child. This proposed study is to seek empirical evidence to make sure that the source of knowledge a child has would always have an influence on the gestures the child make while expressing that knowledge. It is bec ause, one must assume that if gesture is the vehicle through which children can express meaning, gesture is the vehicle through which adults can transport knowledge to the children for comprehension.The speech – gesture mismatch children would make in the expression can be caused from the variations the child observes in the adults expressions. These variations in the adults gestures also cause the difference in the duration of this transition period. Children pay attention to information conveyed in gesture, the y learn from it. Children instructed in mathematics equivalent problems (e.g., 3 + 4 + 5 = _ + 5) are more likely to learn when the instruction includes speech and gesture than it includes only speech (2005).This experience beyond doubt proves that children pay attention to the gestures the see and grasp information from them. Gestures have an indexical function. This indexical function of the gestures is what particularly enabling the children to benefit from the ge stures and comprehend more. There can be deference in this indexical actions in gestures of different people in deferent cultures and different climatically and social conditions. Gesture thus serves the purpose of visual in a learning process.This study here experiment that Conditions under which indexical gestures convey lessons to the children by the adults has anything to do with the speech – gesture mismatch children produce in their expressions.   Participating in an interactive section the enhancement of comprehension is vital. Enhancing the comprehension will mean the duration of above said transition will be reduced. Helping children to be effective communicators.It will definitely be possible when the studies on the obvious reasons for the speech – gesture mismatch are dealt with. In order to make this study work the experiment should include narrations and description of intangible object with gestures.And concrete things and theories also can be framed to experimental questions. All three of this categories in two sets, one with gestures seek comprehension and answers from children of two age groups,   while other seek comprehension and answers from children of two age groups of the same participants, without gestures.

Crossing Borders †Interracial Dating Essay

In the hodge-podge of American culture you are bound to find interracial dating. There are many differences between people. One that is obvious to the naked eye is the difference of race. In the society that we live in it is sometimes difficult for people of different races to be a couple. The Dominant Culture puts out an invisible border that separates people of different races. In an experiment that I did with a white friend named Michelle, we went out as a couple. Me being Indian and her being Caucasian posed some difficulties for some people to understand. We first went to a park and decided that we would just sit on the swings. There was another little Caucasian girl next to us. The next thing I saw really surprised me and Michelle. The mother of that little girl came and quickly grabbed her daughter and brought her to another part of the playground. All along, the mother looked at me and Michelle in a weird way. After that, we went to the shopping mall. Keeping in mind that we are in a predominantly white suburb, we held hands at the stores. People looked at us as if we were from another planet. I guess they could not believe that an Indian guy and a white girl could be going out on a date. We even brought another one of my friends to see the reaction of other people that me and Michelle could not see. Our other friend, Jim, said that many people kept on starring at us. Also that some people were whispering about us after they had passed us up. This really was a surprise to me. This experiment that I did was a real eye-opener because it gave me the evidence that people really were not happy seeing different races dating. Although this is not the opinion of all people, it seemed to be the opinion of a quite a number of people. These people are what keep the invisible border present in society. The real question that I asked myself is why this happened. One conclusion I came to was that since this was a primarily white suburb, people would not be too open to different races just being there. If someone different from them was to come into their society, it would be natural for them to not accept them. Especially in a situation that involved dating, people would be closed minded. Not only would they want themselves having nothing to do with interracial dating, they would want others of their same race not to be involved with interracial dating. The white people in this suburb probably looked down upon Michelle for being with an Indian guy. Furthermore, the events of September 11th did not help this situation either. Ever since that date, Indian people have been clumped into the whole middle-eastern terrorist category. This just gives the people of this suburb a reason to denounce me and our relationship. Much of this anger comes out of stereotypes. Since these people think that most middle-eastern people are bad or somehow connected to terrorism, this creates a stereotype that I am labeled with. Another reason we got such a hard time is that our cultures did not match up. Even though we have similar values, the customs of Caucasians and Indians are obviously different. Many people in the suburbs that we saw probably did not understand my culture, so what they do not understand, they do not like. People still have stereotypes of Indians. They might think that we cannot speak English or that we smell. These stereotypes bring the Indians in a lower regard with the dominant culture. Why is it harder for black and white couple to be accepted by society rather then an Indian and a white couple? This particular question can be answered in many ways. One of the many reasons is that social standards are set in our community that base blacks down the totem pole. Blacks have been discriminated against from the start of slavery and to this day in some rare cases. The dominant culture has looked down upon blacks because of their skin color for many generations. This is cause for the dominant culture to look down upon blacks. When it comes to Indians, some white people perceive Indians as somewhat semi-British. Whites are less prone to be against a relationship with an Indian person. It is more accepted for Indians to date white people because the dominant culture holds Indians in higher regards than blacks. It is because of biased thinking that this notion came into being. After everything, people are still not open to other ideas or beliefs. Even though the dominant culture puts out an invisible border, that border is becoming more visible with stereotypes that are put out there. This invisible border is displayed by their actions when they see interracial couples. They make it more difficult for these couples to be together. Other things like September 11th added to this invisible border in me and Michelle’s case. What this means is that the majority of our society will be closed minded to interracial dating. What it also means is that the racial lines will be erased if these couples get married and have children. The dominant culture wants to keep the races separate. In relating my experience with Michelle in that suburb, I felt like we should not be together as a couple. The reactions I got made me feel like I did something wrong. It is this feeling the invisible border is suppose to bring to me. I realized this only in the end. It is up me to decide who I date. It should be the concern of the two people that are dating and not the society.

“Eating green” by Margaret Lundberg Essay

In Margaret Lundberg’s short story â€Å"Eating green† she has a theory about the planet becoming a healthier place to live if everyone became a vegetarian, which I believe is true. Lundberg talks about her childhood and how right off the bat her mother had her eating healthy food and that pretty much stuck with her through out her whole life. â€Å"We had two vegetables with every meal, ate plain yogurt for breakfast, and excercised with jack LaLanne.† If most families started off like that it would be easier for kids to enjoy eating healthier food now instead of them liking junk food. Most people do not realize that what they eat does effect the planet and how we live on a daily basis and how badly it effects our health. If everyone became a vegetarian the rates of obsesity, diabetes, heart disease and other illness might become lower. The process of getting meat is causing some severe problems on earth such as pollution, global warming, and the dependence on f ossil fuels. â€Å"The energy it takes to raise, package, transport, store and prepare food is not the single largest contributor to global warming.† (Kate Geagan) If all those problems could be solved by switching some of the things we eat, why not do it? It would definitely be hard and a cultural shock to Americans but if it can help our future loved ones I would be with it. The meat that is produced is not how it once use to be. Cows do not live their lives on Pastured lands eating grass anymore they are now fed a diet that is not intended for them; fed corn in a short time as possible to speed up the process of being slaughtered and sold. That doesn’t sound so healthy or appetizing after reading those facts. â€Å"Livestock raised for meat production are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions-more than the cars we drive.† Not only is it Some what unhealthy for us to eat but for the world we live in also. Meat all together is not competely horrible for you it’s the portions we eat. Meat has nutritional value and even the fat in meat are sometimes healthy. The stearic acid found in fat in meat can actually lower blood cholesterol levels. With the pros there’s the cons as well, â€Å"Americans are now eating nearly 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish every year; an increase of 50 pounds per person in the last 50 years† ( Lumdberg) some very high numbers for what the appropriate amount should actually be. Farmers do not want to be looked at as the bad guys in all of this, which they aren’t, everyone has to make a living. A group of New York farmers thought of an idea to work with General Electric to produce  renewable energy from cow manure. That is a pretty good idea to try and atleast get something good out of the slaughtering of the cows to try and help the planet Earth out. If successful the dairy industry would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent in 2020, basically the equivalent of getting 1.25 million passenger cars of the road every year. That is a good idea but it still does not solve all the other major problems that switching your diet could help. In conclusion, I personally feel that it will not hurt to try something new. Like I mentioned earlier it would be extremely difficult to get used to but if it is benefiting you, others and the planet might as well take a chance. Why wait till it is to late to change your habits of wanting a 16 oz steak over a green salad knowing how many pros it would be to choose that salad. If things continue to go as they do, there will be no more places to raise these cows to produce meat because global temperatures are raising, causing serious climate changes In places that are specifically used for farming. Eventually there will not be enough meat to feed everyone leaving everyone to forcefully change their diets, why not do is a choice and not because you have no other options.

The WARN Act and Notice of Termination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The WARN Act and Notice of Termination - Essay Example Ultimately, a criminal indictment was filed by the DOJ. At first, the indictment was sealed, meaning private, and Arthur Andersen continued a vigorous defense. There was some negative publicity and some rather minor business losses; however, the indictment was later unsealed and Arthur Andersen experienced mass client defections and staggering financial losses. At is in this case is a decision by Arthur Andersen to send a notice of termination to 560 employees. In response to these layoffs, many employees joined a class action in Federal District Court in which they alleged that Arthur Andersen violated the WARN Act. The purpose of this Act is to compel certain large employers to provide advance notice to employees, 60 days in this case, when the company plans plant closings or mass layoffs. The plaintiffs, therefore, argued that because the notice provisions of the WARN Act were not complied with, a fact not in dispute, that they were entitled to back pay and other damages. Arthur Andersen conceded the lack of a 60 notice, but argued that they were innocent by virtue of an exception to the WARN Act. More specifically, they argued that they were not required to comply with the notice provisions because they made the decision to lay off employees based on events which were not reasonably foreseeable.