Performance Contract in Kenya as a Strategy for Improvement free essay sample

Performance contract is an agreement between a manager and an employee about the employee’s responsibilities and behaviors during a review period. It can also be defined as an agreement between government and a public agency which establishes general goal for the agency set targets for measuring performance and provide incentives for achieving these targets (Walts, 2003). In Government of Kenya public organization offer low quality service to its citizen despite the competition they opponents which are private sector, for government to make sure this habit of providing low quality service is put to an end, a step should be taken to increase the efficiency of the public enterprise and hence further drain on the country’s treasury resulting from his behaviors. Judges and teachers are refusing to sign performance contract claiming that it will divide there solidarity since it will mean that they are paid according to what they produce/contribute to the organization. We will write a custom essay sample on Performance Contract in Kenya as a Strategy for Improvement or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Teachers and judges claim that performance contract does not conform to there needs hence they cannot sign performance contract since it is a disadvantage to them (Abdulahi, 2008). Performance in public service can be improved by designing performance contract after carefully examining and adapting to the needs of the public sector. When it does not adopt to the particular needs of the public sector most people will not accept to sign the contract, and can be seen in Kenya by most civil servants refusing to sign performance contract (Government of Kenya, 2007). Reasons of driving public sector while providing their service to sign up to some parameter of performance is accountability. Employees in both public and private sector on clearly defined targets, whose achievement ultimately determine their pay packages and bonus payments. According to the government of Kenya example commissioner for higher education (2006/2007), benefit of the contract would be to ensure financial sustainability, enhance and sustain staff commitment and motivation and also ensure excellent service to its citizen. In addition to the provision of the corporation (performance contract) regulation 2004, section 4(2), commission has responded to the contract through various obligations such as setting performance criteria, preparing employees in the commission for the desired change in working styles, attitude and work ethics, signing and negotiating performance contract and by ensuring achievement of performance target. Research show that organization which adopt performance contracting as their policy mostly reach their target and always run at a profit this is because the organizations are desirous of enhancing transparency in the management of organization resources and accountability(Frost,et al. ,2004). People usually resist changes brought about in the work place that is if a change is detected by employees this will strike resistance within the workplace, but with time they will adopt to the new changes, and with this competitive world of ours this it will enhance efficient, effective and ethical delivery of services to the citizens of Kenya.

DNA Testing Essays

Biology 101 / DNA Testing Essays Biology 101 / DNA Testing Paper Biology 101 / DNA Testing Paper If someone could test my DNA and tell me what diseases I would likely to suffer from in 25 years, I would want to know the result because if I would know the result I could prepare for it and find an immediate solution or if possible have cure for it at once and also prepare for the child I would have in the future or abstain for having a child because they might have the probability of inheriting and bearing the disease. After reading the article, I’ve known that my decision is correct and of right choice. Say for example, I have a positive test for sickle cell disease which is an inherited disorder in which RBC’s or the red blood cell are abnormally shaped resulting to serious infections, chronic anemia, painful episodes and damage to the organs, and both my parents have the sickle cell trait this will mean that I will have a 25% chance of having an expressed sickle cell disease in the future. If I have an African American blood this may have also increased the probability for me of contracting Sickle cell anemia [example]. If the test is correct, after some years, symptoms may occur, and these symptoms may includes anemia, aplastic crisis, acute chest syndrome, infection, hand-foot syndrome or dactylitis, infection, splenic sequestration crisis, painful crisis, and/or stroke. Sickle cell anemia has no cure but some treatment can be given to me if my disease has been diagnosed at an early time and these are bone marrow transplant, the use of penicillin, or appropriate immunizations which can prevent serious infections like pneumonia and meningitis. After knowing that I have contracted the disease my family can help me with giving the right caring and remedies. If I would get married or have a child in the future I would prefer first to have a genetic counseling, for me to know if my child would also inherit the disease or not and also to know if my spouse have a recessive trait of sickle cell anemia which may increase the probability of my child having the disease (Pearson, 2007). References Pearson – Prentice Hall. (2007). Biology A Guide to the Natural World 3e. Retrieved December 26 2007, from prenhall.com/krogh3/

The Fall of The Roman Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Fall of The Roman Empire - Essay Example However the major reasons for the Roman Empire could be stated as: antagonist behavior among Emperor and senate, derogatory moral and ethical principles, political corruption, the Empire’s vast expansion, the barbarian nature of Roman military and their heavy spending and natural disasters. One of the major cause o f declines of Roman Empire was the Agnostic style of rule by Roman rulers as they had legal power in military, civil and religious areas of Rome. The decisions of life and death were in hands of Roman rulers. The Roman rulers who were rich and immoral, practiced law in a wrongful manner led to their downfall. As per (Heather 102) â€Å"Roman public life was stripped of its moral fiber with the destruction of Carthage, its major rival, in 146 BC†. Decline in moral and ethical values was a prime reason for the destabilizing of the Roman Empire. The reckless behavior of wealthy upper class Romans had an adverse impact on Roman citizens. The malpractices like promiscuous sexual activates forgery, adultery and arrogance led to their fall gradually. The widespread emergence of brothels, gambling activities and excessive consumption of alcohol led Romans to a failure as rulers. Another main reason for the downfall of Roman Empire was the prevalence of political corruption among soldiers .The political corruption was practiced mainly by the elite soldiers who were Emperor’s body guards. They gained such a power because they could solely decide whether to retain the emperor or overthrew him from the position. The Praetorian guards even held the authority to auction the royal position to the person who bid the highest. According to (Grisham) â€Å"Political corruption was rife in Roman society. Even choosing a new Emperor was difficult and uncertain. The army and Praetorian Guard (the Emperors elite bodyguards) fought over succession†. The speed of expansion of the geographical area of the Roman Empire also resulted in its loss of power. The Roman rulers

Computer Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Computer Security - Essay Example These measures although controversial and undefined currently in their basic emphasis and in all certainty aim to reduce free access, ease of use, timeliness and the completely cost effective advantages that attract such a high level of abuse to the facility. This in itself is a true loss with legitimate users caught in the cross fire and being on the receiving end of all the barriers that are proposed to the easy usage of email and web access. The core problem with spam is that it bears the senders almost no cost to send the spam. The network service providers and the recipients bear the cost. Hence the cost associated with spam weighs down on the receivers in terms of reduced convenience and higher cost resulting from the proposed proof of work that aims to alter the economics of spam, by requiring that the send commit to a per-email cost. There are many reasons why a systemic spam response has not been adopted. This is mainly because the proposed responses lack in suitable aspects and hence cannot be generally adopted as a counter for the issue at hand. This issue being largely the enabling factor that spam is cheap to send. The most original and highly examined model to deter spam is the proof-of-word model. This comprises a set of proposals, in which email senders would be required to pay money, perform a resource-intensive computation, perform a series of memory operations, or post a bond for each message sent. The working assumption of this model was to deter spam by making it uneconomic to send a large number of messages, while enabling legitimate users to send small number of messages. Hence proof of work reverses the cost model of email by charging the sender instead of the user. All these components of the proof of work model seem promising however a uniform POW mechanism will not. Firstly because if it is expensive enough to stop spammers it must be so expensive that it will also stop legitimate users. Infact, the cost to a spammer would have to be a magnitude higher than the cost to a legitimate user because spammers face very different production costs due to spambots. The model does not accommodate these variable magnitudes. Second it is proposed that POW might work if it is combined with anti spam efforts such as reputation systems and per-email spam identification mechanisms. However criticism of this approach is based on the fact that these efforts suffer from penalizing new IP addresses and discarding incorrectly identified email which is a type of effort difficult to balance and will result in either new entrants being not allowed to send email, or each ne IP address will be allowed to send enough email that spam remains profitable. Changes to the current infrastructure are necessary to counter spam. It is suggested in various researches that unsolicited bulk email is such a problem on the internet mainly because the current economic framework and the basic infrastructure for email handling does little to discourage it . It

Social Inequalities Affect Health Health And Social Care Essay

Social Inequalities Affect Health Health And Social Care Essay Social inequalities in health have been widely accepted and documented (Fox, 1989; Davey-Smith et al., 1990; Macintyre, 1997; Marmot et al., 1997), and have been particularly apparent in The Black Report (Townsend and Davidson, 1982) which has revealed wide disparities (health gap) between people at opposite ends of the social strata, that are widely increasing in the UK (Marmot and McDowell, 1986; Macintyre, 1997) and the US (Papas et al, 1993). A burgeoning volume of research identifies social factors at the root of much of these health inequalities, for instance, researchers have found health to be socially patterned (gradient effect), where individuals at high ends of the social class experience better health and live longer, than their counterparts (Acheson 1998; Adler et al., 1998) and this has been consistent, even when controlling for other factors (Lantz et al., 1998).Thus, if one moves up the social strata, the better ones health (Kitagawa Hauser, 1973). Social economic status (SES) has been used to assess ones social position as a reliable method, and many types of approaches have been used to assess SES, including occupation, household income or level of achieved education (Mackenbach and Kunst, 1997). Research has found that Individuals with a low SES have a lower mortality rate (Benzeval, 1995) and experience greater disability and ill health (Dalstra et al., 2005; Huisman et al., 2005; Marmot, Bosma, Hemingway, Brunner, Stansfeld, 1997; Marmot, Rose, Shipley, Hamilton, 1978). Deprived individuals may also have a greater propensity to develop diabetes, develop cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma, infectious diseases and all causes of mortality and even die, as a result of homicide (Adler and Ostrove, 1999; Ecob Smith, 1999; Schalick, Hadden, Pamuk, Navarro, Pappas, 2000; Sterling, Rosenbaum, Weinkam, 1993). Thus, ill-health can therefore restrict prospects of economic attainment (Adler et al, 1994; Marmot et al, 1997). One reason for this could be that people have to put up with poorer living conditions, which could result in them being exposed to hazardous and unhealthy environments i.e. pollution, noise, toxic waste, crowding, ambient noise and poor housing quality, which are linked with poor health and disease (Evans and Kantrovitz, 2002).Whilst individuals of a higher (SES) have a reduced risk of exposure to negative life events (Mcleod and Kessler, 1990) hence, decreasing their vulnerability of suffering chronic or acute illness (Cohen and Williamson, 1991). It is also been found that Children of less affluent families are less likely to succeed at school (Essen and Wedge, 1982), to be employed in more disadvantaged areas, and go through unemployment much earlier in their lives (Ashton et al1987). This can lead smoking, drinking, depression, anxiety, and poor health behaviours (Wilson and Walker, 1993) One other explanation for this inequality is that deprived individuals display more risk taking behaviours, such as; bad diet, smoking and being physically inactive. However, this view is not always supported, and researchers have found little or no relationship (OMalley et al., 1993; Donato et al., 1994). A growing body of research has also acknowledged the relationship between income inequality on individual health (Kawachi, 2002; Wilkinson, 1996), for example, low income has been correlated to show a risk factor for disease and ill-health (Syme, 1998), and according to the relative income hypothesis, people from a low SES are more prone to experience poor health if they feel disadvantaged than others (Marmot et al., 1991; Wilkinson, 1997). They are also more likely to experience depression and stress (Cohen et al., 1997) and this may subsequently hinder or weaken ones power to assess local health-related resources (Deaton, 2003). These  consequences of income inequality can affect individuals significantly, resulting in frustration, stress and disruption, which can subsequently increase the rates of crime, violence and homicide (Wilkinson, 1996). Education also influences health through its relation with higher income (Chevalier et al, 2005) and better living environment, as those with a higher educational attainment are less likely to be unemployed, and more likely to have careers with higher earnings (Ross Wu, 1995). Furthermore, individuals with higher levels of educational attainment have shown to having certain psychological mechanisms, such as social support, economic resources and a strong sense of personal control, which are associated with a higher mortality rate and higher health status. (Kunst Mackenbach, 1994; Elo Preston, 1996). Parents educational attainment is also significant, as this can directly impact the Childs future health via primary socialisation; for example, Blackburn et al (2003) have found that higher levels of maternal education are associated with lower levels of household smoking, and hence, lower levels of tobacco exposure to children. An individuals health outcome can also be affected by the type of occupation, for example, The Black Report (Townsend and Davison, 1982) discovered that unskilled manual workers (social class V) regularly suffered from poorer health than those classified as professionals (Social class I). The Whitehall studies were particularly important in highlighting this association, researchers looked at British civil servants, and discovered higher mortality rates were found to be correlated with lower hierarchal rank (Marmot, 2004), and this social gradient was further refined and supported by Siegrist Marmot (2006). In addition, a strong inverse association was found, between the grade of employment and absenteeism as a result of health status (Stansfield et al, 1995). The type and quality of the job the individual has can also have a fundamental difference to their health, i.e. through occupational hazards and unsafe and physically demanding work environments (Lucas, 1974). It can also impact ones health indirectly through income security, or psychological or social mechanisms. Furthermore, Lower employment grades have showed almost three times greater occurrences of coronary heart disease (CHD) and lung cancer than those individuals in the highest employment grades (Marmot, 1986). Thus, one may conclude that the association between grade and type of work is apparent, and the environment of individuals in lower classs may not always be conducive to good health. An increasing amount of research asserts that health outcomes and health-related behaviour are directly linked with area of residence (Collins, Margo, 2000; Cubbin, Hadden, Winkleby, 2001; Guest, Almgren, Hussey, 1998; Jones and Moon, 1993; MacIntyre, MacIver Sooman, 1993; Pickett and Pearl, 2001; Ren, Amick, Williams, 1999; Shaw et al, 1999).People living in Disadvantaged areas usually experience poorer health (Townsend et al., 1988) and increasingly show higher levels of morbidity and mortality than individuals living in more prosperous areas (Achenson, 1998; Mackenbach, Kunst, Cavelaars, Groenhof, Geurts, 1997; Marmot and McDowell, 1986; Townsend, Whitehead, Davidson, 1992). An example of this was seen in the mortality rates ,in different Scottish postal code areas, which revealed a constant gradient of increased mortality from the most affluent, to the most disadvantaged areas, based on; social class, male unemployment, household overcrowding and access to car (Carstairs and Morris, 1991). The Health Divide (Whitehead,1988), revealed further discrepancies, where a North South health divide in the UK was found, and a higher prevalence of ill health become apparent in the industrialised North (Sidell, 2003). Further health inequalities existing, as a result of area of residence, was seen in Mexico, where a nine year difference in life expectancy was reported between people living in a poor county, and those in a relatively well-off county (Evans et al., 2001). Implications of living in a less affluent area can also impact the mortality risk for those individuals, of even a higher SES (Yen and Kapplan, 1999a). However, those who perceive themselves to live in deprived neighbourhoods are inclined to have more negative health signs i.e. high body mass index. A lower effective efficacy has also been reported amongst low income residents, whereby individuals perceive less cohesion and social control; this may impact the individual mentally i.e. depression (Cohen et al, 2003; Schafer-McDaniel, 2009) and even prohibit physical activity. Another barrier to health and its resultant inequalities is ethnicity/race. Ethnic minority groups have an increased rate of health inequalities, which have social consequences, (higher rates of coronary heart disease and diabetes), for example, research by Keppel, Pearcy and Wagener (2002) showed African-Americans in the United States experienced greater levels of illness (breast/lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and infant mortality rates) than other racial/ethnic minority groups. Morbidity rates have also been found to be higher for Bangladeshi and Pakistani minority groups, although findings did not generalise to Indian adults, who were found to have a similar health status to white adults (Cooper, 2002).These ethnic disparities have also been seen in the US where blacks seem to have worse health outcomes than whites, for instance, black women were more likely to have a child with a lower birth weight than their white counterparts (David and Collins, 1997). Despite these risk factors, discrimination and prejudice faced by ethnic minority groups further increases their chances of illness and death (Williams and Jackson, 2005). For instance, Smaje (1995) and Modood et al., (1997) found that black people in ethnic minority groups suffered greater material disadvantage as a result of discrimination. Less affluent individuals can also be prone to develop mental health problems, as a result of their status. Many studies have looked at the effect of SES, and deprivation in relation to mental health (Thornicroft, 1991; Jarman et al, 1992; Harrison et al, 1995). Evidence has shown the incidence of mental illness, is more pronounced in the lower socio-economic groups, for example, it was found that working class women were more likely to suffer from mental health problems i.e. bipolar disorder than middle-class women (Brown and Harris, 1978); A positive association between deprivation, low SES and schizophrenia was further emphasised in Rogers (1991) who reported low SES women were more likely to develop neurotic diagnoses, and those who suffered from poverty, were more likely to have an increased risk to develop bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, phobias, depression and suffer from drug related problems (Bruce, 1991). Reasons for these social inequalities existing are multifaceted, and a matter for continuing debate, however, The Black Report (Townsend and Davidson, 1982) outlined four explanations, the first being Artefact, This points out that inequalities in health are demonstrated using different measuring systems to assess social class, and so, associations are resulting from artefacts (Davey Smith et al, 1991). However, this account has been largely dismissed as evidence has visibly shown a health disparity across occupational groups. Furthermore, these inequalities have been verified using different forms of measurement to assess social class i.e. educational attainment and occupation. Thus, this explanation does not present a superior argument to the complexities of health inequalities in society, and so cannot be sustained. An alternative method of explaining social inequalities comes from social selection; this suggests healthy individuals move up (social mobilisation) the hierarchy, whilst individuals with poor health escalate downwards-which could be due unemployment, demotion, or disability (Moore and Porter, 1998).However, there is little evidence supports the view of social selection in relation to health inequalities (Whitehead, 1988) for example, Illness does affect social mobility; however, the size of the effect is very little to actually account for overall health differences (Wilkinson, 1997). The cultural behavioural explanation stipulates that health inequalities occur as a result of individual preferences and lifestyles, comprising of drinking, smoking, diet and exercise (Blaxter, 1990) and cultural factors. These health behaviors have been linked to death (i.e. lung cancer, coronary heart disease), and a social gradient has been found (Wardle and Griffith, 2001). Whilst there is a causal effect for mortality and morbidity, with health behaviours (i.e. smoking, diet), this explanation does not comprise of a complete explanation of inequalities, for instance, controlling for the risk factors of smoking, cholesterol and blood pressure (Whitehall studies) did not explain the increase in CHD mortality amongst administrative and other grades, Nevertheless they did account for about 25% of the disparity (Rose Marmot, 1981). This explanation can further be criticised as it tends to classify health behaviours as being synonymous with cultural influences, and fails to acknowledge other variables, it also associates ethnic groups with a pattern of behaviour which may not necessarily signify wide-spread health patterns in cultural groups. Another approach to explain inequalities in health is the materialistic/structural, which has been supported by many researchers (Acheson, 1998; Gordon, Shaw, Dorling Davey Smith 1999; Townsend, Davidson, Whitehead, 1992). This approach states that inequalities are a result of unequal access to material and physical resources (Raphael, 2006). These include housing, working conditions, quality of available food, among others. Thus, research has consistently shown that social health inequalities exist and need to be dealt with. Health psychologists have played an important part in exposing the individual determinants of health related experiences and behaviour. In particular, highlighting the plight of these psychological and social factors. Therefore, acknowledging these health determinants can be significant in potentially reducing or even diminishing these health disparities, as awareness and research are significant to public health intervention. The benefits of such research are also advantageous, as it highlights that an individual is not alone responsible for their own health, but a number of factors come in to play. Moreover, future research can thus investigate these social determinants, in particular, distinguishing between factors that affect health and those that form health inequalities. For instance, education as a social factor impinges on health but it is the lack of access to it and associated illiteracy that lead to inequalities.

Hieroglyphic Symbols Essays -- essays research papers fc

Hieroglyphic Symbols One of the many contributions that the Egyptian Empire gave modern society was the beginning of a complex alphabetic system. This system also set the foundation for the development of many other systems used by us today such as an accurate calendar and the mathematical formulas used by architects and doctors. The Egyptians named this system Hieroglyphic Symbols. Hieroglyphic comes from the Greek â€Å"hiero glyphica† which means â€Å"sacred carving†. Hieroglyphics were the first form of written communication in the Western world. The developments of hieroglyphics happened about three thousand years before Christ. Egyptians referred to Hieroglyphics as â€Å"the words of God†. But how did the Egyptians develop such a system? Well, the Egyptian traders noticed how helpful a written language was while they conducted business in the Land of Sumer and they brought some ideas to their land. The growing government and bureaucracy made it necessary to have some sort of system that could help society to keep track of history and business. It took a lot of time and effort for the Egyptians to develop their own hieroglyphic system. One of the main problems with hieroglyphics was its complexity. The system was so complicated and hard to learn that only royalty, scribes, priests, and government officials were able to understand the system. Hieroglyphic symbols began with pictures. At first the symbols represented only objects, but later they were also used to express ideas and ...

Of Men And Mice †Is loneliness mans greatest enemy? Essay

Loneliness is a state of being alone in sadness, resulting from being forsaken or abandoned. As I understand it, loneliness is when a person has no one to talk to, no one to confide in, nor anyone to keep companionship with. Loneliness also makes a person slip into a desolate state, which they try to conceal under a tough image, and is an emotion even the strongest cannot avoid. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck deals with loneliness by looking for comfort in a friend, but settling for the attentive ear of a stranger. Although they seem at ease and friendly on the surface, a deep sense of loneliness lingers in the hearts of Crooks, George, and Curley’s wife, to which they are desperate to find an escape from to cope with their seclusion from the rest of society. Crooks, a lively, sharp-witted, black stablehand, who takes his name from his crooked back, leads a lonely life. He lives according to the rule that no black man is allowed to enter a white man’s home. Crooks’ loneliness is a result of rejection from everyone else on the ranch. He is forced to live alone in a barn, where he lives his life in isolation because of his colour, which was an issue in those days. When Lennie visits him in the room, Crooks’ reactions reveal the fact that he is lonely. As a black man with a physical handicap, Crooks is forced to live on the border of ranch life. He is not even allowed to enter the white men’s bunkhouse, or join them in a game of cards. His resentment typically comes out through his bitter, sad, and touching vulnerability, as he tells Lennie: †¦A guy needs somebody–to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. †¦I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick. (Steinbeck 72-73) Crooks’ openness of his inner self, and his ability to speak his heart’s desire to a stranger illustrates how lonely he gets, and admits that it results in sickness. Furthermore, as bitter as he is about his exclusion from other men, Crooks is grateful for Lennie’s company, and when Candy enters Crook’s room, it becomes difficult for him to conceal his pleasure with anger. The only relationship he can find is with his books. When Lennie talks about his dream farm, Crooks hesitantly asks Lennie an alternative for  him to escape his loneliness, â€Å"‘†¦If you†¦guys would want a hand to work for nothing–just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand'† (Steinbeck 76). Crooks’ desperation to get out of his lonely spell prompts him to make such a drastic, but shy, suggestion. Crooks becomes so desperate for a relationship that he offers his services to George and Lennie for free, just to escape his loneliness. Crooks is not successful in overcoming his loneliness because Lennie dies in a matter of days, and no white man in his right mind would care to step foot in Crooks’ humble abode. George, a short-tempered but loving and devoted friend, is lost in loneliness. At the beginning of the novel, George reveals his thoughts on loneliness in a story that he narrates about Lennie, himself, on a farm: Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place†¦. With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us. (Steinbeck 13-14) George realizes that loneliness attributes too much of his sufferings. George’s rough attitude to conceal his loneliness and to admit to suffering from profound loneliness is revealed when he reminds Lennie that the life of a ranch-hand is among the loneliest of lives. Migrant workers, like George, rarely have anyone to look to for companionship. To overcome his loneliness, George not only befriends Lennie, but he seems to find companionship with his co-workers as well. He eagerly accepts the invitation to go into town with ‘the boys’, leaving Lennie alone in the barn with the animals. Towards the end of the novel, George feels an even greater sense of loneliness and guilt before he kills Lennie. Instead of being angry and reprimanding him, George, overcome by his forthcoming loneliness, responds to Lennie’s running away to the caves, â€Å"No †¦ I want you to stay here with me† (Steinbeck 104). The wave of nostalgia and loneliness that engulfs George is so overwhelming, that he shoots Lennie instantly. In this way, George is not successful of overcoming his loneliness because he would mourn for the loss of his friend  for a long time, leading him to feel even more guilty and lonely. Curley’s wife, who walks the ranch as a temptress, hides a deep sense of loneliness behind the â€Å"tramp,† â€Å"tart,† and â€Å"bitch† masks that she puts on. For a young lady to wed at an early age, and then be left alone at home, would send one in a deep state of loneliness or depression. She is married to a man that gives her little attention and none of his time. Curley’s wife’s ‘mask’ of a prostitute hides the vulnerability, dissatisfaction, and loneliness in her life. Her first outburst in Crooks’ room tears down a wall of her image: –Sat’iday night. Ever’body out doin’ som’pin’. Ever’body! An’ what am I doin’? Standin’ here talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs–a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep–an’ likin’ it because they ain’t nobody else. (Steinbeck 78). Being the only woman on the ranch, Curley’s wife does not have another person to talk to who could emphasize with her. She has no friends, no future, no respect; she does not even deserve a name! Desperate to satisfy her need for belonging and love, she turns to strangers such as Lennie, Crooks, and Candy. Before her death, Curley’s wife reveals a lot about herself to Lennie, the only person that she feels she can talk to. She hints at her loneliness when she says, â€Å"Seems like they ain’t none of them cares how I gotta live,† (Steinbeck 88). Her aggravation and frustration about being lonely is being released, and she may be free, in a way, because she has finally released most of her innermost feelings and emotions before her death. She is successful in getting a person like Lennie to talk to and confide in, but it works out to her misfortune that she has to be mercilessly killed by his hands. All three of the characters share the despair of wanting to change the way they are and attain a victory over their loneliness. Crook’s loneliness is hidden by his character, but eventually comes to surface while talking to Lennie. George’s loneliness is hidden by his rough attitude, which seems to disappear when narrating the story of the farm to Lennie. Curley’s wife’s loneliness is covered behind the mask of a portrayed prostitute, but the mask falls off during her conversations with strangers, including Lennie. I  think John Steinbeck’s message about loneliness and people’s attempts to overcome loneliness in the novel is to reveal to us the nature of human’s true existence. One cannot escape from being lonely, and the characters’ attempts to overcome their loneliness is to seek the desire and comfort of a friend, but settle for the attentive ear of a stranger. I feel that Steinbeck is not completely successful in delivering his message across because for a full realization, one has to dig deep into the story, as well as place themselves in the shoes of a character to emphasize with, as well as relate to them and perceive their misery.