Urban Pollution

How to Apply for a Patent for Your Invention

How to Apply for a Patent for Your Invention Inventors who have created a new product or process can apply for a patent by filling out a patent application, paying a fee, and submitting it to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Patents are meant to protect creations that solve a specific technological problem - be it a product or process - by assuring that no one else can produce and sell a product or process similar to the one patented. Because the patent application is a legal document, inventors hoping to complete the forms need to have a certain level of expertise and preciseness when filling out the proper paperwork - the better written the patent, the better the protection the patent will produce. The patent application itself has no fill-in forms available on the most complex parts of the paperwork, and instead, you will be asked to submit  drawings  of your invention and fill out a series of technical specs that make it different and unique from all other inventions that have already been patented. Undertaking a non-provisional utility patent application without a  patent attorney or agent  is very difficult and not recommended for beginners to patent law. Although only  the inventor may apply for a patent, with certain  exceptions, and two or more persons making  an invention  jointly must apply for a patent as joint inventors, all inventors must be listed on the patent applications. Getting Started With Filing Your Patent It is highly recommended that you draft a first copy of the patent application and do a preliminary search for prior art yourself before bringing the paperwork to the patent agent you hire for a final proof. If you must self-patent for financial reasons please read a book such as, Patent It Yourself and understand the risks of self-patenting. Another alternative - which comes with its own set of  drawbacks  - is to file a provisional patent application, which provides one year of protection, allows patent pending status, and does not require writing claims. However, before one year expires you must file a non-provisional patent application for your invention, and during this year, you can promote and sell your product and hopefully raise the money for a non-provisional patent. Many successful experts advocate provisional patents and other alternatives as a better path to follow. Essentials of Non-Provisional Utility Patent Applications All non-provisional  utility  patent applications must include a written document which comprises a specification (description and claims) and an Oath or Declaration; a drawing  in those cases in which a drawing  is necessary; and the filing fee at the time of application, which is the fee when the patent is issued, as well as an  Application Data Sheet. The descriptions and claims are very important to a patent application as they are what the patent examiner will look at to determine if your invention is novel, useful, nonobvious, and correctly reduced to practice as it relates to whether or not the invention is  patentable  in the first place. It takes up to three years for a patent application to be granted, and because applications are often rejected the first time, you may need to amend the claims and appeal. Make sure that you meet all  drawing standards  and follow all patent laws that apply to design patent applications in order to avoid further delay. It will be a lot easier for you to understand how to apply for a design patent if you look over a few issued design patents first - check out  Design Patent D436,119  as an example before proceeding, which includes the front page and three pages of drawing sheets. Optional Preamble and Mandatory Single Claim A preamble (if included) should state the name of the inventor, the title of the design, and a brief description of  the nature  and intended use of the invention that the design is connected to, and all the information contained in the preamble will be printed on the patent if it is granted. Using an Optional Preamble: I, John Doe, have invented a new design for a jewelry cabinet, as set forth in the following specification. The claimed jewelry cabinet is used to store jewelry and could sit on a bureau. You may choose not to write a detailed preamble in your design patent application;  however, you must write one  claim  like  Design Patent D436,119  uses. You will submit all bibliographic information such as the inventors name by using an  application data sheet  or ADS. Using a Single Claim: The ornamental design for eyeglasses, as shown and described. All design patent application may only include a single claim that defines the design which the applicant wishes to patent, and the claim must be written in formal terms, where as shown relates to drawing standards included in the application while as described means that the application includes special descriptions of the design, a proper showing of modified forms of the design, or other descriptive matter. Design Patent Title and Additional Details The title of the design must identify the invention that the design is connected to by its most common name used by the public, but marketing designations (like Coca-Cola instead of soda) are improper as titles and should not be used. A title descriptive of the actual article is recommended. A good title helps the person that is examining your patent know where to or not to search for prior art and helps with the proper classification of the design patent if it is granted; it also helps the understanding of the nature and use of your invention that will  embody the design. Examples of good titles include jewelry cabinet, concealed jewelry cabinet, or panel for a jewelry accessory cabinet, each of which gives specifications to items already known colloquially, which could increase your chances of getting your patent approved. Any cross-references to related  patent applications  should be stated (unless already included in the application data sheet), and you should also include a statement regarding any federally sponsored research or development if any. Figure and Special Descriptions (Optional) The figure descriptions of the drawings included with the application tell what each view represents, and should be noted as FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, etc. These items are meant to instruct the agent reviewing your application to what is being presented in each drawing, which can be demonstrated as such: FIG.1 is a perspective view of eyeglasses showing my new design;FIG.2 is a front elevational view thereof;FIG.3 is a rear elevational view thereof;FIG.4 is a side elevational view, the opposite side being a mirror image thereof;FIG.5 is a top view thereof; and,FIG.6 is a bottom view thereof. Any description of the design in the specification, other than a brief description of the drawing, is generally not necessary since, as a general rule, the drawing is the designs best description. However, while not required, a special description is not prohibited. In addition to the figure descriptions, there are many types of special descriptions that are permissible in the specification, which include: A description of the appearance of portions of the claimed design which are not illustrated in the drawing disclosure; a description  disclaiming portions of the article not shown, that form no part of the claimed design; a statement indicating that any broken line illustration of environmental structure in the drawing is not part of the design sought to be patented; and a description denoting the nature and environmental use of the claimed design, if not included in the preamble.

Teen Pregnancy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Teen Pregnancy - Essay Example ches, however, have resulted to significant differences possibly â€Å"arising from a combination of political, religious and research design factors.† (Bonell, C., 2004) Teenage pregnancy poses a problem to the young couple, their baby and the society. For the couple, they have to deal with not being able to finish high school or going to college. â€Å"Only 40 percent of teen moms who give birth at age 17 or earlier finish high school according to research compiled by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.† (Huus, K., 2010) As for the child, it more often grows up trying to match its peers in terms of necessities and luxuries in life. Society is not spared. The U.S. government spends over at least $9.1 billion for health care, housing assistance, food stamps, child welfare services â€Å"provided for teens and their children, and the lost revenue due to lower taxes paid by teen mothers.† (Huus, K., 2010) Teen pregnancy also serves as a marker of sexual behavior that brings a substantial risk of contracting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. (Allen, et. al., 1997) Although there was a steady decline in teenage pregnancies in the United States, approximately 1 million teenage girls become pregnant each year. (Overview, 2007) Research shows that â€Å"practitioners and researchers have been sorely remiss in discovering proven, replicable, and socially acceptable ways to help American young people avoid unwanted pregnancies.† (Schinke, S., 1998) How can society solve this seemingly neglected problem? â€Å"Within psychology, especially, critical thinking has been championed for all students and professionals.† (Levy, D., 1997) As teen pregnancies are often studied in relation to the psychological behavior of the individual, maybe critical thinking can help society find a way to come up with better programs to guide teenage parents or thwart the rise the occurrences of teenage pregnancies. Analysis and evaluation of teenage pregnancy

The Christian Tradition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Christian Tradition - Essay Example The moral issue regarding homosexuality is clear. Actually gays and lesbians are immoral people and do immoral acts, at least according to the Bible. Homosexuality violates many Christian principles. However, homosexuals should be loved and accepted even though we cannot accept their homosexuality. The issue regarding homosexuality is actually based on whether it is an individual’s choice or not. If it is an individual’s choice, then homosexuality is evil and the homosexual who practices it deserves to be criticized. However, if there is a reason that homosexuality is not an individual’s choice like it is genetic, then it means that homosexuality is not such a bad thing after all because it is beyond human control. According to a study by Allen and Gorski of the University of California in 1992, â€Å"The midsagittal plane of the anterior commissure in homosexual men was 18% larger than in heterosexual women and 34% larger than in homosexual men† (Allen & Gorski). This means that a part of the brains of homosexual men are actually larger than the brains of heterosexual men. A group of Swedish scientists from the Karolinska Institute also had the same findings. According to the researchers, the brains of gay men have the same sizes as the brains of heterosexual women (Park). ... and should help solve the discrimination and hatred that homosexuals experience, especially that homosexual hate groups are usually based at the church. Therefore, the Church must begin the campaign to help homosexuals, and the Church should also remain open-minded at all times. After all, Jesus said, â€Å"Love your neighbor as yourself,† he particularly did not say, â€Å"Love your neighbor s as yourself† except if he is gay (Mt. 22:39, New International Version). Therefore, in following the footsteps of Christ, a Christian should therefore be the first to understand the grieving homosexual, because Christian love is supposed to be universal. However, even though some scientists and experiments say that homosexuality has a genetic basis and that it is not the homosexual’s fault to be homosexual, the Church maintains its opinion against homosexuality. According to the Book of Leviticus in the Bible, which says, â€Å"You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; it is a detestable act† (Lev. 18:22). God is advising a Jewish man here and so God does not agree that it is all right for a man to have sex with another man. The Book of Leviticus is the book of Law of Moses, and therefore it should be obeyed and followed. Homosexuality violates other passages of the Bible. In the Book of Genesis, the men of Sodom want to have sex with the male angels who accompany Lot. They ask him, â€Å"Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them?† (Gen. 19:5). Then, later on, God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. Thus, we assume that God destroys these cities because of their many moral violations including homosexuality. Another violation of homosexuality is against Romans 1:26-27: â€Å"Even

Oil industry in Russia in 2050 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Oil industry in Russia in 2050 - Assignment Example Of vital significance are the factors, which influence international demand and supply of energy. Owing to the fact that approximately 1.4 billion people in different parts of the world do not have electricity, it is very vital that access to modern forms of energy be enhanced to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals of poverty and hunger reduction, as well as the promotion and expansion of health and education. By the year 2050, the Russia will be virtually energy sufficient. The major reason for this is the increased domestic production of oil and shale gas in Russia. The fact that the Russia is among the major players in the international field alongside United States of America and other countries, requires that a national energy outlook report be carried out on the nation. Energy is very significant in different regions of the world since it supports and enhances social development as well as the growth of financial systems in different nations. As a consequence of the universal importance of energy, it is of utmost magnitude that different actors affected by the energy industry, for instance, the consumers of energy, leaders in government, actors in the energy sector, commercial institutes and the civil society, gain a comprehension of the basic actualities which typify the energy sector. This paper aims at describing a national energy outlook report for the Russia in the year 2050. This report will present the long-term projections of the supply and demand of energy in the Russia from the present times to the year 2050. The descriptions and projections made in this paper will focus greatly on the contributions made by the petroleum and gas sectors. The energy resources in the United States, as well as the policies, regulations and ethics, which infl uence the Russian energy sector, will also be examined. An in depth analysis

Unitary And Pluralistic Frames Of Reference Management Essay

Unitary And Pluralistic Frames Of Reference Management Essay Employee relationship is very important issue in the business world. Every manager must maintain a relationship with his employee to achieve the business goal. To maintain firm reputation and increase productivity employer maintain good employee relationship. A manager follows many approach or theory to maintain good relationship among the employees LO1: Understand the context of employee relations against a changing background Explain the unitary and pluralistic frames of reference (P1) Unitary frames Unitary frames which start from the values and assumption said that workplace conflict is not expected behave or relation between the manager and employee. A conflict starts from twos behaved or occurrence which felt effect on the other employee to commit further problem. Pluralistic frames In this frames the organization deviates firm into powerful and different sub-group. Each group has its own lawful loyalty and respect to their object and leader. The two main sub-groups in the Pluralist view are the management and trade unions. subscribing to different values and objectives. In the much organization pluralism represent as more suitable and perfect. This is also better to describe employment relationships. (Abbott, k. 2006) Evaluate how the changes in trade unionism in the 20th century have affected employee relations within the organization (P2) Very first of the 20th century the trade union becomes very powerful.in1901 the court decided that the trade union could be sued for damages if they held a strike this is mainly for the taff vale case. From 1923-1929 Britain face the conservative government. During that time general stick was held by the trade union. During the 1920s old industries like coal mining were declining. So in 1921 employers cut wages. In 1926 they proposed to cut wages and increase working hours. The miners leader A.J. Cooke said Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day. The miners went on strike and appealed to the other unions to help them. The result was a general strike from midnight on 3 May 1926. In that stick some general worker died. For which we observed May Day. Actually after that the trade union comes to form. These changes affected much on the employee relation. In the very first of trade union reform the relationship between the employer and employee was not good. But when the trade union come to the real form the employee relationship developed. (Nationalarchives, 2012) Explain the role of 4 main players in employee relations of an organization (P3) Some key employee play important role in the management of employee relation. Suppose the HR manager. Employee trainee, financial manager, CEO plays some key role in the employee relation. Role of HR manager in employee relation: human resource manager play some key role to manage the employee relation. For example a HR manager designs the job, making the work place planning etc. all of the planning he try to increase the candor, respect, responsibility by which the employee relation develop. Role of employee trainee in employee relation: by provide the proper training employee trainee ensure the proper employee relation. Role of financials manager: financial manager play a good role in controlling the employee relation. By providing proper knowledge about the need of relationship in finance he try to develop the employee relationship. CEO and employee relation: It is considered as a skill-set or a philosophy not as a management function. ECO considers it as a skill competences to achieve high performance. For the above reasons employer are tried to develop the employee relation. (Manaementstudyguide,2012) Why do you think the field of Industrial Relations has been replaced with the name Employee Relations over the years? Give examples to support your answer (M1) I think the term industrial relation replace by the term employee relationship. There are many reason for which the industrial relation replaced by the employee relation. The reasons are For the reforming of trade union and labor union come to form. In the 20th century the employee is consider as the core employee. The value of industrial relation cant maintain the better relationship. In the 20th century the relationship among the employee becomes essential. Industrial relation replaced by the employee relation because RE concept is much helpful to the firm Employee relation is easier to understand for the general employee. LO2: Understand the nature of industrial conflict and its resolution Explain the procedures an organization should follow when dealing with different conflict situations. There are some processes to dealing with the different conflict situation. Among them the causes identification, identify the way of solve and implication of that ways is main. This are describe below Identify the conflict causes: there are many causes for which a conflict arises in the organization some of them are Training management inefficiency Unfair treatment with the employee Poor communication system Risky working environment Unsolved problem of past Leader ship problem Harassment in organization etc Identify the way of solve conflict: this step sometime called managerial action to solve conflict. There are many types of action by which confect can remove from the organization. To solve the conflict negotiation is must be needed. Some ways to solve the conflict are Regularly review the job descriptions Developing the open opinion option Make the working place safety for the employee Listen to the employee problem By taking the employee recommendations Removing the harassment from the organization Creation proper opportunity for the employee Ways to implement the solving procedures: These solving procedures can implement in the organization by the following ways Make an conversation among the HR manager, manager and employee repetitive Take advise from the employee representative and overall employee line keep a record of relevant events: include dates and times, plus a description of what happened keep copies of anything relevant, letters, memos, emails, notes of meetings make a formal complaint Explain the key features of employee relations in a real life conflict situation of an of ford motor Employee relation means the body of concern to maintain the employee-employment relationship. It is very important for satisfactory productivity, employee motivation and business goal .it also necessary to solve and prevent different problem which arise from working place. Ford motor manages the employee relationship based on the Pluralist approach of employee relation (divided firm into many groups an each group has a unique identity) the employee relation depends on some feature those are given below: How the works are organize Acquisition skills and development of employee Compensation and pay processes and structures Security arrangements on employment and staffing Labor management issues By the above feature on employee relationship are maintaining by the ford motor to maintain the employee relation. Evaluate the effectiveness of procedures used in a conflict situation from real life organization Conflict in workplace means the lack of understanding between the employer and employee. For conflict the relationship among the employer and employee and employee to employee can destroy. Conflict in the organization is very harmful for the organization. It reduce employee relationship, decreases the productivity of firm, And create personal conflict. If there are any types of confliction the firm then the efficiency of employee reduce because conflict is one type of mental problem. Conflict create problem to achieve the goals of the organization. So it is very necessary to solve the conflict. In the real life there are many types of solving ways to solve the conflict from the organization. By the following procedure or using the following tool ford motor solve their organizational conflict which arises in the firm by some certain problem. Regularly review the job descriptions Developing the open opinion option Make the working place safety for the employee Listen to the employee problem By taking the employee recommendations Removing the harassment from the organization Creation proper opportunity for the employee Present findings from the reasons for conflict between British Airways Cabin Crew staff and management. How was the conflict solved and through which procedures? (M3). British airways are a famous airways industry in the world. This is one of the leading companies in the air way industry. But recently the3re was a problem between the cabin crew and management. This conflict arises from the facilities of employee issue. The crew said that they cannot get enough facilities like other company of this industry. But some specialist think there are some other problems behind it they this conflict arises from the following aspect Training management inefficiency Unfair treatment with the employee Poor communication system Risky working environment Unsolved problem of past Leader ship problem Harassment in organization etc However the British airline properly solved this conflict soon by appropriate negotiation with the cabin crews. LO3: Understand collective bargaining and negotiation processes Explain the role of negotiation in collective bargaining (P7) Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between the employers and employee union. This negation is based on the term and condition of the work mainly the wages, Workplace safety and working time. Negation plays some important role in the collective bargaining such as negotiation develops a sense of self respect and responsibility between the employer and union negation increase the productivity of the worker by the negation the freedom of employer decrease Effective collective bargaining machinery strengthens the trade unions movement It becomes easier for the management to resolve issues at the bargaining level rather than taking up complaints of individual workers. It is important for settling and preventing industrial disputes. A current conflict situation of any public or private organization in UK and give clear conclusions on the effectiveness of negotiation process between two parties (D1) There is conflict between the acas organization and its worker. For this conflict the employee stick against work. This conflict mainly occurs for some reasons the fist reason is dissatisfaction of employee. Other are Unfair treatment to employee Lack of equal opportunity Poor work opportunity Poor communication Increasing work load etc. But this problem solved soon by the grate roles of effective negotiation. For the negotiation the management listens about the employee dissatisfaction causes. Take the recommendation to solve the problem Then the negotiation manage to a conversation among the manager, hr manager and employee representative. In this conversation the manager take the recommendation of the employee representative to solve the problem. After knowing the causes of conflict the management took the proper stapes to solve the problem and at last they can able to solve it. A balance situation creates in the Acas organization only for the proper negotiation. ( Acas , 2012) Evaluate the impact of negotiation strategy of London Transport Association for conflict with Tube workers in recent times. (P8) There are two types of negotiation positive and negative. Both types of negotiation impact much on the London Transport agency. The success and failure of the London transport agency mainly depend on the impact of the negotiation. Recently there is a conflict between the tube worker and London transport agency. This conflict mainly based on the wages and safety work place. In this situation negotiation play an important rule to solve the problem. But the negotiation plays an important rule here. By the proper negotiation between the workers and management they come to a point where both parties interest maintained. LO4: Understand the concept of employee participation and involvement Evaluate the influence of the EU policies and directives on industrial democracy of workers within the UK (P9) There are many kinds of policies in the European Union to controls the business and organizational internal function. Such as trade policy, recruiting policy, environment maintain policy, human resource management policy, employee training policy, safety and healthy workplace policy and employee relationship maintain policy. All of this policies influence the industrial democracy of workers. Suppose the anti harassment policy make a women move freely in the workplace. They can join any workplace without mental problem like harassment problem. Trade policy is another derivatives of UN which indicate the degree of freedom af an organization. By this policy an organization involve in the international business. Safety and healthy workplace is n important policy of UN by which an industrial freedom and measured. If the workplace is safe for the employee the employee get more democratic right. Taking help from the answer to Question 4.1 produce a report for LCC and recommend how these EU policies can benefit the organization for long term. (D2) A report to LCC Introduction: EU policies influence the industrial democracy of workers. These policies must be beneficial for the firm and country. There are many kinds policies. Suppose the anti harassment policy make a women move freely in the workplace. They can join any workplace without mental problem like harassment problem. About the report: This report is about the policies of EU and its lacking About the EU policies: There are many kinds of policies in the European Union to controls the business and organizational internal function. Such as trade policy, recruiting policy, environment maintain policy, human resource management policy, employee training policy, safety and healthy workplace policy and employee relationship maintain policy Importance: Influence the industrial democracy of workers. Trade policy indicates the degree of freedom of an organization. By this policy an organization involve in the international business. Safety and healthy workplace Lacking: The policies make negative impact of firm. And create hinder on the way of business Recommendation: EU policies must be business oriented These policies must be beneficial for the organization The trade policy of EU must be helpful for the general people of the Europe. The policies must be ensure the safety of the employee It is very needed to create a safety and healthy workplace for the workers. This must be democratic for the employer. Compare 3 methods used to gain employee participation and involvement in the decision making process in organisations There are many process of employee involvement and participation among them delegation, communication, training and incentive, giving authority are more important. Delegation: this in process the supervisor gives responsibility to the subordinate to do any work with proper authority. This methods is more effective than others Giving authority method: Everyone likes power or be a member of authority. Giving power employee involvement can increase. This more effective than other methods Training: by training the employee evolvement can increase. This is a manual process of organization to increase the employee involvement. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/1060120506003.png (emeraldinsight,2012) Assess the impact of human resource management on employee relations (P11). Human resource management is an important part of an organization. It is May called an integral part of employee relation. Without proper human resources management proper employee relation is not possible. Employee relation and organizational behavior both depend on the management of the people of the firm. Human resource management always focuses on the employee and organizational development. Major functions of human source management recruitment, training and development, workplace planning, performance management, quality assurance and job design etc. All of these functions impact much on the employee relation this impact are given below Training, development and employee relation: Employee training and development influence much on the employee relation. To maintain a good relationship among the subordinate is an important topic of employee training. So through the training the relation among the employee increases. Workplace planning and employee relation: employee relationship depends much on the workplace planning. By the work place planning same type of employee are engage in a particular job. So an understanding among them creates soon. Performance management and employee relation: by performance management the relationship among the employee can develop. When a management be aware about the performance then they force the employee to do the work perfectly and for this reason the employee want the support from the subordinate. And thus the relationship may develop. Job design and employee relationship: a job is design for the better performance of the employee. Job design increase the candor, respect, integrity, mutual understands which develop the employee relation. Stone, R. (1995) The impact of any 3 HR practices in improving employee relations in ford motor The impact of HR practice In employee relation of the ford motor are given below job design of ford motor and employee relation: when ford motor design a job for some particular employee the management of ford motor think about the competence of the employee and they also include some procedure through which the relationship among the employee can increase. Employee training of ford motor and employee relation: ford motor always gives the appropriate training to the new employee. They provide train about the work, about the employees responsibility about the organization and how to manage the industrial relation or employee relation. For this reason the relationship among the employee developed soon. Workplace planning of ford motor and employee relation: as ford motor is a word rewound organization it is very careful about the work place planning. Through the workplace planning this company insures the employee relation inside and outside of the organization Conclusion: At last it can be said that employee relationship is very important for the organization. By managing this relation organization can easily achieve its goals. To maintain this relation an organization must understand about the human resource management, employee engagement, employee performance management etc.

Farewell to Manzanar Essay -- essays papers

Farewell to Manzanar Beginning in March of 1942, in the midst of World War II, over 100,000 Japanese-Americans were forcefully removed from their homes and ordered to relocate to several of what the United States has euphemistically labeled â€Å"internment camps.† In Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston describes in frightening detail her family’s experience of confinement for three and a half years during the war. In efforts to cope with the mortification and dehumanization and the boredom they were facing, the Wakatsukis and other Japanese-Americans participated in a wide range of activities. The children, before a structured school system was organized, generally played sports or made trouble; some adults worked for extremely meager wages, while others refused and had hobbies, and others involved themselves in more self-destructive activities. The smaller children that were confined with their families seemed to be generally unaware of the hardships they were facing. Many enjoyed individuality and separation from their parents since they didn’t have to keep as close of an eye on the children. In the book, Jeanne notices that it was almost impossible to continue sitting her entire family at dinnertime, and this unfortunate change occurred in many other families as well. For the first year of their confinement, before there was a semi-structured school system, children did just about everything they could think of to pass the time. As anyone would expect... Farewell to Manzanar Essay -- essays papers Farewell to Manzanar Beginning in March of 1942, in the midst of World War II, over 100,000 Japanese-Americans were forcefully removed from their homes and ordered to relocate to several of what the United States has euphemistically labeled â€Å"internment camps.† In Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston describes in frightening detail her family’s experience of confinement for three and a half years during the war. In efforts to cope with the mortification and dehumanization and the boredom they were facing, the Wakatsukis and other Japanese-Americans participated in a wide range of activities. The children, before a structured school system was organized, generally played sports or made trouble; some adults worked for extremely meager wages, while others refused and had hobbies, and others involved themselves in more self-destructive activities. The smaller children that were confined with their families seemed to be generally unaware of the hardships they were facing. Many enjoyed individuality and separation from their parents since they didn’t have to keep as close of an eye on the children. In the book, Jeanne notices that it was almost impossible to continue sitting her entire family at dinnertime, and this unfortunate change occurred in many other families as well. For the first year of their confinement, before there was a semi-structured school system, children did just about everything they could think of to pass the time. As anyone would expect...