Abstract
The paper discusses family gatherings, identity and how the author's family and childhood affected her writing style. The grandmother, an older and wiser person, was Cofer's primary influence and she is discussed throughout most of the paper. The paper presents comparisons of the grandmother.

From the Paper
"Family gatherings have always been an important factor among families, especially my family. Everyone would enjoy each others company, the men in one room and the women in the other, watching the football game or telling stories. I remember hearing laughter and from the men, groans when their favorite teams weren't performing up to par. I also remember listening to the women in my family tell stories of when they were younger and remenise on the "good 'ole days". The family in "Casa: A Partial Rememberance of Puerto Rican Childhood", by Judith Ortiz Cofer, is much like mine. All of the women sit in a room and discuss life in general. These moments helped develop me into a mature woman and identify myself as they also did for Cofer. I was able to become a more self-aware person and see myself not only through those around me, but especially through my own eyes, just the same as the chats did for Cofer. Because of the gatherings, she was able to develop her love for writing stories and mature as a woman."

Tags:childhood, cofer, cousin, family, grandmother, identity, marriage, puerto, remberance, rico, selfhood, wisdom, woman

Abstract
The paper compares and contrasts Randall's "Ballad of Birmingham" with Cofer's "Quinceanera".

From the Paper
"One of the subjects that is often addressed in poetry is the rite of passage between childhood and adolescence, the literal and figurative period in which the individual comes of age and assumes some of the responsibilities of adulthood. Two poems that deal with this issue, although from different perspectives, are the focus of the present analysis. The first poem is Judith Ortiz Cofer's "Quinceanera" which describes the sixteenth birthday celebration of a Hispanic girl and its meaning both practically and psychologically. The second..."

Tags:Judith Ortiz Cofer, Quinceanera, Dudley Randall, Ballad of Birmingham

Abstract
This paper explores the idea of "Home" as something irretrievable by looking at works by Elie Wiesel, Janice Mirikitani, Lan Samantha Chang, Eric Lui and Judith Ortiz Cofer. The paper shows how in each instance, the past is irretrievable and perhaps better off as irretrievable - though only Mirikitani seems to eagerly embrace discarding what was. The paper shows how it may be foolhardy to live in the past because it gnaws away at the present and future.

From the Paper
"Speaking of his homeland, India, Salman Rushdie once wrote, "if we look back, we must also do so in the knowledge - which gives rise to profound uncertainties - that our physical alienation from India almost inevitably means that we will not be capable of reclaiming precisely the thing that was lost; we will, in short, create fictions....imaginary homelands" (10). In essence, the past is an alien territory and our ancient homelands are world that exist only in the chambers of our mind. Over the next few pages, I will explore the idea of "Home" as something irretrievable by looking at works by Elie Wiesel, Janice Mirikitani, Lan Samantha Chang,..."

Tags:memory, meaning, immigrant

Abstract
This paper will combine three poems that have been analyzed to create a theme amongst the different writers discussed. The poems: "Photograph of my Father in his Twenty Second Year" by Raymond Carter, "My Father in the Navy: A Childhood Memory" by Judith Ortiz Cofer and "My Papa's Waltz" Theodore Roethke, will all be discussed on the grounds that they all have in common, fathers. The poems will be discussed according to the perception of fatherhood through the eyes of the individual poets.

Abstract
The paper addresses the issue of identifying the factors affecting the currency-selection in invoicing the international trade. The paper empirically analyses the change in composition of the foreign exchange reserves across countries on the basis of COFER data and their relation to invoicing currency in foreign trade. The paper also discusses the mechanisms how exchange-rates pass through into prices of goods as they enter a country. Finally, the paper discusses the future role of the Euro currency in trade balance and in foreign assets reserves and the policy implications of this.

Outline:
Currency Selection in International Trade
Trade Invoicing and Exchange-Rate Pass Through
Policy Implications and Conclusions

From the Paper
"The choice of currency for trade invoicing came to depend on many factors especially after most of the world's currencies became freely floating. This leads to not only price uncertainty but also to uncertainties of demand. One of the main findings of the early literature is that traders seek to avoid currency risk by using their own currency. If prices are set before the exchange rate fluctuations are known, and orders are placed after the shock to the exchange rate, then the exporter faces 'demand uncertainty' if the exporter invoices the transaction in his own currency (PCP). If the exporter, on the other hand, prices the goods in local currency (LCP), as the exporter does not know which price he will receive (in his own currency), 'price uncertainty' arises."

Tags:assets, balance, imports, exports, EU, EMU, Euro

Abstract
The paper addresses the issue of identifying the factors affecting the currency selection in invoicing the international trade. The paper empirically analyses the change in composition of the foreign exchange reserves across countries on the basis of the IMF COFER (currency composition of official foreign exchange reserves) data and their relation to invoicing currency in foreign trade. The paper also discusses the mechanisms how exchange rates pass through into prices of goods as they enter a country. Finally, the paper discusses the future role of the Euro currency in trade balance and in foreign assets reserves and the policy implications of this.

From the Paper
"The choice of currency for trade invoicing came to depend on many factors especially after most of the world's currencies became freely floating. This leads to not only price uncertainty but also to uncertainties of demand. One of the main findings of the early literature is that traders seek to avoid currency risk by using their own currency. If prices are set before the exchange rate fluctuations are known, and orders are placed after the shock to the exchange rate, then the exporter faces 'demand uncertainty' if the exporter invoices the transaction in his own currency (PCP). If the exporter, on the other hand, prices the goods in local currency (LCP), as the exporter does not know which price he will receive (in his own currency), 'price uncertainty' arises."

Tags:assets, balance, imports, exports, EU, EMU, Euro