Comparing Kundera and Khaled

Comparing and Contrasting Works by Kundera and Khaled Hosseini The unbearable lightness of being was published in Paris in 1984 by Czech author Milan Kundera. The novel is a mix of genre-defying mix of historical fiction, love stories, philosophy, and experimentation with narrative technique. Set mostly in Prague in the late 1960s, the novel focuses on the love lives of four Czech intellectuals as they struggle with relationships, sex, politics, and the military occupation of their country.The narrator frequently interrupts the story to analyze his own characters and discuss the fictional plotline in the context of the novel’s central philosophy: the dichotomy between lightness and weight. On the contrary of The Kite Runner, the book was published in New York in 2003 by Afghanistan author Khaled Hosseini. The novel is a work of post- modern literature telling the story of how the author grew up and the relationship he had with one of his servant boys. However the similarity he re is the Kite Runner is also written about a time of war for its country while telling the story of the two boys.The author Kundera is unique narrative by presenting himself in the third person, suggesting that he is a character in the story. But he soon confesses to be the author, not the spectator of the fictional tales. He actually proceeds to comment on the characters his own fictional creations and analyze his own novel for us. What he trying to do which we cannot do in real life is disrupts the linearity of time by telling a non-chronological narrative. He achieves this by repeating the same scenes a second or third time. The novel explores the human struggle to give our lives weight despite its necessary and unbearable lightness.The novel itself is the narrator’s attempt at doing just that for himself. Contrary to Khaled is writing is Classical and he speaks as the author telling a story. He also allows the character themselves to define who they are. He does not disr upt the time of telling a chronological narrative. He allows the characters to feel the actually weight of their lives like real life. There is a quote in Kundera book â€Å"novelistic† to you, and I am willing to agree, but only on condition that you refrain from reading such notions as â€Å"fictive,† â€Å"fabricated,† and â€Å"untrue to life† into the word â€Å"novelistic. Because human lives are composed in precisely such a fashion. † (Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being) both authors are similar in that even though Kundera uses fictional characters and Khaled using real characters. Kundera is saying it is his way of using fictional novel and fictional characters to explore real ideas. Just because my characters are fake, he seems to be saying, doesn’t mean that they aren’t a completely accurate reflection of real life. His novel may be intricately structure and full of artistry but so is life. The novels are different w hen it comes to the plot.Khaled, follows a typical plotline. Khaled uses his characters to serves as the climax as a whole in the story. The events are placed in chronological order. Kundera, on the other hand no typical plotline, the novel features several different, interwoven, plotlines. If you identify a climactic situation for one character in one plotline, it doesn’t necessarily serve as a climax for the plot as a whole. The reason the same events are narrated more than once from different characters’ points of view. You can’t break this story into purely plot-driven stages.The bowler hat was a motif in the musical composition that was Sabina’s life. It return again and again, each time with a different meaning, and all the meanings flowed through the hat like water. â€Å"You can’t step twice into the same river† (Kundera, Milan) Sabina was touched by the sight of the bowler hat in a Zurich hotel and made love almost in tears was that its black presence was not merely a reminder of their love games but also a memento of Sabina’s father and of her grandfather, who lived in a century without airplanes and cars.The bowler hat carries weight primarily because it has recurred. This is exactly why motifs give meaning to an individual’s life because they recur over and over again. This is how we are able to give our lives meaning despite the fact that our life occurs only once. The kite was a motif in Amir’s life. It returns season after season and each time with different meaning. All the meanings flowed like the quote mention above. Amir’s longed for the kite runner contest because it was a chance for him to bond and make his father proud of him. The kite recurs over and over every year.This kite running gave him the chance to make his father finally proud of him when he won the contest that last year before war and things change between him and Hassan. Many years later the kite comes back to help him to reach his nephew. This like Sabina gave his life meaning despite the fact he lives only once. Both books show betrayal from one character to the other. In the Kite Runner Amir betrays Hassan on more than one occasion we see it when he was raped by Assef and the other boys. We see it when he places the money and some gifts under his pillow and tries to convince his father that he stole the items.Tomas betrays Tereza by making all his sexual life to so many women, he makes he and Tereza’s private life public. He violates her privacy. Tereza reads Tomas’s letters. Sabina betrays Tomas when she takes his sock and hides it so he will go home with one sock short. This made Tomas realize Sabina resents his love for Tereza as much as Tereza resents his lust for Sabina. In the book by Khaled there is a quote â€Å"For you a thousand times over† (Hosseini) Hassan used this quote to show his devotion to Amir and that there was nothing he would not do for hi s friend and master, yet unknowingly to him also his brother.His thousand times over was shown when he went after the kite for Amir and it cost him being raped and shamed. At the end of the story you have Amir using the same quote as he and Hassan’s son Sohrab are flying the kite and he noticed a slight nod and smile come across his face. He knew there was no great big change but like spring when it comes it melts the snow one flake at a time; he thought he might have just witnessed the first flake melting.Just like Hassan Tereza would show Tomas â€Å"For you a thousand times over† (Kundera) her devotion and love for him. Even though he cheated on her many times over she stayed with him. She believed he was her soul mate that was why she went to Prague to offer up her life to Tomas. Tomas himself was faithful to Tereza in that he would not let anyone possess a special area which he might call poetic memory and which records everything that charms or touches us, that m akes our lives beautiful.Since meeting Tereza he did not allow a woman to leave the slightest impression on that part of his brain. Hosseini, Khaled. â€Å"The Kite Runner. † Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Penguin Group, 2003. 371. Novel. Kundera, Milan. â€Å"The Unbearable Lightness Of Being. † Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness Of Being. New York: harperCollins, 1984. 88. Novel. Kundera, Milan. â€Å"The Unbearable Lightness Of Being. † Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness Of Being. New York: Harper & Row, 1984. 59. Novel.

The Costs of Extending Sea Defences at Walton-on-the-Naze are too high and the Benefits are too small

Walton is the southeast of England; part of the town is situated on a headland called the ‘Naze'. To get to Walton we will go across the Orwell Bridge and along the A12, then we will travel onto the A113 and then go onto the B1033 and then up to Walton. This whole journey is fifty kilometres approximately. There is map of Walton and the route to it on page 3 Walton has got a colourful background: * The earliest human remains found at Walton are dated back to the Neolithic period of 4,000 to 2,500 BC. This was discovered when a large village settlement was found at the northern end of the Naze. * Romans were the next to inhabit the Naze. * After the Romans nothing much is known about the Naze until around 1527 when John Stone bought a farm about 1km from today's shoreline. * In 1924 the Naze was bought and made into a golf course. * In 1939 the area was taken over by the armed forces, where the first British guided missile system was developed. * The forces left the Naze in 1947 and it become rough grazing * Finally in 1963 the Essex County Council and Tendring District Council as a public open space bought it. There are many different reasons why people want to save the Naze, firstly, to lose the area would be bad financially, as the people who live there bring in money and pay taxes as do the businesses near the area. Secondly, the cliffs at the Naze are of geological significance, it is full of fossilised sharks teeth and wood. Thirdly a lot of migratory birds start and finish their journeys at the Naze. Some of these are often rare, such as Sanderlings, Oyster Catchers and Little Terns. There are also some very unusual plants growing on the Naze. Many of these plants, birds and fossils are threatened with extinction in Britain. The cliffs at Walton are being eroded in mainly two ways, the first is slumping, described in the diagram above. The second is when hydraulic action (when the waves are crashing into the cliff) and abrasion (pebbles rocks etc. thrown at cliff), causes undercutting at the bottom of the cliff. This leaves the base of the cliffs unprotected so the cliffs collapse into the sea. In doing this coursework I am trying to prove or disprove the hypothesis, ‘the costs of extending sea defences at Walton-on-the-Naze are too high and the benefits are too small. Chapter 1 Coastal Defences at Walton At present there are three main ways that are used to protect the beach, groynes, Rip-raps and breakwaters. All three of these stop Longshore Drift (LSD). Longshore Drift on a Beach A Groyne is a wall built a little way out into the sea that traps sand, this stops Longshore Drift, and so sand builds up on one side of the Groyne so the beach gets bigger. However, on the other side of the groyne, no sand builds up, so the beach is still lost. These cost à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000 each, and are sited more than 200 metres apart. So to protect just one kilometre would cost à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50,000. A rip-rap is a group of interlocking boulders, which break up the waves, therefore not allowing the waves to erode the cliffs or letting Longshore Drift take place. These cost à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3,500 a metre. Breakwaters are basically just concrete groynes, they stop Long Shore Drift and also break the waves. A Rip-rap I feel that these methods have been very successful in stopping Longshore Drift, as you can see from the picture below there is a lot of sand. The Beach at Site C The groynes have worked and there is a beach To protect the cliff/promenade different methods have also been used. Rock Armour takes most of the energy of the wave as for it not to crash into the cliff and erode it away. The sea wall is probably the most important method to stop the erosion as it is the most effective, the sea wall reflects waves and withstands waves breaking on it so stopping the promenade being eroded, however it does have to be replaced because over time it to will get eroded away. The Sea Wall at the Promenade This is the most effective technique, but as you can see from the picture it has been beaten by the waves and has started to erode. Site D is generally the unprotected area. There are actually no sea defences to stop the erosion and removal of the beach. Also the groynes at the south of this area have made the problem worse. Even though behind the groyne the beach is protected it means less material heads further down the beach, so beaches further down the coast start to get smaller. This means that the waves concentrate all their energy on the base of the cliffs so they slump. There are very few defences to protect the cliff at site D, only a very old sea wall, an this has started to erode away so it is not really very useful. The methods used haven't been successful because basically there are no methods to stop the erosion. That area is very popular with dog walkers, horse riders and bird watchers. There is a lot of wildlife, a Martello tower, houses, farms and sewage works. So it would not be very good for it not to be there. Chapter 2 At sites A, B and C a vast amount of money has been spent on making sea defences and repairing them, and they have been working very well. At Walton there is a very big beach, nearly all the cliffs are not slumping and even though the defences were expensive, Walton is very economically valuable. If the groynes were never there or had been taken out the resort would have been very different, it would eventually become a ghost town. This is called the negative multiplier effect. This is shown in the diagram labelled ‘The Negative Multiplier Effect'. The Slumping Which Will Hopefully Not Happen Anymore For Walton to be worth saving for economical reasons it has to have lots of sources of income, the most important of these is the beach. The beach is a reason for people to come to the town, and once they use the beach they use the pier, the amusements, the restaurants and the leisure centre, all of these things bring in money and also all of these businesses pay taxes which means the council gets more money, which in turn means the services (health, education, environmental, emergency) get more money so they are better. As the towns services are better then more businesses are attracted to Walton, because of all of these things Walton becomes a thriving tourist town, with lots of money. When the four classes went to Walton we filled in economic and environmental evaluation sheets of the four different sites we visited, for economic 1 was the least valuable and 5 the most, and with environmental 1 was the least environmentally valuable and 5 the most. Then I took an average or 2 classes results. Then using Excel I made graphs of these results, I also made graphs of my own, personal results. These are the graphs entitled Bi-Polar Environmental/Economic Index Scores or My Own Bi-Polar etc. As you can see from the class average graph for the economic value of Walton and my own results, we all thought that Site A, the Pier Area was the most economically valuable. This is because of the pier and all the amusements on it these all bring in money but it was also the leisure centre and all the restaurants that also bring in money. However I thought that Site B was also very economically valuable while the class average showed it was quite valuable but not as valuable as site A. I felt this because in site B there is the beach, and this is probably the biggest money earner, as without the beach all of the other things would not be there (see Negative Multiplier Effect diagram). Also site B has the beach huts that are quite costly to buy so this would bring in money. Both the class graphs and mine show that neither sites C or D are very economically valuable, but these do bring in some money, sites C and D have a cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, a farm, houses and a sewage works, which all pay taxes to the council, so they are not hugely lacking in economic value. This was completely the opposite for the environmental evaluations, sites C and D scored the highest both in the class graph and mine, but I scored sites C and D slightly higher than the average. I thought they should both score highly because they had had a high scenic quality, the habitat for birds and animals was very good, and the location is important for the study of geology and ecosystems. In site D there is a lot of salt-loving vegetation that helps stop the cliffs eroding so if this was taken away they are effectively taking away sea defences. The area is also very popular with bird watchers, dog walkers and horse riders. The ‘Save The Naze' Protection society desperately wants to save the Naze from falling into the sea. On their website they had an article about why the Naze is not being saved. Beaurocracy hinders any real progress to Save the Naze Via the local MP both the Environmental and Heritage departments of the Government has been written to asking for action to save the Naze and the Naze Tower, which is a listed building. The environmental department confirmed its approval for the agreed three hard point scheme to retard erosion but will not finance it saying action needs to come from Tendring District Council. The Heritage department say it is concerned about losing the Tower but cannot do anything because it is down to the environmental department to do something. They also say Tendring District Council should be the organisation taking the initiative. The Chief Executive of Tendring District Council and others have been written to about the major slippages and asking what they intend to do but they still await the results of research expected in spring 2002. There is a real danger then that they will use results to discredit the currently approved scheme and want to spend more time and money investigating and getting approved alternative schemes. From past experience this could well take 5 to 10 years in which time the Tower will be lost together with more acres of the Naze. The Tower At Walton Tower at risk in next few years The cliff edge at the Tower groyne is now within 25m from the cafe. The cliff edge at this point is now estimated to be around 100m back from the end of the existing sea defence constructed in 1977. This means that erosion here is 4m a year and the cafe and the tower near to it, a Grade II listed building, are in serious danger of being lost in the next two or three years unless something is done soon. The decision whether the Naze is worth saving is very difficult. Both sides have very good arguments whether or not to save the Naze. I think that the Naze is defiantly worth saving, just because some sites are not economically valuable, or some are not environmentally valuable, all of the sites are at least one of those. Sites A and B are worth saving for economical reasons and sites C and D are worth saving for environmental reasons. Eventually the whole town will erode away if the sea defences are not put in everywhere. There is still a lot of cliff erosion in the unprotected parts of the Naze, as the articles below on the save the Naze website shows. Cliff footpath goes into the sea Another huge piece of the Naze cliffs has slipped losing a further half acre of public amenity space and causing Tendring District Council to create a new path along the cliff because of the danger to the public. The slippage was at the spot where the centre hard point of the approved coastal defence scheme was to have been erected for which Tendring District Council would not support a submission for lottery funds. This hard point would have saved this from happening. Heavy Winter rain takes its toll. This winter the substantial rainfall has caused a greater than normal slippage of sections of cliff, particularly at the Tower groyne and mid-way between there and the northern end. The normal high and vicious winter tides have done their worst and carried away tons of the Naze Conclusion I have been trying to explore the hypothesis, ‘the costs of extending sea defences at Walton on the Naze are too high and the benefits to small'. I do not agree with the hypothesis, I feel that Walton-on-the-Naze is worth saving. I think that sites A, B and C should definitely be saved, this is because without these sites, Walton would have no source of income, site A has the pier, restaurants, cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, amusements, a leisure centre and a car park. All of these pay a business tax that goes into the towns funds, which in turn, helps fund important services (health, emergency, education and environmental). Site B has the most important source of income of all, the beach, without the beach people would not have a reason to come to Walton, the beach not being there would a have a knock-on effect for the rest of the town, this is shown in my negative multiplier effect diagram, labelled Fig.10. Site C is quite a big money earner for the town; it has a cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, which pays business tax, houses which pay residential tax, a sewage works and a farm. Also it has a Martello tower, which is a grade 2 listed building, there was an article about the tower on the save the Naze website (fig.15-16), it states that if that area is left and the current rate of erosion stays the same the tower will be gone in 3-5 years. I think that site D should be protected, even though it has no real economic value, the environmental value is great, there are some very rare birds which visit, also some very rare plants grow there as well. The area is very popular with dog walkers and horse riders; also once people are drawn to Walton because of the wildlife they may well visit the town and the pier and spend some money, so even though the Naze itself does not earn any money it is a way to attract people to the town. There was a lot of evidence that helped me come to this conclusion, the evaluation sheets we filled in at Walton (Fig 8 & 9) and the graphs I then made of these results (figs 11-14) were especially helpful to me. They helped me understand what other people felt about saving/not saving the Naze. The Save the Naze website was also very important, it showed some of major slippages that have happened recently, and also that Tendring District Council really don't care about Walton. In one of the articles (fig 17) the website tells of how another huge piece of cliff, along with a footpath fell into the sea, and all the council did was erect another footpath alongside the old one, somewhere along the line someone will be walking on a footpath when it collapses and get killed, then everyone will be saying to the council, why wasn't anything done before? They will have no answer. Part of the Cliff That Has Fallen Down The most important evidence that helped me to make my decision was the things I saw when we went to Walton, I saw a building that had fallen onto the beach below, where there were no defences, and then to see the site where the defences have been put and have been working. When we went to Walton it was not a particularly nice day but there were many, many people on the beach and again many people in the town itself. Evaluation I used many methods to test the hypothesis; these were notes, photographs, field sketches, bi polar graphs and evaluation sheets of each site. The notes and photographs I took were very useful, the photographs really showed the extent of the damage that has been done by erosion and slumping, the sea defences that have been put in place and what is going to be destroyed if more sea defences are not put in. The bi-polar graphs and evaluation sheets were also very successful, the class graphs allowed me to see what other people thought about the Naze. There are two other methods I would have liked to use, but were not able to. The first of these is a questionnaire; these could have been handed out to walkers and owners of homes and businesses to see how they felt about their council and the place they live being eroded away, this could of enabled me to see if the people of Walton want their town saved. Another way of doing this would be to interview people connected with Walton, someone from the Save the Naze website, someone from the chamber of commerce, someone from the council and owners of homes and businesses. The only problem with this is that it would not give a fair idea, as it is only 4 peoples opinion and not 10 times that if we sent out questionnaires. In presenting my work, I word-processed my text, added a lot of photographs and used the Internet to find some sources of information from the Save the Naze website. I feel that my work was well presented, as I word-processed everything it looks a lot neater as there are no mistakes and the pages are numbered so to not mix up the pages. One method I would like to have used was Microsoft PowerPoint, so I could show things e.g. How to get to Walton and how slumping happens, in 3.D to help understand what slumping is. One problem we encountered when we visited Walton was the weather, it rained heavily just as we were going to site B, having been to sites C and D already we had done half of the trip but it was cut short as the rain wouldn't stop. I think I was very organised with the way I did my work, but one thing I would have preferred is that if we would have gone to Walton before we had started the written work, because we had already done the introduction the week before we went, so I feel that if we went before I would have been able to get more information in the introduction.

Personal finance Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Marketing and Sales - Essay Example Finally the study will try to focus on different aspects of green technology required to manufacture an environment friendly phone. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Market Segmentation 4 Important Market Segments 5 Mainstream Segment and Niche Segment 6 Different Market Segments for Mobile Devices 7 Feature of Cell Phone for Green Buyer 9 References 11 Market Segmentation Business market can be described as heterogeneous environment. Consumer behavior plays a cordial role to justify the use of various market segmentation techniques. It is pretty much obvious that no product or service creates appeal for all customers. The companies need to understand the requirement of potential customers to design successful segmentation strategy. In simple words segmentation means filtering the target market according to income level, usage pattern, lifestyle, purchase pattern of customers. Price discrimination model of economics suggested that market segmentation increases the profitability r atio for the business (Gill & Crichton, 2011). Conceptual framework of any business strategy depends on understanding, fulfilling or even exceeding the needs of target segment. Centrality of market segmentation strategy depends on establishing equilibrium between product driven segmentation and market driven segmentation. ... Brand Asset Valuator model created by Young & Rubicam can be used as basis for product centric segmentation. (Source- Bavconsulting) Brand Asset Valuator model emphasizes on DEREK model to analyze performance of a particular brand. DEREK stands for D- differentiating factor of the product, E- energy of the brand in terms of meeting future market demand, R- relevance of the product in accordance with customer demand, E- esteem about the brand. Previous success stories for the brand, K- Customer knowledge about the product. Important Market Segments International Data Corporation (IDC) has divided consumer market of mobile in six segments in terms of usage pattern. 1- Tech Evangelists (Customers prefer to purchase new product integrated with state of art technology), 2- Impulse Buyers- (Customers who purchase the product in accordance with demand of situation), 3- Experimental Adopter- (Customer who like to purchase new product after series of experimental usage), 4- Pragmatic Purchase rs- (Customers who are very much rational in terms of purchase decision and they purchase the product after cost benefit analysis), 5- Green Buyers- (Customers who prefer product offered in an eco-friendly way and they try to create a social message of decreasing environment pollution by purchase), 6- Disengaged Functionalists- (Price sensitive consumers who prefer to purchase product satisfying their fundamental needs) (Deans, 2012). Market segmentation for the mobile device can be done in accordance with purchase and usage potentiality of customers. There is range of potential customers: young vs. old, affluent vs. modest income, heavy users vs. light users, technology lover’s vs. technophobes, etc who can be targeted by the mobile manufacturing

Sphingomyelinase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sphingomyelinase - Essay Example These enzymes have been categorized into six different classes namely Mg+ dependant neutral SMase, Mg+ independent neutral SMase, acid SMase, secretory SMase, and alkaline SMase and bacterial SMase (Goni and Alonso 38). This paper mainly discusses the mode of action and medical importance of neutral SMase. Two neutral SMase have been determined in mammals. Mg+ dependant nSMase 1 is concentrated in kidneys while Mg+ independent nSMase 2 is mostly present in golgi bodies of brain (Mizutani et al. 3727). In mammals, nSMase acts as an integral membrane protein whereas in bacteria they are soluble proteins. They play an important role in the human body by catalyzing the production of ceramide and regulate a number of metabolic events such as cellular differentiation, arrest of cell cycle and apoptosis (Mizutani et al. 3727; Gallardo et al. 1305). The mechanism of nSMase has mostly been studied on the enzyme obtained from Bacillus Cereus. Their working has been described as a divalent meta l-ion dependant manner (Ago et al. 16157). The enzyme obtained from the bacteria is quite similar to the mammalian nSMase in its action and function. The active site of nSMase is comprised of a glutamic acid (Glu) residue and histidine (His) residue, both of which are bound to either one or two metal cations, usually Co+ or Mg+. These cations support the action of SMase by recruiting sphingomyelin towards the active site. The cation at the Glu residue acts on the region between C1 and the phosphate group of sphingomyelin by interacting with amido-oxygen and ester-oxygen. On the other hand the cation at the His residue combines with the oxygen atom of the phosphate group of sphingomyelin resulting in a stabilized phosphate group. Furthermore this interaction activates a water molecule by lowering the value of acid dissociation constant of one of the bridged water molecules. This activation allows water molecule to attack the phosphate group of sphingomyelin as a nucleophile. Later th e reformation of phosphate group in its tetrahedral shape results in the formation of the two products; ceramide and phosphorylcholine. One of the commonest of disease associated with sphingomyelinases is Niemann-Pick disease. An autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease, it is caused due to mutation in either SMPD1 gene or NPC1 gene and is classified into three types; A, B and C. Symptoms are characterized according to the organ of accumulation. This disorder occurs when there is deficiency of sphingomyelinases leading to a stop in the degradation pathway of lipids and resulting in accumulation of sphingomyelin within the lysosomes of affected cell causing them to become enlarged. This along with many small vacuoles renders a foamy appearance to the affected cell. Pharmacologically, there are no reported drugs which are synergistic in action to sphingomyelinases, although a number of researches have now appeared which discuss the inhibitors of sphingomyelinases (Canals, Perry, Jenkins and Hannun 694). Scyphostatin, which is attained from the mycelia extracts of Trichopezia mollissima has emerged as a neutral sphingomyelinase inhibitor (Czarny and Schnitzer 1344). As ceramide is understood to be a second messenger molecule working like inflammatory mediators (TNF?, IL-1, IL-6 and LPS) it is believed that scyphostatin

Organisational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example An informal group is defined as an association of individuals pooled toward the objective of sharing knowledge and views. Secondly, organisational culture in a broad sense refers to the ‘character’ of an organisation. Informal Groups Generally, an informal group belongs to a work group in an organisation and it may not possess a formal structure. Despite its unorganised feature, the group members will have common interests and attitudes. To define, an informal group is not just a collection of people but indicates an internal social structure that gives emphasis on friendship relations rather than official relations (Employee motivation). Obviously organisations contain lot of informal groups. Even big issues can be easily tackled by people working together informally if they are very responsive to events. While dealing with urgent local issues, informal groups can be the best ones since they can easily recognise the actual cause of the issue. According to Bassy (2002, p.27), the idea of informal group came to light at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. This study was conducted by Elton Mayo, Roethlisberger, and Dickson. Functions of an informal group An informal group carries out functions both for individual workers and their employing organisation. The informal group conducts group discussions in order to come with the group’s vision, mission, and set of goal (Informal groups). After setting certain set of goals, they are broken down into short term and long term goals as this strategy assists the group to evaluate ideas and thereby add value to group performance. As Chaneta (2006) points out, the informal groups mainly functions to deal with employee issues. The most important function of an informal group is to meet the worksite security needs of its members. Every employee has the right to get satisfactory and safety worksite environment. There are certain situations when an employee is forced to work under dangerous worksite conditions. For instance, sometimes employees are compelled to work without safety equipments in a factory where there is a chance of chemical exposure. Under such circumstances, the employees ar e at higher risk of adverse worksite conditions. However, this type of issue can be effectively resolved if organisation contain active informal groups. Here, the group members discuss their problems and inform their suggestions to top management; the group power drives the management to respond to the issue immediately. Similarly, solving conflicts among the employees is another major function of informal groups. Nowadays, due to tough market competition, organisations tend to make the worksite atmosphere more strict and productive. This management policy may impose additional stress on workers and naturally it would lead to workplace conflicts. However, informal groups can more effectively deal with worksite conflicts than the management. Likewise, the informal groups serve organisational interests also. Every organisation aims at making its workers maximum productive and thereby increases the profitability. The informal groups functions to encourage its members to be innovative. Although the group’s fundamental objective is the betterment of employees, ultimately it contributes to organisational efficiency. For instance, employees’ innovative ideas may assist the organisation to reduce its cost of production or to more efficiently deal with day to day operations. Although informal groups also try

Federalist paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Federalist paper - Essay Example It was published on November 22, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all the Federalist Papers were published. The essay is the most famous of the Federalist Papers and among the most highly regarded of all American political writings (qtd from Federalist No. 10 2005). Federalist Paper No. 10 addresses the question of how to guard against "factions," groups of citizens with interests contrary to the rights of others or the interests of the whole community (Federalist No. 10 2005). Madison defines "factions" as a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community (Madison 1787). Madison begins his essay by arguing that a well-constructed Union can have the tendency to break and control the violence of faction. Moreover, he continues that instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished as they continue to be the favorite and fruitful topics from which the adversaries to liberty derive their most specious declamations (M adison 1787). Madison takes the position that there are two ways to limit the damage caused by faction: removing the causes of faction or controlling its effects. He contends that there are two ways to remove the causes that provoke the development of factions. One, the elimination of liberty, he rejects as unacceptable (Federalist No. 10 2005). The other, creating a society unified in view and interest, he sees as impractical because the causes of faction, among them variant economic interests, are inherent in a free society. Madison concludes that the damage caused by faction can be limited only by controlling its effects (Federalist No. 10 2005). He continues to argue that Liberty is necessary to its survival. Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. However, it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it breeds faction, than it would be to wish the extinction of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency (Madison 1787). As long as the connection subsists between man's reason and man's self-love, his opinions and his passions will have a give-and-take influence on each other; and the former will be objects to which the latter will connect themselves. The variety in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an undefeatable barrier to an equality of interests (Madison 1787). By controlling its effects in order to secure the public good and private rights against the danger of such a faction, and at the same time to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government, is then the great object to which our inquiries are directed (Madison 1787).A republic, Madison writes, differs from a democracy in that its government is delegated to representatives, and because of this, it can be extended over a larger area. The fact that a republic can encompass larger areas and populations is strength of th at form of government (Federal No. 10, 2005). Madison believes that larger societies will have a greater variety of diverse

Leonardo da Vinci - the Phenomenon of the Universal Self-Taught Genius Essay

Leonardo da Vinci - the Phenomenon of the Universal Self-Taught Genius - Essay Example One of the quintessential aspects of Leonardo da Vinci’s artistic and scientific acumen was his aspiration to learn from nature, to imitate it and then to move ahead to conquer it. Indeed, Leonardo da Vinci was an exceptional personality who left his indelible mark on the ages to come.Leonardo da Vinci could indeed be called a Renaissance man in the true sense of the word. Right from an early age, Leonardo had access to the scholarly texts owned by his family and friends (Clark 3). He was indeed mesmerized by the natural beauty of his homeland Tuscany that motivated and inspired him (Clark 3). He was also influenced by the painting traditions prevalent in his times. At the young age of 15, Leonardo was apprenticed to the renowned artist of Florence, Andrea del Verrocchio (Clark 5). Leonardo started exhibiting his natural aptitude for art at a very early stage of his apprenticeship at Verrocchio’s workshop (Clark 5). In the quest for better climes, Leonardo entered the s ervice of the Duke of Milan in 1482. It was during his 17-year stay in Milan that Leonardo achieved the heights of artistic and scientific achievement (Clark 37). At Milan Leonardo not only spent his time painting and sculpting but also designed machines, buildings, and weapons for the Duke (Clark 38). Sometime in 1490, Leonardo developed the habit of noting his observations in meticulously illustrated notebooks filled with varied themes like painting, architecture, mechanics and human anatomy (Clark 56). Once he left Milan, Leonardo spent the next 16 years traveling throughout Italy and working for varied masters (Clark 28). In the period 1513 to 1516, he served the Pope at Rome (Clark 163).

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 112

Case Study Example so require the school to provide enough time, nutritious foods, physical fitness equipment, and physical activity facility to implement the program (Harkness & DeMarco, 2015). The school nurse might recommend to the school wellness committee the provision of physical education and physical exercises to address the problem of childhood obesity (Harkness & DeMarco, 2015). The strategies might also include awareness campaigns and a subsidy strategy that would offer incentives for schools to invest in obesity mitigation measures. The school nurse can advise the school wellness committee to enhance healthy living among the children by offering healthy foods and limiting junk foods at school. Regular school health screenings can also help to identify childhood obesity issues. The recommendation of science-based guidance and provision of health care for weight management might be effective in this context (Harkness & DeMarco, 2015). The school nurse can evaluate if the school-based programs are working by conducting regular school health screenings to establish the resultant weights and heights of students under weight management. Indeed, BMI surveillance and screening can establish the success of these programs. The school nurse can also measure the dietary attitudes, quality, and intake of nutritional foods offered by the school to the students. Moreover, the school nurse can evaluate the success of the school-based programs by analyzing the impact of physical education and physical activities initiated by the school among 4th grade

Catholic Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Catholic Religion - Essay Example The old man holds up his hand and gestures to the audience to stop. The audience is completely stunned. Waiting for the old man to react. The old man smiles, looks up at the young man and then says, â€Å"Jesus turned the other cheek, so did I. After that, I have no example to follow and therefore, I can use my own better judgment†. With that, the old man slaps the young man once, twice, thrice and a fourth time until the youth drops to the floor. Towering over him, the old man says, â€Å"I turned the other cheek but after that cheek was slapped, the remaining slaps and the punishment for the first till the last remains with me†. Not at all, there are several instances in the activities of Jesus which make little sense to me and in many cases; I do not understand the deeper meaning behind what Jesus did. However, that does not mean that I think of him as being any less or his activities without reason but in essence, I realize that it is my own failing for not fully understanding the activities of Jesus. I hope to continue to improve my understanding with time and to come to a closer and better understanding of the real meaning in the activities done by

The New World Essay Example for Free

The New World Essay That idea of a distant paradise on earth shaped the way Europeans came to think of America after Columbus and his successors reported their discoveries. For example, the following mythic lands may have served as inspirations for the alluring idea of America as a place of joy, ease, riches, and regeneration: a. the Garden of the Hesperides of Greek myth b. the Elysian Fields described by the poet Homer c. the Islands of the Blessed, described by Hesiod, Horace, and Pindar d. Atlantis, described by Plato in the Timaeus and the Critias e. the Garden of Eden f. the Fortunate Isles, described in the Voyage of St. Brendan (ninth century) g. the enchanted gardens of Renaissance literature Columbus’s discovery of America has been described as â€Å"perhaps the most important event recorded in secular history. † On the other hand, it has been pointed out that had Columbus not discovered America, it would soon have been discovered by some other explorer. Edmundo O’Gorman, in The Invention of America (1961), asserted that America was not discovered but was invented by Europeans in the 16th and following centuries. The contrary idea of America as a place of degenerated plants, animals, and humans was also held by Europeans long before it was set forth by the French naturalist Buffon (1707–1788) in the early volumes of his Natural History (1749–1804). Thomas Jefferson made effective reply in his Notes on the State of Virginia (1785), but remnants of the idea continued to persist in the European popular mind. Modern readers are often surprised to learn of Columbus’s never-ending insistence, even in the face of contrary evidence, that he had reached the coast of Asia, not a new continent. That mistaken certainty was in large part caused by his faith in faulty calculations showing the earth’s circumference to be about 18,000 rather than 25,000 miles. The ancient geographer Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth with nearly perfect accuracy in the third century BCE. But Columbus, as did the best navigators of his time, relied on charts based on measurements made by the second-century-CE astronomer Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus). The calculation of the earth’s circumference presented in Ptolemy’s Guide to Geography (published, in Latin, in 1409) was off by more than 25 percent. Had the calculation been accurate, Columbus would have been correct in assuming that after sailing west for 33 days, he had indeed reached the Orient. Columbus’s writing style is spare and unornamented. In contrast, the letters (the first published in 1504) of Amerigo Vespucci, reporting his voyages to the New World from 1497 to 1504 (he claimed four,historians credit him with two), were filled with vivid and titillating details describing the new land and its inhabitants. As a result, Vespucci’s reports received greater attention throughout Europe than the reports (as distinct from the discovery itself) of Columbus. Because of Vespucci’s renown and because of his real accomplishments, the German geographer Martin Waldseemuller, in making his influential map of the new continent (1507), applied the name â€Å"America† to South America. Eventually, through popular usage, â€Å"America† came to be used for the North America as well. Vespucci’s voyage of 1501–1502 (under the flag of Portugal) along the coast of South America was the first extended exploration of the coast of the New World and the first to show clearly that the new lands were not a part of Asia but a new continent. That discovery is said by Vespucci’s partisans to justify naming the new continent America. Nevertheless, Vespucci has been vilified as a braggart and a windbag. Doubt has been cast on his accomplishments, although in recent decades they have in part been verified and shown to be substantial. Columbus’s first letter was printed and published in nine versions in 1493, and by 1500 it had appeared in nearly twenty editions. Yet his reports did not inspire the immediate outpouring of writing, personal and public, on the New World that might be expected. Indeed, from the last decades of the fifteenth century to the beginning decades of the seventeenth century, â€Å"four times as many books were devoted to the Turks and Asia as to America, and the proportion of books on Asia actually increased in the final decade† of that period (J. H. Elliot, The Old World and the New [1992] 12). When Columbus died in Vallodolid, Spain, in 1506, his death went unrecorded in the city chronicle. His fall to obscurity was in part caused by the fact that he was overbearing and irascible, creating many enemies. In addition,  the stories of his failures and his greed as a colonial administrator diminished him in the eyes of his contemporaries, further discouraging the celebration of his name in poems, romances, dramas, and histories. Columbus had failed to produce the expected supply of riches. He had failed to provide his voyages with effective chroniclers who could glorify his achievements, and he had no ability to effectively glorify himself in his written reports. Nor was he associated with a singular dramatic achievement—such as the conquest of the Aztec empire that raised Cortes to the stature of an epic hero. In the sixth century BC the Greek mathematician Pythagoras declared that the earth is a sphere. By the fifteenth century AD that fact was believed by the vast majority of educated Europeans. Yet a longstanding myth holds that Columbus was almost alone in believing that the earth is a sphere and for that belief suffered the ridicule of his learned contemporaries. The myth survives today, preserved in popular histories, tales, and even in popular song lyrics that proclaim: â€Å"They all laughed at Christopher Columbus /When he said the world was round. In reporting that he was the first to see a light in the distance, on the night of October 11, before the actual sighting of land on October 12, Columbus appears to claim that he was the first to see the Indies. Note also Columbus’s solicitation of support for further exploration, his offering, if â€Å"their highnesses will render very slight assistance,† to provide gold, spice, cotton, mastic, â€Å"aloe-wood,† and â€Å"slaves, as many as they shall order to be shipped. The explorers and conquerors of the New World in large measure based their justifications (stated or implied) for conquest on a.  the cultural superiority of the conquerors; b. the physical and mental inferiority of the conquered; c. the backwardness of the Americans’ culture and technical development; d. the obligation and the ability of the intruders to make better use of the land and its resources; e. the duty to bring Christianity to the heathen. Columbus does not use all such justifications. Note his report that the Indians are â€Å"of a very acute intelligence. † Modern critics of Columbus assert that his treatment of the Indians showed a disregard for their natural rights. But the popular idea that individuals have natural rights (much less â€Å"unalienable† natural rights) did not arise for several centuries. Columbus took possession of the newly discovered land â€Å"by proclamation made and with royal standard unfurled. † His act was not a dramatic gesture meant to awe the natives but a formal step (compare the flag planting by the American astronauts on the moon in 1969) to establish, according to the international law of the day, that the lands and their inhabitants were now the possessions of Spain and subject to Spanish authority. Having taken formal and legal possession of the land and its inhabitants for Spain, Columbus assumed that he, as a royal official, was therefore justified in capturing six Indians and returning them as exhibits to the Spanish king and queen, just as a royal official could order the lives of men and women in Spain itself. Because he believed that he had landed in the Indies, Columbus used the word â€Å"Indians† to describe the people he saw. In recent years the word has been attacked as inaccurate and demeaning, although Columbus did not intend it to be so. The substitute â€Å"Native American† has been advanced, and is the most widely preferred term. The term â€Å"Siberian American† has been offered in its place as a more accurate term, but it is seen as derisive by some and remains unpopular. Columbus reported of the Indians, â€Å"With 50 [European] men all of them could be held in subjection and can be made to do whatever one might wish. † Columbus was wrong. The attempt to coerce and enslave the men and women of the New World eventually failed. Yet the alluring idea of forcing native inhabitants to work for their conquerors long endured. For instance, John Smith reports of North American native inhabitants that they could be brought â€Å"all in subjection† and exploited by â€Å"forty or thirty† Englishmen. Discovery narratives traditionally report on the technical backwardness of the people of the discovered lands. In Columbus’s age the lack of technical development and the absence of metals such as iron and steel were taken as signs of primitive inferiority. In later ages, especially after the rise of the idea of the Noble Savage, a lack of technical achievement was taken as a sign of virtuous simplicity, of a life free of the dominance of the machine and the technological horrors that accompany it. Columbus describes the technical ignorance of the inhabitants and their unfamiliarity with metal-edged weapons: â€Å"I showed them swords and they took them by the edge and through ignorance cut themselves. † Compare John Smith’s report of the Indians’ fear of gunpowder and firearms their amazement at the movements of a compass needle. The technical ignorance of a reportedly benighted people has often been and is still used to justify their subjugation and colonization by a technically superior culture that asserts its right to conquer, usually because it can â€Å"make better use of the land. † In addition, there was recourse to the religious justification for colonization—the argument that Christians have the right and the duty to lead (by force if necessary) those living in spiritual darkness into the light of religious truth and to the blessings of heaven. The religious justification is offered as a benefit to the pagans themselves. The technological argument is not. Rather its end is the fruitful exploitation of the land and its natural resources for the colonizers. But even the technological argument for exploiting the land has its biblical justification in the declarations that the land exists for the benefit of man, who therefore has an obligation to exploit and â€Å"subdue† it (Genesis 1:28). That Columbus was a sincere believer in Christianity is not in doubt. His devout faith is evident inthe names he gave the first islands he encountered in the New World: San Salvador and Isla de Santa Maria de Concepcion. Yet his religious motives for colonizing the lands he discovered have sometimes been dismissed as a disguise for his true motives: greed for gold and desire to extract riches from the land. The desire for religious conversions and for gold is evident in almost all the early narratives of New World discovery. Columbus hoped to bring Christianity to the heathen by establishing the religion of Spain in the new lands. He had no desire to promote religious liberty and would have strongly resisted the idea. John Smith similarly believed that the English lands in North America should be colonized under the protection of an established church—the Church of England. It is worthwhile to compare the views of Columbus and Smith to the views of the Pilgrims and the Puritans who wished to escape what they believed to be an oppressive established church—though they themselves then demonstrated an oppressive narrowness with respect to departures from the confines of their views. Notice the appearance in Columbus’s reports of themes later apparent in American literature: a. America as a land suited to Christian evangelism and the ultimate coming of â€Å"the church triumphant† b. America as a paradise of exotic landscape and people and of simple and innocent life c. America as a place for economic, political, and spiritual opportunity and personal fulfillment. THOMAS HARIOT Thomas Hariot was among the first British explorers to arrive in the New World. Unlike Columbus, he was at least as much a scientist as an explorer. He was particularly interested in astronomy, optics, and the study of mathematics. Hariot’s A Briefe and True Report of the Newfound Land of Virginia gives perspectives on the New World that differ from Columbus’s in accordance with his intellectual interests, as well as his nationality and the part of the world (Virginia, as opposed to the West Indies) that he visited. The third, and final, part of his report, presented in the anthology, offers another view of the inhabitants of the newly discovered land. JOHN SMITH John Smith has been described as the author of â€Å"the first English book written in America† (for his A True Relation of Occurrences and Accidents in Virginia [1608]), and his work is seen as a forerunner of a native, American literature. Smith’s accounts are also an early example of New World writing that emphasizes human qualities commonly thought to be typically American. Note his references to a. Practicality; b. Boastfulness; c. dislike of showy elegance; d. desire to exploit the environment. Smith’s description of New England combines two images of the New World that were current in Europe in the seventeenth century: a.  the image of America as a paradise, a voluptuous land of easy riches b. the image of America as a land that would reward those showing the Protestant virtues of enterprise and willingness to work hard. The first image draws upon ancient myths that describe gardens of ease, joy, and eternal life. The second derives from the ideals of the capitalist middle class that rose to power with the end of feudalism in Europe. A third image, of America as a New Jerusalem, as a place for religious salvation, is not evident in Smith’s writings. Consider the rise to prominence of that third image after 1630 and the coming of the Puritans to Massachusetts Bay. Note how Smith writes of the visible, material world—describing plants, animals, and men—rather than the immaterial, speculative world of philosophy and theology. Smith assumed that the New World is for man’s exploitation, for his physical enjoyment, and for his earthly fulfillment—an assumption at odds with the Puritans’ view of the New World as a place of spiritual testing and of preparation for a fulfillment to be achieved only in heaven. Smith is often contrasted to the Puritans (and the Pilgrims), but there are these similarities: a. Both saw America as a place where individual men and women could escape from Old-World restraints and traditions. b. Both celebrated the possibility of communal, as well as individual regeneration in the lands claimed by England in the New World. c. Both condemned luxury and emphasized the virtues of hard work, abstinence, and enterprise. d. And both saw a life of ease and luxury as a sign of decay that portends inevitable destruction. Smith made no mention of religious freedom as a reason for colonizing. His own motives for colonizing (and what he believed to be the prime motives of others) were secular and materialistic: â€Å"For I am not so simple as to think that ever any other motive than wealth will ever erect there a commonwealth. † General History and his Description of New England are propaganda for colonization as much as they are descriptions of the New World. That is evident in the number and the variety of advantages he cites for colonization: a. profits for investors—†satisfaction of the adventurers†. Markets for English manufacturers—a letter survives, written by Smith to the London Society of Cordwainers (shoemakers) to point out that the Cordwainers, in their own self-interest, should support the settlement of Virginia because the rough land and the shell-strewn beaches of the New World were certain to wear out many shoes c. glory for the colonizers and their monarch—†eternizing of the memory† d. abundant raw materials, especially timber and naval stores. Some of the essentials for colonizing success set forth by Smith in A Description of New England (â€Å"provided always that first there be †): a. potent local government b. housing c. means of self-defense d. adequate provisions e. trained craftsmen Many reasons have been offered to explain why the Jamestown colonists failed to exert themselves sufficiently in establishing their colony: a. that too many of the colonists were â€Å"ne’er-do-wells† and gentlemen who were unused to hard work b. that the colonists were weakened by hunger and disease c. that the â€Å"communal basis† of the settlement discouraged individual enterprise. That many of the early colonizing reports, especially those written by the Spanish colonizers, encouraged the expectation that riches would be quickly found and profits quickly earned, that the â€Å"naturals† could be forced to supply the colonists with food, and that therefore diligent labor was unnecessary e. that the colonists expected their needs to be met by their London backers Note that none of the above explanations suggests that the English colonists, lacking government support such as the Spanish enjoyed, failed because their attempt to colonize Virginia at that time and place was simply beyond their abilities. Smith attributed the difficulties at Jamestown to dissension, weak government, lack of organization, and mistaken attempts by a central governing body (in London) to exert control at long distance. Such problems of government and society arose partly from human characteristics that later came to be considered distinctly American: a. radical individualism b. disrespect for law and governments c. hostility toward distant, central governments d. Contempt for traditions of rank, privilege, and authority Note how such characteristics were prominent among the causes of the American Revolution, 170 years later, and how those same characteristics win popular praise today. It is also notable that the American environment and its great distance from Europe prohibited the easy transfer to America of England’s a. feudal class structure; b. widespread belief in the worth of a noble class and an idle gentry; c. upper-class contempt for those in â€Å"trade† or whose jobs required hard, physical labor; d. high valuation of the contemplative, intellectual life; Customs of labor, farming, law, and political organization. The travel literature of the 16th and 17th centuries commonly reported incidents in which New World savages were awestruck by examples of European science and technology. When Powhatan’s followers captured Smith, in December 1607, he was first exhibited before neighboring tribes. Smith’s description of events permits the conclusion that the Indians displayed him as a great trophy because he was a noble warrior (for his brave resistance) and a mighty wizard (for his tricks with a compass). Perhaps a better reason for the exhibition before local sub-tribes and their chiefs was revealed in 1845 when a manuscript letter (written in 1608) by Edward Maria Wingfield, former President of the Colony (and Smith’s enemy), was discovered and published. Wingfield wrote: having him prisoner, [they] carried him to [their] neighbors to see if any of them knew him for one of those which had been, some two or three years before us, in a river amongst them northward and [had] taken away some Indians from them by force. At last [they] brought him to the great Powhatan (of whom before we had no knowledge) who sent him home to our town the 8th of January [1608]. Pocahontas’s formal, tribal name was â€Å"Matoaka. † The nickname â€Å"Pocahontas† (meaning â€Å"playfulone†) was given to her by her father, Powhatan. Such nicknames were common among the Native peoples in Virginia. Powhatan himself had the tribal name of â€Å"Wahunsonacock,† the name â€Å"Powhatan† later takenfrom the name of the region in which he ruled. At the time of their adventure, Smith was 28 and Pocahontas 12 or 13. She died in 1617 while on a visit to England, well before any detailed description of her rescue of Smith was published. It is not known whether Smith saw Pocahontas while she was in England, and little is known of her true character. In his History of Travel into Virginia Britannia (1612), William Strachey described Pocahontas as: a well featured but wanton young girl, Powhatan’s daughter, [who], sometimes resorting to our fort, of the age then of 11 or 12 years, [would] get the boys forth with her into the market place and made them [cart]wheel, falling on their hands turning their heels upwards, whom she would follow, and [cart]wheel so herself, naked as she was, all the fort over. It is interesting to consider what qualities in Strachey’s â€Å"wanton young girl† and Smith’s savior helped make her the first heroine of American myth and folklore. Some points to note: a. Pocahontas’s similarity to ancient mythic heroines, daughters of kings who protect a heroic stranger renounce their native lands and people, yet fail to marry the hero—heroines . b. the similarity of Pocahontas’s experiences to those told in the various medieval romances c. Pocahontas’s similarity to historical American Indian heroines, such as Sacagawea (who served as guide and interpreter for Lewis and Clark) and Malinche (interpreter for Cortes in his conquest of the Aztecs) d. Pocahontas’s early appearance in literature, first referred to in Ben Jonson’s play Staple of News (1625) and then the subject of later works, such as (1) The Female American (1767), a novel published in London and described as â€Å"a second Robinson Crusoe†, and (2) The Indian Princess (1808), an American play, the first of many Pocahontas dramas, and the first of the vastly popular â€Å"Indian Plays† of the nineteenth-century American stage.

The Importance Of Personal Networks Social Work Essay

The Importance Of Personal Networks Social Work Essay Personal networks are an important factor in peoples daily lives. People who are embeded in a network of personal relationships experience a higher level of well-being than those who are socially isolated.The following is a critical reflection analysis about themes that I found to be most meaningful during the course of the term. The themes include the importance of a social network for the older adult, as well as how this type of network can impact their quality of life. An exploration of these themes will be provided using literature along with my own personal experience. This reflection will highlight the insight that I have gained from this analysis as it relates to my future nursing practice. In addition this reflection will address nursing implications for providing superior client relations. Exploration of Themes Social relationships of older adults along with their access to social support networks can influence the general health and well being of this population ( ). The existences of social support networks are important for the older adults identity, self-respect, social integration, feeling of security, companionship, as well as practical and emotional support. For example, my grandparents live alone, however, at the same time they have a network of friends, relatives and inter-faith community members on which they can depend on. On the other hand, my neighbour who is 76 years and widowed, is isolated from meaningful and supportive social relationships. My insight into the plight of the elderly, combined with my compassion towards this vulnerable population, compels me to visit her home and spend prolonged time in conversation. We talk at length about her day, her baking, and her fond memories. My neighbour often expresses a deep sense of appreciation for my frequent visits and I feel s atisfacation that she allows me to participate in her enthusiasm and happiness. A social network can stimulate the mind of the older adult as well as increase their level of energy and motivation. If the older adult lacks the support of a social network, it can often lead to isolation and depression ( ). There are a variety of social factors that contribute to an older adult being socially isolated. This includes being female, having a low income, being widowed or divorced, are experiencing family conflicts, and lastly who are experiencing ageism (BC article). According to these criteria, my neighbour is definitely at risk of being socially isolated. Evidence suggests that there are health promoting effects of social relationships. Socially isolated older adults have a two-fold increase in mortality from all causes (Jeannette, 2009). A lack of social support among the older adult population has been associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes in older age, ranging from depression and self-harm, to deteriorating physical health. (Jeanneate) (Dennis et al ., 2005). Research supports that various types of social support from different sources are associated with positive health outcomes. Social relationships are also thought to be a key factor in psychological health including an individuals happiness and subjective well being (tomaka). In a study that looked at the ranking of importance of different aspects of life for adults over the age of 65, they consistently ranked their relationships with their family and friends as the second most important factor after their health (Kobayashi, Cloutier-Fisher Roth, 2008). Among the older adult population, the social integration and overall participation in society are considered vital indicators of productive and health ageing ( ). According to the World Health Organization (2003), social support for the older adult population has a strong protective effect on overall health and can influence their quality of life (QOL). The QOL for the older adult that have chronic illnesses and who live at home are highly influenced by the presence of and the accessibility to social networks. Therefore, finding ways to help older adults engage in social networks that are productive and enjoyable is an important aspect of ageing. Future Nursing Practice and Nursing Implications Throughout my analysis, I have gained a great deal of insight with regard to the importance of a having a social network and its impact on the QOL of older adults. It has increased my awareness and compassion to the importance of friends, family and community support in creating a social network for the older adult in order to maintain or increase their overall QOL. It is important to reduce the amount of isolation that older adults face even those that have families. In practice, it is paramount for nurses to be aware of the older adults social support networks, along with advocating for the creation of further networks in order to tailor to the complex needs of older adults. Upon reflection, I would use Newmans theory of Health as Expanding Consciousness as my approach when I consider the importance of ensuring that social support networks are in place for my clients prior to discharge from a hospital. Newman (2004) describes human beings as open energy systems in constant interac tion with the environment. Therefore, the way for nurses to understand the health of an older adult is by understanding the individuals pattern of relating to the environment. Thus being said, the social network of an adult is crucial to reduce dependency among the older adult population by improving time spent with this group and having more interaction with the elderly (Souraya LeClerc, 2008) In conclusion, despite the salience of recent studies devoted to ageism that examines social support and well-being, this body of nursing research has paid limited attention to the increasing prevalence of social isolation among older adults in Canada or its relationship with health status. More research is needed in these areas as older adult Canadians are living longer, alone, and with a reduced number of social contacts (McPherson, 2004). Social isolation is not an easy topic for policy. It is a problem that cannot be identified with more familiar social topics as education, economic independence, societal participation and social cohesion. Nurses need to advocate on the importance of gaining emotional, practical and relational support for this population. This reflection has brought up the issue of mental health among the older adult population. From a personal standpoint, it saddens me to see the lack of interaction that exist among the older adult population suffering from a mental illness. I believe that further attention needs to be focused in this area by creating more social support programs and increasing access to these services for this cohort. As a result of this experience I have become more professionally attentive to my interactions with the older adult client on the units that I am working on. Being empathetic has made me realize that it must be challenging for the older adult to be looked after as they were once independent individuals who could take care of themselves. I can see how nurses can become frustrated with this population combined with a heavy workload, but I do feel that this population carries with them a lot of wealth and wisdom. Introduction Identification of theme(s) in your reflective writing. Exploration and analysis of themes that are most meaningful to you Significant learning or insights gained from your analysis that will guide your practice Nursing implications Choose any 2 topics; use references; combination reflection + scholarly Jeannette, G., et al. (2009). Loneliness, social support networks, mood and wellbeing in community-dwelling elderly. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry,24 (7): 694- 700. Tomaka, J., Thompson, S., Palacios, S. (2006). The relation of social isolation, loneliness, and social support to disease outcomes among the elderly. Journal of Ageing and Health, 18(3), 359-384.   Kobayashi, K., Cloutier-Fisher, D., Roth, M. (2008). Making meaningful connections: a profile of social isolation and health among older adults in small town and small city, British Columbia. Journal of aging and health, 21(2), 374. When measuring the level of access that older adults have to social support networks or the risk of social isolation, it can provide a valuable means to gathering information on their living arrangements (stats can).

AIS and MIS Comparison

AIS and MIS Comparison Briefly discuss the difference between AIS and MIS.   Ã‚   MIS and AIS are all computer-based information systems that are very helpful for any organizations to keep records correctly and make the right decision for the operations. They are two different main system is an organization. The major difference is AIS and MIS provide diverse information to the organization by different transactions. AIS subsystems processing by financial transactions which are monetary transactions affect assets and equity, shown on the accounts. Whilst it also process nonfinancial transactions that directly affect the processing of financial transactions. (p.7) According to the figure 1-2, those transactions and cycles under AIS are all about economic event convert to financial transactions and expressed as numbers or figures in the accounts. Such as sold inventories, this movement will incur the revenue and equity figures changed on accounts. These kinds of changes will also affect the GL and MRS to provide information timely changed. In another hand if the customer account detail changed which is nonfinancial transaction processed by AIS, The MIS processes nonfinancial transactions that are not normally processed by traditional AIS. (p.7)  the organization normally has many departments such as production planning, inventory warehouse planning, market research, and so on. MIS is to help those different areas operate normally and provide information for further decision making. Another important difference is AIS and MIS provide information to different parties. AIS are not only providing the information for internal users but also for the external users such as suppliers, customers and auditors and so on. Especially for the auditors, AIS is help to provide correctly and legally information. MIS is mainly providing information to internal users such as the management team of the organization. In conclusion, AIS and MIS provide different information through different transactions to different parties. But there are also connections between AIS and MIS. AIS also provide the financial information to the MIS. Some movement in MIS is also affecting AIS. AIS and MIS are all important system to any organization. Briefly discuss the characteristics of information in the context of accounting information system. Information is can be defined as processed data and can help user to take further actions or make further decisions. (p.10). The characteristics of information in AIS include relevance, timeliness, accuracy, completeness, and summarization. (p.12) Relevance means relevant information for a specific purpose of the task or help manager to do further decision. For example, the main purpose of an invoice is let customer pay the right amount and know what they bought. Therefore the invoice shows the amount that customer should pay, and also shows the product name, code which customer bought. Timeliness means provide timely information. For instance, if a statement shows pay it within 15 days will get a 2% discount, if they receive this statement and information within 15 days, that will be useful, otherwise will lose the value of this information. Accuracy means avoid to provide information with major errors. For example, if a balance sheet shows the total asset is $100000, but the actual amount should be $90000, this error may cause the user make poor decisions. It could be cause by a data errors or process error. Sometimes, we have to give up the absolutely accurate to provide timely information, therefore system designer need make balance between accuracy and timeliness. Completeness means should include all the essential information for decision making or daily tasks. For example, an income statement should include the calculation of the profit or loss, and must be clearly showing the figures. Summarization means the information should summarized as the user needs. As the higher management, the more summarized information is needed. Others, the independent of the information which means the accounting activities must be separated and independent from physical resources management and preservation. In conclusion, relevance, timeliness, accuracy, completeness, and summarization are very important to obtain reliable information to the user. Reliability can determine the value of the information. (p.16) If follow those characteristic, information will be reliable and provides maximum value to the user. When developing, or selecting an accounting system, identify who should be involved and the contribution that they bring to the process. Organizations usually get the accounting system through two ways, self-developing and purchase or rent commercial software. To develop or selecting an accounting system, we need someone who understand accounting knowledge which is accountant, and someone who understand the database and network which is IT professionals. Accountant and IT professionals are all plays very important roles. But they have different contributions bring to the process. Accountant as a domain expert is a very vital role. They provide professional accounting concept and frame to the system. Such as set accounting process rules, reporting requirements, and build the internal control goals. (p.20) For example, different customers have different payment terms, sales department or credit department for some business need the delinquent accounts information from the AR department. This information will help the sales or credit department make a further decision to hold the sales of the customer or not. Accountant need set the standard to identify delinquent customer account in this case. They may set a credit amount for every customer and the system might show a message once over the amount or hold the accounts until they pay off. Accountant need determine the nature of the required information, its source, destination and the need of accounting rules.(p.20) Accountant as a system auditor is also an important role for developing or selecting the accounting system. Some public accounting firm can give advisory service of information system design and implementation, and internal control assessments for compliance with SOX. (p.21) although the accounting firm could use their auditor concepts for the advisory service, they could not be the real auditor to the company, it is no value to the organization and it is illegal under SOX legislation. IT professionals are responsible for the establishment of actual physical system. The physical system includes the database and programming for calculate and present information. IT professionals need ensure to build the accounting system work efficiently. They also play an important role for the test and maintenance of the accounting system. Once the system is selected or development is completed, they will need doing test and if any errors they need fixed the errors. System requires constant maintenance and repair to ensure the accuracy of information. Accountant and IT professionals need work together when developing or selecting an accounting system. They are all essential. Define fraud and identify and discuss three different examples to illustrate how it may arise in the workplace. In each case illustrate a strategy that may be used to mitigate its impact or occurrence. Briefly explain the COSO internal control framework. The COSO internal control framework is issued by Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. (p.116)  It is recommended by SEC1, also is the general framework of internal control evaluation standard. The COSO framework defines internal control is affected by corporate board of directors, management and other personnel, in order to achieve operational effectiveness and efficiency, financial report reliability, the compliance of the relevant regulations and other objectives to provide a reasonable guarantee process. We can explain it from 5 different aspects, the control environment, risk assessment, information and communication, monitoring, and control activities. (p.116) Control environment is the fundamental key of the organization, it directly affect the control consciousness of the staffs. It include the integrity of the staff, professional ethics and organization structure; management of the business philosophy and management style; board of directors or the audit committee of the supervision and guidance; the allocation of authority and responsibility; the methods of performance evaluation and human resources policy. à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ p.116à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °It can be said that people and their activities are the core of enterprise, is the important factor of internal control environment, it interacts with environment. Risk assessment is to identify and analyze the relevant risks to achieve the established goals; it is the basis of risk management. Each enterprise is faced with a lot of internal and external risks, affecting the realization of business goals, such as the changes of the operating environment, new staffs, the use of new system or new technology, new product introduction, entre into a foreign market or practice of new accounting rules and so on. It is necessary to identify, analyze and manage those risks that affect the achievement of the target and manage them in timely manner. (p.118) Information and communication means that the information needed for business management must be identified, obtained and delivered in a certain form in a timely manner so that the employee can perform their duties. The accounting information includes not only internally generated information, but also external information related to business decision making and external reporting. It is important for an accounting information system whether the information is processed timely and accurately. The auditor needs to understand the transactions, accounting record, transaction processing steps, financial reporting process. (p. 118) Monitoring is the process of assessing the effectiveness of the internal control system, through continuous monitoring, independent assessment or a combination of the two to achieve the internal control system supervision. Internal control activities refer to policies and procedures that facilitate the smooth implementation of management decision-making. It includes information technology (IT) controls and physical controls. IT controls is rated to computer environment, it has two aspects, general control such as the control of database and network security and so on, and application control such as the control of accounts payable, and payroll applications and so on. Another aspect is physical control, which are human activities. It includes transaction authorization, segregation of duties, supervision, accounting records, access control, and independent verification. (p.119) COSO internal control framework is a relatively complete and systematic theory of internal control, and it put forward a lot of valuable ideas, constantly found the practical significance in practice.

Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis :: Sinclair Lewis Arrowsmith

"Arrowsmith", by Sinclair Lewis In the novel "Arrowsmith", by Sinclair Lewis, written in 1925, one can read of our world's lack of idealism in science, most often found in the medical profession (Encarta, 1). This book portrays the times in terms of scientific advancement not being idealistic, mostly in the medical field. Our scientists could not come up with their own ideas and our progress was going nowhere, fast. Although, today we are advancing so rapidly that we have no choice but to move and experiment, there is no time to slow down and copy old works. Sinclair Lewis also combines his life and the life of a graduating microbiologists, who he interviewed to help him write this book, into his main character, Dr. Martin Arrowsmith. All of this goes into the book "Arrowsmith". Sinclair lewis was born on the seventh of February, 1885, in the town of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, to his warmhearted parents, Emma Kermont Lewis and Dr. Edwin J. Lewis. At a very young age Sinclair read widely in grade school and continued on in his studies for many years (Grebstein, 16). Lewis studied at Yale University form 1903 till 1906. There he studied literary writings and works to help him become a writer. His father had disagreed with his career choice, but he went on and did what he wanted to do most, write. At one time he was so disgusted with his father that he ran away and tried to join the Spanish-American War as a drummer boy (Cobletz, 248). He did not get far; his father caught him before he left town. Back to collage he went and even through collage Lewis still read many books. One professor was quoted as saying "He was drawing more books from the Yale library than, I believe, any undergraduates before or since." Lewis was known to read such books from authors Hardy, Meredith, James, Howells, Austen, Bronte, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Turgenev, Gogol, Flaubert, Zola, Huneker, Pinero, Jones, Shaw, d'Annunzio, Sudermann, Yeats, George Moore, Nietzsche, Haeckel, Huxley, Moody, Marx, Gorky, Blake, Pater, Shelley, Keats, Coleridge, Rossetti, Swinburne, Clough, and Ibsen. All of these authors were influential to him, but none more than the famous H. G. Wells (Grebstein 24). He accomplished all this during college while keeping two or more jobs at one time and writing for several papers along with his own books that he wrote. In October of 1906 he left school for a few months and stayed with his brother in his utopian colony in New Jersey. A few months later he remembered the work ethics his father taught him and went back to school and got his degree in 1907.

Swipping IDs can be dangerous :: essays research papers

ABOUT 10,000 people a week go to The Rack, a bar in Boston favored by sports stars, including members of the New England Patriots. One by one, they hand over their driver's licenses to a doorman, who swipes them through a sleek black machine. If a license is valid and its holder is over 21, a red light blinks and the patron is waved through. But most of the customers are not aware that it also pulls up the name, address, birth date and other personal details from a data strip on the back of the license. Even height, eye color and sometimes Social Security number are registered. "You swipe the license, and all of a sudden someone's whole life as we know it pops up in front of you," said Paul Barclay, the bar's owner. "It's almost voyeuristic." Mr. Barclay bought the machine to keep out underage drinkers who use fake ID's. But he soon found that he could build a database of personal information, providing an intimate perspective on his clientele that can be useful in marketing. "It's not just an ID check," he said. "It's a tool." Now, for any given night or hour, he can break down his clientele by sex, age, ZIP code or other characteristics. If he wanted to, he could find out how many blond women named Karen over 5 feet 2 inches came in over a weekend, or how many of his customers have the middle initial M. More practically, he can build mailing lists based on all that data — and keep track of who comes back. Bar codes and other tracking mechanisms have become one of the most powerful forces in automating and analyzing product inventory and sales over the last three decades. Now, in a trend that alarms privacy advocates, the approach is being applied to people through the simple driver's license, carried by more than 90 percent of American adults. Already, about 40 states issue driver's licenses with bar codes or magnetic stripes that carry standardized data, and most of the others plan to issue them within the next few years. Scanners that can read the licenses are slowly proliferating across the country. So far the machines have been most popular with bars and convenience stores, which use them to thwart underage purchasers of alcohol and cigarettes. In response to the terrorist attacks last year, scanners are now also being installed as security devices in airports, hospitals and government buildings.

Essay --

The film Kinsley was an interesting film to say the least. I must admit that I was a little uncomfortable at times while watching this movie. The study that was conducted by Alfred Kinsey was something that I believe the people of society are interested in but are conditioned to pretend like we are not. His finding in Sexual Behavior in the Human Male put many people at ease because I think inside everyone is very curious about what everyone else is doing. This is because we all have the desire to be normal and fit in with society. But as Kinsey found the sexual behaviors of males could not be further from what society thinks is normal. But what is normal really? I myself had this certain view about sexual behavior and there were certain things that I believed to be normal. But because of this movie my eyes are now open to the truth about sex. I think that for society sex is a very touchy subject and because of this people are oblivious to everything about sex. Different cultures have different views on sex and how it is suppose to be done. From the time we are young the culture tha...

Argument Essay †Illegalize Alcohol Essay

Our country is facing a growing problem. It is a problem of moral decay. The legal and open use of alcohol is an unnecessary vice that is enjoyed and accepted by a majority of the United States population, unfortunately, it leads to social and moral downfalls. Alcohol should be held to the same standards as other illegal mind and body-altering substances, as alcohol is addicting and has no medical value. Lawmakers and active voters should put an outright ban on alcohol. The revenue that is generated from the manufacturing, distributing, and sales of alcohol is a major source of taxable income that is a benefit. As of 2007 the U. S. Government was collecting $5. 6 billion dollars annually from the taxation of alcohol (joshritchie). This revenue has tended to increase each and every year. Although the revenue is important, the question must be asked, is it moral? Is it moral for our government to profit off the sale of a frivolous vice that causes fatalities and creates addicts? The revenue that is made from the taxation of alcohol could be lost, and would simply increase our never-ending national debt by a miniscule amount. Through out history our country has faced several social epidemics that have resulted in many people becoming substance abusers. Though these times our government has stepped in and enforced laws to restore the moral and social fabric of the infected areas. The current epidemic that we are facing is the abuse of alcohol. It is widespread and available almost everywhere in our country. â€Å"According to the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) tool, from 2001–2005, there were approximately 79,000 deaths annually attributable to excessive alcohol use. † (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Beyond the number of the deaths that are related to alcohol every year, a staggering number of people in the United States are alcoholics. According to the National Library of Medicine, â€Å"nearly 17. 6 million adults in the United States are alcoholics or have alcohol problems†. (U. S. National Library of Medicine) We need to completely ban alcohol so that we can start working on decreasing the number of addicts in our country rather than encourage the use to every single person just as he or she turns a certain age. The United States government has already tried to ban alcohol in the past, it was a complete failure and subsequently repealed. This attempt resulted in a spike in organized crime and was an obvious failure. Eventually the government conceded and re-legalized the use of alcohol. I too will concede that it was a failure on the part of our government in enforcing the prohibition of alcohol. Even today we are fighting the exact same battle by the DEA with the Controlled Substances Act. There is already a long list of illegal substances that are given priorities and schedules and are subsequently enforced. It would not be a stretch to incorporate alcohol into this list of illegal drugs. Many would assert that it would be difficult to enforce the mere consumption and manufacturing of small amounts of alcohol by individuals in there own homes. It is a very simple process to either brew low alcohol content drinks or to distill higher alcohol content spirits. The enforcing of these laws would be similar to current laws of cannabis cultivation. These laws would seem just as hard to enforce, yet they are enforced. The manufacturing of homemade alcohol could be given the same fear of punishment and could be enforced on incident-to-incident bases. Alcohol has the tendency to increase the probability of someone committing a violent crime. If alcohol were banned and harder to get a hold of this number of crimes would greatly diminish. The National Center for Victims of Crime has referenced the U. S. Department of Justice concerning drug and alcohol related crimes. The report states, â€Å"The U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey asks the violent crime victims who reported seeing their offenders whether they perceived the offender to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. According to the 1999 survey, over a quarter of the violent crime victims could make such a determination. About twenty-eight percent (28%) of those reported that the offender was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The most common substance identified was alcohol alone. About sixteen percent (16%) reported that the offender was under the influence of alcohol alone (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2001). † (The National Center for Victims of Crime) This only takes into account the victims that were able to see their offender; this means that there are possibly more unaccounted for alcohol related crimes. The legal and open use of alcohol as a vice is leading to the downfall of our society. It is creating addicts while not offering a single practical medical benefit. The United States Government has already invested time, money, and effort to enforcing its Controlled Substances Act. Alcohol should be held to the same standards as all other physically altering substances are held to. Alcohol poses the risk of dependence and has no beneficial medical value. In order to start the moral fabric of our country we need to do away with the crime inducing substance alcohol. Lawmakers and active voters, it is our duty to hold our selves to higher standards and completely abolish the manufacturing, sale, and use of alcohol. Works Cited â€Å"Alcoholism: MedlinePlus. † National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health. 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. . â€Å"CDC – Alcohol and Public Health Home Page – Alcohol. † Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. . â€Å"Drug Related Crime. † The National Center for Victims of Crime. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. . Joshritchie. â€Å"How Much Is the Government Making Off of Alcohol? | Tax Break: The TurboTax Blog. † Tax Break: The TurboTax Blog | It’s All about the Refund. 5 July 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2011.