Wednesday, November 27, 2019

261 End of Huck Finn and The Yellow Wallpaper Professor Ramos Blog

261 End of Huck Finn and The Yellow Wallpaper Huck Finn Ending Quick Write Is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn still relevant today? Why or why not? Huck Finn Ending Keynote speakers Jocelyn Chadwick, author of The Jim Dilemma: Reading Race in Huckleberry Finn Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1860-1935 Charlotte Perkins Gilman Biography The Yellow Wallpaper 1892 The Yellow Wallpaper (Short Film)

Saturday, November 23, 2019

The Salem Witchcraft Trials Overview

The Salem Witchcraft Trials Overview Salem Village was a farming community that was situated approximately five to seven miles to the north of Salem Town in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the 1670s, Salem Village requested permission to establish it own church due to the distance to Town’s church.   After some time, Salem Town reluctantly granted Salem Village’s request for a church. In November 1689, Salem Village hired its first ordained minister – the Reverend Samuel Parris – and finally Salem Village had a church for itself. Having this church gave them some degree of independence from Salem Town, which in turn created some animosity. While Reverend Parris was initially welcomed with open arms by the residents of the Village, his teaching and leadership style divided the Church members.   The relationship became so strained that by the fall of 1691, there was talk amongst some church members of discontinuing Reverend Parris’ salary or even providing him and his family with firewood during the upcoming winter months. In January 1692, Reverend Parris’ daughter, 9-year-old Elizabeth, and niece, 11-year-old Abigail Williams, became quite sick. When the children’s conditions worsened, they were seen by a physician named William Griggs, who diagnosed them both with bewitchment. Then several other young girls from Salem Village also displayed similar symptoms, including Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott and Mary Warren.   Ã‚   These young girls were observed having fits, which included throwing themselves on the ground, violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts of screaming and/or crying almost as if they were possessed by demons inside. By late February 1692, local authorities had issued an arrest warrant for the Reverend Parris’ slave, Tituba.   Additional warrants were issued two other women that these sick young girls accused of bewitching them, Sarah Good, who was homeless, and Sarah Osborn, who was quite elderly. The three accused witches were arrested and then brought before magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin to be questioned about the witchcraft allegations.   With the accusers were displaying their fits in open court, both Good and Osborn continually denied any guilt whatsoever.  Ã‚   However, Tituba confessed. She claimed that she was being assisted by other witches who were serving Satan in bringing down the Puritans. Tibuta’s confession brought mass hysteria not only in the surrounding Salem but throughout all of Massachusetts.   Within short order, others were being accused, including two upstanding church members Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse, as well as Sarah Good’s four-year-old daughter. A number of other accused witches followed Tibuta in confessing and they, in turn, named others.   Like a domino effect, the witch trials began to take over the local courts.   In May 1692, two new courts were established to help ease the strain on the judicial system:   the Court of Oyer, which means to hear; and the Court of Terminer, which means to decide. These courts had jurisdiction over all the witchcraft cases for Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties.    On June 2, 1962, Bridget Bishop became the first ‘witch’ to be convicted, and she was executed eight days later by hanging. The hanging took place in Salem Town on what would be called Gallows Hill. Over the next three months, eighteen more would be hanged.   Further, several more would die jail while awaiting trial. In October 1692, the Governor of Massachusetts closed the Courts of Oyer and Terminer due to questions that were arising about the propriety of the trials as well as declining public interest.   A major problem with these prosecutions was that the only evidence against most of the ‘witches’ was spectre evidence – which was that the accused’s spirit had come to the witness in a vision or a dream. In May 1693, the Governor pardoned all witches and ordered their release from prison. Between February 1692 and May 1693 when this hysteria ended, more than two hundred people had been accused of practicing witchcraft and approximately twenty were executed.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Social studies education & digital source materials Research Paper

Social studies education & digital source materials - Research Paper Example This helps to contribute to research and evaluation in the field of social studies and technology. Digital sources extend the learning experience beyond the traditional learning experience. This is because technology introduces students to activities in which skills and content are taught more meaningfully (Savage, Armstrong, & Potthoff, 2000). In order to achieve this, instructors need to understand and make sure that they respond to the needs of their students. Teachers can then design learning experiences that will challenge their students to make informed connections and this will in turn expand their knowledge (White, 2000). Teachers can come up with a variety of ways that may include digital sources to deliver a given concept. This is because the understanding capabilities of their students differ. In order to make learning more meaningful, they have to meet the needs of every student that may require them to go beyond the traditional learning techniques (Levstik & Tyson, 2008). One way in which technology can be applied in the social studies curriculum is by using digital sources similar to the ones found at the Virginia Center for Digital History. At the center, they have developed a series of digital history projects (Ross, 2006). The main aim being to develop high standard quality, properly researched and reliable history material for the website globally and deliver them to the general public, schools and historical societies among other institutions. The digital archive can also be found online through the Virginia Center for Digital History (Savage, Armstrong, & Potthoff, 2000). Students from all over the world can then access the primary information that is readily available online and use it to understand the importance of people and events that occurred in the past. This is because the site provides students with raw data at their disposal that can be manipulated and interpreted. Institutions can also use these

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Pen Pal Letter about Ballet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pen Pal Letter about Ballet - Essay Example However, during the reign of King Louis XIV is when Ballet made positive progress in French culture. The king always invited Ballet dancers to perform to him whenever he had a function not to forget the King himself performed ballet alongside with noblepersons. The contribution made by King Louis XIV towards development of ballet cannot be underestimated especially by him, establishing the first world’s ballet school (Academie Royale de danse currently known as Paris Opera) and was thus renamed as â€Å"The Sun King†. You might be wondering how King Louis XIV performed exemplary in Ballet dance. The person behind this is none other than Pierre Beauchamp, the guy behind the famous principle that each leg must be â€Å"turned-out†. Another question is how this type of dance found its way to Russia. The credit goes to two Frenchmen called Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov who was his assistant who traveled to Russia back in the early 1840s and produced more than sixty ba llets. They choreographed three famous ballets namely; Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. Vaganova method- This method of ballet was developed by Agrippina Vaganova to train dancers on classical ballet. It integrates the romantic style of French ballet with dramatic soulfulness of the Russian character. Her contribution towards ballet made her famous dancers in the dancing history as well as being appointed as the director of Imperial Ballet School in Saints Petersberg. Vaganova method is regarded to be clean having precise moves.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Economical and Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis on Hybrid Cars Essay Example for Free

Economical and Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis on Hybrid Cars Essay A hybrid car is a car propelled by the application of two or more power sources. First attempts to introduce hybrid cars goes back to mid 1660, way before the discovery and introduction of the fuel powered conventional cars but were never commercially manufactured until 21st century when Japanese car manufacturer, Toyota produced the Toyota prius exclusively for its domestic market. In fact, it is estimated that the first attempt to produce a hybrid car was in 1665. The delay in the production of this class of vehicles was because of two main reasons; first, the limited range in the distance the vehicles could cover and secondly the difficulty and costly process of recharging their batteries. Furthermore, it is a basic science concept that the more complex a machine is the more it is prone to failure and thus the idea of commercial production of hybrid vehicles has been a slow process over the centuries. World’s population explosion, demand for fresh air and green cities, dwindling petroleum deposits, over dependency in overseas oil, economic recession and global warming are just some of the environmental and economic factors that have forced world’s leading car manufacturers to provide to the market car models that are not only environmentally friendly but also cost effective. A cost-benefit analysis on this topic will attempt to bring out the cost of getting a hybrid car into the road in comparison to the benefits that the world stands to reap as a result of this venture. This research seeks to bring to the surface three major aspects that are associated with the introduction of hybrid cars into the transportation world. These three issues are: (i) The cost of producing a hybrid car: The successful landing of a hybrid car is in focus under this area. It is not easy to get into the road a car that makes use of a combination of two or more sources of energy. The research involved is estimated to run to millions of dollars thus sky-rocketing the price of a hybrid car. (ii) Environmental factors: Environmental factors simply refer to the concerns that a particular type of car produces substances that injure our surroundings thus making life on earth more dangerous and therefore more complex. These substances include green house gases as well as toxic metal compounds such as the ones that contain lead in their structure. (iii) Economic cost benefit factors: Economic factors have much to do with the living standards of people as far as the generation and investment of money is concerned. The economic make up of the world has gotten pegged heavily on oil and there are concerns from every right thinking citizen of the world that this is a self consuming trend that is likely to create serious economic problems if the oil industry hits a serious problem. This has already been witnessed before whereby a slight rise in oil prices has sent shockwaves in economies in both the developed and the developing world. Literature Review The former Vice President of the United States who later won the Democratic Party nomination and lost the presidency in a controversial manner to George W Bush, Mr. Al Gore, has had the world rethinking its actions as far as the degeneration of the environment is concerned. An inconvenient Truth, a film he worked on captures the problems that are already being experienced in various parts of the world as a result of global warming. This, he says is being fuelled by the use of environmentally unfriendly cars that use oil or gasoline (Gore, 2006, para1-3). It is not surprising that he went a head to win a Nobel Prize for this peace of work. Electric and hybrid cars have always received much appreciation due to the perceived ability to tackle this burning issue of climate change. Their ability to cut the emission of these toxic substances into the atmosphere that lead to negative climatic shift is the major reason for this (Anderson and Anderson, 2004, pp 6-10). In recognition of this serious problem, vital steps have been made in the research that is involved in the development and production of cars that make use of a combination of two or three sources of locomotive energy. Chief among these is the research into electric cars that promise to reduce the overreliance on oil (Westbrook, 2001, pp 34-39). The pioneer nation in the world in the research and possible mass production of hybrid cars is Japan. But the appetite with which the United States of America has picked up the issue points to the significance of this type of car. The driving force is the reduction in pollution, the saving that comes in terms of finances and most importantly national security that is put at risk with too much dependency on foreign oil. The argument is often projected in terms of supplying their dollars to nations that fund terror groups such as al Qaeda (Boschert, 2006 pp 2-7). It is common knowledge that mass production of hybrid cars will not only provide a partial solution to world environmental problems but also be a practical measure to save countries from losses running to millions of dollars due to escalating prices of world crude oil. The cost of producing a hybrid car The production of hybrid cars is not a cheap or a simple venture. Confessions by companies that have dipped their fingers into this hot pot have clearly shown that more than just simple technology is in play in the production of this type of cars. Research that has been on-going for a long time now is very complicated and has consumed millions of dollars. At the end of the day, despite the hyped advantages of shifting from purely oil consuming cars to hybrid cars, the cost that must be borne has to be high (Westbrook,2001,pp 56-61). It is the overall ability of the hybrid car to assist man in solving most of his economic and environmental problems that make the whole exercise worthwhile. Environmental factors While scientists agree that there can never be perfect environmentally friendly hybrid cars and that this depends solely on the design and model of hybrid power system. It is worthy appreciating that the use of this class of vehicles will automatically lead to the reduction of global warming by approximately 0. 3 to 0. 5 percent and that more advanced models and designs in the coming years due to technological advances would reduce this figure even further. The problems of the quality of urban air, reduction of noise due to application of electric motor in fuel power conventional cars, and elimination of smog forming pollutants could be solved in a century if research on mass production of hybrid cars is given a priority. The main source of air pollutants in cities and major towns is transportation. Fuel powered conventional motor vehicles produce much higher levels of carbon dioxide (Co2) carbon monoxide (Co), nitrogen oxides (Nox) and hydrocarbons (Hc) and this from the primary source of these dangerous pollutants. This is mainly because fuel powered conventional cars (FPCC) make short trips that do not give time for electric motor warm ups and cold starts. It is noted that hybrid cars reduced the levels of the carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide by 97% in comparison to other sources of these pollutants. Carbon monoxide (C0), when inhaled for long periods interferes with the proper functioning of the brain in that it impairs the flow of oxygen (O2) into the brain. Once the brain stops working in the expected way, the person involved turns into a vegetable. Carbon dioxide and water vapor form the principal components of green house gases that bring about the green house effect. Green house effect is a scenario in which too much heat is trapped within the atmosphere due to the presence of such toxic gases as carbon monoxide and this resultant effect is a highly raised earth temperature. Infact carbon dioxide (C02) is considered one of the major atmospheric pollutants, and is solely responsible for approximately 57% global warming. Negative effects of global warming include the rapidly declining numbers of polar bears and melting of ice in the tropics. It is therefore an open knowledge that releasing carbon dioxide (C02) into the atmosphere is detrimental to the lives of living organisms and the equilibrium of the ecosystem. Sulphur and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are very dangerous air pollutants produced by combustion of sulphur containing fuels. Over the years, scientists have devised means of producing sulphur and lead free fuels but achieving an excellent degree is still a distant mirage. Deposition of these compounds in the air is harmful to plants, man and infrastructure. Exposure to high concentration of sulphur dioxide irritates respiratory tracts making breathing difficult and can easily cause lung problems. Sulfur Oxide contributes to respiratory illness. Patients suffering from heart diseases risk aggravating their conditions if exposed to even mild concentration of sulfur oxides. These components also form secondary pollutants when transported and combined with other elements forming sulphates, nitrate salts, nitrogen dioxides and even nitric acid vapor. This is what is commonly known as acid rain that corrodes buildings, burns vegetations, burns the human skin and destroys infrastructure. Chlorofluorocarbons also form component of green house gases that bring about the effect of global warming. When exposed to gamma rays, these compounds break down to release chlorine atoms. The presence of chlorine atoms in the atmosphere catalyses splitting of Ozone (O3) into oxygen gas (O2), however the negative effects of their presence overweigh their importance. Photochemical air pollution, usually known as smog and is commonly sported in the tropics and subtropics is also caused by incomplete combustion of gasoline emitted by fuel powered conventional vehicles. This process leads to the production of Ozone gas that is responsible for irritation in the eyes, extensive damage to plants and crops and lung complications. The release of carbon dioxide (C02), chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides (N0x) and other pollutants into the atmosphere contributes to the destruction of plants on the earth’s surface. Photosynthesis, the process through which trees produce oxygen from carbon dioxide is so vital to human life in fact it is said that life cannot exist without trees. Destruction of trees by releasing these pollutants into the air is equal to destruction of both human life and plant life. While particulate matters are the main contributors to lung problems and most cancer cases, hydrocarbons are also a cause of lung problems and other tissue problems. Long exposure to high concentrations of hydrocarbons eventually leads to total organ failures. Furthermore it is a major contributor to birth defects and other complicated illnesses like cancer. With the commercial manufacture and introduction of hybrid cars, extensive damage to the environment is definitely reduced, quality of life enhanced and urban areas become clean to inhabit, the dream of world environmental rights groups. Economic factors Crude oil is the raw material that propels almost all components of world’s economy in many ways. In fact the world is so dependent on crude oil that if its supply would be cut abruptly, major world economies like United States of America, Russia and China would immediately come to a standstill. United States depends on crude oil alone for 40% of its energy supply, triple than other sources. Overdependence on crude oil is not sound enough. First, crude oil is a non-renewable source of energy and analysts predict it will be largely exhausted within half a century. This rings an alarm bell that if measures are not put in place and countries go green by using hybrid cars, then the future is bleak and the word is in danger. Transportation sector depends entirely on oil for energy supply. Trucks, planes, ships cars and buses are propelled by motor engines that use oil. Introducing hybrid cars would reverse this trend, make the world safer from fluctuating oil prices and reduce dependence on this energy source (Paterson, 2007 para. 3-5). Reliance on crude oil for fuel supply is a major contributor to ethnic and tribal wars in Africa. This demonstrates the levels at which scramble for this commodity has reached. In fact notably China is so hungry for crude oil that it is ready to ignore the sufferings of millions of peoples around the world and specifically Sudan, so as to get its industry moving. It therefore points to the fact that lasting peace and safety will be found and armed conflicts reduced drastically when less fuel consuming cars are produced and thirst for oil curtailed. Hybrid cars are pocket friendly as they consume less gasoline in comparison to fuel powered conventional cars. Even though they are slightly expensive to purchase, the reward is achieved in long term due to lower fuel consumption. Further, governments and notably the United States of America give tax incentives to buyers of hybrid cars in to a move aimed at reducing the average prices of these vehicles and thus encouraging more people to purchase them. Dwindling petroleum deposits in a major concern to the world. It is widely acknowledged that only a total of one trillion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves is available for exploration worldwide with only two percent (2%) of this value in the United States of America. Most of these oil deposits are found in the eastern hemisphere that is made up of countries that are well known for political instability. It is therefore very wise for countries that fall in the Western hemisphere and more so, the United States to adapt the mass production and commercial use of hybrid vehicles. This will not only cushion them from ever fluctuating oil prices but will also prevent the imminent collapse of most sectors of the economies of these countries. Conclusion From the foregoing, it is evident that the world stands to gain immensely from the introduction into the world of transportation hybrid cars. It is true that the cost of producing a hybrid car is not one that sends one smiling all the way to the bank. In fact it is prohibitively high and the faint hearted who will not pay attention to the long term benefits of this hybrid car model will not dare. But the benefits or gains both in terms of saving a planet in peril and a global economy in a shambles are so enticing and crucial that it is actually the way to go. The environmental problems that come as a result of oil utilization in transport and other areas of life will be dealt with once and for all. For instance, the release of dangerous gases such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide into the atmosphere that is responsible for global warming and numerous respiratory problems as well as problems in farming thorough such phenomena as acid rain will be solved. The economic woes that emanate from over dependence on oil will also be contained. The availing of financial resources to rogue nations such as Iran that fund terrorist groups, the shaking of the global economy due to shifts in oil prices as well as the escalation of conflicts in most third world countries in the east and Africa as a result of scrambling over oil resources will be eliminated. References: Anderson C. D Anderson J (2004); Electric and Hybrid Cars: A History. ISBN-10: 0786418729, ISBN -13: 978-0786418725, McFarland Company. pp 6-10 Boschert, S. , (2006); Plug-Ins: The cars that will recharge America. pp 2-7 ISBN-10: 0865715718, ISBN-13: 978-0865715714, New Society Publishers. Gore, A. (2006): An Inconvenient Truth. Retrieved on 24th March 2009 from: http://www. climatecrisis. net/aboutthefilm/. Para 1-3. Paterson, B. N. , (2007). Economic benefits of hybrid cars. Retrieved on 23rd March 2009 from: http://www. helium. com/items/1026111-economic-benefits-of-hybrid-cars, para 3-5. Westbrook M. H, (2001): The Electric Car: Development and Future of Battery, Hybrid and Fuel-Cell Cars. ISBN-10: 0852960131, ISBN-13: 978-0852960134. The Institution of Engineering and Technology. pp 56-61.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Essays --

Dominique Porter HIS 108 Midterm Project CSC Feb 23 2014 Title â€Å"A Forgotten Love† Persona Margret Marie Link is long time friend and secret admirer of Henry Ford knows a lot about his life. Margret knew Henry from when they were both little kids and had a big crush on him, most of her life. Henry and she would write back and forth all the way till his success of his business Ford Motors Introduction As you drive in your car today do you ever think to yourself where did all this start? Who made it the invention of the car, when and where? As the best friend of Henry Ford. I’m here to tell you the questions you want to hear. Story Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Greenfield Township, Michigan. His father William Ford was born in Country Cork Ireland and his mother Mary Ford was born in Michigan. Henry Ford spent his childhood on his family's farm, located outside of Detroit, MI. When Henry was twelve, his mother died during childbirth. Henrys father gave him a pocket watch in his early teens. At 15, Henry dismantled and reassembled watches and clocks of friends and neighbors dozens of times, and gained the reputation of a watch repairman. Henry repaired my watch plenty of times. I had the very first Rolex Oyster watch, in other words, the world's first water-resistant timepiece. This was no easy watch to work on and just watching how much he loved to take things apart and put it back together just made me think he’s going to invent something big one day. I came from a rather wealthy family and this is how I met Henry. Him being only fourteen and I was just barely thirteen I was always bei ng impressed on how good he was at fixing things mechanically. I had a huge crush on Henry and when I would break ... ...air driving 1 mile in 39.4 seconds and setting a new land speed record at 91.3 miles per hour also had convinced the race driver Barney Oldfield to drive his car which made him worldwide†. That was the last time I heard from Henry I guess you could say that he made it big time and forgot about me. I soon settled down with my husband in 1943 and was driving a car made by Henry himself called the Model T.Me and my husband were planning on moving to Italy in two weeks with our son Tom Link. I went to visit my mom and she gave me an article about how Henry and his wife were anti-Semitic. From 1919 to 1927, his newspaper, the Dearbopendentrn Inde, had a pamphlet called "The International Jew. I had a full life of excitement and even though I didn’t get o be with the man of my dreams I was glad to be a part of his life but my forgotten love will always remain for him.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Angelo’s Pizza

ANGELO’S PIZZA ANSWER #1. The expansion of stores and eventually franchising while focusing on serving only high quality fresh ingredients should include the following three resource management implications: (1) BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS – This implication represents the importance of the company’s general and competitive environment. Angelo needs a good business strategy. A strategic plan is the company’s plan for how it will match its internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats in order to maintain a competitive advantage (Dessler, 2012).Angelo’s early attempts showed the pitfalls in rushing and making assumptions about replicating a viable business unit. Fortunately, Angelo has realized his lack of proper planning and the necessity to correct his errors before attempting to branch out into more stores and possibly franchising. The locations of the proposed new stores are paramount. These locations must be in area s where high quality ingredients are readily available. The supply of fresh ingredients does not meet all the needs for successful stores. The medium that serves the customer pays a vital role. 2) JOB ANALYSIS – All businesses want to attract and maintain good people. A job analysis is the procedure through which you determine the duties of the positions and the characteristics of the people to hire for them (Dessler, 2012). All of Angelo’s locations must have competent employees who are able to provide good customer service. Angelo has to develop a plan that identifies the characteristics and skills that applicants need to possess before he can develop his staff. Once he knows the type/kind of person he needs to recruit for his business, he needs a comprehensive plan for hiring them.A screening process for applicants that include hiring guidelines, previous work experience, and reference and background checks would be useful. A logical, structured interview session wh ere the job duties and responsibilities as well as the required job qualifications are explained would be the next step. Once Angelo has job candidates that he is satisfied with, he then has to develop human resource strategies that will ensure their success. (3) TRAINING – Angelo should develop a training program for both new and existing employees. The implementation of a training program is beneficial for both the company and the employees.Training programs helps each employee to understand their various role/job expectations. Unskilled workers are counterproductive to the work environment. It can jeopardize a business reputation. Angelo’s newly hired waiter/waitress should be trained on how to correctly take orders and how to serve the customers efficiently. Angelo’s ideas regarding customer service has to be shared throughout all stores. If sufficient time is devoted with the training program, all employees become an asset for the organization with the incr ease of their knowledge.After completion of the training, all of Angelo’s Pizza employees should know where they stand and that their performance can lead to a management position. ` ANSWER #3. By asking the following questions, I feel Angelo will be able to attain qualified candidates. The questions are based on situational and behavioral judgments. STRUCTURED INTERVIEW FORM Name of Applicant: Position applied for: Date of the Interview: (1) Why did you choose our organization? (2) Employees interact with a wide variety of customers. Sometimes customers may become angry/frustrated.Describe a time when you dealt with a customers who was demanding. Impatient or angry. How did you respond to the customer’s request or demands? What was the outcome of your actions? (3) Sometimes employees must communicate unpleasant information to customers. Describe a time when you had to communicate unfavorable information to a customer. What did you have to tell the customer? What was t he outcome? (4) If a customer is dissatisfied and wants to return a ordered food item/dish, how would you respond? BIBLIOGRAPHY/WORK SITED Dessler, G. (2012). Human Resource Managemnet, Thirteenth Edition. Pearson.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Fight Club Essay

Every so often, a film comes along that shocks people and forces them to acknowledge issues and realities that are normally taboo in open society and are fodder for conversations with therapists. The film â€Å"Fight Club† (1999) directed by David Fincher is just one of these films. How do people react when challenged to question the purpose and perspective of their lives as influenced by society, isolation, fear, survival and their own vulnerability and mortality? Narrator: This chick Marla singer did not have testicular cancer. She was a liar. She had no diseases at all. I had seen her at Free and Clear my blood parasite group Thursdays. Then at Hope, my bi-monthly sickle cell circle. And again at Seize the Day, my tuberculous Friday night. Marla†¦ the big tourist. Her lie reflected my lie. Suddenly I felt nothing. I couldn’t cry, so once again I couldn’t sleep. What happens when people are faced to accept the negative side of what they do? As what happened to the narrator when he was forced to see his actions for the perverted and voyeuristic nature that it had, discovery almost always leads to guilt and self-loathing. Sociology propounds the thinking that every individual’s behavior and values are influenced by factors within his environment. People have a need for a certain level of security, control and belonging in society. These needs are often met by actions chosen and motivated by fear of being isolated and failure. The narrator, for example, has led a fairly routine life. He is a mild-mannered employee that makes him fair game for his more arrogant bosses and other more outspoken people such as his doctor. One might say it is his need for job security to sustain his materialistic life style that makes him meek and generally docile. People are bound by the need to be accepted and recognized as good, moral and reliable people who follow rules. The rules that bind society may either be judicial, social, or the tenets ascribed to by one’s faith or religion. It may be reasonable to think that while at the back of the narrator’s mind, he knows his participation in group therapy has turned into a perverted and voyeuristic addiction. Having made to come to face with the reality of his actions in the person of Marla, he begins to get angry. Even people in real life are like that. They can delude themselves into acknowledging only the more acceptable part of their actions to the point of rationalization it. It’s the Machiavellian adage of â€Å"The end justifies the means. † But almost always something or in this case, â€Å"someone† happens that shatters the delusion and people then turn angry and experience guilt once they are confronted with the truth and reality of what they have been doing. There is a belief that for a man to discover what he is made of, he must first be stripped of all his possessions and pre-conceived notions of existence. Buddhism was founded on such a premise. Symbolically, that is also what happened to the narrator’s character when he was stripped of all his worldly possessions by a fire. Human nature exists within boundaries. One can take the losses and negativity up to a certain point. Once that point is reached, the need for assertion and self-preservation takes over. One might almost call it â€Å"the feather that broke the camel’s back. † Losing the reassurance of a comfort zone and being plunged into unknown territories is probably one of man’s greatest fears that turns life into a matter of survival. In society, people take on roles that come with certain expectations. It is satisfying because it is â€Å"familiar. † Be it defined by their job title, family or role in personal relationships, people are more often viewed by the actions and responsibilities entailed by their roles. Employees are expected to be subservient to management and perform well, a husband is expected to earn and sustain his family, friends are expected to be good buddies and be there when their friends need them. If one thinks about it, in these roles, a person’s identity is determined by the value that one brings to a relationship. And for people to earn their â€Å"survival† in familiar grounds, they do their best to fulfill such roles. There is however, the secret â€Å"self† that is part of every person that is kept hidden from the world. Tyler Durden: All the ways you wish you could be, that’s me. I look like you wanna look, I fuck like you wanna fuck, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not. How often is it that one feels anger that produces pictures of violence within their heads? In today’s fast paced and stressful times, different modes of therapy and tension busters have been designed specifically to deal with repressed emotions. â€Å"He made me so angry I could have killed him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Violence occurs in the thoughts of people whether they admit it or not. It could be from the pettiest irritation to the more dangerous rages. Beneath a veneer of social graces and smiles, a person could be imagining the most violent thoughts against the person they are smilingly chatting with. Tyler Durden: People do it everyday, they talk to themselves†¦ they see themselves as they’d like to be, they don’t have the courage you have, to just run with it. What is freedom? One would think that if people were to take freedom for its full definition, they would be able to do whatever they wanted as long as they took responsibility. In the same sense, what defines a free man? Is it the ability to do whatever he desires without thought to anything else or is it the ability to assert and maintain one’s identity in the face of social expectation and laws? Take the case of the narrator: He is unhappy with every aspect of his life from his job to how he deals with others. His life is defined only by material possessions. He is meek and subservient towards a boss he detests. He is free yet constrained. Freedom therefore is constrained by man’s fear of consequence. This is a common experience. People are forced to do things as if in a barter. In the work place, tempers are controlled and respect is forced. In return, there is material gratification in the form of salaries, survival in the sense that employment is maintained and of course, advancement socially and personal economics. This kind of existence meets its most supreme challenge however in the inevitable for, human mortality. â€Å"Tyler Durden: Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day of Raymond K. Hessel’s life. His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and I have ever tasted. â€Å" In the scene where Tyler put a gun to Hessel’s head, it is a reasonable belief that the character Hessel fully expected to die at that very moment. To be given a reprieve when he was let go is literally being given a second chance at life. Death is a very powerful concept and eventuality. It is interesting to note that people faced with their own mortality experience a shift in perspective when it comes to how worthless or meaningful their lives have been. The definition of life changes from day to day waking existence to something that is much more valuable and dynamic. From the roles a person takes on due to necessity, mortality makes them face the reality of what they really are complete with their wants and desires. The realization of a life led without personal truth and realization makes a person desperate to grab at the few chances to actualize their desires before death claims them. â€Å"Tyler Durden: Guys, what would you wish you’d done before you died? Steph: Paint a self-portrait. The Mechanic: Build a house. Tyler Durden: [to Narrator] And you? Narrator: I don’t know. Turn the wheel now, come on! Tyler Durden: You have to know the answer to this question! If you died right now, how would you feel about your life? † Certain things happen that changes a person’s view of life completely. Be they positive or negative, the life experience and human individuality are complex yet intertwined. Some may find it easy to dismiss Norton’s character as simply schizophrenic or â€Å"weak. † Yet the truth is that within every person is an honest being that has individual needs, desires and desired freedoms that may just be unacceptable in an organized and tradition ruled society. Everyone also has the potential to rebel against it and prescribed conventions. The dialogue between the narrator and Tyler best summarizes this: † Tyler Durden: Did you know that if you mix equal parts of gasoline and frozen orange juice concentrate you can make napalm? Narrator: No, I did not know that; is that true? Tyler Durden: That’s right†¦ One could make all kinds of explosives, using simple household items. Narrator: Really†¦? Tyler Durden: If one were so inclined. † Works Cited Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf. Art Linson Productions, 1999.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Free Essays on Hussain

Frederick Douglass: an in depth look into the life of a great man Robert B. Lewis V. Kurt Young History 112 Spring 2001 The molding of Frederick Douglass How did the early years of Frederick Douglass’ life affect the beliefs of the man he would become? Frederick Douglass’ adulthood was one of triumph and prestige. Still, he by no means gained virtue without struggle and conflict. There was great opposition and hostility towards him. To fully understand all of his thoughts and beliefs, first one must look at his childhood. Frederick Augustus Bailey was born in February of 1818 to a black field hand named Harriet. He grew up on the banks of the Tuckahoe Creek deep within the woods of Maryland. Separated from his mother at an early age, he was raised by his grandparents Betsy and Isaac Bailey. Isaac and Betsy were not thought to be of relation. Isaac was a free man and a sawyer, while Betsy was an owned slave, but she kept her own rules. Her owner trusted her to watch over and raise the children of the slaves until they were old enough to begin their labor. She was allowed to keep her own cabin, and to farm food for the children and herself. It was not an easy job. While all of the mothers were busy working in the fields of their master, Aaron Anthony, she was busy watching over their infants. Betsy Bailey was quite a woman. She was a master fisher, and spent most of her days in the river or in the field farming. She was very intelligent and physically able bodied. Most historians credit Frederick’s intelligence to his extraordinary grandmother. At the age of six, Frederick’s carefree days of running and playing in the fields came to an abrupt end. He was taken away from his grandmother to begin the toil and sweat of the field workers. Here he joined his older brother and sisters, Perry, Sarah and Eliza in the fields of Edward Lloyd. The slave head in charge of Frederick was the cruel cook, Aunt Katy. Although perhaps he deserved s... Free Essays on Hussain Free Essays on Hussain Frederick Douglass: an in depth look into the life of a great man Robert B. Lewis V. Kurt Young History 112 Spring 2001 The molding of Frederick Douglass How did the early years of Frederick Douglass’ life affect the beliefs of the man he would become? Frederick Douglass’ adulthood was one of triumph and prestige. Still, he by no means gained virtue without struggle and conflict. There was great opposition and hostility towards him. To fully understand all of his thoughts and beliefs, first one must look at his childhood. Frederick Augustus Bailey was born in February of 1818 to a black field hand named Harriet. He grew up on the banks of the Tuckahoe Creek deep within the woods of Maryland. Separated from his mother at an early age, he was raised by his grandparents Betsy and Isaac Bailey. Isaac and Betsy were not thought to be of relation. Isaac was a free man and a sawyer, while Betsy was an owned slave, but she kept her own rules. Her owner trusted her to watch over and raise the children of the slaves until they were old enough to begin their labor. She was allowed to keep her own cabin, and to farm food for the children and herself. It was not an easy job. While all of the mothers were busy working in the fields of their master, Aaron Anthony, she was busy watching over their infants. Betsy Bailey was quite a woman. She was a master fisher, and spent most of her days in the river or in the field farming. She was very intelligent and physically able bodied. Most historians credit Frederick’s intelligence to his extraordinary grandmother. At the age of six, Frederick’s carefree days of running and playing in the fields came to an abrupt end. He was taken away from his grandmother to begin the toil and sweat of the field workers. Here he joined his older brother and sisters, Perry, Sarah and Eliza in the fields of Edward Lloyd. The slave head in charge of Frederick was the cruel cook, Aunt Katy. Although perhaps he deserved s...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Proper Preposition Use and Placement (In, At, To, Etc.)

Proper Preposition Use and Placement (In, At, To, Etc.) IN Use in with static (non-movement) verbs and cities, countries, states, etc.: stay in the USAwork in New York AT Use at with static (non-movement) verbs and places: at the cinemaat workat home TO Use to with verbs of movement such as go, come, drive, etc.: go to workdrive to California IMPORTANT NOTES The use of (nothing) With verbs of movement and the noun home - He went home. - they drove home.With the verb visit - She visited France last summer. Test Your Understanding Now that you have studied the use of in / at / to / nothing - as prepositions of place and movement, try the follow-up quiz to test your understanding. Prepositions of Place and Movement Quiz Study other prepositions: Prepositions of Place - in / at / onPrepositions - for / while / duringPrepositions of time and date - in / to  /  on / atNouns PrepositionsPrepositions NounsAdjective Prepositions Combinations - 1Adjective Prepositions Combinations - 2

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The six day war israel against the arab states Essay

The six day war israel against the arab states - Essay Example Moreover, it has also resulted in a special relationship between Israel and the United States after the conclusion of the war, with military support available for Israel from America. This has further fuelled the discord in the Middle east region. In 1956, during the Suez crisis, Israel had advanced its military into the Sinai peninsula, but with heavy diplomatic pressure from both the United States and the Soviet Union, Israel withdrew forces and a UN peacekeeping force was stationed in Sinai. One of the major reasons why the Suez crisis had been precipitated was the closure of the Tiran strait to Israeli shipping, but after the Suez crisis, the strait was reopened and there was temporary peace in the region despite the lack of resolution of the issues plaguing the region, since none of the Arab States recognized Israel as a separate state. The events leading up to the war were actually set into motion when Egypt became suspicious about an imminent Isreali attack on Syria planned for May 17, 1967. Such suspicions were based upon militant speeches that were being made by Israeli leaders and the substance of a Soviet intelligence report on the hostilities along the Israeli-Syrian border. As a result, Nassar personally ordered for the mobilization two divisions of troops across the Suez Canal during a late night meeting on May 13 and 14. (Bergman 2000, p 44). These troops were to be sent into Sinai with the intent of putting the armed forces in Sinai on full alert and completing the troop mobilization before an anticipated Israeli attack on May 17th. On May 18, 1967, the UAR began expelling the United Nations Emergency forces, which were there to provide a peace keeping buffer in the area and this led up to the closure of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships on May 23rd. This was akin to a trumpet call for war, because Israel had earlier made a public declaration that it would equate any interference with freedom of navigation along

Friday, November 1, 2019

Leadership and mentoring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Leadership and mentoring - Essay Example The effects of leadership decisions on organizational growth are many.In fact, appropriate leadership practices can highly enhance the performance of a particular organization, an issue that needs to be taken into consideration when having to evaluate the role of leaders in establishing and promoting organizational strategies. In any case, leadership has been proved to be a critical concept for organizations operating in different industries. However, in most cases, the ability of leaders to promote effective strategies is doubted; failures in providing guidelines or making accurate provisions in regard to the potential needs of a specific plan seem to be common aspects of the leadership worldwide. Current study reviews the characteristics and the requirements of leadership as compared to mentoring. Reference is particularly made to the potential interaction between leadership and mentoring and the role of its of these concepts in the success of plans, either in the short or the long term. Both these concepts, leadership and mentorship, are explored in the context of the business environment. At the same time, the personal perceptions on leadership are presented. Using the example of leadership in work, the personal responses to the needs of such a role are described and explained. It is proved that leadership can highly affect the success of projects in all sectors; moreover, the personal experiences on leadership, as evaluated through an appropriate theoretical framework, lead to the following assumption: leadership and mentoring have a key role in the success of organizational plans. Moreover, the involvement of leadership and mentoring in the context of a business can be made clear in all parts of the business; in the workplace leadership is critical for the development of an effective relationship between the employee and the employer. In the long term, the success of leaders is necessarily evaluated by their competencies and experience, but also by their willingness to support all aspects of their organization’s activities without setting their own interest as a priority. 2. Literature review on leadership and mentoring 2.1 Definitions The development of leadership has been related to a series of different sectors; in fact, leadership has been involved in many social, economic and political activities. According to Daft and Lane (2008) the value of leadership as a social phenomenon has been identified quite early, even from the ancient times. However, it was just in ‘the twentieth century that scientific research on leadership first appeared’ (Daft and Lane 2008). A key characteristic of leadership is its complexity. More specifically, due to the high range of activities in which it is involved, leadership has been described using different criteria (Daft and Lane 2008). A common definition of leadership is the following one: leadership is ‘an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend re al changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes’ (Daft and Lane 2008, p.4). In other words, leadership is defined by the perceptions of leaders and followers, as these perceptions are likely to affect the style of the leaders but also the relationship between leaders and followers. The above definition has an important implication: no reference is made to the potential independency of leaders from their followers neither to the independency of the latter from the former. In other words, leaders and followers are considered as fully committed to the achievement of certain common goals, a fact that cannot be verified by the social and economic practice. In fact, many leaders tend to decide independently, without being influenced by the percepti