Wolfe Implementing Self-Directed Taems free essay sample

RL Wolfe: Implementing Self-Directed Teams Introduction and Background Analysis This case was about the implementation of self-directed teams (SDTs) at the new pipe manufacturing plant of RL Wolfe located in Corpus Christi, Texas. The assessment took place in the second quarter of 2007, four years after the initial implementation of the SDT structure. The main change agents were John Amasi, RL Wolfe’s Director of Production and Engineering, and Jay Winslow, the Corpus Christi plant manager. Winslow was hired by Amasi to help in the planning and implementation of SDTs in the new Corpus Christi plant acquired by RL Wolfe in 2003. In contrast to Wolfe’s Austin and Columbus plants, the new plant was not unionized and was structured differently than the unionized plants in terms of job distinctions, work roles, and workers’ level of autonomy and involvement in decision-making. Amasi expected that after the implementation of SDTs, the Corpus Christi plant would achieve high productivity defined by him as 95% or more of design capacity. We will write a custom essay sample on Wolfe: Implementing Self-Directed Taems or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Meanwhile, the Wolfe’s Austin and Columbus plastic pipe manufacturing plants were running at 70% and 65% of design capacity respectively. Amasi’s Assessment Amasi arrived in Corpus Christi in May of 2007 to evaluate the results of the implementation of STDs. He found that the productivity level was at 82%- extensively higher than at Austin or Columbus’ plants, but still well below Amasi’s initial target of 95%. Efficiency levels on the third shift were considerably lower than for the first and second shift. Absentee rates were notably below the average for the first and second shifts, although they remained equivalent for the third shift. Leadership style and the role of the coordinator had changed positively, with 80% of the decisions about work made on the factory grounds versus through direction by the coordinator. The assessment exposed some problems in performance evaluations, ongoing tensions between the technicians and the line operators and material handlers, who felt they lacked status compared to the technicians. Besides there was worker frustration over perceived management failure to hand over promised control, and critical questions about just how much freedom to give the SDTs. Challenges Although the Corpus Christi plant had higher productivity and lower absenteeism rates compared to the ones at the other Wolfe plants, it was still not performing at the â€Å"high productivity† level that Amasi anticipated. Implementation of SDTs at the Corpus Christi plant had been associated with these superior results. The challenge is to figure out how to better utilize the SDT at Corpus Christi to drive productivity, as well as determine whether or not to implement SDTs to Wolfe’s other plants. Interventions Analysis The SDT arrangement in place at the Corpus Christi plant represented a completely different organizational structure than in the other Wolfe’s plants. Amasi assumed it would be easy to establish SDTs at Corpus Christi since this was an entirely new plant for the company. Although Amasi was able to get a new start with mostly new workers and a new plant, he did not consider the cost of the lack of congruence between SDTs and the culture and organizational structure in the broader organization. Although it is not stated in the case, it seems that there was no pressure to change structure due to any competitive advantage. Amasi solely took the decision of establishing SDTs in the new plant based on his readings and perceptions about the potential productivity improvement. I believe he needed to evaluate first the skills and culture required for the success of SDTs. From the case I can infer that the other two plants at Wolfe had a hierarchical structure with rigid job classifications and weight on the worth of seniority. There is strong evidence that the overall organizational culture and management style has historically been authoritarian. Wolfe’s culture lacked consensus-building and genuine participation in the decision-making processes, which are crucial characteristics for SDTs’ success. Although it was estimated that after three years of SDTs’ creation, the teams made 80% of the decisions, I cannot certainly infer that there was a change from an autocratic culture to one of consensus. Apparently, teams were empowered but at the same time they were not allowed to set performance goals or participate in strategic plans for the overall company. The limited empowerment might hinder the ability of SDTs to effectively work. I recommend a transition system where SDTs set their own performance goals, in coordination with management’s goals. The fact that operators complained bout having to wait for maintenance personnel to come in and repair problems, showed that they were willing to carry out these repairs themselves. I believe this is an indicator that operators were interested in self-management to some extent. This is a positive frame for SDTs success. Amasi’s expectation of getting 95% of productivity within three years was too optimistic. It repre sented an improvement of about 40% over the performance of the other two plants. A change in the culture of an organization cannot be done overnight, but instead is a process that takes time and perseverance. SDTs achieve gains when there is congruence among culture and organizational structure, skills and ability of the workers, opportunities to participate, supportive management, appropriate mix of team incentives, and the right environmental conditions. I believe Amasi needed to be more realistic and aware that this transformation required time and systematic OD interventions. Moreover, while higher productivity levels have been associated with the implementation of SDTs at Wolfe, there may be other reasons for this improvement. For instance, Corpus Christi was a new plant with workers and managers more attentive to tasks and goals. In addition, through the meticulous hiring process, Amasi and Winslow might get better workers than their counterparts in Columbus or Austin. The poor performance of the third shift (night hours) was present not only at the Corpus Christi plant but also in Wolfe’s other plants. The attempt of Winslow to solve this issue was rejected by the SDTs who saw this intervention as a lack of keeping the promise to allow self-direction. It might be worthwhile to give the SDTs the tools to investigate the problem. The reason for the shift’s poor performance could be the dissatisfaction of the workers with their poor family life (not able to share with family members during day hours), and the lack of any compensation differential; ultimately this caused workers to lose their motivation. At the manufacturing plant where I was a supervisor, workers rotated across different shifts allowing everyone to set a family time during the month. They had also a slightly higher remuneration to compensate the hardiness of the third shift. Winslow promoted a growing division between the line-level factory workers and the workers designated as â€Å"technicians. † I believe that Winslow gave preferential consideration to technicians when he wanted feedback of SDTs’ performance. This contributed to an increased gap between the two levels of workers. One of the principles of SDTs is egalitarian value (all members need to be treated as equals), which had been undermined through these actions. I would recommend doing some icebreaker activities and training that lead both levels of workers to improve their relationship. Besides, there was a fairly high turnover of floor workers, which means the membership within the teams changed frequently. This could hinder team cohesion and productivity. Winslow needed to improve workers’ motivation through egalitarianism, compensation and stimulating training programs, such as the Teachable Point of View used by Ford. I want to point out that Amasi and Winslow did not include a clear incentive program to compensate the additional responsibilities acquired by workers through SDTs’ implementation. The extra $2 per hour that Amasi initially considered was eliminated because of union concerns. Although SDTs might help to perform the same job more efficiently, I believe team players needed a compensation incentive to enhance their commitment. I recommended a systemized team-based performance evaluation system. Finally, I would recommend that Amasi and Winslow continue working together to improve SDTs with the target of further increasing in productivity (a more realistic 90% goal). Once the SDT structure has been refined, Amasi should meet Wolfe’s top managers to present the requirements and advantages of implementing SDTs at Austin and Columbus’ plants. I believe that Corpus Christi can be used as a benchmark for implementing SDTs at Wolfe’s other plants. At the end, overall Wolfe’s transformation in culture, structure, people, and task would set the SDTs’ requirements for success: enhanced productivity and competitiveness. Appendix (1) Self-directed team is defined as a committed, multi-skilled, multifunctional group with responsibility for the completion of a fairly whole piece of work and the control of all input, output, and underneath variables and conditions that influence team performance.

Personality Essays

Personality Essays Personality Essay Personality Essay While there are many different theories of personality, the first step is to understand exactly what is meant by the term personality. The word personality itself stems from the Latin word persona, which referred to a theatrical mask work by performers in order to either project different roles or disguise their identities. A brief definition would be that personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that make a person unique. In addition to this, personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life. Some other definitions of personality: Personality refers to individuals characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms hidden or not behind those patterns. This definition means that among their colleagues in other subfields of psychology, those psychologists who study personality have a unique mandate: to explain whole pers ons. (Funder, D. C. , 1997) Although no single definition is acceptable to all personality theorists, we can say that personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a persons behavior. (Feist and Feist, 2009) While there are many different theories of personality, the first step is to understand exactly what is meant by the term personality. The word personality itself stems from the Latin word persona, which referred to a theatrical mask work by performers in order to either project different roles or disguise their identities. A brief definition would be that personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that make a person unique. In addition to this, personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life. Some other definitions of personality: Personality refers to individuals characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms hidden or not behind those patterns. This definition means that among their colleagues in other subfields of psychology, those psychologists who study personality have a unique mandate: to explain whole persons. (Funder, D. C. , 1997) Although no single definition is acceptable to all personality theorists, we can say that personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a persons behavior. (Feist and Feist, 2009) These personality types are Sanguine Phlegmatic Choleric Melancholic Long ago, each of these types was associated with a dominant humor present in the body: sanguine – blood humor, phlegmatic – phlegm humor, choleric – yellow bile humor, melancholic – black bile humor. Additionally to that, the latest research shows that these four basic temperaments are associated with chemicals, like dopamine (for sanguine type), estrogen (for phlegmatic type), testosterone (for choleric type) and serotonin (for melancholic type). The Sanguine Type This type is characterized by spontaneity, optimism, enthusiasm, high energy, mental flexibility, novelty seeking, impulsiveness and curiosity. These traits are associated with specific genes in the dopamine system. These people often have very expressive faces and love using words like â€Å"adventure†, â€Å"energy†, â€Å"new†, â€Å"fun†, â€Å"active†, â€Å"travel† and similar. The Phlegmatic Type These people are mainly defined by their social skills, such as their ability to express themselves and read other people face expressions and body language. They do well at connecting facts and seeing â€Å"the big picture†. They are nurturing, sympathetic, agreeable and emotionally expressive. Some of these character traits are linked with estrogen that is present in both men and women. Physically you can recognize them by their smooth skin, full lips, round faces and small noses. Their favorite words are â€Å"passion†, â€Å"passionate†, â€Å"sensitive† and â€Å"sweet†. The Choleric Type This type is associated with testosterone, which is also present in men and women, but more so in men. These people are direct, focused, tough, analytical, logical and strategic. They have a great deal of courage and like to compete, often against each other. They often have square jaws, high cheekbones and high foreheads and love to use words like â€Å"intellect†, â€Å"ambition† and â€Å"challenge†. More  » The Melancholic Type Melancholics tend to be calm, loyal and orderly, just as their personality name sounds. They are cautious and conventional. These men and women inherited genes in the serotonin system and their favorite words are â€Å"family†, â€Å"loyal†, â€Å"respect†, â€Å"caring†, â€Å"values† and â€Å"moral†. Thorndikes theory of learning 1. Learning is incremental. [9] 2. Learning occurs automatically. [9] 3. All animals learn the same way. [9] 4. Law of effect- if an association is followed by a â€Å"satisfying state of affairs† it will be strengthened and if it is followed by an â€Å"annoying state of affairs â€Å" it will be weakened. 5. Thorndike’s law of exercise has two parts; the law of use and the law of disuse. . Law of use- the more often an association is used the stronger it becomes. [15] 2. Law of disuse- the longer an association is unused the weaker it becomes. [15] 6. Law of recency- the most recent response is most likely to reoccur. [15] 7. Multiple response- problem solving through trial and error. An animal will try multiple respo nses if the first response does not lead to a specific state of affairs. [15] 8. Set or attitude- animals are predisposed to act in a specific way. [15] 9. Prepotency of elements- a subject can filter out irrelevant aspects of a problem and focus and respond only to significant elements of a problem. [15] 10. Response by analogy- responses from a related or similar context may be used in a new context. [15] 11. Identical elements theory of transfer- This theory states that the extent to which information learned in one situation will transfer to another situation is determined by the similarity between the two situations. [9] The more similar the situations are, the greater the amount of information that will transfer. 9] Similarly, if the situations have nothing in common, information learned in one situation will not be of any value in the other situation. [9] 12. Associative shifting- it is possible to shift any response from occurring with one stimulus to occurring with another stimulus. [15] Associative shift maintains that a response is first made to situation A, then to AB, and then finally to B, thus shifting a response from one condition to another by associating it with that condition. [16] 13. Law of readiness- a quality in responses and connections that results in readiness to act. 16] Thorndike acknowledges that responses may differ in their readiness. [16] He claims that eating has a higher degree of readiness than vomiting, that weariness detracts from the readiness to play and increases the readiness to sleep. [16] Also, Thorndike argues that a low or negative status in respect to readiness is called unreadiness. [16] Behavior and learning are influenced by the readiness or unreadiness of responses, as well as by their strength. [16] 14. Identifiability- According to Thorndike, the identification or placement of a situation is a first response of the nervous system, which can recognize it. 16] Then connections may be made to one another or to another response, and these connections depend upon the original identification. [16] Therefore, a large amount of learning is made up of changes in the ident ifiability of situations. [16] Thorndike also believed that analysis might turn situations into compounds of features, such as the number of sides on a shape, to help the mind grasp and retain the situation, and increase their identifiability. [16] 15. Availability- The ease of getting a specific response. 16] For example, it would be easier for a person to learn to touch their nose or mouth than it would be for them to draw a line 5  inches long with their eyes closed. [16] Development of law of effect Thorndikes research focused on instrumental learning, which means that learning is developed from the organism doing something. For example, he placed a cat inside a wooden box. The cats used various methods trying to get out, however it does not work until it hits the lever. Afterwards, Thorndike tried placing the cat inside the wooden box again, this time, the cat is able to hit the lever quickly and succeeded to get out from the box. At first, Thorndike emphasized the importance of dissatisfaction stemming from failure as equal to the reward of satisfaction with success, though in his experiments and trials on humans he came to conclude that reward is a much more effective motivator than punishment. He also emphasized that the satisfaction must come immediately after the success, or the lesson would not sink in. [ Transfer of learning is the study of the dependency of human conduct, learning, or performance on prior experience. The notion was originally introduced as transfer of practice by Edward Thorndike and Robert S. Woodworth. [1] They explored how individuals would transfer learning in one context to another context that shared similar characteristics  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ or more formally how improvement in one mental function could influence another related one. Their theory implied that transfer of learning depends on the proportion to which the learning task and the transfer task are similar, or where identical elements are concerned in the influencing and influenced function, now known as identical element theory. Transfer research has since attracted much attention in numerous domains, producing a wealth of empirical findings and theoretical interpretations. However, there remains considerable controversy about how transfer of learning should be conceptualized and explained, what its probability occurrence is, what its relation is to learning in general, or whether it may be said to exist at all. 2] Most discussions of transfer to date can be developed from a common operational definition, describing it as the process and the effective extent to which past experiences (also referred to as the transfer source) affect learning and performance in a current novel situation (the transfer target). [3] This, however, is usually where the general consensus between various research approaches ends. There are a wide variety of viewpoints and theoretical frameworks apparent in the literature. For review purposes, these are categorized as follows: a taxonomical pproach to transfer research that usually intends to categorize transfer into different types; an application domain-driven approach by focusing on developments and contributions of different disciplines that have traditionally been interested in transfer; the examination of the psychological scope of transfer models with respect to the psychological functions or faculties that are being regarded; and a concept-driven evaluation, which reveals underlying relationships and differences between theoretical and empirical traditions. Do we really forget? Many people think that the human mind is too complex to explain, and memory is no exception. Even though vast amounts of research have been carried out into how we remember (and forget! ) things, nobody knows for sure the model on which human memory is based. There are, nonetheless, two main reasons for which psychologists think we forget information: You store information in your memory but are unable to remember it when you need to, but perhaps can at a later date. In this case, information is inaccessible The human memory simply forgets information, permenantly, and the physical traces of the memory disappear. In which case, information is unavailable Forgetting You can’t talk about remembering without mentioning its counterpart. It seems that as much as we do remember, we forget even more. Forgetting isn’t really all that bad, and is in actuality, a pretty natural phenomenon. Imagine if you remembered every minute detail of every minute or every hour, of every day during your entire life, no matter how good, bad, or insignificant. Now imagine trying to sift through it all for the important stuff like where you left your keys. There are many reasons we forget things and often these reasons overlap. Like in the example above, some information never makes it to LTM. Other times, the information gets there, but is lost before it can attach itself to our LTM. Other reasons include decay, which means that information that is not used for an extended period of time decays or fades away over time. It is possible that we are physiologically preprogrammed to eventually erase data that no longer appears pertinent to us. Failing to remember something doesn’t mean the information is gone forever though. Sometimes the information is there but for various reasons we can’t access it. This could be caused by distractions going on around us or possibly due to an error of association (e. g. , believing something about the data which is not correct causing you to attempt to retrieve information that is not there). There is also the phenomenon of repression, which means that we purposefully (albeit subconsciously) push a memory out of reach because we do not want to remember the associated feelings. This is often sited in cases where adults ‘forget’ incidences of sexual abuse when they were children. And finally, amnesia, which can be psychological or physiological in origin Memory Human memory, like memory in a computer, allows us to store information for later use. In order to do this, however, both the computer and we need to master three processes involved in memory. The first is called encoding; the process we use to transform information so that it can be stores. For a computer this means transferring data into 1’s and 0’s. For us, it means transforming the data into a meaningful form such as an association with an existing memory, an image, or a sound. Next is the actual storage, which simply means holding onto the information. For this to take place, the computer must physically write the 1’ and 0’s onto the hard drive. It is very similar for us because it means that a physiological change must occur for the memory to be stored. The final process is called retrieval, which is bringing the memory out of storage and reversing the process of encoding. In other words, return the information to a form similar to what we stored. The major difference between humans and computers in terms of memory has to do with how the information is stored. For the most part, computers have only two types; permanent storage and permanent deletion. Humans, on the other hand are more complex in that we have three distinct memory storage capabilities (not including permanent deletion). The first is   Sensory memory, referring to the information we receive through the senses. This memory is very brief lasting only as much as a few seconds.

What Are AP Classes Why Should You Take Them

What Are AP Classes Why Should You Take Them SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’ve started high school recently, or if you're due to start soon, you might be wondering, "What are AP classes?" You might have heard that they are extra-advanced or that you can get college credit from them. But how does it work? If you’ve been wondering what AP tests are and how they can help you, read on for our guide to AP courses and learn how they can get you ahead. What Is Advanced Placement? Advanced Placement is a program run by the College Board (the makers of the SAT) that allows you to take courses at your high school, which can earn you college credit and/or qualify you for more advanced classes when you begin college. So what are AP courses? They are designed to give you the experience of an intro-level college class while you’re still in high school. Plus, you can get college credit for the class if you pass the AP exam. AP classes were created in the mid-1950s as a response to the widening gap between secondary school (high school) and college. A pilot program in 1952 had 11 subjects, butAP didn’t officially launch until the 1956 school year,when the College Board took over the program and named it the College Board Advanced Placement Program. The program expanded rapidly over the years.These days,about 2.7 million students take AP exams every year in 38 subjects.It’s also much more common for students to take multiple AP classes over the course of their high school careers. Well, the content of an intro-level college class ... you won't sit in a lecture hall like this until college! But what exactly are AP exams?An AP exam isbasically a test of all you learn in an AP class. You earn college credit if you pass the examgiven at the end of the year in May. (AP tests are scored between 1 and 5, with anything above 3 considered passing.) While it's possible to skip the AP class and study for an AP exam independently, it's strongly recommended that you take the class.AP classes are specifically designed to help students prepare for the AP exams. Taking an AP course and passing the test is a sign that you're capable of handling college-level work, which will strengthen your college applications immensely. Want to get a perfect 5 on your AP exam and an A in class? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Why Take AP Classes? 3 Key Benefits Now that you know what AP classes are, why should you consider taking them? Below, we give you three potential benefits of taking AP classes. #1: They Can Boost Your College Applications Taking an AP class (or several!) is a great way to challenge yourself academically and show colleges that you're serious about your education. An AP class on your transcript signals stronger academic training, especially with high passing scores of 4 and 5 on the test. In particular, getting a 5 on an AP test shows that you are more advanced in a subject than 80-90% of advanced students- which looks very impressive to colleges! Since AP courses are challenging and require you to study for a comprehensive exam, they teach you skills that will help you in college classes. According to the College Board, students who take AP exams get higher grades in college than those with similar grades who don’t take AP exams. You basically get a head start in college. Many colleges say thatthey look to see if you took the hardest courses available to you at your school.Taking AP classes is often the best way to show that you are challenging yourself academically at your high school. For example, Yale says on their admissions website, "Weonly expect you to take advantage of [AP] courses if your high school provides them.† In other words, if your school has AP courses and you don’t take them, it might look as though you aren't challenging yourself. To take a West Coast example, USC is more straightforward: â€Å"Students should pursue Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes whenever possible and if offered by high school.† Getting a high passing score of 4 or 5 further demonstrates your academic potential to colleges.(By the way, if you're curious about a college's suggested high school course load, look up its admissions website by searching "[School Name] admissions requirements.") #2: They Can Show Your Passion Taking AP exams is also a way to demonstrate real academic interest in a certain subject. For example,if you’re an aspiring engineer, taking the AP Calculus and AP Physics courses and passing the exams will prove to college admissions committees that you're serious about engineering and have the skills necessary to pursue it. On the other hand, if you're interested in political science or pre-law tracks, taking AP US History, AP US Government, AP Statistics, and/or AP Economics would show strong preparation for those subjects. Or ifyou’re hoping to be pre-med,taking AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and/or AP Calculus would indicate that you have the skills and background needed to handle tough pre-med classes as a college student. #3: They Can Get You College Credit Some colleges give credit for AP classes. This makes it possible to graduate from college in a far shorter amount of time, ultimately saving you money! For example,Harvard lets you apply for Advanced Standing if you've completed the equivalent of a year of college courses with AP exams. The University of Michigan, too,grants new students course credit and higher class placements for AP exams. However, some colleges use scores to help place students in higher-level classes but don't allow these credits to fulfill graduation requirements, so you can't graduate any earlier. Similarly, other schools might let you earn college credit but are limiting about which AP exams they accept. As an example, Stanford University accepts AP credit from many science, language, and math AP courses, but not any from history or English courses. Washington University in St. Louis will grant some credit for AP tests but doesn't allow you to use these credits to meet general education requirements: "A maximum of 15 units of prematriculation credit may be counted toward any undergraduate degree. These units will count toward graduation, but will not meet general education requirements." Despite all this, getting the boost into more advanced classes can help you work through a major more quickly and let you take more advanced and more interesting courses as a freshman. Even if you don't earn credit for your AP scores, AP classes can still get you ahead. If you’re curious about a college’s AP policy, the College Board has a database you can use to look up any school's policy. The fewer years college takes, the less you have to spend! How to Sign Up for AP Classes and Tests You can sign up for an AP course through your normal high school registration process. Keep in mind that some schools have prerequisite courses you have to take before you can sign up for an AP class. Track down your guidance counselor if you have any questions about this! You'll also sign up for AP tests through your school, which will havea designated AP coordinator (often a guidance counselor) to help with the process. If you’re home-schooled or want to take an AP test for a class your school doesn’t offer,contact your local school’s AP coordinator. AP tests cost $94 each.Some schools offer subsidies, and the College Board has financial aidin the form of a $32 fee reduction. Remember that if you pass the AP exam, you can exchange your score for college credit once you get to college. So even though that $94 fee is steep, it’s a bargain compared with the cost of taking that same class for a semester in college! What’s Next? Now that you now about AP classes, which ones should you take? Check out our comprehensive list of AP exams and guide. Also,learn about how long AP tests are and how to deal with testing fatigue. Also studying for the SAT? Learn how to boost your Reading, Math, and Writing scores, and get some essentialtips for the Essay. Studying for the ACT instead? Check out our ultimate ACT study guide,and get expert tips on how to write a great essay for the Writing section. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Progression in History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Progression in History - Essay Example We have almost everything at the tip of fingers. The use of science and technology has created doors for us to discover a lot of things, like in the field of investigation wherein we now have advanced tools that can recreate bullet impacts or match DNA just from a single hair strand or even just a small piece of skin. Digital imaging help recreate faces from the skulls buried long ago and excavated days ago. We have gone a long way in terms of science and technology but have we progressed or have we just adapted to the times? Through this paper, I seek to deliberate whether there is human progression or just adaptation. The different periods in time, from the Old Age to the Modern era, shows us that humans are pursuing different areas of development. We have expansion, arts and culture, science and technology and even political dominion. The different periods in time give us a glimpse on how human life has moved from one dimension to another. So is there progress or do we regress fro m time to time that’s why we look back at history and rediscover things? The Machiavellian notion of human progress is associated with the fixed human nature, that human nature is geared towards change and development because of desire and ambition (Gutfreund, 208). With this, Machiavelli sees progress as a goal, an end result that moves towards man’s ambition and desire to become better and more powerful. This indicates that human progress is not fixed rather than an effect of the human fixed on it nature (Lemon, 105). For Machiavelli, there is no real progress in human history, rather, there is a continuous experience, by which, we learn, grow, and move towards our ambition and desire. There is no such thing as meaning in history, only learning, as human experiences are guided by human nature, a clear statement that indicates that progress is non-existent and what humans experience are their natural-born instincts. This is partly what I personally believe as human pr ogress. That it is associated with human nature. But I don’t agree with Machiavelli that human nature is fixed and unchanging towards desire and ambition. Because of experience and learning, humans develop, mature and change. For me, progress means to change for the better. It means development and improvement. But it is more than that, progress is a combination of stability, change and growth. With this, I agree with Luther’s notion of progress and its relation to a struggle. For Luther, progress is a goal towards justice, by which humans need to sacrifice and to suffer before being able to reach it (Paulson, 90). Luther’s progress is a goal towards justice and equality. His progress is idealistic. With this, it contradicts with my belief that progress is associated with human nature. Human nature is not idealistic. It has flaws, that’s why humans need to look back and understand the past and use these learnings in order to move towards progression. But human’s are not perfect and ideal, that’s why we always regress to old habits and make the same mistakes. Progress, then, is a continuous struggle, but not to Luther’s goal of justice and equality, but to human’s desire to become better. Bacon’s belief in the notion of progress created an idea that technological advancement is associated to progress (Attar, 70). For him, science and technology are the means to control nature, that humans can

The Greater Common Good by Arundhati Roy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Greater Common Good by Arundhati Roy - Essay Example The one conclusion that follows from these texts is that the natural wealth of the third world nations can only be saved by cleansing their political system. This will reduce their dependence on the developed nations and will allow them to use their natural wealth for supporting a long term and inclusive development. The excerpt â€Å"Deficits: Indebtedness and Unfair Trade† from Wangari Maathai’s book The Challenge for Africa and the open online essay The Greater Common Good by Arundhati Roy discuss the continual plundering of the natural wealth of the third world nations by both the exploitative developed nations and the greedy elements in power within these nations. These texts explain as to how the developed nations and the corrupt politicians and policy makers in the developing nations cooperate with each other to benefit from the corrupt exploitation of the natural resources in these countries. Wangari Maathai was a well known environmental activist from Kenya. Sh e started the Green Belt Movement that played an important role in the area of environment, conservation and women empowerment in Africa. Wangari Maathai work was recognized and she was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2004. Arundhati Roy is a reputed Indian author who is also associated with political and environmental activism in India. She has been closely associated with the Narmada Dam agitation. Hence, there is no doubt that the views expressed by both these writers regarding the plundering of natural resources.

Young Goodman Brown Essay Example for Free

Young Goodman Brown Essay The theme of change and transformation preoccupies the minds of writers through the centuries. They use a change as a technique in order to illustrate transformations of the characters. Both, Raymond Carver and Alice Walker turn to the theme of change in their works but they do it in a different way. Two stories, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use† approach the theme of change from different perspectives. Alice Walker depicts the way the notion of the hereditary is changed for different generations. She shows how young girl, who leaves her native place for a big city gradually changes and how her perception of her origin and hereditary changes accordingly. In this story two ideologies, presented by Dee and her mother, clash. The author depicts how traditional attitude to the family values and customs, represented by Dee’s mother, is opposed to Dee, who presents a new vision of the history, conditioned by the liberation movement. Dee’s mother does not change and represents the spirit of all generations, who stand behind her. She follows her path and can not accept new attitudes brought by Dee from the big city. Dee does not loose her ties with her native land and her hereditary when she leaves her parents’ house. She only gets new perception of them. Dee changes a lot and her attitudes changes accordingly. Visiting her home, she asks her mother to hang the quilt on the wall in order to manifest her attitude to the history of her people. Her attitude changes dramatically because she did not want to take the same quilt with her when she was leaving her home several years ago. Her mother does not want the changes to occur. She treats the quilt as an element for everyday use. As she states, â€Å"God knows I been saving `em for long enough with nobody using `em. I hope [Maggie] will put them to everyday use! † (Walker, 16). Despite we can see that the mother and her daughter have very different ideas about the ways the memories about their origins should be kept, we still can not reject the fact that they both care about this past. Dee has another vision and her vision reflects the spirit of the epoch and new attitudes brought by the changes in the mentality. Young Goodman Brown was written in the year 1835 by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story brightly depicts the Puritan society of the seventeenth century. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s style is ambiguous; he doesn’t transmit his message directly. The most mysterious event in the story is Goodman Brown’s journey to the night wood. This journey completely transforms Brown’s personality because in the forest he meets with the dark side of his personality. The Black Mess in the dark forest points not only to the hypocrisy of the society and religious authorities but also to the dark part of the personality. It’s his own hidden dark side, which Goodman meets in the forest. Once the listener fancied that he could distinguish the accents of towns-people of his own, men and women, both pious and ungodly, many of whom he had met at the communion table, and had seen others rioting at the tavern† (Hawthorne, 114). The author uses the Black Mess to show the part of personality people try to hide not only from others, but also from themselves. New knowledge, which Goodman Brown achieves in the forest will change his perception of himself and other people forever. The changes, which occur to Dee in the Walker’s story reflect her true attitude to the reality and most probably will last for a long time. Works Cited Walker, Alice, In Love and Trouble, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, inc, 1973. Shuffelton, Frank. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Revival Movement. † The American Transcendental Quarterly 44, 1979. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown, 1992 Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. Perrines Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Comp. Thomas R. Arp. New York: Harcourt Brace College, 1994.

The Green Divide: Class Conflict within Klingle Valley :: Green Ecology Environment Essays

The Green Divide: Class Conflict within Klingle Valley As a sign of our times, urban development has been occurring throughout the United States and the global arena at a rapid rate. In the course of this development, the green spaces of cities have been affected in a generally negative way. Overall, people have lost recreational sites for play and relaxation, which are crucial to a healthy society. Look at our nation’s capitol. Thanks to the great influx of businesses and firms entering the District, the green space has been slowly declining. Washingtonians are beginning to fear that one of America’s largest and most beautiful parks—Rock Creek Park—will fall victim to the urban development encouraged by the profit-seeking government. The government believes that urban development is the most effective way to produce the space of the city. However, some citizens feel that Rock Creek Park is a space that must be preserved for the society’s well being. For over a decade now, the fate of the closed portion of Klingle Road in Northwest Washington, D.C. has been debated. Those primarily living east of Rock Creek Park favor repaving the old road so that it can be used once again for vehicular traffic. Those primarily living west of the park favor continued closure of the road and preservation of the environment. On the surface, it appears to be only a geographical division and a conflict between green space and urban development; however, an overlooked ‘Green Divide’ between economic and racial classes seems to lie beneath the surface. Before I continue, it is crucial to understand several key terms. Green space can be defined as open space. It includes "trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, and other components" in a setting usually deemed a park, which may or may not have recreational facilities (Brewer 150). Along with green space, preservation and conservation should be defined. The two words are synonymous and mean the "planned management of natural resources" (Mish 170). "Planned management" allows for encroachment on green space, but in a controlled way. These terms are the primary components of the rhetoric of keeping Klingle Road closed. The propaganda, generated by the road closure advocates, continually uses the words green space and preservation. These terms are easily identifiable by the general public. Furthermore, upon hearing these terms, the general public usually leans toward the environmental side. Furthermore, advocates of continued road closure designate the following terminology upon the opponent.

How Macroeconomics affects business Essay

Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that explores trends in the national economy as a whole considering the study of the sum of individual economic factors. Macroeconomics considers the larger picture, and an understanding of how do business operates is crucial to understand macroeconomics. Macroeconomics is intertwined with business because business is affected by the factors that constitute macroeconomics. Circular-flow diagram: a visual model of the economy that shows how dollars flow through markets among households and firms. Using this diagram it can be clearly observed how some factors can influence business operations.. Business is affected by many economic activities. These activities are: Interest rate increase, taxes increase, unemployment rate increase, Inflation. Interest Rate. Interest rate is a rate which is charged or paid for the use of money. Increase of interest rate has a great affect on several consumption opportunities. 1. As it can be observed from the graph, if interest rate increases the consumption expenditures of households will decrease, which means that company’s profit will decrease. In future it will lead to decrease in production output. In order to be competitive companies will need to cut wages or even fire somebody from the personnel, which will again lead to decrease in consumption opportunities. 2. Affect on cost of borrowing. Many companies around the world make their business by loaning money from the bank. If interest rate increases, the interest payments on credit and loans become more expensive. Therefore this discourages companies from borrowing and widening its business. Companies who already have loans will have less disposable income because they spend more on interest payments. 3. Increase in mortgage interest payments. In majority of cases companies borrow mortgages to buy already existed place  for operations or to build a new building. And if the mortgage interest will increase even by very little percent, it will have significant impact on businesses disposable income. That’s why it will be more profitable for them to rent an apartment rather that to buy a new one. 4. Reduced Confidence. Interest rates have an effect on business confidence. A rise in interest rates discourages investment; it makes firms less willing to take out risky investments and purchases Taxes A fee charged by a government on a product, income, or activity. Here are some effects of taxes on business operations. 1. Taxes lower overall gains. There is a statement in accounting which calls income statement. In income statement all revenues and expenses are written. After subtractions of all expenses out of revenues there is a column which name is Earnings before interest and taxes. Results of â€Å"before tax† and â€Å"after tax† business cases can look quite different. Where the business case shows gains or net cash inflows, taxes operate to lower overall gains because operating income and capital gains are normally taxed. 2. Low wages Multiple governments levy so many taxes on businesses that â€Å"taxes† is the highest budget items on the ledger sheets of most businesses. These taxes take away some of the money otherwise used to pay wages. That’s why employers can’t pay good wages. 3. High prices In many countries governments put many taxes on businesses that â€Å"taxes† is the highest budget items on the ledger sheets of most businesses. Businesses have to raise prices to get money to pay these taxes. So product prices go up. This leads to inflation. Unemployment. Unemployment is an economic condition marked by the fact that individuals actively seeking jobs remain unhired. There are several reasons of unemployment in a country. They are: 1. Worldwide financial crisis Companies do not have enough money to hire new staff to the company and to increase their outcome. 2. Population increase When, for example, baby boomers reach the age of 18, they start to search for a job, but the number of work places did not increase. That’s why many of them become unemployed. 3. Low qualification The majority of companies nowadays try to employ more qualified workers, and people that are less qualified fail to find a better job 4. Replacement of workers by technologies In todays world technological progress is very visible. In many factories people force is replaced by machine. And if 10 years ago in order to produce one detail you need 10 people, today you need only one or two persons who will watch after this process of production Unemployment has a direct impact on all business. People buy products and services and if they do not have a job they will buy less products and services. That is why increasing unemployment often results in many businesses reducing inventories because they expect to sell less. Another reason is that many companies in order to develop and reach the new level of production need more qualified personnel. But if there is a shortage of qualified people, company can not develop at all and should whether stay at the same level of find other ways to improve. The third reason is that during the recessions and crisis companies should cut their expenses, that’s why in order to be competitive and do not decrease the level of production they should fire some workers Inflation Inflation is an increase in the price of a basket of goods and services that is representative of the economy as a whole. Effects of inflation on business. 1. People try to get rid of cash before it is devalued, by saving food and  other commodities creating shortages of the saved objects. That’s why in a specific period of time, for example, one week, people will consume a lot of goods, but one week later they will not consume at all. 2. Increased risk – Higher uncertainties. Uncertainties in business always exist, but with inflation risks are very high, because of the instability of prices. 3. Existing credit companies will be hurt, because the value of the money they will receive from their borrowers later will be lower than the money they gave before. 4. Fixed income recipients will be hurt, because while inflation increases, their income doesn’t increase, and therefore their income will have less value over time. 5. Companies will think they were making profits while in reality they’re losing money if they don’t take into consideration the inflation rate when calculating profits. 6. Many companies will have to go out of business because of the losses they incurred from inflation and its effects. 7. Rising prices of imports if the currency is debased, then it’s purchasing power in the international market is lower.For the same amount of money companies will be able to buy less. 8. Competition. If there is a lot of competition in a market, businesses try harder to keep prices low to keep buyers. It means that companies will have less and less profit. Sometimes they will need to cut the wages. But staff do not like when the wages are cut. And if they will not find something else in order to cover their costs, they will soon become a bankrupt. In conclusion it can be said that Macroeconomics has a very big impact on the business operations. Economics intersect with business in almost everything. And whatever changes will occur in economics it will for sure display in business.

Houses as Motif: Kate Chopins the Awakening

Houses as Motifs in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening Linda Catte Dr. Kathryn Warren ENGL 2329: American Literature March 22, 2012 (KateChopin. org. ) (Krantz’s Grand Isle Hotel Picture of painting by Tracy Warhart Plaisance) (Reflechir: Vol. 1. Les images des prairies tremblantes: 1840-1940 by Cheniere Hurricane Centennial Committee) It is not new or unique that an individual is looking for one’s purpose and meaning in life. Nor is it unique that men and women imitate the norms of society. In Kate Chopin’s novella, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, the antagonist, knocked against the societal norms of the late 1800’s.Houses represent Edna’s search for her inner self. The houses which Chopin uses in The Awakening come in pairs which contrast each other. Chopin uses the bird cage and the bath-house to illustrate imprisonment and freedom. The house on Grand Isle and the small house on the Cheniere Island represent restlessness and awareness. The grand house on Esplanade Street in New Orleans and the small house located just around the corner demonstrate confinement and control in contrast with freedom and independence. Each house brings to light different aspects of Edna’s personality as she searches for her inner soul and finds new awakenings along the way.As various houses are presented by Chopin, each will provide insight into Edna’s search for meaning in her life. In order to better understand Edna’s state of mind as Chopin begins The Awakening, the norms of society needs an explanation. Mr. Leonce Pontellier demonstrates characteristics of a husband who fits the societal norm of 1899 when The Awakening (Chopin) was written. Behaviors by Leonce are displayed in the opening chapter of Chopin’s novella. There are bird cages with a talking parrot and a singing mockingbird, hanging on the porch of the main house at Grand Isle. â€Å"Mr.Pontellier, unable to read his newspaper with any degree of comfor t, arose with an expression and an exclamation of disgust. † (Chopin, ch. 1) Leonce had the freedom to walk away from an irritation and find solace elsewhere. â€Å"Mr. Pontellier had the privilege of quitting their society when they ceased to be entertaining. † (Chopin, ch. 1) The bird cage represents imprisonment, the birds represents how individuals in society mimic what is repeated over and over. Although every word is not equally understood and interpreted by all, the words still have a meaning. (http://office. microsoft. com/en-us/images)Edna and Leonce were interpreting different meanings from what society expected. Edna had the burden of imprisonment because of the societal norm. Leonce had flexibility and freedom. He was a businessman with a wife and family that was expected to behave in such a manner that would exhibit appearances of a proper marriage and family. An illustration of Leonce’s attitude is revealed in Chapter One of Chopin's book, a few spe cific examples are, â€Å"†¦looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property †¦,† â€Å"†¦perhaps he would return for the early dinner and perhaps he would not. and â€Å"If it was not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on earth was it? He himself had his hands full with his brokerage business. † Leonce viewed himself as important, the roles of society were rigid and fixed in his eyes, and certainly to his advantage. (http://office. microsoft. com/en-us/images) Edna did not have the freedom to detach herself as her husband did from unwanted annoyances. Her escape to the bath-house provided as much freedom as Edna could possess at the time. â€Å"†¦had no intention of bathing; they had just strolled down to the beach for a walk and to be alone and near the water. (Chopin, ch. 7) Lounging at the bath-house on the beach with her friend, Madame Ratignolle, is when Edna realized realities about her marriage a nd children. Her life was now somewhat predetermined because of her own rash decision to marry Leonce out of rebellion against her father and sister Margaret. â€Å"Add to this the violent opposition of her father and her sister Margaret to her marriage with a Catholic, and we need seek no further for the motives which led her to accept Monsieur Pontellier for her husband. † (Chopin, ch. ) She desired passion as expressed in her daydreams prior to marriage, â€Å"It was when the face and figure of a great tragedian began to haunt her imagination and stir her senses. The persistence of the infatuation lent it an aspect of genuineness. The hopelessness of it colored it with the lofty tones of a great passion. † (Chopin, ch. 7) But she had no passion in her life. â€Å"As the devoted wife of a man who worshiped her, she felt she would take her place with a certain dignity in the world of reality, closing the portals forever behind her upon the realm of romance and dreams . † (Chopin, ch. 7) (http://office. icrosoft. com/en-us/images) Marriage did not bring fulfillment or satisfaction to Edna’s life, nor did being a mother. â€Å"She would sometimes gather them passionately to her heart; she would sometimes forget them. † (Chopin, ch. 7) When her children were away with their grandmother, they were not missed by their mother. â€Å"Their absence was a sort of relief, though she did not admit this, even to herself. It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her. † (Chopin, ch. 7) What mother forgets her children and does not miss them when they are gone?Edna was searching for meaning in her life, she wanted happiness. (http://office. microsoft. com/en-us/images) (http://www. loyno. edu/~kchopin/Album10. html) Vacationing at the house on Grand Isle is where Edna’s dissatisfaction with her own life is brought to the reader’s attention by Chopin. †Å"An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her soul’s summer day. It was strange and unfamiliar; it was a mood. † (Chopin, ch. ) Leonce’s role as a husband was unchanging, â€Å"†¦her husband’s kindness and a uniform devotion which had come to be tacit and self-understood. † (Chopin, ch. 1) Spending her summer vacation with the Creoles opened Edna’s eyes to a whole new society. â€Å"A characteristic which distinguished them and which impressed Mrs. Pontellier most forcibly was their entire absence of prudery. † (Chopin, ch. 4) Edna had been raised in a strict religious Presbyterian home by her father. (Chopin, ch. 22) Edna’s new acquaintances stirred new thoughts, there was an inner conflict within her.Unspoken expectations were present for societal norms to be followed fo r a devoted wife and mother, those like her new friend Adele Ratignolle. Edna longed to be her own person, depart from what is expected of her and discover what or who makes her happy. As more and more of Edna’s days were spent together with another new friend, Robert, she missed him when he was not around. â€Å"She missed him the days when some pretext served to take him away from her, just as one misses the sun on a cloudy day without having thought much about the sun when it was shining. † (Chopin, ch. 0) Mademoiselle Reisz impacted Edna, it started when she heard her play the piano at the grand party in the main house on Grand Isle. â€Å"Edna was what she herself called very fond of music. † (Chopin, ch. 9) As she heard the chords, she would envision in her mind what each piece of music was saying to her. But with Mademoiselle Reisz, it was different. Her emotional response was something she had never experienced. â€Å"The very first chords which Mademoi selle Reisz struck upon the piano sent a keen tremor down Mrs. Pontellier’s spinal column. † (Chopin, ch. 9) It was the exact emotion in which she was searching. But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing it, as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body. † (Chopin, ch. 9) It was that night Edna learned to swim; it was that night she did not do exactly what her husband asks of her. (Chopin, ch. 10) It was the house on Grand Isle that first awakened Edna to new thoughts and feelings. (http://www. loyno. edu/~kchopin/cheniere. htm) The next morning, Edna and Robert went to Cheniere Island. Edna’s behavior and attitude began to transform. She took steps of boldness by sending for Robert to go with her to Cheniere. She had never sent for him before. † (Chopin, ch. 12) On the boat ride to the island, Edna felt a sense of freedom, â€Å"†¦felt as if she were being borne away from some anchorage which had held h er fast, whose chains had been loosening-†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Chopin, ch. 12) She began to daydream of a life where she was alone with Robert. She shared this imagined world with him as her flirtation intensified. (Chopin, ch. 12) When they reached the island, they fulfilled the intended purpose of the trip by attending mass at Our Lady of Lourdes. The freedom Edna had experienced on the boat ride was stripped from her as she sat in the church. †¦her one thought was to quit the stifling atmosphere of the church and reach the open air. † (Chopin, ch. 13) It was at this time that Robert took Edna to a small house on the island where she naps and discovers another facet of herself. Once she awakens, she and Robert have dinner outside the small house, the evening approaches, they do not want the day to end. â€Å"It was very pleasant to stay there under the orange trees, while the sun dipped lower and lower. (Chopin, ch. 13) Upon their return from Cheniere Island, Edna separates herself so that she can be alone to ponder her escape.The escape to the little house that gave her a taste of peace and contentment. â€Å"She could only realize that she herself-her present self-was in some way different from the other self. † (Chopin, ch. 13) (http://office. microsoft. com/en-us/images) Upon return to the grand house on Esplanade Street in New Orleans, Edna brought with her disappointment and heartache. She had not planned on Robert’s sudden departure to Mexico. As her life was becoming more self absorbed, she wanted Robert to remain part of her life. She was aware of her infatuation with him and reacted emotionally to his absence. †¦she had lost that which she had held, that she had been denied that which her impassioned, newly awakened being demanded. † (Chopin, ch. 15) Being home in the grand house where Leonce displays his possessions with such pride, left Edna feeling trapped and imprisoned. Her summer experience changed how she wante d to live her life. When Leonce was ready for life to be back just like it was before, Edna displayed behaviors of rebellion. She was not going to receive visitors on Tuesday afternoons any longer, she was not going to dress as expected for dinner, and she was not going to lead her life controlled by her husband. Chopin, ch. 17) bb (katechopin. org) Leonce was appalled at Edna’s sudden change in behavior. There were societal norms that were important to Leonce. He did not want their friends to think they did not behave properly. â€Å"†¦people don’t do such things; we’ve got to observe les convenances if we expect to get on and keep up with the procession. † (Chopin, ch. 17) The Esplanade house represents confinement and control over Edna. With her new found awakenings, she had no desire to return to the ways of her old life. â€Å"She resolved never to take another step backward. † (Chopin, ch. 7) Her thoughts remained with Robert. â€Å"She had tried to forget him, realizing the inutility of remembering. But the thought of him was like an obsession, ever pressing itself upon her. † (Chopin, ch. 13) (katechopin. org) Edna moved forward with confidence but still did not find the independence she was desiring. Leonce found her behavior â€Å"†¦odd, she’s not like herself. † (Chopin, ch. 22) â€Å"Her whole attitudetoward me and everybody and everything-has changed. † (Chopin, ch. 22) Leonce had concerns about his wife but left her alone upon the advice of Doctor Mandelet. He moved forward with his own (katechopin. rg) life and took a business trip to New York. Edna thought she might miss him , but found â€Å"†¦a radiant peace settled upon her when she at last found herself alone. † (Chopin, ch. 24) Her children were in Iberville with their grandmother. But this peace was short lived. She still did not have Robert. She looked to activities and relationships to find fulfillment in her life. But none provided the contentment and satisfaction she desired. (Chopin, ch. 25) While Leonce was away, Edna made a spontaneous and rash decision , while on a visit with Mademoiselle Reisz, to move into her own house. (Chopin, ch. 6) The small house was located just around the corner from their home on Esplanade Street. â€Å"It looks so cozy, so inviting and restful†¦I’m tired looking after that big house. It never seemed like mine, anyway-like home. † (Chopin, ch. 26) It was this small house where Edna was certain she would find peace and happiness. She would find what this cozy house represents, â€Å"freedom and independence. † (Chopin, ch. 26) Each house Chopin uses as a motif brings to light different aspects of Edna’s personality as she searches for her inner soul. Each house brings new awakenings for Edna along the way.Each house represents her search for meaning in life. â€Å"No longer was she content to ‘feed upon opini on’ when her own soul had invited her. † (Chopin, ch. 32) But Edna was unable to satisfy her soul. She wanted more than anyone or anything could give her. She wanted passion, she wanted Robert. When Robert left for Mexico, it was out of his love and respect for Edna that he could not stay. When he left the small house, it was, again, out of his love and respect for Edna that he must leave. It was Adele Ratignolle who reminded Robert in the beginning of The Awakening (Chopin) of his behavior as a gentleman. If your attentions to any married women here were ever offered with any intention of being convincing, you would not be the gentleman we all know you to be, and you would be unfit to associate with the wives and daughters of the people who trust you. † (Chopin, ch. 1) Edna did not have the wisdom to understand Robert’s rejection of her. She lived selfishly. â€Å"Conditions would some way adjust themselves, she felt; but whatever came, she had resolved n ever again to belong to another than herself. † (Chopin, ch. 26) This statement confirms that Edna’s soul would not be found with Robert. She was aware of her own emptiness. There came over her the acute longing which always summoned into her spiritual vision the presence of the beloved one, overpowering her at once with a sense of unattainable. † (Chopin, ch. 30) (http://office. microsoft. com/en-us/images) The emptiness Edna experienced after Robert’s departure left her hopeless. â€Å"Despondency had come upon her there in the wakeful night, and had never lifted. There was no human being whom she wanted near her except Robert: and she even realized that the day would come when he, too, and the thought of him would melt out of her existence, leaving her alone. (Chopin, ch. 39) It was when Edna stood before the ocean that she knew her future. â€Å"The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wa nder in abysses of solitude. † (Chopin, ch. 39) The only answer to free Edna’s soul was to enter the sea. Freedom would come only in death. There was no turning back to the empty life which only brought despair, heartache and loneliness. The true love, passion, and happiness she envisioned for her life had escaped her. Robert brought a glimpse of the future Edna had envisioned.But that future was not for Edna. In the ocean, naked and without any confinement around her , was she was able to find home. (http://office. microsoft. com/en-us/images) Citations: Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. 1899. www. amazon. com/Kindle-eReader-eBook Retrieved on January 14, 2011. http://www. katechopin. org http://office. microsoft. com/en-us/images http://www. loyno. edu/~kchopin/Album10. html Reflechir: Vol. 1. Les images des prairies tremblantes: 1840-1940 by Cheniere Hurricane Centennial Committee.

Free Essays on Voltaire

The Child of Nature Voltaire’s wit and intelligence made him one of France’s greatest writers and philosophers. His writings are full of Enlightenment values and principles. L’Ingenu, written in 1767, reflects his views about individual freedom and people making their own way in the world. Voltaire is open to a society that is open to individual talent and merit for deciding social standing, and not a society that determines it by birth. He has reflected these attitudes throughout the story of L’Ingenu. Voltaire wrote L’Ingenu during a time when rationality and reason were being introduced into society. Whitty conversation and intelligent thinking began to take place. With this type of conversation one could made a mark in society and develop themselves as an individual. The Enlightenment was a period when people began to â€Å"come of the dark.† Medieval times were fast ending and with the help of new philosophers the world was now taking on some modern and alternative views. Ignorance was something they were trying to get rid of and being educated was seen as an important task. Education was now something for everyone, not just the wealthy anymore. They were becoming aware of the world around them and few at a time began to think about it now as not being controlled by God but by natural forces. Perhaps one of the most controversial topics of the time was religion. As people became educated, their views about God began to change. Atheism and the belief that there wa s no God began and showed the radical new way of thinking. Voltaire attacks religion and views it as a negative thing throughout L’Ingenu. The old view of religion was that God was divine and ruled the world. Most thought that God made everything happen and for a reason. During the beginning of the 1700s a new view began partly because of education. People began to believe that god created the world and then left it alone for natural forces and laws to occur... Free Essays on Voltaire Free Essays on Voltaire Francois Marie Arouet or more widely known as Voltaire, was a French writer and Philosopher and considered one of the central figures of the Age of Enlightenment in the 1700’s; this was a period that emphasized the power of human reason, science, and respect for humanity. Voltaire believed that literature should serve as a vehicle of social change. His biting satires and philosophical writings demonstrated his aversion to Christianity, intolerance, and tyranny. Voltaire’s sharp sense of humor won him favor of the 18th century French society. This great French writer and philosopher was born in Paris, France on November 21, 1694. His father, a wealthy notary, discovered Voltaire’s brilliance at an early age. At the age of 10 Voltaire was sent to study at the College Louis-le-Grand, the Jesuits ran this college. While at the school, Voltaire developed a strong enthusiasm for literature, especially poetry. Over the objections of his father, who wanted him to be a lawyer, Voltaire decided to be a writer. Voltaire quickly chose literature as a career. He began moving in Aristocratic circles and soon became known in Paris salons as a brilliant but yet sarcastic wit. Voltaire’ first work, Edipe, was a tragedy based on the old Greek story of Oedipus. This story was such a success that everyone predicted a brilliant career for the young writer. After his first success, Voltaire wrote some witty poems accusing the French regent Phillippe II, duc d’Orleans of heinous crimes; this resulted to Voltaire’s imprisonment in the Bastille for an entire 11 months. During his 11-month detention is when Voltaire completed his work on an epic poem on Henry the IV, the Henriade. This is when he began calling himself Voltaire; these classic writings brought him instant wealth. He was often noted for his generosity but also displayed astute business sharpness throughout his life and became a millionaire. Later Voltaire had anothe... Free Essays on Voltaire The Child of Nature Voltaire’s wit and intelligence made him one of France’s greatest writers and philosophers. His writings are full of Enlightenment values and principles. L’Ingenu, written in 1767, reflects his views about individual freedom and people making their own way in the world. Voltaire is open to a society that is open to individual talent and merit for deciding social standing, and not a society that determines it by birth. He has reflected these attitudes throughout the story of L’Ingenu. Voltaire wrote L’Ingenu during a time when rationality and reason were being introduced into society. Whitty conversation and intelligent thinking began to take place. With this type of conversation one could made a mark in society and develop themselves as an individual. The Enlightenment was a period when people began to â€Å"come of the dark.† Medieval times were fast ending and with the help of new philosophers the world was now taking on some modern and alternative views. Ignorance was something they were trying to get rid of and being educated was seen as an important task. Education was now something for everyone, not just the wealthy anymore. They were becoming aware of the world around them and few at a time began to think about it now as not being controlled by God but by natural forces. Perhaps one of the most controversial topics of the time was religion. As people became educated, their views about God began to change. Atheism and the belief that there wa s no God began and showed the radical new way of thinking. Voltaire attacks religion and views it as a negative thing throughout L’Ingenu. The old view of religion was that God was divine and ruled the world. Most thought that God made everything happen and for a reason. During the beginning of the 1700s a new view began partly because of education. People began to believe that god created the world and then left it alone for natural forces and laws to occur...

Blaise Pascal

Bryce Pascal We reach the truth for not just reason but for the mind. (1) Bryce Pascal says that he is one of the greatest thinkers of the 17th century. The 17th century is an era of scientific revolution. In the meantime, the main idea of ​​everyone is not just to listen to stories, but to ask everything. This brought about a change in thinking in the field of religion and science. Science makes it possible to cast doubts on the teachings of old churches. Scientists suffer from thought of mathematics and physics, but philosophers are suffering from the idea of ​​God. Small ideas are related to ordinary extraordinary, wonderful ideas. It was told once by Blythe Pascal. Bryce Pascal, born in Clermont-Ferrand, France on June 19, 1623, will change the world of science and mathematics. He is a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and Christian philosopher. He is a genius of children. His early life was neither a sad story nor a very happy story. But his invention is still highly appreciated. - The French Revolution took place from 1789 to 1799 when the monarchy was overthrown, the Republic was founded, and the church was restricted. The French Revolution ended in 1799 with the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. The French Revolution founded the French Legislative Assembly. Many people think revelation is the cause of the French Revolution, but revelation is not one of the main driving force of the revolution. Blaise Pascal is the third child of Étienne Pascal's child and his only son. Blythe 's mother died when she was 3 years old. In 1632, the Pascal family, Etienne and his four children left Clermont and settled in Paris. Bryce Pascal 's father decided to teach his son from an unusual educational point of view. Étienne Pascal decided that Blaise would not learn mathematics by the age of 15 and decided that all mathematical texts would be removed from their home. But his curiosity piqued his interest and he began studyin g geometry at the age of twelve. He learned that the sum of the angles of the triangle is two right angles When his father noticed, he allowed soft copies of Blaise Euclidean.

Literature review of international teaching assistant issues in U.S Essay

Literature review of international teaching assistant issues in U.S. universities - Essay Example The International Teaching Assistant is a graduate student within the university whose job is to assist the professor in a given course. They have teaching duties including class preparation; they prepare quizzes; they may assist in writing examination questions for midterms and finals; they correct papers; they grade exams; and have office hours to tutor students in the class (ITA Handbook, February, 2005). It is beneficial for the U.S.A. students since they may not necessarily interact with other students beyond their ethnic group (Gravois, 2006; Academic Culture in the U.S.A. (ND)). Nathal (2005) states that, â€Å"In an ideal classroom, both the student and teacher would be enriched by the other’s cultural experiences. However; rather than being a seamless union, classrooms and labs have often become the sites of cultural collisions, marked by confusion over pronunciation, word usage and social customs†. The attitude of the American students, in general, is very negative. They claim that they do not understand the ITA and that the ITA does not understand them. This leads to communication problems to the extent that State Representative Bette Grande from Fargo, North Dakota proposed a bill â€Å"†¦to prod public institutions of higher education†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Under her bill the students have the right to withdraw from a class without academic or financial penalty if the students complained in writing that her/his instructor did not â€Å"speak English clearly and with good pronunciation† (Gravois, April, 2005). Ms. Liu who flew from Shanghai, China to Fargo was on her way to begin a Ph.D. in communication at North Dakota State. She said that during the number of battery tests she was submitted to for language proficiency, she was treated equally compared to other incoming graduate students. It was ten days later that she felt out of place when she noticed