Lifestyles Inventory Essays

Lifestyles Inventory Essays Lifestyles Inventory Essay Lifestyles Inventory Essay Personal Thinking Styles The Life Styles Inventory (LSI) was designed to help assess effectiveness in relationships on the job and support the development of interpersonal skills. This â€Å"road map† to self development was the brainchild of Dr. Clayton Lafferty. This survey of questions measures 12 key thinking styles, that are regarded to promote performance change and improve personal understanding of how our thinking affects our behavior. The 12 styles are categorized into three general clusters: Constructive, which includes Achievement, Self-Actualizing, Humanistic-Encouraging, and Affinitive thinking styles, Passive/Defensive, which includes Approval, Conventional, Dependent, and Avoidance thinking styles; Aggressive/Defensive, which includes Oppositional, Power, Competitive, and Perfectionist thinking styles. I must admit, I was quite hesitant about doing another self evaluation as they sometimes do not accurately reflect who you know yourself to be. After all, who knows you better than you do? Nevertheless, the purpose of this exercise was to help me discover how my thinking styles may or may not directly influence my behavior as a manager and could be a great asset in my endeavors for advancement. Primary and Backup Thinking Styles After taking this self assessment, my circumplex shows the two styles with the greatest influences falls under the Constructive style and Passive/Defensive Patterns as displayed in Figure 1. It focuses in on my primary thinking style is Humanistic-Encouraging (1 o’clock position) and my back up thinking style is being Dependent (5 o’clock position). Humanistic-Encouraging Style I can identify with the Humanistic-Encouraging style because it does describe who I am in both my professional and personal life. This style measures our interest in people, our tendency to care about others, and our ability to accept without others without criticism. It is optimistic about what people can achieve and has the ability to inspire and motivate people around them. I have always been genuinely concerned about people in my life and I always want to focus on how I can help them grow and develop their skills. I see potential where other managers do not see and support aspirations that no one else thinks exist in people. I can’t help but nurture others. It is simply who I am. Dependent Style I somewhat disagree with the backup being Dependant as I do not believe this style of thinking is a true depiction of the way I think or see myself as a whole. This style measures the degree to which we feel our efforts do not count. This type of behavior derives from a need for security and self protection. People who fall under this style typically feel helpless with very little control over their lives. They lack self respect and always want to please others. This part could not be further from the truth about who I am. However, it does mention that dependent style people are passive which I am, and sometimes have a difficulty making hard decisions. A lot of this has to do with sudden changes or set back in our life. The latter can be found more in relation to my person life and not so much professional. Limiting Style It was hard to determine which style is limiting my effectiveness from looking at the chart. The obvious would be to select Oppositional; however, says that I an aggressive and like to argue would contradict me â€Å"Dependent quality of passiveness. I decided to go with is Conventional Style. This style I feel is most limiting in that being passive, causes me to want to simply blend in and conform even though my heart says I was made to stand out. The measure that best describes me is â€Å"the preoccupation of appearing normal and unquestioned obedience†. ( survey-server2. com/lsiuniversity-sso/rpt4. sp) This style is most difficult for me because it is not who I am personally, but professionally it speaks truth. Coming from a managerial position to that of a subordate role at my current job had a dramatic affect on me. I have adapted and conformed to the conditions of the culture in my office because it seems to be the easiest way to remain employed in this company. I have watched colleague be terminated for speaking their minds or having different of opinions fro m that of our direct report who is new to this role and wants to flex her power. It is disheartening and discouraging for me. This is a style that needs to be addressed. Impact on Management Style Most of my life, I have successful in maintain balance between my personal and professional life. But as we all know, they overlap and are intertwined. Our management styles whether good or bad reflect our ability to lead other. To be an effective manager you must have the four basic management functions: 1) the ability to Plan; 2) Organize; 3) Lead; and 4) Control. Planning I am not big on procrastination, so planning is very important to me. I need to know the why, when, how, what to generate a plan and effectively execute it. There is always that need to establish a goal and a plan of action to accomplish this. This is a process that must be seen through to the end. Organizing No plan successful plan can be executed with proper organization. As a manager it is imperative to be able to organize the plan for which a goal has been set. Organization is very broad. For me, as long as there is a plan where it is personal or in my professional environment, I strategically put resources in place, which will best efficient way to accomplish the plan of action I set up. Lead Not everyone has the ability to lead or has the know how to do so. Sometimes people get lead and managed confused. Nevertheless, using simple directives set for people to follow is what has always worked for me. I have always been able to influence my employees because I lead by example. I never tried to manage or use power to have my way or force something to be done. Leading is influential. Control Control is about making sure policies and processes are in line with the goals and objects you have. I think for me, it wants to always make sure everything is close to perfection. So that requires periodically monitoring progress, revisiting structural issues and talking to everyone involve for input and their opinions on whatever we are working to accomplish. I don’t really look at control as being in charge; it is more so just making sure everything goes smooth. Genesis of Personal Style My personal style is who I am. It was defined by my character, my values, my life experiences, role models, education and trainings. Over the course of my life, my family’s heritage, the environment I grow up in and even the people I kept close to me all affected who I am today. My values developed more and as I get older. I continue to hold in high regard traits like humility, respect which I was taught as a child. Growing up in the West Indies, it was always about respect, having manors and knowing your place. I heard the Proverb’ â€Å"Children should be seen and not heard† more times than I could remember. But it put in retrospect, it made me realize, that there was a time and a place for everything. I always want to lend a helping hand no matter the cost. Knowing when to speak up for injustice and knowing which battle to fit because we can’t win them all. I was always a bit shy and passive growing up, but had big dreams and an even bigger heart. My grandfather would always ask me, â€Å"Why do you always try to fit in when you were made to stand out†. He along with my entire family has been my inspiration for my life and has help shape who I am. Since then, I have made it a life choice that in whatever I do, to be it personal or professional, I want to shine. I joined Toastmasters at a young age to help work on my shyness which allowed me to reach deep within myself find the confidence and strength hidden. I became more active in student governments and youth foundations where I began to see who I wanted to be; A leader. I worked in an Industry where people were my business and found new respect and strength in optimism. I despise people who are arrogant and have no compassion for others simply because of their position. I never paid much attention to achievements as I do to character. This is where I find value. Conclusion and Reflection The purpose of this exercise was to discover how thinking styles may influence my behavior as a manager. No management style is the same, perfect or fits every situation. What I may see as a strong management style to have, may very well be contradictory of what the other staff thinks it should be. When it comes down to it, my primary style Humanistic-Encouraging patterns, I cannot refute this theory. I claim it proudly because I wear this style every day. It has given me the ability to develop others and help them grow without the need for recognition. I take much gratification in knowing that I have helped, encourage or improve the quality of life whether professionally or personally for my employees. Not everyone can say that and it is displayed in the appreciation the show towards me. Although the Dependent style was my back up, I did not find anything substantial that related to me. A bit of stress here and there, changes in company ownership and job security issues may be the cause for the score in this. But lack of self respect is definitely not who I am. I would rather focus my attention on Conventional style as recently in my professional life, I have take a back seat far from the strong voice that carried over a reign of applause during one of my speeches. I have conformed if only to get along. But this is not the way to achieve my goals. I want to be able to be me; A woman once so positive and willing to go the mile. I want to once again be successful not only in my personal life where I have full control, but also in my professional life where I should be more assertive with my needs and desires as a part of my team. Everyone should have autonomy over their lives and the ability to fully stand behind your Life Style.

Charles Richter, Inventor of the Richter Magnitude Scale

Charles Richter, Inventor of the Richter Magnitude Scale Seismic waves are the vibrations from earthquakes that travel through the Earth; they are recorded on instruments called seismographs. Seismographs record a zig-zag trace that shows the varying amplitude of ground oscillations beneath the instrument. Sensitive seismographs, which greatly magnify these ground motions, can detect strong earthquakes from sources anywhere in the world. The time, locations, and magnitude of an earthquake can be determined from the data recorded by seismograph stations. The Richter magnitude scale was developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology as a mathematical device to compare the size of earthquakes. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs. Adjustments are included for the variation in the distance between the various seismographs and the epicenter of the earthquakes. On the Richter Scale, magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions. For example, a magnitude 5.3 might be computed for a moderate earthquake, and a strong earthquake might be rated as magnitude 6.3. Because of the logarithmic basis of the scale, each whole number increase in magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude; as an estimate of energy, each whole number step in the magnitude scale corresponds to the release of about 31 times more energy than the amount associated with the preceding whole number value. At first, the Richter Scale could be applied only to the records from instruments of identical manufacture. Now, instruments are carefully calibrated with respect to each other. Thus, magnitude can be computed from the record of any calibrated seismograph. Earthquakes with magnitude of about 2.0 or less are usually called microearthquakes; they are not commonly felt by people and are generally recorded only on local seismographs. Events with magnitudes of about 4.5 or greater- there are several thousand such shocks annually- are strong enough to be recorded by sensitive seismographs all over the world. Great earthquakes, such as the 1964 Good Friday earthquake in Alaska, have magnitudes of 8.0 or higher. On average, one earthquake of such size occurs somewhere in the world each year. The Richter Scale has no upper limit. Recently, another scale called the moment magnitude scale has been devised for more precise study of great earthquakes. The Richter Scale is not used to express damage. An earthquake in a densely populated area which results in many deaths and considerable damage may have the same magnitude as a shock in a remote area that does nothing more than frighten the wildlife. Large-magnitude earthquakes that occur beneath the oceans may not even be felt by humans. NEIS Interview The following is a transcript of an NEIS interview with Charles Richter: How did you become interested in seismology?CHARLES RICHTER: It was really a happy accident. At Caltech, I was working on my Ph.D. in theoretical physics under Dr. Robert Millikan. One day he called me into his office and said that the Seismological Laboratory was looking for a physicist; this was not my line, but was I at all interested? I talked with Harry Wood who was in charge of the lab; and, as a result, I joined his staff in 1927. What were the origins of the instrumental magnitude scale?CHARLES RICHTER: When I joined Mr. Woods staff, I was mainly engaged in the routine work of measuring seismograms and locating earthquakes, so that a catalog could be set up of epicenters and times of occurrence. Incidentally, seismology owes a largely unacknowledged debt to the persistent efforts of Harry O. Wood for bringing about the seismological program in southern California. At the time, Mr. Wood was collaborating with Maxwell Alien on a historical review of earthquakes in California. We were recording on seven widely spaced stations, all with Wood-Anderson torsion seismographs. What modifications were involved in applying the scale to worldwide earthquakes?CHARLES RICHTER: Youre quite rightly pointing out that the original magnitude scale which I published in 1935 was set up only for southern California and for the particular types of seismographs in use there. Extending the scale to worldwide earthquakes and to recordings on other instruments was begun in 1936 in collaboration with Dr. Gutenberg. This involved using the reported amplitudes of surface waves with periods of about 20 seconds. Incidentally, the usual designation of the magnitude scale to my name does less than justice to the great part that Dr. Gutenberg played in extending the scale to apply to earthquakes in all parts of the world. Many people have the wrong impression that the Richter magnitude is based on a scale of 10.CHARLES RICHTER: I repeatedly have to correct this belief. In a sense, magnitude involves steps of 10 because every increase of one magnitude represents a tenfold amplification of the ground motion. But there is no scale of 10 in the sense of an upper limit as there is for intensity scales; indeed, Im glad to see the press now referring to the open-ended Richter scale. Magnitude numbers simply represent measurement from a seismograph record- logarithmic to be sure but with no implied ceiling. The highest magnitudes assigned so far to actual earthquakes are about 9, but that is a limitation in the Earth, not in the scale. There is another common misapprehension that the magnitude scale is itself some kind of instrument or apparatus. Visitors will frequently ask to see the scale. Theyre disconcerted by being referred to tables and charts that are used for applying the scale to readings taken from the seismograms. No doubt you are often asked about the difference between magnitude and intensity.CHARLES RICHTER: That also causes great confusion among the public. I like to use the analogy with radio transmissions. It applies in seismology because seismographs, or the receivers, record the waves of elastic disturbance, or radio waves, that are radiated from the earthquake source, or the broadcasting station. Magnitude can be compared to the power output in kilowatts of a broadcasting station. Local intensity on the Mercalli scale is then comparable to the signal strength on a receiver at a given locality; in effect, the quality of the signal. Intensity like signal strength will generally fall off with distance from the source, although it also depends on the local conditions and the pathway from the source to the point. There has been interest recently in reassessing what is meant by the size of an earthquake.CHARLES RICHTER: Refining is inevitable in science when you have made measurements of a phenomenon for a long period of time. Our original intent was to define magnitude strictly in terms of instrumental observations. If one introduces the concept of energy of an earthquake then that is a theoretically derived quantity. If the assumptions used in calculating energy are changed, then this seriously affects the final result, even though the same body of data might be used. So we tried to keep the interpretation of the size of the earthquake as closely tied to the actual instrument observations involved as possible. What emerged, of course, was that the magnitude scale presupposed that all earthquakes were alike except for a constant scaling factor. And this proved to be closer to the truth than we expected.

Are Whistle Blowers Heroes or Traitors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Are Whistle Blowers Heroes or Traitors - Essay Example In fact, the whistle blowing at the workplace is necessary because it might help to prevent future disasters. In order to encourage people to report about the wrongdoings â€Å"in 1999, the Government introduced the Public Interest Disclosure Act. Public Concern at Work dubbed the Act "the most far-reaching whistle-blower law in the world" because it encourages employees to speak out about wrongdoing in the workplace and protects them from being unfairly victimized as a result of their actions† (Blowing the Whistle, 1) If whistleblowing at a workplace is highly encouraged and is mostly positive, the whistleblowing in interpersonal relations should be avoided. Let us consider an example; during a conversation between two friends, one of them has told that he fiddled his tax returns. Would it be appropriate for the other person to inform the corresponding authorities about the wrongdoing of his friend? The authorities have given citizens an array of free phone numbers for informing about the wrongdoings in versatile areas. The most famous is the benefit fraud line, set up in the summer of 1995 and reputed to be taking 8,000 calls a week. Its success appears to have set a precedent: now we have the Crime Stoppers Trust offering rewards for solving crimes, an Environment Agency line looking for information on polluters, and various lines that encourage us to tell local environmental health departments about noisy neighbors. It is worth to note that whistleblowers speak not for their own good and often risk their careers because the parties they stand up against are much more powerful.   That is why whistleblowing is equated to heroism.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

The Assortment of Products in ACT II Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Assortment of Products in ACT II - Case Study Example The company is goal oriented to keep their customers with constantly changing its brands as per the changing trends in the current market situation. It ensures customers satisfaction and guarantees over its high-quality production. In order to be steady in the market its product prices are lower in the market (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2011). In addition, production of zero fat corns is among the strategies the company has diversified into to adapt to the current market. A number of channels of distribution arose for ACT II popcorn so that it could reach the preferred market and satisfy the various diverse needs of the consumer. A diagrammatic representation shows as below. ACT II popcorn can be distributed to the vendor machine on the first instance, and then the consumer can be able to get it. Secondly, it can be distributed to the vending machine and through the agent; the consumer can obtain the product. Lastly, the product can be distributed to the drug stores then the various vending machines available in the drug stores and via the agent; the product is able to reach the destined consumer. The marketing strategy that the Conagra foods company should use is market segmentation. Market segmentation is the case in which the whole market is divided into many market niche i.e. small markets which can easily be captured and controlled by the company. The pricing model should be from the small amounts in order to cover all the consumers. This strategy would help in the business becoming a leader in distribution. The grocery mode of distribution is not able to cover all customers and so there should be a number of modes of distribution. A number of challenges accrue when there are expansion and growth in the business. Foreign tastes, cultural differences, distance and trade regulations. Different consumers would have different tastes and preferences in their life cycles. This is because of the civilization and their lifestyles. It can also be due to income levels.  

Analyzing Legal Alien Essay Example for Free

Analyzing Legal Alien Essay For many years now people have judged one another based on characteristics and family background. Some judge based on skin color, race, where your family has come from, and how you came about. â€Å"Legal Alien/ Extranjera Legal† by Pat Mora gives a very realistic message of how it can feel to be a mexican american and to be seen as a ‘legal alien’. To feel not wanted by either side, and to be judged based on the origins of your ancestors and your race. â€Å"viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic,/ perhaps inferior, definitely different,/ viewed by mexicans as alien. This here, is a perfect example of the way Mora feels about being judged and seen as an alien and her interesting use of diction, metaphors and similes. I think the tone Mora has is one of somebody who feels like an outsider, due to being judge by the people who surround her daily. Moras choice of diction in the first four lines is very interesting and has continued to interest me throughout the poem. Diction is a writer or speakers choice of words. Mora’s diction lets you know a lot about the poems meaning and also about the speaker or the character right away. Mora chooses to tell it back and forth, from one side to another, but mainly from two different points of view. Being seen as an american and also being seen as a mexican. I believe Mora is telling this poem in her own point of view, as if she is the character. Mora starts by off saying â€Å"bi-lingual, bi-cultural† line one. That alone can be interpreted as the speaker or the character is able to speak and understand two languages. It also means she can participate in both of their cultures as well. Mora follows the first line up by enforcing her meaning with â€Å" able to slip from ‘how’s life? to ‘ me’stan volviendo loca. †( this means they’re driving me crazy in spanish. ) Lines two and three. Moras choice of diction here is interesting because she makes it sound like she lives two completely separate lifes as if they could not be mixed together. Mora writes â€Å"able to sit in a paneled office/ drafting memos in smooth english/ able to order in fluent spanish/ at a mexican restaurant† Lines five through seven, really show how she lives both sides and experiences them both separately from one another. It also shows that she fits in and seems as if she really isn’t different from any of the others. In lines eight through ten Mora uses more of her interesting diction. â€Å"american but hyphenated/ viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic,/ perhaps inferior, definitely different. † ‘American but hyphenated’ highlights the point that although she is part american, she is still different because she is not a full american. There is more than that though, and thats exactly why she is seen differently from both sides. Either way she is more than that so she is seen different and that is Moras overall message. â€Å"viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic,/ perhaps inferior, definitely different. † supports that she is viewed as an outsider from both sides. Mora also uses inferior. Which has a strong meaning to it. Inferior means: lower in rank, status, or quality. Mora uses the word exotic which also sends a very clear message of how she is viewed. Exotic means to originate in or characteristic of a distant foreign country, so her choice of words completely supports her overall message of what it can feel like to be judged based on the origins of your ancestors and your race. Mora even uses a very simple but clear simile. â€Å"viewed by mexicans as an alien. † She states that the mexicans, the other half of her ancestors race, also see her as an alien, as an outsider. Different from them because she has american blood to even though the rest of her blood is made up of that of the same as theirs. She still is not the same in there eyes. They refer to her as an alien because they believe that. â€Å"(their eyes say, ‘you may speak/ spanish but you’re not like me’)† lines twelve and thirteen, support the fact that all though she is similar, she is not seen like them. Moras choice of diction is interesting here because she is writing what she knows they want to say but wont always will but also what some do imply using different words. There eyes make her feel different like an outcast not wanted by anybody. The way they find hers and judge her so quickly, so harshly. Mora again supports that she is viewed as an outsider, a ‘legal alien’ by following that up with lines fourteenth and fifteenth. â€Å"an american to mexicans/ A mexican to americans. † These two lines have a strong meaning, and also supports the way she feels, nobody wanted her. She did not belong to either because they judged her based on the other half of her race. the other half of who she is. When in all reality race should not matter, should not affect ones judgement. Somebodys race makes them no better nor no worse than the next person. Moras next two lines sixteen and seventeen, have a strong meaning and the use of a metaphor. â€Å"a handy token/ sliding back and forth. † She is referring to herself or her character as a ‘hand token’, which I would assume is a metaphor that symbolizes that she slides back and forth between what feels like two completely different worlds just trying to fit in. To be seen for who she truly is. â€Å"between the fringes of both worlds. † Mora now very matter of factly states that to her or her character those lives are two different worlds completely. It also supports that she does not mix them together very much. In the next line Mora chooses to show an emotion in a way. I believe Mora chooses to wait so long before putting a real emotion into her character so you and I, as the readers could really understand what it is like to be mexican american and judged constantly and in general. â€Å"by smiling† line nineteen. Mora follows up the short but to the point line nineteen, with using very strong diction. â€Å"by masking the discomfort† (line twenty) is a strong phrase alone and already says a lot. ‘Masking discomfort’ means that the speaker or character masks how discomfortable being judged can be. How hard it can be to cope with and that says the speaker or the character is very strong, to hide something like that simply by smiling when it has most likely gone on for years. But also a devastating effect. â€Å"of being pre-judged/ bi-laterally. † line twenty. Mora ends her poem with one, very strong meaningful word. Bi-laterally means by both sides. Mora is saying ‘being pre-judged by both sides’. Both races that make her up as a whole, pre-judging her before they got the chance to know her. People judge one another all the time based off their clothes, and much much more. But to judge somebody due to their race or heritage, things they have no control over, thats not right. Its one thing to judge based on how they project themselves but it is not right to judge based on something out of their control either. I think that Moras choice of diction, metaphors, and similes really support her feelings of being judged and seen as a ‘legal alien’. â€Å"Legal Alien’/Extranjera Legal† gives a very realistic and strong message of how it can feel to be viewed as an alien by the people that surround you and are in your life like the people you work with. Mora’s character knows how it feels to be not wanted nor accepted by either side, and to be judged on the origins of her ancestors and her race. Mora uses strong diction throughout this poem with her interesting choice of how she uses her words. â€Å"perhaps exotic, perhaps inferior, definitely different,† Her choice of diction has a strong effect on the message itself. Moras use of similes is interesting to because she says â€Å"viewed by mexicans as alien†, she very clearly says they compare her to an alien and that as a very great impact to. Mora also uses metaphors in her writing in an interesting way, she refers to herself as ‘a handy token/ sliding back and forth’, to symbolize how it feels to not be accepted and to be judged. Many people could relate to this poem whether they are judged on their race, on their upbringing, on their clothes, and many more factors. Being pre-judged is a major problem in society today and is all around us constantly. Some are not lucky enough to escape it, but are capable of understanding the bigger picture in the message behind this poem.

The Cause and Effect of the Tsunami in Thailand in 2004 Essay -- Natur

The Cause and Effect of the Tsunami in Thailand in 2004 The tsunami in Thailand that occurred on December 26, 2004, was by far the largest tsunami catastrophe in human history. It was triggered by a magnitude 9.1-9.3 earthquake along the Indian-Australian subduction zone off the northern coast of Sumatra. The tsunami waves traveled primarily in the east to west direction and caused major damage along the coasts of southern Thailand. Unpredictably, it was a violent earthquake beneath the sea that initiated the massive waves and struck more than a dozen countries in Southern Asia. It also destroyed thousands of miles of coastline and even submerged entire islands permanently. Throughout the region, the tsunami killed more than 150,000 people, and a million more were hurt, homeless, and without food or drinkable water, making it perhaps the most destructive tsunami in the modern history. In spite of peninsular Thailand's location facing the northern part of this subduction zone, the lack of any written historical records, together with the l ack of any major local seismic activity, the tsunami caused thousands of fatalities and huge economic losses in the popular tourist regions in Thailand. Immediately after the disaster, numerous organizations and individual citizens have helped out and contributed to this devastating tsunami. Indeed, the tsunami in Thailand was a worldwide event, with significant wave action felt around the world. In this context, I am focusing more on the key features of the tsunami’s natural causes, the psychological effects on citizens, the perspective of socio-economic impacts and the consequences of the tsunami calamity. What triggered this horrific natural disaster that took place off the western coast of... ... the catastrophic event into an opportunity for the future. Even though the tsunami of December 2004 ended in a huge death toll, ongoing trauma and homelessness of millions of Asians, still they can recuperate from this entire horrific event. If any good at all is to come from this adversity on a human scale, it will certainly be considered by the compassion and generosity that the world reveals to the survivors. I must admit that I find very difficult to let it sink in my brain the fact that it can happen to all of us anywhere and any time around the globe. It might not be a tsunami that these citizens have experienced, but there are other natural disasters we can stumble upon as well. Surely, it has been a great experience for me to write this paper and to discover the truth about the tsunami and the total effects of what these people have to deal with.

Criticism on the Poem Do Not Go Gentle

The first poem that Dylan Thomas ever published, when he was only eighteen, was an early version of â€Å"And Death Shall Have No Dominion. † The cycle of life and death formed a constant underlying theme throughout his poetry since that earliest effort. In â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,† a moving plea to his dying father, death takes on a new and intensely personal meaning for Thomas. David John Thomas was an important influence throughout his son Dylan’s life. A grammar school English teacher, he had a deep love for language and literature which he passed on to his son. In a 1933 letter to a friend, Dylan Thomas describes the library he shared with his father in their home. His father’s section held the classics, while his included modern poetry. It had, according to Thomas, everything needed in a library. â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night† was in all likelihood composed in 1945 when D. J. Thomas was seriously ill; however, it was not published until after his death on December 16, 1952. Thomas sent the poem to a friend, Princess Caetani, in the spring of 1951, telling her that the â€Å"only person I can’t show the little enclosed poem to is, of course, my father who doesn’t know he’s dying. After his father’s death, the poem was included in the collection In Country Sleep. Ironically Dylan Thomas himself died just a year later. The poem discusses various ways to approach death in old age. It advocates affirming life up until the last breath, rather than learning to accept death quietly. Poem Summary Lines 1-3 The first tercet introduces the poem’s theme; it also introduces the two recurring refrains that end alternate stanzas. Although these two lines, the first and the third, both state Thomas’s basic theme about resisting death, they contrast in several ways. Each of the predominant words in line one finds its opposite in line three. â€Å"Gentle† is paired with â€Å"rage,† â€Å"good† with â€Å"dying,† and â€Å"night† with â€Å"light. † The tone of the two lines also is quite different. Line one is subdued; the verbs are deliberately simple, vague. Thomas uses the predicate adjective â€Å"gentle,† making it describe the personality of the individual, rather than the more obvious choice â€Å"gently,† an adverb which would only refer to the action of the verb. â€Å"Good night† when it refers to dying becomes a paradox for Thomas, meaning a good death. Although this line may be an exhortation to resist death, its entire tone is gentle. Compare this to the beginning of line 3 where â€Å"rage† is repeated twice. Here the poet urges a furious resistance to death. The second line introduces Thomas’s advice to those who near death. The idea of burning is frequently associated with the passion of youth; however, Thomas wants the elderly to cling as passionately to their lives as anyone would. The phrase â€Å"close of day† establishes a connection with the â€Å"good night† of the previous line, while the words â€Å"burn† and â€Å"rave† move the reader into the third line of the stanza. Line 4 The next four stanzas describe four different types of old men and examine their attitudes and feelings as they realize that death is approaching. The first type Thomas mentions are the wise men. They may be considered scholars or philosophers. Perhaps because of this, intellectually they accept the inevitability of death. Thomas begins the line with the word â€Å"though,† however, to indicate that their knowledge has not prepared them to accept the reality of death. Line 5 This line explains why the wise men are unable to act in accordance with their knowledge. Scholars are known and measured by their words. These men have many words still left unwritten or unspoken, so their goals have not been accomplished. Thomas ends this line in mid-thought, leaving the rest of the idea to the next line. This parallels the unfulfilled lives of the wise men, with their messages only partially delivered. Line 6 In many villanelles, the refrains simply serve as a chorus. Here, Thomas makes it an integral part of the meaning of the stanza. Lines 7-8 â€Å"Good† seems to be used in a moral sense here, describing men who have lived worthy, acceptable lives. The phrase â€Å"last wave† presents readers with a dual image. The men themselves are a last wave, the last to approach death; they also seem to be giving a final wave to those who they are leaving behind. â€Å"Crying,† as well, has two meanings here. In one sense, it simply means speaking out, but it also carries the sense of weeping and mourning. Like the wise men, the good men have not accomplished what they wished to in life. Their actions failed to stand out. Thomas uses rhyme for different purposes here. Rhyming â€Å"bright† at the end of line 7 with â€Å"might† in line 8 erves to emphasize both words and link the two stanzas. Also, the rhyming of â€Å"by,† â€Å"crying,† and â€Å"dying† unites this stanza, while the use of â€Å"deeds† and â€Å"danced† is an example of alliteration. Line 9 The intensity of the refrain contrasts with the nature of the good men as Thomas has presented them. They seem passive, their actions weak. Now at the end of life, they must finally behave passionately, finally be noticed. Lines 10-12 Thomas’s wild men are very different from the good, quiet men in the previous stanzas.  The image, â€Å"caught and sang the sun,† is joyous and powerful when compared to frail deeds. These men have lived live fully, not realizing that they, too, will age and die. Since Thomas himself cultivated an image as a wild Celtic bard, this stanza seems ironically prophetic about his own death. Line 13 The word â€Å"grave† carries two meanings here: seriousness and death. These are the men of understanding; paradoxically, although they are blind, they are able to see more clearly than those with sight. Lines 14-15 The mentions of blindness are references to his father. Thomas spoke of this blindness again in the unfinished elegy he wrote after his father’s death, describing him as: Too proud to die, broken and blind he died †¦ An old kind man brave in his burning pride. In this stanza, Thomas contrasts light and dark imagery; for instance, the term â€Å"grave† is countered by â€Å"gay,† just as â€Å"blind† is contrasted with â€Å"sight. † Lines 16-17 While the last stanza referred to Thomas’s father only obliquely, this stanza is addressed to him. The â€Å"sad height† refers to his closeness to death. There are Biblical overtones to Thomas’s request in line 17, as he asks for a final blessing or curse; the patriarchs delivered such parting messages to their sons. As in many Bible verses, with their parallel structure, blessings and curses are paired together. If this line is read as iambic pentameter, however, the emphasis will fall on the words, â€Å"bless† and â€Å"now. † The image of â€Å"fierce tears† shows contrast: the tears acknowledging the inevitability of death, while the use of â€Å"fierce† indicates resistance until the end. â€Å"I pray† reinforces the Biblical imagery; however, the prayer is addressed to his father, the agnostic, rather than God.

Is Marxism Still Relevant Today?

The Industrial Revolution (1750-1850) had brought about significant changes in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation and technology and subsequently established an era of unprecedented economic growth in capitalist economies. It was within this era that Karl Marx had observed the deprivation and inequality experienced by men of the proletariat, the working class, who had laboured excessively for hours under inhumane conditions to earn a minimum wage while the bourgeoisie, the capitalist class, reaped the benefits.For Marx it was this fundamental inequality within the social and economic hierarchy that had enabled capitalist societies to function. While Marx’s theories, in many instances have been falsified and predictions invalid, his ideas about class struggle and conflict being a motivator for change is still relevant in contemporary society. The disparity of wealth between occupations in Australia demonstrates that class stratification is still inherent within society and the recent Qantas airline dispute is a relevant example of this.Marx’s theory of class struggle originates with his belief that â€Å"the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles† (Marx & Engel, 1848). Marx had established that conflict between classes was the key driving force of history and the main determinant of social change. For Marx, conflict originates with the deterioration of a ‘false consciousness’ and the subsequent acquisition of a unified ‘class consciousness’.Marx argued that that proletariat was under the influence of a ‘false consciousness’ brought about with the acceptance of the dominant ideology that freedom and equality could be interpreted as an equal exchange of labour for wages (van Krieken et al. , 2010). Marx however, perceived this as an exploitive relationship because in capitalism, the labourer only receives what is deemed sufficient to meet his basic needs for himself and his family, as opposed to the real value of his labour power.Marx had identified that the difference between the labourer’s wage and the value of the goods in which he produces is taken as profit, of which only the capitalist is the beneficiary (Habibis & Walter, 2009). Marx had theorised that, as a result of this exploitive relationship, alienation would occur. Marx argued that commodification of goods and services produced in conjunction with the lack of control over the end result would mean that workers would no longer recognise a connection with their labour, and hence become alienated from their labour.Only with the recognition of class exploitation and alienation would a class consciousness develop. Marx referred to class consciousness as a ‘class for itself’, denoting a collective self-awareness of the interests shared by members of a social group (van Krieken et al. , 2010). Marx predicted that class consciousness would create a conflict of interest between classes and revolution would eventuate. The bourgeoisie would be overthrown, capitalism would collapse and a classless state would emerge as its successor (van Krieken et al. , 2010). In post-modern times however, it is widely accepted that the opposite occurred.Critics insist that Marxism’s credibility was eradicated with the fall of the communist states within the ‘Eastern Bloc’. While others such as China, although still governed by a communist party, have adopted numerous capitalist policies (van Krieken et al. , 2010). Marxism has also been criticised for its over-concentration on economic relationships and its tendency to overlook other forms of non-economic conflicts (Griffith, 2005). Feminists, for example, argue that the conflicts between male and female relations are not necessarily related to economics, but patriarchal.Furthermore, Marx like other social theorists at the time had ignored the role and contribution of women. Marx had described the proletariat of industrial societies where manual labour was involved; he did not however, take into consideration a woman’s domestic or reproductive labour. Federici (2004) asserts that Marx failed to recognise the importance of reproductive labour because he had adopted the capitalist criteria for what constitutes labour and believed that a wage in exchange for labour would be the paradigm that shapes humanity. Considering that as of 2010, 45. % of the Australian labour force comprised of women it would seem that Marx’s socialist perspective is less so equal or relevant in contemporary society. Marxism is often cited as being irrelevant within contemporary society due to the fact that Marx had critiqued an almost incomparable society. McDonald & Brownlee (2001) argue that contemporary society exists in a post-modern era where westernised societies enjoy the benefits of higher living standards, where the rights of employees are elicited within the Austra lian Constitution and the rights of humans are dictated within Geneva conventions.An era where employees are entitled to government pensions, allowances, superannuation, and employees accrue sick and annual leave (McDonald & Brownlee, 2001). Furthermore employees are able to seek union representation and are legally entitled to industrial action. McDonald and Brownlee (2001) assert that Fair Work Australia, established as an institution responsible for fixating minimum wage and resolving work related disputes, perpetuates the notion that Australia is in transition to become an egalitarian society with minimal class disparity.Critics have also argued that Marxism within western society is no longer relevant due to the increased levels of social mobility. Social mobility refers to movement in an individual’s or group’s social position over time and is often assessed on their change in income over time (Borgatta & Montogomery, 2000). The traditional stratification of clas ses had a tendency to overlook the middle class and analyse the two extremes of rich and poor, bourgeoisie and proletariat (van Krieken et al. 2010). In the context of Marxism, the middle class was ignored due to their perceived limited role within the political revolution that would depose of capitalism. In contemporary society however, the traditional labouring occupations have decreased, leading to a shortage of skilled labourers and tradesman. As a result these occupations often earn a higher income, blurring the line between working class and middle class (Braverman, 1974).In August 2011 the most common occupations were distinctly white collar with the workforce comprising of 22% professionals, 15% Clerical and administrative workers and 14% Technicians and trades workers (Australian Bureau Statistics, 2011). The evident emergence of the white collar-middle class within contemporary society significantly undermines Marx’s theory of class stratification who had predicted an absorption into the working class and the emergence of a classless state. Despite this however, research has suggested that social mobility has not necessarily increased.Graetz and McAllister (1994) identified that while the shift between manual and non-manual occupations has increased since the 1970’s, most of this has been the result of structural changes in light of technological innovations and advancements in modern society, as opposed to mobility in social classes. Moreover, Leigh (2007) argues that the youth of Australia are equally likely to reproduce, or not reproduce, the class of their parents and that social mobility in the context of Australian youth, has not necessarily increased.Argy (2005) reinforces this argument and states that while Australia can be referred to as economically liberated country, there has not necessarily been an increase in equal opportunity and the distribution of wealth within Australia is an evident example of this. The National Centr e for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) was commissioned to conduct a study in relation to the distribution of wealth in Australia. NATSEM analyst Simon Kelly (2002) reported that the richest fifth of households in Australia each have, on average, forty times more wealth than the poorest fifth of the population.The NATSEM data reiterates that wealth within Australia is still concentrated in the hands of the wealthy minority who have ascertained the benefits of the economic growth in recent years by disproportionately increasing their personal wealth (Stillwell & Primrose, 2011). The disparity of wealth between occupations was a key indicator of the inequality between classes. NATSEM data identified that personal wealth is the highest for managers and administrators (men $250,000, women $183,300) and professionals (men $173,800, women $99,700).In contrast to these figures, the lowest personal wealth is held by the production and transport workers ($55,400), labourers (men 39,700 , women $29,300) and trade persons (men 60,000, women 35,000) (Stillwell & Primrose, 2011). From a sociological perspective class inequality is often represented by comparing class personal wealth and income. From a Marxism perspective however, a person’s social class isn’t defined by personal wealth but rather the level of control that a person wields over the means of production.According to Ben Hillier (2012) it is measured in terms of social wealth derived from the â€Å"control of the productive or financial apparatus of society†. This can be interpreted as the bourgeoisie having ownership of the assets that enable modern society to function such as the telecommunications infrastructure, electrical companies, newspaper enterprises, transport facilities and mines etc. The transactional influence of these assets inevitably provides its owner with the power to influence governments of capitalist societies and effects how society functions.The recent Qantas air ways dispute demonstrated how this power is exercised. One recent example of class conflict inherent within Australian society was the Qantas airways dispute. On 29th October 2011, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce issued a press release announcing the immediate grounding and cancellation of all Australian domestic and international flights and the lock-out of all employees without pay. Leading up to the unprecedented grounding, Qantas had been involved in contract negotiations with unions representing employees of the company.The unions were seeking a 3-5% wage increase and better job security for casual staff. (Mulcahy, 2011). Around the same time Qantas had announced its decision to slash 1000 jobs and restructure its fleet to move to Asia under a new airline Jetstar Japan. The traditional international routes within the North Atlantic were operating at a loss with a half year profit of $241 million a year ago, dropping by 83%, to $42 million (Ryan, 2012). Despite the evident decline in prof it the airlines had awarded Alan Joyce with a 71% lift in his total remuneration package to $5. 1 million, after he received $2. million worth of shares (Mulcahy, 2011). After two days the debacle finally ended with the intervention of the Federal government submitting an application to Fair Work Australia (FWA), terminating the industrial dispute and ordering Qantas to resume operations. The verdict stated that those involved had 21 days to finalise a settlement to the dispute and neither party could engage in further action for three years after a settlement had been made. If an agreement could not be reached the Fair Work industrial courts would arbitrate the details of the contracts (Mulcahy, 2011).The economic impact was expected to be profound, Qantas which represents approximately 65% of the aviation industry, contributes $6 billion to the Australian economy and employs 50,000 employees (Squires, 2011). Although Qantas reports that the dispute cost them $120 million, its shar e prices increased by 6% to $1. 61 (Frith, 2011). The controversy attracted much political and economic commentary speculating on who won the dispute and what this would mean for those involved. Alan Joyce explicitly stated that the FWA ruling was a favourable decision for Qantas as â€Å"nobody any more can take industrial action† (Taylor, 2011).This thereby would allow Qantas to restructure its fleet in Asia, ascertaining cheaper wages by outsourcing and offshoring labour, without any internal opposition. The unions established to represent the working class of businesses and corporations would be made obsolete for three years allowing any injustices within the workplace to remain unresolved. From a Marxist perspective this would mean that the bourgeoisie of the company, the CEO and high profile managers, who already have exceeding high salaries, would profit from the new means of production and the proletariat would be further disadvantaged with pay cuts and the isk of red undancy. Karl Marx’s critique of industrial societies developed out of the belief that conflict between stratified classes such as the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, would be the drive needed to perpetuate social change. Marx believed that with the acquisition of a class consciousness the proletariat would revolt against the exploitative capitalist institution, eradicating all class structures and establishing a socialist state. Admittedly, Marx’s critique failed to recognise essential components of society such as the middle class and female representation which has significantly undermined Marx’s theory of class struggle.Furthermore Marx’s predictions have been falsified in light of modern developments which have led to many critics casting doubt on its relevance within contemporary society. The higher living standards, government allowances and union representation enjoyed by citizens within Australia all perpetuate notions of equality and repudiate the potential collapse of capitalism. Despite this however, there are still many instances of class inequality inherent in Australian society.The disparity of wealth between occupations in Australia demonstrates that the minority with extreme wealth have control over the means of production, and have used the power derived from it to influence society’s development. The recent Qantas dispute is a testament of how this power is exercised and demonstrates how the wealthy minority are able to accumulate excess wealth at the expense of the labouring class. Thus attesting to the inherent class inequality that Marx had recognised, and acknowledging its existence within contemporary Australian society. ?

How does Williams use dramatic devices in A Streetcar Named Desire to heighten the tragic aspects of the play Essay Example

How does Williams use dramatic devices in A Streetcar Named Desire to heighten the tragic aspects of the play Essay Example How does Williams use dramatic devices in A Streetcar Named Desire to heighten the tragic aspects of the play Paper How does Williams use dramatic devices in A Streetcar Named Desire to heighten the tragic aspects of the play Paper Essay Topic: A Streetcar Named Desire Literature Williams uses many dramatic devices to develop the play as a tragedy including: symbolism, stage directions and sounds. A Streetcar Named Desire can be seen as a modern domestic tragedy as the characters are not of noble birth and the play has specific focus on a female protagonist and anti-heroine, in this case Blanche. Blanche is often difficult to have an affinity with as she can come across as snobbish and over dramatising however, her fragility leads her to be a truly tragic figure much like that of Ophelia in Hamlet. Both characters are destroyed by the death of their loved ones and both suffer deaths themselves; albeit, in different ways. Williams uses symbolism to great effect within the play. In scene 1 the stage directions describe Blanche as â€Å"a moth†. William’s uses stage directions as a crucial dramatic device, making them highly detailed so when performed on stage it could be exactly as described; they became a signature of his. Instantly, a scene of tragedy is set as a moth is fragile however essentially a creature of self destruction, in its quest towards light it often ends up destroying itself. This sense of foreshadowing intensifies the tragedy from the very beginning, suggesting no matter what Blanche does, or how hopeful things are the outcome will not be pleasant. Blanches journey on the streetcar is an important metaphor. ‘They told me to take a street- car named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at – Elysian Fields’ This journey represents her life, used therefore is a type of foreshadowing, highlighting the inevitability of her descent into madness. The ‘street-car name Desire’ signifies her life at Belle Reve, her desire led her to her advances on the seventeen year old student and prostitution which forced her out, her â€Å"desire† being her hamartia. ‘Cemeteries’ has obvious connotations of death, of which Blanche has witnessed many: ‘The long parade of the graveyard! Father, mother’, it could perhaps represent the death of her old self. Elysian Fields is a reference to Greek Mythology; the place where worthy mortals rested after death. Because Blanches ‘old’ self died in Laurel she travels here to find her Elysium, however it is not found. Fate is also shown in this journey when Stanley says â€Å"her future is mapped out for her† suggests that she can’t change paths. This is backed up by Stella â€Å"In the first place, Blanche wouldn’t go on a bus† it is implied that whereas a bus is free to go wherever, a Streetcar has one destination. Blanche takes the Streetcar to Elysian Fields and so cements her downfall. This idea of inevitability links directly to Aristotle and Hegel’s theories of tragedy in which Aristotle talks about its necessity and Hegel too for the drama to attain tragic status and ‘arouse pity or fear in the spectators’ and by doing so ‘purge those emotions’ at the end, otherwise known as catharsis. The symbol of â€Å"light† is among the most significant aspects of the play. In Scene 1 Blanche says â€Å"Turn that over-light off†¦ I won’t be looked at in this merciless glare†. This idea of shying away from the light is carried on, with Blanche covering a naked bulb with a paper lantern in Scene 3 stating â€Å"I can’t stand a naked light bulb any more than I can a rude remark or vulgar action†. This action of covering the light so she is in part darkness suggests that she is hiding implying that Blanche would rather hide behind polite phrases and false pretences, rather than accept truth and reality. Blanche lives in a world of delusions. In scene six she says â€Å"I don’t want realism†¦I want magic†. She doesn’t want to face the truth; she’d rather stay in her world of fantasy, in the dark. In a more literal way, Blanche’s avoidance of the light is due to her fear of people seeing her clearly, in terms of age. The paper lantern is a flimsy thing which cannot last; merely cast a romantic glow temporarily while keeping the truth in shadow, however eventually it will be removed. This symbol is used as foreshadowing. The lantern protects her from the harsh realities of her life and when Stanley rips it off in the final scene she â€Å"cries out† as Stanley has stripped her metaphorically and she is forced into the light, into destruction. Though it is not a literal death it is a death of a sort, perhaps more tragic than that of a literal one. Williams knew personally about death of the mind, as his sister Rose suffered severe mental issues and was later given a full frontal lobotomy. Williams was in fact first going to end the play with Blanche throwing herself under a train, so perhaps he thought that her descent into total madness was more relevant tragedy for a modern age. Blanche is symbolic of illusions whereas Stanley of the truth and realism, these differences causes constant conflict between the two characters as they vie for Stella’s affections, the two cultures can be seen as the metaphor for the play and the battle between the old South and the new industrialising America. Blanche’s desperation for people to believe her lies causes the audience to feel distinct pity towards her whereas before it might have been annoyance at her snobbish attitudes. She seems entirely deluded at this point and almost a pathetic and tragic figure. Williams also uses dramatic irony in scene seven where Blanche sings Paper Moons in the bath suggesting her hope in a future with Mitch rests on him believing in her illusions however, the audience are then allowed revelations about her past from Stanley. He reveals her past and then divulges that he has also informed Mitch of the information; which Blanche does not know, creating a scene of dramatic irony as the audience listen to Blanche fantasise about a future that will never become reality. Blanche has lost any hope of a secure future. The fact that the audience are able to witness more than Blanche herself causes a dramatic tension within the audience. Blanche recedes into complete madness and illusion. As she can no longer deal with reality, she is sent to a mental asylum. Stella is essentially doing the same thing, she cannot believe Blanche’s story so ignores it. The audience have seen Blanche lie and even admit to it, and it is tragic that at the point she tells the truth and acknowledged reality no one believes her. Blanche’s decent into madness could be linked to Hamlet perceived madness as initially it was caused by the death of those around her at Belle Reve and Hamlets due to the death of his father, following this Blanche then had to battle for her sisters affections like Hamlet had to battle for his mothers. Both characters were damaged by the ones they loved in some way or another. Finally, Tennyson uses much music in the play, one of the most obvious examples of this being Blanches song in scene 7. She sings â€Å"Its only a paper moon, Just as phony as it can be. But it wouldnt be make-believe If you believe in me. † Blanche is almost admitting to her lies in a way, acknowledging her stories and herself as â€Å"phony† however, suggests that if enough people believe it and in her they can become true. The lyrics of the actual song explain how love turns the world into a fictitious fantasy. The speaker sings of how if both lovers believe in their fantasy then it will no longer be ‘make-believe’; reflecting how Blanche leads her life, she sees her lie as merely a means of living a more enjoyable life and as harmless †I don’t tell the truth. I tell what ought to be the truth†. Ophelia’s madness in Hamlet is similar to this as it is represented through songs and a close association with flowers, this is similar to Blanche’s repetition of the polka and the song of the Spanish woman selling â€Å"flowers for the dead†. The Varsouviana Polka was the song Blanche was dancing to with her husband just before he committed suicide, and it is heard- by Blanche only – at points in the play when she is feeling remorse for his death. It is first heard in scene one after Stanley asks about her husband, then in scene two it is heard when Blanche tells the story of her ill-fated marriage to Mitch. Later on in the play she says that the music only stops after she hears the gunshot. As Blanche descends into madness the polka plays more and more frequently to symbolise this tragic descent. The polka and the moment it represents are a symbol of Blanche’s loss of innocence, Greys suicide was what prompted her mental decline and since then she hears the tune whenever she begins to slip into illusion and lose grip on reality, hence it playing more often towards the end of the play. Contrastingly, Stanley is represented by the music of New Orleans; Jazz. These different types of music are representative of the respective characters, also of the social and historical situation at the time in that Blanche represents a fading Southern belle, and fading morals whereas, Stanley the ‘American Dream’. The play finishes with ‘the swelling music of the blue piano’ rather than Blanche’s polka; showing how this new America is the future. The same message is embodied in the rape. Together these devices make a truly moving and tragic play in which a descent into madness is the â€Å"death† required in tragedy as a genre. Music emphasises important moments in the play and allows the audience insight into the mind of Blanche. Williams use of symbols is also significant in stressing the tragedy of the play as they foreshadow the unpleasant ending and Blanche’s downfall.

Perfectionists Read This! There is No Getting It Right!

Perfectionists Read This! There is No Getting It Right! You can please some of the people some of the time. A few months ago, I received a call from a potential client who told me he had almost decided not to call me because he did not like my website. My immediate response, as a lifelong perfectionist, was to think, â€Å"I need to fix this!† I asked him to tell me more about what he didn’t like. I looked at some other web sites he said he did like. I even spoke to my web designers about what it would take to redesign my site to be more Web 2.0. Then I took a step back. This was one person. One potential client. I have no way of knowing exactly how many other people are not calling, which is what scared me and made me think I should make changes. But other people were calling me and telling me they chose my company over many others on the web because they were so impressed with my web site! Some of them even purchased my highest-value packages. Given these realities, my business coaches suggested that redesigning my site was not the best choice of investments right now. With the benefit of wisdom and reason, I decided to wait before making any major changes and to make some minor tweaks to my existing site instead. My site is performing just fine, imperfect though it is. If you are a job seeker, take this story to heart. On a conference call this month entitled â€Å"Debunking Resume Myths,† one of the participants, a resume writer, shared an enlightening story about one of her clients (I’ll call him Jim). Resume in hand, Jim began applying for positions locally. One company, which was not well-regarded in the area, criticized the resume for being too polished. Jim was undeterred and kept applying for positions using his spiffed up resume. Not long after the first company’s criticism, another company, with a reputation as an excellent place to work, complimented Jim on his decision to invest in a professionally-written resume. This company ultimately hired him, and he remains in his new position today. If Jim had spent his time trying to get it right, changing his resume every time anyone did not like it, he might have missed out on applying for a job he wanted. We have a winner! These stories prove that no matter what decisions you make with your resume, personal statements or written documents of any kind, some people will like the finished product and some will not. The best advice I can give is to create a document that you feel best represents who you are; the right company, school or client will appreciate the way you present yourself and act on their opinion! Sometimes sticking to your gunsand not striving for impossible perfectiontakes courage and patience. Sometimes you might discover after a period of time that you truly have missed the mark and need to do something differently. But if you give your best shot a chance to reap rewards, you have an excellent chance of coming out a winner. Do you have a story of a time when one person criticized your document or presentation and another person (besides your mom) loved it? Please share below.

Production and Exchange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Production and Exchange - Essay Example Much as this is still debatable, questions abound as to whether these were the only issues that existed and if these issues were the sole drivers for ancient activities (Hirth 203-207). The narrow view of the above archeological developments is the main reason that instigated the modern archaeologies in broadening the perspective and coming up with new approaches to archeological research which are able to put complexities that arose in human society into clear focus. They therefore found out that political economies were just among the mix of different strategies used by the ancient societies to mobilize resources which in essence did cross-cut through the production processes, service, and subsequent distributions to various societal sectors (Hirth 203-207). The interest of archaeologies has therefore been elicited by the fact that they saw the need to try and identify the aforementioned mix of the various strategies so that this could work as a first platform for the reconstructio n of the pre-historical political economy structures. They hence have to prove the fact that indeed, the elites within a given society would strive to gaining control on resources and mobilizing these resources from numerous unrelated sources as much as they can and in doing so, they end up invoking a high sense and set of principles that are put to practice (Kelly and Hurst 182-118). The interest has further been compounded by the fact that these components or principles of society are the shapers of the political economy in that they take up the form of ideological issues, context, accumulation, and matrix control. The archeologists see these as the common mechanisms which are in essence applied in the creation of resources, manipulation of people and information, and the eventual expropriation practices which are normally applied to the societies that might exist in different times and having very unique levels of societal organization (Spencer 209-218). Reconstructing the trade networks of the prehistoric periods could also help the archeologists in the understanding of some of the dynamics which are related to cultural interactions and inter-border changes that are being experienced in the world today (Kelly and Hurst 182-118). The above renewed interest in this reconstruction could be attributed to the fact that the past archeological activities only emphasized on the identification of evolving of political organizations instead of trying to reconstruct the relationships of economics which actually underscored them. They pose an argument that past trade and exchanges during the prehistoric era were more than just mere production and consumption of goods and services. The argument put forward is, the exchange of good was also a cause for cultural and social experiences’ exchange (Spencer 209-218). How archaeologists determine the extent of prehistoric trade/exchange They use the ancient data such as obsidian discoveries which are analyzed to give c ertain evidences and assumptions. Interpretation of this Obsidian Dispersal is used by archeologists as the basic data that can illustrate trade and exchanges between communities during the prehistoric times. As a general approach, the archeologists are able to point out the sources of origin of the archeological

Routines and Capabilities of Walt Disney Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Routines and Capabilities of Walt Disney - Essay Example The resources of Walt Disney are the firm’s most fundamental characteristics which are their tools and their personality. These are the individual assets of the firm such as items of capital equipment, employee skills, brand names, and the like. The resources are firm-specific assets that are useful for creating a competitive advantage which few competitors can acquire easily. A company that has resources that are valuable, rare, costly to imitate and organized to exploit resources, then the company can sustain its competitive advantage. Organisational resources can be classified into tangible and intangible resources. Tangible resources include cash, financial assets, land and capital equipment. Intangible resources include brand reputation, technology, employee skills and goodwill. Like most firms, Walt Disney recognises the intangible resources as the most valuable and most strategically important items. They invest in training and development of workers, research of new te chnologies, and marketing its brand.