The Wrong direction free essay sample

It’s been 12 years since I made that right at the first intersection since High School. To this day I still ask myself why, why did I make that right turn? Maybe things would’ve been different if I had just stopped to think about what my future would be like. Listening to my loved ones would’ve made much more sense knowing what my future holds. Yet again I found myself at another intersection only 5 years later. Didn’t I learn my lesson the first time? The stupidity in my mind kept on telling me, â€Å"Well Timmy-boy, here’s the second right.† I just figured that if I hit one more intersection, I’d make another right. I never thought it would take another seven years to get to the next intersection, to finally get back on track. Shouldn’t I have learned something from it all? If I had, would I have made that deal with the man in the dark uniform? I can remember everyone shouting, â€Å"You’re going the wrong way!† How was I supposed to know? After all, I was seventeen and just graduated from High School. We will write a custom essay sample on The Wrong direction or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It was August of 1997 when I arrived at the University. My Mom was crying while my stepfather being the strong one smiled at me. They walked away leaving their child to live on his own. I was starting fresh. I knew I had wanted it, the freedom and the legendary partying that college would bring. Well that’s when I made my first right turn. I knew I needed an education; I just wasn’t mature enough to juggle my future yet. That was my first mistake. So there I was making that right turn. As soon as I made that right I noticed something strange, I was looking at steps. As I looked up those steps I saw weird letters entering a faded yellow house with purple shutters. The house looked to be in poor condition, but the sounds coming from inside that yellow house was tuning out every thought from my mind. I found myself at a Fraternity party, and just as soon as I entered those steps college had flown right by me. Three years had just been sucked away from my life. What did I have to show for it? All I seemed to have taken from that whole experience is 29 stinking credits, withdrawals from all morning classes, girlfriends I can’t remember and a bunch of friends. I woke up to a phone call one morning; it was my mom calling me. At that point it was too late. Mom had called to tell me college was over if it was her money paying, so I packed my things and drove up to New Jersey in a rusted out U-Haul truck.I spent the next two years in New Jersey, and I was going nowhere fast. I was on my way to work in May of 2002 when I found that next intersection. I saw a man in a dark uniform who had promised me a job, fortune, education and money. All I had to do was sign my life away. When I told my family about it they all warned me with, â€Å"No, Don’t do it!† As much as they begged me not to give in, it was too late as I had already made my decision. I had turned right for the second time. Curiosity soon turned into fear as I was shipped out to Fort Jackson with my head shaved, stuck with over 15 needles and pushing through Boot Camp covered in mud and a Drill Sergeant constantly screaming in my face. I didn’t even have time to think what I had gotten myself into. It all happened so fast. Then somehow as if to throw salt on my wounds, the news was slowly making its way from all of the other Soldiers in the streets to the privates I was surrounded by. Saddam’s got weapons of mass destruction, and I’m stuck in the worst place possible.The Army is the sword of our great nation, and I’m sitting at the tip of it. The next 8 weeks until I graduated from boot camp and Advanced Individual Training got twice as long and twice as worse with that news. Everyone had to push through boot camp with that on their minds. Well through turmoil and stress, I finally graduated after seventeen weeks from when I first arrived at Fort Jackson. I was finally on my way home for a nice long break. I hadn’t even spent 2 weeks at home before my unit got called up. We were leaving for Iraq in 1 week. The next 7 years of my life were going to be long and grueling, as I was a Soldier first and a citizen second. I spent three quarters of a decade making the best of things. Instead of just following orders, I was proactive. I listened and learned from my great leaders, and ignored the bad ones. I had made my way through the ranks and promotions faster than anyone around me. To the surprise of everyone I encounter even to this day, they can’t believe that I’ve achieved the rank of Sergeant First Class in only six years. It takes most people at least thirteen years. What else could I say; I had finally found my maturity. It was time to get my life back on track, and an education was looking like gold to me.Here I sit writing up a personal essay that you’re in fact reading right now. You’ve run through a fast version of the last 12 years of my life and met up with me at the right moment. The reason why I’m allowing you into my thoughts is because I can see it now, the third intersection. I finally made the decision to stick with my gut feeling. It is the decision I’ve thought about for the last 12 years; the future I owe myself and the one my family wants for me. I’m making another right turn. Before you ask yourself â€Å"Why, why go through it all again? Didn’t you learn the first two times?† Before I answer that question, let me just pass on this message. If I had to do it all over again I would. The experiences, friends and learning to be a leader that I’ve taken from it all, forced me to become the man I am today. Maybe that’s the only thing that would have woken me up from immaturity. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been rough but it’s been fun. So now I get to finally answer your question about all of the right turns. My answer to you is this, â€Å"While two wrongs don’t make a right, three right’s make a left.†

The Four Market Structures

The Four Market Structures Free Online Research Papers Economists group industries into four distinct market structures: pure competition, pure monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly (McConnell Brue 2004). Understanding the different market structures will help to understand how price and output are determined and will also help to evaluate the efficiency or inefficiency of those markets (McConnell Brue 2004). This paper will briefly explain each market structure and will also explain how Quasar Computers evolved through each structure. Monopolistic Competition Monopolistic competition is defined as â€Å"a market structure in which several or many sellers each produce similar, but slightly differentiated products, each producer can set its price and quantity without affecting the marketplace as a whole† (InvestorWords, 2008). Quasar Computers is under intense competition within the computer industry. The company pioneered an optical notebook computer; new competitors have entered the market making optical technology easily available. Quasar planned ahead and set aside $200 million to develop their brand and keep their product differentiated. By thinking ahead and being proactive Quasar proved that they were ready for the monopolistic competition. Oligopoly Quasar Commuters has evolved into an oligopoly market because the patent on the optical technology expired. â€Å"Oligopoly involves only a few sellers of a standardized or differentiated product; so each firm is affected by the decisions of its rivals†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Brue, McConnell, 2004). Orion Technologies has entered the optical notebook market. Quasar must effectively price and advertise their product in order to gain additional market share from Orion. Orion competitively lowers their product price to beat the price of Quasar, causing Quasar to lose additional market share. Although Orion is lowering its prices and increasing its market share, the company is not increasing its revenue. A balance must be made between the cost of the product to be sold and the amount of revenue that each company will achieve. Perfect Competition Characteristics that make perfect competition unique are the market usually involves identical, standardized products that are produced in mass quantities. Perfect competition products do not set pricing and market entry and exit is easy for an organization. Quasar recently acquired a controlling interest in Opticom the organization whom supplies Quasar with Optical Display Screens (ODS). Quasar is trying to determine the best strategy for making the organization profitable. A requirement of the perfect competition market is that products are identical; product improvements will mean Quasar’s products are no longer similar to their competitors’ products resulting in above-market profits. Eventually, Quasar’s competitors will duplicate their products, which could decrease market prices and revenue. Monopoly Even though a monopolist r is a price maker, cost cannot be passed on to customers. Quasar has to be careful in raising their prices. This is due to a downward slope, by a monopolist. However, an increase will lead to a decrease in demand. Therefore, to improve profits even a monopoly player has to invest in advertising, improve productivity, and eventually cutting costs [This sentence is confusing. Rework for clarity and conciseness. (16b)] . Quasar’s advertising team or department has to strategize carefully their planning, therefore, by not to increase significantly, customers like when prices fair are and reasonable. [This sentence is long and confusing. Please rewrite for clarity.(16)] Realistically consumers like bargains, uniqueness, and easiness. Conclusion Quasar computers have had the opportunity to operate in all market structures. By learning and understanding those market structures, Quasar has effectively made smart business decisions when faced with the challenges of operating in each market structures. Quasar has a better comprehension of price and output determination. Making more informed and educated decisions has enabled Quasar to evaluate their efficiency or inefficiency more in-depth in their respective markets. Research Papers on The Four Market StructuresDefinition of Export QuotasOpen Architechture a white paperMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfTwilight of the UAWIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalThe Project Managment Office SystemHip-Hop is ArtGenetic EngineeringStandardized Testing

Asian American Literature Essay Research Paper It

Asiatic American Literature Essay, Research PaperIt is true that all people are created different, and therefore no two civilizations will of all time be the same. Throughout Asiatic American literature at that place seems to be a battle between the Asiatic civilization and American civilization. More specifically, there is a battle between Asiatic adult females and their Asiatic American girls, and what it means to be feminine, and how a adult female should move. The chief battle is between how the American adult female should move and how the Asiatic adult female should move. However, the behaviour of the Asian adult female seems to be dominant through out the narrative because although the girls and the female parents may non acquire along all of the clip, the female parents to have a batch of regard from their girls. Therefore, the female parents sentiment on how they should move, which is acting like the Asian adult female, is most apparent. This is the instance in The Joy Luck Club, written by Amy Tan and besides in the short narrative # 8220 ; Waiting for Mr. Kim, # 8221 ; written by Carol Roh-Spaulding. These two narratives have really different significances, nevertheless they are similar in the facet that they are all Asiatic adult females with Asiatic American girls seeking to acquire their girls to maintain and utilize their Asiatic heritage. There are certain behaviours that Asiatic adult females are expected to hold, and the female parents feel that their girls should utilize these behaviours. In The Joy Luck Club, the novel traces the destiny of the four mothers-Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying-ying St. Clair-and their four daughters-June Woo, Rose Hsu Jordan, Waverly Jong, and Lena St. Clair. Through the experiences that these characters go through, they become adult females. The female parents all fled China in the 1940 # 8217 ; s and they all retain much of their heritage. Their heritage focuses on what is means to be a female, but more significantly what it means to be an Asiatic female. In the short narrative # 8220 ; Waiting for Mr. Kim, # 8221 ; the chief female character Gracie understands what it means to be an Asiatic female, but she does oppugn the significance because of her sisters. Her sisters ran off from place before their matrimony could be arranged and eloped. This is wholly against Asiatic civilization, and it causes Gracie to oppugn her heritage and her Asiatic muliebrity. In both of these narratives there are certain features of females that are the same, they are interior strength, obeisance, award and regard, the good of the whole is better than the good of the person, and happening things out for yourself. In the chapter # 8220 ; Scar # 8221 ; the feature of award and regard is foremost noticed. In this chapter An-mei finds out how her female parent fundamentally deserted her, her female parent did go forth for a good ground, which was to keep the award of her household, but either manner her female parent left her. Her grandma had to raise her, and she learned much about the Asiatic adult female from her. An-mei was demoing some disrespect towards on of her aunts, and her aunt told her that she was being disrespectful. Her grandma so interjected and said, # 8220 ; When you lose your face, An-mei? it is like dropping your necklace down a well. The lone manner you can acquire it back is to fall in after it. # 8221 ; She was speaking about A-mei # 8217 ; s female parent, and how she left because she had disrespected the household and she was dishonourable to the household name. The lone manner for her female parent to recover regard and award was to go forth and make it on her ain, which is a feature of an Asiatic adult female. Another feminine feature that comes from that scene is being able to make things on your ain. However, this is an American influence. This characteristic comes from the chapter # 8220 ; Rules of the Game. # 8221 ; This is a curious chapter in the book because it is a chapter where the adult female is non seen as inferior to the adult male. Waverly # 8217 ; s brother, Vincent, received a cheat set for Christmas. However, Waverly is the 1 who took full usage of the cheat set. She was a natural, she would crush her brothers in cheat, which would usually be looked down upon in Asiatic civilization, but she was encouraged. She was even given lessons in cheat, and she was a national title-holder. Unlike An-mei # 8217 ; s female parent, Waverly was conveying award to the household name. When Waverly is encouraged to stand out in cheat she learns something from her female parent. Her female parent said in her broken English, # 8220 ; This American regulations? Every clip people come out from a foreign state, must cognize regulations. You non cognize, justice say, Too bad, travel back. They non stating you why so you can utilize their manner to travel frontward. They say, Don # 8217 ; Ts know why, you find out your self. # 8221 ; This is an American usage, more than an Asiatic 1. She is explicating that in order to win as an Asiatic female in the United States, so there are certain things that you will hold to happen out on your ain. Besides in this chapter was the theme/characteristic of inner streng th. Waverly says she six when her mother taught her the â€Å"art of invisible strength.† Waverly was walking by the candy store when she was a young child, and she was begging her mother to take her inside. Her mother refused to take her inside, which angered Waverly. Then her mother went on to explain, â€Å"Wise guy, he not go against wind. In Chinese we say, Come from South blow with wind-poom!-North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be seen.† This means that the strongest way to win an argument is to keep to yourself, which Waverly used in her chess matches. Waverly goes on to say, â€Å"A little knowledge withheld is a great advantage one should store for future use.† Another example of invisible strength, inner strength, is the â€Å"The Moon Lady.† Ying-ying’s mother was telling her how a woman should act when she said, â€Å"A boy can run and chase dragonflies?But a girl should stand still.† The girl would have a better chance cat ching the dragonfly than the boy, she would catch the dragonfly with inner strength, rather than muscle like the boy. The chapter, â€Å"The Moon Lady,† has another characteristic of what it is to be female, which is the good of the whole is more important than the good of the individual. They were all on their way to see the Moon Lady, and if you see the Moon Lady, you receive one wish from her. Ying-ying asked what a â€Å"secret wish† was, and the answer was that is was on that you cannot ask. Ying-ying was young as this point, so she asked why. Amah’s response to Ying-ying was, â€Å"This is because?because if you ask it?it is no longer a wish but a selfish desire?Haven’t I taught you-that it is wrong to think of our own needs? A girl can never ask, only listen.† Here she is telling that by making a wish for herself she is being selfish and forgetting that she is not the important one, but the good of the whole is the important one. Amah is als o hinting at obedience when she tells her daughter that she is not to ask questions, but just listen to the men and go along with it. Arranged marriages are a very tough thing to go through. Marrying someone because one has to has to be hard because one is not marrying out of love. This is exactly the case in â€Å"Waiting for Mr. Kim.† Gracie two twin sisters have already run away from to and eloped with two men. Their marriages were not arranged because they left before their father could arrange them. Now, with her sisters gone, Gracie is the only remaining daughter, and she is somewhat frowned upon because she was the â€Å"third daughter.† She did not really like the two men that her father was thinking of arranging the marriage with, but it did not matter. It did not matter because as her mother told her, â€Å"Girls don’t choose.† The girls just sit there and look pretty while their fathers choose for them, they have to comply with their fatherâ₠¬â„¢s decision. They are obedient, and at the same time respectful of the decision that is made. Another characteristic that appears in this story is that women made to think that they are second class compared to men. When her Mr. Kang, Gracie’s father, would walk, he would sometimes reach back to hold Mrs. Kang’s hand, but she would pull away. Not only would she pull away, but she would â€Å"stay behind as she cleaned her purse or took forever with her coat, just to have it the way she had learned it, her husband a few places ahead, women behind.† Her mother not only believes that this is how women should act and it is a part of their femininity, but she is passing this way of thinking onto her daughter. Her mother is relaying the message to her daughter that no matter what you need to show your husband respect and let him know that he is in charge. Both of these stories have displayed that there are certain characteristics of females and they are inner stren gth, the good of the whole is better than the good of the individual, find things out for oneself, honor and respect, and obedience. All of these characteristics have displayed not only what it means to be feminine, but also what it means to be female. It is not so much an Asian female, but it is because that is how their mothers were raised and that is how their mothers will raise them. There are really no American females for the daughters, or mothers, to see and mimic. The only way of life that the mothers know is the Asian way of life, therefore that is the only way that can be passed down onto their daughters. Sometimes that is hard for the daughters to understand because the daughters have grown up in American culture, and they know what it is like to be an American woman. No matter how one views this situation, these stories focus on what it means to an Asian female, but more generally what the mothers know best on how to teach their daughters on how to be female.

Reflection on Leadership Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reflection on Leadership - Coursework Example Such a position demanded a competitive individual with high potential leadership, in training, experience and passion. The organisation was at the pioneer in an already saturated market. To maintain the position was receiving challenges daily and required leadership with a vision and mission as lain down in the organization’s statements. For this reason, desperate job seekers were not to be entertained in the application for the position, which made it vital to inform the interested persons through the job advert about particulars of the position. Secondly, it is a requirement legally with the consequence of familiarising the potential candidates with information relevant to their job, as well as, their expected responsibilities (Torrington et al. 2005). With this regard, the organisation had no choice but to follow the legal requirements. On this note, it is necessary to reflect on the nature of leisure centre undertakings, as there are scores of organizations offering such s ervices, but in illegitimate grounds. Such organisations stretch their operations to compromised levels, a fact that the general public is aware of. To avoid any suspicions and any doubts on the part of our potential candidates for the job offer, we had to lay down the job expectations. Lastly, the job description was an indispensable tool to us as the pioneers of the organisation. At the drawing board, we realised that, by describing the job to be carried out by the management we wanted to employ in the organization, it simplified the task of putting down the information needed by the job advertisement. Equally, the job description went deeper than just the title level; it enhanced the possibilities of obtaining competitive candidates (Torrington et al. 2005). At this point, it became handy to give the description of the job as Sports Facilities Manager in the sports department. The location of our organisation was also provided as Hatfield. Moreover, the responsibilities of the ma nager were provided as responsibility of supervision and management of our organisation besides assisting in the creation and development of the Leisure centre’s annual budget. With duties of facility planning, Inclusive of facility redesign, constructions, buying or selling together with leasing of sports facilities and supervision of the facilities, the manger had to be experienced. The manager was to be custodial over crews and staff, as well. There was the need to maintain clarity in the selection criteria to be subjected to the candidates so as to prevent hesitant selection decisions. In addition, explicit selection criteria assist in defining the most suitable procedure as well as the approach to the selection process. Therefore, at this juncture, it was necessary to compare the available theories in the selection criteria. In our case, selection criteria that are typically obtained in the nature of a person specification according to Torrington et al. (2008), was worth y to note. This was because person specification offers another recruitment’s key document aside of the job description. The crucial note with the personal selection criteria is its ability to define the ideal candidate profile negating the characteristics that could never be met fully. In agreement with Porter,

The Origins of Slavery on English Mainland North America Essay

The Origins of Slavery on English Mainland North America - Essay Example However, this also suggests that slavery was an important institution within the colonies long before the need for outside support was necessary. â€Å"Unquestionably it was a demand for labor which dragged the Negro to American shores, but the status which he acquired here cannot be explained by reference to that economic motive. Long before black labor was as economically important as unfree white labor, the Negro had been consigned to a special discriminatory status which mirrored the social discrimination Englishmen practiced against him† (Degler, 1959: 62). Investigating the reasons why slavery became such an ingrained element within the North American continental society reveals a deep discrimination combined with a complicated philosophy toward already established social institution led to the development of slavery as it was practiced, regardless of when it appeared in colonial statues. With the introduction of people of darker skin, white man developed a quick and deep discrimination against these people who lived primitive lives and knew nothing of the higher orders of thinking involved in science and technology. While the English who settled the North American shores did not have a tradition of slavery within their culture, they were aware of the idea of slavery that was practiced in Spain and Portugal. â€Å"As early as 1623, a voyager’s book published in London indicated that Englishmen knew of the Negro as a slave in the South American colonies of Spain. The book told of the trade in ‘blacke people’ who were ‘sold unto the Spaniard for him to carry into the West Indies, to remaine as slaves, either in their Mines or in any other servile uses, they in those countries put them to’† (Degler, 1959: 53). This knowledge regarding the construction of slavery suggested lifetime servitude of the dark peoples rather than

Classrooms learning environment Essay Example for Free

Classrooms learning environment Essay 1.1 Many things combine to create a classrooms learning environment. This can be on an individual or environmental factor impacting positive or negative on learning, efficient or inefficient. Much of this depends on the plans you have in place to deal with situations that affect this environment. The list below looks at each of these things in order to help teachers better understand how to ensure that they are creating a positive learning environment for all students and eliminate negativity. Teacher Behaviors The first factor a teacher should set is his tone for the classroom setting. As a teacher you should be even-tempered, fair with your students, and have a rule enforcement that which will set a high standard for your classroom. Another example is, Are you humorous? Are you able to take a joke? Are you sarcastic? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? All of these and other personal characteristics will shine through in your classroom and affect the learning environment. Student Ownership The second factor is when displaying of essays, poems, projects, and exams dominate the walls, there is student ownership of the room. When they look around and see their own writing and thinking, or posters they certainly experience a higher level of comfort because they see that they as students created them. Classroom Setup The first environmental factor here is the room layout. A ‘ Horseshoe’ or ‘U’ shape environment allows eye contact with the teacher and participate amongst the students and room layout should not just be set up by the number of people required, but by the event. The key factors is where is the centre of attention. Do people need to interact with each other. Do you want people in groups without having to move them around. The teacher is able to move easily with learners, the students are able to the demonstration. However, interaction and teamwork are much easier in a learning environment where students sit together. Aspects of Aging on Learning Adult learners have already been partly educated through life experiences. Adults have more experiences, different kinds of experiences, and that these experiences are organized differently. . According to Knowles (1980), 1 adults derive much of their self- identity from their past experiences. In that respect, they are much different from youths who tend to view themselves largely from external sources. Because of this factor, adult learners place a great deal of value on their experiences and if they cannot use those experiences, or, if those experiences are rejected, it may feel similar to being rejected as an individual. Related to this is the fear of failure that an adult learner may bring to the classroom, particularly if this is a new environment where they might fear further rejection from their peer group (Kennedy, 2003) 2 or their teacher. 1.2 Create a positive learning environment Build self-esteem and self-efficacy Students’ determination and belief that they can achieve their goals are important factors in their persistence in ongoing learning. Adult learners may have negative feelings about themselves due to failure experienced in their lives, due to dropping out of school, losing a job, or not being able to read or write well enough to complete a job application or read to their children . Ensure that students experience success at their first meeting so the first experience is a positive one. It may be appropriate to start with material that is slightly below the student’s level. Be patient! Patience is an extremely important characteristic for any teacher or tutor of adults. Adults can often take a longer time in the learning process because of various learning barriers, but this does not mean they aren’t motivated to learn. Accept your student as he/she is and respect his/her values even if they differ from yours. Believe in your student and he/she will begin to believe in him/herself. Memorize the names of all your students within the first week of instruction. Use students’ names frequently. If your students are English learners, learn a few key phrases in their native languages to model that it is acceptable to struggle with pronunciation and language learning Identified need A lesson plan is the teacher’s road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives for the class meeting. Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates these three key components: Objectives for student learning Teaching/learning activities Strategies to check student understanding Specifying concrete for student learning will help you determine the kinds of teaching and learning activities you will use in class, while those activities will define how you will check whether the learning objectives have been met. Principles of adult learning The Manual of Learning Styles, by Peter Honey and Alan Mumford (1992). Provides an introduction to learning styles with advice on how to administer and interpret ‘The Learning Styles Questionnaire. Learning styles can be influenced by past experiences, education, work and the learning situation. It is important to recognise that they are not fixed but may be adapted according to context and what is being learned. Nevertheless most people still favour one style of learning. Knowles identified the six principles of adult learning outlined below. Adults are internally motivated and self-directed Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences Adults are goal oriented Adults are relevancy oriented Adults are practical Adult learners like to be respected Part of being an effective educator involves understanding how adults learn  best (Lieb,1991). Andragogy (adult learning) is a theory that holds a set of assumptions about how adults learn. Andragogy emphasises the value of the process of learning. It uses approaches to learning that are problem-based and collaborative rather than didactic, and also emphasises more equality between the teacher and learner. Andragogy as a study of adult learning originated in Europe in 1950s and was then pioneered as a theory and model of adult learning from the 1970s by Malcolm Knowles an American practitioner and theorist of adult education, who defined andragogy as the art and science of helping adults learn (Zmeyov 1998; Fidishun 2000). Resource availability Equipment/Materials:Whiteboard, Smart board, PowerPoint, Flip chart, Laptop, Marker pens, OHP, previously created resources, and hand outs Appropriate assessment methods. Defining Formative and Summative Assessments The terms formative and summative do not have to be difficult, yet the definitions have become confusing in the past few years. This is especially true for formative assessment. In a balanced assessment system, both summative and formative assessments are an integral part of information gathering. Depend too much on one or the other and the reality of student achievement in your classroom becomes unclear. Steps for preparing a lesson plan Outlining learning objectives The first step is to determine what I needed the students to learn and be able to do at the end of class. To specify my objectives for student learning I questioned myself. Firstly what is the topic of the lesson? Secondly what do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class? Thirdly what do I want them to take away from this particular lesson? Managing class time and accomplishing the more important learning objectives in case I am pressed for time. I considered these questions. What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to  grasp and apply? Why are they important? If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted? And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time? The second step is to develop the introduction in order of importance, using specific activities so that students can gain the knowledge and apply what they have learned. There will be a diverse body of students with different academic and personal experience, they may be already familiar with the topic. Presenting the lesson plan, to let my students know what they will be learning and doing in class I engaged with them and on track. Shared my lesson plan by writing a brief agenda on the board telling students explicitly what they will be learning and doing in class. Outlined on the board and gave out hand outs as their learning objectives for the class. Time can help students not only remember better but also follow the presentation and class activities. Visible agenda on the board will also help me and students stay on track. The first thing you can do is ask a question to gauge students’ knowledge of the subject or possibly, their preconceived ideas. For Example: How many of you have heard of Meditation? What can you share or experienced. If there was enough time prior to presentation date I would have had a chance to gather background information from the students via electronic survey or asking them to write comments, this additional information allows one to deliver, shape the introduction, learning activities and familiarise with the topic and I can then have a sense of what to focus on. The introduction topic must be stimulating, interesting and encourage thinking. To engage students I used a variety of approaches. Whilst introducing the topic mentally I began to check whether students know anything about the topic or have any preconceived ideas about it. What are some of the commonly held ideas or misconceptions about this topic meditation that students might be familiar with. What will I do to introduce  the topic? Planning the specific learning activities in the main body of the lesson. I prepared several different ways of explaining the material to catch the attention of more students and appeal to different learning styles, by giving out the hand outs, For Example: I talked about a personal incident in Meditation, an historical event, thought provoking dilemma, real world examples, a short music play, pictures to visualise, a statue to show posture in Mediation, a candle lit, quotes to probe questions. I began mentally estimating how much time I will spend on each examples and activities. Built in time for extended explanation or discussion, but quickly moved on to different applications or problems. I thought of questions such as What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way? How can I engage students in the topic? What are some relevant real life examples, analogies or situations that can help students gain knowledge on the topic? What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better? Plan to check for understanding, check to see student understanding, how do I know the students are learning. Writing them down, paraphrasing them so that you can ask the question in a different style. Deciding on whether you want students to respond orally or writing. As a conclusion I should go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. This can be done in a number of ways. For Example by saying, Today we talked about†¦.? as a student to summarize them or get them to write down on a piece of paper the main points covered. Reflecting on my lesson plan I found that after delivering my lesson plan it came across I could have been outstanding at delivering my plan if I had arranged most of my plan with a beginners, intermediate and advanced levels and the group did not get much time to do a group exercise. However this did not discourage me but instead it has encouraged me to reflect on what worked well and why, what I could  have done differently, identifying successful and less successful class time. I thought I shall use more resources such as students feedback, peer observation, viewing a videotape of my teaching and consultation with my tutor. As a reflection this assignment provided me with a general outline of my teaching goals learning objectives and means to accomplish them. It has become a reminder of what I want to do and how I want to do it. In my opinion a productive lesson is not one in which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both students and the teacher learn from each other.

H G Wells :: Biography

Herbert George Wells English author and political philosopher, most famous for his science-fantasy novels with their prophetic depictions of the triumphs of technology as well as the horrors of 20th-century warfare. Wells was born September 21, 1866, in Bromley, Kent, and educated at the Normal School of Science in London, to which he won a scholarship. He worked as a draper's apprentice, bookkeeper, tutor, and journalist until 1895, when he became a full- time writer. Wells's 10-year relationship with Rebecca West produced a son, Anthony West, in 1914. In the next 50 years he produced more than 80 books. His novel The Time Machine mingled science, adventure, and political comment. Later works in this genre are The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, and The Shape of Things to Come; each of these fantasies was made into a motion picture. Wells also wrote novels devoted to character delineation. Among these are Kipps and The History of Mr. Polly, which depict members of the lower m iddle class and their aspirations. Both recall the world of Wells's youth; the first tells the story of a struggling teacher, the second portrays a draper's assistant. Many of Wells's other books can be categorized as thesis novels. Among these are Ann Veronica, promoting women's rights; Tono-Bungay, attacking irresponsible capitalists; and Mr. Britling Sees It Through, depicting the average Englishman's reaction to war. After World War I Wells wrote an immensely popular historical work, The Outline of History. Throughout his long life Wells was deeply concerned with and wrote voluminously about the survival of contemporary society. For a time he was a member of the Fabian Society. He envisioned a utopia in which the vast and frightening material forces available to modern men and women would be rationally controlled for progress and for the equal good of all.

Kenneth Burke Essay

Kenneth Duva Burke (May 5, 1897 – November 19, 1993) was an American literary theorist and philosopher. Burke’s primary interests were in rhetoric and aesthetics. Burke became a highly distinguished writer after getting out of college, and starting off serving as an editor and critic instead, while he developed his relationships with other successful writers. He would later return to the university to lecture and teach. He was born on May 5 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Peabody High School, where his friend Malcolm Cowley was also a student. Burke attended Ohio State University for only a semester, then studied at Columbia University in 1916-1917 before dropping out to be a writer. In Greenwich Village he kept company with avant-garde writers such as Hart Crane, Malcolm Cowley, Gorham Munson, and later Allen Tate. Raised Roman Catholic, Burke later became an avowed agnostic. In 1919, he married Lily Mary Batterham, with whom he had three daughters: the late feminist, Marxist anthropologist Eleanor Leacock (1922–1987); musician (Jeanne) Elspeth Chapin Hart (b. 1920); and writer and poet France Burke (b. 1925). He would later marry her sister Elizabeth Batterham in 1933 and have two sons, Michael and Anthony. Burke served as the editor of the modernist literary magazine The Dial in 1923, and as its music critic from 1927-1929. Kenneth himself was an avid player of the saxophone and flute. He received the Dial Award in 1928 for distinguished service to American literature. He was the music critic of The Nation from 1934–1936, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1935. His work on criticism was a driving force for placing him back into the university spotlight. As a result, he was able to teach and lecture at various colleges, including Bennington College, while continuing his literary work. Many of Kenneth Burke’s personal papers and correspondence are housed at Pennsylvania State University’s Special Collections Library. In later life, his New Jersey farm was a popular summer retreat for his extended family, as reported by his grandson Harry Chapin, a contemporary popular song artist. He died of heart failure at his home in Andover, New Jersey. Burke, like many twentieth century theorists and critics, was heavily influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Friedrich Nietzsche. He was a lifelong interpreter of Shakespeare, and was also significantly influenced by Thorstein Veblen. He resisted being pigeonholed as a follower of any philosophical or political school of thought, and had a notable and very public break with the Marxists who dominated the literary criticism set in the 1930s. Burke corresponded with a number of literary critics, thinkers, and writers over the years, including William Carlos Williams, Malcolm Cowley, Robert Penn Warren, Allen Tate, Ralph Ellison,Katherine Anne Porter, Jean Toomer, Hart Crane, and Marianne Moore. Later thinkers who have acknowledged Burke’s influence include Harold Bloom, Stanley Cavell, Susan Sontag (his student at the University of Chicago), Erving Goffman, Geoffrey Hartman, Edward Said, Rene Girard, Fredric Jameson, Michael Calvin McGee, Dell Hymes and Clifford Geertz. Burke was one of the first prominent American critics to appreciate and articulate the importance of Thomas Mann and Andre Gide; Burke produced the first English translation of â€Å"Death in Venice†, which first appeared in The Dial in 1924. It is now considered to be much more faithful and explicit than H. T. Lowe-Porter’s more famous 1930 translation. Burke’s political engagement is evident, for example, A Grammar of Motives takes as its epigraph, ad bellum purificandum — toward the purification of (the human spirit from) war. American literary critic Harold Bloom singled out Burke’s Counterstatement and A Rhetoric of Motives for inclusion in his â€Å"Western Canon†. The political and social power of symbols was central to Burke’s scholarship throughout his career. He felt that through understanding â€Å"what is involved when we say what people are doing and why they are doing it†, we could gain insight into the cognitive basis for our perception of the world. For Burke, the way in which we decide to narrate gives importance to specific qualities over others. He believed that this could tell us a great deal about how we see the world. Burke called the social and political rhetorical analysis â€Å"dramatism† and believed that such an approach to language analysis and language usage could help us understand the basis of conflict, the virtues and dangers of cooperation, and the opportunities of identification and consubstantiality. Burke defined the rhetorical function of language as â€Å"a symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols. † His definition of humanity states that â€Å"man† is â€Å"the symbol using, making, and mis-using animal, inventor of the negative, separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making, goaded by the spirit of hierarchy, and rotten with perfection. † For Burke, some of the most significant problems in human behavior resulted from instances of symbols using human beings rather than human beings using symbols. Burke proposed that when we attribute motives to others, we tend to rely on ratios between five elements: act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose. This has become known as the dramatistic pentad. The pentad is grounded in his dramatistic method, which considers human communication as a form of action. Dramatism â€Å"invites one to consider the matter of motives in a perspective that, being developed from the analysis of drama, treats language and thought primarily as modes of action† (Grammar of Motives xxii). Burke pursued literary criticism not as a formalistic enterprise but rather as an enterprise with significant sociological impact; he saw literature as â€Å"equipment for living,† offering folk wisdom and common sense to people and thus guiding the way they lived their lives. Another key concept for Burke is the terministic screen — a set of symbols that becomes a kind of screen or grid of intelligibility through which the world makes sense to us. Here Burke offers rhetorical theorists and critics a way of understanding the relationship between language and ideology. Language, Burke thought, doesn’t simply â€Å"reflect† reality; it also helps select reality as well as deflect reality. In Language as Symbolic Action (1966), he writes, â€Å"Even if any given terminology is a reflection of reality, by its very nature as a terminology it must be a selection of reality; and to this extent must function also as a deflection of reality. In his book Language as Symbolic Action (1966), Burke defined humankind as a â€Å"symbol using animal† (p. 3). This definition of man, he argued, means that â€Å"reality† has actually â€Å"been built up for us through nothing but our symbol system† (p. 5). Without our encyclopedias, atlases, and other assorted reference guides, we would know little about the world that lies beyond our immediate sensory experience. What we call â€Å"reality,† Burke stated, is actually a â€Å"clutter of symbols about the past combined with whatever things we know mainly through maps, magazines, newspapers, and the like about the present . . . construct of our symbol systems† (p. 5). College students wandering from class to class, from English literature to sociology to biology to calculus, encounter a new reality each time they enter a classroom; the courses listed in a university’s catalogue â€Å"are in effect but so many different terminologies† (p. 5). It stands to reason then that people who consider themselves to be Christian, and who internalize that religion ’s symbol system, inhabit a reality that is different from the one of practicing Buddhists, or Jews, or Muslims.

American Criminal Justice Systems and Functions

Criminal justice is the system of legislation, practices and institutions used by the federal, state and local governments to maintain social order by controlling crime and punishing those who violate the set laws with criminal penalties. In the past, the society had their own ways in which they controlled behavior of individuals and groups so that social order would be achieved. Most societies were controlled by norms, beliefs and values which ensured every individual or group confirmed to the societal set values. The indigenous societies sanctioned the members who did not conform to the societal values and norms.Type of sanction differed from society to society. In some societies, those who violated societal values by engaging in criminal and deviant behavior, for instance, rape, the individual in most societies was perceived as bad omen and the sanction included communication from society or burning the person into ashes. The sanctions encouraged conformity in the society (Cole, 1 999). In the modern times, norms still control behavior in some societies by immigration and intercultural interactions have limited the behavior control through norms.America in particular is inhabited by people from different nationalities and cultures and therefore becomes the ideal control tool for crime. American Criminal Justice systems present a uniform system that control behavior of individuals regardless of race, religion, culture or ethnic group and hence assist in maintaining social order in the American society. The Criminal justice policy in the United States has been guided by the 1967 president’s commission on law enforcement and administration of Justice which issued initial report† the challenge of crime in a free society.† The commission advocated a â€Å"systems† approach to criminal justice. The President’s commission defined criminal justice system as the means for society to â€Å"enforce the standards of conduct necessary to protect individuals and the community† (Cochranc, Melville and Marsh, 2004; Feinman, 1994) In America, the law enforcement agencies include police prosecutors, courts, defense attorney and corrections which are concerned with arrest, charging adjudication and punishment of those found guilty hence maintaining social order.In the ancient time, especially in the Middle Ages, common forms of punishments included exile, payment to victim in case of violent crimes, lack of payment attracted harsh penalties like corporal punishment in form of mutilation, flogging and sometimes execution. The present criminal justice systems try to ensure fairness and justice. Past data indicate that the society in US did not respect police as law enforcers until 1920. s when the police adopted new technology and placed emphasis on community policing following urban unrest.Introduction of comp stat in 1990s, in the police departments has assisted the police to track criminals and the criminal justice system hold police responsible for dealing with crime problems. The interaction between the police and the community through community policing has assisted in tracking criminals. Criminal law in America involves persecution of an individual by the government for committing an act that has been classified as a crime. Most crimes in the United States are established by local state and federal government.In a criminal case, the state through a prosecutor initiates the law suit and the offender jailed authorized to pay a fine or both. In American Justice System, crime may be classified as felony or misdemeanor. Felony includes serious offences like rape and murder which attract one or more year’s imprisonment. Misdemeanors include such crimes like petty theft which attract less than a year imprisonment as a way of correction. However, before any act is considered crime, it has to be established by statute or common law (Walker, 1993).Scholars have contributed a lot in the Ameri can Criminal justice system. Scholars through providing courses in criminology and psychology assist in explaining why some individuals engage in criminal behavior and classify different types of crimes like organized crime, white-color crime and juvenile crime. Sociologists have put forward classical conflict and positivist theories that explain why crime occurs and give remedies on how to curb the crimes and control further c criminal cases in the society. In America, crime is defined, classified, graded prohibited and punishable by the state.Criminal law in America is distinguished from all other kinds of law because it carries it the moral condemnation of all society. All crimes are an injury against the society because the society as a whole through its legislatures has made of collective judgment that certain behaviors are harmful to the societal interests’ (Walker, 1993) In the recent past, there have been occurrences of violent crimes which have promoted the governmen t to revise and classify c criminal acts. American legislature has classified the crimes in different categories and they attract different punishments.Treason, sedition and espionage are crimes that are committed against the state. The crimes indicate non-patriotism of the offenders and the government controls such crimes for the protection of natural security. Most offenders who are found guilty of the offence receive heavy punishment, for instance, corporal punishment which may include execution depending on the intensity of the offence. Murder, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, assault and battery are crimes that are committed against persons. These crimes too fall under felony and the state ensures there is societal order and uniformity.The state punishes the offenders with the objective of protecting the persons against violence. Burglary, arson and home invasion are classified as crimes against habitation with the aim of protecting the safety and security of one’s home. The crimes too are considered felony and must be discouraged to ensure harmony in the society (Cole, 1999; Parker, 2006; Cochranc, Melville and Marsh 2004). Theft, larceny, robbery, vandalism, forgery, extortion, fraud and embezzlement are classified as crimes against property and are controlled to protect private property. Protection of property ensures there is harmony and order in the society.Disorderly conduct vagrancy, incitement too riot, motor vehicle offences and alcohol and drugs are classified as crimes against public order and are controlled to protect public peace, order and safety. Resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, bribery, escape and contempt of court are classified as crimes against administration of justice by legislature and are controlled to preserve honesty and efficiency of public administration. Prostitution, sodomy, obscenity, incest, indecent exposure, gambling alcohol and drugs are classified as crimes against public morals and they area controlled to ensure tradition morality is maintained.This will ensure that the society is morally upright. Bestiality and animal abuse are crimes against nature and the crime is regulated to maintain public health. Pollution, fishing and hunting, smoking and toxic waste dumping in America are crimes against environment and the state regulate them to preserve public health and natural environment. All crimes in US are â€Å"owned’ by the state which does prosecution in its own name to maintain societal order and harmony. Police are the first grouped the offender encounter first in criminal justice system (Walker, 1993; Cole, 1999). The police do investigation and arrest the offender.After the arrest the criminal is taken to court where justice is administered through court ruling. A prosecutor who acts on behalf of state then makes accusation of the individual against the state in criminals’ proceedings. The offender through his/her attorney can justify his innocence before a judg e or panel of judges or jury. In America, plea bargaining is allowed where the accused is given reduced punishment when he pleads guilty. In some cases, the justice system in America like any other justice system is prone to bias discrimination which is a threat to objective decision.After the curt ruling the offender is turned to correctional authorities when found guilty (Walker, 1993; Cole, 1999). In America, prisons are meant to reform criminals hence viewed as the best correctional authority. In America, the offenders may be required some set amount of fine to be set free or in conjunction with imprisonment. In the recent past, probation has become common where the individual mobility is limited together with opportunity to commit a crime while in prison; the prisoners are equipped with various manual skills that will assist then to live a productive life after prison.Also, there are other prisons where the prisoners are given religious ethics to assist them reform positively. Death penalty in America is rarely administered as many activists have argued that it violates the human rights of the criminals. American court system is based on English statutes. In the court, four groups are involved in criminal case proceeding. These include the offender, prosecutor, judge or panel or judges or jury and the attorney. American legislature is responsible for enacting statutes, for example criminal law which govern conduct of individuals, groups or organization.American court system is governed by rules of procedure. The criminal cases in the court require special contribution safeguards for the accused. In a criminal case, the party that brings a case is called the prosecutors and the person sued is called defendant. The American legal system allow defendant to be represented by a lawyer who should protect the interests of the person. If one cannot afford a lawyer, the state provides a lawyer. A jury in American court system listens to the evidence and determines the outcome based on substantive law as instructed by a judge.The judge in American court system acts as a reference by enforcing the rules and explaining the applicable law. Criminal court system in America is on top of the thirteen individual state judicial systems. The American constitution contains very little about criminal law. Criminal law is the collection of rules that identifies behavior that is condemned by the government with the aim of protecting the health and safety of American citizens and the state punishments with violation of the set rules (Feinman 1994; Parker, 2006). American criminal justice system is sometimes viewed to be unfair.Some cases of unfairness are genuine especially when there is discrimination based on race, religion and ethnic group. However, some cases of unfairness are based on misconception or due to conflict of law criminal. Most criminal defendants are not incarcerated for their crimes, not because the state lack resources to finance impriso nment, but because their offences are not insufficiently serious to warn imprisonment. Most crimes are directly related to lack of education, homelessness, mental illness, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, lack of proper parenting as opposed to evil motive.Therefore many judges, defense attorney and police officers are aware of the cause unless they are new in the career. However, American criminal justice advocate for constitution follow-up (Cole, 1999; Cochranc, Melville and Marsh, 2004). Judges in criminal cases act universally in a conservative manner. This means that most judges will not risk political fall out or destruction of their professional career for the sake of safeguarding individual defendant’s rights. Conservative ruling usually involves following constitution and state statute. It may also be based on public policy over settled constitutional and statutory law (Walker, 1993).In the American criminal justice system, it has been noted that 90% of criminals pl ead guilty hence trials are rare. Prosecutors in the criminal justice system represent the state and not individuals together with the judges. But judges represent the state in a different capacity from the prosecutor. Defense attorney represent the defendant rights. Jury is known to represent the people hence prosecutors prefer trial –by judge while defense attorney prefer trial by – jury (Cole, 1999; Parker, 2006) In conclusion, American criminal justice system is controlled by the American constitution and differs in the various states.The system is mainly meant to maintain order in society. References Cochrane, J. , Melville, G. , & Marsh, I. (2004). Criminal Justice: An Introduction to Philosophies, Theories and Practice. London: Routledge. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=108764949 Cole, D. (1999). Discrimination and Denial: Systemic Racism in Ontario's Legal and Criminal Justice System, 1892-1961. Canadi an Journal of Criminology, 41(3), 428. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5001287719 Feinman, C. (1994). Women in the Criminal Justice System (3rd ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=15255576 Parker, M. (2006). Asphalt Justice: A Critique of the Criminal Justice System in America. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 37(3), 479+. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=5016038470 Walker, S. (1993). Taming the System: The Control of Discretion in Criminal Justice, 1950-1990. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved November 29, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o&d=97471694

Free Essays on Maternal Detatchment

Maternal Detachment It was troubling to read about the child abandonment issues in Brazil that were expressed in the book. To read that the â€Å"Selective neglect of infants along with maternal detachment are seen as appropriate maternal responses to a child who does not show the resilience necessary for survival under extreme circumstances of the shantytown† (112) is extremely bothersome, yet in some empathetic way, understood. It is comprehensible that when family’s from â€Å"shantytowns† (whom generally) do not have the emotional or financial support to care for these children, they leave it up to the will of the child to survive or not, because then again as one mother said â€Å"it was wrong to fight death† (113). Even when mothers let their children die, without attention, care or protection, they are expected to stay strong and not shed tears, as if they have moved on and ready to bear more, healthy children. I feel that an ideal mother should not be â€Å"learning how to let go†, but â€Å"learning how to hold on†. Although I try to understand the mother’s point of view, my ethnocentric views have much more to say about this matter. It is clear that these women’s economic and social standing is not the most elite and they do not have opportunities, as those of the middle or upper class to seek childcare whenever they think it is necessary. I also understand that these women are placed in extremely difficult positions when they need strong healthy children in the future to work and help support the family. But my optimistic self cant help to believe that something positive can be brought from this. Even when women are in mourning from losing their child, they may also feel a closer connection with other women in their communities that are there for support, and able to teach them how to learn and grow from each mishap. Although this isn’t what most people want to hear, there needs to be something these women can do in... Free Essays on Maternal Detatchment Free Essays on Maternal Detatchment Maternal Detachment It was troubling to read about the child abandonment issues in Brazil that were expressed in the book. To read that the â€Å"Selective neglect of infants along with maternal detachment are seen as appropriate maternal responses to a child who does not show the resilience necessary for survival under extreme circumstances of the shantytown† (112) is extremely bothersome, yet in some empathetic way, understood. It is comprehensible that when family’s from â€Å"shantytowns† (whom generally) do not have the emotional or financial support to care for these children, they leave it up to the will of the child to survive or not, because then again as one mother said â€Å"it was wrong to fight death† (113). Even when mothers let their children die, without attention, care or protection, they are expected to stay strong and not shed tears, as if they have moved on and ready to bear more, healthy children. I feel that an ideal mother should not be â€Å"learning how to let go†, but â€Å"learning how to hold on†. Although I try to understand the mother’s point of view, my ethnocentric views have much more to say about this matter. It is clear that these women’s economic and social standing is not the most elite and they do not have opportunities, as those of the middle or upper class to seek childcare whenever they think it is necessary. I also understand that these women are placed in extremely difficult positions when they need strong healthy children in the future to work and help support the family. But my optimistic self cant help to believe that something positive can be brought from this. Even when women are in mourning from losing their child, they may also feel a closer connection with other women in their communities that are there for support, and able to teach them how to learn and grow from each mishap. Although this isn’t what most people want to hear, there needs to be something these women can do in...

Love Issues in Death of a Salesman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Love Issues in Death of a Salesman - Essay Example Essentially Death of a Salesman delves into the 20th century capitalism and how it impacts morality, love and relationships generally (Abbotson,2007). This paper examines the themes and issues relative to love in Death of a Salesman by reference to the pursuit of the American dream and parental love in capitalist 20th century America. The American Dream and Love in Death of a Salesman Miller’s Death of a Salesman can be described as a commentary on material gains as prioritized by the American Dream of the 20th century. Through the main character Willy Loman, the reader learns that a man’s self-worth and value to society is measured by his material gains. In many ways this equates with self-love, self-respect and love and respect from family, friends and acquaintances. Willy’s suicide thus presents him as a victim of a society that dehumanizes love and relationships (Emami, 2011). Thus the tragedy of Willy Loman,† is â€Å"also the tragedy of American soci ety’s pursuit of the American Dream† (Stanton, p. 156). The tragedy of the American dream and Willy’s pursuit of the American dream is tied to issues of love, particularly in terms of self-love and perceptions of self-worth and love from others. According to Tracy and Robins (2003) capitalist values and its connection to self-worth and thus love sets off a chain reaction. As Tracy and Robins (2003) explained, Willy’s suicide reflect a poignant feelings of â€Å"self-doubt† (p. 57). Moreover: Willy’s self-esteem is also contingent and highly dependent on feedback from his employer, sons, and mistress (Tracy and Robins, 2003, p. 57). Thus, the pursuit of the American Dream as depicted in Death of a Salesman draws attention to the fragile nature of love and relationships in 20th century America. Self-worth is measured by material possessions. Willy for example, perceives that his validity as a husband, father, lover, son, brother and employee ar e highly dependent of his material gains. Thus in his pursuit of the American dream he is determined to obtain the admiration of his family, employers, colleagues, and so on (Tracy and Robins, 2003). In this regard, the issue of love is one that presents â€Å"the mismeasure of love† (Tracy and Robins, 2003, p. 58). Essentially, the emphasis on the American dream as a measure of self-worth transfer over to the manner in which love and acceptance are measured. Love and happiness are regarded as implicitly impossible without the acquisition of the American Dream. Willy’s pursuit of the American dream not only prescribes his understanding and appreciation for himself but also dictates his view of successful parenting, employment and personal life relations. Willy does often remind the reader that: It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it -because personality always wins the day (Miller, 2007, p 51). Bloom (2007) explains that the belief that personality al ways wins the day was a belief of Willy’s that was so entrenched in Willy’s psyche that it rose to the level of a religious doctrine. It was Willy’s way of giving voice to the belief that success in life, business and love was prescribed by a rigid formula. In this regard, Bloom (2007) informs that Willy does not: see the banality in such cliches and is actually using bromidic language to bolster his own faltering self-confidence (p. 27). Willy’

Lived experience of war, an ethnographic methodology Essay

Lived experience of war, an ethnographic methodology - Essay Example It cannot be ignored that some of the soldiers involved in the Vietnam lost their lives. However, it is inappropriate for the government to brush aside the long term effects of this war as it is seen to have caused major physiological implication on both the soldiers who survived and the families of the soldiers who dies in battle. It is under this backdrop that this paper will analyse the profound effects on the soldiers returning from the war in Vietnam and the current psychological state of the families of the soldiers who died during the war. â€Å"Research has established that participation in the military requires an individual to be psychologically prepared for anything that can happen† Kashdan et al, 2006, p.127). Over the years, this tradition has been carried through the various training programs that military men and women have to undergo training to psychologically prepare them for the task of ensuring national security. However, an important part that is ignored is the fact that such soldiers have family who begs the question, are these families physiologically prepared to what might happen to their kin in battle. Despite the fact that both nations suffered heavy casualties both in terms of human lives and destruction of property, the fact that the war was being wage din Vietnam has had profound effects on those who survived the war. In addition, the various films depicting the war and its aftermath do not help the situation either. For most U.S citizens, the Vietnam War is over but so many years later, it is as if the war happened a few years ago. According to Laufer et al. (2004, p.65) among the worst affected by the war are the war veterans who have long been forgotten after sacrificing their lives to ensure the peace and stability of the U.S nation. During and after the war, most of the soldiers who surprisingly have shortly graduated from the defence college were