My Antonia Important Quotes Essay

1. â€Å"During that burning day when we were crossing Iowa, our talk kept returning to a central figure, a Bohemian girl whom we had both known long ago. More than any other person we remembered, this girl seemed to mean to us the country, the conditions, and the whole adventure of our childhood.† Explanation This passage from the Introduction is the first the reader hears of Antonia. The narrator of the Introduction, who grew up with Jim and Antonia in Nebraska, describes a train ride taken with Jim many years later and details their conversation about Antonia. They agreed that Antonia, more than any other person, seemed to represent the world they had grown up in, to the point that speaking her name evokes â€Å"people and places† and â€Å"a quiet drama . . . in one’s brain.† This quotation is important because it establishes that Antonia will both evoke and symbolize the vanished past of Jim’s childhood in Nebraska. It situates Antonia as the central character in Jim’s story and explains Jim’s preoccupation with her by connecting her to his memories of the past. Finally, it establishes Jim’s character with its implication that Jim shares the unnamed narrator’s romantic inclination to dwell on the past and to allow people and places to take on an extraordinarily emotional, nostalgic significance. 2. â€Å"Why aren’t you always nice like this, Tony?† â€Å"How nice?† â€Å"Why, just like this; like yourself. Why do you all the time try to be like Ambrosch?† She put her arms under her head and lay back, looking up at the sky. â€Å"If I live here, like you, that is different. Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us.† Explanation This dialogue from Chapter XIX occurs as Jim and Antonia sit on the roof of the chicken house, watching the electrical storm. The two have grown apart somewhat following Mr. Shimerda’s suicide, as Jim has begun to attend school and Antonia has been forced to spend her time working on the farm. Jim has found himself dismayed by Antonia’s increasing coarseness and her pride in her own strength. As they sit watching the lightning storm, Jim feels his old intimacy returning, and he brings himself to ask Antonia why she has changed. Antonia understands Jim’s question and, because she is four years older, understands better than he does why their lives have begun to move in separate directions. Jim has opportunities and a bright future ahead of him, but for Antonia, life now means simply helping her family get by. Antonia acknowledges this unalterable circumstance with her customarily wise simplicity: â€Å"Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us.† 3. â€Å"Presently we saw a curious thing: There were no clouds, the sun was going down in a limpid, gold-washed sky. Just as the lower edge of the red disc rested on the high fields against the horizon, a great black figure suddenly appeared on the face of the sun. We sprang to our feet, straining our eyes toward it. In a moment we realized what it was. On some upland farm, a plough had been left standing in the field. The sun was sinking just behind it. Magnified across the distance by the horizontal light, it stood out against the sun, was exactly contained within the circle of the disk; the handles, the tongue, the share—black against the molten red. There it was, heroic in size, picture writing on the sun.† â€Å"Even while we whispered about it, our vision disappeared; the ball dropped and dropped until the red tip went beneath the earth. The fields below us were dark, the sky was growing pale, and that forgotten plough had sunk back to its own littleness somewhere on the prairie.† Explanation This passage from Chapter XIV, recounts a sunset that Jim and Antonia watch  the summer after Jim graduates from high school. Gradually, the sun sinks behind a plow on the horizon, so the plow is superimposed on the red sun, â€Å"black against molten red.† The passage is an excellent example of Cather’s famous ability to evoke the landscape, creating a sensuous and poetic picture of a sunset on the Nebraska prairie. It also indicates the extraordinary psychological connection that Cather’s characters feel with their landscape, as the setting sun perfectly captures the quiet, somewhat bittersweet moment the characters are experiencing—they care for one another and have had a wonderful day together, but they are growing up and will soon go their separate ways. The image of the plow superimposed on the sun also suggests a symbolic connection between human culture (the plow) and the nature (the sun). As the plow fills up the disk of the sun, the two coexist in perfect harmony, just as Jim recalls the idyllic connection between the natural landscape and the settlements in Nebraska. But as the sun sinks beneath the horizon, the plow dwindles to insignificance (â€Å"its own littleness†), suggesting that, in the relationship between humankind and environment, environment is dominant. 4. â€Å"She lent herself to immemorial human attitudes which we recognize by instinct as universal and true. I had not been mistaken. She was a battered woman now, not a lovely girl; but she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one’s breath for a moment by a look or gesture that somehow revealed the meaning in common things. She had only to stand in the orchard, to put her hand on a little crab tree and look up at the apples, to make you feel the goodness of planting and tending and harvesting at last. All the strong things of her heart came out in her body, which had been so tireless in serving generous emotions. It was no wonder that her sons stood tall and straight. She was a rich mine of life, like the founders of early races.† Explanation This quotation is basically the conclusion. Where we find the adult Jim still contemplating the fascination he feels for Antonia. Here he attributes her  significance to her nurturing and generous presence, which suggests an enviable fullness of life. Antonia evokes â€Å"immemorial human attitudes which we recognize by instinct as universal and true† because she is full of love and loyalty. As Jim portrays it, Antonia is a â€Å"rich mine of life,† an inexhaustible source of love and will from which others draw strength and warmth. This portrayal explains why Antonia lingers so prominently in the minds of so many people from Jim’s childhood (Jim, Lena, the narrator of the introduction). In her presence they have been filled with the love and strength that she exudes, and they will never forget the way it made them feel. Apart from standing as the novel’s final important analysis of Antonia, this quote is important because it reveals the psychological changes that the passage of time has wrought in Jim. Whereas before he avoided Antonia for twenty years because he did not want to see the lovely girl he knew transformed into a hardened, overworked matron, he can now see beyond Antonia’s age to her essential inner quality, which he finds can still â€Å"stop one’s breath.† This newfound connection to the present indicates that Jim can finally move beyond his dreamlike preoccupation with his nostalgia for his youth and contemplate Antonio as more than a symbol of the past.

Baidu Strategy Essay

On March 9 2011, Baidu announced through Western China City Daily that it has initiated an internal testing of the Baidu browser and would officially launch the browser soon afterwards. Up until now, the strategy of Baidu client end products is becoming clearer and clearer. There is a clear tendency for baidu to become a rival to Tencent in the field of client end products. Baidu browser will be integrated with Baidu application platforms. According to Baidu, Baidu browser Beta 1.0 is the joint effort of Baidu browser department and Baidu search department, integrating Baidu search, Baidu application platforms based on Baidu frame computing strategy. 1. Feature: integrated with Baidu Applications Different from other browsers, Baidu browser Beta 1.0 is fully integrated with Baidu application platforms. Clicking the icons on the left corner of the Baidu browser, the page â€Å"My Baidu Applications† will be automatically applied, showing ordinary applications like music, video, books, game, novels, SNS, shopping, tools and etc. Baidu Browser spokesperson says that by improving its browser, Baidu wishes to accelerate the development of internet, attract more internet users, increase their online survey frequency and duration and eventually develop the search media. 2. Motivation: capture users at the internet portal. In the beginning of 2008, there had been rumors for Baidu to enter the browser market. In July 2010, Baidu officially announced its entering the marketing and planning to put in 5Billion RMB in the following three years. â€Å"Heart of Rock†, an online expert, told Western China City Daisy that the Baidu browser is to capture the online users at their portal to the internet world. Baidu is demonstrating its determination to compete with Tencent in the client-end products. Tianyu, one of the Iresearch analysts, comments that in the short term, it could be integrated with other Baidu applications and client end products to provide a holistic online survey portal to bring more traffic to Baidu search. †also in the long run, Baidu browser is a strategic move for the cloud computing in the future when all the operation systems will be installed in the browser which is the one and only portal for users online. Another thing worth our attention is that one day before the Baidu’s announcement on its browser, Baidu also exposed the Baidu mobile browser with the Chinese name: â€Å"Ã¥ ¤ ©Ã¤ ¹ ¦Ã¥  ·Ã¨ ½ ´Ã¢â‚¬  and a English name: FlyFlow. 3.Result: direct competition with Tencent Besides Baidu Browser Beta 1.0, Baidu also launched â€Å" Baidu Search Tools†, â€Å"Baidu Hi†, â€Å"Baidu Input Method† â€Å"Baidu Computer Organizer† â€Å" Baidu Browser Mate† and recently â€Å"Baidu Player†. All these piece together the Baidu client-end product strategy. Correspondently, along with QQ, Tencent has â€Å"QQ Browser† â€Å"QQ Computer Organizer† â€Å"QQ Input Method† â€Å"QQ Player†. The competition becomes obvious. Experts say there are three giants in Chinese internet world, Tencent, Baidu and Alipay. Alibaba. Baidu has been devoted to search, Tencent to the user end and Alibaba to the e-commerce. The new products are Baidu’s efforts to make up for its deficiency in user end products.

Duddy Kravitz Materialism Essay

Materializing is a major role in this book it affects a large part of the characters second and one person first hand. It also affects the plot due to the main characters obsession with materialism. Materializing can also cause people in relationships to grow apart due to confusion with priorities. Materializing can drive people to become some one that they would never wish to become with out even realizing it. It can also push you to do stuff that you would never think of doing. In the book The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz, the main character Duddy Kravitz was brought up with the saying † a man with out land is a nobody.† Duddy believes that the more land and money he gains the more of a â€Å"somebody† he will become. Duddy goes through life trying to make more and more money and gain more and more land. With an obsession like this it can cause a person to forget about priorities and also the heath and feelings of others. With Duddy by the end of the book his push to become a † somebody† cause the lost of respect from a family member and the loss of valued friends. It caused Duddy to put his own friend in a wheel chair for life just so he could try and save some money. Materializing can cause your judgment to fog and able you to do almost anything to get a head in the race to becoming a â€Å"somebody†. Duddy went to the point of forging a crippled friends check so he could buy more land. After he finally owns and controls all of the land hi feels that he has become a â€Å"somebody†. Duddy let money and poisons become the only thing that mattered to him. Duddy lost sight of everything that he lost and all the people that he hurt along the race to become a â€Å"somebody†. The plot of the book was greatly affected be materialism. The book is based around a selfish, greedy man named Duddy Kravitz a man that would stop at anything to become rich and well known. The plot twists as Duddy personality becomes meaner and more money driven. The plot of the book starts with the main character Duddy trying to make living well at the same timework his way up to becoming rich and at least locally famous. Duddy starts off as a happy man with a girlfriend, has many friends that are rich and is starting off his own business. However later on in the book after he starts to buy land to build a dream he starts to go bankrupt. As times get tough Duddy slowly starts to loss grasp of his goals and dreams that would make him a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"somebody†. The money hungry man starts to become verbally violent and uncaring for others. At this point he is only worried about losing his land and money. â€Å"#################† but really Duddy has lost much more than he has gain. He has lost his friends, his girlfriend and the respect of his grandpa. The plot is based on materialism with Duddy. All most every problem in this book is a result in Duddy trying to make it big in life and becoming a rich man with a lot of land. When materialism is present with in a relationships it can push people to grow a part over time. It is usually noticed be one member and rarely caught but the person who is obsessed with it. With Duddy Kravitz it was present thought out his life. However as time moved on it slowly turned in to the only thing that mattered to him in his life. When Duddy first started to date Yvette you could see the connection they had with each other, you got the impression that they where meant to be together. They would go on picnic’s together, go for walks in the woods, and go swimming in the lake. This is where Duddy discovers his soon to be land, with in seconds you could see that the Duddy obsession with materialism has started to make things different between then. Duddy tried to bribe Yvette not to tell anyone about their place and offered to cut her in on the profits if she would keep it a secret. When money and the land came in to the picture it caused Duddy to almost stop trusting Yvette and act like she was more like a business partner rather than girlfriend. This cause Yvette to become angry and upset that Duddy didn’t trust her and brought money in to the picture. Slowly over time Duddy became verbally violent towards Yvette, always telling her to â€Å"shut up† and yelling at her profoundly. Slowly Duddy obsession pushed him away from Yvette. By the end of the book Duddy was so obsessed with land, money and trying to become a â€Å"somebody† that he lost the important things in life. Duddy lost things that can’t be bought but money, or impressed with land, he lost friends and family.

Cognitive development theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cognitive development theory - Essay Example There are two perspectives in adult cognitive development. These are contextual and dialectical thinking. Dialectical thinking is shown, by reasoning and discussion, to create a meaning of the complexities and contradictions adults has to deal continually with them. It holds that dialectical sense thinking enables acceptance of alternative ways or truths of thinking on similar phenomena, which, in everyday life, abounds. Dialectical thinking involves a process of logical thought through which adults can take what, on the surface, may seem contradictory positions. Contextual approach shows how cultural, social, political and economic forces play a role in shaping adult thinking development (Dunkel & Sefcek, n.d). This approach argues that the contextual factors may constitute what affects cognitive development of an adult. I carried an interview on a respondent who showed various issues. I asked questions such as what is your name? How old are you? Have you a spouse? Do you have a hou se? Do you have problems paying fees? Do you drink? Do you have children? The respondent was 30 years and was married. He lived in a rented house and claimed that he had not enough income to settle his expenses including rent, electricity bill and payment of school fees. He also confessed that he occasionally did drink. I had to analyze this situation using contextual approach in order to understand my client. My client had issues in learning which were due to the situation he was undergoing. He could not concentrate because his focus shifted from time to time on the problems he was facing. Such a person needs help in learning to concentrate on issues at hand. I advised him to learn to avoid the thoughts about his problems whenever they came as he engaged other activities. While taking a contextual approach one should consider these social, economic, political and cultural factors rather than taking chronological factors as guiding tools for comparison. Contextual approach would arg ue consideration of contextual factors that have influenced behaviors rather than just evaluating behavior on its surface. Contextual approach plays a critical role in understanding issues and life events in a person’s life. Background, including family of origin, school, friends and place where raised determines the thinking pattern of an individual. For instance, an adult may be truant because of influence from peers. Family situation and a person’s age are also contextual factors that determine an individual’s decisions. For example, a married individual would take different courses from that of unmarried one. When a person reaches some age, he or she would like to act in some way according to what applies most to that stage. Consideration of prior and current learning experiences is a factor worth considering. An individual who has undergone formal learning would not act the same way as one who has not. An individual undergoing formal learning at present suc h as a college student will make decisions mostly as per his or her status quo. For instance, a woman would choose not to have children until she finishes her degree education. Similarly, a young adult man might not marry until he has employment in order to get some economic stability. Current life issues also play a role in an individual’s thinking. An individual experiencing adverse social issues may resort to certain behaviors in order to get relieve. For instance, a person can resort to drinking in an attempt to do away with disturbing thoughts. Past life issues and how the individual confronted them also matter in this case. Lifespan Ego Development Erikson’

Organizational stakeholders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational stakeholders - Essay Example Home Depot being a company running on such a large scale has a great responsibility towards its stakeholders. Home Depots major stakeholders include its board of directors and shareholders/investors, the customers, employees and the suppliers. Bob Nardelli, the former chairman and chief executive of Home Depot contributed greatly towards the success and expansion of the organization. Nardelli was a true leader and followed an autocratic approach. However, along with the positive changes that Nardelli brought with him, he also made some mistakes that greatly affective various stakeholders of the company. Nardelli was considered to have an arrogant and authoritative approach which was a cause for alienation of many stakeholders. Nardellis attempt on cutting down labor costs by hiring more part-time workers as compared to full-time lead to the loss of good workforce. This also lowered the morale of the existing workers. Another one of his errors was the cut back of inventory budget which left the stores undersupplied and the customers dissatisfied. Nardellis attempt of increasing profit margin through demanding lower prices from suppliers led to the loss of significant vendors as they were not satisfied with the price offerings. Most importantly, Nardellis hefty pay was a great source of concern to shareholders and corporate governance groups and was prone to a lot criticism. Under the chairmanship of Nardelli, shareholders were not given the rights that they were entitled to and were not given an opportunity to speak up. This shareholders matter led to the arousal of Nardellis credib ility issues which made the investors lose trust in him and his management (Waters, 2007). This was one of the biggest set backs for him as the shareholders tend to hold immense influence on the organization. The present chairman and CEO of Home Depot is Frank Blake. Many

Understanding Organisations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Understanding Organisations Management - Essay Example Understanding Organisations Management Ritzer compares society today to a have adopted the characteristics of such a fast food chain. While sociologists like Weber viewed political systems like bureaucracy to explain the shift in society, Ritzer uses the example of a fast food place. He claims it to be far more representative of the contemporary paradigm into which society has shifted today. The concept is better described by the four terms employed by Ritzer himself. They are used to better understand and explain this concept. These four terms are vital to determine the reliability and efficiency of any organization. The first of this is efficiency. Ritzer emphasizes the importance of this term. It represents the optimal technique that can be employed to succeed in any task. However, efficiency is not just a technique used to bring optimum results. Ritzer prefers it to have a very specific meaning which in intoned with entire concept of Mcdonaldization.This means the speed with which the individual is able to move from one point to another. This is evident in the service provided by Mcdonalds. It aims to satisfy its customer's hunger in the least amount of time possible. Thus, they work to remove hunger and achieve full satisfaction in a limited period of time. This idea of efficiency is ever dominant in the establishment that works to fulfill its customers need in the shortest period possible. In this way, the work of an organization is thought to be one that allows an individual to gain results in the shortest time instead. Another term employed by Mcdonaldization is calculability. This mode ensures that the individual uses data that can be quantified rather than ones than are subjective. In this mode, an organization has to pay attention to the numerical and statistics rather than tastes and behavior. In this formula, quantity is seen as another term for quality. This idea makes sense when compared to the work done at a fast food chain. In this organization, if food is provided at a fast rate, the quality ceases to matter. In other words, by providing a large quantity of food within a short span of time, the individual ensures that the consumer assumes it to be of the highest quality. This is because individuals are conditioned to compare how much quantity they receive to the money they paid for it. The organization works to ensure its consumer s that they receive a large amount of goods for a small quantity that they have paid. In return, the consumer automatically assumes this to be the best quality available. This concept can also be employed for workers. According to Ritzer, the employee is judged by the degree of work they can produce in the workplace. This is contrary to the kind or quality of work they produce, which assumes secondary importance. The Mcdonaldization of Society also speaks of the predictability. This can be meant to explain the standardization of services that are present within society. The concept is further ensued in the idea of uniformity in the services that are given by an organization to its consumers. Working against the idea of Mcdonalds, Ritzer shows how the consumer at the fast food chain can expect the same service to be provided to them, no matter which outlet of this food enterprise they visit. Once again, this concept is not unique to

Week 6 BUS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 6 BUS - Essay Example This condition is fundamental in case of any litigation. A mortgage refers to a document given by a lender of property, especially land, in order to create a lien on the particular piece of land. A mortgage involves two parties to the mortgage contract. These are the mortgagee and the mortgagor. The mortgagor is the borrower while the mortgagee is the lender of the property in quest. A mortgage contract also involves mortgage transfers, which are contacts involving banks. There are conditions, which must be fulfilled before a mortgage contract is enforceable in law are that the contract must be in writing. The particular document, which is used in the transfer of a mortgage, is called an assignment of a mortgage. According to Frank and Bahaudin, the mortgage contract gives the mortgagee the right to dispose the property in the event the mortgagor fails to cover the property debt (47). In a mortgage contract, either the mortgagee or the mortgagor with regard to the theory applied can hold the title of the property. In the case of a title t heory state, a borrower transfers the title to the lender over the period of the loan. Conversely, a lien theory state is a scenario in which the buyer of the mortgage holds the title of the property in quest. A mortgage is different from a deed on the issue of foreclosure. The document relating to the closure of escrow differentiates a mortgage from a deed. A covenant entails a pledge of property with an aim of securing a loan. In this regard, it is almost similar to a mortgage. A covenant involves a trust or and a beneficiary. In this case, the tutor is the borrower while the beneficiary is the lender of the property. The beneficiary is also known as a trustee, who holds legal title to the contractual property. The beneficiary helps in the selling of property, especially at auctions. The trustee can resort to the move when the borrower

Integrated Critique of Richard Dawkins Selfish Gene and Kozol's Savage Essay

Integrated Critique of Richard Dawkins Selfish Gene and Kozol's Savage Inequlites - Essay Example These perceptions are the reason why a lot of people are dying to go to America; to fulfill their American Dream, as it is commonly known. What they don't know that behind this beautiful image of freedom, peace and equality lays a system that is so cruel and selfish that one would reel at just the thought of it. There are many books that are written in the pursuit of enlightening the readers about the negative side behind America's systems. These books are written not to dampen the spirits of the Americans and the aspiring immigrants of America but to show them the picture that America is not a perfect country it may be a haven for some, but there are also some people who may find it otherwise. The book "Savage Inequalities' by Jonathan Kozol is one of the widely read book that talks about the not-so-good-system of America. This paper is aimed at analyzing the contents of the said book, and thereby evaluating the probable cause and effect of this book to its readers. Also, this paper aims to find out whether Kozol's book is able to make an objective point of view regarding America's unfair system. In Jonathan Kozol's book, "Savage Inequalities", Kozol has described the real happenings in the American Public School System. Conducting visits and research in America's public elementary and high schools, Kozol made a shocking discovery: that despite the new age and laws in America about equality in social class and race, discrimination is still happening and it is taking place in the public elementary and high schools; the place where children go to and learn about these stuff. What is more shocking is that it is done blatantly and no one is taking a stand against it. What more, people who can make changes about these things are even choosing not to address the problem and even voting against doing something about it (Kozol, 1991). It is a vicious cycle, really. Children who are educated in public schools that are inferior in quality, both in facilities and in the academic area, would grow up to occupy the lowest strata in the work force . Since they are used to poor conditions, they would be contented to live with the small wages and poor benefits they would be getting from such jobs. They would marry and their children will once again go to such public school. In turn, children of the rich and the middle class go to good public schools - schools that are complete in facilities and have a good faculty and system. These children would be given good education so that when they graduate they will get jobs that are high paying and white collar. And when it is their turn to raise a family, their children will go to the same good public school their parents went to. So you see, the school serves as a capitalist system that requires the reproduction of the division of labor (Bowles, 1972)). The rich and middle class, knowing that these work at their advantage, see no point in improving the system. In fact, they even create policies to maintain their place in the social strata. Inequality in social status is not the only thing that Kozol has discovered in his rounds in these public schools. He has also found out those public schools that house children of color are more inferior in quality. A good example of such school is the public school in East St. Louis. East St. Louis is populated

Final EX Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final EX - Assignment Example This situation calls for apt disaster recovery plans and strategies to ensure personal safety during the incidents and return to normalcy. In the case of business recovery, the businesses should embrace technological functions, which offer back up services through the Disaster Backup Recovery Site. This will enable quick and safe recovery of critical information that relates to the business functionality. On the other hand, for personal safety, the firms are required to embrace, the services of the Emergency Operations Center. Seeking refuge from this center does not only assures personal safety but also the firms’ physical property that may be in a position of rescue. Physical security refers to the need to protect the physical assets of an organization. In some organizations, one senior officer is responsible for both physical and logical (workstation, network, system/application, and other domains) of security. In other organizations, physical and logical security are divided between at least two senior officers. (See http://www.csoonline.com/article/742317/the-emerging-turf-battle-between-information-and-physicalsecurity-pros?source=CSONLE_nlt_update_2013-10-31 for one take on the topic.) What do you see as the pros and cons of having an integrated organizational structure, responsible for both physical and logical security? (A paragraph plus bullets for pros and cons would be appropriate here.) An integrated security system of physical and logical security of a firm refers to the a system that protects the physical assets of an organization and the intangible assets, which is majorly the company’s data and information. This system keeps watch of both aspects of the company. There is a big problem of the system to be compatible to the both physical and logical security and this leaves a security gap, which might cause great losses

Care of Patient Undergoing Total Knee Replacement Surgery Essay

Care of Patient Undergoing Total Knee Replacement Surgery - Essay Example The procedure merely involves what can be considered as 'resurfacing' of the bones of the joint. The prosthesis implanted is placed on the surface of the bones that meet at the knee - the femur and tibia and cemented to the bones, while most of the ligaments and usually all of the tendons of the joint are spared (Soohoo et al, 2006). Reporting on the frequency of Total Knee replacement surgeries, Kane and others (2003) indicated that in 2001 alone approximately 171,335 primary knee replacements and 16,895 revisions were performed. Kane et al (2003) argue that due to the fact that Knee replacement surgery is an elective procedure and especially because the prevalence of arthritis is expected to grow as the population ages, the care for patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery becomes an increasing concern for the healthcare profession. instruments, and assists the surgeon by passing instruments, sutures, and supplies. Therefore, the scrub nurse must have extensive knowledge of all surgical instruments and how they are used. On, the other hand, the circulating nurse serves as a liaison between scrubbed personnel and those outside of the operating room. The circulating nurse is free to respond to request from the surgeon, anaesthesiologist or anaesthetist, obtain supplies, deliver supplies to the sterile field, and carry out the nursing care plan. Other functions of the circulating nurse includes: initial assessment of the patient on admission to the operating room, helping monitoring the patient; assisting the surgeon and scrub nurse to don sterile gowns and gloves; anticipating the need for equipment, instruments, medications, and blood components, opening packages so that the scrub nurse can remove the sterile supplies, preparing labels, and arranging for transfer of specimens to the laboratory for analysis; savi ng all used and discarded gauze sponges, and at the end of the operation, counting the number of sponges, instruments, and needles used during the operation to prevent the accidental loss of an item in the wound (Mcewen, 1996). In the following pages, the organisation and layout of Total knee replacement surgery will be discussed using my experience with the surgical procedure of Mr. A as a yardstick. Intraoperative care for Mr. A included all the activities performed by the health care team during surgery that ensured the patient's safety and comfort, implementation of the surgical procedure, monitor and maintain vital functions, and document care given. The intraoperative time period can vary greatly from less than one hour to 12 hours or more, depending on the complexity of the surgery being performed. Since the purpose of intraoperative care is to maintain patient safety and comfort during surgical procedures, decisions about patient positioning and other features of the operating room is influenced by a number of factors, especially conditions of the patient and potential risks or complications of the surgical procedure. The goals of intraoperative care include maintaining homeostasis during the procedure, maintaining strict

Depend on writter Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Depend on writter - Research Paper Example m to be an easy task looking at it casually but it entails making creative and strategic decisions aimed at outdoing other competitors and at the same time playing around with the psychology of the targeted consumers in order to develop their minds towards accepting the product (Gobe 2001, 51). To achieve this goal, an effective advertising campaign should involve an account planner, who can be described as a person with extensive training, and experience as well as an expert in acquiring information and utilizing it in a professional manner to maximize the results. This essay is a critical evaluation of the roles of an account planner, aimed at convincing a client on why he should involve one on the agency team for his brand. Advertising as discussed herein is a process that requires high coordination of activities so that a smooth running is achieved in achieving the desired results. It is not possible for everyone in the marketing department to wake up and go to the society to introduce a product without first having to acquire information and views of the targeted market group. This is where the role of the account planner comes in. To begin with, he has the responsibility of conducting research and processing the raw data acquired, so that he can be in a position to add quality to the marketing events long before they take place. According to Steel, going out to advertise without first of all conducting research is equivalent to a pilot flying or a person walking without exactly knowing where he or she is going (Steel 1998, 33). By so doing, he would be wasting a lot of time finding way to his destination or even fail to reach it. This is important in that it helps to identify areas or regions that r equire more attention than others. For example, if the mode of advertising is through road shows, it is almost impossible and costly to crisscross the whole country for example. What he does is that he goes out ahead collecting data for example in areas that are

Special Education Teacher Essay Example for Free

Special Education Teacher Essay Abstract This paper reflects on the teacher candidate’s observations of the student â€Å"Junior† and the various accommodations that were made for him in various classroom settings. It also discusses different accommodations that could be made in general education classes and special education classes. The paper discusses the need for high school students to be self-advocating or self-determining and learning to make decisions on his or her own. TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 SPE-226 Educating the Exceptional Learner Benchmark Assignment: Teaching for Exceptionalities. Students with exceptionalities are a breed all their own. Each student has individual strengths, weaknesses, and individualized education programs/plans (IEPs) tailored to those needs. There are many resources, accommodations, and settings for these students to help ensure their academic success. One particular student, herein called â€Å"Junior,† is a mixed bag of interesting. Junior’s cognitive abilities are on par with his classmates. However, he needs help with reading, writing, and other social and behavioral skills. He likes to engage in discussion, enjoys music, and is diligent in his work. Observing him, his teachers, and other various special education classrooms has given valuable information to increase my teaching strategies. Inclusive Math Class Junior’s first period class is Algebra 1-2. It is an inclusive class and is co-taught by Meinen and Geigas. Meinen, the special education teacher, is there to help students and provide assistance services to Geigas’s teaching. However, all of Geigas’s classes have some form of inclusion. Consequently, Geigas’s teaching strategies differ from regular education teaching strategies in order to appeal both to the inclusive students and regular students. For instance, Geigas uses different colored pens for different the different steps of a problem when he is teaching and doing problems with the class. He is also willing to create copies of the class worksheet for any student who needs it, not just special education students. The accommodations for Junior’s quiz were highlighting the directions for him and writing the different formulas, like point-slope form and the equation for finding the slope of a line, on his paper for easier access. Highlighting the directions for Junior’s quiz was successful. He knew what was expected of him, and what he needed to accomplish with the quiz. He did not TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 need to have the directions read to him or explained to him. In addition, writing the formulas on his paper helped keep him on track. He only needed help with one graphing question, which could be a difficult question for any student. Because Junior only missed two questions due to minor mistakes, I believe the accommodations were very successful and do not need to be changed. Furthermore, I would review the minor mistakes with Junior, have him explain where  he went wrong, and give him half-credit since he had the major concepts correct. Many other technologies or other instructional supports exist that could enhance the learning for Junior and his classmates. In the math classroom, there are white boards and a document scanner. The document scanner is what Geigas and Meinen use to do the problems together with the students. Two major benefits to having the document scanner are having a hard copy of what work was done in class and being able to go back if necessary. If the class were only using the white board, each problem would have to be erased in order to move on to the  next problem. If a student needed to go back, this would create a lot of wasted time redoing work that was previously done. Another good technology tool that students could use is Khan Academy, a website with videos and exercises to help anyone learn skills and concepts at their own pace (Khan Academy, 2013). It also tracks all data inputted and shows the user’s statistics over time. This information is private to the user, but it can be shared with teachers and coaches, so teachers can use the Khan Academy classroom in their own physical classrooms (Khan Academy, 2013). While Khan Academy is a good resource, the classroom only has one teacher computer available, so any type of technology is extremely limited. Self-Advocacy and Self-Determination Junior is just one student of many. There are many other special education students in the inclusive classrooms that could need more help. Because these are high school students, they TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 need to be taught the idea of self-advocacy or self-determination. This is the idea that the student’s ability to â€Å"consider options and make appropriate decisions and to exercise free will,  independence, and individual responsibility† (Hardman, Drew, Egan, 2009, p. 92). Therefore, many of the special education students in the inclusive classes must ask for the bigger accommodations. For instance, if a student needs to go to a separate room with less people and/or have the directions read and explain to them aloud, they must ask permission to do so (A. Geigas, personal communication, November 4, 2013). â€Å"Since self-determination skills are most effectively learned and developed by practicing them, students with disabilities should be given  ample opportunity to use their self-advocacy, decision-making and socialization skills well before they leave high school to prepare themselves for working and living in their community† (PACER Center, 2013). Allowing this type of openness is actually beneficial for the students. It allows the students to become more independent while in the safe, closed environment of the classroom. Additionally, effective self-determination teaching can increase positive transitional outcomes in moving from high school to adult life (Hardman, Drew, Egan, 2009, p. 92). For these reasons, many accommodations are not expressly given to students. Self-Contained Special Education Class When it comes to special education classes, there can be more focus on the individual student and his or her needs. In Junior’s special education behavior class period, the class focuses on what is expected of him and his classmates in social situations. They were planning a field trip to a symphony during the week, so the teacher discussed examples of the types of behaviors that would be expected of them and what behaviors would be unexpected in the given situation. As for Junior, he likes to be engaged in class, which leads to him shouting answers. In some classes, it is acceptable, and others it is not. He had to be reminded that he needed to raise TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 his hand, and be acknowledged in order to speak during his turn. Michelle Garcia Winner gives a good accommodation or lesson that can deal with this kind of behavior: I encourage teachers to keep their eyes focused on who they were talking to, hold up the palm of their hand in the direction of the blurter and say to them I was looking at this student (say the students name), I was talking to this student, I am not talking to you right now. By doing this, the teacher provides cognitive information about the process of communication that helps the student learn how to avoid blurting. (2012) On the other hand, Junior did well in understanding why certain behaviors would be unexpected, offensive, or rude while at the symphony. Given this observation, one can tell that Junior only has mild or moderate problems with social behaviors. As a result, this self-contained class was geared more towards his classmates in the room. This is a prime example of how the accommodations of special education teachers differ so greatly between rooms, classes, and  students. Conclusion Observing and talking with Junior’s teachers, special and regular education, has given me a plethora of information that has increased my teaching tools and strategies. Observing a range of classrooms and situations has given me a deeper understanding of the kind of scenarios that may be presented in my future. Overall, Junior is a very bright, engaging student. Spending time with him and observing a multitude of different classrooms has given me valuable insights into the world of teaching students with exceptionalities. TEACHING FOR EXCEPTIONALITIES 1 References Garcia Winner, Michelle. (2012). Social Thinking at School. Retrieved 13 Nov 2013 from https://www. socialthinking. com/what-is-social-thinking/-social-thinking-at-school Hardman, M. L. , Drew, C. J. , Egan, M. W. (2009). Human Exceptionality: School, Community, and Family (10th ed. ). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Khan Academy. (2013). A free world-class education for anyone anywhere. Retrieved 14 Nov 2013 from https://www. khanacademy. org/about PACER Center. (2013). SELF DETERMINATION. Retrieved 13 Nov 2013 from http://www. pacer. org/tatra/resources/self.

Impact of Feminism on Social Work Practice

Impact of Feminism on Social Work Practice The emergence of feminism and its impact on social work practice This research considers the application of feminist thought in social work practise. Specific areas of consideration include the gap from social workers’ personal acceptance of feminist constructs and their use of such constructs in daily practise, the effects of perpetuation of hegemonic gender roles by social workers, and domestic violence victims perceptions of the effectiveness of social work based on the perspectives of their social workers as considered above. This research further describes a focus group of college social work students who are also domestic violence victims. It records their perceptions of social workers’ worldviews and the impact of such on service. Conclusions include that there is significant gap between the understanding or acceptance of feminist constructs amongst social workers and its application in daily field practise, that social workers are often likely to perpetuate hegemonic gender roles, and because of such perpetuation view domestic violence situations as individual occurrences rather than part of a greater societal pattern of oppression, and that domestic violence survivors feel best served when work with them uses a feminist theoretical framework. Introduction Feminism and social work have been associated for many years; however, although many social workers personally espouse working from a feminist perspective, the systems of social work still favour work from a traditional or patriarchal perspective. This research, therefore, seeks to first consider findings from previous study regarding this phenomenon and the theoretical frameworks for both social work and feminist thought. In this light of information gleaned from these findings, it became apparent that hegemonic gender roles, a common topic of feminist research, play a relevant part in work with survivors of domestic violence. Specifically, domestic violence survivors are often directed, either explicitly or implicitly, that their situation is personal and should be considered and dealt with from a personal and pathological perspective rather than applying the tenets of feminist thought that view such situations as manifestations of structural and power problems in our greater society. This study then seeks to document whether this gap between social work theory supportive of feminist worldviews and social work application of practise exists, and if so, how prevalent a gap it is. This is accomplished through use of a focus group of college students, all of whom have taken at least one course in social work theory and are themselves domestic violence survivors who have been served, to whatever level of quality, by social workers. Discussions within the focus group involved ideas of gender roles and social worker advocacy of hegemonic gender roles, whether explicit or implicit. The focus group then built on this foundation to consider group participants ‘experiences with social workers and whether they presented an individual / pathological perspective of domestic violence, or whether they presented a perspective that consider the wider influence of society and its systems. This was further related to the effect of such perceptions on the understanding of and service to group participants at the time of intervention. Literature Review Feminism has emerged in the past thirty years as a viable worldview. Dietz (2000), quoting Bunch (1980), defined feminism as â€Å"transformational politics that aims at the dismantling of all permanent power hierarchies in which one category of humans dominates or controls another category of humans† (372). â€Å"In the feminist and empowerment traditions, the personal is political, and individual change and social change are seen as interdependent† (Deitz 2000,372). Feminism contends it is not adequate to simply include women in the world’s political and power systems, as these were designed by and for men and therefore favour a highly masculinised mechanism for responding to issues and require women working within these systems to-do the same (Scott 1988, Moylan 2003). Simply including women is not enough; society must give women’s experiences equal time and consideration, eventually recasting the very meanings of the topics it considers (Scott 1988). Rather, feminism argues women must be engaged in both the system development and decision-making processes that shape our society (Moylan 2003). Consequently, one area where feminism has particularly challenged traditional views is in the area of gender roles. For example, Dominelli and McLeod (1989) examine the way in which social problems are defined, recognising gender as particularly important in understanding client groups, and stress egalitarian relationships between therapists and clients. Gender is also an important consideration of social work due to the patriarchal society that still dominates most of our world. This power framework rests on a basis of hegemonic masculinity (Cohn and Enloe 2003). Connell (1995) created the term ‘hegemonic masculinity’ to describe the valued definition of manhood in a society. He argues that whilst there are multiple possible masculinities in a culture, only one or a few are most valued or considered ideal (Connell 1995). This gender definition is constructed both in relation to femininity and to other, subordinated masculinities, and is used to justify both men’s domination of women, and the hegemonic ally masculine man’s power over other men (Cohn and Weber 1999). Whilst women are increasingly being included in world systems, the systems themselves still were designed for and operate by and for men. Therefore, women who participate within the system must do so from male paradigm, even if it is sometimes at odds with their own preferences for how to go about dealing with a situation (Cohn and Enloe 2003). Feminism historically is a â€Å"critique of male supremacy, the belief that gender order was socially constructed and could not be changed† (Cott1989,205). Masculinity is often defined as what is not feminine, and femininity as what is not masculine, although understanding the dynamics of one requires considering both the workings of the other and the relationship and overlap between the two (Cohn and Enloe 2003). Masculine definitions are often based on strength, domination and violence, whilst feminine on weakness, nurturing, compassion and passitivity (Rabrenovic and Roskos 2001). The result is pressure omen adhering to a hegemonic definition of masculinity to view forms of addressing conflict other than a physical or masculine response as feminine and a threat to their manhood (Moylan 2003). The popular concept of gender holds that masculinity and femininity â€Å"are unchanging expressions based on the chromosomal male and female bodies (Butler 1990). â€Å"Gender is assumed to be ‘hard-wired,’ at least in part† (Hawkesworth 1997). Masculine actions and desires for men and feminine actions and desires for women alone are normal, these masculine and feminine traits are not a matter of choice, and all individuals can be classified as one or the other (Hawkesworth 1997). However, whilst our society men are considered strong and dominant, and women passive and nurturing, â€Å"the meanings of male and female bodies differ from one culture to another, and change (even in our own culture) over time† (Connell 1993, 75). For example, there have been â€Å"periods in Western history when the modern convention that men suppress displays of emotion did not apply at all, when men were effusive to their male friends and demonstrative about their feelings†(Connell 1993, 75). â€Å"Masculinities and felinities are constructed or accomplished in social processes such as child rearing, emotional and sexual relationships, work and politics† (Connell 1993, 75). Feminism, however, contends gender is a constructed by each culture, and as a social practice involves the incorporation of specific symbols, which support or distort human potential (Hawkesworth 1997). Gender is created through â€Å"discursively constrained per formative acts, â€Å"and the repetition of these acts over time creates gender for the individual in society (Butler 1990, x). People learn to â€Å"act† like women or men are supposed to; women are taught to behave in a feminine manner, men are taught to act in a masculine manner. This is often reinforced by authority figures, such as social workers. Barnes (2003)cites a number of studies which find social workers often assume the â€Å"disciplinary gaze† of notions of â€Å"what and how to be woman, â€Å"perpetuating traditional gender roles (149). â€Å"Armed with rigid codes of gender appropriate behaviours, social workers often sought to regulate and mediate women’s interactions with the soci al, economic, and political world† (Barns 2003, 149). Feminism and social work share a number of similarities. Both believe â€Å"in the inherent worth and dignity of all persons, the value of process over product, the appreciation of unity-diversity, the importance of considering the person-in- environment, and a commitment to personal empowerment and active participation in society as a means to bring about meaningful social change† (Barrette 2001, 266-267). Similarly, both feminism and social work address multiple approaches to handling situations, challenging the institutionalized oppression common in manpower structures and supporting â€Å"the reconceptualization and redistribution of that power† (Barrette 2001, 267). It follows that one impact of feminism on social work practise is the consideration of issues from a societal rather than personal perspective. For example, this might include viewing a domestic violence situation not from the perspective that the family is dysfunctional, but from the perspective of the society that created the family. The psychology-based focus of clinical social work â€Å"often leads to individualizing social problems, rather than to viewing themes the result of relations of power, primarily oppression and abuse†(Deitz 2000, 369). As such, individuals experiencing such difficulties are â€Å"taught† that their particular experiences are inappropriate, rather than addressing the systems that created the difficulties in the first place (Deitz 2000, 369). Nominally and McLeod (1989) re-evaluate social work practice from feminist perspective, considering the functions of social work such as therapy, community interaction, and policy making not from pathological standpoint but from one of defined roles endorsed by societal conditions. As such, they contend that working from feminist perspective allows the social worker to address the causes of social issues, rather than the symptoms played out in individual’s lives (Nominally and McLeod 1989). One area of difference in social work practise between those operating from a feminist framework and a traditional framework is the concept of distance. Traditionally, the â€Å"patriarchal bias against relationality and connection† is intended to lead to â€Å"connection without harm, love without power abuse, touching without sexual abuse in psychotherapy†(Deitz 2000, 377). Unfortunately, in practise it often results in â€Å"power over† relationships where those receiving services feel â€Å"less than† those providing them. â€Å"Healing happens when someone feels seen, heard, held, and empowered, not when one is interpreted, held at distance, and pathologies† (Deitz 2000, 377). Deitz (2000) finds that social workers often institutionalize a â€Å"power over† stance from professional training and discourse that constructs the identities of clients as somehow disordered, dysfunctional or impaired. â€Å"Whether between parents and children; physicians and patients; social workers and consumers of services; Whites and Blacks; or heterosexuals and lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered persons, power over relationships give the dominant partners or group the right to define the meanings of subordinates’ experiences (including their resistance)and thus their opportunities for self-affirmation† (Deitz 2000,373).This creates professional relationships that ignore the environmental, historical, and social contexts of the problem, discount people’s strengths and resilience in assessment and intervention, and lead â€Å"to the objectification of people as diagnoses, rather than to empowerment† (Deitz 2000, 370). â€Å"The keys to empowerment in feminist micro practice are reconnection and transformation through political activity; survivors of oppression and abuse experience reconnection through relationships based on mutuality, collaboration, and trustworthiness† (Deitz 2000, 376). Theories from social work, psychology, and particularly developmental psychology describe empowerment as primarily a process, with the personal transformation of the individual becoming empowered at its foundation (Carr 2003, 8). Barriers to empowerment and problems of disenfranchisement caused by powerlessness are primarily political, rather than psychological. Powerlessness is defined as the inability to effectively manage one’s emotions, knowledge, skills, or resources; it is â€Å"derived from the absence of external supports and the existence of ontological â€Å"power blocks† that become incorporated into a person’s development† (Carr 2003, 13). As such, many survivors also work to reconnect to others in their communities, often seeking political activity that â€Å"emphasizes the empowerment of others, such as by organizing Take Back the Night marches or speak-outs, volunteering for crisis hot lines, seeking legislative changes, or becoming social workers or human service professionals† (Deitz 2000, 376). For example, feminist work with abuse survivors â€Å"emphasizes the relationship between abuse and oppressive social relations (Deitz 2000,374). On the other hand, the dominant clinical social work approach to oppression and abuse relocates the problem of oppression in victims. Psychological theories are typically employed, which â€Å"locates pathology in individuals, rather than in oppressive relationships and systems, and considers the long-term effects of oppression to be symptoms of individual pathology† (Deitz 2000, 374). Unfortunately, whilst many social workers have been exposed to or even personally support operating from a feminist framework, the systems in which they work prevent them from actively utilising feminist insight in their daily practise. Research Plan This research seeks to study the prevalence and impact of traditional and feminist practitioner constructs from the perspective of those served. Specifically, a focus group study will be conducted with a group of college students, all of whom are currently studying social work and therefore have some concept regarding social work practice, feminist and traditional worldviews. In addition, all students in the focus group will have experienced domestic violence and have been provided the services of a social worker in some form during their teenage years. Three areas of discussion will be undertaken by the group. These will be provided to individual group participants in writing several days before the group in order for students to have time to consider what they would like to share regarding their opinions and own experiences. The first group activity will involve creating definitions of â€Å"masculine† and â€Å"feminine† from the perspective of a typical social worker based on the students’ teenage experiences. Students will then be asked to discuss where, if at all, they personally feel they and their family members who were involved in the domestic violence situation(s) â€Å"fit† regarding these preconceived definitions. It is anticipated some students will have been uncomfortable with societal constraints they or their family experienced as teenagers. As all are studying social work, they are also anticipated to make more connections between societal power issues, hegemonic gender roles, and their influence on domestic violence than a focus group without such background. The third area of discussion will centre on how the students’ perceptions of their social worker(s) understanding of gender roles influenced their and their families reception of adequate service. The researcher will both tape record and take notes on the group discussions. Data gathered from the group will then be compiled and analysed. In addition, students from the focus group will be given the option to write a response to the group activity, if they so desire. These will be further included in the group data. Methodology Data collection involved four means. Prior to the group starting, each participant was given a questionnaire (see Appendix 3) to gather basic demographic information. The questionnaire also asked for brief summary of their abusive situation. Regarding data collection of the group proceedings, as described above the focus group session was tape-recorded and the researcher took notes to supplement the recording of group discussion. The recorded sessions were then transcribed into print form, with research notes added in at the chronologically appropriate points of the transcription to provide a more complete written overview of the focus group discussion. In addition, group participants had an option to write a response the group to be included in the group data. Four participants wrote responses, which were considered with the group data following analysis of the focus group discussion. Participants were provided with the three areas of group discussion several days prior to the actual focus group meeting. They were not given any directions or guidance regarding the optional written responses to the group activity. Data analysis first involved dividing and coding group data. Responses to the first topic of discussion were divided into three categories: those representing a traditional worldview, those representing feminist worldview, and those that did not clearly represent either worldview. From these groupings, overall findings regarding the worldviews typically experienced by the group participants were summarised. This was then further compared with the definitions of traditional gender roles identified by the group. Data from the second topic of discussion were also broken down into those representing a traditional worldview, those representing feminist worldview, and those that did not clearly represent either worldview. It was important to then note participant perceptions and emotional responses to these coding, and in which worldview grouping they and their families were reported to feel best served and empowered. Data from the specific discussion regarding service were then similarly analysed, and combined with previous findings to present a picture of the impact of traditional versus feminist worldviews on social work practise, emphasising work with teenage domestic violence survivors and their understanding of gender roles in society. It was anticipated at the conclusion of such research, a view could be asserted as to whether feminist perspective has a significant impact on the practise of social work as it is currently undertaken and whether this impact, if any, leads to improved service. As the focus group involved a relatively small number of participants(nine total) and data from their interactions were primarily qualitative in nature, it was decided not to perform any complex statistical analysis on focus group data. It was felt that such types of analysis would neither reveal findings that could be considered statistically significant nor provide a more accurate understanding of the issues under consideration than a more qualitative analytical approach. In consideration of space and relevance portions of the discussion were used to support conclusions in the findings and analysis sections of this dissertation, whilst an overall summary of the most relevant portions of the discussion are included in Appendix2. Implementation Project Nine students meeting the criteria laid out in the research plan agreed to participate in the focus group. They were primarily organised by one group participant, who had discovered other domestic violence survivors through classroom discussions and through participation in a survivors’ group in the local community. All nine students were currently studying social work or had taken at least one social work course as part of a related course of study, such as education or criminal justice. There were six women and three men, ranging in age from nineteen to twenty-seven. Racially, seven were Caucasian, one was Black, and one was Asian. All present as coming from upper working class to middle class backgrounds. All had experienced domestic violence as teenagers, making their experiences fairly recent and therefore providing a relatively current depiction of social work practise. Five students (three women, two men) had been removed from their biological parents at some point during their teenage years. All had been involved in interventions into the family by a social worker representing either a government organisation, or in the case of one woman, a local church. Some of the participants previously knew each other and were somewhat aware of each other’s experiences, which should be considered in group analysis. Five regularly participated in a survivors’ support group in the community. One man and one woman were cousins. In addition, two of the men had known each other as teenagers from intervention through the school system. Jennifer, a twenty-four year-old Caucasian woman, was chosen to be the moderator, as she had been the one who had assisted the researcher by arranging for most of the participants to become involved in the study. The group then moved almost immediately into discussion of the topics provided. The group had been provided a whiteboard for its use, which Jennifer implemented to organise individual comments and ideas. It is surmised that the easy manner with which the group undertook the discussion was based on the fact that they were all students and therefore used to having study groups, group discussions, and the like, and that all of them had at least publicly shared their experiences previously, either as part of a classroom discussion or survivors ‘group, or both, and were therefore more comfortable in engaging in such discussion than might be typical for a focus group dealing with such experiences. Findings and Analysis The first finding of this research is that the majority of social workers in service or domestic violence survivors to not consistently employ feminist constructs in practise, despite the likelihood of having been exposed to such constructs. This manifested itself in three significant ways. First, families were overwhelming dealt with as individuals with problems. That is, the abuser was described as making poor choices or having some type of pathological issues that led to his or her decision to abuse (in one participant’s family, both parents were abusive). As such, the abuser was described from psychoanalytical standpoint by the social worker(s), and his or her behaviour labelled as individually deviant. The survivors of the domestic violence situations, particularly them others, as the majority of abusers from the groups’ experiences were male family members or boyfriends of the mother, were also reported tube consistently dealt with from an individual perspective. In this sense, their behaviour was also reported to be categorised by the social workers involved as unhealthy, pathological, and coming from some sort of unresolved personal issues, such as low self-esteem. In the case of only one participant did the social workers involved in either intervention or therapy consistently relate the domestic violence situation to broader issues of oppression, societal power structures and the related hegemonic gender roles, or patriarchal norms of society. It is of note that this participant received service from progressive women-helping-women organisation, rather than a traditional government-organised social work programme. Group participants also repeatedly described their family situations as unhealthy, and they certainly were, but from the perspective that both the abuser and abused were reacting or displaying emotion inappropriately, rather than that the motivation or norming behind the behaviour was at fault. For example, Trent described his mother as drawn to violent, alcoholic men. â€Å"She always seemed to go for these guys that didn’t know how to express anything except by breaking stuff, yelling, hitting, you know.† His further descriptions of his mother’s ‘boyfriends indicated an assumption that if these men had been raised with or taught proper means of dealing with their frustrations and emotions, the abuse to him and his mother would have been lessened or eliminated. This idea was supported by at least one social worker, who suggested counselling for Trent, his mother, and the then boyfriend as one possible way of addressing the abusive situation. Several participants did bring feminist theory and thought into group discussion, pointing out, for example, that dominance or aggression by men in any form was unhealthy, and questioning why it was only seen as unhealthy by most of the social workers they had encountered, and bothers they knew in the community, when physical violence was actually involved. There was a related discussion, albeit brief, about the unwillingness of neighbours, relatives, and others in the community, such as members of the same church, to intervene in the domestic violence situation. Participants indicated their perception that whilst this was often due to a fear of getting involved or knowing how to help the situation, there were repeated occurrences in everyone’s experience where an unwillingness to intervene derived from others’ implications that the man of the house had some right to choose the way in which the household operated, or that he had a right to discipline his wife /girlfriend and children as he saw fit. Wendy reports hearing an aunt state â€Å"Well, it’s his family, their kids, she wants to stay with him, â€Å"and dismiss the on-going violence as therefore an acceptable family lifestyle, or at least one in which none of the rest of the family should be expected to intervene. Participants then acknowledged this and several other systemic situations that perpetuated their abuse, such as reluctance of authority figures to continue questioning when initially told nothing was wrong, and unwillingness of police to intervene repeatedly. Similarly, regarding gender roles, discussion indicated a belief by most participants that their social workers believed a traditional stereotype of what was appropriate behaviour for a man and a woman, and that these behaviours were different. There were reports of acceptance of physical response as an appropriate masculine reaction, but the level of physical response not being considered appropriate. Male participants were encouraged to talk about their experiences, but report never being given permission to express fear, or an emotional response such as crying. One male participant reported starting to cry as part of a group experience, and being discouraged rather than encouraged to continue, whilst female members of the group were allowed to and even supported in such emotional expression. There were similar reports of various hegemonic ally feminine expressions, such as crying, fear, and nurturing behaviours, being supported and encouraged by social workers for male family members but not female, as well as an acceptance or assumption of weakness on the part of adult females who chose to remain in an abusive situation. The discussion then moved to the effect of traditional and feminist perspective on social work service. Participants overwhelmingly reported feeling better served when social workers sought to empower them and their families. This did usually involve practise of methods derived from a feminist view, such as the use of reflective journaling and support groups, as well as encouragement from the social workers tithe mother that she could, indeed, survive and prosper outside the domestic violence situation, that she did have the inner reserves to address the situation and move to a healthier lifestyle, and that societal pressure to be with a man, either as a romantic partner or as a father / father-figure for children was not necessary for successful life. Participants also report feeling personally empowered by such encouragement, and therefore able to support their mothers in attempts to leave relationships. From their own study in social work theory, focus group participants were able to briefly discuss the ramifications of the patriarchal societal power structure on a woman’s decision to stay in a violent situation. One issue brought up included the perception that society will view a woman as a failure and undesirable if she does not have aromatic relationship with a man in her life. A number of women participants in the group reported feeling similar pressure to maintain romantic relationship with a man in their life, regardless of their other commitments or interests, and an expectation that they would not be successful women if they did not ultimately get married and have children. When questioned by other participants, the three male participants reported not feeling such pressures. Another issue raised was the mothers’ perception that they needed a father figure to successfully raise children, particularly boys. This was perpetuated in the life experiences of group participants even though the men occupying these roles were viewed by the male participants as destructive, rather than constructive, influences. Issues of supporting disciplining children and managing household operations were also indicated, as was the financial support provided by the bitterer. The group indicated all these issues were societal, rather than individual, and lack of addressing of them affected the effectiveness of the social services they had received. Overall, the participants were generally positive about at least one social worker with whom they had a relationship during their teenage years. Participants typically felt feeling most encouraged and best served by those social workers who did not present themselves as being distant or above the participants and their families, and who did not overly emphasise their family’s issues from a perspective of individual dysfunction. These findings indicated that a feminist interactive construct, which avoids â€Å"power over† methods and practise is perceived to be most effective by domestic violence survivors. Recommendations It is recommended from findings of this study that social workers are first provided greater exposure to and training in feminist methods and theory as it relates to their practical, day-to-day practise. For example, all participants reported some positive experiences in response to reflective methods such as reflective journaling and survivor support groups. Considerations of ways to more greatly include such methods in typical practise are therefore indicated. Of greater concern are the systems in which social workers operate. Whilst most of the social workers in these focus group participants ‘experiences had some familiarity with feminist theory or methods, as indicated by their emphasis on empowerment or use of specific strategies, there is something within the government-sponsored social services structure that prohibits practise truly based on feminist tenets. A sharp contrast was provided by the young woman served at a progressive, private service, where feminist theory was the obvious framework on which service was based. She was by far the most positive about her experiences and workers, and reported insights, understanding and empowerment to change not consistently reported by other focus group participants. It therefore recommended that more research be pursued as to what factors

Eating Disorders, Anorexia and Martha Stewart - The Seduction of Control, Perfection, and Fantasy :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Eating Disorders, Anorexia and Martha Stewart - The Seduction of Control, Perfection, and Fantasy I have a strange fascination with Martha Stewart. I read Just Desserts by Jerry Oppenheimer and my interest in her peaked: she sounded, as portrayed in that book, as the toxic boss (we’ll call her Sheila, though it is not her real name) from whom I had just "divorced" myself by quitting. I could see Sheila emasculating her husband on a daily basis, screaming obscenities at her employees (that didn’t take much imagination), and plotting to take over the world. Despite these issues, Martha and Sheila alternately inspired me and repelled me. They both showed me power at a time when I was just developing my own sense of being in the world. Those two women were in control; if they weren’t, they were miserable and made every one miserable too. It is that sense of perfection and control that leads too many women, teens, and even children to become anorexic. Obviously, Martha Stewart is not anorexic; while some may proclaim that she is fixated with food, most of her attention is really on decorating. Sheila was displayed a few minor symptoms of anorexia, although we ex-employees believe she was a frequent user of coke instead of dieting. I am not arguing that either of them is anorexic; instead, I want to explain how their obsessions can be linked to anorexia. Anorexia is about much more than food, just as Martha Stewart is. The control over food is just one aspect of anorexia and what I call Marthamania. Control over one's body, fantasy and a regression into girlhood is a common aspect of both. Of course, the anorexic's and Marthamaniac's version of control is an ironic one. Some anorexia researchers claim that anorexia offers its victims a way to control the development of their bodies. Since anorexia occurs most frequently in the years of puberty, researchers suggest that anorexics have difficulty adapting to the roles that come with "becoming a woman." That fear, hatred, or despair of becoming all it means to be a woman in today's society is wrapped up in Martha Stewart. She is a fiercely independent woman, succeeding financially in a man's world. Formerly a stock broker, she has combined feminine and masculine roles and is able to buy her home and decorate it too. Stewart sells a dream, of course, like many entrepreneurs. Eating Disorders, Anorexia and Martha Stewart - The Seduction of Control, Perfection, and Fantasy :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers Eating Disorders, Anorexia and Martha Stewart - The Seduction of Control, Perfection, and Fantasy I have a strange fascination with Martha Stewart. I read Just Desserts by Jerry Oppenheimer and my interest in her peaked: she sounded, as portrayed in that book, as the toxic boss (we’ll call her Sheila, though it is not her real name) from whom I had just "divorced" myself by quitting. I could see Sheila emasculating her husband on a daily basis, screaming obscenities at her employees (that didn’t take much imagination), and plotting to take over the world. Despite these issues, Martha and Sheila alternately inspired me and repelled me. They both showed me power at a time when I was just developing my own sense of being in the world. Those two women were in control; if they weren’t, they were miserable and made every one miserable too. It is that sense of perfection and control that leads too many women, teens, and even children to become anorexic. Obviously, Martha Stewart is not anorexic; while some may proclaim that she is fixated with food, most of her attention is really on decorating. Sheila was displayed a few minor symptoms of anorexia, although we ex-employees believe she was a frequent user of coke instead of dieting. I am not arguing that either of them is anorexic; instead, I want to explain how their obsessions can be linked to anorexia. Anorexia is about much more than food, just as Martha Stewart is. The control over food is just one aspect of anorexia and what I call Marthamania. Control over one's body, fantasy and a regression into girlhood is a common aspect of both. Of course, the anorexic's and Marthamaniac's version of control is an ironic one. Some anorexia researchers claim that anorexia offers its victims a way to control the development of their bodies. Since anorexia occurs most frequently in the years of puberty, researchers suggest that anorexics have difficulty adapting to the roles that come with "becoming a woman." That fear, hatred, or despair of becoming all it means to be a woman in today's society is wrapped up in Martha Stewart. She is a fiercely independent woman, succeeding financially in a man's world. Formerly a stock broker, she has combined feminine and masculine roles and is able to buy her home and decorate it too. Stewart sells a dream, of course, like many entrepreneurs.

A Rewrite of the Ending (Chapter XX) of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray :: Picture Dorian Gray

A Rewrite of the Ending (Chapter XX) of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray It was a lovely night, so warm that Dorian threw his coat over his arm, and did not even put his silk scarf round his throat. A sealed envelope fell out of his coat pocket. It was from Basil’s Gladstone bag that Dorian had rummaged through before throwing into the fire. In his recent preoccupation, Dorian had forgotten all about the envelope. He now stooped to pick up the fallen envelope and broke open its seal. Out fell a small watercolour portrait. An angelic face stared back at Dorian and it was of himself. Oh Basil! Why? The portrait was painted with love, Dorian could see that. His eyes glistened in the moonlight. What had he done to his good friend? Distractedly, Dorian put the portrait and the envelope back into his coat pocket, lit a cigarette, and hurried toward home. Two young men in evening dress passed him. He heard one of them whisper to the other, â€Å"That is Dorian Gray.† He remembered how pleased he used to be when he was pointed out, or stared at, or talked about. He was tired of hearing his own name now. Suddenly, one of the young men called out to him: â€Å"Mr. Gray.† Dorian spun around. The one who had called out to him now said, â€Å"Tell us, Mr. Gray, what is your secret?† Dorian cried, â€Å"What secret?† â€Å"Your secret to eternal youth. It is witchcraft, the villagers say.† It was the first time that anyone had directly questioned his appearance and Dorian did not know what to answer. Biting his lower lip, Dorian faintly replied, â€Å"How inquiring you young men are! What good is eternal youth?† â€Å"What good?† cried the young men. â€Å"Wild adoration from charming ladies and great admiration from seekers of truth and beauty!† â€Å"Do not speak of what you know not!† â€Å"You have bewitched all the women in this town, Mr. Gray. And they have suffered for it. What is your secret?† â€Å"Are you saying that you wish for your young women to suffer?† Dorian’s eyes flashed with regret and anger. With that, he turned around and walked quickly home. Behind him, he heard the two young men yell. He thought he caught the words â€Å"Basil† and â€Å"murder.† With a shiver, Dorian stepped into his home and found his servant waiting up for him.

The History of Computing :: Free Essay Writer

The History of Computing The Computer - Man’s Greatest Achievment Computers are indeed approaching the status of the core operator of every electronic device or utility in the world today. Their â€Å"logic† and process can produce results millions of times faster than that of the human brain. They are at the helm of everything from an old walk man to the systems that keep the Earth’s continents in constant communications. They’ll likely soon be the basis of communications between other civilizations in outer space. When the computer was first introduced, it was simply a device of convenience for use of the masses or huge corporations and universities. The incredible machines have now grown so much since their introduction, that the World’s economy desperately depends on them to function. But computers have not always been so royal. The first machine to be classified as a computer used no circuitry of any kind, but was consistent entirely of gears and rods that made simple calculations in mathematics. As compute rs progressed in complexity and became more modern, society utilized them in nearly every way possible. They now are incorporated into every aspect of human life, especially for recreation and general home usage. It remains second in complexity only to that of the human brain. And yet it they still progress towards perfection. The idea of what is now modern computing originates (more or less) in the late 1700’s with the birth of computing’s conceptual father, Charles Babbage. He was born in London on December 26, 1791, the day after Christmas. He excelled in the area of mathematics (algebra for the most part), acting as his own instructor. He found himself to have been far in intellectual advance of his peers and â€Å"mentors†. Upon attending Trinity College, Cambridge in 1811, he still remained at incredible superiority to his tutors. After founding several societies (i.e. Analytical Society, Astronomical Society or Royal Astronomical Society), he became interested in mathematical calculation machines. This ultimately became his life interest. He pursued the invention of a machine that could compile mathematical tables. This gave way to the design of the â€Å"Difference Engine†. It performed somewhat complex mathematical tasks using gears and belts, not quite the hard ware integrated in todays machines. He eventually conceived the design of an â€Å"Analytical Engine† that would be able to make virtually any calculation (at least those considered in the time period) given the proper commands and instructions.

Vmware Tools

TOPIC: VMWARE TOOLS Introduction: Virtualization reduces IT costs while increasing the efficiency and utilization of existing assets. So it is becoming more popular among IT companies. VMware is one of the companies which supplies products for datacenter virtualization is leading the pack. VMware’s ESX/ESXi is one of the enterprise-level virtualization product offered by VMware, Inc. ESX is a component of VMware Infrastructure, it adds management and reliability services to the core server product. This is one of the widely used tools in Server Virtualization. ) Architecture: VMWARE ESX (white Paper): This white paper provided by VMware Inc has the details for all the underlying components in ESX framework. It explains the startup and operation process, colored figures are embedded in the document about the layers. The ESX Server architecture allows administrators to allocate hardware resources to multiple workloads in fully isolated environments called virtual machines. 2) VM ware hypervisor still king for enterprise-class workloads (News Article): This article in network world outlines the comparison between VMware with other competitors. According to research conducted by the Burton Group VMware is still the preferred virtualization vendor which meets most of the enterprise requirements, while rivals Citrix, Microsoft and Virtual Iron are trying to meet the meet the goal, VMware, is the market share leader in x86 virtualization, offers 100% of the features required to run enterprise-class, production workloads with the vSphere hypervisor. 3) VMware ESXI demo (VMware website) This demo provides the basic introduction, uses & features of VMware’s ESXI . It compares ESXI with the competitors in the market. This is created by VMware and is posted on the product website. 4) Examining VMware ESX Server This journal in DR Dobbs website outlines some of the advantages of VMware server. Columbia university students conducted an experiment in their computer science department. By using VMware, they were able to give students a flexible virtual kernel-level development environment where the operating systems are being developed, debugged, and rebooted in a shared computing lab environment without affecting other application user’s experiments. ) Application of virtualization and information integration technology in a power dispatching center This article explains how VMware ESX server platform can be utilized to manage information in a power dispatching center. The information integration is divided into five levels i. e. hardware integration, data integration, software module integration, business process integration, and application access integration and provides detailed integratio n scheme. Unfortunately the full text is not available for this article. ) Book: VMware ESX Server in the Enterprise: Planning and Securing Virtualization Servers Chapter 1: System considerations This chapter provides the information regarding the installation of VMware ESX server. It gives the necessary system requirements for the VMware ESX Server for Planning and Securing Virtualization Servers in the Enterprise. . This chapter is a good place to start when you need to find out where else in the book to go look for coverage of an issue. Analysis of Research I have chosen this topic to learn and do some recommendation of VMware tools used for server virtualization to our group, so I started my research by going to VMware website, VMware ESXI demo and white paper for architecture were the two most useful sources for the research. Then I went to Penn state databases IEEE, Inspec and got the information for the news article that it has slight edge on the competitors. And from the Dobbs journal it is proven from the experiment conducted by the Columbia University that with VMware we can create, delete applications on virtual servers without rebooting the actual server. And finally the journal regarding VMware using in Power dispatch center will be a good example to recommend to our group. How documents relate to each other: The documents started with the introduction of the VMware tools and provided with architecture and demonstration of most popular VMware ESXi server. The article in network world proves that VMware Esx has slight edge over the competitors. The journals provide how VMware server works in different environments like Power Sector and University. Finally the chapter in the books gives us the existing system capabilities to install VMware tools. References: Architecture of VMWARE ESXi. Whitepaper. Retrieved January 29, 2010, from http://www. vmware. com/files/pdf/ESXi_architecture. pdf) Jon Brodkin (2009). VMware hypervisor still king for enterprise-class workloads. Network world. Retrieved January 29, 2010 Product Demo Video. Retrieved January 29, 2010, from http://download3. vmware. com/demos/esxi/VMware_ESXi. html Jason Nieh and Ozgur Can Leonard(2000). Examining VMware retrieved January 29 1010 from Dr Dobb’s Journal (www. DDJ. com) Zhang Liang (East China Grid Co. Ltd. , Shanghai, China); Ge Minhui; Bi Xiaoliang (2008). Application of virtualization and information integration technology in a power dispatching center retrieved January 29 1010 from engineering village. Source: Automation of Electric Power Systems, v 32, n 16, p 38-42, 25 Aug. 2008 Edward L. Haletky (2007). VMware ESX Server in the Enterprise: Planning and Securing Virtualization Servers retrieved January 29 1010 from Safari books Online: By: Pub. Date: December 29, 2007

Advantages and disadvantage of Going Green Essay

The major advantage, undoubtedly, is that the use of green technology reduces the pollution of the environment. The damage that is usually done to the environment when hotels use diesel products is very catastrophic. Diesel products emit a lot of hydrocarbons into the air that cause global warming, which is known to hamper marine life and make some species of the marine bio diversity extinct. However this can be avoided if the industry adopts green technology. The industry has also come alive to the fact that ecotourism is a major attraction to many people who want to conserve the world we live in. People appreciate and value those involved in environmental conservation and majority like being associated with them. The adoption of green technology by the hospitality industry improves the public image that people have towards the industry. The world today is doing everything to combat global warming which is seen as a major threat to future earnings of almost each sector in the global economy. Tax Savings Significant federal tax benefits are associated with going green and several deductions apply for the cost of energy-efficient improvements. Some states also give green building tax credits. Reduced Costs One of the main benefits of hotels going green is that business owners get to considerably lower their operating costs. By turning environmentally friendly, hotels can see a 30 percent reduction in their costs.†¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ Disadvantages: Potential clients may not believe that green design can be luxurious. (â€Å"Just because you’re green doesn’t mean you don’t have a particular style, or can’t produce a certain luxury. People are starting to understand that, but it was a real hurdle.†-Lori Dennis, a Los Angeles-based interior designer) Sourcing furniture, fixtures, and materials is more work. Even though options are improving, â€Å"the range of choices is narrower, and you’re doing more work,† to find everything from energy efficient lighting to low-flow faucets to natural upholstery fabrics. (Lori Dennis, a Los Angeles-based interior designer) When you can’t find what you want, you have to make it yourself. â€Å"That’s a con, because it’s a lot of work, but it’s also a pro, because it’s fun and, before you know it, you’ve designed a whole new product range.†(Lori Dennis, a Los Angeles-based interior designer)

Eco Friendly Structures

Major elements of green building design which are: Sustainable Site Design Key Principles: Minimize urban sprawl and needless destruction of valuable land, habitat and green space, which results from inefficient low-density development. Encourage higher density urban development, urban re-development and urban renewal, and brownfield development as a mearns to preserve valuable green space. Preserve key environmental assets through careful examination of each site.Engage in a design and construction process that minimizes site disturbance and which values, preserves and actually restores or regenerates valuable habitat, green space and associated eco-systems that are vital to sustaining life. Water Quality and Conservation Key Principles: Preserve the existing natural water cycle and design site and building improvements such that they closely emulate the site’s natural â€Å"pre-development† hydrological systems. Emphasis should be placed on retention of storm water an d on-site infiltration and ground water recharge using methods that closely emulate natural systems.Minimize the unnecessary and inefficient use of potable water on the site while maximizing the recycling and reuse of water, including harvested rainwater, storm water, and gray water. Energy and Environment Key Principles: Minimize adverse impacts on the environment (air, water, land, natural resources) through optimized building siting, optimized building design, material selection, and aggressive use of energy conservation measures. Resulting building performance should exceed minimum International Energy Code (IEC) compliance level by 30 to 40% or more. Maximize the use of renewable energy and other low impact energy sources.Indoor Environmental Quality Key Principles: Provide a healthy, comfortable and productive indoor environment for building occupants and visitors. Provide a building design, which affords the best possible conditions in terms of indoor air quality, ventilation , thermal comfort, access to natural ventilation and daylighting, and effective control of the acoustical environment. Materials and Resources Key Principles: Minimize the use of non-renewable construction materials and other resources such as energy and water through efficient engineering, design, planning and construction and effective recycling of construction debris.Maximize the use of recycled content materials, modern resource efficient engineered materials, and resource efficient composite type structural systems wherever possible. Maximize the use of re-usable, renewable, sustainably managed, bio-based materials. Remember that human creativity and our abundant labor force is perhaps our most valuable renewable resource. The best solution is not necessarily the one that requires the least amount of physical work.