P-ISM

When writing a short observe, pen and paper are nevertheless maximum herbals to use. The five pen technology with virtual pen and paper makes it possible to get a digital reproduction of handwritten facts and have it ship to virtual devices through BluetoothP-ISM (Pen Style Personal Networking Gadget) that is nothing but the new discovery that's developed by means of the Nec Co-operation in 2003 . It's far truly a new invention in the computer and it is related to communique area. Honestly, this may have a remarkable effect on the pc discipline. In this tool, you will locate Bluetooth as the main interconnecting tool between extraordinary peripherals.INTRODUCTIONLaptop impacts our lives in a far larger manner then most of us may have an idea. It has grown to be a compulsory requirement in most professions with a view to use pc software. Modern computer systems which can be primarily based on integrated circuits are small enough to fit into mobile gadgets, however, imagine having a computer a good way to suit into a pen.Imagine a global wherein everybody can use modern IT without being a professional. P-ISM is a system gadget including five functions: it includes a CPU for processing, it also used as a conversation pen, it carries a very small projector within it, and also it has a digital camera scanner and a battery with it. P-ISMs are linked to each other via short-range Wi-Fi generation. The P-ISM (Pen-fashion personal Networking machine bundle) is best a prototype underneath growing level by NEC employer. In 2003, Geneva held the ITU telecom phrase exhibition which exhibited a conceptual $30,000 prototype of a P-ISM designed by means of the Tokyo-based totally NEC employer.A PC that uses an electronic pen (called a stylus) as opposed to a console for input. Pen PCs for the most part require unique working frameworks that help penmanship acknowledgment with the goal that clients can compose on the screen or on a tablet as opposed to writing on a console. Most pen PCs are hand-held gadgets, which are too little for a full-estimate console.WORKING PROCESSThe P-ISM (Pen-style personal Networking system gadget) consists of a gadget of five pens that everyone has unique capabilities, Figure 1: Working of P-ISM? CPU penCPU capability is dead by mistreatment the pen itself. â€Å"P-ISM† is additionally referred to as computing engine Processors used within the pen is that the twin-core processor and it's miles labored on the premise of home windows OS.? Communication penP-ISM uses Wireless Bluetooth technology for the communication and transfers the information to a different system. P-ISM additionally also will create a connection to with any cellular device and also it can use the Wi-Fi technology. ? Virtual keyboardP-ism provides associate degree integral virtual optical maser keyboard that may be a new widget. The operating of the P-ISM is that it emits the optical maser beams on the table surface that forms a keyboard On this specific keyboard, this can be done by a 3D IR sensing element technology with optical maser technology to induce a full-size keyboard. ? Led ProjectorThe pen contains an Led projector within it. So it can project an led monitor with the size of A4 and the resolution of the screen is approximately of 1024*768. The monitor projected by the P-ISM gave more clarity for the projection and a gave a good picture to the viewer.? Digital CameraWe had a photographic camera within the form of a pen. It is helpful in video, Videoconferencing; merely it's known as a net cam. It's additionally connected to different devices through Bluetooth. The key advantage it's little that is well transportable. It's a 360- Degree communication Device. We've seen video phones many times in movies.Advantages of P-ISMWhat makes the P-ISM totally different from all of the prevailing elements is that its form likes pens. Pens are quite common objects that we supply around on everyday basis; by carrying simply four pens you'll produce a laptop. So, its transportable and may be carried simply.As the pen is a smaller amount visible and it's easier to require it out with you, the scale and weight are plenty less and it will probably priceless because it can use less material.P-ISM adopts Bluetooth technology for informatio n transfer that may be a wireless technology.Disadvantages of P-ISMThe P-ISM is formed from five loose pens which are able to move around with any amendment within the movement of the area. in an exceedingly train journey, there's tons of movement which is able to shake the pens around and shake the projection of the keyboard and screen. So, this can't be as stable and economical as a portable computer.Also, these pens area unit terribly little and fragile so that they are broken simply whereas handling them or carrying them around. One pen itself prices quite a striated muscle thus you can't risk damaging or losing them.ConclusionThe specialized gadgets are getting to be noticeably littler and conservative. This is just a case of the beginning of this new innovation. We can expect all the more such advancements later on; it appears that data terminals are boundlessly getting littler P-ISM.

Linguistic imperialism Essay

Linguistic imperialism can be defined as the enforcement or imposition of one language onto another; it tends to be a key tool of the colonialist seeking to mend the ‘backward’ societies that they find, generally to their own purpose. Thus, writers such as Friel and Achebe have sought to rectify the still ever present colonialist perceptions of the west by attacking the use of language in their societies, for example, Hiberno-English in Translations. Furthermore, it is necessary to analyse the form and structure of the primary texts, for instance, how Achebe and Friel both manage to structure their texts in such a way that it gives a distinctly ‘foreign’ aesthetic, whilst still creating a subtly intelligent and critical narrative. Also, it is important to look at the literary techniques and devices that are used within Translations and Things Fall Apart, for example, dramatic irony (e. g. the reference to the potato famine in Translations) or symbols like Mr. Brown in Things Fall Apart, who represent a could-have-been harmonious presence between two vastly different cultures. In addition, it is necessary to contrast and compare the primary texts with secondary texts such as Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s ‘The Language of African Literature’, and analyse how relevant or constructive Things Fall Apart and Translations are in their underlying criticism of linguistic imperialism. Overall, it is a crucial to explore these various threads of investigation to come to an overall conclusion in terms of how Friel and Achebe present the issue of linguistic imperialism and how successful they are. George Steiner, in After Babel, writes that â€Å"Translation exists because men speak different languages† (1998, p. 51). He goes on to question it, by asking â€Å"Why should human beings speak thousands of different, mutually incomprehensible tongues? † (1998, p. 51), that homo sapiens are basically biologically the same; why have we not evolved to speak one common language? Steiner’s study of language and communication concludes that with the death of a language comes the dissolution of cultures and identities: â€Å"Each takes with it a storehouse of consciousness† (1998, p.56). This was of consequential influence to Brian Friel and Translations, notable throughout the play. For instance, the various ways in which Friel portrays translation – the cartographers; Owen’s â€Å"not-completely-correct† translation of Lancey; Maire and Yolland’s romantic tryst and so forth – create the notion that the English language is not compatible with Irish culture. This is an overarching idea that reaches its crescendo with the Donnelly twins, Friel’s representation of the Provision IRA within the play i. e. the violent end of Yolland, inferred by the actions of the Donnelly twins, is an echo of 1980s era conflicts. These conflicts were created by tensions still remaining today, by Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland; the Catholics calling for the reunification of Ireland, and Protestants wishing to remain separated – realistically, these tensions would have not necessarily existed had there been no British colonising of Ireland, and Translations has been identified as echoing Friel’s political interest in the matters. The reader or audience of Translations are bound by Friel to a highly complex idea of translation and the place of language in a culture; similarly, we are made aware of this in Things Fall Apart. One of the most accessible passages that exemplify this goes as follows: â€Å"When they had all gathered the white man began to speak to them. He spoke through an interpreter who was an Ibo man, though his dialect was different and harsh to the ears of Mbanta. Many people laughed at his dialect and the way he used words strangely. Instead of saying ‘myself’ he always said ‘my buttocks’. † (Things Fall Apart, p. 136) Subtly, Achebe feeds the reader linguistic perspective alien to most Western culture – that Africa was not, and is not, a land full of savages who cannot communicate as well as the Europeans, and instead a variety of different tongues that is not necessarily exactly recognisable from one clan to another. In regards to Translations, Friel has been left relatively unscathed by those in Ireland who may have felt abandoned by Friel’s artistic decision to employ Hiberno-English as opposed to contemporary Gaelic, whilst both authors have clearly chosen English as a medium to address linguistic imperialism (using the tool of colonialism against the colonialists). Achebe has been highly criticised for writing in English. Ngugi wa Thiong’o criticised African authors who chose English over their native tongue to write in. He asked â€Å"How did we arrive at this acceptance of ‘the fatalistic logic of the unassailable position of English in our literature’, in our culture, and in our politics?†¦ † (1995, p. 287) Thiong’o goes on to say that as the bullet is to physical subjugation, â€Å"language was the means of spiritual subjugation† (1995, p. 287). To understand Thiong’o’s logic, the reader needs to take into context a passage further on in the essay, which refers to his experiences at a colonial school and the use of his mother tongue, Gikuyu: â€Å"Thus one of the most humiliating experiences was to be caught speaking Gikuyu in the vicinity of the school. The culprit was given corporal punishment – three to five strokes of the cane on bare buttocks – or was made to carry a metal plate around the neck with inscriptions such as I AM STUPID or I AM A DONKEY †¦ † (1995, p. 288) Thiong’o is asserting that the use of English was imposed upon many of the African tribes and with it the enforcement of superiority and supposed civilisation†¦ to use Gikuyu was to be made to feel inferior and stupid, and to speak English fluently would be the height of education achievement. A further statement by Thiong’o states â€Å"Literary education was now determined by the dominant language while also reinforcing that dominance. Orature in Kenyan languages stopped. † (1995, p. 288). The loss of such orature and its replacement by the English written word was heavily destructive, according to Thiong’o – he concludes the essay be acknowledging that human society and culture is formed by the interactions and communication of people, that complex systems of ethics and experience, these systems creating one distinctive society from another. If the means of communication that has developed such a community is, like Tobair Vree in Translations â€Å"something is being eroded† (p. 53), or destroyed, then, much like Steiner, that society is lost. To Thiong’o, Achebe’s use of English over his native tongue is, rather than delicate manipulation for the anti-colonialist purpose, actually conducive in destroying that particular culture forever. However, despite Thiong’o’s clear dissatisfaction at Achebe’s use of the English language as a general point, this point could be considered moot. Early on in the essay, Thiong’o quotes Achebe as saying: â€Å"Is it right that a man should abandon his mother tongue for someone else’s? IT looks like a dreadful betrayal and produces a guilty feeling. But for me there is no other choice. I have been given the language and intend to use it. † (1995, p. 285 citing 1975, p. 62) This is evident in the careful construction and consideration of Things Fall Apart. Achebe has written a novel in which the reader could easily imagine themselves around a blazing fire with an elder of a Nigerian clan, with the story being meticulously recited to them. The rhythm of the novel is manipulated in such a way that it becomes less like an English-written novel and more a native piece of orature. For example, Achebe makes good use of drums in the novel, to create the rhythm of the traditional narrative: â€Å"Just then the distant beating of drums began to reach them†¦ the drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance – quick, light and gay, and it came floating on the wind. † (Things Fall Apart, p. 41) A further use of language to create an ‘African English’ is the utilisation of proverbs, which play a central part in emphasising the Ibo culture, as â€Å"proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten†. In addition, Achebe ‘peppers’ Things Fall Apart with Ibo words – this digression is an act of defiance to the colonists who felt they could just translate Ibo culture (religion, education and so forth). By this, Achebe means to illustrate the barriers of translation, in that there is no suitable word for, as an example, ogbanje, â€Å"one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mother’s womb to be born again†. Similarly, Achebe’s conquest to turn the Colonialist’s language back in on itself, Achebe wrote an essay called ‘An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness’. Achebe analyses Western views of Africa (such as those of â€Å"that erudite British Historian Regius Professor of Oxford, Hugh Trevor Roper† (Achebe, 1961)) in stinging rhetoric which delivers the idea of that prolific early ‘anti-colonialist’ novelists like Conrad were, maybe unwittingly, racist in themselves. Achebe writes: â€Å"Conrad was born in 1857†¦ it was certainly not his fault that he lived†¦ [in a] time when the reputation of the black man was at a particularly low level. But†¦ there remains still in Conrad’s attitude a residue of antipathy to black people†¦ Certainly, Conrad had a problem with niggers. His inordinate love of that word itself should be of interest to psychoanalysts. Sometimes his fixation on blackness is equally interesting as when he gives us this brief description [of a black person]: A black figure stood up, strong long black legs, waving long black arms†¦ as though we might expect them to†¦ wave white arms! † (Achebe, 1961) In this short except, it is noticeable how Achebe associates Conrad’s conduplicatio of ‘black’ as sinister, and potentially in itself, a form of linguistic imperialism – in this, it is the fact that the word black (and nigger) has previously been held to have negative connotations or was created for a negative purpose, but both create a â€Å"‘reputation of the black man†¦ at a particularly low level† (Achebe, 1961). Achebe also goes on to say that these psychoanalysts who have already written at length about Conrad fail to recognise his attitude to black people, even in discussion over anti-Semitic values, â€Å"which only leads one to surmise that Western psychoanalysts must regard the kind of racism displayed by Conrad as absolutely normal† (Achebe, 1961) and that this same book of â€Å"vulgar fashion prejudices insults from which a section of mankind has suffered untold agonies† (Achebe, 1961) has been â€Å"described by a serious scholar as ‘among the half dozen greatest short novels in the English language† (Achebe, 1961). From this, the audience of this essay can understand that Achebe, in as short a summary as possible, suggests that one of the most famous – or in this case infamous – novellas to be written on the subject of Africa by a European stranger epitomises how the English language has been used as Thiong’o’s subjugation of the soul – even if Conrad’s intentions in writing it were not consciously racist, in trying to purvey a certain message he colonised the African peoples by associating them with pejoratives and otherwise negative descriptors. Friel and Achebe are both influential authors for similar reasons; they attack subversive, modern perceptions of ‘lost’ worlds that have in recent years movements like African National Congress in South Africa and the IRA in Ireland sought to revert nation-states to their ‘natural’, pre-colonial state. In this, they have both similar and not so similar approaches to literature, and have incorporated techniques to manipulate ideas incorporated in their book. For example, both authors make use of particular styles of writing to mimic the native language whilst writing in the colonial language (i.  e. English). In Friel’s case, this is Hiberno-English, which is a form of Irish that retains its Gaelic lexical structure whilst being spoken in English, for instance, when Doalty says to Manus â€Å"Hi, Manus, there’s two bucks down the road there asking for you† (Translations, p. 46) – in strict grammatical terms, Doalty’s syntax does not make sense in proper English, demonstrating inherent intimacy and deitis. Friel is applying the idea of Continual Presence of Gaelic to the English language. This application is also a theatrical device – or conceit – whereby Hugh is usually portrayed with an English accent, as he does not use Hiberno-English. Similarly, Achebe put simply, â€Å"both in vocabulary and sentence structure, he opts for the straightforward instead of the obtuse† (Easthope, 1988) and in doing so imitates traditional Ibo storytelling. Another literary device used by Friel and Achebe in their respective texts is their use of symbolism. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses locusts to symbolise the invading colonialists: â€Å"And then the locusts came†¦ the elders said locusts came once in a generation, reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. They went back to their caves in a distant land, where they were guarded by a race of stunted men. † (Things Fall Apart, p. 51) The above quote inferences that the locusts are the colonialists, by Achebe carefully alluding to the ‘race of stunted men’ that lives in a ‘distant land’. Achebe goes on: â€Å"Then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world†¦ At first, a fairly small swarm came. They were harbingers sent to survey the land. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia. † (Things Fall Apart, p. 52) In this, Achebe’s symbolism is clear – those like Mr. Brown and initial missionaries were assigned only to convert those ‘African savages’ into morally correct Christians, and to some extent allowed their cultures to live as congruently as possible. It is only with the materialisation of the District Commissioner who declares the Ibo people to be â€Å"in the dominion of our queen, the most powerful ruler in the world† that this comes to a head. Achebe foreshadows the ‘jumping ship’ of characters like Nwoye, by referencing the consumption of the locusts – such members of the community have consumed the colonialist culture, in all its forms, including language. Unlike Achebe’s extended metaphor of the locusts, Friel uses a passing, but nonetheless poignant, subtle symbolic reference to the potato famine. Bridget proclaims â€Å"†They say that’s the way it snakes in, don’t they? First they smell; and then one morning the stalks are all black and limp† (Translations, p. 18) with Maire exclaiming: â€Å"Sweet smell! Sweet smell! Every year at this time somebody comes back with stories of the sweet smell. Sweet God, did the potatoes ever fail in Baile Beag?†¦ There was never a blight here†¦ but we’re all sniffing about for†¦ a disaster. † (Translations, p. 18) This is symbolic of the rotting Irish culture, and failing language as contextually the potato was the staple foodstuff. The potato famine was not only symbolic, but also highly ironic – when Maire says â€Å"did the potatoes ever fail in Baile Beag? † the audience knows fully well that they would. This device, more specifically referred to as ‘dramatic irony’, is used often by Friel in Translations, and serves to foreshadow eventual destruction too. Another use of it is Hugh’s recital of The Aeneid: â€Å"†¦ Such was – such was the course – such was the course ordained – ordained by fate †¦ What the hell’s wrong with me? Sure I know it back ways, I’ll begin again. Urbs antiqua fuit†¦ † (Translations, pp. 90-91) This is doubly ironic, as on the one hand, Hugh cannot seem to fully remember it – Latin and Greek are often referenced throughout the play by Jimmy Jack and Hugh, both of them themselves being dead languages and cultures. Perhaps in further reference to After Babel by George Steiner, the fact that Hugh cannot remember it is a reflection of Gaelic – even intelligent scholars like him will eventually lose a tongue they have worked so hard to protect. A further projection of irony in Hugh’s recital is the content of Virgil’s The Aeneid. The Aeneid is a parallel between the destruction of Carthage, a city on the North African coast, by the Romans and the destruction of Baile Beag by the English. What is highly ironic about The Aeneid, and almost makes this piece of dramatic irony self-parodying, is that The Aeneid was written in the language of those that destroyed Carthage (the Romans). Again, irony is quite prevalent in Things Fall Apart with the most pertinent example falling, like Translations, at the end of the novel. This is the District Commissioner’s reaction to Okonkwo’s suicide: â€Å"Everyday brought him new material. The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading. One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate. † (Things Fall Apart, p. 197) This is ironic because after the lengthy and tumultuous tale of Okonkwo and his struggles to not be like his father, the complex hierarchy of elders and the intricacy of Okonkwo and his struggles to not be like his father, the complex hierarchy of elders and the intricacy of their traditions and religion, the District Commissioner feels it can only ‘almost’ be written about in one chapter, and designates to only a paragraph. This is highly representative of the failure of the white man to ‘translate’ the Ibo culture and ability into being a highly complex culture, and instead treats the colonisation of the Ibo people as â€Å"The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger† (Things Fall Apart, p. 197). In conclusion, both Achebe and Friel carefully construct stories using literary devices that serve to recreate their personal heritage of a realistic and pitiful community who fall victim to unrepentant imperialism. In this, they have been able to repudiate colonial superiority in particular in regards to language and colonial ideas of ‘progression’. Whilst both portray three dimensional characters in that they are atomistic – for example, in Translations, Hugh’s view of the English is different to Owen’s which is in turn separate from Manus’s – and provides a highly explorative analysis of linguistic imperialism and its effect on individuals and the community. To summarise, all of the text referred to in this essay, in their own ways, are deeply critical of the effects of linguistic imperialism, particularly in the context of colonialism and so-called ‘progression’.

Comparative governance PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Interview with an immigrant 4 pages single spaced Essay

Interview with an immigrant 4 pages single spaced - Essay Example Nabeeb: Learning English was really hard, especially considering that I had spoken a different language for 20 years. In Tanzania, I was accustomed to speaking the national language which is Kiswahili, in addition to my local Chagga dialect. It is very rare to find people speaking in English in Tanzania, and in fact, most people perceive English as a foreign language. Considering that I spoke very little English by the time I came to the United States, the language barrier was so much of an issue that most of the time, I did not make sense in my broken English, and people would laugh at me. Interviewer: It must have been really hard to get laughed at. How did you handle it? Nabeeb: At first, it was so humiliating. Imagine having kids as young as 6 years old laughing at you because they speak better English than you. It became so bad that I opted not to talk to people and this made me very lonely and homesick. Interviewer: So how did you overcome the language barrier issue and speakin g of home sickness, how bad was it? Nabeeb: After secluding myself for around two months, I realized that life would not get any easier if I did not take up the responsibility of fighting of the language barrier problem. I, therefore, enrolled at a local grammar school where I took up English lessons, started interacting with people and actually urged them to correct me whenever I spoke bad English. But I must say that for an immigrant, having to distinguish between formal English and American slang is an uphill task. The homesickness? No words can fully describe what it feels like to be in an alien land, away from friends and family, and forced to adapt to new life. I would get so home sick that I would spend my free time trying to find other Tanzanians who help me manage the homesickness. Communicating with my family back in Tanzania via telephone also helped ease the homesickness. However, the international calls were very expensive at the time for a student, meaning that communi cation was very rare. Interviewer: Apart from the language barrier and homesickness, what other challenges have you faced as an immigrant in the United States? Nabeeb: Once I set foot in the United States, everything was totally different. It is like waking up to a new world; the weather, the food, the modes of dressing, the accents, and more so the system of education, all gave me a culture shock. In class especially, I found the teaching methods so strange that I used to be the quietest student in class. I could not dare ask questions or even answer them. It really took me time to get adjusted to the American classroom. In addition, there are too many laws controlling the lives of immigrants that one almost feels suffocated. Obtaining a driving license, getting a work permit, travelling out of the country, getting social security, among many other regulations almost make one feel like a suspect. I must also add that it took me quite a while to get used to eating burgers and pizzas . I used to crave for Tanzanian food so much that I would try the recipes only to end up disappointed because the ingredients I found here are not the same as those used in Tanzania. Anyway, after months of complaining, I finally adjusted and I got used to the food here. Interviewer: But the experiences could not have been all bad. Is there anything positive about being an immigrant in the United States? Nabeeb: Everyone wants to live the American dream. That is what I came chasing for and that is the best decision I ever

Identity in Trying to Find Chinatown and Death of a Salesman Essay

Identity in Trying to Find Chinatown and Death of a Salesman - Essay Example Reflecting about his desperate situation, his wife Linda informs: â€Å"Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him† (Miller). His material failure as salesman has a negative impact on his own life but also on his relationship with his family. However, instead of confronting his problems and trying to resolve them, he gets angry at his family and denies the love they have for him. Talking about his son Biff, he claims: â€Å"How can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life? A farmhand? In the beginning, when he was young, I thought, well, a young man, it’s good for him to tramp around, take a lot of different jobs. But it’s more than ten years now and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week!† (Miller) This lack of satisfaction about his son reflects his own insecurities he attempts to cover up. Des pite their similarities in treating identity issues, the two plays use different approaches. Indeed, Hwang’s play foregrounds the importance of family ties and the recognition of roots. Even though his is white, Benjamin values the Asian background of his adopted parents and proudly claims his ethnicity. His presence in New York in an attempt to pay homage to his deceased father at latter’s birth place reflects his deep understanding of family values and gratefulness to his adopted parents. He reflects: â€Å"And when I finally saw the number 13, I nearly wept at my good fortune. An old tenement, paint peeling, inside walls no doubt thick with a century of grease and broken dreams—and yet, to me, a temple—the house where my father was born†(Hwang). This pilgrimage... Identity in â€Å"Trying to Find Chinatown† and â€Å"Death of a Salesman† David Henry Hwang’s play raises a crucial issue of identity that stems from the different perspective that his two protagonists have about what it means to be Asian American. Indeed, Benjamin and Ronnie’s arguments about identity pose the problem about culture and ethnicity. When Ronnie questions Benjamin’s Asian roots he only takes into consideration his racial identity as a white man but ignores his ethnic background as the adopted child of Asian parents: â€Å"I don’t know what kind of bullshit ethnic studies program they’re running over in Wisconsin, but did they teach you that in order to find your Asian ‘roots,’ it’s good idea first to be Asian? (Hwang) Ronnie denies Benjamin’s Asian roots based on the color of his skin and does not take into consideration his parents’ ethnic background. This denial hurts Benjamin who deeply feels Asian and faces rejection because of his physical traits. He complains: â€Å" I forget that a society wedded to racial constructs constantly forces me to explain my very existence† (Hwang). This painful observation expresses the plight Benjamin has to undergo in a society that judges people according to their racial identity. Even though both authors portray the same issue, they employ different approaches that foreground the conflict between culture and ethnicity but also the lack of self-realization. The setting of the plays participates in providing more understanding and identifying the tragic and comic heroes.

Interactive Behaviour at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Interactive Behaviour at Work - Essay Example Poor communication in the organisation, lack of family-friendly policies, distressed interpersonal relationships, conflicting job expectations and career concerns are the issues that only add up to the degenerating spirit of the sales staff. The above listed internal issues of this organisation are becoming the root cause of declining revenue, which is one of the main corporate goals of this or any business. The sales staff is given sales targets that are unrealistically high, and the policies are such that upon failure to achieve these targets, the respective employee's job will be terminated. With such policies, employees are unable to work diligently and up to their optimum calibre. Instead, the staff is continuously on the outlook for other job opportunities, which steals their attention from their work even more. The dilemma of the situation is that the employees do not feel comfortable having a discussion with their management regarding such chronic work issues. High employee turnover results in a haphazard sort of scenario in the workplace. New employees that are recruited in place of the departing people are not properly oriented or introduced to the existing staff. There is no team building in result of such ma lpractice and work uncertainty and job insecurity is on the rise. The department of sales in any organisation has to have dynamic and outgoing human resources in order to function properly. For such a situation to exist, the managers and superiors of the department must adopt such strategies and policies that a free flow of communication be inherent. This flow of communication should be both upward and downward so that the right decisions are taken at the right time. The essence of such a system is in the involvement of employees in the work scheduling and goal setting process. In any organisation, the main corporate goal is achieved by setting and accomplishing middle and lower level goals and targets. These middle and lower level goals are achieved after proper planning, organising and controlling. If the goal itself is not set with the right vision, tasks are not organised in the proper well-chalked out manner, resources are not deployed in the most productive and effective way, then there is no way that the organisation will achieve its mission fruitfully. Such a mismanaged situation persists in the sales department of Business Plus TV channel. The goal setting process in any department of any organisation is a sensitive procedure requiring high level of expert and knowledgeable input. The department under study is engaged in the setting of targets that are neither smart nor realistic. These targets are overly demanding and instead of boosting efforts on the employees' end, these are putting unreasonable pressure on the staff. Besides, the designing of the task is such that the workers are over burdened with high levels of time pressures. Inflexible work schedules unpredictable and long hours are the results of the unorganised task design. The horror of losing jobs in case of failure to achieve the assigned targets are aggravating the pressure and strain amongst employees. The staff is dissatisfied and insecure with little hope of career development. The over all culture of the workplace is confined sort with poor communication, low level of support for problem solving and personal development and lack of definition of orga nisational objectives. This organisation faces the unsound and

Business and Financial Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business and Financial Environment - Essay Example As the company includes more and more debt to its capital structure the rate of Return required by the company increases. WACC which comprises of weighted average of cost of Debt and cost of Equity increases as the firm is exposed to more and more debt. The increase in debt increases the risk of the company and as the debt to equity ratio in a capital structure of the firm increases the Return on Equity required by the firm increases which increases the WACC for the firm. This will also increase the amount of earnings required by the firm to keep its value to its previous position. This risk inherent for an organization due to its operations is called business risk. It is the risk of a firm when it uses no debt. Technically or in terms of formulation it is the uncertainty in the future returns on assets of a firm (ROA). We can write ROA as: This gives us a way to measure the business risk of an un-levered firm i.e. measuring deviations in the ROE of that firm. Such a business risk is called firm's Basic Business Risk. "Business risk is the uncertainty associated with operating cash flows of a business. There are different dimensions of business risk, namely sales risk and operating risk (mtholyoke, 2007)". Variations in business risk not only depend on the type of industry a firm is operating in but also varies within the industry from firm to firm. Business risk's dependence is influenced by six common factors. a) Demand Variability the more the variations in demand of a firm's product, the more will be its business risk b) Sales Price Variability firms which operate in a market where prices are stable faces low business risk as compared to the firms which operate in a highly volatile market. c) Input Cost Variability the firms who are weak on the supply side and have high variability in input costs are exposed to high risk d) Adaptability of output prices with changes in input prices the firms which are in command to change their output prices with changes in input prices are less exposed to business risk. e) Ability to develop new products in a timely, cost effective manner the more the industry requires introduction of new products in market, the more the firm will be exposed to business risk f) Degree of operating leverage the high the degree of operating leverage the firm is operating at, the more will be its business risk Operating Leverage the firms which have high degree of operation leverage i.e. a major portion of their operations depends upon fixed cost leaves their firms more exposed to business risk. That means a decline in sales will not decline the cost since major portion of cost is fixed therefore even a smaller decline in sales

Cross Culture Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cross Culture Management - Essay Example Initially as a student I tried co-operating with my fellows so as to achieve mutual goals but the approach of collectivism started to negatively impact my progress since I wasn’t recognized as an individual with higher self esteem and confidence. In order to adjust into the new environment I started focusing only on myself but then I recognized another cultural issue i.e. the different nature of social relationships. In China people prefer to have hierarchies while maintaining their assigned positions in a formal manner. On the other hand Americans have egalitarian approach towards social relations which are comparatively informal in nature. Moreover, least value is given to the social standards in America which is actually beneficial for the social development but this cultural aspect is difficult to adopt by the Chinese. Hence at first it was very hard for me to move with people who were having lower social status than me. Friendship plays a very important role when it comes to education and career development. Chinese usually have few lifetime friends with greater sense of obligation towards one another but Americans emphasize on maintaining a large circle of friends who change over the time and do not have long time mutual obligations. This is further related to the idea of avoiding interdependence as Americans have an individualistic approach towards life. Being Chinese I did not know this fact before and for that reason I tried to have reciprocal obligations with my friends in USA. This actually caused me much trouble as I always had too many expectations from my immediate acquaintances. Furthermore, Americans give preference to the accomplishment of tasks over the relationships whereas Chinese are considerably relationship oriented. For instance, if I have an argument with my friend while working on a project then in order to complete work he would rather join another group or submit an individua l project without giving importance to our

Intercultural Communication in Workplace Case Study

Intercultural Communication in Workplace - Case Study Example Morgan. He seemed to be in a jovial mood. Immediately Mrs. Morgan followed him to his office. Mrs. Morgan didn't understand why Mr. Ablerto could have called her this early to his office. Although she did not understand why she was called she remembered that there were some sales document that were supposed to be signed by the general manager and passed to the production department as the deliveries were expected to be made by that afternoon. But when she reached the office she found it in a total mess as it had not been clean and she thought she had been called to put it in order. As she was collecting the papers on the floor she remembered about the sales documents. First when Mr. Alberto waved his hand, he did not intend to call Mrs. Morgan but it was a form of greeting. Mr. Alberto happens to be an Italian while Mrs. Morgan was an American. Apparently in the Italian culture, their form of waving is the same as telling someone to come while waving in the sense that they move their fingers up and down while waving. In the American culture this is same as calling someone. So when Mr. Alberto waved at Mrs. Morgan he was greeting her but not calling her. But this was misinterpreted by Mrs. Morgan who followed him to the office. Not knowing why she was called, Mrs. Morgan immediately went and started collecting some papers which were scattered in the office. She apparently judged that the only reason why Mr. Ablerto would have called her was that his office had not been cleaned and perhaps wanted her to keep it in order. So she apparently set out collecting the paper that had been scattered on the floor. She decided to ask about the status of the documents that were to be signed. According to the answer that she was given by Mr. Ablerto she interpreted it for yes though Mr. Alberto meant no in his Italian language. Apparently he appeared very busy and did not pay attention to the details of the conversation. Mrs. Morgan left the office satisfied that the documents had been signed and she relaxed in her office waiting to collect and deliver the orders. These two issues as presented in the conversation are actually some of the cultural issues that acted as a barrier to communication. First Mrs. Morgan didn't understand that Mr. Alberto was waving at her to greet her and was not calling her. This was a misinterpretation of the meaning of the non verbal expression. The difference in the interpretation here was affected by the cultural interpretation of the meaning of the gesture between the Italian and American cultures. This created as barrier in

Overactive bladder Essay Example for Free

Overactive bladder Essay Overactive bladder is a condition, especially observed in older adults and is associated with a sudden and uncontrollable need to pass urine (urinary urgency), urge incontinence (leakage of urine before the woman has a chance to reach the toilet) and increased frequency of micturition (Rovner, Walls, 2007). An overactive bladder is a condition that results from sudden, involuntary contraction of the muscles in the wall of the urinary bladder. Another type of urinary continence is known as stress incontinence which is associated with involuntary loss of urine when the woman gets involved in activities, like coughing, sneezing, laughing etc, which cause only a slight increase in intra-abdominal pressure. Vaginal childbirth is often cited as a big risk factor for development of problems related to urinary incontinence by causing weakening of the pelvic tissues and structures around the urethra which can prevent it from holding back urine even when a mild physical activity causes slightest increase in intra-abdominal pressure. Vaginal childbirth can also causes weakness of various tissues and ligaments supporting the uterus, resulting in prolapse of uterus out of vaginal opening. All these problems associated with the weakness of pelvic floor structures may cause significant social, psychological, occupational, domestic, physical, and sexual problems for the woman. Thus overactive bladder can be considered as an important problem which can significantly influence the health related quality of life of affected women. In this essay, a comparison would be done between what the public reads about the problem of overactive bladder in the written media, and the way medical community supports or refutes the information that has been presented by the media. This would be done by presenting the summary and main points of the two articles, one after the other, followed by the comparison of two articles. The article by Sheehan (2008) titled, â€Å"Your most embarrassing ‘female’ problem solved† describes the symptoms of the various pelvic-floor disorders including bladder incontinence, (both stress incontinence and urge incontinence) and uterine prolapse. The article describes the problem in simple language, which even a layperson can understand. It helps in alleviating fears out of the mind of lay person by explaining that these disorders occur commonly, affecting almost one in every three women under the age of 54 years. One of the main reasons for development of stress incontinence is the weakening of the tissues and structures around the urethra, which can prevent it from holding back urine whenever there is even the slightest increase in intra-abdominal pressure related to minor degree physical activities like coughing, laughing etc as well as with more-energetic activities like sexual intercourse or exercise. Pelvic-organ prolapse, can be defined as protrusion of the pelvic organs through the vaginal opening. Though the main risk factor associated with weakening of pelvic floor tissues is vaginal delivery particularly that associated with a large baby, prolonged labor and the use of forceps or vacuum extraction, other risk factors which can contribute to the risk of development of pelvic tissue weakness include obesity, hysterectomy, estrogen deficiency (e. g. menopause), constipation etc. Uterine prolapse can result in significant distress to the women by causing pelvic and back discomfort, increased frequency of urinary tract infections, and problems related to emptying the bladder or bowel. Besides explaining the symptoms and pathophysiology related to the development of various pelvic floor disorders, this article also highlights various treatment options for these disorders. Kegel exercises or the exercise which aim at strengthening the muscles of pelvic floor by regularly squeezing-and-holding the pelvic floor muscles can especially prove to be helpful both for problems related to incontinence and uterine prolapse. For overactive bladder, kegel exercises can prove to be really helpful if combined with behavior modification strategies. Behavior modification aims at re-training the bladder by helping the patient schedule her bathroom trips, helping her resist the urge to urinate between trips, thereby gradually increasing the intervals between trips. Prescription medicines like Detrol (tolterodine) and Ditropan (oxybutynin) can help by reducing the activity of hyperactive tissues. For overactive bladder use of botox injection, though yet not approved by the FDA, is also being commonly used. It is thought to provide relief from overactive bladder by paralyzing the overactive bladder muscles. Stress incontinence symptoms can also be relieved through the use of a small diaphragm like device known as pessary, which is placed inside the vagina in order to support the uterus and other pelvic structures. Surgical procedures involving the use of a synthethic mesh or sling to support the utrethra also help in providing relief. Though the vaginal delivery is more likely to be associated with development of incontinence and prolapse, having a caesarean section may not necessarily prevent their development. Besides, caesarean sections are associated with their own share of complications including bleeding, scarring, prolonged recovery, risk of development of infections etc. Summary of Professional Article (Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners) This review article by Bradway et al (2008) titled, â€Å"Lower urinary tract symptoms in women—A common but neglected problem† is a review article which focuses primarily towards providing the nurse practitioners (NPs) an understanding of female lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). This article also highlights the present evidence regarding the prevalence, epidemiology, risk factors, symptoms, impact of these symptoms on the patient’s quality of life, diagnosis and treatment, and treatment barriers for LUTS in women. Though these symptoms are commonly present, they are often overlooked, and may not be adequately addressed in many women. This article emphasizes the fact that LUTS forms a global women’s health problem, which requires a stronger a nursing focus in order to fully understand its impact on the quality of woman’s life. The nursing staff also needs to understand the likely barriers which might prevent them from giving adequate care to these individuals and to develop strategies for acceptable and effective evidence-based management. The article divides LUTS into seven categories, with the three main ones being related to storage, voiding, and postmicturition symptoms. Storage symptoms, which are related to bladder filling, include increased urinary frequency, urgency, nocturia, and urinary incontinence (UI). UI has been further subdivided into urge urinary incontinence (UUI), stress urinary incontinence (SUI), and mixed urinary incontinence (MUI). This article has described overactive bladder (OAB) as a syndrome complex associated with LUTS mainly in relation to the storage symptoms, including urinary urgency, with or without UUI, along with increased frequency and nocturia. Voiding symptoms include slow stream, hesitancy, straining, and terminal dribbling etc. This article presents good evidence emphasizing how LUTS (and specifically OAB) can cause considerable emotional distress, have a negative impact on health related quality of life (HRQL), and can interfere with daily activities. Women with overactive bladder often restrict their physical and social activities, due to the fear of embarrassment in public, leading to social isolation and depression. LUTS can also profoundly affect the woman’s sexual behavior and her sexual quality of life. Treatment strategies for LUTS and OAB include a combination of patient education; pelvic floor muscle training exercises (Kegel’s exercises); behavior modification (management of fluid intake, controlling the frequency of micturition etc); and pharmacotherapy with antimuscarinic agents (e. . , oxybutynin, tolterodine, trospium, darifenacin, solifenacin, etc). Refractory cases may require surgery. The article highlights the importance of developing an awareness regarding the high prevalence of LUTS for the nursing professionals in clinical practice. Nurses also need to be aware that a large percentage of patients may not seek treatment, due to occurrence of embarrassing symptoms which may prevent them from discussing the problem with their health care provider. The nursing staff needs to develop an empathetic attitude towards these individuals and discuss the various available therapeutic options with them. Comparison of the two articles The two articles are basically same in the sense they both describe the same problem i. e. symptoms related to lower urinary tract dysfunction resulting from the weakness of the muscles of the pelvic floor. The main problems described in both the articles include urge incontinence, stress incontinence and uterine prolapse. However the two articles differ from each other based on the target audience they are meant to cater to. The article by Bradway et al (2008) is meant for the medical health professionals, especially the nursing staff. On the other hand, the article by Sheehan (2008) is meant for layperson, or a person who has no medical knowledge. This is the kind of article which may appear in woman’s magazine. It aims at making the layperson understand the problems commonly encountered in women, resulting from weakness of pelvic floor muscles. Though this article also describes more or less same things as the article by Bradway et al (2008), the terminology used by Bradway et al is more difficult and is meant for a person who already has knowledge regarding this topic. The article by Sheehan (2008) highlights simple changes in lifestyle which the woman can make on her in order to prevent the occurrence of this problem. For e. g. according to Sheehan (2008), â€Å"Dietary changes are also helpful: Eat more fiber to normalize the stool and avoid caffeine, carbonated beverages, dairy, spicy foods, and acidic fruit (like oranges and pineapples), which can irritate the bladder. On the other hand the article by Bradford et al (2008) highlights the interventions required on part of the nursing staff to prevent the occurrence of the disorders related to weakness of pelvic floor. According to Bradford et al (2008), â€Å"In terms of clinical practice, and given the large percentage of patients who do not seek treatment, increased attention is warranted as to the obstacles that prevent patients and healthcare providers from discussing the problem†. Though the information provided by Bradford is well supported by good evidence, the article by Sheehan (2008) gives generalized information not supported with high quality research studies. Even though the names of few renowned gynecologists and physicians have been included, the exact sources from where these references were taken have not been mentioned. If a person wants to go into further details of the subject he/she can readily do it with the help of article by Bradford et al (2008) but not with the help of article by Sheehan (2008)

The hippocratic oath

The hippocratic oath This is the scenario: You are terminally ill, all medical treatments acceptable to you have been exhausted, and the suffering in its different forms is unbearable. Because the illness is serious, you recognize that your life is drawing to a close. Euthanasia comes to mind as a way of release. The dilemma is awesome. But it has to be faced. Should you battle on, take the pain, endure the indignity, and await the inevitable end, which may be days, weeks, or months away? Or should you take control of the situation and resort to some form of euthanasia, which in its modern-language definition has come to mean help with a good death? (Humphry, 1) The aforementioned circumstance is one that millions of people meet in the United States each year; despite the worlds advanced medical technologies, no one has discovered cures for diseases such as cancer or AIDS. Euthanasia is when a doctor intentionally kills a person by the administration of drugs at that persons voluntary and competent reque st. Physician assisted suicide is when a doctor intentionally helps a patient to commit suicide by providing drugs for self-administration at that persons voluntary and competent request. The euthanasia of humans probably dates back to the beginning of time but the earliest mention of it can be noted in the Hippocratic Oath. The use of the Hippocratic Oath has continued since it was adopted by those in the medical profession but not all types of euthanasia are openly linked to doctors. Uses in colonial America, Europe during the Holocaust, and even most cases in modern society today do not involve direct contact by a doctor. The Hippocratic Oath was written between 400 and 300 B.C. The exact date is not known because the work is likely not that of Hippocrates; many professors and higher scholars who taught in that era took the works of their pupils and submitted them as their own. This oath is only mentioned in accordance when speaking about euthanasia because it is the first document essentially discerning the act of euthanasia. Hippocrates stated I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion. In the modern version of the Hippocratic Oath, this has been translated to I will apply dietic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice. I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I ma ke a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness, I will guard my life and my art. Around the 1970s, many medical schools in America and other countries chose to abandon the use of the Hippocratic oath as part of their ceremony for graduation so many doctors who treat patients now have no idea what the oath is comprised of. The old Hippocratic Oath is no longer suitable for modern times and is, therefore, subject to a variety of interpretations. Depending on the individual, such oaths may be perceived critical to the way in which a particular physician perceives himself or herself, or it may be seen as another rite of passage, important in form but unimportant in detail. Even, however, if it is believed to be merely a symbolic rite of passage that does not become a part of what an individual thinks he/she is, it does constitute a public avowal and a public pledge. These oaths almost invariably promise, above all, fealty to ones actual or potential patients and to work for their good regardless of religion or lack thereof, race, ethnicity, gender, party or socioeconomic considerations. It is said to be freely taken and not to have been coerced (Loewy, 1). This being said, most doctors assume that it is morally wrong to kill a patient no matter their medical history or the oath they took at the time of their completion of medical school. When confronted with the concept of human euthanasia, countless people would say that they would want their family member alleviated of pain when in the process of death, so why not provide a catalyst in the process of dying by early euthanization instead of letting them experience misery for a longer period? The main question when speaking of physician assisted suicide, or even suicide for medical reasons, is: should it be conducted? From The Arguments for Euthanasia, Past U.S. and British advocates typically adduced the same four arguments used today to justify euthanasia: 1) It is a human right born of self-determination; 2) it would produce more good than harm, mainly through pain relief; 3) there is no substantive distinction between active euthanasia and the withdrawal of the life-sustaining medical interventions; and 4) its legalization would not produce deleterious consequence. As Eugene Debs and Dr. Millard claimed in 1913 and 1931, respectively, patients have a right to con trol the manner of their death and, more specifically, terminally ill patients have the right to a quick and painless death with physicians help (Emanuel, 3). Overall, Eugene Debs and Dr. Millard were correct in their beliefs at the time but as the world has become industrialized, so have the reasons developed for which euthanasia should be legalized. As stated before, the natural extension of patient rights and alleviation of suffering of terminally ill patients are key points; however, now we can see reasons such as minimization of health care costs when it does not aid in the betterment of the patient. Emanuel brings up another great factor in his Arguments for Euthanasia passage when he mentions a passage from A. Bach-Medico-Legal Congress, There are also cases in which the ending of human life by physicians is not only morally right, but an act of humanity. I refer to cases of absolutely incurable, fatal and agonizing disease or condition, where death is certain and necessarily attended by excruciating pain, when it is the wish of the victim that a deadly drug should be administered to end his life and terminate his irremediable suffering (Emanuel, 3). Many people have written letters and provided in depth stories as to why they think suicide by the terminally ill is justified. Before Carol Bernstein Ferry took her own life in 2001, she wrote a letter explaining her decision in the hopes that it would contribute to an understanding of euthanasia. That is why I am writing this letter, explaining why I choose to take active steps to end my life rather than waiting for death to come gradually. With his letter I also want to make it clear that, although I have the support and tacit agreement of my children and close friends, no one but myself will take the steps that cause death. If is unfortunate that I must say this; our laws are at a destructive point just now, so if anyone other than myself actually causes my death, that person will be liable to convictio n as a felon. What an absurdity! To help someone facing a time-whether short or long-of pain and distress, whose death coming bit by bit can cause major sorrow and anxiety to family and friends, not to mention the medical help, quite useless, that must be expended in order to maintain a bearable level of pain-that this sensible deed can be construed a crime is a blot on tour legal system and on our power of thought (Ferry, 8). Many in government either feel very negatively towards Ferrys attitude or are afraid to express their true feelings on the subject as the opposite spectrum of the euthanasia debate-negatives of legalization-is broached. Any of the types of physician assisted suicide, whether it be direct (as in the doctor being present) or indirect (as in the doctor prescribing enough medication to overdose) can be construed as homicide, although it would technically be hard to tell in the case of indirect assistance since many of the amounts of medicine that terminally ill pa tients take can cause an overdose simply by accident. Much weight is placed on the Hippocratic injunction to do no harm. It has been asserted that sanctioning physician-assisted suicide would give doctors as license to kill, and physicians who accede to such requests have been branded by some as murderers. This is both illogical and inflammatory. Withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment-for example, disconnecting a ventilator at a patients request-is accepted by society, yet this requires a more definitive act by a physician than prescribing a medication that a patient has requested and is free to take or not, as he or she sees fit. Why should the latter be perceived as doing harm when the former is not (Rogatz, 31)? When articulating on the subject of euthanasia, most people present the fact that advanced medical technology has made it possible to increase human life span and treat patients in pain as in The Ethics of Euthanasia, It is argued that requests for assisted suicide come largely from patients who havent received adequate pain control or who are clinically depressed and havent been properly diagnosed or treated. There is no question that proper management of such conditions would significantly reduce the number of patients who consider suicide.However, treatable pain is not the only reason, or even the most common reason, why patients seek to end their lives. Severe body wasting, intractable vomiting, urinary and bowel incontinence, immobility, and total dependence are recognized as more important than pain in the desire for hastened death (Rogatz, 31). This stated, the more dependent people become upon their family or people employed to care for them, the more they know that their lives are ready to be over. At this point in time, many people who wish to die can simply have themselves removed from whatever machines may be extending their lives though this rarely leads to an immediate death and causes numerous patients to suffer if doctors will not p rescribe medication for pain treatment. It is argued that requests for assisted suicide are not frequent enough to warrant changing the law. Interestingly, some physicians say they have rarely, if ever, received such requests, while others say they have often received requests. This is a curious discrepancy, but I think it can be explained: the patient who seeks help with suicide will cautiously test a physicians receptivity to the idea and simply wont approach a physician who is unreceptive. Thus, there are two subsets of physicians in this situation: those who are open to the idea of assisted suicide and those who arent (Rogatz, 31). This seems to be a trend among authors who loom along the offenses of being protagonists in the line of PAS because Humphry and Clement also mention the decline of the doctor-patient relationship early in their book. Societal changes and discretionary abuses within the medical community have led to a distrust of the medical profession and a decline in the doctor-patient relationship. This deterioration of confidence is yet another force of activism that has propelled PAS to its current mainstream status. The elements of trust that existed before World War II were strong enough to legitimize a paternalistic attitude on the part of the doctor. But when trust diminished, so did the publics willingness to accept the doctors authority. Patient autonomy, spurred on by the rights culture of the 1960, increased, and with it came further acceptance of the right-to-die movementOpinion surveys have, over the years, inquired into the degree of confidence that Americans have in various institutions including congress, the press, universities, and the medical profession. The declines have been dramatic and nowhere more pronounced than in medicine. Looking at confidence in medicine from 1966-1994, the numbers speak for themselves: seventy-three percent (1966), forty-three percent (1975), thirty-five percent (1985), and twenty-three percent (19 94) (Clement, 35). Granted the studies are quite a bit dated, this was the most up-to-date information when the book was published, and is still the most correctly represented data used today. It is often argued that once we open the door physician-assisted suicide, we will find ourselves on a slippery slope

Citizen Kane: Exposing the Truth about William Randolph Hearst Essay

Citizen Kane: Exposing the Truth about William Randolph Hearst Many have called Citizen Kane the greatest cinematic achievement of all time. It is indeed a true masterpiece of acting, screen writing, and directing. Orson Welles, its young genius director, lead actor, and a co-writer, used the best talents and techniques of the day (Bordwell 103) to tell the story of a newspaper giant, Charles Kane, through the eyes of the people who loved and hated him. However, when it came out, it was scorned by Hollywood and viewed only in the private theaters of RKO, the producer. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, it was practically booed off the stage, and only won one award, that for Best Screenplay, which Welles and Herman Mankiewicz shared (Mulvey 10). This was all due to the pressure applied by the greatest newspaper man of the time, one of the most powerful men in the nation, the man Citizen Kane portrayed as a corrupt power monger, namely William Randolph Hearst. One cannot ignore the striking similarities between Hearst and Kane. In order to make clear at the outset exactly what he intended to do, Orson Welles included a few details about the young Kane that, given even a rudimentary knowledge of Hearst's life, would have set one thinking about the life of that newspaper giant. Shortly after the film opens, a reporter is seen trying to discover the meaning of Kane's last word, "Rosebud." He begins his search by going through the records of Kane's boyhood guardian, Thatcher. The scene comes to life in midwinter at the Kane boarding house. Kane's mother has come into one of the richest gold mines in the world through a defaulting boarder, and at age twenty-five, Kane will inherit his sixty million dollars (Citizen Kane)... ...r himself by abusing the most potent weapon and shield of his day, the free press. "If I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man." (Orson Welles, Citizen Kane) Bibliography 1)Bordwell, David. "Citizen Kane," Focus on Orson Welles. Prentice-Hall,1976. 2)Cowie, Peter. The Cinema of Orson Welles. De Capo Press, 1973. 3)Citizen Kane. dir. Orson Welles. With Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore. RKO, 1941. 4)Mulvey, Laura. Citizen Kane. BFI, 1992. 5)Reflections on Citizen Kane. dir. Unknown. Turner Home Entertainment,1991. 6)Robinson, Judith. The Hearsts: an American Dynasty. Avon Books, 1991. 7)Swanberg, W.A. Citizen Hearst. Scribner, 1961. Bantam Matrix Edition, 1967. 8)Zinman, David. Fifty Classic Motion Pictures: The Stuff that Dreams are Made Of. NY Crown Publishers, 1970. NY Limelight Editions, 1992.

What Is the Harlem Renaissance, and What Effects Did It Have On Society

What is the Harlem Renaissance, and what effects did it have on society? "Harlem was like a great magnet for the Negro intellectual, pulling him from everywhere. Or perhaps the magnet was New York, but once in New York, he had to live in Harlem"(Hughes, The Big Sea 1940). When one is describing a â€Å"fresh and brilliant portrait of African American art and culture in the 1920s (Rampersad 1994),† the Harlem Renaissance would be the most precise postulation. The Harlem Renaissance proved to America that African Americans also have specialized talents and should also be able to exhibit their gifts. The Harlem Renaissance also obtained the notoriety expeditiously that participants of this movement needed to modify America’s perspective of black environments. To sum up, the Harlem Renaissance â€Å"New Negro Movement† was a cultural movement that celebrated black life and culture. This movement assisted in gaining a new significance and vigorous race relation in the United States; it awakened black communities all over the world-- especi ally Harlem to utilize their gifts and talents and make the best of it. Initially, the â€Å"Harlem Renaissance derives from the fact that Harlem served as a symbolic capital of the cultural awakening-- a dynamic crucible of cultural cross-fertilization. Harlem was moderately a new black neighborhood in New York City, NY at the time and was already becoming (virtually) a black city that attracted a remarkable concentration of intellect and talent. In addition, Harlem was more â€Å"liberal† in matters of race than most American cities (although, of course, racism was rampant), New York had an extraordinarily diverse and centered black social world in which no one group could monopolize cultural authority, making it ... ...o have specialized talents and should also be able to exhibit their gifts. The Harlem Renaissance obtained the notoriety expeditiously that participants of this movement needed to modify America’s perspective of black environments. The Harlem Renaissance will have a lifelong impact on America—with a legacy that lives on forever. Works Cited Armstrong, Stephen. Student Handbook: 4: 5 Steps to a 5. New York: Southwestern Co, 2004. 1389-257. "Harlem Renaissance." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Apr. 2012 â€Å"Langston Hughes, The Big Sea, 1940† United States History: Reconstruction to the Present. Boston, Mass: Pearson / Prentice Hall, 2009. 927-354, 357, and 358. United States History: Reconstruction to the Present. Boston, Mass: Pearson / Prentice Hall, 2009. 927-354, 357, and 358.

Buried Child Essay -- essays research papers

It’s amazing what a secret can do to a person. Keeping secrets among friends can be fun, or helpful when you need to confide in someone you trust. Other secrets can do more harm than good. They can fester inside you and cause endless pain. In "Buried Child," this is the case. The family is permanently altered by their secret, which becomes a growing moral cancer to them, leaving each impotent in their own way. The play takes place on Dodge’s farm. About thirty years ago, the farm was fertile and prosperous. Dodge and Halie didn’t have a wonderful marriage, however. Things took a turn for the worse when Halie became pregnant with someone else. It is suggested that Tilden is the father. The evidence to support this includes the fact that the baby was small, and that Tilden would sing to it and take it for long walks all day, just talking to it and treating it as his own. "Tilden was the one who knew. Better than any of us. He’d walk for miles with that kid in his arms. Halie let him take it. All night sometimes." (p. 124) Dodge would not allow this abomination to grow up and live in his family, so he drowned it, and buried it in the backyard. We can guess that this is when the farm ceased to be fertile, and fell into disuse. This is a symbol of the death of honesty and the birth of the family’s terrible secret. Why exactly does everything go wrong for this family? We don’t know exactly when the problems started, but we know that Ansel died on his honeymoon, Bradley cut off his own leg in a chain saw accident and is now mentally imbalanced, Tilden is nonfunctional and has been driven out of New Mexico, Dodge is a crazy old sick guy, and Halie is doing shady things with the preacher. Vince is the only person capable of facing the world and life, but he too is corrupted by the secret at the end. The answer to the question is that their secret, the dead child, is a secret festering them from the inside out. It is unclear how long this moral degradation took, it may have taken years for all this to happen. We do know that it has left everyone impotent. Bradley is the most vivid example of this impotence. His false leg is his crutch, both figuratively and literally. With it, he has the most power of any of the people in the play. He maims and shaves Dodge with no repercussions, intimidates Tilden to the point of making him... ...t the secret out, like the only thing that was keeping him alive was protecting the secret from outside view. Shelley leaves because she is an outsider and has no part of the corruption. It is interesting to note that no one remembers Vince until he is acting as crazy as the rest of the family. He is the only one who is capable of dealing with life outside the house. It is unclear whether or not he is different because the brunt of the degradation happened to the family within the six years since his last visit, or if the act of leaving and forcing himself to live away from the secret changed him. He had no knowledge of the buried child until it was revealed, but the problems of his family members could easily have been passed on to him subconsciously by everyone else. Their actions could have had a profound effect on the way he thinks and acts. It is when Vince is accepted back into that family that Shelly realizes there is no hope for this family. They are lost. She then leaves them all to their permanent insanity. This shows that even though the secret was finally brought out into the open, it was too little too late. A terrible secret kept that long can tear a person apart.

BCOM 275 Article Rebuttal Essay

Smoking bans, specifically in public places, has been a topic of debate for several years now. This debate has been originated primarily from medical or health-related origins. Many have felt strongly against the ban of smoking in public places. Although, almost an equal amount of people support the smoking ban. This paper will acknowledge the pros to proceeding with the smoking ban to rebuttal the argument presented in the article titled, â€Å"The case against smoking bans† by Thomas A. Lambert and analyze the reliability, credibility, and validity of the data used to support his argument. According to Lambert (2012), â€Å"Government-imposed smoking bans are unwise†. â€Å"Risk based argument are insufficient because the slight risks associated with ETS cannot justify the substantial privacy intrusion occasioned by sweeping smoking bans† (p 34). The author’s support against the smoking ban is based on the fact that the statements regarding the need for the ban due to the increase of health care costs for the smoker and those effected by the second-hand smoke. Lambert supports his argument based on the findings of a comprehensive study in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1997. The study states, â€Å"†¦smoking probably has the effect of reducing overall healthcare costs because smokers die earlier than nonsmokers. The study’s authors concluded that in a population in which no one smoked, health care costs would be 7 percent higher among men and 4 percent higher among women than the costs in the current mixed population of smokers and nonsmokers† (Government-imposed smoking bans are unwise, 2012, p 36). Although, this data is credible based on its source, this information cannot wholly be deemed valid based on no stated facts to compare healthcare costs of the nonsmokers. â€Å"Logical fallacie s are errors in reasoning† (Cheesebro, T.,  O’Connor, L., & Rios, F., 2010). There are four types of common logical fallacies, which are: faulty causation, hasty generalization, either/or thinking, slippery slope and faulty comparison. The justification based on the other data is an example of a hasty generalization and faulty comparison. A hasty generalization occurs when â€Å"†¦a few examples are selected to represent the whole of the conclusion† (Cheesebro, T., O’Connor, L., & Rios, F., 2010). By committing to these generalizations, your conclusions may be incorrect because you are only acknowledging the data that will solely support your argument. The author’s argument is also a faulty comparison because he treats the unique situations the same. He strongly believes that there is no significant difference in the costs of health care in comparison to those who do not smoke. But the author fails to mention the health effects of second hand smoke and why it should be banned in public places In contrast, smoking bans in public places should be implemented because there are many studies that reveal that there is a real problem regarding exposure to second hand smoke. According to the CDC (2012), â€Å"Since 1964, 2.5 million nonsmokers have died from exposure to secondhand smoke†. That statement alone, which is evidence based, is a valid argument why smoking in public places should be banned. Non-smokers should not have to be victims caused by careless smokers who are more interested in feeding their addiction and pleasures. It is intrusion of someone’s privacy if they do not want to be exposed to secondhand smoke. Public places refers to as restaurants, parks, multiunit housing and casinos etc. For children, secondhand smoke exposure can contribute to respiratory and ear infections and higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome. For adults, it can cause lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases. With that being said, if we choose not to smoke due to the health effects and increased risk of death, why should we forced to go down with the smokers? We have a choice and it should be respected. If these health conditions can be caused by secondhand smoke alone, consider what effects smoking has on a smoker’s body. As mentioned earlier, those who do smoke die earlier. So how can the statement regarding no difference in health care costs between a smoker and non-smoker be valid? In conclusion, due to the evidence-based bad health effects of secondhand smoke, smoking in public places should be banned. There is no justification for someone who chooses to live a healthy lifestyle in order to live longer,  to have a smoker determine how long they should live or what quality of life they should have. References Cheesebro, T., O’Connor, L., & Rios, F. (2010). Communicating in the workplace. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Lambert, T. A. (2007). The case against smoking bans. Regulation, 29(4), 34-40. Retrieved on March 7, 2014 from, http://search.proquest.com/docview/210517192?accountid=458 Smoking and Tobacco. (2012). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved on March 6, 2014 from, http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/healt h_effects/index.htm

What is one conflict that Brian faces in “Brian’s Return”?

Brian finds himself in conflict with nature as he ventures alone and somewhat unprepared into the wilderness. Nature proves relentless in her attacks against him, sending torrents of rain and billowing winds that harass his dwelling and begin a series of nearly fatal mishaps. The language expresses the hostility of nature toward him, as â€Å"the wind was hissing and slashing him with water† almost as it the elements had teamed up against him (par. 34). 2.Why are the memories of Willow Creek important to Rick Bass? Support your answer with evidence from the text. (2-3 sentences) Rick Bass remembers has strong memories of Willow Creek because it was there that he was able to commune with nature and find himself at one with and yet in awe of something so much greater than himself. The immensity of nature surrounded and pressed him and made him feel the substance of his life in a way he never had before.His memories of nature cause him to realise that he belongs in the wild and n ot in civilization, as he writes that the geese â€Å"flew away with the last of [his] civility that night† (par. 14). 3. How is the power of nature an important theme in both â€Å"Brian's Return† and â€Å"On Willow Creek†? Support your answer with evidence from both selections. (3-5 sentences) Nature has overwhelmed both the characters in different ways.Brian was overwhelmed with the powerful force of the elements and the danger that is always imminent living bare and unprotected in the wild. Even what Brian brings for protection, his tent, sighs under the pressure of the natural elements (par. 20). The narrator of On Willow Creek feels the power of nature in its vastness, but finds it inspiring. It causes him to feel his tiny insignificance in comparison with nature’s power, as he writes that â€Å"all of the hill country’s creatures had helped him† understand this (par. 1).

Kantian Ethics concerning human Cloning Essay

Cloning is a procedure conceived to notion in the late 1960s, but it is only recently that it was fully understood and that scientists have started to figure out how to successfully copy the genetic composition of one organism to another. Since science already knows how to do this, the only problems and obstacles that remains is efficiency and the success ratio of each operation. The cloning process consists of taking the nucleus of an organism, and placing it, along with the DNA that contains all the genetic material, in place of the nucleus of the host egg. The egg then forms an embryo and matures into the same exact â€Å"copy†, at least genetically, as the original organism. Already done on mammals, cloning is something that can be extended to utilize humans as subjects. In the future it will be wholly possible to create human clones to serve whatever purpose they were conceived for. However, presently there are numerous ethical issues surrounding cloning and there are pro blems about the implications of the use of cloning for the purpose of medicine. This issue plagues us so much that the constant objections of bioethicists and political and religious leaders have caused the US Government to propose a ban on all research concerning human cloning until a conclusion is reached on the moral and ethical aspects of the process. (Macer, 2) In this paper, I will discuss how Kantian views and ethics help us understand whether it is morally ethical to clone for the purpose of bettering our lives. Two points have to be distinguished. How exactly will human cloning aid medicine and society, and the implications of human worth and dignity when applied to clones. Kantian ethics were proposed by Immanuel Kant in his critical writing of the â€Å"Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals†. Kant argued that â€Å"non-rational things have only a relative value as means and are consequently called things. Rational beings, on the other hand, are called persons because their nature already marks them out as ends in themselves†¦ for unless this is so, nothing at all of absolute value would be found anywhere†. (Britannica, 473) All persons are able to adjust their behavior to what they reason to be moral behavior, but in using this capacity that all humans possess, they must act upon a categorical imperative to treat all similarly situated  people equally. They must uphold to their moral maxims and make their actions universal law, extending it equally to all persons. Kant reformulates this idea and states that we should â€Å"act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same times as an end†. (Britannica, 472) This means that we should never use people as only a means, and that because all persons have intrinsic human worth they should all be considered as ends in themselves. Kant’s vision involves only persons or rational agents. If no ‘person’ or rationality is present then it can be argued that the agent is simply a thing. Something that cannot rationalize and is not conscious of its existence cannot be argued as having human worth. So it is wholly possible, through some applications of science, to create â€Å"headless† clones that are not fully developed in the forebrain and who therefore cannot rationalize or exist consciously. (Friedman, 3) If able to be kept alive after their conception in order to mature, these clones can be used for harvesting of their organs for various medical purposes. Kant would not object to these kinds of clones because his concept of rationality is respected in accordance to the categorical imperative. If only rational agents are to be used as an end, and if no rationality exists, then whatever is left can be used only as a means to further some goal with no ethical wrongdoing involved. Developing a â€Å"headless† clone involves a process that prevents rationality and consciousness from ever being formed. This can be paralleled to other procedures that involve the same block of formation of rationality, particularly any form of birth control. Not allowing the development of â€Å"headless† clones because it is immoral makes any sort of birth control thus immoral too, because they also involve the preventing of the development of consciousness and rational thought. (Friedman, 4) If this imperative were to be upheld to a moral maxim, then we would need to be consistent in our actions and ban birth control just as human cloning is banned now. However, if human clones are developed as persons (with a whole brain and  fully functioning in every aspect) then our perspectives need to be changed to take a more moral view. Is it possible to morally clone a human to become an end in themselves? Suppose the case of a childless family where the mother is unable to conceive for whatever reasons. Somatic cell cloning can provide the family with a way to obtain a child through surrogate birth. (Friedman, 2) Even though copying the genetic composition of one parent and making the child a copy of them is somewhat strange, it is understandable from the parents’ point of view. If they are unable to naturally conceive, they should still be given some sort of chance to have a child. Cloning gives the parents this chance to have a child and have a somewhat normal family as an outcome. In this case the clone is treated as an end. He will grow up to be healthy and hopefully be regarded the same as a naturally conceived child. When he grows up, the clone will not denounce his existence. If asked the question of whether he would have rather not been born, the child would most likely thank cloning for his conception. The similar can be said for a clone that is used as a means for something but eventually becoming an end in themselves. Suppose the case of a family where a serious disease plagues an existing child and that only a specific blood type or a certain type of bone marrow will save him. If no donors are available, the child’s only ticket to survival might be a clone. Using the same genetic composition, his twin can be cloned in order to save his life. If this cloned twin is afterwards discarded, because he no longer serves a purpose or if he dies during the transfusion, this would in turn be highly unethical and immoral. However, if the parents exercise the human right of the clone as a person to exist, they are acting in accordance with the categorical imperative as stated above. They are extending the moral maxim to a universal law, and are treating the clone as a person, justly. The clone then becomes not simply a means to save a child’s life but an end in themselves also . The clone’s rationality and consciousness is not jeopardized. And in the same way as above, the clone would be thankful for having saved someone with his existence and would not regret his life. The immediately foreseeable problems with cloning for the purpose of childbirth might be seen when parents want to dictate the genetic makeup of  their child. They might not only want to eradicate genes that make a person susceptible to certain diseases, but they also might want to eliminate other unfavorable genes. Genes that control a person’s susceptibility to violence or other emotional factors, or genes that control a person’s appearance, such as height, hair and eye color and physical condition. In this way, parents might be able to mold genetically superior children to their liking. This would is most probable to eliminate uniqueness and individuality. There would be no randomness or pureness of nature in humans. Everything would be similar because certain specific qualities would be more favorable and popular. Also gene superiority would label clones as of higher value and might cause discrimination based solely on one’s genetic makeup. Only through tot al anonymity would this be preventable, and this condition is impossible. This problem can be directly related to the categorical imperative so crucial to Kant and Kantian ethics. Because morality must extended to be universal, it is imperative that both the superior clones and regularly genetically endowed humans are treated with similar regard. This however would seem to not be the case; the clones would always be favored in any situation. Therefore, this treatment would be immoral, as it would be immoral to clone human persons for such purposes, which are based only on vanity of people and discrimination of less favored genes. Many ethical issues and moral aspects of human cloning must be observed to get a larger picture of its implications. Kantianism gives us a way of differentiating in which situations will cloning be ethical or, the opposite, immoral. However, Kantian ethics is pretty specific in its situations and it can’t give a much more general and broad understanding of the ethics of cloning. It doesn’t tell us what to do, it only tells us whether something is moral or not. Kantianism is not a guide of morals but it is a very good understanding of them. Bibliography Friedman, Dan. â€Å"Cloning† Macalester Journal of Philosophy Vol. 9, 1999 Gardner, Jennifer. â€Å"To Clone or Not to Clone† http://pages.prodigy.net/darvi/clone.htm (12 Feb, 2001) â€Å"Kant, Immanuel† Encyclopaedia Britannica: In Depth Knowledge 1999 ed. Macer, Darryl R.J., Ph.D. â€Å"Ethical Challenges as we approach the end of the Human Genome Project.† N.p: n.p. 2000 Ruse, Michael, and Sheppard, Aryne. Cloning: Responsible Science or Technomadness? Prometheus Books, December 2000

Skunk Hour

Elizabeth Bishop’s â€Å"The Armadillo† and Robert Lowell’s â€Å"Skunk Hour† are dedicated to one another not simply out of friendship, but because each poet imitates each other’s style and alludes to the other’s key personal traits. While Bishop comments on her friend Lowell’s rage against humanity’s cruelty, Lowell writes of Bishop’s isolation and inner darkness, yet also a resilience to persevere. Written first, â€Å"The Armadillo† describes a celebration in which fire balloons are illegally set aloft, only to fall and burn animals’ homes.The poem moves from describing something apparently delightful, as the balloons â€Å"flush and fill with light / that comes and goes, like hearts† to a suddenly violent scene of the burst balloon burning an owls’ nest, frightening the birds from their home. As it burns, an armadillo and baby rabbit flee the scene. Scholar Penelope Laurens writes: â€Å" Bishop dedicated this poem to Robert Lowell, who became a conscientious objector when the Allied command began fire-bombing German cities.Bishop’s poem points directly to these fire bombings, which wreaked the same kind of horrifying destruction on a part of our universe that the fire balloons wreak on the animals† (â€Å"On ‘The Armadillo’†). The seemingly beautiful balloons become something ugly – â€Å"falling fire and piercing cry† – and the armadillo seems to symbolize Lowell, the â€Å"weak mailed fist† clenched against the war’s cruelty. However, it is less about his anti-war stance than about Bishop’s appreciation for Lowell’s ability to write beautifully even about ugly, harsh subjects.According to scholar Bonnie Costello, â€Å"The Armadillo† â€Å"has been read as a critique of his way of making art out of suffering . . . [but here] she dramatizes this aesthetic distance and the inev itable return to the rage of the suffering body† (â€Å"On ‘The Armadillo’†). Indeed, Bishop moves from a detached description of the balloons on strictly aesthetic terms and makes their effects dramatic and personal, with a sort of quiet anger at the cruelty of their effects.In response, Lowell playfully alludes to her as the â€Å"hermit heiress† with a bishop for a son (indeed, Bishop was childless and reclusive), and the â€Å"fairy decorator† seems a nod to Bishop’s homosexuality, but these figures matter far less than the skunk at the end. As Bishop acknowledged Lowell’s gesture against warfare, Lowell pays tribute to Bishop’s view of the world around her – not as quaint and antiquated, as the first stanzas suggest, but also as a decaying place, but also one where life continues nonetheless.Lowell himself claimed, â€Å"The first four stanzas are meant to give a dawdling more or less amiable picture of a decl ining Maine sea town . . . [but then] all comes alive in stanzas V and VI. This is the dark night . . . not gracious, but secular, puritan, and agnostical† (â€Å"On ‘Skunk Hour’†). The skunks seem a symbol of humanity, carrying on despite the unnamed malaise, much like the armadillo symbolizes Lowell’s gesture against cruelty.Here, Lowell identifies with Bishop; Steven Gould Axelrod writes that Lowell â€Å"personifies that disease . . . [and] is as isolated and demented as the heiress, as fallen as the ruined millionaire, and as loveless and artistically failed as the decorator† (â€Å"On ‘Skunk Hour’†). A sense of self-loathing and inner darkness permeates the poem, implying that Lowell sees these in Bishop. However, the skunk at the end â€Å"will not scare,† making its way despite the world around it.These two poems comment on their subjects’ personal traits and outlooks, using symbols to describe each ot her. Bishop’s armadillo, a small, clenched being in the midst of chaos, pays tribute to Lowell’s antiwar stance, while the Lowell’s skunk, which moves furtively in its decaying New England setting, acknowledges Bishop’s sense of despair but also her tenacity and willingness to persevere as both person and artist. REFERENCES Anonymous. â€Å"On ‘The Armadillo. ’† 2000. Modern American Poetry.18 March 2006. . ________. â€Å"On ‘Skunk Hour’. † 2000. Modern American Poetry. 18 March 2006. . ________. â€Å"The Armadillo. † 1997. The Academy of American Poets. 18 March 2006. . ________. â€Å"Skunk Hour. † 1997. The Academy of American Poets. 18 March 2006. .

Describe labor market trends and globalization as they relate to the Essay - 1

Describe labor market trends and globalization as they relate to the job market. Explain the importance of networking in reaching your career goals - Essay Example There are several pros and cons of informational interviewing. A major advantage of conducting an informational interview is one gets first hand information about working in a particular job or industry (UC Berkeley Career Center, n.d.). It will give an idea of the career paths available for individuals in a particular field. Furthermore, one can get tips from professionals on how to prepare for a certain career. An informational interview enhances one’s communication skills and warms up one for a real job interview. It will be the beginning of establishing professional relationships with people who are in the same industry as one’s career (UC Berkeley Career Center, n.d.). Building of networks like these may later on create job leads in the future. Informational interviewing also has its drawbacks. One must be careful about choosing the professional to interview. If the interviewee is a person who is not happy with his job, then the views that he might share may be biased and will affect the interviewer negatively. Another disadvantage is that some interviewees might misconstrue the informational interview as a request for a job. Some professionals may think that the interviewer is there to gather confidential data about him and his company. The obstacles that will prevent one from conducting an informational interview include not knowing someone whom one can interview. Lack of contacts may make it difficult to get a professional to interview. In addition, there are some professionals who may not be open to the idea of being interviewed about their jobs. Not having the confidence to talk with a professional is another impediment for conducting the interview. Preparing for an informational interview means having to do some research about the person one is going to interview and about his organization (Crosby, 2002). Visiting the company’s website will help a lot in the