Guest Speaker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Guest Speaker - Essay Example Martin. One of the primary weaknesses of the speech was the speakers delivery of his address. It was not enthusiastic enough and it infected his audience to feel the same lukewarm reception and involvement throughout the exercise. It appears like Martin - in his outline of his life, his causes, personal crusades, problems and triumphs feels disconnected from his lifes narrative. He was like reciting a life story of another person. He delivered each bit of information in a monotonous way, as if reading from a book and not from personal memory. It became hard to catch an emotion like sadness or righteous indignation when he found that his community lacked infrastructures like decent sidewalks or safe parks for the children, for instance; or, joy for crucial moments such as the several turning points of his career and for admiration of the people he looked up to and have shaped his growth as a person. It was an unfeeling way to deliver a narrative that actually talks about the speakers own lif e. It is easy to conclude that Martin is merely going through the motions of being a speaker. He merely played his role by saying his piece and that was it. There should have been some effort at engaging his audience as well. He should have taken time doing some research about those people sitting and listening to his message, and integrated the information in the way he shared his life experiences. It could have given him enough empathy in order to say what are relevant, what are useful and what are interesting to the audience. Of course, he was invited as a guest speaker in order for him to talk about what he has done with his life. So it is the audience duty to pay attention and learn whatever piece of information and wisdom being imparted. However, I believe that a speaker has this rare opportunity given to him to inspire people. Martin was given a platform in order to deliver a message and people are willing to listen. He should have asked himself prior to his

Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies Research Paper - 1

Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies - Research Paper Example Transcontinental Oil Company was the owner of the Marathon brand. Ohio Oil Company transformed into Marathon Oil Company in 1960s, making it grow through purchasing or merging with other companies. Besides, the company has enjoyed good fortunes through drilling oil in regions outside the USA. Such regions include Mexico, Canada, Alaska and Ireland (United States Congress, 1981) United States Steel bought Marathon Oil in 1982 and moved its headquarters from Ohio to Texas. In 1998, Marathon Oil merged with Ashland Inc. and formed Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC. This enabled Marathon Oil to expand its base in the USA. In 2001, USX sold the steel firm in Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC and concentrated on oil business. The company was then named Marathon Oil Corporation (Donnell, 2007). The company has opened up drilling facilities in Louisiana, Illinois, Canton, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Texas City, Catlettsburg, Texas, Minnesota, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea because of merging. The com pany also experiences good returns on its investment. For example, the latest financial statement for the company stated returns on investors appreciated by 9.8%, earning yields of 8%, revenue increase of 16 billion and profit margins of 9 billion. The company made a profit of 4 billion more compared to the previous year. Though the company had an increase of daily expenses from 166 million daily to 174 million, it experienced a daily income of 384 million. The main reason why the company has sustained good profits is its ability to conquer new markets and merge with other companies (Donnell, 2007). Question 2 CarMax, Inc was established in 1996. The company deals in second-hand cars through its subsidiaries. Last year the company sold over half a million cars. The company also sales some of its cars through auction; last year, the company sold thirty thousand cars at its on-site auction centers. At times, the company is allowed to sell new cars at four locations together with manuf acturing companies. Last year, two percent of its cars sold were new cars. Apart from this, the company offers other products and services. They include purchasing of cars directly from consumers, guaranteed asset protection, accessories, and vehicle repair. The company acquires cars from consumers through car-buying centers and in-store appraisal process and sales them to other buyers or leases them out to hires or individuals who want to use them in racing or wedding parties (CarMax, 2013). It would be profitable if CarMax merged with Suzuki Motor Corporation. This is because Suzuki Motor Corporation operates worldwide. This would make CarMax expand its services to the international community and widen its market. Lastly, by going international, CarMax would improve its image as an international company. The company would also deal in a wide range of cars such as pickups and Nissan motorcycles. This would enable the company to outshine major rival companies such as General Motors (American Suzuki Motor Corporation, 2013). Question 3 Marathon Oil Corporation has a cost leadership system that improves level of efficiency and reduces costs of operation. Such system is able to convince countries to allow Marathon Oil Corporation to operate in their regions in a cost-effective mode. This has enabled the company to deliver goods and services to its clients at a relatively lower price compared to its rivals. The company has also differentiated its

Life And Work Of Edward Lee Thorndike Philosophy Essay

Life And Work Of Edward Lee Thorndike Philosophy Essay Edward Lee Thorndike was an iconic America psychologist that strived during the latter years of the 1800s into the mid 1900s. Edward Thorndike was not just a psychologist but an influential educator, lexicographer and striving educational researcher (State University, 2010). He is often referred to as the founder of educational psychology. Edward Thorndike was born on August 31, 1874 in a small town in Williamsburg, Massachusetts (Joncich, 1968). He was the son of a clergy man Edward Roberts Thorndike and Abigail Brewster Ladd. Thorndike was a successor of a family line that resided in New England since the 1630s (Joncich, 1968). Edward Thorndike was part of a bloodline from a very notable family. A family that consisted of accomplished pioneers that strived for excellence and superiority. As would be anticipated from growing up in a household of a minister, Thorndike was expected to strive for excellence. With having an estimated IQ of nearly 200, Thorndike had no problems succeeding academically (State University, 2010). He was nothing short of a perfect model for the congregation. Scholarships were awarded to Thorndike due to his outstanding grades and academic achievements. Scholarships are what made college possible for him during this uneasy time. In 1891, Thorndike graduated from The Roxbury Latin School which was located in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. Following his graduation from The Roxbury Latin School, he attended Wesleyan University where he would begin his college career. He graduated from Wesleyan University in the fall of 1895 with a Bachelor of Science. Soon following his completion of his undergraduate work, he attended Harvard University. During his time at Harvard he worked to achieve yet another undergraduate degree as well as his Masters in Psychology. He graduated with his Masters in Psychology in 1897. It wasnt much time after that he attended Columbia University where he would complete his Doctoral work in Psychology. He completed his doctoral work in Psychology in 1898, merely a year after his completion of his Master Degree from Harvard. (Joncich, 1968) During his time at Columbia University he met a very influential and respectable person know as James Mckeen Cattell. As the next several years progressed, Cattell served as a very influential mentor for Thorndike. With the support of Cattell, Thorndike wrote his 1898 doctoral thesis Animal Intelligence: An Experimental Study of the Associative Processes in Animals (Thorndike, 1898). This groundbreaking thesis is thought to be the foundation of animal behavior but would not be the last of the other many works yet to come by Edward Thorndike. After his graduation from Columbia University in 1898, Thorndike taught at the College for Women of Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio (Joncich, 1968). This teaching job did not suit him because he was soon back at Colombia University teaching psychology. This would be the university where Thorndike would remain for the rest of his career and essentially conduct his other famous works in Psychology. Before passing away on August 9, 1949 at the age of 74, Thorndikes achieved many notable accomplishments. During his 55-year career, he published about 500 books and articles on diverse as learning in fish, methods of statistical analysis and the elements of aesthetic quality in urban life. As his continuous research was unfolding he was the President of the American Psychological Association, 2nd President of Psychometric Society and President of American Association for the Advancement of Science. In brief, his notable work includes the study of animal intelligence (cats in the puzzle box regarding Trial and Error), applied animal to human educational experience followed by a constructed scale to measure childrens handwriting and a table of word-frequency in English. (Indiana University, 2007) It is important to note that in order for Edward Thorndike to pursue the field of psychology as well as be successful in this field, he had to go against that of the teachings of the church. It is ironic because as the son of a minister, it would be expected that he would have conformed to that of the congregation. However, he chose to lead his own life and strive for excellence in a field of work that stuck him as interesting. In order for Thorndike to succeed in the field of psychology, he had to break the realm of religion and turn his focus to the laboratory and science. For that time, it was something that was frowned upon especially from the standpoint of a minister. Regardless, Thorndike said that science was, the only sure foundation for social progress (State University, 2010). With that being said and looking back on history, it could easily be perceived how and why his thinking was correct. Through the remainder of this paper, it is essential that we go into greater detail on specific accomplishments that Edward Thorndike achieved. Specifically we will look at connectionism, adult learning and Thorndikes view on education. Although these are only three of the many accomplishments Thorndike had achieved in his time, they are the more influential and greatest impacting on psychology. Essentially, its part of the true legacy of contributions that Edward Thorndike left upon the field of psychology and will continue to leave for many years to come. As mentioned previously Thorndike was a very influential person to the field of psychology which leads me into my first area of concentration which is connectionism. According to a definition provided by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, connectionism is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a movement in cognitive science which hopes to explain human intellectual abilities using artificial neural networks (also known as neural networks or neural nets). Neural networks are simplified models of the brain composed of large numbers of units (the analogs of neurons) together with weights that measure the strength of connections between the units. These weights model the effects of the synapses that link one neuron to another. Experiments on models of this kind have demonstrated an ability to learn such skills as face recognition, reading, and the detection of simple grammatical structure. According to information compiled through research, Thorndike viewed connectionism as through experience neural bond s or connections were formed between perceived stimuli and emitted responses; therefore, intellect facilitated the formation of the neural bonds (Indiana University, 2007). When looking at connectionism in regards to Thorndikes research, it is relatively still a broad topic. To get a better idea of what connectionism and Thorndikes notable contributions are to the field of Psychology, it is essential to focus on his cat puzzle box studies. The puzzle box studies with cats dealt primarily with the ideology behind how cats learned to escape. The cats ability of learning to escape the puzzle box that Thorndike would structure and create a psychological concept known as the law of effect. From the law of effect would later come law of recency and law of exercise which will both be discussed later in greater detail. First it is important to understand the law of effect which is essentially the foundation for the formulation of his other two laws. The law of effect states that responses to a situation that are followed by satisfaction are strengthened; and responses that are followed by discomfort are weakened (Indiana University, 2007). What this definition is saying is that when a situation is presented and is followed by an outcome that is satisfying then that event will be positively associated with that response. This would also lead to believe that this event will later occur again. The effect also works in the opposite sense where if a situation is followed by a non satisfying outcome then the link between the event and the outcome is weakened. This would consequently lead Thorndike to believe that the association was weakened and will most likely not occur in the same degree as an event with a satisfying outcome. In correlation to Thorndikes law of effect arose his law of recency. The law of recency states that a response that happens most recent will act as a model for future events of similar nature. For example if I go to buy a soda at a soda machine located in the building of Old Main and the soda machine fails to vend my drink, I will most likely not return to that soda machine due to my recent experience I had with it. The effect also works the same way in the opposite manner as if I would have received the soda. In essence, I focus my future experiences on my most recent experiences. The final law that Thorndike specified was known as the law of exercise. According to the University of Indiana, the law of exercise states that stimulus-response connections that are repeated are strengthened, and stimulus-response connections that are not used are weakened. In other words, the more you continually use the stimulus-response relations the more likely the connection between the two will be strengthened. A simple example of this would be studying for a test. I study for the test for a half hour every night and when I took the initial test I got an A. Every time after I followed the same routine and received an A therefore I will continue to study in that same manner. The stimulus, knowing I have a test that I need to study for and actually studying in that specified manner that got me the A before, and the response getting the A once again, strengthens. To focus back once again on connectionism and Thorndikes cat studies, it is important to note the results he obtained. He hypothesized that if a cat was showing insight he would see an abrupt drop in the learning curve and if the cat was using trial and error it would show gradual curves. Thorndike found that cats did use trial and error learning because his results concluded gradual curves. He supported this by saying that the reasoning is due to the fact that cats made connections between the puzzle box and the ways of escaping. This supported his idea of stimulus-response relationships, more so, all of the ideology behind his three laws. The law of effect would state that the cat escaped in a certain way thus creating a satisfying reward. The cat would then use this same method of escape, the law of recency. By doing this time and time again the cat strengthened the stimulus-response connection therefore showing the law of exercise. Interestingly B.F. Skinner would reformulate Tho rndikes methodology and ideology in order to create what he called operant conditioning. Essentially, Thorndike created a concept that was not only reflected his theories but proved to be fundamentally important to gain insight into other areas of psychology. The next area of significant contribution by Edward Thorndike in the field of psychology was adult learning. Thorndike was interested in constructing a system in which he could measure intelligence among adults. Shorty after his research began in this area, in the year of 1903, Thorndike, accompanied by his student, were able to successfully measure intelligence. From this they were able to expand into more detailed oriented techniques that would set the stage for the modern intelligence tests which we use today. During World War I, Thorndike worked hand in hand with the United States Army in order to develop of system that would establish qualifications of new recruits. These tests would be known as Alpha and Beta, the true precursor to the modern day ASVAB tests. During World War I, Alpha tests were administered to those who the Army believed knew how to read while Beta tests were administered to those who lack literacy. These test used primarily pictures accompanied with graphs, both of which could be easily assessed. (Indiana University, 2007) Based off Thorndikes original tests, he created for the United States Army, came his greater detailed and directed intelligence tests of the 1920s. Thorndike was quoted as saying Instruction should pursue specified, socially useful goals. (Joncich, 1968). In addition to that being said he also believed that learning didnt start to diminish until the age of 35 and from that only at a rate at 1 percent per year, which by looking at is well into adulthood. Therefore this would explain his reasoning behind why he would choose to study adult learning. Referring back to Thorndikes intelligence tests of the 1920s, came directive tests, similar to what those he was referring to in above referenced quote. This test is known as CAVD which stands for completion, arithmetic, vocabulary, and directions test. Additional, latter research had shown the speed and accuracy of which a individual is capable of learning declines not the actual ability to learn, as Thorndike thought. (Thorndike, 1928) In furthering the discussion on intelligence tests, Thorndike went another step further to state that there are three types of intelligence functioning. This would include abstract intelligence, mechanical intelligence and social intelligence. Abstract intelligence is encompassed with 4 sub-areas which are altitude, width, area and speed. According to the University of Indiana, altitude is the complexity or difficulty of tasks one can perform, width is referred to as the variety of tasks of a given difficulty, area as a function of width and altitude and speed as the number of task one can complete in a given time. All of which, when looked at as a whole, make up one of the 4 sub-areas of intelligence. On the other hand mechanical intelligence is knowing the relationship an object has to its environment and how it operate in that environment. Finally, social intelligence is more straight forward by stating that the individual has the capability of performing well in its surroundings on a interpersonal level. As a whole, Thorndikes in-depth approach that included his many classes of intelligence was what actually created an opposition to his work. An opposing view to his intelligence theory was illustrated another well-known psychologist, Charles Spearmen. Spearmen sparked a debate that intelligence is not made up of many factors but rather on one. He referred to this one-dimensional factor as g. In addition to adult learning, it is also important to look at Thorndikes other attributions to learning. An influential approach that Thorndike took to learning was his theory of rewards and punishments. Thorndikes laws of learning, that were mentioned and explained earlier, are very closely correlated with how Thorndike describes rewards and punishments. Thorndikes early views look at stimulus and responses in the manner that one strengthens connections while the other diminishes connections. However, Thorndikes later understandings showed that this was actually incorrect. He then reasoned that punishments do not get weaker as reward connections get stronger. Even stranger, Thorndike mentioned that punishing response will actually increase the chance that an undesired response will reoccur at another point in time. This is completely contradictory of his previous thoughts on stimulus and response and a perfect example of how the field of psychology rapidly changes. In addition to being focused on theories of learning, Thorndike was also very concerned with the ways statistics were measured and recorded. It was the inspiration for his book called An Introduction to the Theory of Mental and Social Measurements. In addition to this book, Thorndike started the first course at a higher education school to offer educational measurement. To Thorndike, everything could be measured, very similar to how a mathematician would look at math problems. From his course and his book, Thorndike pioneered the use of description and numbers in psychology which later means of measurement would follow and expand upon. Fundamentally this work is yet another one of Thorndikes major evolutionary contributions to the field of psychology. In addition to Thorndikes movement on learning came his approach to human differences. He concluded that although humans may seem alike, they are different in basically every aspect. He was quoted saying It is useless to recount the traits in which men have been found to differ, for there is not trait in which they do not differ (Thorndike, 1911). Psychology essentially needs to go in the direction of individualism, specifically looking at each persons mind not the mind as a whole. Thorndike even went further with this school of thought to explain it in a rationale on how it relates to universal learning. The practical consequences of the fact of individual differences is that every general law of teaching has to be applied with consideration of the particular personthe responses of children to any stimulus will not be invariable like the responses of atoms of hydrogen or the filings of iron, but will vary with their individual capacities, interests, and previous experience (Thorndik e, 1906). Basically it all boils down to genetics and the inequalities that humans face. Along with Edward Thorndikes key theoretical beliefs come his everlasting impressions through the vast number of books he wrote, especially the books that referenced his view of learning. Thorndike is noted with writing three different books which would aid educational facilitators in their classroom. These books go on to illustrate the uses of words and the reasons words are used in the English language. He felt that his list of words need to be stored and are essential while other only need to be understood temporarily, then forgotten. In addition to his three educational books for teachers there are also several other books that appeared earlier and are still an influential part of psychology today. Even though each of these works were mentioned earlier in this paper, it is still vital to mention them from a reference standpoint. Thorndikes other books include Educational Psychology (1903), Introduction to the Theory of Mental and Social Measurements (1904), The Elements of Psychology (1905), and Animal Intelligence (1911). Although this is not a full comprehensive list of all of Thorndikes works, it is a list that references his more influential works on the field of psychology. As touched upon throughout this paper, Edward Thorndike has a legacy that will continue to live on in the field of psychology many years to come. Looking at his influence in learning alone is enough to see how influential he was and still is. A great example is how his stimulus response relationship, in regards to the law of effect, would be used as a language for other influential psychologists of their time such as Clark Hull and B.F. Skinner. They evolved his theory of the law of effect and essentially fused it into what they refer to as a reinforcement theory of learning. Even when looking at the broader scope of connectionism, his major contribution to psychology, which merely remained unchanged throughout his career. Edward Thorndike is an individual that is sometimes hard to fit historically into one distinct area of psychology. His initial animal research studys practiced characteristics which essentially lead to Watsonian behaviorism. He is an individual that influenced a wide range of other prominent psychologist that later followed in time. In addition it could be clearly seen that through Thorndikes animal studies and his findings on associations and connectionism, how later Psychologist such as Watson would pioneer behaviorism. However, Thorndike will remain to be considered as a comparative psychologist because of his contributions when looked at in a wider scope, (intelligence tests, learning, education and animal studies). As with any influential person comes criticism and Edward Thorndike is no different. As mentioned by the New World Encyclopedia, Thorndike faced two major criticisms. The first is the fact that Thorndikes approach restricted psychology by limiting behavior solely to the peripheral events of stimulus and response elements. In dismissing mental events, Thorndike also ignored the central mediation of stimulus and response bonds (New World Encyclopedia Online, 2010). What this is saying is that Thorndike focused primarily on behavior in regards to events in the environment that are of little importance. He based his stimulus and response relationships off these minute events. In addition, he also failed to recognize how important those bonds can be. The second critism according to New World Encyclopedia is in regards to his behaviorist theories, specifically the concern of reductionism. Reductionism is when the nature of complex things is reduced to the nature of sums of simpler or more fundamental things (New World Encyclopedia Online, 2010). In correlation to Thorndikes theories of behaviorism, the mind, behavior, and stimuli in the environment are all interrelated. Thorndike had also proposed many influential techniques and methods that would influence schools and universities till this day. Thorndikes continued efforts on the improvements of institutions, allowed them to fundamentally maximize the learning process. In addition to his recognition in academic institutions, he was also recognized with many prestigious honors and awards in the areas of American and international science and education. However, one of his more prestigious awards is the Butler Medal. This was an award issued by the university where he practiced and formulated his theories of great influence. This award was given in recognition of his exceptionally significant contributions to the general problem of the measurement of human faculty and to the applications of such measurements to education (Joncich, 1968). Simply that goes to show and summarizes perfectly what a historical and contributional individual Edward Thorndike was to the field of Psychology. Throughout this paper we focused on a wide range of ideas and theories that Edward Thorndike contributed to Psychology as a whole. Since this paper went into specific detail and elaborated on a wide range of topics, it is essential to go back and summarize the basic overview of Edward Thorndikes learning theories and contributions. In an effort to bring together what was talked about and to bridge the gaps of uncertainty and or confusion the reader may have. As the paper progressed we looked at Thorndikes trial and error learning. How learning needs to occur in steps rather than all at once. This then lead us directly into several of Thorndikes laws which included the law of exercise, law of effect, and the law of readiness. The more you do something the more likely you will continue to do that behavior thus the law of effect and exercise. In order to enact on the previous two law the individual has to be ready to do so, thus, known as the law of readiness. We also went on to talk about a person as an individual and how people need to be looked at in an individualistic manner. This further correlated directly with how Thorndike proposed educational institutions should function. Finally, understanding the impact Thorndike has on some of the pioneering forms of intelligence testing both in the United States Army and in the classroom. Nevertheless, not forgetting the work Thorndike established in regards to the first ways to measure mental and social theories. A fundamental stepping stone that latter systems of measure would follow and build upon. Hopefully now it could be clearly seen why Edward L. Thorndike was such a contributional and influential individual to the field of psychology. Throughout his 55 year career researching and studying psychology, Thorndike wrote over 500 books and articles. More so, he wrote in a diverse way which encompassed ideas such as learning in fish, systems for measurement of mental and social data, and even right down to the aesthetic quality of urban life. This was all in addition to his work with cats in a puzzle box regarding trail and error learning, his research pertaining to the development of his book called Educational Psychology, and educational experience as a whole. To say the least, Edward Thorndike was far from a one dimensional person. He was taught by the great William James and J.M. Cattell. He taught scholars like Walter Bingham, R.L. Thorndike and L.S. Hollingsworth. Most importantly made a lasting impression on individuals such as David Wechsler and R.B. Cattell as well as you and I. Now looking at some of those names and the life that Thorndike made for himself, it could be understood why he is known as one of the greatest psychologist of his time. More importantly, paving the way for a better understanding on how and why his work has influenced and is still a part of the modern field of psychology. On August 9, 1949 Edward L. Thorndike passed away from old age. He left behind his widowed wife, Elizabeth Moulton who he wed in 1900 and his four children. This was not only a sad day for his family but for the field of psychology as well. They both knew that they lost a husband, a father and very significant scholar to the field of psychology. His legacy will never be forgotten and his contributions will continue to live on. Hopefully this paper has captured your understanding of his everlasting legacy.

Delegation :: Business, Empowering Delegation

Managers can empower workers by delegating to them. â€Å"Delegation involves the assignment of work to other people, and it is an activity inherently associated with all managerial positions† (Whitten & Cameron, 2007, p. 467). Effective management can be attained through delegation. Therefore, a manager must decide when to delegate. Advantages and the Potential Outcome of Delegation Learning to delegate effectively is fundamental to managers’ success in the workplace. A competent delegator can empower others maximizing the organization effectiveness and efficiency. Whitten and Cameron (2007) identifies the following advantages of delegation: time, development, trust, commitment, information, efficiency, and coordination (p.467). Time Delegation can improve managers’ ability to get things done. Delegation increases the discretionary time of the manager† by freeing up some time (Whitten & Cameron, 2007, p. 467). A manager schedule can be extremely hectic and the pressure can be overwhelming due to demands. Managers can increase their time to focusing on other task that is highly prioritized and require the manager complete attention through delegation. Not being prepared and never meeting deadline are qualities that can injure ones reputation, for the manager can be viewed as less efficient and effective in management. Through delegation, the manager can squeeze more out of the day. Development Delegation can increase workers effectiveness. It allows delegates to â€Å"develop knowledge and capabilities† (Whitten & Cameron, 2007, p. 467). Through delegation, workers can be challenged and this can encourage them to develop their capabilities. They can naturally develop knew knowledge and the necessary skills to cope when they are challenged with tasks that are outside of their basic job duties. By encouraging such development, it can prepare employees for future assignments and promotions. Not only does delegation benefits the employee receiving the new task, but it also benefits the manager and the organization too by enhancing effectiveness. Trust Delegation can help managers build a positive relationship with staff. It is a way of showing employees they are respected, for delegation â€Å"demonstrate trust and confidence in delegates† (Whitten & Cameron, 2007, p. 467). Delegation can empower employees, for when the managers seek assistance with a task it shows that the manager believes in them; the manager is confident that that the employee can complete the task successful. Through trust, the manager can empower an employee to bring drive and initiative in the work. According to Whitten and Cameron (2007), individuals who felt trusted by t heir managers were significantly more effective than those who did not feel that way (p.

Prejudice in the Merchant of Venice Essay

Prejudice is a significant theme in The Merchant of Venice. This is expresses at various occasions throughout the novel. One of the most significant examples of prejudice in this novel is the Anti-Semitic views of the Christian citizens in Venice. A second act of prejudice in The Merchant of Venice occurs when the Prince of Morocco arrives in Venice. The third example, though more subtle, is the prejudice towards the Prince of Arragon. These three examples fall in to two major categories, racial prejudice and religious prejudice. The Anti-Semitic views in The Merchant of Venice play an important part in the novel. Without the Anti-Semitic views, the elopement plot and the bond plot would not be in existence. If Jessica were Christian, Shylock would have embraced the marriage of Lorenzo and Jessica. Religion, however, intervenes and causes Shylock’s anger at his daughter. The bond plot simply is based on religious tension. Shylock the Jew would not have been so hostile towards Antonio and Bassanio had they all been Jewish or Christian. The behavior in the court room also made a heavy contribution to the Anti-Semitism in The Merchant of Venice .The punishments for Jews were far worse than those given to Christians. Jews had seriously harsh restrictions allowing them to only be money-lenders. The second example of prejudice occurs between Portia and the Prince of Morocco. This prejudice, however, is not religious like the prejudice between Shylock and Antonio, but is more of a form of racial prejudice. As the second act begins, Morocco states, â€Å"Mislike me not for my complexion, the shadowed livery of the burnished sun.† (2.1.1-2). This was said to Portia to ask her not to judge the prince on his complexion, but rather that he be judged on what is inside of him. Portia, however, had decided that she would not enjoy marrying the prince. She expresses her prejudice by saying, â€Å"If I could bid the fifth welcome with so good heart as I can bid the other four farewell, I should be glad of his approach. If he have the condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil, I had rather heshrive me than wive me.† (Shakespeare 127-131) Her decision was clearly made and despite the Prince’s efforts to help her understand that he was just like any man she remained adamant about her agreement. The third example of prejudice, also racial, is towards the Prince of Arragon. The Prince of Arragon is mocked in various manners throughout the scene in which he chooses the casket. The Prince’s name added a form of comedy to the story. His name, Arragon, similar to Arragon, told the reader about his attitude and personality in general. The Prince of Arragon also stated, â€Å"What’s here? The portrait of a blinking idiot presenting me a schedule!† (2.9.58-60). This statement is also insulting towards the prince due to the fact that he can’t even recognize his own self. Secondly, he referred to the image in the mirror as a blinking idiot. The prejudice here is given my Shakespeare and added instead of being given on from another character, it is expressed as a trait of the Prince of Arragon himself. Shakespeare, in this case, shows prejudice, not a character. The role of prejudice plays an important role in The Merchant of Venice. This prejudice, however insulting and mean it seems now was not as badly viewed in the Elizabethan era. In fact, this prejudice was completely normal. The persecution and prejudice towards Jews, colored people, and people from certain nations was a regular part of daily live. Without the prejudice in The Merchant of Venice, the novels plot would be meaningless.

Business and management Essay

Introductions (Task1) In this task I will talk about the interpersonal and communicational skills, in the task I will demonstrate a role play to identify my interpersonal and communicational skills. After I demonstrate the role play my colleagues will give feedback where I need to improved it, than i will mention how can i improve my interpersonal and communicational skills. Lastly i will mention how key management functions may be met more effectively through the use of key interpersonal and communicational skills. Findings P4) What interpersonal and communication skills can you bring and why? Interpersonal skills are the skills connected with dealing with the people and working with other efficiency to make the business success. Interpersonal skills are used often into business contexts to refer to the measure of a person’s ability to operate within business organisation. Interpersonal skills including:   Working with other harmoniously Evaluating and excepting responsibilities   Understanding measured to respond conflicts   Working in team effectively Working with other harmoniously means we need to make sure the teams are get on with there responsibly and to check them whether if they are working together with out no arguing, it is better individuals to work together to achieve the success of the business. Evaluating and excepting responsibilities means as a manager we have set a target for the employees and they can be used for the individual or teams, the manager has to chase the employees whether if they getting on the responsibilities that is been given individually or as teams, after that the manager has to evaluate the have achieved the target that is been sat if its acceptable or not. Understandings measured the respond of conflicts first full its generally understood that communicating respect other people or professionals within the work place will enable to reduce the conflicts. And increase participations or assistance in obtaining information or completing tasks. Working in team effectively this is one of the important of the interpersonal skills, as a manger we have to check employees are work together as team cooperatively. The business to achieve a success it require employees working together effectively, effective teams are an intermediary goal toward getting goods, sustainable result, and at the end of the if the business become success the employees a accomplish they goals and will share the credit with the business. Communication skills are also skills connected the dealing with the people in the process by which the information exchange. Communications skills used often into business contexts, there are skills related to communication skills, these are: Formal and informal Tone of voice Body language Visual communication Formal or informal style of communication can also be used in written, some pieces of written such as letter or journal tend to be a formal whereas email and popular magazine article tends to be informal. The important thing with communication is to use the right form for the right purpose. Managers needs to think carefully about how to communication the employees appropriately. Tone of voice: Their impress are based on tone and the quality of voice. Verbal communication extends beyond words, audible sound, transfer meaning, in additional tone or attitude communication some times. Body language: Open body stance and positioning invite communication and interaction, whereas the close body stance a positioning impedes communication, using an open body language posture improves the communication with the employees, both managers and employees to learn to read each other body language. Visual communication: People communicate with the ayes as well as the ears. Communication occur cues of body language and facial expression, aye contact is the communication connector, making ayes contact helps confirm attention and interest between the manager and the employees. M2) Based on my experience of the role play, Explain how you could improve your own interpersonal and communicational skills. My role play I am a manager in new retail which owns a business man called Mr Tosh. And I feel that I have a problem to solve when i saw the feelings of the staff are unmotivated and feel that their job is not secure. In the class i discuss with my staff, i sat a SMART to ensure the business get back on track, we agree, me and my staff. One of the our agreement was if you achieve the target that in October if the sales go up 20% i will pay 10% bonus, and if you continue performing well and achieving the goal that we have agreed you job will be secure. Other points that we agreed was. To give continuation training Give bonus (reward the staff if they met the target) Cut the reward (if they done bad, down the sales performance) My interpersonal and communication skills Through the role play in the class, i got a feed back of my interpersonal and communication skills, after i get the recommendation. They suggested me that i need to improve some areas below. In verbal skills- i am not good at controlling my tone of voice in discussion, because i feel when i speak to my staff my English is not good enough. That makes me can not use the vary tone, pace, and loudness to stand out the points when i speaking. Non verbal skills_ my body language, i haven’t performed an aye contact and i haven’t smile in the conversation with my employees; because I my self I haven’t got enough confidence and that make me deal tense in the conversation. Improvement In the tone of voice; if I have varied of tone pace and loudness that can stand out the main points of my speech; that makes my audiences easier to grasp and got interest to listen my speech, in my problem, my English is not good enough to make my speech tense, i should be calm and concentrate first, a think what i have to say before i speak, make more preparation before i speak, and try excise with my tone, pace and loudness at home. My SMART objectives are: Spend 30 minute at each time for preparation before the role play and read newspapers with tone, pace and loudness in another 20 minute every two weeks. If it improvement my speaking skills after practice, that may let me speak more clear smooth and with vary tone, this also improve my English. The non verbal skills_ i haven’t look at staff with smile when i was performing my role play, because i was feeling that i am tense. I looked down when i was talking which may see the staff that i am weak, and not smiling the also may see that i am angry, anxious and not honesty. I should be calm, concentrate and make more preparation, so I set my self a SMART target to let me achieve: Spend 10 min more in preparation for the role play, and do more preparation as I said above, if I make more preparation, i can stay be more relax, calm and confidence than before, so that i can make an aye contact with a smile to the others. Start from now I will practice speak to the people with aye contact and smile when I talk, and i believe it will become a habit, then i can do that without thinking every time when I am suppose to speak. D2) Evaluate ways in which key management functions may be met more effectively through the use of key interpersonal and communicational skills. There are some key management functions, such as management resource, employees’ motivation, performance monitoring, reward and leadership. Those skills i have mentioned above can be met through the use of interpersonal and communication skills, that are the skills managers must be known, the reason is because having identified the roles of management its important to look at the employees’ capable of fulfilling the role and meet the challenges. There are examples below: Employees’ motivation: when we set a plan or target for the employees, we need to motivate then to cooperate and achieve it; employees usually work efficiency when they feel that they have been consulted about their target that they need to achieve. If the employees perform well and achieve the target, we need to reward them with appreciation and persuade them to set a new target. For example in the role play, i have sat a target and encouraged and motivated my staff to achieve it, after i have informed them and discuss what needs to be done, they really feel that they have achieved the target. Those are the interpersonal and communication skills the managers needs to persuade the employees to achieve it. Management resources: the management resource i have chosen to give and example in Human Resource. Sometimes managers may curry out decision the staff might not agree with, in that case manager needs to use interpersonal skills to persuade the employees to agree with him, at the end if the staff can not accepted, that might create conflict and they may curry out industrial action. Managers also need to resolve any conflict that comes up. Skills of management of conflict needed at all levels and all type of organisations. Performance monitoring and reward management needs to have good interview skills, for example an appraisal purpose, this has one technique to encourage them in the interview and make them relax and co-operate with the other staff. This is needs a body language such as tone of voice posture eye contact to suit the interview, if the employees feel relax, it easier to persuade them to achieve the target. The aim of appraisal is to set objective to the employees, usually at the start of the interview, they will look at if the staff achieve the objective set before the next interview, if they achieve the target, them you will pursued them to set another target again and again, at the end of the every quarter the manager have pay bonus to the staff to motivate. If they are not achieve the target the manager needs to persuade the staff to improve the performance or even discipline them they have continue achieve bad performances Introduction (Task2) In this task I will be giving two scenarios of how management activity can raise performance. Mr Tosh believes a good management lies in the planning and monitoring of system in place. For me to pass the second part of the show I will be given and open book time constraint covering the following. To explain how the aims and objectives may be achieved through planning and monitoring. Finding All businesses need to plan and monitored regardless of how small or large they are. For example, possibility plans need to be prepared in the eventuality of a setback which has a direct impact upon the way which the business goes about behaviour its business activities, normally by the same token, the importance of strategic planning for an organisation cannot be stressed enough. The strategic plan acts as a purpose for which the business seizes to exist; it highlights aims and objectives which need to be fulfilled by all the members of staff in order for the company to achieve both its short and long term objectives.   

Definition of the Biology Prefix Eu-

Definition of the Biology Prefix Eu- The prefix (eu-) means good, well, pleasant or true. It is derived from the Greek eu meaning well and eus meaning good. Examples Eubacteria (eu-bacteria) - kingdom in the bacteria domain. Bacteria are considered to be true bacteria, distinguishing them from archaebacteria. Eucalyptus (eu-calyptus) - a genus of evergreen tree, commonly called gum trees, that are used for wood, oil, and gum. They are so named because their flowers are well (eu-) covered (calyptus) by a protective cap. Euchromatin (eu-chroma-tin) - a less compact form of chromatin found in the cell nucleus. Chromatin decondenses to allow DNA replication and transcription to occur. It is called true chromatin because it is the active region of the genome. Eudiometer (eu-dio-meter) - an instrument designed to test the goodness of air. It is used to measure gas volumes in chemical reactions. Euglena (eu-glena) - single-celled protists with a true nucleus (eukaryote) that have characteristics of both plant and animal cells. Euglobulin (eu-globulin) - a class of proteins known as true globulins because they are soluble in saline solutions but insoluble in water. Eukaryote (eu-kary-ote) - organism with cells containing a true membrane bound nucleus. Eukaryotic cells include animal cells, plant cells, fungi and protists. Eupepsia (eu-pepsia) - describes good digestion due to having the appropriate amount of pepsin (gastric enzyme) in gastric juice. Euphenics (eu-phenics) - the practice of making physical or biological changes in order to address a genetic disorder. The term means good appearance and the technique involves making phenotypic changes that dont alter a persons genotype. Euphony (eu-phony) - agreeable sounds that are pleasing to the ear. Euphotic (eu-photic) - relating to the zone or layer of a body of water that is well lit and receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis to occur in plants. Euplasia (eu-plasia) - the normal condition or state of cells and tissues. Euploid (eu-ploid) - having the correct number of chromosomes that corresponds to an exact multiple of the haploid number in a species. Diploid cells in humans have 46 chromosomes, which is twice the number found in the haploid gametes. Eupnea (eu-pnea) - good or normal breathing that is sometimes referred to as quiet or unlabored breathing. Eurythermal (eu-ry-thermal) - having the ability to tolerate a wide range of environmental temperatures. Eurythmic (eu-rythmic) - having a harmonious or pleasing rhythm. Eustress (eu-stress) - a healthy or good level of stress that is considered beneficial. Euthanasia (eu-thanasia) - the practice of ending a life in order to alleviate suffering or pain. The word literally means a good death. Euthyroid (eu-thyroid) - the condition of having a well functioning thyroid gland. In contrast, having an overactive thyroid is known as hyperthyroidism and having an underactive thyroid is known as hypothyroidism. Eutrophy (eu-trophy) - the state of being healthy or having well balanced nutrition and development. Euvolemia (eu-vol-emia) - the state of having the proper amount of blood or fluid volume in the body.

Define Jamestown as the First Colony in 1607, Captain John Smith and the House of Burgesses, John Rolfe, Brown Gold (Tobacco), and the Headright System. Essays

Define Jamestown as the First Colony in 1607, Captain John Smith and the House of Burgesses, John Rolfe, Brown Gold (Tobacco), and the Headright System. Essays Define Jamestown as the First Colony in 1607, Captain John Smith and the House of Burgesses, John Rolfe, Brown Gold (Tobacco), and the Headright System. Paper Define Jamestown as the First Colony in 1607, Captain John Smith and the House of Burgesses, John Rolfe, Brown Gold (Tobacco), and the Headright System. Paper Jamestown was the first successful English colony established in 1607 in Virginia, where the Roanoke settlers had disappeared. After King James I gave the Virginia Company of London its grant, three ships were sent out and sailed into Chesapeake Bay. The settlers named the peninsula after the king, Jamestown, but made poor judgment by settling in low and swampy land. The colony was weakened by disease, raids, and internal political conflicts. It was saved however by the remarkable Captain John Smith, who stopped the settlers’ quarrels with his boldness and worldly knowledge and experience. He also traded for corn with the Indians by keeping a peaceful relationship with them. Although the settlers were dying at a rapid rate, the Virginia Company kept sending new recruits and supplies. However, when Captain Smith was injured by an explosion, he was forced to return to England, leaving the colony weak and unable to feed itself. The colony became self-supporting when it started producing tobacco, which was not only liked but was also recommended by doctors to cure any disease. In 1612, John Rolfe began to grow a certain type of tobacco in Jamestown that the English were especially fond of. The tobacco was thus termed Brown Gold because it provided Virginia with a stable economic base. In 1617, the headright system was used to solve labor shortages due to the initiation of Brown Gold. The colonists were given two headrights of land each, and one for each time they paid for the passage of another immigrant. The headright system thus increased the division between the wealthy landowners and the poor laborers. The system was the first to create a social hierarchy in Virginia.

Censorship Gone Too Far

This review has passed seven cited quotes regardless of whether you entered the music store or not and you are seeing parent consultation stickers in most of today's popular music. Or, the TV viewer rating is displayed in the upper left corner of your favorite show. What is your favorite video game rating? I believe that you have, but you truly know the influence of these so-called harmless stickers and images on the world of entertainment and your freedom of expression. Recently, in the United States I advertised family values Music review by students at the University of Maryland has gone far. Recently, society as a whole has been influenced by increasingly intense controversy over music censorship. The censorship system is defined as the supervision and management of information and dissemination in society. Many people think that reviewing music is only hiding the truth of American people. This is obviously a biased problem involving the music industry and the people with which i t interacts. Because everyone has their own perspective, censorship is subject to increasingly hot discussion and discussion. The censorship system is unconstitutional as it restricts people's freedom of speech. If legislators can limit this right, what rights do they restrict next? It is a direct infringement of the rights given to us in the first amendment and further reviews should not allow for review if the government limits one right! The censorship system is a controversial subject, and many people think that there are too many censorship systems, but many people think censorship system is far from sufficient. Most people agree that censorship is the management of information and ideas communicated in society. Books can be banned for four reasons: politics, sex, society, religion. - Throughout history, books had a major impact on the society they write. Many of the most important classics in history were challenged or even banned by people of those days. Great novels like Mar k Twain's Adventures of The Huckleberry Finn and Nathaniel Hawthorne's Red Letter have been challenging for years.

(b) A reflection (2000 words) giving a critical analysis of the Assignment

(b) A reflection (2000 words) giving a critical analysis of the resources in the portfolio and the contexts in which they have b - Assignment Example Developing Communication Skills The ability to communicate to different age groups and other specific circumstances were the two largest challenges. The main approach was to work with the â€Å"Messy Church† program, which was specific for children and youth. This was combined with the programs that involved parents who were in charge of the children and integrating this into the congregation for those interested in the program. By working with different individuals as children, parents and within the congregation, was the need to work on communicating different needs and ensuring that each of these worked effectively with those interested in the programs. The communication level was very high, first because of the organization that was developed. The children came in and knew exactly where their place was in the class. The parents also had an understanding of the activities that would take place and the assistance which would be received through the time frame. The consistenc y of the program as well as the outcomes presented and the program framework allowed most parents to leave their children and to allow the moderators to take over the program. This was furthered by the organization of the ministers and leaders who had planned meetings to ensure that a specific agenda was reached and withheld. This meeting also allowed the program to become integrated into the main service which allowed the children to interact and to feel included with the services. The ability to use communication among the organization of the leaders first and allowing this to be given to the parents and remain as an expectation for children allowed the approach to work with this church. The practical application that is used for this church meets the new theories that are developed for those in the community. Even though the congregation is smaller in size, everyone is incorporated into the activities. It is the planning of the main committees that allows each member to be active and to participate in what is occurring. Having the various activities, placing this as a part of the sermon and showing a community base creates more room for growth in the church while providing experience that allows worshipers to understand a new way of praise and worship that is all inclusive. While there were only four children participating, over time this can become encouraging to either grow the congregation or provide new opportunities for sermons and development of the church (Montgomery, 2007). The traditional issues with the theological and pastoral practices are defined through this church and the ability to remain organized with community. From my own church experience, I have observed disconnect at times between the different staff members. It is common for the pastor to take control of most of the activities and expecting specific concepts to be applied within most cases. Most of the members aren’t invited to participate and issues can easily arise because o f a lack of communication. The Presbyterian Church that I was a part of continued to have issues with communication for children activities, youth, the choir and the overall staff. This was specific to the imbalance of power and the conflicts with community and communication. When observing this church, the dynamics were different, specifically because of the organization

International Education Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Education - Research Proposal Example Countries which have the English speaking base, such as UK, USA and Australia are the most preferred destinations to get exposed to western education. When international students are accepted into the educational institution, the environment in the institution should be conducive to effective teaching learning process. There is a lot of impact on the domestic students and the learning environment caused by the international students and vice versa The policy makers, educational administrators, teachers, students and the community at large should know the impact of the international students in the learning environment. When international students are accepted in schools and universities the management of the institution should be prepared to provide the most congenial learning environment. The management should commit physical resources to provide the infrastructure which will benefit the learning process. But in many cases, the facilities and state of art infrastructure alone do not make help in facilitating the teaching learning process when international students become part of the classroom environment. The management should be flexible enough to adapt its policies to make both the international and domestic students work together. In this current research, an attempt is made to explore the impact of the international students on the learning environment and the study tries to highlight the role of leadership of the institution on the international students. ... SCOPE OF THE STUDY There are a number of studies which show the advantages of accepting international students. The main advantage is the opportunity to understand different cultures and different perspectives. For domestic students, the opportunity to share their educational experience with international students enriches their learning experience and broadens their outlook on life. Indeed, it has been found that domestic students recognize the personal and career benefits of having a network of colleagues from different countries (Pittaway, et al, 1998). Indeed, as Anyanwu (2004) succinctly opine, "The presence of international students on university campuses provides a unique social forum for enhancing all students' understanding and appreciation of the richness of other cultures". But on the other hand there are also some factors that have to be taken into account before international students are admitted into an educational institution. Paul Barron (2004), in his study it found that there was a feeling of unfairness amongst domestic students and that somehow, international students were perceived as more valuable. This unfair perception is perhaps the most potentially dangerous and universities need address this issue through effective communication with domestic students, a more clear admissions process and a more focused emphasis on the importance of domestic students to the institution. This researcher considers that a more effective and blatant drive to determine domestic students' thoughts and feelings on this issue might be an effective first step in eradicating this perception. The study mentioned here is only highlights only one of the many factors that determine the achievement of the learning objectives when

Greatest Communicator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Greatest Communicator - Essay Example It should also be known that a good communicator has effective listening skills. Moe has outstanding qualities when it comes to communication. It is from how he speaks to the audience that makes him unique. Moe has impacted lives of most students positively as well as keeping in check the performance of the students. In terms of monotony, Moe breaks it by adding stories to the speech. Moreover, he also involves his audience in the conversation by asking questions. Moe has various communication skills that make him notable. Moe has an impressive confidence that makes him stand out from other communicator. Confidence is vital because it ensures that the communicator delivers a speech full of content. Moreover, Moe uses direct contact in ensuring that he clearly delivers the message. The use of eye contact also ensures that the communicator gets the attention required from the audience. The ability to influence the audience’s emotions by his sense of humour clearly makes Moe unique in terms of communication. Effective communication skills by Moe impacts individuals on a significant margin. When presenting a speech, it is crucial that the audience gets emotionally tuned as well as enjoy the speech. Use of gestures like Moe ensures that the audience gets information clearly as well as enjoys the speech. The speaker’s use of non-verbal cues is of great necessity as it ensures that the audience does get bored. Hence, this impacts individuals especially those in management position and leadership positions to sharpen their communication skills (Cohn, 2007). Moreover, involving the audience in the presentation of speech makes them ride along. Direct eye contact is vital in enhancing emphasis to a given statement or speech. Moe also involves the audience in the speech makes the audience interact freely with the speaker and in case of this relations the speaker may takes some time to mentor his audience. Communication when done in the most effective way becomes

My management philosophy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

My management philosophy - Term Paper Example ommunication, face-to-face contact for coordination and ability to rapidly adapt to changes while executing the projects (McShane & Travaglione, 2003). On the other hand, the organic component of our organizational structure will give us the much needed flexibility to deal with the high rate of environmental and technological change and uncertainty. Motivation In pursuing product and market development and being in the software development industry our generic strategy is clearly a differentiation approach. This means that in order for the company to deepen its current advantage and/or build new competitive advantages, we will have to orient the way we deploy our resources to reflect this. This means our selection, promotion, rewards and so will be oriented towards hiring and rewarding the creative and innovative members of staff. To motivate staff the organization will ensure that entrepreneurs are rewarded and recognized, in both monetary and non-monetary terms. We will also cons ider giving employees ‘bootleg’ time to spend on projects of their own interest that may not be directly related to their day-to-day activities. This will keep our highly talented staff motivated as there potential will be exploited while the company benefits from increased competencies as well as increased potential of coming up with breakthrough products. Given that this is a software business, most of the staff are highly technical and educated which adds to difficulty in finding ways to motivate them. Such knowledge workers naturally would require high motivation which Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model identified as: meaningfulness of work, responsibility for outcomes and knowledge of how successful their work has been or not (YourCoach, 2010). Our hybrid... In pursuing product and market development and being in the software development industry our generic strategy is clearly a differentiation approach. This means that in order for the company to deepen its current advantage and/or build new competitive advantages, we will have to orient the way we deploy our resources to reflect this. This means our selection, promotion, rewards and so will be oriented towards hiring and rewarding the creative and innovative members of staff. To motivate staff the organization will ensure that entrepreneurs are rewarded and recognized, in both monetary and non-monetary terms. We will also consider giving employees ‘bootleg’ time to spend on projects of their own interest that may not be directly related to their day-to-day activities. This will keep our highly talented staff motivated as there potential will be exploited while the company benefits from increased competencies as well as the increased potential of coming up with breakthroug h products. Given that this is a software business, most of the staff are highly technical and educated which adds to the difficulty in finding ways to motivate them. Such knowledge workers naturally would require high motivation which Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model identified as meaningfulness of work, responsibility for outcomes and knowledge of how successful their work has been. Our hybrid organic-project-based matrix structure improves our ability to make the jobs motivating for our most highly technical and educated staff.

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research Proposal - Essay Example In these regards, a strong degree of passenger involvement is financial reason enough to motivate both the rail system and the makers of the advertisements to develop the necessary infrastructure to support the process. While digital advertisements may be firmly entrenched in new media technology they must be more situated towards subjective viewer experience if they are to gain maximum interactivity. The research seeks to accomplish these objectives through an approach that combines investigation into past statistical research, direct action research that investigates the extent that participants engage with the advertisements compared to advertisements in a control group, and finally post-experiment interviews with the participants. III. Specific Research Questions Do digital (rather than static) advertisements on the tube increase patron interactivity and engagement? Were the digital advertisements at all disruptive to the transportation service? How did the added sound affect the ir experience in the tube? How could these digital advertisements be better structured to encourage optimum interaction? How did the digital advertisements made the participants emotionally feel? Did they feel more or less connected to the other passengers when the digital advertisements were in the tube? IV. ... From a purely infrastructure standpoint one recognizes that modern railway system emerged from earlier trains and much of the qualitative approach to infrastructure, in this instance print advertising appears to have been carried over from an earlier era and not enough consideration given to the increasing technological mediation of the modern world. In this regards the study design is aimed not only at determining the general effectiveness and best possible course of action of digital advertising displays, but also that it would financially benefit the rail system to implement these digital displays. V. Research Concepts One of the predominant considerations of the methodological approach is the extent that it responds to the notion of a third paradigm of human computer interaction research. Harrison & Sengers (2007) argue that human computer interaction research has previously focused on two paradigmatic models. The first model considered the development of technological interactio n in terms of man-machine coupling. The second wave paradigm built on this coupling, further considering the way that technological interaction constitutes a form of information communication. The third paradigm, they contend, considers technological interaction as phenomenological experience. Considered within the context of the previously established research methodology it’s clear there are many areas where the research fails to address the third paradigm of human computer interaction research. In some areas the methodology considers the third wave paradigm experience of digital advertising in the tube. One recognizes that the phenomenological means of interaction the current research refers to places great emphasis on the experience the user has with the technology.

Greatest Communicator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Greatest Communicator - Essay Example It should also be known that a good communicator has effective listening skills. Moe has outstanding qualities when it comes to communication. It is from how he speaks to the audience that makes him unique. Moe has impacted lives of most students positively as well as keeping in check the performance of the students. In terms of monotony, Moe breaks it by adding stories to the speech. Moreover, he also involves his audience in the conversation by asking questions. Moe has various communication skills that make him notable. Moe has an impressive confidence that makes him stand out from other communicator. Confidence is vital because it ensures that the communicator delivers a speech full of content. Moreover, Moe uses direct contact in ensuring that he clearly delivers the message. The use of eye contact also ensures that the communicator gets the attention required from the audience. The ability to influence the audience’s emotions by his sense of humour clearly makes Moe unique in terms of communication. Effective communication skills by Moe impacts individuals on a significant margin. When presenting a speech, it is crucial that the audience gets emotionally tuned as well as enjoy the speech. Use of gestures like Moe ensures that the audience gets information clearly as well as enjoys the speech. The speaker’s use of non-verbal cues is of great necessity as it ensures that the audience does get bored. Hence, this impacts individuals especially those in management position and leadership positions to sharpen their communication skills (Cohn, 2007). Moreover, involving the audience in the presentation of speech makes them ride along. Direct eye contact is vital in enhancing emphasis to a given statement or speech. Moe also involves the audience in the speech makes the audience interact freely with the speaker and in case of this relations the speaker may takes some time to mentor his audience. Communication when done in the most effective way becomes

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research Proposal - Essay Example In these regards, a strong degree of passenger involvement is financial reason enough to motivate both the rail system and the makers of the advertisements to develop the necessary infrastructure to support the process. While digital advertisements may be firmly entrenched in new media technology they must be more situated towards subjective viewer experience if they are to gain maximum interactivity. The research seeks to accomplish these objectives through an approach that combines investigation into past statistical research, direct action research that investigates the extent that participants engage with the advertisements compared to advertisements in a control group, and finally post-experiment interviews with the participants. III. Specific Research Questions Do digital (rather than static) advertisements on the tube increase patron interactivity and engagement? Were the digital advertisements at all disruptive to the transportation service? How did the added sound affect the ir experience in the tube? How could these digital advertisements be better structured to encourage optimum interaction? How did the digital advertisements made the participants emotionally feel? Did they feel more or less connected to the other passengers when the digital advertisements were in the tube? IV. ... From a purely infrastructure standpoint one recognizes that modern railway system emerged from earlier trains and much of the qualitative approach to infrastructure, in this instance print advertising appears to have been carried over from an earlier era and not enough consideration given to the increasing technological mediation of the modern world. In this regards the study design is aimed not only at determining the general effectiveness and best possible course of action of digital advertising displays, but also that it would financially benefit the rail system to implement these digital displays. V. Research Concepts One of the predominant considerations of the methodological approach is the extent that it responds to the notion of a third paradigm of human computer interaction research. Harrison & Sengers (2007) argue that human computer interaction research has previously focused on two paradigmatic models. The first model considered the development of technological interactio n in terms of man-machine coupling. The second wave paradigm built on this coupling, further considering the way that technological interaction constitutes a form of information communication. The third paradigm, they contend, considers technological interaction as phenomenological experience. Considered within the context of the previously established research methodology it’s clear there are many areas where the research fails to address the third paradigm of human computer interaction research. In some areas the methodology considers the third wave paradigm experience of digital advertising in the tube. One recognizes that the phenomenological means of interaction the current research refers to places great emphasis on the experience the user has with the technology.

Hulu Alliances Essay Example for Free

Hulu Alliances Essay 1.Describe the alliance partners. Characterize the market type as slow, fast, or standard cycle. The market type is a fast cycle market characterized by firms participating in number of networks for the purpose of production and distribution. Competitive advantages aren’t sustainable in fast cycle markets. Firms competing in fast cycle markets recognize the importance of speed, to get the product or service out there first. 2. Characterize the type of strategic alliance Hulu has become. Hulu has become a dynamic alliance. The same type as most firms in the information technology industry. Another example is the movie industry, an industry in which firms participate in a number of networks for the purpose of producing and distributing movies. In dynamic alliance networks, partners typically explore new ideas and possibilities with the potential to lead to product innovations, and entries to new markets. 3. In what type of market is Hulu competing? Hulu is competing in the streaming media market. It has a tough competitor which is Netflix. Unfortunately for Hulu, Netflix has been around a lot longer and has had plenty of time to build its partner base. The other problem for Hulu is its parent companies do not take Hulu seriously. Instead of giving programming to Hulu the networks lease the programs to Hulu’s competitor Netflix. 4. Why did this alliance form? List some competitive pressures that made this alliance a necessity for its partners. 5. What does the future hold for this alliance?

Research and study on the deviant woman

Research and study on the deviant woman Living in a period which had totally ignored women and the study of female deviance (prior to 1960s), Professor Frances Heidensohn saw, as other criminologists, the immediate need for research and study on the deviant woman. As a pioneer of feminist perspectives in criminology  [i]  , Heidensohns work provided the too much mans land of criminology and how women have been unfairly treated and neglected in previous studies. Heidensohn is considered to be a revolutionist in this field of criminology due to her pre-feminist work (Heidensohn 1968 and 1970) on the invisibleness and silence surrounding the female offender  [ii]  .Throughout her work and extensive research on a variety of different writers and criminologists, she stressed the lack of attention on gender dimensions and the tendency to over-sexualise women crimes. Clearly upset of this status quo, she pointed out also the necessity of taking into account autobiographical experiences of female offenders, who are the act ual objects of this study. Frances Heidensohn; a professor in the Department of Sociology at London School of Economics, by her investigation on the study of gender in the context of crime, could be said to have set the foundations for next generations studies on feminist perspectives in criminology. Her biggest question mark was why the chapter of women and crime has been buried for such a long time and why there has been a failure to examine such an important issue. Most of her books and articles try to provide adequate aetiologies to all these question marks. Fortunately, things changed since the 1960s and feminism criminology was developed. As Heidensohn suggested in a metaphorical way, Like a wardrobe of new exciting clothes, a whole treasure generated in criminology. It offers us a great deal more to enrich our knowledge of women and crime. But there is much more on offer too.  [iii]  In other words, Professor Heidensohn held that even thought feminist criminology has been developed there are still many gaps and much more to be done. Thus, Heidensohn illuminated the path towards the understanding of female criminology. In the field of criminological study and most sociological research and writing, analyses of criminal women cannot be found before the 1960s. But even where they are considered, they are subject to marginalising and distorting treatment as Oakley noted in 1982  [iv]  or similarly as Klein suggested female criminality has often ended up as footnote to works on men that purport to be works on criminality in general  [v]  . This lack of interest was really surprising in Heidensohns eyes.  [vi]  As Frances Heidensohn noted in an important early article on deviance, virtually no serious scholarship has been undertaken to explain the dramatic difference between male and female lawbreaking.  [vii]  Hence, this status quo, which was much more due to male dominance, impelled her to start an extensive research on the subject to provide sufficient answers to all these questions raised. What was central to her work was the amnesia and neglect of women in previous studies in crimi nology and the fact that even where women were recognised, they were depicted in terms of stereotypes and based on their supposed biological and psychological nature  [viii]  . Her major argument which she highlights in all of her books, articles is the necessity of exploring gender in terms of understanding crime. Her discussion was concerned with personal experiences and autobiographies of women offenders in relation to the courts, the law and the police. She strongly stressed that at all levels women have been treated differently than men and in some cases harsher. Under the provisions of criminal law, women are theoretically equal to men. Conversely, she underlined that in many cases the laws on prostitution, for instance, prejudice against women and in general there is tendency to over-sexualise female crime. Frances Heidensohn objected this attitude towards female crime. Prostitution was seen only as sexual deviance and not as the rational choice for some women who need the financial support for themselves and their children (Heidensohn, 1968, p.168)  [ix]  . Klein also shared this opinion. Furthermore, criminal laws and lawyers tended to apply stereotype notions of what a proper woman is and does and dual assumptions such as virgin and whore were made when dealing with female offende rs. Yet, Heidensohn did not criticise that and she recognised that one cannot divorce the law and lawyer from the society in which they operate with its enormous cultural heritage and traditions  [x]  .Although she did argue about the too much mens world that existed, truly annoyed by the domination of men in administration as well as in the draft of legislation because of the implications that had on female offenders. Further, the courts even though women committed fewer and less serious crimes than men, were often harsher with women. According to Frances Heidensohn, there were several reasons that explained this stance by the courts. One of the strongest arguments that she made was that female criminals were considered to be doubly-deviant. Women criminals were very rare phenomena, a fact that biased the behaviour of the courts towards them. As Heidensohn had pointed out in one of her earliest presumptions, Women defendants therefore seem stranger and thus less comprehensible than men: they offend both against societys behavioural rules about property, drinking, or violence and also against the most fundamental norms which govern sex-role behaviour  [xi]  (Heidensohn, 1970, p.134). In other words, if they had been morally wrong, then they will be punished more; Courts and other agencies treat women as deviant twice over: they have broken criminal law and social expectations of proper female behaviour.  [xii]  In addition, the whole court procedure is something particularly bewildering, alien and unfair to female offenders.  [xiii]   While doing her research, Frances Heidensohn gave a great emphasis on the stereotype notions and the social standards that the society held for criminal women. In patriarchal societies, women were perceived as a source of disorder. Moral values and accepted social standards, especially in previous periods of time, rendered women subject to stricter rules. Moreover, the witch image as well as that of the whore seemed to be the key portrayals of the deviant women. The stereotype of witchcraft, which has always been linked to women, gave the idea of deviant women as especially evil, depraved and monstrous  [xiv]  . On the other hand, the tendency to sexualise the female offences portrayed them as whores. Professor Heidensohn argued that no such notions exist, equivalent to male deviants. On the contrary, male deviants either receive public approval-boys will be boys,- or are at least more positively portrayed  [xv]  . She continued her argument and she strongly criticized the ro le the media had overplayed in forming these ideas; male offenders in novels, films were presented as heroes, something that affected the public reaction and opinion. In reviewing traditional criminology and classical criminological writers, Heidensohn observed that female criminality was determined by their biology and psychology. Lombroso; the father of criminology, and Ferreros research, which focused on the meditation of the skulls, bones and appearance of female criminals, came to the conclusion that women deviants could be recognised by their physical appearance and they had very similar characteristics to male deviants. Women criminals like their masculine counterparts, had certain allegedly atavistic features, notably unfeminine features and built and dark masculine hair.  [xvi]  Additionally, they claimed that criminal women are abnormal. Following these lines, Professor Heidensohn found herself contrary to this presumption. She argued that his analysis of photographs of fallen women is as objective as adjudication in a beauty contest.  [xvii]  Furthermore, Lombroso and Ferreros theories did not provide us an adequate and precise understanding of female crime.What they did show us was the attempt to rationalise and justify the status quo, the existing position of women and the double standard of morals of their day.  [xviii]  Thus they did not draw away from the stereotype notions and the dual assumptions about women (good or bad, normal or abnormal). Deviant Womens experiences was a central method used by Frances Heidensohn and feminist writers towards the understanding of female delinquency; concentration on the researched and their experiences. Even though this methodology received much criticism (Ramazanoglu and Holland 2002)  [xix]  , Heidensohn and Gelsthorpe argued that close reading of feminist discussions ultimately reveal no fixed absolutes beyond the need for sensitivity in the research task, for personal reflexivity and commitment to make the research relevant to women.  [xx]  This methodology vested women the right to speak for themselves, their experiences, their feelings and thoughts. The technique of viewing the world through womens eyes was successful in making women visible in criminology and additionally created awomens world too. The concentration on womens experiences led to some crucial developments in female criminology and feminist contributions to criminology. Feminism standpoitism as Harding puts it (1987)  [xxi]  reflected the concept of viewing the world through womens eyes and encouraged both theoretical and personal reflexivity in relation to knowledge and the process of knowledge production through research.  [xxii]  However, the key aspect of focusing on the experiences of female criminals was that it rendered gender as the basis of understanding and interpreting crime and social conduct rather than simply as a statistical variable. As a synopsis of her study, Frances Heidensohn argued that what seems to be needed in the study of female deviance is a crash programme of research which telescopes decades of comparable studies of males.  [xxiii]  Also, she was consistent with what Mannheim recommended, who held that an objective and scientific approach should try to treat female crime as a topic in its own right.  [xxiv]  She therefore concluded in her book on Women and Crime that in order to gain understanding on women and crime other analyses such as family life, position and social control of women, male dominance should be taken into account. Arguably, she supported that this could not be achieved through feminist criminology or sociology of deviance.  [xxv]   Frances Heidensohns observations have not been subject to too much criticism as Lombrosos or other criminologists theories. However, some points that she did make were subject to debate and disapproval. Allison Morris was one of those who contravened with some of her presumptions. Her enantiosis was basically on the fact that the criminal justice system is a peculiarly alien an unfamiliar world  [xxvi]  only for women. Morrison focused on the belief that criminal law is sexist in the treatment of deviant girls and women and she went on to say that such factors as race, family circumstances and commitments, types of offence and previous record all clearly mediate the treatment of both female and male defendants and may be that some of those factors are as important as gender, if not more so.  [xxvii]  Indeed, Heidensohn relied on this assumption; that sex is the most crucial aspect and that it is not only women who are being deprived in the criminal justice system. However, wh at Morrison strongly argued was Heidensohns failure to identify other groups of people who could be treated unfairly under the criminal system or the court could be biased against them and to whom the whole process might be unfamiliar and alien. Such groups of people, as Morris suggests could be for young black and working -class men or minorities.  [xxviii]  Finally, she pointed out that it is wrong to present womens experiences in the criminal justice system as a unitary experience. We know that black women are over-represented in our prisons. We need to be able to account for this.  [xxix]  In my personal opinion Morrison made a full disclosure of the reality; that minorities or black people or people of different social standards, could also be treated unfairly in court or could be subject to discriminatory wrongs. She made a very strong argument which did take into account and tried to defend other social and powerless groups and not only women, something that Heidensoh n failed to do. Moreover, that could be the basis for other perceptions that Heidensohn provided. This is the one of economic rationality or that of stigma. Consequently it is not only women who can be motivated by the economic needs to commit a crime; people of a lower class can commit crimes as a result of poverty; or it is not only women who fear the idea of being stigmatised by their offences. Carlen Pat also argued at this part that this stance could cause race or class conflicts. Finally, in general Carlen suggested that no feminism theory could offer aetiologies to three major issues concerning female delinquency; that womens crimes are in the main, the crimes of the powerless; that women in prison are disproportionately from ethic minority groups; and that a majority of women in prison have been in poverty for the greater part of their lives.  [xxx]   Synoptically, Frances Heidensohns contribution to criminology was enormous in relation to female offenders. It could be said as having two sides of a coin. Her research in conjunction with that of other feminist criminologists illuminated the path towards the understanding of the female deviance. However, even though they shed some light on it there are still some dark aspects. As Frances Heidensohn pointed out, the study of female deviance has still a long way to go. The most crucial drawback that I can identify in her work was the lack of consideration of other factors that could play a valid role in the field of understanding crime such as race, class, nationality, age and other social characteristics rather than only focusing on gender dimensions and giving privileges only to women.

Creative Story: The Ride :: essays research papers

Creative Story: The Ride It was a beautiful day and definitely not forewarning of the events that would change my life. The warm Las Vegas sun was shining brightly in the blue and cloudless sky. A light breeze cooled the warm air just enough to stop the body from sweating. The breeze was clean and crisp that blew along with the scent of a spring day. The only noise was the roar of the engine as I twisted the throttle and accelerated through the twisted roads near my home. As everything raced by me, I felt a rush of adrenaline, then the fateful turn approached. I had taken the turn a hundred times before but today it would change my life. Around the turn would be my motorcycle accident that would cause me to take life much more seriously. Before the accident my lifestyle was very fast paced. I spent almost all of my time with my friends going out to parties every night. My life was in control without any abusive habits, it was just fast paced and fun times with friends. Never being at home added to an already stressful family environment. My high school education suffered from too much fun and too little studying. My father made being at home a very uneasy feeling, making me want to stay away even more. He never took any time to help me with school, car or money. I always had to work to earn everything, the only thing I wasn't paying for was rent. In turn I wanted little to do with my father, stepmother or brother, never contributing or helping out. I even stopped going with them on vacations. The feelings I had were that I just wanted to be alone by myself, independent. For four months after the accident I was unable to do anything that I had previously done in the normal routine of my life. With a full leg and hand cast I spent almost all my time during the four months recovering on the couch in the living room. I finished my junior year of high school at my bedroom desk. During this period I developed a lot of patience from the slow healing process of my bones. I also spent a great deal of time thinking, assessing, and contemplating my life and my future. Some of my thoughts were "What was I doing with my life?", "Where was I headed?", "What was in my future for myself?", "What did I want to do with my life?", "How my family life was affecting me?

The Millennium Bug :: Essays Papers

The Millennium Bug The millennial sun will first rise over human civilization in the independent republic of Kirbati, a group of thirty low lying coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. Kirbati straddles the equator and the International Dateline halfway between Hawaii and Australia. â€Å"For those who live in a world that relies on satellites, air, rail and ground transportation, manufacturing plants, electricity, heat, telephone, or TV, when the calendar clicks ’99 to ’00, we will experience a true millennial shift (Peterson).† As the sun moves westward on January 1, 2000 and the date shifts silently within millions of computerized systems, we will begin to experience our computer dependent world in a new way. At the stroke of midnight, the new millennium heralds the greatest challenge to modern society that we have yet to face as a planetary community. Whether we experience this as chaos or social transformation will be influenced by what we do immediately. What is theY2K (Year 2000) problem? When computer systems were built in the 1960’s and 1970’s computer hardware was too expensive. To reduce costs, programmers looked for ways to reduce data storage requirements. It was common for year to be stored in databases in two digit fields rather than four digits. Why is this a problem now? The systems built during this period were not very user friendly, but the computers were most critical to business operations. Because these systems of the 1960’s and 1970’s were not designed to run in multiple centuries, most will either produce incorrect information or simply fail at the end of the century. It may not sound like much effort to fix these machines, but in fact, it involves a great deal of time and expense. The Gartner Group, a respected information technology researcher, estimates that it will cost as much as $600 billion worldwide. If the problem is not addressed in time, the consequences could be catastrophic. There is currently widespread awareness that Y2K involves more than the failure of an individual’s personal computer, or an incorrect date in a spreadsheet. â€Å"It is now widely understood that Y2K could affect the lives of individuals, but exactly in what manner is unknown (Associated P 1).† Today computers are used to operate most mechanical equipment that affects every aspect of our lives.

Explication of “a Birthday Present” by Sylvia Plath

George B 11/18/11 Explication of â€Å"A Birthday Present† by Sylvia Plath For many readers, the draw of Sylvia Plath’s poetry is distinctly linked to her life as well as the desire to end her life. As Robert Lowell states in the forward of Ariel, â€Å"This poetry and life are not a career; they tell that a life, even when disciplined, is simply not worth it† (xv). â€Å"A Birthday Present†`, written by Plath in September of 1962 and hauntingly recorded in her own voice on audio in October of that same year, is just one of the many poems that comprise the collection titled Ariel.Its allusion to suicide is unmistakable. Its main theme is the escape from life that death provides. Plath’s life as well as her desire to end it is well documented, primarily because she has chosen to record her tormented existence in her prose and poetry. M. D. Uroff states, â€Å". . . she put the speaker herself at the center of her poems in such a way as to make her p sychological vulnerability and shame an embodiment of her civilization . . . we should reconsider the nature of the speaker in Plath’s poems, her relationship to the poet, and the extent to which the poems are confessional† (104).The novel, The Bell Jar, chronicles her college years and first attempt at suicide, and her poetry, primarily in the collection in Ariel, provides glimpses into her state of mind. She interjects herself into her work so deeply that it is unmistakable that the speaker in the poetry is Plath herself. With that firmly in mind, explicating this poem becomes a quest into the months that preceded her taking her own life on February 11th 1963. A symbol used in the poem â€Å"A Birthday Present† is the veil: The veil and what it may conceal is a theme that permeates the poem in multiple forms.In line 1 when the speaker says, â€Å"What is this, behind this veil, is it ugly, is it beautiful? † The speaker continues in the successive lines to question not only what it is but for whom it is for. In line 16, â€Å"Now there are veils, shimmering like curtains† and in lines 17 and 18 veils are compared to the light translucent material that covered the kitchen window as well as the misty air in January one would imagine she saw from her flat in England. And once again in lines 55-57 when she says â€Å"Only let down the veil, the veil, the veil.If it were death I would admire the deep gravity of it, its timeless eyes. † Here she wants to let down the veil and face it head on, and in the case of death, embrace it. This is certainly not the first time that the speaker has entertained the notion of ending her life. The speaker mentions in line 13 and 14 that she does not want a present as she is only alive by accident and in line 15, â€Å"I would have killed myself gladly that time any possible way. † Plath herself had a botched suicide attempt in her past that she used as a plot point in her novel, Th e Bell Jar.Biographer Caitriona O ‘Reilly chronicles the incident in 1953 after Plath finished a guest editorship at Mademoiselle in New York City. After prescription sleeping pills and Electroconvulsive therapy to combat depression, Plath attempted suicide through an overdose of sleeping pills (356). The accident, as the speaker refers to it, directly relates to the fact that she was found alive and nursed back to health: at least physically. There is also an aspect of what is expected from society of the speaker of the poem.Women in the 1950’s were expected to get married and procreate, not getting seriously interested in education and careers. These things would prevent a woman from leading a happy and normal feminine life (Bennett 103). Bennett also speaks of this, â€Å"Like most women in the 1950s†¦ Sylvia Plath appears to have accepted the basic assumptions of this doctrine or ideology even though she knew that in many respects they ran counter to the sprin gs of her own nature†Ã‚  (103). This certainly flew in the face of what Sylvia Plath was about.The speaker in the poem seems to lament this in lines 7 and 8, â€Å"Measuring the flour, cutting off the surplus, / adhering to rules, to rules, to rules. † Likewise, â€Å"Is this one for the annunciation? / My God, what a laugh† (9-10). Certainly, the ideals of society put forth in these lines, a woman’s place is in the kitchen and the comparison to the virgin birth of Christ, are an impossibility for an educated and tormented Plath. The speaker seems to have no other choice than ending the suffering.In the poem, there is a conflict concerning the end of the speaker’s life. In lines 21-26 the speaker is in essence asking for the relief of death and references the religious theme of the last supper in line 26, â€Å"Let us eat our last supper at it, like a hospital plate. † Line 27-29 states the problem with the present that is wanted, â€Å"I kn ow why you will not give it to me, / You are terrified/ the world will go up in a shriek, and your head with it,†. The speaker continues to lobby for relief, â€Å"I will only take it and go quietly. You will not even hear me open it, no paper crackle, / No falling ribbons, no scream at the end. / I do not think you credit me with this discretion† (Lines 33-36). The shame attached to suicide is overwhelming, not necessarily for the victim but those left to deal with societal pressures associated with it. The speaker seems to take this into account as she contemplates the act; it is more important that those left behind are unscathed than the torture that the speaker is going through. Discretion is more important than directly confronting the underlying problems.Finally, the speaker appeals to the giver’s sense of duty when she describes how her death has been occurring incrementally but not nearly as quickly as she would like. The use of words like motes (small p articles, like the dust particles that can be seen floating in the sunlight) and carbon monoxide (deadly despite being undetectable by smell or sight) described as sweetly breathable in the lines 37-43 are used to show how the speaker has suffered for years from invisible or nearly invisible things for quite a long time: â€Å"To you they are only transparencies, clear air,† (Line 37). Let it not come by word of mouth, I should be sixty/ By the time the whole of it was delivered, and to numb to use it† (Lines 53-54). The speaker is frustrated by the gift bearer insistence that death come slowly; the speaker cannot wait that long. â€Å"A Birthday Present† essentially reads like a suicide note trying to reassure those left behind that death is really a grand relief. Lowell elegantly sums it up: Suicide, father-hatred, self-loathing—nothing is too much for the macabre gaiety of her control.Yet it is too much; her art’s immortality is life’s deg radation. The surprise, the shimmering, unwrapped birthday present, the transcendence â€Å"into the red eye, the cauldron of morning,† and the lover, who are always waiting for her, are death, her own abrupt and defiant death (Forward xiv). Defiant in death as she was in life, one can only hope that Plath has found what she was missing.Works Cited Bennett, Paula. My Life A Loaded Gun, Female Creativity and Feminist Poetics. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986. Lowell, Robert. â€Å"Foreword. †Ã‚  Ariel. New York: First Perennial Classics, 1999. xiii-xvi. Print. O ‘Reilly, Caitriona. â€Å"Sylvia Plath. † N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. ;lt;http://www. us. oup. com/us/pdf/americanlit/plath. pdf;gt;. Plath, Sylvia. â€Å"A Birthday Present. †Ã‚  Ariel. New York: First Perennial Classics, 1999. 48-51. Print. Uroff, M. D.. â€Å"Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry: a Reconsideration. †Ã‚  The Iowa Review  8. 1 (1977): 104-115. JStor. Web. 16 Nov. 201 1. ;lt;http://www. jstor. org/stable/20158710;gt;.