Winslow Homers Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) essays

Winslow Homers Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) essays Winslow Homers Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) Winslow Homers Breezing Up, located on the West Main Floor in Gallery 68 of the National Gallery of Arts, perfectly captures the beauty and splendor of nature and innocence. The painting, which was completed after three years of work in 1876, is displayed among the works of other oil painters including additional works by American and naturalist painter Winslow Homer. In this painting, Winslow Homer depicts a man with three boys in a small wooden sail boat that is riding along the choppy waters. At the center of this painting is the stern or rear of the boat. The oldest of the boys is sitting on the far end of the stern with his knees up and his bare feet planted firmly on the deck. Although the subject is directly in front of the viewer, Homer uses a slightly diagonal linear perspective that goes from the rear of the boat to the right and distant horizon. It is this boy, not the man, who is steering the boat almost effortlessly with one hand on the line. His face is turned slightly away from the viewer, yet Homer adds so much detail using line and color to accentuate the boys chin, left cheek and eye. Throughout the artwork, Homers use of lines is only hinted at by the detailed contours of the figures and boats themselves. These detailed features stand out greatly against the thick layers of puffy clouds, painted with thick and loose brush strokes, which linger over the water. The use of expressive lines is also hinted at in Homers ability to recreate curves just as they would appear in nature, such as the shape and form of the rolling waves in the sea and the clouds hovering overhead in the sky. Winslow Homer also uses the technique of line of sight, in which lines are created from the two boys on the left and their father looking to the sail while the boy steering the boat is looking towards the shoreline, their destination. Implied lines may also be app...

Attracting Students to NOVA Southeastern University - Smart Custom Writing Samples

Attracting Students to NOVA Southeastern University - Smart Custom Writing Human Resource Management 2The successful activity of any organization directly depends on the ability to control and manage the talents of the staff that can be helpful some innovative ideas, perspectives and consideration for the improvement of the working process. The problems and challenges that can appear in the working environment may be turned into strategic assets of the organization and used for he company’s prosperity.   Due to different talents and different cultural backgrounds, diverse genders, ages and completely different lifestyles, the company can have more business opportunities, work more quickly and creatively and achieve the desirable goals as quickly as possible. If the environment of the organization does not maintain diversity broadly, there is a high risk to lose talent to competitors. Mathis and Jackson (2010, p.34) assert that many companies are afraid of this very situation. Human resources department is one of the main departments in any structure or organization. The HR is responsible for such tasks as hiring (recruitment), compensation, evaluation and management, promotions, managing relations, planning and payroll. The objective of human resources department is to maximize the coming investment from the organization's human capital and, on the same time, reduce the financial risk to the minimal limits. According to the vital role that human resources department play, there are some challenges such as managing knowledge workers, managing technological challenges, competence of HR managers, competence of HR managers and managing change. Obviously, it is not a complete list or duties and responsibilities of the human research department and managers. One of the main aims of HR department is to organize the work of the staff properly and guarantee excellent and due performance of the work. In this case, one of the most widely spread management tools is the performance appraisal. The question of the using of this management technique is rather controversial as it has both, positive and negative effects on the personnel. The appraisal of genuine performance is a process that is able to alleviate a lot of dysfunctions of conventional systems of the performance appraisal as well as produce a more humane and moral human resource management process of making decisions. Performance of the appraisal critics demonstrates a great number of convincing arguments against its use. Armstrong and Mitchell (2008, p.56) state that there are many cases when this system resulted in different problems.   The major critiques are that person performance appraisal supposes a false level of measurement correctness, produces conflict and competition of   dysfunctional employee, allocates an excessive amount of liability for bad performance to employees while undervaluing the general working process, underemphasizes the significance of work group. One more problem that may arise from the usage of critics of performance appraisal is a conflict between appraised and appraiser. In this case, everything depends upon the personality of both. Obviously, the appraiser should keep in mind some personal features of the employee and take into account the probable behavior of the person. In this case the psychological skills of the manager play very important role, as apprais al should be presented in a correct manner whatever it may be, positive or negative.   Very often, the incorrect manner of presenting the appraisal can lead to the dysfunction of the employee performance and worse results of work. The appraisal should be presented in such a manner to evoke the employee desire to improve the way of work. The staff should feel its necessity whatever appraisal might be in order not to lose the desire to work more efficiently. Very often, many managers carry out the performance appraisals rather poorly. As a result, they face up not only the unpleasant meetings, but also those where the manager and the representatives of the staff never quite comprehend each other, never quite value the other's viewpoint, and never quite settle the suitable goals that are necessary to achieve within the year. Unfortunately, it is practically inevitable the member of the staff will be less happy and less productive after conversation. It proves once again that the crit ical appraisal of the work should be done properly and very carefully in order to avoid misunderstanding and decrease of the productiveness. While making the appraisal of the work of the staff, managers make one common mistake that can lead to frustration, misunderstanding and biased attitude in the team. While making the appraisal it is important to remember that it should be performed along with the employee, as only free eye-to-eye conversation can lead to the positive results. Otherwise, the employee can have the biased attitude form his or her colleagues and lose the desire to work productively. This is a kind of result that should be avoided in any case. In the book by Pynes (2009, p.67) there is a statement that critical appraisal of the performance has its positive effects and intentions. For instance, it can help in developing leadership skills by means of encouraging staff to work more effectively. Developing leadership is also very important, although it seems it is given less attention and development as it should be at all levels of the organization. Despite the fact that leadership is discussed on origin of personality and certain behaviors at an organizational level, which is more based on knowledge, the challenge is to improve employees who have performance based on their past records and knowledge into business leaders by imparting them with the necessary â€Å"software skills†. In any case, any kind of appraisal, positive or negative, can have good and bad results. Everything depends upon the manner of presenting it to the employee. Therefore, critical appraisal is not so scare and bad as it may seem although it ma y lead to positive changes within the tem and improve the performance of work. Reference List Armstrong, S. and Mitchell, B. (2008) The Essential HR Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional , Sydney: Career Press.Mathis, R.L and Jackson J. (2010) Human Resource Management, Boston: South-Western College PubPynes, J. (2009) Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Strategic Approach (Essential Texts for Nonprofit and Public Leadership and Management, New York: Jossey-Bass

Discuss Mark Twain's portrayal of women in Adventures of Huckleberry Essay

Discuss Mark Twain's portrayal of women in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Essay Example While most of the characters represent various members of the male society, there are a significant number of women who play an essential role within the novel. For Twain, there seems to be basically three types of women – the harridan, the sweetly stereotypical Victorian housewife and the intelligent. These types are portrayed within the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through the characters of Miss Watson as the spinsterly old maid, the older Wilks sisters as the properly trained young ladies and the intelligent Mrs. Judith Loftus and Joann Wilks comprising the final set. In the very opening of the book, Twain introduces us to the two most common type of women, the Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson. The image we get of Miss Watson is rather grim. She is â€Å"a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on† who immediately â€Å"took a set at me now with a spelling-book. She worked me middling hard for about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up† (3). While the Widow Douglas is seen as interfering in that she insists on trying to ‘sivilise’ Huck, Miss Watson is nagging in her criticisms. â€Å"Miss Watson would say, ‘Don’t put your feet up there, Huckleberry;’ and ‘Don’t scrunch up like that, Huckleberry – set up straight;’ and pretty soon she would say, ‘Don’t gap and stretch like that, Huckleberry – why don’t you try to behave?’† (4). She is such an unpleasant woman to be around that Huck decides he’d rather go to †˜the bad place’ rather than the good place where Miss Watson has announced she will go. This depiction of her makes it not so surprising that she is an old maid rather than a widow. In contrast to Miss Watson, her sister the Widow Douglas is an older version of the types of girls that Huck meets while on his adventures. The Wilks sisters have been bred to be so

Marketing Research on Selected Two Major Competing Brands Essay

Marketing Research on Selected Two Major Competing Brands - Essay Example As the paper stresses the marketing case study analysis of the Google Inc presented by Abt had demonstrated the marketing programs of Google precisely. Taking insights from his work, the most important facet of Google’s marketing program is that it aims to make its applications and products accepted by all the market segments. Another important aspect of Google is that it allows both private and non-profit organization to use this search engine at absolutely free of cost. It is of no surprise to mention that Google works on the marketing motto that information gathering is a phenomenon of individuals, non-profit organizations and small and large businesses. This discussion declares that the external environment of Google is dynamic in nature and thus also provides opportunities and threats to the search engine. Google is on high demand and to remain competitive in this dynamic environment, it needs to predict the changes and accordingly adapt systems, cultures, strategies and also the process of alignment with the changes. In this respect, Google until now has undertaken several changes like that of the decision taken by Larry Page to step down from the role of Vice President and make Eric Schmidt the front man for Google (CEO). This indicates that Google follows dynamic strategies within its internal environment to cope up with the ever changing external environment. Google holds the top most position in the web and this position allows it to control any of the growth areas. Google has been so far applying marketing penetration strategies in the web industry for remaining on top. Free exposure and free benchmarking are some of the stra tegies that have been helping Google over the years. They always keep themselves aware of the competitive positioning and this trait of the company helps in achieving the competitive advantage over other competitors. The strongest element of Google’s marketing mix is their ‘universal search product’. This element always allows Google to either vote for or against any form of information and it is believed that this product type of Google is the ultimate generator of its

Clark International Airport Corporation Essay Example for Free

Clark International Airport Corporation Essay Abandoning the largest U.S. Air Force Base outside of the continental United States back in 1991 was not an easy task for America. Given the countless industrial/commercial buildings, residential quarters, officers homes, manicured golf courses, road network, two, huge 3.2-kilometer parallel runways capable of landing the space shuttle and over 100 years of U.S. occupation, it quite-possibly would have been easier to pull all the teeth of the resident Generals on-base than to abandon all that Clark Air Base had become to the U. S. Military. This decision to evacuate was not made unilaterally though. Mt Pinatubo had a say in the matter spewing a thick blanket of ash throughout the base. The Philippine Senate also had its input regarding the 100 year U.S. occupation, and, during September 1991, convinced America to turn its back on billions of dollars of infrastructure when they rejected the ratification of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement. Numerous reasons were given for the rejection of this treaty. This was a destructive blow to the Aquino administration, which was very-strongly in favor of maintaining the treaty and the presence of the U.S. Military with its economic benefit to the country. She even called for a referendum by the Filipino people that was later determined as unconstitutional. Several years later, the former US Air Force Military Airlift Wing is now experiencing some major and exciting transformational processes, all without the presence or assistance of a super power. Since 1996, as a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), the runways, airport buildings, infrastructure and surrounding areas of this former military installation is managed by and in the capable-hands of the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC). From the beginning of the transformation, CIAC has provided the organizational and management arm for the daunting job of transforming a former military airfield into a world-class international airport and logistics hub. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in recognition of her father and former president of the Philippines, renamed the facility, Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA). Today it stands in honor to her father’s past administration and as a bright hope to current and future generations as a newly revitalized Philippine gateway, providing sustained commercial, industrial and tourism growth in the face of a new world economy. From humble beginnings in 2003 of only 7,880 international passengers, to over half a million passengers making their way through DMIA in 2007, this airport is an overwhelming success story in all of Asian airport history. As the long-term plans for this facility to be the premier gateway of the Philippines progress, projected estimates range from 20 million to 40 million passengers passing-through the new DMIA annually at fruition of the project. On October 29, 2003, Asiana Airlines had the honor to be the first airline to established international flights in and out of Clark. These flights brought tourists and businessmen to and from Incheon, South Korea. This initiated a new wave of international flights that has blossomed-forth ever since. Some of the international destinations currently being serviced from DMIA include Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Macau, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Seoul Korea. Cebu, Caticlan are the current domestic travel offerings at Clark Airport. South Korean tourists began to discover the Philippines, and specifically, Clark and Subic Bay in ever-growing numbers. In fact, according to the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT), today they constitute the leading group of tourist by nationality in the Philippines. According to the DOT, the number of business and pleasure travelers is on the rise in the Philippines with South Korean leading the pack. For the entire country in 2006, South Korea lead the arrival numbers reaching 572,133 while the U.S. was second with 567,355 and then Japan with 421,808. For the following year, 2007, South Korea once again lead the arrival numbers reaching 653,310, a 14.2% increase, while the U.S. was second with 578,983, a 2% increase and Japan with 395,012, a 6.4% decrease. The fastest growing arrivals percentage-wise between 2006 and 2007 were from China and Malaysia. These countries posted arrival increases of 18.0% and 23.3% respectively. Chinas arrivals in the Philippines in 2007 were at 157,601 while Malaysia’s were 65,695. Growth is one thing, but maintaining quality and performance in the face of tremendous growth is an accomplishment worth taking note. Two consecutive world-class awards from two different organizations speak volumes of an organization’s efforts. In 2006 DMIA was awarded the â€Å"Low Cost Airport of the Year award from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA). Then, in 2007, DMIA was awarded the prestigious â€Å"Airport of the Year† award by Frost and Sullivan, at the Asia Pacific Aerospace and Defense Awards Banquet in Singapore. Formulated in 1961, Frost and Sullivan maintain over 26 offices worldwide, and is a major, respected global research company. The company fields a staff of over 1,500 employees, with job titles ranging from economists, market researchers and technology analysts. These analysts and researchers are focused on the industries of aerospace, defense, energy, transportation, environmental-issues, technology, chemicals, food, power systems and more. It looks like CIAC is entirely-focused and performing above and beyond the call of duty in their determination to witness the realization of DMIA becoming the premier gateway of the Philippines. Exciting plans abound for the long-term prospectus of the Clark Freeport and DMIA. After 15 years of conflict and negotiations with the indigenous Aeta people of the region, CDC has acquired 10,000 hectares of new expansion land area. CDC now has a total of almost 28,000 hectares of contiguous, raw land to work with and put to productive use over the next couple of decades. The Clark governing body has designating a new, modern, 21st Century city to be built from scratch in the combined areas comprising existing and new land acquisitions in and around the Clark Freeport. Aeropolis is the named assigned this modern, Aviation-focused, master-planned, multi-use mega-city/mega-region. CDC already has in a master-plan set-aside for Aeropolis comprised of 4,400 hectare main-zone and a 27,600 hectare sub-zone centered on an aviation-driven urban center that will be ideally suitable to high-end IT, airport-industries, logistics-related enterprises, agro-industries and tourism. This type of long-term, far-sighted planning translates to exponential airport-related arrivals/departures and the ongoing future success of the Clark Airport as a major player in the world economy for many decades to come. Departure Procedure Step 1 Entry Check * Here is where a pax join the first queue the airport entrance queue. * Before a pax can enter the building they must show both of their passport and airline ticket, so they must have them ready. * Now is a good time to remove metal objects from their pockets or purse and place them in their hand carried luggage that will be x-rayed. These items include watches, pens, cell phones, and coins anything that will trigger the metal detector. Doing this early will save delays later. * Once they have shown their passport and ticket they will have to place their entire luggage on the x-ray conveyor belt before walking through the metal detector. Step 2 Airline Check-in * If all goes well they can collect their luggage and proceed to their airline check-in counter. * They should expect huge queues so they must get there early. * While waiting in the check-in queue they must prepared to have their baggage sniff tested for explosives. * After checking in and getting their boarding pass they can now proceed to the departure area but their queuing is not yet over. Step 3 Pay Departure Tax/ Terminal Fee * Before entering the departure area they must show their passport and boarding pass. Once cleared they can now go to the counter where they will pay their departure tax and terminal fee. This terminal fee is currently 150 pesos for domestic and 450 pesos for international per passenger. * At the counter they must give the counter operator their boarding pass and the money. She will return their boarding pass along with a receipt. Step 4 Immigration Clearance * The next step is Immigration Clearance. They must present their passport and boarding pass. Step 5 Security Check * The next queue is at the security check. Once again pax must make sure to have taken all metal objects out of their pockets or purse. They can either place those in their hand carry bag or in a plastic tray that the security people will provide. * Make sure they adhere to the currency export limits for both Philippine pesos and foreign currencies. * After they have gone through the metal detector they can collect their bags and the tray with their personal effects, and then they can proceed into the departure area. Step 6 Departure Gate Check * If they think they have stood in the last queue they may be disappointed. Depending on their airline there may be one more security check. This will be as they enter the departure gate area. This check is just a routine and quick check of they and their hand carried bag. Step 7 Passport Boarding Check * Again, depending on the airline, they may have to show both their boarding card and their passport as they board the aircraft. If so, they must be ready and have their passport open at the photo page. Arrival Procedure Step 1 – Quarantine/ Immigration Procedures * Pax must have their passport ready to complete quarantine and immigration procedures. Foreign travelers will need to fill out an arrival card. Step 2 – Baggage Claim * They must check the information board for the name of their airline and flight no. and collect their baggage from the appropriate carousel. If they cannot find their baggage, they must show their baggage claim tag to the airline service representative and ask for assistance. Step 3 – Customs Inspection * Pax must take their baggage and proceed to Customs Inspection. If they have items to declare complete the necessary procedures at the appropriate counter. Step 4 – To the Arrivals Lobby / Meet Greet * They will proceed to the arrivals lobby which is the convenient place to meet friends and families. My 50 Days of Experience I have learned a lot in my 50 days of experience at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport especially with the Airport Operation Department staff. I don’t even knew the existence of the airport operation before. But now after being a part of this department just even for a while I have realized the importance and the role of it. Airport Operation Department has a big role in running an airport. It is like the main ingredient in a recipe and the heart of a body system. Without it an airport cannot be called an airport terminal because they are the one who keep safety and security excellence as the first priority, they develop a better airport for the future by taking advantage of emerging market opportunities, they operate an efficient airport dedicated to exceptional customer service, they broaden and increase the airport’s revenue base to ensure on-going viability, and they maintain strong relationships with â€Å"neighbors†, communities, and industries. Being a part of it is not really easy because it is too broad. But thanks to our leaders who made us understand our role and made us feel that we are really a part of the Airport Operation Department even though we are just OJTs.

Letter to President Coolidge :: essays research papers

President Coolidge:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although some people believe that we, as a country, don’t have enough room for all these hard working immigrants, there comes a time when we need to realize the real basis of this country. We are all immigrants, in our own way, some of us may have been born here, but we do not all come from here. We all have ancestors that come from somewhere in Europe, or somewhere else. No one is a natural citizen except perhaps the Native Americans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To not grant someone entrance into our great nation is not only unethical, and immoral, but also unconstitutional. Everyone deserves his or her fair chance. The real questions when talking about the Immigration Act is, do we take the risk, do we let these people into our country and let them become free, or do we just shoot them down and tell them that they have to live there lives with religious persecution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If we do not let theses people in the America, the great nation, than we are in a way not letting people become free. We are preventing people from living the lives they want to live. Most of all we are feeding communism, and foreign army’s with people that want to live in the Americas but we wont let them. Think of all the people that would come and live in America, the United States of America, The Land of The Free, and join our Army, our Air Force, our Navy, and our Marine Core. Talk about one great nation. Think of all the farm hands, all the people striving to make a living by helping in anyway they can.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When it comes time to make a decision, I hope that you consider these factors. And see how great of a nation we may become with these immigrants that just want a chance.

Vampire Academy Chapter 3

THREE SENDING US STRAIGHT TO CLASS after our meeting seemed beyond cruel, but that's exactly what Kirova did. Lissa was led away, and I watched her go, glad the bond would allow me to keep reading her emotional temperature. They actually sent me to one of the guidance counselors first. He was an ancient Moroi guy, one I remembered from before I'd left. I honestly couldn't believe he was still around. The guy was so freaking old, he should have retired. Or died. The visit took all of five minutes. He said nothing about my return and asked a few questions about what classes I'd taken in Chicago and Portland. He compared those against my old file and hastily scrawled out a new schedule. I took it sullenly and headed out to my first class. 1st Period Advanced Guardian Combat Techniques 2nd Period Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 3 3rd Period Weight Training and Conditioning 4th Period Senior Language Arts (Novices) -Lunch – 5th Period Animal Behavior and Physiology 6th Period Pre-calculus 7th Period Moroi Culture 4 8th Period Slavic Art Ugh. I'd forgotten how long the Academy's school day was. Novices and Moroi took separate classes during the first half of the day, which meant I wouldn't see Lissa until after lunch – if we had any afternoon classes together. Most of them were standard senior classes, so I felt my odds were pretty good. Slavic art struck me as the kind of elective no one signed up for, so hopefully they'd stuck her in there too. Dimitri and Alberta escorted me to the guardians' gym for first period, neither one acknowledging my existence. Walking behind them, I saw how Alberta wore her hair in a short, pixie cut that showed her promise mark and molnija marks. A lot of female guardians did this. It didn't matter so much for me now, since my neck had no tattoos yet, but I didn't want to ever cut my hair. She and Dimitri didn't say anything and walked along almost like it was any other day. When we arrived, the reactions of my peers indicated it was anything but. They were in the middle of setting up when we entered the gym, and just like in the commons, all eyes fell on me. I couldn't decide if I felt like a rock star or a circus freak. All right, then. If I was going to be stuck here for a while, I wasn't going to act afraid of them all anymore. Lissa and I had once held this school's respect, and it was time to remind everyone of that. Scanning the staring, openmouthed novices, I looked for a familiar face. Most of them were guys. One caught my eye, and I could barely hold back my grin. â€Å"Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time.† A few snorts and snickers broke the awed silence, and Mason Ashford snapped out of his haze, giving me a lopsided smile. With red hair that stuck up everywhere and a smattering of freckles, he was nice-looking, though not exactly hot. He was also one of the funniest guys I knew. We'd been good friends back in the day. â€Å"This is my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session.† â€Å"Oh yeah?† I retorted. â€Å"Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then.† â€Å"It's always a good a time to think about you naked,† added someone nearby, breaking the tension further. Eddie Castile. Another friend of mine. Dimitri shook his head and walked off, muttering something in Russian that didn't sound complimentary. But as for me? ­well, just like that, I was one of the novices again. They were an easygoing bunch, less focused on pedigree and politics than the Moroi students. The class engulfed me, and I found myself laughing and seeing those I'd nearly forgotten about. Everyone wanted to know where we'd been; apparently Lissa and I had become legends. I couldn't tell them why we'd left, of course, so I offered up a lot of taunts and wouldn't-you-like-to-knows that served just as well. The happy reunion lasted a few more minutes before the adult guardian who oversaw the training came over and scolded Mason for neglecting his duties. Still grinning, he barked out orders to everyone, explaining what exercises to start with. Uneasily I realized I didn't know most of them. â€Å"Come on, Hathaway,† he said, taking my arm. â€Å"You can be my partner. Let's see what you've been doing all this time.† An hour later, he had his answer. â€Å"Not practicing, huh?† â€Å"Ow,† I groaned, momentarily incapable of normal speech. He extended a hand and helped me up from the mat he'd knocked me down on – about fifty times. â€Å"I hate you,† I told him, rubbing a spot on my thigh that was going to have a wicked bruise tomorrow. â€Å"You'd hate me more if I held back.† â€Å"Yeah, that's true,† I agreed, staggering along as the class put the equipment back. â€Å"You actually did okay.† â€Å"What? I just had my ass handed to me.† â€Å"Well, of course you did. It's been two years. But hey, you're still walking. That's something.† He grinned mockingly. â€Å"Did I mention I hate you?† He flashed me another smile, which quickly faded to something more serious. â€Å"Don't take this the wrong way? ­I mean, you really are a scrapper, but there's no way you'll be able to take your trials in the spring – â€Å" â€Å"They're making me take extra practice sessions,† I explained. Not that it mattered. I planned on getting Lissa and me out of here before these practices really became an issue. â€Å"I'll be ready.† â€Å"Extra sessions with who?† â€Å"That tall guy. Dimitri.† Mason stopped walking and stared at me. â€Å"You're putting in extra time with Belikov?† â€Å"Yeah, so what?† â€Å"So the man is a god.† â€Å"Exaggerate much?† I asked. â€Å"No, I'm serious. I mean, he's all quiet and antisocial usually, but when he fights? ­wow. If you think you're hurting now, you're going to be dead when he's done with you.† Great. Something else to improve my day. I elbowed him and went on to second period. That class covered the essentials of being a bodyguard and was required for all seniors. Actually, it was the third in a series that had started junior year. That meant I was behind in this class too, but I hoped protecting Lissa in the real world had given me some insight. Our instructor was Stan Alto, whom we referred to simply as â€Å"Stan† behind his back and â€Å"Guardian Alto† in formal settings. He was a little older than Dimitri, but not nearly as tall, and he always looked pissed off. Today, that look intensified when he walked into the classroom and saw me sitting there. His eyes widened in mock surprise as he circled the room and came to stand beside my desk. â€Å"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker here today. Rose Hathaway. What a privilege! How very generous of you to take time out of your busy schedule and share your knowledge with us.† I felt my cheeks burning, but in a great show of self-control, I stopped myself from telling him to fuck off. I'm pretty sure my face must have delivered that message, however, because his sneer increased. He gestured for me to stand up. â€Å"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come up to the front so you can help me lecture the class.† I sank into my seat. â€Å"You don't really mean – â€Å" The taunting smile dried up. â€Å"I mean exactly what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class.† A thick silence enveloped the room. Stan was a scary instructor, and most of the class was too awed to laugh at my disgrace quite yet. Refusing to crack, I strode up to the front of the room and turned to face the class. I gave them a bold look and tossed my hair over my shoulders, earning a few sympathetic smiles from my friends. I then noticed I had a larger audience than expected. A few guardians – including Dimitri – lingered in the back of the room. Outside the Academy, guardians focused on one-on-one protection. Here, guardians had a lot more people to protect and they had to train the novices. So rather than follow any one person around, they worked shifts guarding the school as a whole and monitoring classes. â€Å"So, Hathaway,† said Stan cheerfully, strolling back up to the front with me. â€Å"Enlighten us about your protective techniques.† â€Å"My? ­techniques?† â€Å"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats.† It was the Kirova lecture all over again, except with more witnesses. â€Å"We never ran into any Strigoi,† I replied stiffly. â€Å"Obviously,† he said with a snicker. â€Å"I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive.† I wanted to shout that maybe I could have defeated a Strigoi, but after getting beat up in the last class, I now suspected I couldn't have survived an attack by Mason, let alone an actual Strigoi. When I didn't say anything, Stan started pacing in front of the class. â€Å"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?† â€Å"Sometimes.† That was true – especially when we'd first run away. We'd relaxed a little after months went by with no attacks. â€Å"Sometimes,† he repeated in a high-pitched voice, making my answer sound incredibly stupid. â€Å"Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night.† â€Å"Er? ­no.† â€Å"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because you weren't here.† I swallowed back more swear words. â€Å"I watched the area whenever we went out,† I said, needing to defend myself. â€Å"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?† I didn't say anything. â€Å"Ah. I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To Method.† â€Å"No!† I exclaimed angrily. â€Å"That's not true. I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?† He walked back up to me and leaned toward my face. â€Å"Because you got lucky.† â€Å"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there,† I shot back. â€Å"It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound.† â€Å"Safer? Safer? We are at war with the Strigoi!† he yelled. I could smell coffee on his breath, he was so close. â€Å"One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him – and he'd barely break a sweat doing it. You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, but you are nothing, nothing, compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And do you know what makes them more powerful?† No way was I going to let this jerk make me cry. Looking away from him, I tried to focus on something else. My eyes rested on Dimitri and the other guardians. They were watching my humiliation, stone-faced. â€Å"Moroi blood,† I whispered. â€Å"What was that?† asked Stan loudly. â€Å"I didn't catch it.† I spun back around to face him. â€Å"Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger.† He nodded in satisfaction and took a few steps back. â€Å"Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill and drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And that is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strong enough – even with guardians – to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore and are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear? ­Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"? ­so do the dhampirs,† I finished. â€Å"Well,† he said, licking sprayed spit off his lips. â€Å"It looks like you learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester.† Ouch. I spent the rest of that horrible class – in my seat, thankfully – replaying those last words in my mind. The senior-year field experience was the best part of a novice's education. We'd have no classes for half a semester. Instead, we'd each be assigned a Moroi student to guard and follow around. The adult guardians would monitor us and test us with staged attacks and other threats. How a novice passed that field experience was almost as important as all the rest of her grades combined. It could influence which Moroi she got assigned to after graduation. And me? There was only one Moroi I wanted. Two classes later, I finally earned my lunch escape. As I stumbled across campus toward the commons, Dimitri fell into step beside me, not looking particularly godlike – unless you counted his godly good looks. â€Å"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?† I asked, not bothering with titles. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And you don't think that was unfair?† â€Å"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?† I looked down at the ground. â€Å"I kept her alive,† I mumbled. â€Å"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?† The question was mean. I didn't answer and knew I didn't need to. I'd had another training class after Stan's, and no doubt Dimitri had watched me get beat up there too. â€Å"If you can't fight them – â€Å" â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I know,† I snapped. He slowed his long stride to match my pain-filled one. â€Å"You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?† â€Å"Sure,† I shrugged. â€Å"Now and then.† â€Å"You didn't join any teams?† â€Å"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here.† He gave me an exasperated look. â€Å"You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking.† â€Å"I'll be able to protect her,† I said fiercely. â€Å"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know – for your field experience or after you graduate.† Dimitri's voice was low and unapologetic. They hadn't given me a warm and fuzzy mentor. â€Å"No one wants to waste the bond – but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate – if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will.† â€Å"Lissa, call her Lissa,† I corrected. She hated her full name, much preferring the Americanized nickname. He walked away, and suddenly, I didn't feel like such a badass anymore. By now, I'd burned up a lot of time leaving class. Most everyone else had long since sprinted inside the commons for lunch, eager to maximize their social time. I'd almost made it back there myself when a voice under the door's overhang called to me. â€Å"Rose?† Peering in the voice's direction, I caught sight of Victor Dashkov, his kind face smiling at me as he leaned on a cane near the building's wall. His two guardians stood nearby at a polite distance. â€Å"Mr. Dash-er, Your Highness. Hi.† I caught myself just in time, having nearly forgotten Moroi royal terms. I hadn't used them while living among humans. The Moroi chose their rulers from among twelve royal families. The eldest in the family got the title of â€Å"prince† or â€Å"princess.† Lissa had gotten hers because she was the only one left in her line. â€Å"How was your first day?† he asked. â€Å"Not over yet.† I tried to think of something conversational. â€Å"Are you visiting here for a while?† â€Å"I'll be leaving this afternoon after I say hello to Natalie. When I heard Vasilisa – and you – had returned, I simply had to come see you.† I nodded, not sure what else to say. He was more Lissa's friend than mine. â€Å"I wanted to tell you? ­Ã¢â‚¬  He spoke hesitantly. â€Å"I understand the gravity of what you did, but I think Headmistress Kirova failed to acknowledge something. You did keep Vasilisa safe all this time. That is impressive.† â€Å"Well, it's not like I faced down Strigoi or anything,† I said. â€Å"But you faced down some things?† â€Å"Sure. The school sent psi-hounds once.† â€Å"Remarkable.† â€Å"Not really. Avoiding them was pretty easy.† He laughed. â€Å"I've hunted with them before. They aren't that easy to evade, not with their powers and intelligence.† It was true. Psi-hounds were one of many types of magical creatures that wandered the world, creatures that humans never knew about or else didn't believe they'd really seen. The hounds traveled in packs and shared a sort of psychic communication that made them particularly deadly to their prey – as did the fact that they resembled mutant wolves. â€Å"Did you face anything else?† I shrugged. â€Å"Little things here and there.† â€Å"Remarkable,† he repeated. â€Å"Lucky, I think. It turns out I'm really behind in all this guardian stuff.† I sounded just like Stan now. â€Å"You're a smart girl. You'll catch up. And you also have your bond.† I looked away. My ability to â€Å"feel† Lissa had been such a secret for so long, it felt weird to have others know about it. â€Å"The histories are full of stories of guardians who could feel when their charges were in danger,† Victor continued. â€Å"I've made a hobby of studying up on it and some of the ancient ways. I've heard it's a tremendous asset.† â€Å"I guess.† I shrugged. What a boring hobby, I thought, imagining him poring over prehistoric histories in some dank library covered in spiderwebs. Victor tilted his head, curiosity all over his face. Kirova and the others had had the same look when we'd mentioned our connection, like we were lab rats. â€Å"What is it like – if you don't mind me asking?† â€Å"It's? ­I don't know. I just sort of always have this hum of how she feels. Usually it's just emotions. We can't send messages or anything.† I didn't tell him about slipping into her head. That part of it was hard even for me to understand. â€Å"But it doesn't work the other way? She doesn't sense you?† I shook my head. His face shone with wonder. â€Å"How did it happen?† â€Å"I don't know,† I said, still glancing away. â€Å"Just started two years ago.† He frowned. â€Å"Near the time of the accident?† Hesitantly, I nodded. The accident was not something I wanted to talk about, that was for sure. Lissa's memories were bad enough without my own mixing into them. Twisted metal. A sensation of hot, then cold, then hot again. Lissa screaming over me, screaming for me to wake up, screaming for her parents and her brother to wake up. None of them had, only me. And the doctors said that was a miracle in itself. They said I shouldn't have survived. Apparently sensing my discomfort, Victor let the moment go and returned to his earlier excitement. â€Å"I can still barely believe this. It's been so long since this has happened. If it did happen more often? ­just think what it could do for the safety of all Moroi. If only others could experience this too. I'll have to do more research and see if we can replicate it with others.† â€Å"Yeah.† I was getting impatient, despite how much I liked him. Natalie rambled a lot, and it was pretty clear which parent she'd inherited that quality from. Lunch was ticking down, and although Moroi and novices shared afternoon classes, Lissa and I wouldn't have much time to talk. â€Å"Perhaps we could – † He started coughing, a great, seizing fit that made his whole body shake. His disease, Sandovsky's Syndrome, took the lungs down with it while dragging the body toward death. I cast an anxious look at his guardians, and one of them stepped forward. â€Å"Your Highness,† he said politely, â€Å"you need to go inside. It's too cold out here.† Victor nodded. â€Å"Yes, yes. And I'm sure Rose here wants to eat.† He turned to me. â€Å"Thank you for speaking to me. I can't emphasize how much it means to me that Vasilisa is safe – and that you helped with that. I'd promised her father I'd look after her if anything happened to him, and I felt like quite the failure when you left.† A sinking sensation filled my stomach as I imagined him wracked with guilt and worry over our disappearance. Until now, I hadn't really thought about how others might have felt about us leaving. We made our goodbyes, and I finally arrived inside the school. As I did, I felt Lissa's anxiety spike. Ignoring the pain in my legs, I picked up my pace into the commons. And nearly ran right into her. She didn't see me, though. Neither did the people standing with her: Aaron and that little doll girl. I stopped and listened, just catching the end of the conversation. The girl leaned toward Lissa, who seemed more stunned than anything else. â€Å"It looks to me like it came from a garage sale. I thought a precious Dragomir would have standards.† Scorn dripped off the word Dragomir. Grabbing Doll Girl by the shoulder, I jerked her away. She was so light, she stumbled three feet and nearly fell. â€Å"She does have standards,† I said, â€Å"which is why you're done talking to her.†

Mental Illness

The social construction of mental illness Key Words * Career: The gradual change in people as a response to a label e. g. mental patient. * Learned Helplessness: learning how to be dependent. * Life-course model: suggests that the accumulation of social events experienced over a whole lifetime, not just individual important events, influence people and their mental state. * Presenting culture: a term used by Goffman to refer to how people like to portray themselves to others. * Schizophrenia: a form of mental illness where people are unable to distinguish their own feelings and perceptions from reality. Self-Fulfilling prophecy: predictions about the behaviour of social groups that come true as a result of positive or negative labelling. * Social Capital: refers to a network of social contacts. * Social constructionism: the approach which suggests that mental illness exists because people believe that it does. * Social realism: a sociological approach which suggests that mental illne ss does really exist. Summary Mental illness is the less fortunate twin to physical illness. The NHS is not funding enough support for mental health patients and the attention paid to it is minimal.Mental health is a major problem in society with one in seven people claiming to have had mental health problems at some point in their lives. Social Trends 2007 (Self and Zealey 2007) said that about one in six British people aged 16 to 74 reported experiencing a neurotic disorder in the seven days before a national survey on mental health. When looking at which group is most likely to suffer from high rates of mental illness, the poorest and most excluded are majorly overrepresented. Defining mental illness Social Realism: A general term used to describe the approaches of sociologists who accept that there are distinctive sets of abnormal behaviour that cause distress to individuals and those around them. * Pilgrim and Rogers (1999) accept that, at different times and in different cultu res, there are variations in what is considered as mental illness. * Although mental illness may have different names and sometimes not be recognized, it does actually exist as a real condition. * Similar to the bio-medical approach which believes that symptoms can be scientifically diagnosed and categorized.They see treatment as allopathic (cure orientated through the use of drugs, shock treatment and surgery etc. * They recommend that sufferers be isolated from wider society. Social constructionism: * Have been very influential in sociological approaches to mental illness and start from the argument that what is considered as normal varies over time and from society to society. * Greater extremes of behaviour have been seen as normal in some societies and symptoms of madness in others. Labelling perspective: Labelling theory examines how the labelling of mental illness occurs in the first place and what effects it has on those who are labelled. * Thomas Szasz (1973) argues that th e label ‘mental illness’ is simply a convenient way to deal with behaviour that people find disruptive. He is particularly critical of psychiatrists for diagnosing children with ADHD and calling it a disease. He says that giving a child a drug for a mythical disease is a form of physical child abuse because the child has no say in the matter. Labelling theory therefore rests firmly upon a social constructionist definition of mental illness. The effects of labelling * Scheff (1966) said that whether someone becomes labelled or not is determined by the benefits those others might gain by labelling the person ‘mentally ill’. So, those who become a nuisance are far more likely to become diagnosed as mentally ill as someone who causes no problems. * Once labelled, there are a number of negative consequences for the person because it is then assumed that all their behaviour is evidence of their mental state. Erving Goffman (1961) followed the careers of people wh o were genuinely defined as being mentally ill. He suggested that once in an institution people are stripped of their presenting culture. Criticisms of the labelling perspective * Gove (1982) suggests that the vast majority of people who receive treatment for mental illness actually have serious problems before they are treated so the argument that the labels cause the problems is wrong. It may explain the responses of others to the mentally ill, but cannot explain the causes of the illness.Foucault’s perspective on mental illness: * He explains the growth in the concept of mental illness by placing it in the context if the changing ways of thinking and acting which developed in the early 18th century. * During the enlightenment more traditional ways of thinking were gradually replaced by more rational and disciplined ways of thinking. He argues that as rationality developed into the normal way of thinking, irrationality became to be perceived as deviant. * Having mad people in asylums isolated mad people away from the majority of the population.They symbolized the fact that madness or irrationality was marked out as behaviour that is no longer acceptable. Structuralist perspectives on mental illness: * Virde (1977) explained the fact that some ethnic minorities are more likely to develop mental health problems by arguing that the sorts of pressures and stresses that can cause people to develop mental illness are more often experienced by people in an ethnic minority. * Nazroo is critical of this approach. He points out that people of the Bangladeshi origin who are victims of racism have lower levels of mental illness than the general population.He concludes that mental illness cannot just be caused by racism and deprivation. * Brown et al (1995) explained that women are more likely to lead stressful lives because they have the dial burden and triple shift. * Labelling theorists (Chelser 1972), say that women are more likely to be seen as mentally ill b ecause the defining of illness is mainly done by males. * Link and Phelan (1995) reviewed all the evidence and concluded that research pointed out a relationship between low levels of deprivation and mental illness.Social capital (Putnam 2000) argued that people who have extensive and strong levels of social networks are more likely to be ‘happier’ than those who don’t. Check Your Understanding: 1) The two sociological approaches to explaining mental illness are social realist and social constructionist. 2) Social realist bases itself on the idea that there are distinctive sets of abnormal behaviour that should be treated; they are very similar to the bio-medical approach.Social constructionist believes that definitions of mental illness can vary over time and in different cultures. 3) Labelling helps us understand that some people may live up to the label they have been given and can strip mental health patients of any self-dignity as they have no say in what ha ppens to them as they have been given the label of someone who is mad. 4) A structural explanation is closely tied to the social realist definition of mental illness; they accept the reality of mental illness and set out to discover what social factors help cause them. ) Busfield says that it is true that some groups are more likely to find their behaviour defined as mental illness, compared to the behaviour of other groups however al of those groups experience higher levels of stress so mental illness would be higher. 6) They are more likely to show cultural characterises that are not seen as normal in a wider society. 7) They use the idea that women have more responsibilities than men and that the defining of mental illness tends to be dominated by male health professionals. Mental Illness The social construction of mental illness Key Words * Career: The gradual change in people as a response to a label e. g. mental patient. * Learned Helplessness: learning how to be dependent. * Life-course model: suggests that the accumulation of social events experienced over a whole lifetime, not just individual important events, influence people and their mental state. * Presenting culture: a term used by Goffman to refer to how people like to portray themselves to others. * Schizophrenia: a form of mental illness where people are unable to distinguish their own feelings and perceptions from reality. Self-Fulfilling prophecy: predictions about the behaviour of social groups that come true as a result of positive or negative labelling. * Social Capital: refers to a network of social contacts. * Social constructionism: the approach which suggests that mental illness exists because people believe that it does. * Social realism: a sociological approach which suggests that mental illne ss does really exist. Summary Mental illness is the less fortunate twin to physical illness. The NHS is not funding enough support for mental health patients and the attention paid to it is minimal.Mental health is a major problem in society with one in seven people claiming to have had mental health problems at some point in their lives. Social Trends 2007 (Self and Zealey 2007) said that about one in six British people aged 16 to 74 reported experiencing a neurotic disorder in the seven days before a national survey on mental health. When looking at which group is most likely to suffer from high rates of mental illness, the poorest and most excluded are majorly overrepresented. Defining mental illness Social Realism: A general term used to describe the approaches of sociologists who accept that there are distinctive sets of abnormal behaviour that cause distress to individuals and those around them. * Pilgrim and Rogers (1999) accept that, at different times and in different cultu res, there are variations in what is considered as mental illness. * Although mental illness may have different names and sometimes not be recognized, it does actually exist as a real condition. * Similar to the bio-medical approach which believes that symptoms can be scientifically diagnosed and categorized.They see treatment as allopathic (cure orientated through the use of drugs, shock treatment and surgery etc. * They recommend that sufferers be isolated from wider society. Social constructionism: * Have been very influential in sociological approaches to mental illness and start from the argument that what is considered as normal varies over time and from society to society. * Greater extremes of behaviour have been seen as normal in some societies and symptoms of madness in others. Labelling perspective: Labelling theory examines how the labelling of mental illness occurs in the first place and what effects it has on those who are labelled. * Thomas Szasz (1973) argues that th e label ‘mental illness’ is simply a convenient way to deal with behaviour that people find disruptive. He is particularly critical of psychiatrists for diagnosing children with ADHD and calling it a disease. He says that giving a child a drug for a mythical disease is a form of physical child abuse because the child has no say in the matter. Labelling theory therefore rests firmly upon a social constructionist definition of mental illness. The effects of labelling * Scheff (1966) said that whether someone becomes labelled or not is determined by the benefits those others might gain by labelling the person ‘mentally ill’. So, those who become a nuisance are far more likely to become diagnosed as mentally ill as someone who causes no problems. * Once labelled, there are a number of negative consequences for the person because it is then assumed that all their behaviour is evidence of their mental state. Erving Goffman (1961) followed the careers of people wh o were genuinely defined as being mentally ill. He suggested that once in an institution people are stripped of their presenting culture. Criticisms of the labelling perspective * Gove (1982) suggests that the vast majority of people who receive treatment for mental illness actually have serious problems before they are treated so the argument that the labels cause the problems is wrong. It may explain the responses of others to the mentally ill, but cannot explain the causes of the illness.Foucault’s perspective on mental illness: * He explains the growth in the concept of mental illness by placing it in the context if the changing ways of thinking and acting which developed in the early 18th century. * During the enlightenment more traditional ways of thinking were gradually replaced by more rational and disciplined ways of thinking. He argues that as rationality developed into the normal way of thinking, irrationality became to be perceived as deviant. * Having mad people in asylums isolated mad people away from the majority of the population.They symbolized the fact that madness or irrationality was marked out as behaviour that is no longer acceptable. Structuralist perspectives on mental illness: * Virde (1977) explained the fact that some ethnic minorities are more likely to develop mental health problems by arguing that the sorts of pressures and stresses that can cause people to develop mental illness are more often experienced by people in an ethnic minority. * Nazroo is critical of this approach. He points out that people of the Bangladeshi origin who are victims of racism have lower levels of mental illness than the general population.He concludes that mental illness cannot just be caused by racism and deprivation. * Brown et al (1995) explained that women are more likely to lead stressful lives because they have the dial burden and triple shift. * Labelling theorists (Chelser 1972), say that women are more likely to be seen as mentally ill b ecause the defining of illness is mainly done by males. * Link and Phelan (1995) reviewed all the evidence and concluded that research pointed out a relationship between low levels of deprivation and mental illness.Social capital (Putnam 2000) argued that people who have extensive and strong levels of social networks are more likely to be ‘happier’ than those who don’t. Check Your Understanding: 1) The two sociological approaches to explaining mental illness are social realist and social constructionist. 2) Social realist bases itself on the idea that there are distinctive sets of abnormal behaviour that should be treated; they are very similar to the bio-medical approach.Social constructionist believes that definitions of mental illness can vary over time and in different cultures. 3) Labelling helps us understand that some people may live up to the label they have been given and can strip mental health patients of any self-dignity as they have no say in what ha ppens to them as they have been given the label of someone who is mad. 4) A structural explanation is closely tied to the social realist definition of mental illness; they accept the reality of mental illness and set out to discover what social factors help cause them. ) Busfield says that it is true that some groups are more likely to find their behaviour defined as mental illness, compared to the behaviour of other groups however al of those groups experience higher levels of stress so mental illness would be higher. 6) They are more likely to show cultural characterises that are not seen as normal in a wider society. 7) They use the idea that women have more responsibilities than men and that the defining of mental illness tends to be dominated by male health professionals.

Free Essays on Eurocentrism

In historian Lynn White’s book, Medivieval Technology and Culture Change, he argues that various technological advances within the field of agriculture related directly to monumental social, economic, and cultural changes of Europe. Therefore, these technological advances and innovations led directly to Europe’s rise to capitalism in modern times. White supports his theory by way of technological determinism, or the claim that new technology is the primary cause of change, regardless of where the technology came from. While technological advances and innovations are valued highly in societal, economic, and cultural changes it is important to understand both how the technology reached Europe, as well as other facets of change that may have contributed to Europe’s rise to power. In White’s book, he specifically sites the importance of the heavy plow, horse collar, and use of horse power as key innovations that led directly to Europe’s rise to power. However, what he fails to take into consideration as Blaut comments in his critique is the origins of these innovations as well as the geography of Europe during this time (pg. 34). Sadly, none of these criteria are taken into consideration given the entire support for his argument is the idea of technological determinism. With the blanket argument of technological determinism White has thrown out the idea of other cultures and society’s innovativeness and fails to give credit where credit is do, while seemingly convinced that other cultures were not capable of such dramatic technological invention, or even the capacity of thought to create such innovations. Rather than consider the likelihood of other cultures contributions to the rise of Europe White is blinded by technological determinism. As a result, he is unable to see that much of the technology that supposedly led to Europe’s rise to power can be found in other parts of the world long before it shows up in Eu... Free Essays on Eurocentrism Free Essays on Eurocentrism In historian Lynn White’s book, Medivieval Technology and Culture Change, he argues that various technological advances within the field of agriculture related directly to monumental social, economic, and cultural changes of Europe. Therefore, these technological advances and innovations led directly to Europe’s rise to capitalism in modern times. White supports his theory by way of technological determinism, or the claim that new technology is the primary cause of change, regardless of where the technology came from. While technological advances and innovations are valued highly in societal, economic, and cultural changes it is important to understand both how the technology reached Europe, as well as other facets of change that may have contributed to Europe’s rise to power. In White’s book, he specifically sites the importance of the heavy plow, horse collar, and use of horse power as key innovations that led directly to Europe’s rise to power. However, what he fails to take into consideration as Blaut comments in his critique is the origins of these innovations as well as the geography of Europe during this time (pg. 34). Sadly, none of these criteria are taken into consideration given the entire support for his argument is the idea of technological determinism. With the blanket argument of technological determinism White has thrown out the idea of other cultures and society’s innovativeness and fails to give credit where credit is do, while seemingly convinced that other cultures were not capable of such dramatic technological invention, or even the capacity of thought to create such innovations. Rather than consider the likelihood of other cultures contributions to the rise of Europe White is blinded by technological determinism. As a result, he is unable to see that much of the technology that supposedly led to Europe’s rise to power can be found in other parts of the world long before it shows up in Eu...

Defining Nonfiction Writing

Defining Nonfiction Writing Etymology: From the Latin, not shaping, feigning Pronunciation: non-FIX-shun Nonfiction is a blanket term for  prose accounts of real people, places, objects, or events. This can serve as an umbrella encompassing everything from Creative Nonfiction and Literary Nonfiction to  Advanced Composition,  Expository Writing,  and Journalism. Types of nonfiction include articles, autobiographies, biographies, essays, memoirs, nature writing, profiles, reports, sports writing, and travel writing. Observations I see no reason why the word [artist] should always be confined to writers of fiction and poetry while the rest of us are lumped together under that despicable term Nonfiction- as if we were some sort of remainder. I do not feel like a Non-something; I feel quite specific. I wish I could think of a name in place of Nonfiction. In the hope of finding an antonym, I looked up Fiction in Webster and found it defined as opposed to Fact, Truth, and Reality. I thought for a while of adopting FTR, standing for Fact, Truth, and Reality, as my new term.(Barbara Tuchman, The Historian as Artist, 1966)Its always seemed odd to me that nonfiction is defined, not by what it is, but by what it is not. It is not fiction. But then again, it is also not poetry, or technical writing or libretto. Its like defining classical music as nonjazz.(Philip Gerard, Creative Nonfiction. Story Press, 1996)Many writers and editors add creative to nonfiction to mollify this sense of being strange and other, and to re mind readers that creative nonfiction writers are more than recorders or appliers of reason and objectivity. Certainly, many readers and writers of creative nonfiction recognize that the genre can share many elements of fiction.(Jocelyn Bartkevicius, The Landscape of Creative Nonfiction, 1999) If nonfiction is where you do your best writing or your best teaching of writing, dont be buffaloed into the idea that its an inferior species. The only important distinction is between good writing and bad writing.(William Zinsser, On Writing Well, 2006)The Common Core State Standards (US) and NonfictionOne central concern is that the Core reduces how much literature English teachers can teach. Because of its emphasis on analysis of information and reasoning, the Core requires that 50 percent of all reading assignments in elementary schools consist of nonfiction texts. That requirement has sparked outrage that masterpieces by Shakespeare or Steinbeck are being dropped for informational texts like Recommended Levels of Insulation by the Environmental Protection Agency.(The Common Core Backlash. The Week, June 6, 2014)

Brand Management 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Brand Management 1 - Essay Example Doganis R. (2006) The airline business. London: Routledge. (http://books.google.co.in/books?id=UnVAfY8J6OcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+airline+business&hl=en&ei=GzjJTdXLAY_irAf5mJGhBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CEsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false) Floor K. (2006) Branding a store: how to build successful retail brands in a changing marketplace. London: Kogan Page Publishers. (http://books.google.co.in/books?id=a_F2yzdi-AIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%29+Branding+a+store:+how+to+build+successful+retail+brands+in+a+changing+%09%09%09%09marketplace&hl=en&ei=NzjJTeipJIzMrQeDtMSZBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false) Hax A C. (2009) The Delta Model: Reinventing Your Business Strategy. New York: Springer. (http://books.google.co.in/books?id=ROSTnjmTjxQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Delta+Model:+Reinventing+Your+Business+Strategy&hl=en&ei=UjjJTZ_pGc2HrAfX5OyEBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false) Heding T, Knudtzen C F and Bjerre M. (2009) Brand management: research, theory and practice. London: Taylor & Francis. (http://books.google.co.in/books?id=mu5KsLyPrDgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Brand+management:+research,+theory+and+%09%09%09%09practice.&hl=en&ei=azjJTdPNEonyrQeP55mYBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false) Holden R K and Burton M. (2008) Pricing with Confidence: 10 Ways to Stop Leaving Money on the Table. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. (http://books.google.co.in/books?id=u8LfYM6aFnUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Pricing+with+Confidence:+10+Ways+to+Stop+Leaving+%09%09%09Money+%09on+the+Table.&hl=en&ei=iTjJTff-NoXNrQel0cSABQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false) Kuhnle T. (2007) Customer Loyalty Program - Tourist Destination and Bonus Card System. Munich: GRIN Verlag.