Conflicts Being a College Student Essay Example

Conflicts Being a College Student Essay Patrice Williams November 12, 2013 Conflicts of A College Student The daily life of a college student is filled with many conflicts. To begin with, students face everyday conflicts such as having transportation, family issues, financial problems, and also lack of focus and responsibility. In college if one is without a car or a reliable source of transportation every day, it can really affect them in school. One might could have a car but it is currently broke down or someone said they were willing to provide the transportation but possibly not showing up. For example, Nicole’s car has broken down over the weekend now she’s wondering how to get to school Monday morning. Nicole calls her friend Monica to give her a ride to school and then she’ll take the metro back home. This could cause Nicole stress and causing her to take focus off of school work. Second, college students also face family issues and crisis. One could have lost a family member that is causing a lot of stress or grief on their head while attending school. A student may have a family member or friend at home that causes them stress everyday also. We will write a custom essay sample on Conflicts Being a College Student specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Conflicts Being a College Student specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Conflicts Being a College Student specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer For instance, Mark lives at home with Mom, brother, and sister. Conflict may be between everyone at home that causes Mark stress everyday he comes to school. Next, many students come across financial problems during their college life. Some students may lose their job or simply just don’t always have the funds to get by every single day. A student may be on a payment plan every month to pay for school or a student loan. Having everyday issues such as these can cause stress on the mind of a student that he or she doesn’t need while attending college. Take Mya for example, she’s currently in college and is on a payment plan at school to pay her tuition every month, for this current semester. Mya just lost her job and is finding it hard to come up with the money for this coming month; with her also struggling the previous months when she did have a job. This situation is very stressful on Mya and causing her to jeopardize school such as being late, missing assignments, and sometimes not showing up at all. Financial issues can play a huge downfall in a life of a college student. Finally, having a lack of responsibility can cause conflict while attending college. Some students start college but aren’t fully prepared. College students would sometimes start off college as if they were in high school and not strongly aware of the transition. Students hang out and party all night with school being in the morning. They slack on their work and put in high school work ethic instead of College work. Having a lack of focus can also affect students. Conflicts such as all of these can pay a huge part daily in a student’s life.

Machiavellis View Of Human Nature Essays - Italian Politicians

Machiavelli's View Of Human Nature Essays - Italian Politicians Machiavelli's View Of Human Nature In The Prince Niccolo Machiavelli presents a view of governing a state that is drastically different from that of humanists of his time. Machiavelli believes the ruling Prince should be the sole authority determining every aspect of the state and put in effect a policy which would serve his best interests. These interests were gaining, maintaining, and expanding his political power.1 His understanding of human nature was a complete contradiction of what humanists believed and taught. Machiavelli strongly promoted a secular society and felt morality was not necessary but in fact stood in the way of an effectively governed principality.2 Though in come cases Machiavelli's suggestions seem harsh and immoral one must remember that these views were derived out of concern Italy's unstable political condition.3 Though humanists of Machiavelli's time believed that an individual had much to offer to the well being of the state, Machiavelli was quick to mock human nature. Humanists believed that An individual only 'grows to maturity- both intellectually and morally- through participation' in the life of the state.4 Machiavelli generally distrusted citizens, stating that ...in time of adversity, when the state is in need of it's citizens there are few to be found.5 Machiavelli further goes on to question the loyalty of the citizens and advises the Prince that ...because men a wretched creatures who would not keep their word to you, you need keep your word to them.6 However, Machiavelli did not feel that a Prince should mistreat the citizens. This suggestion once again to serve the Prince's best interests. If a prince can not be both feared and loved, Machiavelli suggests, it would be better for him to be feared bey the citizens within his own principality. He makes the generalization that men are, ...ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit; while you treat them well they are yours.7 He characterizes men as being self centered and not willing to act in the best interest of the state,[and when the prince] is in danger they turn against [him].8 Machiavelli reinforces the prince's need to be feared by stating: Men worry less about doing an injury to one who makes himself loved than to one who makes himself feared. The bond of love is one which men, wretched creatures they are, break when it is to their advantage to do so; but fear is strengthened by a dread of punishment which is always effective.9 In order to win honor, Machaivelli suggests that a prince must be readily willing to deceive the citizens. One way is to ...show his esteem for talent actively encouraging the able and honouring those who excel in their professions...so that they can go peaceably about their business.10 By encouraging citizens to excel at their professions he would also be encouraging them to ...increase the prosperity of the their state.11 These measures, though carried out in deception, would bring the prince honor and trust amongst the citizens, especially those who were in the best positions to oppose him. Machiavelli postulates that a prince must also deceive those who attempt to flatter him. [In] choosing wise men for his government and allowing those the freedom to speak the truth to him, and then only concerning matters on which he asks their opinion, and nothing else. But he should also question them toughly and listen to what they say; then he should make up his own mind.12 Since each person will only advice the prince in accord to his own interests, the prince must act on his own accord. Machiavelli discourages action to taken otherwise ...since men will always do badly by [the prince] unless they are forced to be virtuous.13 Machiavelli actively promoted a secular form of politics. He laid aside the Medieval conception of the state as a necessary creation for humankinds spiritual, material, and social well-being.14 In such a state,[a] ruler was justified in his exercise of political power only if it contributed to the common good of the people he served, [and] the ethical side of a princes activity...ought to [be] based on Christian moral principles....15 Machiavelli believed a secular form of government to be a more realistic type. His views were to the benefit of the prince, in helping him maintain power rather than to serve to the well being of the citizens. Machiavelli promoted his belief by stating: The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among those who are not virtuous. Therefore, if a prince wants to maintain his rule he must learn not

History of Jazz and Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Jazz and Dance - Essay Example Traditional dance steps such as the Waltz and Foxtrot remained popular. Films produced during this era began to included the dance moves of actors such as Rudolph Valentino, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The popularity of dance and development of new steps continued through the Great Depression Era. Jazz music continued to change and evolve during this time, leading to the Cool Jazz and Funk of the 1950s. Jazz music initially came from New Orleans in the early 1920s, though it quickly spread to other cities such as Chicago and New York. Musicians like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington began performing in New York City. New clubs such as the Cotton Club in 1923 and the Savoy Ballroom in 1926 opened in Harlem. Duke Ellington’s band Became the ‘house band’ of the Cotton Club. The Savoy featured Jazz artists like Bennie Goodman, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. Most of the well known Jazz artists later introduced new styles of music such as Be-bop at the clubs. New York city was not the only place that began to celebrate Jazz music and the new dances of the time. Many artists also made their way north to Chicago. Some of the well known artists of the time like Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines actually recorded music in the Windy City, which helped to increase the popularity of Jazz. Many more local groups formed in smaller cities through the Midwest during the 1920s and 1930s. Kansas City is home to the Count Basie Orchestra. Along with the new form of musical expression which became so popular came new styles in dance and dress.

FEA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

FEA - Assignment Example The results are then used to undertake weight optimisation of the model. The limits of the redesigned model are the face bearing the load, strength of the load and the fixed points which are not alterable. The only changing variables are the geometry and materials used. The model was then analysed in the SimulationXpress Analysis Wizard. The first step in this process was to fix the position of the 4 holes where the bracket will be fastened to the body of the structure. This is carried out in the fixtures section and the faces assigned as fixed geometry as shown in figure 2. This fixes the lower section of the bracket to its location in the machine, structure or component where it will be employed. The external load on the geometry is a force of 1kN and is applied on the region of 750and 50mm from the upper section of the load bearing face. This force does not act on the whole region hence a sketch is created 50mm from the upper section and creating a split line to allow the force to applied on the hatched region of the load bearing face on the drawing. Figure 3 shows the model with the split line created. The simulation results are produced giving the stress, displacement, deformation and the safety factor. Determining the maximum displacement and stress is the key objective at this point. The maximum Von Misses stress is 737.96mPa while the yield stress is 620.422mPa. This shows that the stress experienced is higher than the yield stress and hence failure due to the 1KN load applied. This is shown in figure 5. The results from part A are used to carry out a redesign of the bracket which are then validated with Finite Element Analysis. The main objective of this redesign work is to reduce the weight of the bracket by at least 10% and the deflection should not be more than 10%. In this redesign work, the material was the main focus for reducing the weight of the bracket. The aim was to select a material similar to steel but is lighter in weight. Aluminium

Some recent instance where the mass media seems to have act an agenda Essay

Some recent instance where the mass media seems to have act an agenda for what public should think - Essay Example In a true democracy, the people are the masters. Consequently, they are entitled to complete information. The media is crucial for providing such information to the public, and it was provided with a number of privileges by the founding fathers of the US. In addition to this freedom the medial is duty bound to provide accurate and complete information. However, this has not always been realized and there were several instances where the media had failed to live up to this requirement. This was noticed with regard to health care legislation, wherein the media failed to provide proper details of the proposed bill (Does the mass media overstep its boundaries?). The reality in the US is that the media, in its totality, is subject to domination. The armed forces of this nation exert a tangible influence on the media and treat it like the other factors involved in national security operations. Thus, the populace is provided with information that has been scrutinized and suitably altered by those responsible for national security (Stanton, 2011). In the list of priorities provided to the Navy Seals, collecting information from the lair of Bin Laden was higher than eliminating him. Such information was anticipated to have considerable bearing on the global and domestic information environment.

The effect of background noise on free recall

The effect of background noise on free recall The effect of background noise upon free recall of visually presented words was investigated. A total of 60 participants were recruited for this psychological study. The experimental groups were the speech condition (N=20) and the whale sound condition (N=20) whereas the silent condition (N=20) accounted for the control condition. Participants were randomly assigned to each group. The speech, whale sound and silence accounted for the three levels of independent variable whereas the subjective free recall accounted for the dependent variable. This study formed two hypotheses. Hypothesis one proposed that more words will be recalled in the control condition than in the experimental conditions and hypothesis 2 proposed that fewer words will be recalled in the speech condition than both the whale sound and silent condition. The present investigation employed a between groups design. One way ANOVA showed that participants in the control condition (M = 12.85 SD = 2.97) significantly recall ed more words than the whale sound experimental (M= 9.05 SD =2.13) and the speech conditions (M= 9.65 SD= 3.49) (p= Key words: working memory, free recall, silence, whale sound, speech Investigation into background noise and participants free recall performance Background noise has been established to be among the most notable forms of interference in the in offices and educational settings causing stress and discomfort for workers and learners and affecting performance (Hugh Jones 2001). Background noise from aircraft, road traffic, and trains have all been shown to impair learning (Enmarker, Boman, Hygge 2006; Hygge, 2003; Wible, Nicol, Kraus, 2004 in McNeil). The working memory model proposed by Salame and Baddeley (1990) constitutes of the visuo-spatial system and phonological system, however, the memory system that is concerned with verbal visual and auditory presentation is the phonological store. The phonological store, together with the process of articulatory rehearsal constitutes what is unknown as the phonological loop (Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar, 2003). Prominent psychologists have investigated the phenomenon of background noise and its interference with the working memory processes and recall impairment. For example, Salame Baddeley (1982 in Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar, 2003) argued of the irrelevant speech effect which refers to a reduction in the immediate recall of lists of presented items when irrelevant auditory material is presented together with the items to be memorized (Gisselgard et al, 2003). Salame and Baddeley argued that irrelevant sound effect interferes with the temporary storage of verbal material within a phonological input store of limited capacity (Gisselgard, 2003). Jones (2004) also argues that auditory verbal stimuli have direct access to phonological system whereas visual verbal has indirect access whereas the visual verbal stimuli endeavour a process of sub vocalization before passing through the articulatory suppression system. (Jones, Macken Nicholls (2004: the phonological store of working memory). Other psychologists argue that the irrelevant speech will interfere with the representations of list items if and only they are being held within the phonological store. However, during the rehearsal process (articulatory suppression), the irrelevant sound effect may be abolished (Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar, 2003), therefore not impairing word recall. Beaman Jones (1998) acknowledge that one of the earliest explanations produced for the irrelevant sound effect was the acoustic primary memory masking hypothesis (Colle Welsh, 1976) which postulates that irrelevant auditory stimuli have the action of masking phonologically recoded visual stimuli in an acoustic primary memory store. According to this approach, the items lose their distinctiveness by being masked, making their retrieval difficult (Beaman Jones, 1998). Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones (2001), on the contrary, argue that as the memory task and irrelevant speech are presented in different sensory modalities, the effect cannot be attributed to some kind of interference (or masking) at sensory level as suggested by Colle and Welsh( 1976). Instead they argue that this disruption must be attributable to: A confluence of processing from the ear and the eye at some level beyond the sensory organs; this can be explained as a breakdown in attentional selectivity. Despite the intent of the person to concentrate on the memory task, the irrelevant sound intrudes therefore impairing recall. (Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones, 2001) Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones (2001) suggest that interference results from the similarity of events represented in memory, a phenomenon known as phonological similarity. One subtype proposes that the disruption is based on a conflict of content between what is seen and what is heard. This may be through similarity (phonological similarity) in the identity of the irrelevant sound to the items being rehearsed (Salame Baddely 1982 in Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones 2001) through shared temporal cues or through degree of overlap of modality-independent features in the irrelevant speech with the items in the visually presented to-be-recalled list (Neath, 2000 in Banbury, Macken, Trenblay Jones 2001). The phonological similarity is particularly relevant in this study as a back ground speech by Martin Luther King, in English will be employed and administered in the background. It is worthy of acknowledgement that irrelevant sound hypothesis has been predominately investigated for serial recall (Lecompte, 1994 Beaman Jones, 1998). The irrelevant speech effect has been found to effect and disrupt the learning of list of words in a sequential order and Salame and Baddeley (1990) did establish that background noise was disruptive. However, free recall has also found to be affected by the irrelevant sound (Beaman Jones 1998). In light of this, the present study will investigate the irrelevant sound hypothesis through assessing free recall of subjects. Moreover, Studies (Beaman Jones, 1998 have shown that the irrelevant sound effect does equally effect serial or free recall, without distinction. For example, in testing the free recall and the irrelevant speech effect, Lecompte (1994) study found that a) irrelevant speech inhibited free recall more than white noise. In addition Lecompte (1994) had found an effect on irrelevant sound on free recall in four cond itions (Lecompte, 1994). This is also supported and acknowledged by Beaman Jones (1998). The present study will be employing whale sound as one of the independent variables although animal sound with relation to memory recall impairment have been investigated by Neath Surprenant (2000) (the nature of remembering) In other studies, the irrelevant speech effect was not found in free recall (Salame Baddeley, 1990 in Lecompte, 1994). Although there is substantial research which has found that noise disrupts learning, there is however some other investigations which established that background noise had a facilitative effect on learning as oppose to a detrimental effect dependent upon the level and frequency of the noise and subjective ratings of levels for interference (Hughes Jones, 2001). It is noteworthy that although Salame and Baddeley (1989) used Japanese speech in the background which accounted for the irrelevant speech the present study will use English Martin Luther King speech. Use of English narrative as an independent variable has also been investigated. For example, Jones, Miles and Page (1990 in Jones, Madden Miles, 1992) performed an investigation in which forward, reversed (English narrative) and Welsh (narrative) irrelevant speech were contrasted. Each produced a large and almost identical effect on the recall of consonant strings. In another study (in Jones, Madden Miles, 1992) irrelevant Italian and English produced a similar degree of impairment (Morris, Jones Quayle., 1989 in ibid) the psychologists argue that the phonological similarity effect isnt the cause of poorer recall as Salame and Baddeley (1989 in Jones, Madden Miles, 1992) have argued. The aforementioned mentioned study by Jones et al (1990) demonstrates that background speech which is similar to the language of the listener will be equally disruptive when compared to other languages such as Welsh. Oswald et al (2000 in Hughes Jones, 2001: the intrusiveness of sound) tested participants comprehension of sentences of meaningful speech, meaningless speech and in quiet. They found that performance was worse in both speech conditions relative to quiet, but most noticeably, meaningful speech was more disruptive than meaningless speech. This study therefore supports Salame and Baddeley (1990) similar phonological effect hypothesis with relation to interference and disruption, which will also form one of the hypothesis for the present study. Amidst the scope of studies already performed in the domains of irrelevant sound effect and its effect upon the phonological working memory, this present study too, aims to investigate whether or not the background speech and whale sound will impair recall for words presented visually. Method Participants A total of 60 participants were recruited for this psychological research. Each of the eight investigators for this study recruited eight participants. The control or silent condition comprised of 20 participants, the whale sound condition comprised on 20 participants and the Martin Luther King speech condition comprised of 20 participants. All these participants were randomly assigned to each of the eight investigators. All of the participants were over 18 and no other demographic variable such as specific age group or gender was considered in this present study. The participants were either related or associated with the investigators. Design variables A between subjects experiment design was employed. Participants were randomly allocated to each group. This study used one independent variable with three levels of background noise which were silent, speech, and whale sound. The silent condition was the control condition whereas the speech and whale sound were the experimental conditions. The dependent variable is the number of words correctly recalled by the groups. The noise level of the speech and whale sound was 66 -70 decibels. The present study employed the free recall methodology. Hypotheses Recall of words will be higher for the silent (control) condition than the whale sound and speech sound (experimental) conditions. This accounts for hypothesis 1. The recall of words will be lower in the speech sound condition compared to both the whale and silent conditions to investigate the phonological similarity effect and its effect of interference with information processing and recall. This therefore accounts for hypothesis 2. Stimuli and materials Martin Luther King speech (experimental condition 1); Whale sound (experimental condition2); Silence (Control condition); 20 words were selected from the Toronto Word Pool with neutral but similar levels of concreteness and imaginability. The lower level of imaginability and concreteness ranged from 1 to 3 and high ranged from 5 to 9 but the words selected were at level 4.font was Ariel size 12. The format of the words was a visual presentation of in a list form. Procedure Participants were briefed and informed consent was obtained prior to commencement of experimentation. In the silent (control) condition the participants were presented with the words. Participants learned the words for 3 minutes. Participants were then given a further 3 minutes to recall the words followed by debrief. In experimental (1) whale sound and experimental (2) speech conditions participants were presented with words and were allowed 3 minutes to learn the words accompanied with either background whale sound or speech. A further 3 minutes were given for the written free recall of words followed by debrief. In the brief the participants were informed of the whale and speech background noise, neither any approach to learn the words was mentioned. Other background interferences and auditory disruptions, other than the intended noise were kept to a minimum. Results The effect of background sound (silent, speech, whale sound) on recall of words was examined using one-way subjects ANOVA. It was expected that participants in the silent condition would recall more words than the participants in the speech and whale sound condition. The mean scores revealed that more words were recalled in the silent condition (12.85 SD = 2.97). There was almost equal number of words recalled in the whale sound (M= 9.05 SD=2.13) and the speech condition (M=9.65 SD=3.49). There was significant difference between the recall scores of the control and experimental conditions F (2, 57) = 9.748, p0.05). Participants in the speech condition recalled significantly less than the silent condition (Mean difference = -3.2 p=0.05). Therefore this experiment supports the hypothes1 and therefore the null hypothesis will be rejected. Lower recall in the speech condition compared to the silent but similar levels of recall compared to the whale sound condition partially supports hypo thesis 2. Condition Recall N Mean Standard Deviation Silent 20 12.85 2.97 Whale 20 9.05 2.13 Speech 20 9.65 3.49 Total 60 10.51 3.33 Table 1 shows the mean score for each group together with their standard deviations. The silent condition recalled the most number of words and the whale and speech conditions scoring the similar number of words. Sound Sound Mean Difference Sig. Alpha 0.05 Silent Whale 3.80 0.00 speech 3.20 0.00 whale Silent -3.8 0.00 Speech -.60 0.79 speech Silent -.32 0.03 whale .6 0.79 Table 2 Multiple comparisons showing the scores of each group, inclusive of mean difference and their significance. There is a significantly larger difference between Silent compared to whale and speech conditions. There is a significant difference between whale and silent condition but not with speech condition. There is a significant difference between speech and silent but not with the whale condition. This test supports hypothesis 1 expected the recall for words in the control condition to be higher than the experimental thus supporting the experimental hypothesis and rejecting the null hypothesis. However, there is not a significant difference between the speech and whale noise condition therefore as fewer words were recalled in the speech condition compared to the silent condition and assessing that there is not a significance recall difference when compared to the whale noise condition only partially supports hypothesis 2. Recall Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig. ÃŽÂ ·p2 Between Groups 166.933 2 83.46 9.74 0.000 0.25 Within Groups 488.050 57 8.56 Total 654.983 59 Table 3 is showing the between and within groups mean scores and shows that the differences between the groups is significant (p= Discussion This present study attempted to investigate the effect of background sound on recall for words. The investigation manifested that overall the recall for the control (silent) condition was higher than the experimental (whale sound and speech) conditions. Therefore is supportive of the hypothesis 1 of this study and of the irrelevant sound hypothesis, and therefore rejecting the null hypothesis. The minor partial eta square effect is also noteworthy showing that the independent variables did not greatly affect the participants recall of words. In relation to the phonological similarity effect due to the administration of English words and English speech, it was found that articulatory suppression in the speech condition did not abolish the phonological similarity effect as well as the irrelevant speech effect which are known to impair the processing and retrieval of visually presented words. This is evident through lower production of words in the Speech condition. Therefore this study has supported the phonological similarity effect and its impairing effects upon processing visually similar verbal information. This investigation has shown that the practice of rehearsal or articulatory suppression did not abolish the both the phonological similarity effect and the irrelevant sound effect. The abolishment the phonological similarity hypothesis through articulatory suppression is well documented by Gisselgard, Petersson, Baddeley Ingvar (2003). The findings of these results can therefore be extended to the wider world where people are reading verbal information and listening to verbal auditory concurrently, albeit individual differences can also be taken into consideration. It was acknowledged that hypothesis 2 was partially supported because even though significantly fewer words were recalled in the speech condition than the silent condition but the difference is not statistically significant when compared to the whale sound condition. This finding is therefore also interesting as animal whale noise had equal level of disruption than human verbal speech. Despite the interesting findings, this study however, does have some limitations. This present study didnt take into consideration other individual variables such as age, gender. Considering these variables could yield further complimentary or contradictory results which could be subjected to empirical analysis. In a study performed by Ellermeier Zimmer (1997) individual difference was found with relation to susceptibility to the irrelevant speech effect. One study demonstrated that males and females perform differently in the presence of music when undertaking different tasks and exercises (Miller Schyb, 1989). In future studies, demographic variables and specific sample can be considered to ensure more reliable and valid results. Moreover, this present study did not take vocal or instrumental music as an independent measure and variable, although these variables may also be critical. Therefore, in future studies the inclusion of music condition and how background music facilitate s and impairs learning can also be considered. Hillard and Tolin (1975), for example, showed that if the background music was well-known to the subject, they performed better on the given task than when unknown music was present. The domains of familiarity and unfamiliarity of music can therefore, also be explored. Moreover, in another study, the psychoacoustics found that music that contained speech had significant detrimental effects on the participants ability to perform tasks (Martin, Wogalter Forlano, 1988). Extensive studies can be performed in light of all of the aforementioned variables.

Literature Has Much More Value Than Television Essay -- Argumentative

Literature Has Much More Value Than Television It may go without saying that there are those who will never study, appreciate, or even perhaps consider literature as it is known in academic circles. There are those for whom the written word may have, at best, utilitarian purposes, and for whom any piece of writing beyond a technical manual should, at least, be a work of â€Å"non-fiction,† designed to impart a clearly stated morsel of information or worthy opinion. Part of the explanation for this may coincide with the same general reason that some people never consider religion: the proponents of literature – as is sometimes the case with the proponents of religion – sometimes themselves make their cause a used-up, weary, and trying thing, and may remove from it all the beauty and potential which it might, in the proper hands, convey. Arguably, much like religion, literature has a transcendent value, and fulfills an essentially universal need, in every human being. After all, even the most ardent opponent of the usage of literature in his or her own life embraces forms which complete virtually the same need within him; that is, myths, folklore, stories, movies, television, and even song, occupy essentially the same place and function as literature in the human person, albeit in a form often immeasurably more crude. And, as hotly debated as the following may be in the milieu of post-modern and relativist academic circles, the need to convey truths and explore the human person through story and myth may reach its most sophisticated form in literature. That, of course, raises the implied debate as to just exactly what constitutes literature. If poems and theater can be properly called â€Å"literature,† can not film, or popular s... ...evision, and now, following in their footsteps, much written â€Å"literature,† seek mostly to entertain, to lull viewers into a comfortable despondency and create a sense of need for consumption, all of which perpetuates the success of these mediums. The vacuous lack of effort required of the viewer by television points to the factor that may simultaneously be literature’s greatest value and its most daunting hurdle to many potential readers. That is, literature invites readers, at its best, to learn a new set of codes and means of digesting language and tales; it may require, as in (for example) opera, learning an entirely foreign collection of meanings, linguistic cues, symbols, and, in effect, a new kind of listening. But those who seem to most appreciate opera, much like those who seem to most appreciate literature, swear that the payoff is well worth the toil. Literature Has Much More Value Than Television Essay -- Argumentative Literature Has Much More Value Than Television It may go without saying that there are those who will never study, appreciate, or even perhaps consider literature as it is known in academic circles. There are those for whom the written word may have, at best, utilitarian purposes, and for whom any piece of writing beyond a technical manual should, at least, be a work of â€Å"non-fiction,† designed to impart a clearly stated morsel of information or worthy opinion. Part of the explanation for this may coincide with the same general reason that some people never consider religion: the proponents of literature – as is sometimes the case with the proponents of religion – sometimes themselves make their cause a used-up, weary, and trying thing, and may remove from it all the beauty and potential which it might, in the proper hands, convey. Arguably, much like religion, literature has a transcendent value, and fulfills an essentially universal need, in every human being. After all, even the most ardent opponent of the usage of literature in his or her own life embraces forms which complete virtually the same need within him; that is, myths, folklore, stories, movies, television, and even song, occupy essentially the same place and function as literature in the human person, albeit in a form often immeasurably more crude. And, as hotly debated as the following may be in the milieu of post-modern and relativist academic circles, the need to convey truths and explore the human person through story and myth may reach its most sophisticated form in literature. That, of course, raises the implied debate as to just exactly what constitutes literature. If poems and theater can be properly called â€Å"literature,† can not film, or popular s... ...evision, and now, following in their footsteps, much written â€Å"literature,† seek mostly to entertain, to lull viewers into a comfortable despondency and create a sense of need for consumption, all of which perpetuates the success of these mediums. The vacuous lack of effort required of the viewer by television points to the factor that may simultaneously be literature’s greatest value and its most daunting hurdle to many potential readers. That is, literature invites readers, at its best, to learn a new set of codes and means of digesting language and tales; it may require, as in (for example) opera, learning an entirely foreign collection of meanings, linguistic cues, symbols, and, in effect, a new kind of listening. But those who seem to most appreciate opera, much like those who seem to most appreciate literature, swear that the payoff is well worth the toil.

Leadership and Human Behavior Essay

As a leader, you need to interact with your followers, peers, seniors, and others; whose support you need in order to accomplish your goals. To gain their support, you must be able to understand and motivate them. To understand and motivate people, you must know human nature. Human nature is the common qualities of all human beings. People behave according to certain principles of human nature. Human needs are an important part of human nature. Values, beliefs, and customs differ from country to country and even within group to group, but in general, all people have a few basic needs. As a leader you must understand these needs because they can be powerful motivators. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Unlike others researchers in the earlier days of psychology, Abraham Maslow’s based his theory of human needs on creative people who used all their talents, potential, and capabilities (Bootzin, Loftus, Zajonc, Hall, 1983). His methodology differed from most other psychological researchers at the time in that these researchers mainly observed mentally unhealthy people. Maslow (1970) felt that human needs were arranged in a hierarchical order that could be divided into two major groups: basic needs and metaneeds (higher order needs): * Basic Needs are physiological, such as food, water, and sleep; and psychological, such as affection, security, and self-esteem. These basic needs are also called â€Å"deficiency needs† because if they are not met by an individual, then that person will strive to make up the deficiency. * Metaneeds or being needs (growth needs). These include justice, goodness, beauty, order, unity, etc. Basic needs normally take priority over these meta needs.

Political culture and change alters the nature and meaning of art essays

Political culture and change alters the nature and meaning of art essays Most history of art in ancient periods comprises relationships between the political condition of a nation and the manner artists create their works of art. Two instances of this in which the nature and meaning of art were influenced by the changes in political culture are the Baroque and The Baroque era was a period of wealth and grandiosity. It was the time when luxury, political victory, and improvements in trade transpired in Europe. This era was characterized by modern lifestyles among men and women. Such development and modernization inspired many artists. Hence, most of the art works of the time represents progress and grandiose lives. Buildings and architectural structures were intricate and emphasize rich decorations. One of the architectures that illustrates luxury and elegance of the Baroque style is the Palace of Versailles. An online source The fence is covered with a sheet of gold; every room is filled with intricate carvings and elegant figurines. Each room reflects a certain time or king by the change in furniture and styleThe palace is like a museum, which shows the progress of society using art and architecture Rembrandt, a celebrated painter of the Baroque style, transformed his classical style into new light elaborating Baroque characteristics. Similar to the Baroque era that influenced the characteristics and nature of art, the era of Romanticism influenced many artists in expressing themselves against the 18th century's Enlightenment crisis, dominating attitudes, and political conditions. The arts of Romanticism were characterized by individualism, imagination, free expression, intellectual social thoughts, and criticisms. One of the well-known Romantic poets was William Wordsworth. Wordsworth was known for his literary poems that express freedom. In Romantic paintings, on the other ...

Pragmatic Failure in Successful Communication

Pragmatic Failure in Successful Communication Introduction Successful communication is a desirable result of every person, who is participating in the discourse. In order to create favorable conditions for interaction, both interlocutors should be aware of how communication act emerges. First, the speaker is codifying the information, which is proceeded by sending the message to the listener. Further, the latter is decoding this message and perceives this information.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Pragmatic Failure in Successful Communication specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Successful communication occurs, when both the message encoded and decoded are of the similar content and force. For successful communication the English philosopher Paul Grice has outlined certain maxims of Quantity, Quality, Relation and Manner: Quantity: make your contribution as informative as is required (for the current purpose of the exchange). Do not make your contribution more in formative than is required. Quality: Do not say what you believe to be false. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. Relation: Be relevant. Manner: Avoid obscurity of expression. Avoid ambiguity. Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity). Be orderly. [Grice, 1989] These are the universal guidelines for acquiring interlocutors’ mutual comprehension. However, in order to achieve better understanding, both speaker and listener are to share common principals and rules in cases, when the intents of the utterance are not explicit. These rules and principles are unlikely to coincide with each other, when we are talking about cross-cultural communication. Everyday practice shows how often representatives of different nations fail to manage an appropriate interpretation of the message in a conversation. â€Å"It can cause misunderstandings or create offence when speakers can understand only the literal meaning of words and do not know the rules of use for interpreting th ose words† – state Rintell Mitchell. [cited from Darmayenti, 2010] Indeed, a considerable damage for conversation mostly appears neither in pronunciation errors, nor in grammar and syntax, but in pragmatic incompetence. The latter is the precursor to pragmatic failure, which, as Jenny Thomas defines, means â€Å"the inability to understand what is meant by what is said†. [Thomas, 1983] Pragmatic failure may constitute two subtypes, which are inextricably linked and sometimes cannot be considered separately. Thus, pragmatic failure includes pragmalinguistic and sociolinguistic failure. Pragmalinguistic failure By the definition of Thomas, â€Å"pragmalinguistic failure occurs when the pragmatic force mapped by S onto a given utterance is systematically different from the force most frequently assigned to it by native speakers of the target language, or when speech act strategies are inappropriately transferred from L1 to L2†. [Thomas, 1983]Advertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hence, pragmalinguistic failure is connected to the language itself, when it occurs that the words and expressions are transferred from native language to the target language without taking their pragmatic meaning into consideration. There are several types of pragmalinguistic failure, which consider inappropriate transfer of expressions, speech act strategies and target language expressions. [Darmayenti, 2010] The first instance conveys the fictitious translation of expression from the native language into the target language. Taking the conversation between an Englishman and a Russian as a demonstrative model, one may observe where the pragmalinguistic failure occurs. E: How do you do? (saying it in Russian) R: Frankly speaking, not very well. Some family problems are worsening conditions at work and†¦ it seems I have a bad luck. (answering in Russi an) Pragmatically competent people are aware of the fact that expression â€Å"How do you do?†, unlike the expression â€Å"How are you doing?†, does not demand the detailed response about how the listener feels etc. The â€Å"How do you do?† utterance is a manner of formal greeting between the acquaintances and traditional response to this expression would be the same â€Å"How do you do?† Obviously, the Englishman, intending to greet the Russian in a respective way, has simply translated the expression from the native language into the target language and did not consider the fact, that there is no actual expression to correspond to â€Å"How do you do† in Russian. Naturally, answering the question, the Russian started describing his life and the Englishman, in his turn, has been surprised to hear extensive information. The second instance of pragmalinguistic failure lies in inappropriate transfer of speech act strategies. The theory of speech ac ts, developed by J.Austin and J.Searle differentiates several groups of utterances that have communicative force (e.g. performative, expressive, directive expressions, etc). [Searle, 1976] The failure conveys incorrect application of these utterances, when some communicative norms and conventions from the native language are being automatically transferred to the speech in target language.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Pragmatic Failure in Successful Communication specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Situation: Somebody (a Russian) set on the Englishman’s foot. The Englishmen says â€Å"Excuse me†. The Russian is embarrassed. This elementary instance illustrates, that English politeness formulas, applied in the majority of situations even when the speaker is â€Å"a victim†, are not commonly used in Russian language. The last sample of pragmalinguistic failure one can observe in inappropriate use of target language expressions. This kind of failure occurs, when a speaker applies direct translation from native language into the target language, often applying the words-equivalents, which may or may not have the same semantic meaning. Let us consider the situation with the Russian- and English-speakers. R: You have bought a new dress!! E: Yes, just yesterday! R: Oh, you’re so extravagant!.. E: (offended)Advertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The pragmalinguistic failure occurs while using the word â€Å"extravagant† for this word exists both in Russian and English language and is confusing due to different semantics. In Russian this word has a positive connotation and means â€Å"exquisite, elegant†, while in English the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines it as â€Å"spending a lot more money or using a lot more of sth than you can afford or than is necessary†. Hence, these instances reinforce how ineffective and at times offensive communication may become due to pragmalinguistic failures, which is caused solely by pragmalinguistic incompetence. In order to succeed in cross-cultural communication, the speaker should be aware of at least elementary communicative conventions of the target language. The speaker should be competent in basic expressions in order not to induce misunderstandings or offences during conversation. Sociolinguistic failure In comparison with pragmalinguistic failure, so ciolinguistic one are directly connected to cultural peculiarities and, by Thomas’s definition, is described as â€Å"social conditions placed on language use’ being based on ‘†¦cross-culturally different perceptions of what constitutes appropriate linguistic behavior†. This conveys that the speaker is not familiar with social and cultural conventions of the target language speakers. [Thomas, 1995] Common English-Russian sociolinguistic failures rise upon the taboo topics, politeness conventions, and familiarity. Thus, the expressions used in Russian can be considered offensive, interfering within personal space, or simply impolite. It is widely common among Russian people to ask acquaintances about some private life details of the interlocutor, which, in their turn, the Englishmen would regard as lack of manners and the performance of familiarity quality. [Amaya, 2008] Naturally, the latter is closely linked to the mentality and worldview of each nat ion for the brought up from generation to generation concepts about people and environment bear considerable differences. For instance, in this paper I am analyzing some communicative conventions and problems, arising around them, of the two nationalities – English and Russian. Here the comparison is really topical, because the two languages belong to different language groups: English belongs to Germanic group and Russian – to Slavonic; as well as the nations are representatives of different roots, which makes the research substantial. Turning back to the topic of sociolinguistic failures, it is also reasonable to mention that some uncomfortable situations can be induced by the Englishmen’s extensive politeness. At times, the speech is so euphemistical that for a representative of other nation it is almost impossible to define communicative offence of the utterance. Moreover, the Englishmen consider their speech polite and corresponding to all etiquette standar ds for they have a tradition of modest response. On the expressions of gratitude, praise, and compliment Englishmen usually react very moderately and politely, undermining personal properties in order to sound appropriately. Further, Thomas differentiates that there also are â€Å"sociopragmatic† judgements, concerning the size of imposition, cost/benefit, social distance, and relative rights and obligations. [Thomas, 1995] Russian learners of English language may use certain communication strategies, not taking into consideration the social status of the interlocutor, conditions, in which the conversation is being realized, and time peculiarities. On all of these factors described above it is important to reflect for, disregarding them, the interlocutors may also face a pragmatic failure. Main Reasons for Pragmatic Failure As it has been already underlined, the main reason for unsuccessful communication is pragmatic incompetence of the interlocutors. Here, it is important to consider, that pragmatic knowledge is not easily acquired with grammar knowledge only. Pragmatic knowledge is a complex part of language learning and involves extensive explanations to the utterances of English, their usage peculiarities and broad cultural context. Exactly when applying the latter to language learning, a person may be sure of considerable achievements in pragmatic field. [Wierzbicka, 1991]  While teaching and learning, accordingly, it is reasonable to combine the acquisition of linguistic general information, rules, and norms with the cultural information that would be thoroughly combined together. In such a way students could gradually get some pragmatic knowledge while not forgetting about the structure and rules of the language itself.  Due to the necessity in knowledge about culture in order to gain some pragmatic competence, it is logical, that the second main reason for pragmatic failure occurrence is cultures differentiations. Chen Starosta define that â€Å"a culture is a complex set of shared beliefs, values and concepts which enables a group to make sense of its life and which provides it with directions for how to live.(1998, 54) [cited from Darmayenti, 2010]  Indeed, culture determines our viewpoint, sets our prejudices, and shapes our perception. It also largely determines our reaction towards different messages we receive. Cultures are different from nation to nation; sometimes they even differ within one nation and create special cultural subgroups. [Kasper, 1997]  Naturally, language, being one of the culture constituents, is largely depending on it, is facing the continuous change and transformation. Language, like culture, is dynamic, which explains its constant progress and modification according to the society, which operates it.  That is why, due to the fact that language and culture are inextricably linked, one may consider oneself the language speaker only with presence of cultural context, this is pragmatic knowledge about conventions, phenomena, and processes. Generally, the Russian culture may be characterized as the culture of collectivism, where majorly all Russians are the typical Russians. In comparison, the Englishmen are quite individualistic, while putting strong accent on self-separation from the whole society and finding the features of self-identity. Englishmen are strongly interested in personal achievements and self-realization as a person, and only than as a part of society, which also has its own obligations. [Trosborg, 1994] Undoubtedly, that a language learner should be aware of such general characteristics of a nation, whose language he or she is willing to acquire. The learner is welcome to get acquainted to the cultural peculiarities and accept them, broading his or her outlook. Naturally, this knowledge acquisition would occur only through the prism of own beliefs and conventions, already set by the native culture. However, it is important to be exposed to someth ing different and to learn to respect each custom of a particular culture for it was being shaped through time and obstacles and deserves understanding and consideration. Hence, it would be reasonable to point out again, that pragmatic competence while learning language and succeeding in communicating a message in this language is crucial factor. It is impossible to achieve appropriate language fluency without knowing cultural peculiarities of the nation, whose language you are learning. Because of the fact that language and culture cannot be separated, they should be learned in a composite way, through combining linguistic forms learning with some cultural realia. What is more, only being pluralistic and willing to accept and respect the existence of other cultures’ conventions can lead to true pragmatic competence, which would be able not only to make your communication effective, but also make you more open-minded and wise. Reference List Grice H.P. (1989). Studies in the Way of Words. Harvard University Press. Kasper, G. (1997). Linguistic etiquette. In F. Coulmas (Ed.), The handbook of sociolinguistics United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishers, 374-385. Leech, G.N. (1983). Principles of pragmatics. New York: Longman Group Limited. Searle J.R. (1976). A Classification of Illocutionary Acts// Language in Society. –– Vol. 8, â„â€"1. Thomas, J. (1983). Cross-cultural pragmatic failure. Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 91-112. Thomas, J. (1995). Meaning in interaction: An introduction to pragmatics. Essex: Longman Group Limited. Trosborg, A. (1994). Interlanguage pragmatics Requests, complaints and apologies. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter Co. Wierzbicka, A. (1991). Cross-cultural pragmatics: The semantics of human interaction. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter Co. Amaya L.F. (2008) Teaching Culture: Is It Possible to Avoid Pragmatic Failure? Web. Darmayenti, M. (2010, November 2). Failure in Intercultural Communication: Pragmatics Analysis. Web.

Business Ethics & Social Responsibility Research Paper

Business Ethics & Social Responsibility - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that business ethics are moral standards and guidelines that guide the conduct of business founded on the concept of what is right, fair and wrong. Majority of business people rely on their consciences for decision making and fall back on their own religious and moral backgrounds for guidance. Business people are on the other hand affected by their immediate colleagues and superiors when making decisions and at times feel pressured to behave in unethical manner when aiming to make profits. This paper declares that many firms have in the recent past made efforts to establish and develop codes of conduct to be used as standards to guide managers in decision making in business. Corporate responsibility on the other hand is a business philosophy that stresses the need for companies and organizations to behave well as corporate citizens by conducting their marketing and production activities in such away to prevent environmental pollution or exploitation as well as obeying the law. Some firms due to their developed code of conduct behave in a more socially responsible way, partially because their managers need to do so and partially due to fear of consumer pressure groups, environmentalists and the media, as well as their concern for their public reputation. This is actually because of the argument that social responsible behavior pays off in the long run even when it includes particular short term sacrifices. (Solomon, 2004). This paper seeks to develop standards for ethic al and moral conduct in the form of a Code of Ethics. The paper will reflect upon my own ethical standards and consider from where my values and principles emerged and how they have evolved over time. Through this, the paper will include references to the moral philosophy or social issues that affect my approach to the development of this Code of Ethics. My Code of Ethics will contain the following components: Statement of values, and why the principles are non-negotiable, the moral philosophy or social issues affecting my approach to ethics, training and communication plan, implementation plan, plan for the role of leadership, corporate social issues, monitoring and enforcing plan, ethics auditing plan, and considerations for working internationally. Development of Code of Ethics involves prescribing values and principles that a firm aspires to operate in consistency to. The Code of Ethics contains the â€Å"thou shalts† and specifies the operation’s ethical rules. Mo st ethicists have argued that the development and continuous dialogue around the values of the Code of Ethics is very significant and pivotal to the business organizations. However, other philosophers have disagreed on the value of Code of Ethics and assert that too much emphasis is often put on them though the codes are not influential in ethics management at workplace. In quite larger organizations with multiple departments and programs, an overall corporate Code of Ethics is mandatory to guide and separate each department or program. I would not develop my Code of Ethics out of Legal departments or Human Resource departments alone. This is because, the Code of Ethics would be insufficient if only intended to ensure the legality of policies. I will do this to ensure that all other people see the program of ethics as driven from top management (Boatright, 2008). On reflection upon my own ethical standards and consideration of where my values and principles emerged and there evolvem ent over time, I would say that ethical principles as standards of conduct define my own conduct of behavior and therefore emerge from within myself. These principles help in establishing the criteria by which other people will judge my decisions and guide me in making such decisions as well. It is important to note that, poor personal ethics ultimately result into poor business ethics. In this regard, my own ethical standards and principles from which I would develop my Code o

Law & modern corporation in international context - seen exam essay Qs

Law & modern corporation in international context - seen exam Qs - Essay Example Such individuals are permitted to bring action against their victimisation. This Act covers agency staff, contractors, trainees, homeworkers and workers. However, it does not cover partners and members of limited liability partnerships. The PIDA modified the ERA, which legally protected workers from detriment resulting from revealing information about crimes, legal obligation violations, dangers to health and safety, and miscarriage of justice. In this context, dismissal of an employee is deemed unfair dismissal and not detriment. Such protection does not require completion of a specific period of employment. The requirements are; to act in good faith, to be convinced that the allegation is true, and presence of reasonable grounds to believe in the veracity of the information disclosed. Moreover, this Act describes whistleblowing as the disclosure of information regarding previous, current or perceived misconduct that has to be addressed with respect to criminal offence, noncompliance with legal obligations, miscarriages of justice, danger to the health and safety of any person, harm to the environment, or attempts to conceal any of these. The confidentiality or gagging clauses, in employment contracts or severance agreements that conflict with the PIDA are void. PIDA protection can apply even to those governed by the Official Secrets Act. As such, disclosures are protected by the law, only if they are made to the appropriate entity and in the prescribed manner. The law protects an employee who makes a qualified disclosure to his employer in good faith, or via the authorised procedures of the employer. Moreover, the employee can complain to the person responsible for employee’s area or work. Moreover, Section 43G of the ERA permits workers to make protected disclosures under certain circumstances. Such protection is accorded if the workers act in good faith. They reasonably believe that