Saturday, August 31, 2019

Ethan Frome and Feminism Essay

Ethan Frome is the main subject of the book Ethan Frome. Ethan’s wife Zeena from Ethan Frome represents middle class women. For a long time, social roles of women in the society and within the family were limited by gender stereotypes and social norms dominated since prehistory in a myriad of cultures. These norms were closely connected and influenced by class location of women and their social status. The following paper will focus on the main characters Zeena, Mattie and Ethan of Ethan Frome and their presentation as literary characters and their attributes of the real world struggle for feminism. It is with Zeena and Mattie that the story hinges upon an idea of the lifestyle of women during this time period and the needs which they staunched through patriarchy. The paper will focus on how the values of this time period did not leave room for independent women and the reaction of women to this societal assignment will also be analyzed. In the work, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton the author explores questions concerning the role of social class and social position in life of ordinary people especially in reference to the gap between women and men in reference to equality. The female characters are influenced by false social values and traditions accepted by society’s mores, but their ‘awakening’ is caused by different events and life circumstances, so they choose different methods to resist social oppression and tyranny. The dissection of women’s social roles and their ability to traverse these roles will be examined through character analysis of the literature mentioned. Ethan’s story is told, or discovered by the reader when the narrator becomes fascinated by the history of this lone man who comes into town to pick up mail. Interest sparks greater when the silent ride to Corbury Flats is bridged by a hint or two of what Ethan lived, or had done in his life. There are elements of feminism in this book as they relate to the strength of the women of the story, such as Mattie. The main focus of this paper will explore the dual role of feminism and strength of the women through love. A snow storm comes which permits the narrator to spend the night at the Frome farm. Here the reader is shown the complete past of Ethan Frome as told by Mattie in the kitchen. Mattie and Ethan had a forbidden love because Ethan was married at the time of their tryst. Ethan was married to a woman named Zeena and Ethan was logical with himself and thought that it would be better to run away with , and as Lawson states, The warmth of the evening is brought to an apprehensive end by the accidental breaking of one of Zeena’s sacred, never-used pickle-dishes. That the pickle-dish, a wedding gift, has never been used makes it a strong symbol of Zeena herself, who prefers not to take part in life. The depth of Zeena’s reaction to its being broken is revealed by her angrily twitching lips and by â€Å"two small tears†¦ on her lashless lids. † (Lawson 30). And their love could flourish outside of the watchful eye of his wife. Their fate together however was doomed. One winter night when the moon was high in the sky, in desperation for fear of dying slowly without eachother Ethan and Mattie decided a double suicide would be a better fate and symbol of their love. Here certain feminism elements in the story can be examined such as the lack of strength in the character Mattie, but as critic R.  Baird Shuman states, â€Å"there is probably no more pervasive single element in Ethan Frome than the symbolism. † Although Mattie loves Ethan, she does not attempt to ask Ethan for a divorce from his wife, but her ‘logical’ thought pattern suggests to there that suicide is the answer for both of them. There is a definite emasculation in this action as it does not allow the lovers to actually be together in a life, but rather to die dramatically and when this type of death is decided upon it is purely an act of attention to say to the world, or to Zeena that they are better off dead than with her in their lives. Thus, the act of suicide is not a strong feminist action but merely a cowards way out of a live neither of them want, without each other nor understand. The suicide attempt is done by sleigh riding into a tree together. The plan ultimately and tragically fails and they live with Zeena where the narrator finds them. It seems that the true feminist in the novel is Zeena. Despite the fact that she was abandoned by her husband for his new lover, and in the fact that she takes both of them back in, her strength as a character comes through. Ethan Frome was a strong young man doing what he thought was right. It was a sad thing that he married Zeena but then he wouldn’t have met Mattie. Ethan is an upright man with enough loyalty to love to end life with love and enough honor toward marriage to not run off like he was going to do. Ethan was a man with few woes but the ones he did have were seemingly too large to bear. How could he live without his love, but in living at all live being changed by guilt to his wife. He was a sad man that life couldn’t do without because it made him live through the torment of having a faithful wife, this is what Kenneth Bernard speaks of when he mentions ‘true dimensions’. These true dimensions center around the revelation of character through landscape; such as the snow as a symbol of things being dormant between Frome and his wife. Although Ethan was an honorable man there does seem to be a striking difference between Zeena’s honor and Ethan’s honor; could both of them be considered feminist? Feminism is not an theory based primarily on the injustices done to women, but is in fact a statement that women have had injustices done to them, and there is finally action and unification among women and men to stop such actions. So, the question becomes how is Wharton’s book about feminism. The concept of feminism in Ethan Frome is arranged around how the characters react with one another. Zeena is a strong willed woman who does not cheat on her husband and thus is an upright and outstanding wife, except for the fact that Ethan is not in love with her. Zeena does not appear to have any character flaws, but she does seem to be overbearing in parts, unless that is the impression the other characters want to give of her. However, it does seem that the characters only exhibit qualities of feminism during parts of the book. It may safely be surmised that Zeena was only a faithful wife out of spite. She used her faithfulness as a weapon to shove into Ethan’s face to keep him chained to her. Zeena was a typical wanna be invalid: Complaining about anything for attention and if someone found something to be good at she despised that thing and that person. She wanted to be the perfect Christian girl and be good to Ethan and Mattie just so that the town would feel sorry for her and say what a splendid woman she was to be kid to such a vile husband. She wanted that glory, thus although she was a strong woman in her own character this strength was a curse to those around her. The debate then is, is Zeena feminist or just a spiteful woman. Her husband cheats on her, tries to kill himself with his lover, and she takes him back and nurses Mattie. This may seem like a genuinely good woman according to this unbiased facts, however, it is in Zeena’s reaction wherein lies the true character. This type of characterization does not have to be with patriarchy or developing an equality among women and men but facing the fact of Zeena’s deplorable character in the reasons that she allows Ethan and Mattie back in the home. Therefore, although Zeena is a very strong female character there is no reason except a selfish reason of propriety to allow her husband back in the home, and this is not a feminist woman. Mattie’s character can best be described as sweet, loving, and at least trying to do something nice. She puts up with Zeena silently which is more than what most of the women in the novel could have done. She did what love, or what she love wanted her to do and be, a silent woman. A simple country girl looing for a life to live with someone she cares about. Thus, here is the counter to Zeena’s character. Mattie is not a strong character, so love for her does not prove that she is strong but rather weak since her escape is suicide. She does not stand up to Zeena in any way in the beginning or middle of the novel and thus her character is even further away from being considered a feminist than Zeena. In view of this comparison Mattie is not a feminist but Zeena would be considered one, only in comparison with one another. Mattie is a silent woman, she does not challenge what Ethan says to her, she does not voice her own opinion, and she goes along with Ethan’s suicide attempt without a word of complaint or counteraction. Almost the entire story is told in the kitchen, which in a patriarchal society is considered the woman’s part of the house. Although most people attribute women’s liberation to Betty Friedan’s wakening book Feminine Mystique the dates of women’s freedoms go as far back as 1848. During the freedom’s ferment era, women were contributing their time and ideas to many movements. One such movement included greater power for women. During the late 19th century women were not well accepted or permitted to hold positions of power in any political regime. Their daily duties consisted of housework, and motherly duties not to say that women were not including themselves in political venture, but the common belief of women’s place being in the home was widespread. Thus, it seems that the focus of the book should not be on Ethan Frome but these two female characters. The emotional entanglement of Edith Wharton’s characters to their situations of love, sex and death, the reality for the story is one, is the complete circle of the other, and for Wharton this circle represents the emotions of the characters themselves in their unique situation, as Kuribayashi writes, â€Å"†¦erotic impulses are often born of close encounters with death, either one’s own or that of a loved one, though contact with death may also quench one’s sexual urges†. In addressing these topics the subject of writing style isn’t elusive to its relevance in feminism. It is in postmodern feminism style that Wharton writes. This style of writing begets the transcendence of female writers and characters into a world where not necessarily control but freedom from man exists. This is how Wharton writes, with patches of reality mixed with cerebral counterparts. Wharton’s writing style does not reflect a precise example of postmodernism but a hybrid form of it with feminism. She doesn’t write disjointedly but when looked at as a whole, her story comes together to reveal Ethan Frome as a patriarch of the story despite his honor and Mattie as the typical silent woman and Zeena as the witch of the story, and their story is quilted together with a basis of shared experiences coupled with various reactions. Wharton’s style of writing is one that isn’t intrusive as most postmodern writing reflects but is inclusive allowing the reader to form a cohesive viewpoint once each side of the story is known. Wharton doesn’t focus on the complete picture but the experience and emotional narration of the character’s experiences. For these issues the inclusion of Wharton in a literary canon involves this narrative style which is very avant-garde and deserves recognition in her ingenuity and preference for that state of emotional landscaping (for it is through the details of the lives and events of these women and Ethan that the quilting effect or common thread is revealed). This is the new literary canon as derived from Munro; feminist postmodernism. This metaphoric approach to writing ensures that her craft delivers reference to feminism for each of these three characters. In this the narrative gives space to the character’s desires. For Wharton, these desires aren’t about love necessarily but about being touched and gaining experience and not being lonely as Ethan seems to be. The true genius in Wharton’s new literary canon is that of upsetting the normal devices of narrative. As Nunes states, â€Å"As a metaphor for narrative, quilting/piecing destabilizes notions of unity, coherence, and balance; it becomes a source of disruption for patriarchal narrative structure† (1997). The style of piecing together a story becomes in this new tradition of a canon a feminine aspect. Wharton works her writing style in metaphor. In Ethan Frome each character circles around to the next until they complete eachother, despite this circle having a negative connotation. Her writing style doesn’t necessitate an attachement between the characters but does give concord to their actions. The capacity Edith Wharton has to deliver a unique and persistent narrative exudes her place in the literary canon and the new definitions she lends to it. Her style of writing, at once reflecting her life and at once giving the reader clear identities to the characters and their emotional attachments to each other or to their own experiences makes Edith Wharton a literary genius. It is her writing wit, intelligence, eroticism and her complexities in dealing with these issues through characters and personal development that contribute to the changing face of feminist postmodernism. The association the main characters have with each other and their identities is what makes this story intriguing in a feminist way, and their identities seem to be lost with one another as the story progresses is definitely felt. Through lack of communication between the genders, the characters find themselves imprisoned with one another.

Office administration SBA Essay

Statement of Topic To determine the duties and responsibilities of the Administrative Assistant at The Cable Department. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this project are: To investigate the duties and responsibilities of the administrative assistant To determine the importance of the Administrative Assistant to the organization. Functions of the Cable Department At The Cable Department, the functions of an Administrative Assistant areto make and cancel appointments on behalf of an executive and to greet the customer or potential business person in the most polite way. Abbott Village, West Farm, St Kitts. 17 October, 2012 Ms Judith Hewlet The Administrative Assistant, The Cable Department, Church Street, Basseterre. Dear Ms Hewlet, I am a fifth form student of the Verchilds High school. In an effort to complete my School Based Assessment, I am writing this letter seeking permission to conduct an interview with you and also to do some observations of the Administrative Assistant. I would like to find out the duties of the secretary and how his or her work benefits the business. I hope that you would grant me permission to have this interview. I would be extremely grateful as this would make it easier for me to complete my Office  Administration School Based Assessment Project. Thanks in advance for your cooperation. Yours sincerely, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Tashaun Greene Methodology The instrument that the researcher used to gather the informationwas an interview. The researcher interviewed the Administrative Assistant on the 21st of October,2013 and recorded responses during the discussion. This instrument is used by asking an Ms.Hewlet in that specific business place questions whether face to face or over the telephonewhich is relevant to the business to gather information. This instrument was chosen over others because more questions can be asked and the researcher may get a better understanding of the data. In addition, the interviewer can answer questions that were not clearly understood by the respondent, this way is much more effective and faster in terms of getting the data. Five important questions 1. What equipment do you use to complete your work? 2. What are the duties in the business? 3. What are the documents used in the business? 4. What are the legislations that govern the business? 5. Are there any health and safety rules? Schedule of Activity Date Activity Comments 13/9/12 The guidelines for the SBA was handed to the researcher from the teacher The teacher explained everything that should or should not be done in the SBA 14/9/12 The researcher started research on the first six tasks of the project A past student corrected the project and put a few changes 19/9/12 I spoke with the secretary to seek her permission about the interview The secretary was pleased to answer and said yes 23/9/12 The SBA was sent back to the researcher in an e-mail The teacher corrected the project 14/12/12 The researcher was on job attachment to get further information about the project It was a success and all the information required was collect 21/12/12 The interview was conducted It was successful 8/1/13 The teacher gathered with students to ask about the job experience The students responded well, it benefited most of them 21/1/13 The SBA was sent to the teacher Teacher made some adjustments to the SBA 22/2/13 The SBA was sent back to the researcher to be corrected The researcher sent back the correction to the teacher Rules and Regulations LEGISLATION One legislation that governs the work place that the researcher had to be aware of is confidentiality, this simply means that whatever information is in the business place it should stay there and shouldn’t be discuss among your peers, relatives or friends etc. The information should stay private. However, the researcher became aware of this legislation by the members on  staff. HEALTH AND SAFETY One health and safety practice while carrying out this research project based on the workplace is the sign which reads â€Å"wet floor†. This sign prevents people from getting hurt by letting them know that danger can be ahead of them. STAFF RULE One staff rule which the researcher had to comply with while carrying out the project is that there should be no use of cell phones while working. This is so because it may be a distraction or it may develop conflict between the customers and the staff member. Report The objectives of the project are to investigate the duties and responsibilities of the secretary and to determine the importance of the Administrative Assistant are to maintain good working conditions and to use the basic software applications. BUSINESS FORM DATE NAME OF DOCUMENT PURPOSE OF DOCUMENT 19/12/12 Internet User Agreement The purpose of this document is to ensure that the customers agree to get the internet service and they will do whatever is required to get the service. 21/12/12 The Cable Form The purpose of this form is for the customers to fill out to clarify whether  they want to reconnect, disconnect, upgrade or downgrade their service. Cancelation Form The purpose of this form to cancel the entire cable service. OFFICE EQUIPMENT DATE EQUIPMENT PURPOSE OF EQUIPMENT SUITABILITY FOR TASKS 27/12/12 Photo Copying Machine The purpose of this equipment is to copy the customer’s ID and any other document that is there for proof It is suitable to clarify whether the person is who they say they are 28/12/12 Cash Register The purpose of this equipment is for the customers to pay their bill in which they owe or to make certain transactions It is suitable because this is the main thing that the customers come into the business to do and it will be benefiting the business because they will be getting money 30/12/12 Printer The purpose of this equipment is to keep a hard copy of the important information or information relevant to the business It is suitable to print stuff so there would be a hard copy so they will be sent out to consumers, for example letters Bibliography Person listed: 21 December 2012, Basseterre, Labour Secretariat Administrative Assistant Publication List S Finisterre, L Payne & J Reid (2004) Longman Office Administration for CXC Appendix Five important questions 1. What is the equipment used in the business? 2. What are the duties of the business? 3. What are the documents used in the business? 4. What are the documents used for in the business? 5. What are the legislations that govern the business? 6. Are there healthy and safety rules? 7. Is the business a successful one? 8. What are the benefits of the business? 9. Are there any staff rules?

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Strength of Weak Ties

Here I would like to emphasize a bit on Social Capital. Social capital according to me is the pool of ties that a person encompasses during his lifetime including strong and weak ties. Persons with higher social capital are bound to be better off with greater health and general well being. Social capital helps to leverage the people we communicate with for the benefit of our shared and individual interest. We can relate this with a famous punch line – â€Å"I scratch your back, you scratch mine. The basic hypothesis of Granovetter’s work is that our acquaintances play a very important part in connecting different networks to one another. A personal example which I would like to share is that I have around 30 very closely knitted friends and family members and about 300 odd acquaintances. These acquaintances are comprised of my old classmates, co-workers and some friends through social networking groups. In the digital world these are friends connected through facebook, LinkedIn, orkut etc. Personally speaking it makes sense that in some cases my family and my close knitted friends are best suited to provide me with quality options and choices. For the most part I believe this is true under certain circumstances during personal care when I am sick or when I need advice for some personal decisions in life. But when it comes to looking out for a job the theory comes true to life. I would be naturally tapping my network of acquaintances and assuming I have a good amount of social capital in my network, I would be more likely be presented with more opportunities than my family and close knitted friends. Another example explaining the theory of weak ties is between the social networks existing in this globe. We can take an example of how LinkedIn is different from Facebook and why that difference matters. Weak ties are the social â€Å"degrees of separation† beyond the people we actually know. Facebook primarily is about knowing who you know, connecting with people who are already in your social circle. In my experience it does little to help you develop weak ties and it does nothing to introduce you to people you do not know. There is an interesting paradox that Facebook, perhaps, reinforces our stereotypes, because we are just getting content from our mostly like minded friends. LinkedIn by contrast, is about helping people expand their circles and improve their opportunities. LinkedIn has been slower to take off because it is a harder â€Å"get. † Beyond being a resume building site, why do I need this? If I'm not looking for a job or to find sales leads, why bother? Once you look at it from a content perspective, however, the benefit becomes clearer. Those â€Å"weak ties† provide you with â€Å"micro-nutrients† that your â€Å"strong ties† may not. Further investigation into the analogy of strong and weak bonds in physics is warranted, but the most immediate application in terms of content strategy is the serendipitous model of magazine content. If we consider content that a reader is looking for (through a Google search, for instance) to be strongly bonded, then the content they find along the way (in sidebars and various â€Å"asides† to use the html5 term) are weakly bonded. Magazines have always created content environments where their readers discover new things—and some of those things are advertisements. This serendipity of discovery is key to the pleasure of magazine reading and the financial success of the magazine business, but it has not translated all that well online. To end my observations I completely agree with this theory however I would like to bring an important aspect that a perfectly balanced strong and weaker ties help an individual to do the best and for the society at large. Thanks & Best Regards Pranav

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Our impact on the environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Our impact on the environment - Essay Example ties includes the element of pollution, which is currently a major global threat that has been increasing in a dramatic rate due to the increase of industrialization and other human activities that involve use of energy. This essay is going to focus on the impacts of human activities on the environment, analyze how different sources of energy affect the environment as well recommend usage of the most sustainable and friendly sources of energy. Carried out studies have proven that one of the major factors contributing to the high levels of pollution to the environment is the type of sources of energy that human beings use in fueling their industrial activities (Jaccard 63). Most of these sources of energies used in almost all countries are nonrenewable and highly unsustainable, a factor that have made them a chief threat to the environment (Jaccard 65). However, some sources are known to have more adverse effects to the environment than others with oil, coal and natural gas being the main sources that environmentalists blame much for the high level of pollution in the modern world. Statistics show that oil is the most common source of energy with oil being used to fuel over 80% of all the activities undertaken on daily basis such as in factories, cooking and for transport. However, combustion of oil leads to emission of greenhouse gases that have detrimental effects to the environment (Curley 95). The main constituents of products released after burning oil, natural gas and coal are carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide that have significantly contributed to global warming or climate change. In addition, combusted fossil fuels lead to formation of other harmful gases which ends up forming acids such as carbonic acids and sulfuric acid. Carbon dioxide and suphurous gaseous produces once fossils are combusted combine with moisture or rain in the atmosphere to form acidic rainfall. Acidic rains are a major threat to plant and fish health once they get on to the ground.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Critical review of benefit estimation and sensitivity and risk Literature

Critical of benefit estimation and sensitivity and risk analysis in relation to road projects - Literature review Example Financial benefits cover only monetary benefits while economic benefits cover both financial and non-financial. Economic benefits are also called social benefits. In general, one can assert that that there are no big issues with regard to monetary benefits estimation. However, estimation of economic benefits can be problematic. Estimation of economic benefits can be described as valuation. A distinct approach to valuation of projects and initiatives is one by Musgrave and Musgrave (1989, p. 137-143). In Musgrave and Musgrave’s approach, the value of projects and initiatives can be assessed based on gross benefits and costs. Based on gross benefits and costs, some of the fundamental measures that can be used to assess the value of a project or initiative can be the present value of net benefits, benefit-cost ratio, and internal rate of return. Other supplementary measures that can be used are measures such as the payback period. Lately, however, the World Bank has been reported to be shying away from these measures and have emphasized instead on the need to focus on objectives, particularly in defining and justifying objectives, and pointing out that a project or initiative is the least cost way of attaining the objectives (McElhinny 2010, p. 1). Nevertheless, economic benefit-cost analysis is still widely used by many countries of Europe (Odgaard et al. 2005, p. 18). Government agencies of the United States still use cost-benefit or benefit-cost analyses (Federal Emergency Management Agency 2006). Project proponents of the Asian Development Bank continue to use cost-benefit analysis to highlight the merit or lack of merit of a proposed project or activity (Infrastructure Professionals Enterprise Private Limited and Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited 2009, p. 21-27). In the United Kingdom, however, His Majesty’s Treasury (2005, p. 47) expressed a preference for cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) in which the objectives may be qualitative targets vis-a-vis the emphasis of cost-benefit or benefit-cost analysis on monetized values. An approach to appraisal that emphasizes on objectives like the CEA is the 2007 Asian Development Bank interim guidelines for enhancing poverty reduction impact of road construction projects (Kafle 2007). Musgrave and Musgrave (1989, p. 137-143) pointed out that benefits and costs can be real or pecuniary, direct or indirect, tangible or intangible, and inside or outside. Economic benefit assessments consider on real benefits and costs. Further, what differentiates economic from financial valuation is the inclusion of intangibles in the former while the latter consider only items that are tangible or those that have immediate monetary values in the market. The approach of Musgrave and Musgrave (1989) differs in a major way from the perspective of Stiglitz (2000) on economic valuation. Like Stiglitz, Musgrave and Musgrave attempt to assign or provide monetary estimates on intangi bles. However, unlike Stiglitz, Musgrave and Musgrave concede that there intangibles in which assignment or estimation of monetary values are inappropriate (1989, p. 140) and points that the political process can make the decision on the provision of the good or execution of the initiative. In contrast, the perspective of Stiglitz (2000, p. 274) insists that values should be monetized. The Stiglitz framework is clear based on how he defined economic valuation, which is â€Å"developing systematic ways of analyzing costs and benefits when

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Nursing (article review) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nursing (article review) - Essay Example According to Dyess and Sherman (2009), all of the participants that come to this program have less than twelve months of practical nursing experience. This is essential because it allows everyone to start at the same level and develop their skills together. Of the selection of nurses entering the program, many reported having difficulty with: dealing with their emotions, communication problems, feeling isolated, making critical decisions as well as handling contradictory information. Many in the program feel that they have the confidence to perform well based on the knowledge they accumulated during their college experience, but lack the practical application in order to handle unknown problems. â€Å"They express confidence in their own abilities and hope that their will be organizational systems in place to support their emotional growth in areas where they needed development† (Dyess & Sherman 2009). This confidence will permeate all their abilities making them a more competent nurse. Learning to manage and channel their fear into constructive practice. Another component that nurses lack when setting foot in the work force is in their communication skills. For example, Dyess and Sherman (2009) state that â€Å"individuals refused to cooperate with requests for assistance or passively ignored call bell lights.† This is a kind of conflict in which new nurses are unable to deal with. NNLI will help them deal with horizontal violence, any act of aggression demonstrated by a colleague, and conflict through role play and discussion. Professional isolationism is another type of problem nurses encounter during their first year. Because of the hectic and fast paced environment of nursing, many feel that because it is so busy that they cannot stop and ask their colleagues a question. NNLI tries to correct this by trying to create a link between the higher level

Monday, August 26, 2019

Using Graphic Organizers to Teach Reading Comprehension Essay

Using Graphic Organizers to Teach Reading Comprehension - Essay Example In addition, there is an assumption that in reading that all text have structures (Jiang & Grabe, 2007, p.34). And at the same time, â€Å"students in most class rooms are at different mental levels† (McMackin & Witherell(a), 2003, p. 11). In this regard, Hughes, Maccini, & Gagnon, (2003) argue that students at the upper-elementary, secondary and intermediate grades receive less individual attention than in primary grades. As a result, these new expectations and demands give more challenges in the process of learning and comprehension. And the required skills to comprehend become more challenging particularly for students with Learning disabilities (LD). And this becomes more challenging when a class does not represent a one particular type of students rather it is occupied with the students having different understanding abilities, comprehension power and retention. A class of students represents diversity and this diversity provides more challenging time for teachers who are expected to identify each student’s learning level and the teacher is expected to provide the targeted instruction (McMackin & Witherell(b), 2005). Additionally, with the passage of time as students progress, reading and comprehension increasingly incorporates expository text; from which the students are required to learn and comprehend. However, learning through expository is not easy a task for many students rather they are challenged with the reading assignments such as fiction (Kim et al., 2004). For instance, the material of expository text is of more informative nature and most of the time it is included by unfamiliar technical vocabulary terms and expressions. And these terms and expressions considerably differ from those expressions and terms that students had read in their primary classes. In addition, such text material is not organized properly rather poorly. This puts more pressure on students to use some additional complex cognitive tasks with an aim of comprehe nding the expository material (Lapp, Flood, Ranck-Buhr, 1995). With this added pressure from expository material, students face pressures and retention capabilities are directly hit or they become more exhausted; putting more psychological pressure to ensure learning the context of expository material. Additionally, some authors on the topic, suggest that there is a strong reason to believe that the students would under perform or may not be able to comprehend the context and material inside the expository text, for that purpose, they put forward their assertion that much of the expository material is filled with the huge amount of information. And this piece of information is not limited nor in its context, nor in its implications. Aggregately, there can be no boundary to determine the extent of expository material given a particular subject or topic. As a result, the students do not perform as they are expected to. Constantly, they under-perform and their aggregate graph of learni ng does not seem to be moving upward rather downward. In this regard, more innovations have been made in order to assist those students who are less equipped to face or manage the challenges of the expository material. Different learning strategies have been developed to assist students with LD (Dexter & Hughes, 2011). They need explicit content enhancements to assist in verbal (e.g. text or lecture) comprehension and graphic organizers (GOs) have often been recommended as an instructional devise to assist these students in understanding increasingly abstract

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Economics in an International Context Assignment - 1

Economics in an International Context - Assignment Example Similarly, the policies of the central government and the central bank are aimed at improving international trade and they have an impact on country’s economy and its international trade. Corporate social responsibility calls for balancing positive and negative externalities in businesses for sustainable growth and development in the long run. 1. International trade International trade is an important component in GDP of several nations. ‘The World Trade Organization (WTO) deals with the global rules of trade between nations.’ (World Trade Organization, 2013) Trade between nations has the potential to benefit all participating countries due to several reasons like import of technologically advanced machineries, materials for manufacturing products for exports and export of surplus agricultural produce. Reuvid & Sherlock (2011, p. 23) stated, ‘Between 2001 and 2008, world merchandise trade exports increased steadily from $4.7 trillion to $12.1 trillion, while trade in commercial services rose from 1.5 trillion to 3.8 trillion.’ Market structure and economic systems: According to Rivera-Batiz & Oliva (2003, p. 392) ‘Differences in market structure create different incentives affecting production decisions and trade behavior.’ Monopoly in various countries has given way to monopolistic structure or oligopoly with the smaller number of firms controlling the markets indirectly, circumventing the regulations on restrictive trade practices. The structure of markets in any country is influenced by the economic system adopted in the countries like the capitalist, socialist or communist. Traditionally, the imposition of tariffs and quota system in closed economies increased the prices that affected imports negatively. Under the free trade regime, the complexities have considerably increased. However, new trade models are not in a position to dispense with the subsidies and tariff, since various countries have various economic agenda that may not be consistent with free trade policy. Restrictive trade practices: In the international trade, import controls are the important tools adopted by governments to regulate the countries’ foreign trade. ‘The main objectives of import controls have been to protect domestic industry, raise revenue, and improve the balance of payments.’ (Thomas, V. & Nash, J. 1991, p.5) Though the objectives are reasonable, under globalization drive pursued by the countries in the recent years their economies cannot be kept insulated from the developments in the international economy. Krishna (1985, p. 1) stated ‘Voluntary export restraints (VER's) have been increasingly used to restrict imports recently’ and the malady still persists. Such problems mainly arise due to worsening balance of payments position in developing and underdeveloped countries. The impact of regional trade agreements on international trade cannot be underestimated. Kurihara (2011 , p.846) argues ‘RTAs are not an efficient way to promote international trade.’ Restrictive trade practices in the international trade will be detrimental to the development of global competitiveness in the industries. Collusion among the producers could lead to the formation of cartels and differential pricing.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Radiography Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Radiography Skills - Essay Example In addition, this distance is important in bringing sharper images and details of the delicate structures of the lungs. While doing the radiographic image of the body chest, an oblique sternum in the LAO position is not preferred. This is because oblique sternum position is only about 15o and opens the body joint at a very close angle to with the image receptor and also projects the sternum onto the right as opposed to left positioning recommended. Oblique sternum positioning of the LOA therefore fails to demonstrate the best axillary portions of the body ribs and instead, an AP oblique projection is preferred (Ramlaul, 2010). While doing abdominal radiography, the filming must include diaphragms as it demonstrates fluid and free air levels. Chest must be included in the acute abdomen examination because it has muscles that are of great radiologic significance. Different chest X-rays imaging are preferred for expiration and inspiration. In particular, for an inspiration, posteroanterior (PA), a form of portable chest x-ray is preferred as it exposes the crowded inspiration organs, while AP form of chest X-ray is commonly used for expiration (Ramlaul,

Friday, August 23, 2019

ANALYZING 3 STORIES FOR THEIR USE OF IRONY Essay

ANALYZING 3 STORIES FOR THEIR USE OF IRONY - Essay Example al irony here is that a young married couple expected to be in love with each other and aware of each others’ emotional needs, and to all appearances are well-matched, are actually not so, especially from the woman’s point of view. The protagonist Louise Mallard who, according to conventional expectations should be grieving her husband’s reported sudden death, instead rejoices in her freedom, but only when she begins to comprehend the implications after a short spell of crying and ostensible sorrow. The situation is reversed when her husband Brently Mallard walks in as if nothing had happened. He had not even heard of the railroad disaster in which he was assumed to have been killed. Since the story opens with a statement that ‘Mrs Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble’ it is logically acceptable that she dies in the end of ‘heart disease’ on seeing her husband’s unexpected return. However, the dramatic irony is when the doctors conclude that she died of joy at seeing her husband, when the reader knows that it is more likely to be the opposite. She is denied the freedom she enjoyed momentarily, when she believed that she was to be free of her domestic duties and responsibilities to a husband who expected her subservience implicitly. The story also has instances of verbal irony. Even the very first sentence partly quoted in the above paragraph contains the indefinite article ‘a’ before heart trouble. It is a vague, unexplained form of heart ‘disease’ (the word disease is only used at the end of the story) which could be an emotional, or psychosomatic reaction to Mrs Millard’s day to day life ‘under the thumb’ of her husband. One must remember the story was written in the 19th century, well before the feminist movement and a substantial degree of equality achieved over the subsequent years by women. Another instance of verbal irony is when she ‘breathed a quick prayer that life might be long’. She repeats ‘with a shudder

Black Exodus of 1879 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Black Exodus of 1879 - Research Paper Example † The Black Exodus of 1879, often referred to as the Exoduster Movement, took place in late nineteenth century US, where there was a large-scale migration of the black Americans from southern states (primarily from regions adjoining the Mississippi River) to Kansas. This was the first movement of the black Americans (in large numbers) away from South, after end of the US Civil War. At this time, there were increasing instances of racial strife that led to widespread violence and brutal murders (of both black and white community members) in the southern states. The protection accorded to the black slaves by the Reconstruction era under Federal Bureau, disappeared with the end of Reconstruction, and with the start of the next phase known as Redemption, the former slaves became more vulnerable and were again at the mercy of their former owners. After the 1876 election, many of the former slaves felt unsafe and decided to migrate to other regions that were deemed safer. While some migrate d towards the abolitionists states in the north-eastern regions, there were large-scale movements towards Kansas (held under Republicans and the famous John Brown). The black Americans that moved to Kansas in 1879 came to be known as the Exodusters, and their movement created a great deal of worry for the southerners and led to significant debate amongst the southern and northern states. In the black exodus of 1879,  Benjamin "Pap" Singleton played a prominent role.5  During this movement, nearly forty thousand Exodusters  migrated from the  South  and went to live in Colorado Oklahoma,  and Kansas.6   The  term Kansas Fever Exodus  refers to the immigration of nearly six thousand former slaves to Kansas, from  the southern states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.7 Benjamin Singleton, at the time of the exodus, was residing in Kansas (Morris country), and he had started the demand for rights to black immigration immediately after the end of the civil war, and owing to his deep involvement in the movement he is also known as the â€Å"Father of Exodus.† There are various speculations as regards the actual cause for this sudden exodus of the black Americans from the Mississippi region towards Kansas in such large numbers. Some authors contend that this movement was primarily owing to the feeling of insecurity arising from the sudden fall i n political ascendancy of the black community, after the Reconstruction era ended. Other writers feel that some of the crafty northern politicians lured these former slaves in order to garner support in the forthcoming elections. Some authors also claim that agricultural failure in 1878, a subsequent fall in labor prices, and various other external causes led to discontent amongst the black population, which ultimately made them move northwards, and search for a better and a more stable livelihood.8 Another strong influence that made many of the black Americans move to Kansas or to other parts in the north and western regions, were the news and letters detailing the prosperous conditions of some of the former slaves who had already migrated and settled in these regions, right after the civil war. In this context, the paper will now discuss the Black Exodus of 1879, and will examine the reasons and causes behind the movement. It will explore the effects of this movement, as in change of black population demographics. The paper will include notable figures that were involved in the movement while examine the opinions of various African Americans of that era about this movement. Discussion The era of reconstruction After the end of the US Civil War in 1865, the period of Reconstruction started which lasted until around 1877, when there were large-scale efforts to rebuild South on new lines and

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Invisible Saviour Siblings Essay Example for Free

Invisible Saviour Siblings Essay The philosopher Immanuel Kant said â€Å"Treat others as an end and not as means to an end. † People need to value others for themselves rather than for what they can achieve by the means of them. The idea of selecting an embryo, conceived by IVF, which will become a child that can donate for an older sibling suffering from a genetic disease, has created a difficult moral dilemma. Concerns over the creation of what are called â€Å"savoir siblings† are specifically created to help an existing child. In the novel â€Å"My Sister’s Keeper† by Jodi Picoult there is a girl named Anna who was brought in to this world for the purpose to save her sister Kate. Anna suggests that while her method of coming into the world is not conventional, since most babies born are unwanted; she at least was a wanted child. But she is wanted as a product, as a medical treatment, as a donor. Anna came to a decision that she wanted to stop donating to her sister, so she starts a lawsuit for medical emancipation; the right to control her own body. The child is used as something instrumental and has a welcome that is far from being unconditional. Even the label savoir† is a misnomer. When we speak of a savoir we refer to someone who has made an active choice to donate. The child never has a choice. When a donation occurs it will have lifelong effects on the body. The possible psychological problem the child will have from being a savior sibling. The parents do not think about the saviour child in the terms of an individual. The parents need to realize that there is a line that separates the value of preserving life and the costs of the quality of life. When a child is born it is up to the parents to make the decisions for them, but what if the parents are not focus on that child? It is their zeal to make things better for their sick child, but the parents have forgotten that their donor child is a person with feelings, not a something just to pick at when needed. In the case of babies who are selected as a source of cells, the â€Å"savior is passive and is treated as a product. The choices being made about donation is not even being discussed about. Anna is not even being asked about what she wants to do, â€Å"You make it sound like there’s some process involved. Like there’s actually a choice. † (192) the parents are deciding what is for the best. They do not even consult with Anna about how she feels about everything. Anna had to quit hockey because she was missing two many games, but the only reason why she was missing games was that she had to be there when Kate might need something. Her choice to play hockey was taken away from her and no one in her family even cared. They did not even notice when she started to play hockey, so why would they notice when she stopped. There is a big chance that the family would not even listen to Anna if she would have said that she does not want to continue being the donor. The doctors do not ever consult with Anna about what she wanted to do; they only talked to the parents. They never let Anna make her choice. She was brought in this world as a savior sibling, but it did not mean to make her sacrifice her whole life. The use of savior siblings have raised the issue of the possibility of psychological trauma that the created sibling may suffer from knowing that they was created partly for reasons of imposed selflessness. The child could feel as if they had been used. The donor sibling would feel that they were around to provide â€Å"spare parts†, and were not valued for who they are. Remember the adolescent cry â€Å"I did not ask to be born† and add to it the accusation that the parents only had them to save their siblings life. The moment the child is brought in to this world they have a job to perform. How the parents treat Anna makes her feel like her only purpose in life is to help heal Kate. With these feelings it makes her think about what if Kate was not sick, â€Å"It made me wonder, though, what would have happened if Kate had been healthy. Chances are, I’d still be floating up in Heaven or wherever, waiting to be attached to a body to spend some time on Earth† (08). If Kate was healthy would the parents ever thought about having a third child. The parents once said that their family was complete with two children; each child favored a parent. Anna has matured faster than any child her age, because from the start of her life she was not fully allowed to be a child. She learnt early on that Kate was the main focus and everything else became second. Growing up is hard enough, but when there is question on ones existence it can have serious emotional effects. The child becomes lost in their quest for their own identity. Furthermore, if the treatment of the sick child is unsuccessful, their death can be much harder for the savior sibling, as they may feel as if they have failed. The child would have to go through the rest of their life feeling guiltily about not saving their sibling life. Donating an organ is not as simple as it sounds. The donor of the organ has to deal with limitations on their life. In the novel Anna is being pressured by her mother to donate her kidney to her sister Kate. Her mother does not think about the after effects of the surgery. Anna loves to play hockey, but donating her kidney will stop here from playing. Kidney organ donors should not participate in physical activity that could damage their other kidney. Anna’s mother Sara only concern is Kate, so when Anna wanted to go to Hockey camp her mother said no. Her mother is not caring for what Anna wants â€Å"Not because I am afraid of what might to Anna there, but because I am afraid of what might happen to Kate while her sister is gone. If Kate survives this latest relapse†¦.. we will need Anna-her blood, her stem cells, her tissue-right here. (269), she wanted Anna to be where she needed her. If Anna did go through with the surgery something could go wrong, but does her parents ever does comprehend it. If there were no complications with any of these procedures, the savior sibling would still stay in the hospital with stress and pain which they are not gaining any type of personal benefit. The mother will be so worried about Kate after the surgery; she will be by her side and not by Anna’s. The parents should not make an organ donation decision. It has to be Anna’s choice. Going through with a kidney donation, she would lose some quality of her life. While there is potential harm, it is not without potential benefits to the saviour sibling. The donor child might derive pleasure from knowing that he or she has saved his or her sibling’s life and would benefit from the saved child’s company. In this respect, it is appropriate to consider the welfare of the donor child within the context of the family since his or her social, emotional and psychological interests depend on the welfare of the child’s family. Saving the life of the existing sibling is also in his or her best interests. This will ensure a happier family (e. g. no grieving parents) from which the donor child would benefit. There are benefits to the child, but if the child is born and the transplant is made but is unsuccessful, what comes of the family at that point? The donor child would feel that they have fail in their job in helping to keep their sibling alive. If the transplant was successful, there is no time frame for a savior sibling to stop providing transplants for their older sibling. The donor sibling could chose not to donate later in life or chose to no longer accept the role of â€Å"saviour† for which they were originally conceived. The parents might not like that they brought this child in to this world for a certain purpose, but now the child does not want to donate anymore. The savior child would have no support from their family. They would feel that they had only one purpose; to save their sibling. Parents have more choices than ever before and they need to use every resource available to protect the health of their children, but there is a line that should not be crossed. There are potential harmful psychological effects on a child born not for itself, but to save another. If conception of saviour siblings for the donation of cord blood stem cells is permitted, what is to stop donation ending there. There may be an inevitable situation where the donor child will be expected to â€Å"donate† bone marrow in the event that the umbilical cord stem cell transplant fails or the sick sibling relapses and requires further treatment. If the child is under age, then the parents decide the choice for them and of course they would have the savior child donate whatever the sick child needs. Parents are blinded from seeing what is in the best interest for both of their children. The only thing that is on their mind is to save their sick child. If there is no benefit at all to the created saviour child, it appears hard to justify that it is humane and proper to use them to save the life of a sibling. Every parent has to seriously decide the point at which they will halt their efforts to save their sick child regardless of the potential outcome. There comes a point when people have to realize there is nothing they can do. The parents get so consumed in the entire process and the emotions involved in saving your sick child that they may lose the ability to know when to stop. Despite how gut-wrenching it may be, they have to stop, not only for the sake of their other children, but for the sake of their sick child. They should have to realize that there comes a point when vigilance becomes obsession and good intentions get warped and bastardized to the point that they do more harm than good. People should to write to President to have him put regulations on the use of Genetic technology for creation of savoir siblings. A savior sibling cannot lose their quality of life just because they were conceived with the weight of the family on their shoulders. The child should not go through life suffering, for the reason that she was conceived to help heal their sick sibling.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Unfair Dismissal Legislation

Unfair Dismissal Legislation In this paper we will examine the tension between unfair (employee) dismissal legislation and the autonomy of managers to run their departments as they see fit. Interestingly, the question refers to managers right to manage their employees: It should be stated at the outset, unlike the rights afforded to employees by legislation and the common law, which are enforceable rights per se; there is no such right enshrined in the law to protect the autonomy of managers. It is also interesting to note that the question does not ask us to d iscuss the degree to which unfair dismissal legislation takes away managers right to manage their employees effectively or well, or ask us to comment upon whether or not the suppression of managers autonomy is a good or a bad thing for the development of a healthy and effective commercial workplace. We will argue in this essay that such an assessment is central to the question of this paper. After all, for example, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which seeks (inter alia) to regulate the conduct of Police Officers, might well be seen to take away rights of the police to arrest citizens, but only does so to protect the citizen from unconstitutional and unacceptable authoritarian practices. Likewise, in the case of unfair dismissal legislation, if the effect is to prevent poor management practice, then this cannot be seen as a negative thing. The worry is that such legislation will interfere with good management, by creating expectations in the minds of employees regarding the standard acceptable processes which govern their employment and as such, might prevent managers from taking the initiative to be creative and progressive in their management approach. The question therefore boils down to whether or not the current unfair dismissal legislation in the UK is sufficiently flexible to allow management creativity to blossom to the advantage of all stakeholders in the employee-management-employer relationship. Unfair dismissal of employees is governed by Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by Part 3 of the Employment Act 2002. The right to not be unfairly dismissed is defined is s94 of the 1996 Act, and s95 of the same act outlines the circumstances which are capable of giving rise to a breach of this employment right. Hepple and Morris (2002) p255 comment upon the amendments to the unfair dismissal legislation introduced by the Employment Act 2002: â€Å"[T]he new statutory standard and modified disciplinary procedures, broad in conception but minimalist in their requirements, ‘are so rudimentary in nature that they afford little protection to employees[and] ‘fall significantly short of the requirements of the current ACAS Code and of the standards of reasonableness developed by tribunals†. This would seem to suggest that this legislation has had little impact upon curtailing the right of managers to manage their employees, especially in light of the fact that there is no significant deterrent effect arising from the remedy contained in s34(6) of the 2002 Act, which only entitles an unfairly dismissed employee to four weeks pay compensation. It also seems apparent that s34(2) of the Employment Act 2002 has reversed the case law decision of Polkey v A. E. Dayton Services [1988] in which it was decided that employers (and, more importantly, their managers) should be reasonable in their choice and use of employee dismissal procedures. S34(2) of the Employment Act 2002 introduced s98A into the Employment Act 1996, subsection 2 of which states: â€Å"[F]ailure by an employer to follow a procedure in relation to the dismissal of an employee shall not be regarded for the purposes of section 98(4)(a) as by itself making the employers action unreasonable if he shows that he would have decided to dismiss the employee if he had followed the procedure.† Again, there is nothing in this section which would suggest that managers rights to employ their own styles of disciplinary procedure have been curtailed: As long as the procedures employed lead to a decision identical to that which would have been generated through adherence to the standard dismissal procedures contained in the UK Employment Acts. It might be argued that that this procedural latitude will not be enforced to its full extent, and therefore that employers and their managers cannot rely upon its provisions to escape liability for nonprocedural conforman ce, but, as Collins (2004) reports: â€Å"The potential width of this exception should not be underestimated†. In regards to this amendment and also to the introduction of the ACAS code under the Employment Act 2002, Smith and Morton (2006) write: â€Å"In spite of government declarations, it is not clear how the ACAS Code and case law can impose a higher procedural standard than the statutory procedures in an unfair dismissal claim, although the test of a reasonable employer (whose action will fall within the range of reasonable responses) remains. Henceforth an employer defending a dismissal may argue that adherence to a procedure above the statutory minimum or the ACAS Code would not have led to a different outcome.† It would therefore seem that, under the new unfair dismissal regime, employers have even more latitude to escape liability for unfair dismissal by procedural unfairness and therefore, even less reason to reign in their managers by insisting on extra training or standard management practices. It should also be noted that under the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2001, the maximum award available to an employer from an employee who unsuccessfully brings a claim in the employment tribunal has been substantially increased as it now, by virtue of the Employment Tribunal Regulations 2004, can also include non-legal preparation costs. This must serve as a deterrent to employees from making frivolous and/or poorly constructed claims for unfair dismissal. Ans so, our analysis of the UK legislative framework on unfair dismissal all point to a conclusion that this regime does not have any significant effect upon the right of managers to manage their employees, so long as the procedures utilized are synonymous by result. However, there is often a big difference between the legal impact of legislation and its cultural effect. Let us now perform a literature review of several key sources in the field of employee management to see if the practical and real effect of the amended unfair dismissal legislation has been to curtail the creativity of managers or otherwise interfere with their right to manage their employees, effectively or otherwise. The first point which can be identified from the literature is that the legislation on unfair dismissal has had different effects on different sized of business. Whilst the research is relatively out of date, it seems clear that the small business sector has been the least affected by the formal dismissal regime. As Harrison et al (1998) write: â€Å"The major studies (e.g. Dickens et al., 1985) are now dated and there have been few attempts to up-date earlier assessments of the impact of unfair dismissal legislation on small firms (e.g. Clifton and Tatton-Brown, 1979; Daniel and Stilgoe, 1978; Evans et al., 1985). This research and the periodic WIRS surveys (Millward et al., 1992) indicated that small businesses were less likely to have formal disciplinary procedures than larger businesses. This would suggest that small business managers autonomy to manage in their own way has not been significantly ‘taken away by the UKs unfair dismissal legislation and its enshrined standar d procedures. This is confirmed by the findings of a case study analysis by Harrison et al (1998) who found that: â€Å"The presence of a formal written disciplinary procedure does not, of itself, ensure that it is applied/observed by all managers, nor that common disciplinary standards will be applied to all employees, or even to all employees in the same occupation, grade, etc. For example, two instances were found where the senior site manager in multi-site companies in the catering sector was not familiar with the requirements of their companies written procedures. Harrison et al (1998) also found, from their interviews, that managers in this sector took a flexible approach to disciplinary action. The problem with this is that the approach is likely to differ from manager to manager with the result that the only way companies can maintain consistency is not to change, remove or replace senior managers: â€Å"[T]here was evidence from many of the interviews of a â€Å"flexible approach† being taken to disciplinary actionThis â€Å"flexibility† plainly has its strengths, but it inevitably also raises issues of perceived consistency or inconsistency among employees of actions taken by different managers [I]ts potential effect on both employee morale and on potential unfair dismissal claims and outcomes, was a principal reason why many organizations have restricted the right to dismiss to senior managers.† Interestingly however, the interviews conducted across multi-site organizations revealed that â€Å"managers were able to draw on the wider resources of their organizations, including the advice and expertise of HR/personnel specialists. In some cases these specialists became involved in helping line managers to handle disciplinary cases, usually with the effect of avoiding major discrepancies.† This would suggest that the UK unfair dismissal legislation has had a noticeable impact upon the rights of managers in larger organizations to manage their employees, the procedures clearly being taken seriously if outside help is being drafted in regularly. In pages 457-458, Harrison et al (1998) discuss the effect of unfair dismissal legislation on ‘management style. They confirm our earlier conclusion that Managers are still acting autonomously despite the unfair dismissal legislation: â€Å"There are acknowledged difficulties in attempting to categorise management styles in organisations, not least because they may vary from one manager to another, and from one situation to another.† McCabe and Rabil (2001) write convincingly on the rights of employees and the impact of these rights on employers and their managers. At page 34 they write: â€Å"‘[T]he most critical right of employees is the right to due process (Velasquez, 1982, p. 327)[D]ue process involves a system of checks and balances, it increases the objectivity of decisions‘the topic of due process in work organizations calls for much greater conceptual development, practical experimentation, and systematic research (Aram and Salipante, Jr., 1981, p. 198). Prima facie, these respective statements seem to conflict with one another: On the one hand, McCabe and Rabil talk of ‘objective decision making, and yet on the other, they talk of the need for ‘practical experimentation. However, I would argue that, rather than being mutually exclusive, these observations demonstrate the ability for fair management autonomy to co-exist with principles of due process, if not necessarily consisten cy. Managers can implement their own style of disciplinary procedures into a workplace as long as these implementations are perceived as subscribing to the princinple of due process and the end effects of these implementations are consistent with the outcomes which would have been reached under the statutory procedures. This confirms what we postulated earlier in this essay; namely, that the unfair dismissal legislation does not significantly impede effective and fair management autonomy, but simply prevents managers from managing their employees in ways which are inappropriate or do not follow the principle of ‘due process. As McCabe and Rabil (2001) write: â€Å"Not all managers know how to manage their work force effectively, nor do they all treat their employees fairly. A good due process system cannot make managers manage more fairly. It may provide a strong incentive for them to do that, but if they don t know how, the process itself will not teach them. In conclusion, I would argue that since the inception of the Employment Act 2002, which amended the unfair dismissal legislation contained in the Employment Rights Act 1996, the UKs legislation on the unfair dismissal of employees is sufficiently flexible to allow employers and their managers the autonomy to create and implement their own employee management procedures, so long as these procedures are capable of yielding fair and equitable decisions. Thus, in response to the specific question, to what degree has the unfair dismissal legislation taken away managers right to manage their employees? I would argue that it has significantly taken away this ‘right. However, in relation to the more important question, to what degree has the unfair dismissal legislation taken away managers right to manage their employees fairly and effectively? I would argue that it has not taken away this right significantly.

Monday, August 19, 2019

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE STRESS AND HEALTH INVENTORY SCORES IN A COLLEGIATE POPULATION :: essays research papers

ABSTRACT Scientific literature is replete with studies examining the relationship between stressful life events and the occurrence of compromised immune function as suggested by the presence of various illnesses. Forty college students answered questionnaires regarding the presence of stressful life events and the presence or absence of recent illnesses. The relationship between these scores was examined. Life stress scores were significantly positively related to scores indicating illnesses on a health inventory. As scores indicating the presence of stressful life experiences increased, scores suggesting the presence of illness also increased. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Each bodily physiological system has an individual established set point, or level of balance; however, some fluctuations in these levels are tolerated. The balance of any system can be, and regularly is disturbed by internal and/or external events of the mechanical, physical, chemical, biological, and/or social types. When this balance is disrupted, and involuntary mobilizations of biological processes are not able to re-establish it, an alarm reaction is activated (Schedlowski and Tewes, 1999). This reaction is referred to as a stress response, and the activating agent is the stressor (Selye, 1936).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recently, studies of stress have shifted from demonstrating relationships between psychological factors and somatic outcomes, to investigations of the mediational pathways involved in these associations. For example, (Cohen and Williamson, 1991) have built on the work of Lazarus’ model by suggesting that once an environmental event is encountered, it is appraised, and an affective response is made. After this response is made, a cascade of behavioral and physiological processes is activated. Behavioral factors such as increased alcohol use, reduced exercise, changes in sleep quantity/quality, and changes in diet, have shown to be related to stress. In turn, stress-related changes are associated with many hormonal fluctuations known to influence susceptibility to disease (Schedlowski and Tewes, 1999). There is overwhelming evidence that daily stress may be harmful to the overall health of humans (Cohen, Tyrrell, and Smith, 1991; Glaser, Rice, and Sheridan, 1987; and Schleifer, and Keller, 1991). The mechanism by which stress influences health outcomes is thought to involve the immune system. Rationale As reviewed, research has examined the interaction between stressful life events and the overall health of humans. This investigation will examine this relationship in a collegiate population, using two pen and paper surveys. Hypothesis Scores on the College Life Stress Inventory (CLSI) (Renner and Mackin, 1998) will be positively related to scores on the Health Inventory (HI) (Holmes and Rahe, 1967).

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Jean-Paul Sartre Essay -- Biography Biographies Philosophers Essays

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Sartre was an existentialist philosopher. The questions of his philosophy often come out in his readings. Existentialism questions why we exist. Existentialists deny the existence of God. Existentialist writers such as Kafka and Sartre often use prisons and solitary confinement to tell their stories. Often, neither the reader nor the protagonist is aware of what crime has been committed. Jean-Paul Sartre’s â€Å"The Wall† reflects his philosophy and personal experiences. He worked for the French resistance and was imprisoned by the Germans during WWII. The story takes place during the Spanish Civil War in an old hospital being used by the Spanish Fascist’s to house prisoners. â€Å"The Wall† is told from a first person, stream of consciousness point-of-view, and uses existentialist philosophy, to illuminate the follies of totalitarian governments like Fascism, and Nazism. Like most existentialist writers, Sartre chooses to tell the story of â€Å"The Wall† form the first person stream-of-consciousness point-of-view. We get dialogue from other characters, but the dialogue is filtered through the mind and thoughts of Pablo. The terror in the story slowly unfolds from Pablo’s mind. In the beginning, Sartre only gives us a hint of terror. The reality of the situation has not yet set into Pablo’s mind: They pushed us into a big white room and I began to blink because the light hurt my eyes. Then I saw a table and four men behind the table, civilians, looking over the papers. They had bunched another group of prisoners in the back and we had to cross the whole room to join them. There were several I knew and some others who must have been foreigners. The two in front of me were blond with round skulls; they looked alike. I supposed they were French. The smaller one kept hitching up his pants; nerves. (7) The emphasis on the â€Å"round skull† foreshadows a scene that later brings terror into greater effect. Tom tells Pablo while they are waiting to be executed, that they aim for the eyes and head to disfigure your face. The emphasis on the perfect round skulls in the first paragraph draws attention to faces and heads. â€Å"The smaller one hitching up his nerves,† tell us from the beginning that Pablo should be nervous himself. Pablo knows he is in trouble at the beginning. He just does not realize the amount yet. ... ...out truth or a person’s innocence. Juan is guilty of know crime and is put to death. Garcia who Pablo meets in the courtyard after he gives his false testimony, â€Å"had nothing to do with politics† (36). When asked why he was arrested, Garica responds â€Å"They arrest everybody who doesn’t think the way they do†(36). The Nazi’s and the Fascist’s used mental torture and the threat of terror to get people to question their own existence, their own sanity. They do not think, they just take orders and obey. Therefore, it is perfectly ironic that Pablo sends them to a place devoid of reason or thought. The further irony is that Gris is hiding in the graveyard in the gravediggers’ shack and is killed in a gunfight. Pablo says after learning of Gris’s death, â€Å"everything began to spin and I found myself siting on the ground: I laughed so hard I cried† (37). Pablo laughs until he cries because he realizes he never will understand why one man dies and another lives. In spite of all his thinking and mental anguish over the question, every answer he discovers leads back to Descartes; the only part of his existence he can not question is the one truth, â€Å"I think, therefore I am."

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Analyzing EMC Corporation

EMC Corporation, based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. with 11,200 employees worldwide, is the world†s leading supplier of intelligent enterprise storage and retrieval technology. EMC is a Fortune 500 company and was ranked ninth on Business Week†s 1998 â€Å"Info Tech 100†³ list of the world†s best-performing information technology companies. In 1998, EMC had an annual revenue of $3.9 billion. EMC designs systems for open system, mainframe, and midrange environments. EMC is the only company in the world entirely focused on rapidly delivering intelligent enterprise storage and retrieval solutions. This enables companies and organizations to leverage their growing volumes of information into profitability, growth and competitive advantage. EMC Enterprise Storage systems, software products, and services are the leading information access and storage solutions for every major computing platform in today†s business enterprise. EMC was founded in 1979 by Richard Egan and Robert Marino (the E and M in EMC) as a supplier of add-on memory boards. EMC†s rapid rise in the worldwide data storage market began its major surge in 1989, when the company revised its strategy to align itself with businesses† growing reliance on increasingly vast and complex amounts of electronic data. In 1990 with the introduction of EMC†s Symmetrix product line, EMC became the first company to provide intelligent storage systems based on arrays of small, commodity hard disk drives for the mainframe market. Since the in introduction of Symmetrix technology, more than 30,000 of these systems have been sold around the globe and EMC†s annual revenues have grown from $190 million in 1990 to $3.97 billion in 1998. With the introduction of Symmetrix Remote Data Facility in 1994, EMC became the world†s leading storage-based solution for business continuity and disaster recovery. EMC†s portfolio of storage software includes EMC TimeFinder, EMC Data Manager, EMC PowerPath and Symmetrix Manager. With its $445 million in software revenue in 1998, this makes EMC one of the world†s largest and fastest-growing software companies. The major customers of EMC include the world†s largest banks and financial services firms, telecommunications providers, airlines, retailers and manufacturers, as well as governments, universities, and scientific institutions. These customers rely on EMC†s innovative storage solutions for such applications as online reservation systems, transaction processing, customer billing, year 2000 compliance, the Internet and corporate intranets, business continuance/disaster recovery, data mining and data warehousing. EMC has also formed alliances with the world†s leading software, application and database companies, such as Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, Baan, and PeopleSoft. EMC is a global organization, and is represented by more than 100 offices worldwide. The company manufactures its products in Massachusetts and Ireland. EMC has R&D facilities in Massachusetts, Colorado, Israel, and France. They also have Customer Support Centers in Massachusetts, Ireland, Japan, and Australia. EMC holds the most strict quality management certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9001) and its manufacturing operations hold MRP II Class A certification. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EMC and is a component of the S&P 500 Index. Richard J. Egan- Founder and Chairman Egan is a founder of EMC Corporation.. He has served as Director since the companies inception in 1979. In 1988, Egan brought the company public and was elected Chairman of the Board. He held the position of President and CEO until January 1992. Michael C. Ruettgers- President and CEO Ruettgers has held the position of President and CEO of EMC Corporation, since January of 1992. Ruettgers joined the company in 1988 as executive Vice President of Operations and Customer Service, and from 1989 he was EMC†s President and Chief Operating Officer. 1979- EMC Corporation is founded by Richard j. Egan and Roger Marino in Newton, 1981- 64 kilobyte chip memory boards are developed for Prime Computers. 1982- EMC corporate headquarters moves to Natick, Massachusetts. -Annual sales surpass the $3 million mark. 1984- Five years after the company†s founding, annual sales reach $18.8 million, nearly tripling 1985- EMC is first to commercially ship denser memory upgrades using 1-megabit Random 1986- EMC goes public in April; makes initial public offering on the NASDAQ stock exchange. -Total revenues double over 1985 to $66.6 million; net income more than doubles to $18.6 million. 1987- Corporate headquarters relocates to Hopkinton, Massachusetts. 1988- EMC opens its European manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland. -EMC stock lists for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange in March. 1989- Second major US corporate facility is opened in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. -EMC develops Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) subsystems with automated error thresholding for IBM System/38 and AS/400 computers. -Michael C. Ruettgers, is promoted from Executive Vice President of Operations and Customer Service, to President and Chief Operating Officer. Richard J. Egan continues his 1990- EMC redefines mainframes storage by introducing the Symmetrix 4200 Integrated Cached Disk Array (ICDA), a 24-gigabyte RAID mainframe storage system that replaces traditional 14†³ DASD disks with the mainframe industry†s first 5.25-inch disks. Performance is further enhanced through 4-gigabyte cache and 32-processor controller cards. -EMC institutes a Continuous Quality Improvement process, resulting in greatly enhanced product and process quality, as well as over $20 million saved to date (1995). 1991- Several enhancements to the Symmetrix ICDA product line give EMC the ability to compete in the Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) environment. 1992- Michael C. Ruettgers is named President and CEO and the company†s stock splits 2 for 3. 1993- EMC mainframe storage market share increases from 5% to 15%. 1994- EMC introduces the world†s first â€Å"terabyte box† and the company surpasses the $1 billion 1995- EMC introduces first Symmetrix storage systems for open systems and surpasses IBM as market share leader in mainframe disk storage capacity. 1996- EMC becomes leader in the open storage market. 1997- EMC extends lead in the enterprise storage and retrieval market. 1998- The EMC Effect is felt across the computing enterprise. 1999- EMC Corporation announces two-for-one stock split. There are five forces that shape competition in an industry, barriers to entry, power of suppliers, power of buyers, threat of substitutes, and rivalry & industry structure. These five forces that Porter developed have become a strong framework in helping strategic mangers find answers as to how, or why decision can have an impact on their firm, and the industry they operate in. When analyzed the collective strength of these forces show potential profits of an industry. The company being focused on is EMC, which is in the Computer Peripherals industry. Barriers to entry are forces that firms must overcome in order to enter an industry. These barriers can be caused from high initial investment, product differentiation, cost disadvantage, access to distribution channels, or restrictive government policies. An example of this could be the phone, or cable companies. There are very few companies that are able to compete within this industry because of the high capital requirements to start off. An enormous amount of time and money would have to be spent on installing lines throughout the country to supply you customers with the services they want. EMC is in a situation where it has created several barriers to entry. Capital requirements are one of the barriers that EMC has in its favor. In 1979 EMC started its business in data storage which it is now the leading company in its industry. It has offices all over the globe and is the only company in the world to be specifically focused on rapidly delivering intelligent enterprise storage and retrieval solutions. There are very few companies that can compete with EMC because of its name association and large international operation. New entrance into this industry would have to invest large amounts of time and money into research and development. EMC already has the technology and is constantly updating with more advanced services. Another barrier to entry is product differentiation. EMC is specialized in enterprise storage, which is much different than conventional storage. While conventional storage has been used to back up memory in case of a disaster or, to log companies transactions, EMC started a niche which it has made into a new industry. Enterprise storage has six specific parts that set it aside from conventional storage. They are as follows enterprise connectivity, information centricity, cascadability, information management, information sharing, and information protection. It can be clearly seen that this industry is constantly changing, and new products are coming out every day. If you are not the leader in this new technology then you will not survive. EMC has without a doubt developed barriers to entry. The threat of substitutes is how easily a product can be interchanged with another. For example if you are going to buy bottled water you decision will ultimately come down to price. An expensive flashy bottle of water can easily be exchanged for a generic store brand bottle at a fraction of the cost. However with services it is a different story. Lawyers for example could easily be substituted if you were looking at the cost. It would be very simple to find a cheap lawyer, however you might end up losing your case. To get a top of the line service you will have to pay a little extra. EMC is a top of the line service which also offers a very affordable pricing strategy. Its pricing very sensitive with the companies it works with, whether you are a world dominating bank, or a newly started Internet company. EMC has something to offer everyone. What makes EMC even more attractive is its unmatchable customer service. Customers are always kept in close and frequent contact whether it be for unforeseen problems, or to validate new features. Customers have found that EMC offers the best of both worlds, and that no other company so far can be substituted for it. â€Å"We need high capacity, fast performance, a scalable platform, and total data protections. With EMC, we found a complete solution from one provider.† Says the General Manager of information technology, at Komercni Banka. This clearly shows the EMC has eliminated its substitutes by offering something that no one else can match. Rivals in any given industry are a part of competition that businesses have to deal with. For the past several years EMC has not had to deal with many competitor since they offer services and customer support that surpasses any other company that has been looking to get into the the information storage industry. IBM, and Sun Microsystems are two companies that have recently been competing with EMC. These are both large established companies that deal in many different aspects of the technology industry. Both IBM and Sun Microsystems have begun to compete with EMC†s self started indusrty. The reason for this is because they both have large R&D departments with large budgets that allow development of product comparable to EMC. However since EMC is so focused in their niche market they have a mixture between service and product quality that hasn†t been matched by anyone. IBM Sun and the other competitor are not focused just on storage technology but they also have many other interest. This makes companies weary of handing over valuable information to a business that could be in direct competition with them. This gives EMC a competitive advantage over any other company since they are well known for tight security. Another advantage EMC has over its competitors is that they are now recognized as the â€Å"standard: in computer information back up and storage area.

Quality Assurance Essay

Quality assurance is based on setting agreed quality standards at all stages in the production of a good or service in order to ensure that customers’ satisfaction is achieved. It does not just focus on the finished product. This approach often involves self-checking by workers of their own output against these agreed quality standards. The key differences between the two methods are that, quality assurance: a.puts much more emphasis on prevention of poor quality by designing products for easy fault-free manufacture, rather than inspecting for poor-quality products – ‘getting it right first time’ b.stresses the need for workers to get it right the first time and reduces the chances of faulty products occurring or expensive reworking of faulty goods c.establishes quality standards and targets for each stage of the production process – for both goods and services d.Checks components, materials and services bought into the business at the point of arrival or delivery – not at the end of the production process by which stage much time and many resources may have been wasted. The quality-assurance department will need to consider all areas of the fi rm. Agreed standards must be established at all stages of the process from initial product idea to it finally reaching the consumer: †¢Product design – will the product meet the expectations of consumers? †¢Quality of inputs – quality must not be let down by bought-in components. Suppliers will have to accept and keep to strict quality standards. †¢Production quality – this can be assured by total quality management (TQM) and emphasizing with workers that quality levels must not drop below pre-set standards. †¢Delivery systems – customers need goods and services delivered at times convenient to them. The punctuality and reliability of delivery systems must be monitored. †¢Customer service including after-sales service – continued customer satisfaction will depend on the quality of contact with consumers after purchase. For example: Nissan car factories have predetermined quality standards set and checked at each stage of the assembly of vehicles – by the workers accountable for them. First Direct, a European telephone banking organisation, sets limits on waiting times for calls to be answered, average times to be taken for meeting each customer’s requests and assurance standards to monitor that customer requests have been acted on correctly. Quality assurance has the following advantages: i.It makes everyone responsible for quality – this can be a form of job enrichment. ii.Self-checking and making efforts to improve quality increases motivation. iii.The system can be used to ‘trace back’ quality problems to the stage of the production process where a problem might have been occurring. iv.It reduces the need for expensive final inspection and correction or reworking of faulty products. v.To gain accreditation for quality awards − these can give a business real status or kudos. The most widely recognized quality award within the European Union is ISO 9000. Reference: http://classof1.com/homework-help/operations-management-homework-help View as multi-pages

Friday, August 16, 2019

A Dream Deferred

Langston Hughes’ poem, A Dream Deferred, is about the sentiments of African American people back when they were great oppressed and marginalized (Hughes).They were denied of a dream, of a better life and a better world just because of their skin color and their ethnicity. Looking closely at the poem, we can see that the elements used by Hughes could clearly show the readers how much he felt back at that time when he wrote it.It is important to analyze the poem through its parts first and then its entirety so that we’ll see how Hughes came up with a short but very effective poem.Hughes used several literary elements all throughout his poem. The first one is the use of rhetorical questions, where we can see that the poem is structured as a questions related to deferring a dream. These questions tend to answer themselves in the end, and this is where the use of the next element, simile comes in. He uses it to describe every situation that he gives relating to a dream defer red.One example is â€Å"Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun, where he used â€Å"like a raisin in the sun† to describe the â€Å"drying up† of the dream (Hughes). From this, it is evident that it also uses the element imagery when describing, including â€Å"fester like a sore,† â€Å"stink like rotten meat,† and a lot more (Hughes).Through these literary elements, we can see how much emotion the author has regarding this topic. As an African American, he had his fair share of discrimination, which led to his dreams being deferred.The poem shows us the progression of how his dreams and aspirations were denied and how his reaction evolved. From the poem, we can clearly see that it seemed to worsen to a point of destruction. With this, the readers can follow how his emotions could have changed through time.Hughes intends to answer the question â€Å"what happens to a dream deferred,† and he was able to do so by giving several responses (Hughes) . His first few responses were generally negative, as we’d expect from someone discriminated and denied of their dreams.He responded that it could dry up like a raisin in the sun. This is a very appropriate response for someone who lost hope, saying that their dreams would all go to waste and just dry up.A raisin in the sun is once a juicy grape, just like a dream that’s full of promise and hope. By denying that dream, all that would be left is just the wrinkled skin of the past, something very distant to what it previously resembled.Other responses that Hughes provided include festering like a sore, stinking like a rotten meat, and crusting and sugaring over like a syrupy sweet. These are all undesired, negative situations that could be a gauge of how the author felt when his dream was deferred.It was uncalled for, it was not the outcome that he expected, but still he must live with that. There isn’t any hint of justice for the author, since these were all irre versible outcomes. At this point, we can now see that aside from disappointment, having one’s dream deferred also causes a great deal of sadness and pain.In the end, all of the dreams deferred from a man like the author would eventually have to go somewhere. As it piles up, it creates a heavy load which would eventually sag.All the dreams that they were not able to achieve, all the opportunities that were denied from them would eventually sag and weigh them down. It is such a heavy burden to carry and there is no other way to ease it other than giving them the chance to fulfill those dreams.Because eventually, as it continues to sag and expand, there would come a point when it would just explode. In the end, they wouldn’t be able to sustain such load and so it leads to destruction.This could be taken both literally and figuratively, because I think that when the load is too heavy to bear, people like Hughes would eventually think of a way to lessen the burden, and it m ay not be a desirable course of action.Work Cited:Hughes, Langston. â€Å"A Dream Deferred.†Ã‚   Writing through Literature. Eds. Linda Anstendig and David Hicks: Prentice Hall, 1995.   

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Module a

Whilst texts may be fictitious constructs of composers’ imaginations, they also explore and address the societal issues and paradigms of their eras. This is clearly the case with Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein (1818), which draws upon the rise of Galvanism and the Romantic Movement of the 1800’s, as well as Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner (1992), reflecting upon the increasing computing industry and the predominance of capitalism within the late 20th Century. Hence, an analysis of both in light of their differing contexts reveal how Shelley and Scott ultimately warn us of the dire consequences of our desire for omnipotence and unrestrained scientific progress, concepts which link the two texts throughout time. Composed in a time of major scientific developments, including Galvani’s concept of electricity as a reanimating force, Shelley’s Frankenstein utilises the creative arrogance of the Romantic imagination to fashion a Gothic world in which the protagonist’s usurpation of the divine privilege of creation has derailed the conventional lines of authority and responsibility. Her warning of the dangers of such actions is encapsulated within Victor’s retrospective words of â€Å"how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge†, whilst Shelley’s use of a fragmented epistolatory narrative adds a disturbing sense of truth, foreshadowing the dark consequences of Frankenstein’s actions. Moreover, her allusions to John Milton’s Paradise Lost evoke the poetic retelling of Satan’s fall from grace, wherein the daemon’s association with â€Å"the fallen angel† exacerbates the effects of Victor’s rejection, ultimately transforming its â€Å"benevolent nature† into a thirst for retribution. Together with its questioning of how Victor could â€Å"sport with life†, Shelley’s warning reverberates past the page, directly questioning the scientists of her era, including evolutionary theorist Erasmus Darwin, to reinforce the dangers of our humanity’s inherent yearning to play the role of the Creator. Such a warning also exists within Scott’s Blade Runner, hence linking the two texts throughout time, where the director echoes the rise of capitalist ideals and the Wall Street mantra, â€Å"greed is good†, through the symbolic dominance of Tyrell’s towering ziggurat, a reflection of both his desire for omnipotence and commercial power. Tyrell’s egocentric nature is epitomised within the religious connotations of his abode, including his voluminous bed, modeled after that of Pope John Paul II, as well as his reference to Batty as â€Å"the prodigal son†. Such symbols are unnervingly subverted through both the foreboding Chiarscuro of flickering candle-light with shadow and his violent death at the hands of his own creation. Scott’s warning of the dangers of such a desire is also evident within the expansive shots of 2019 LA, revealing a dark and tenebrous world lit by the glow of corporate advertisements, a representation of a bleak future dominated by commercial dominance. Hence, by drawing upon elements of his context, including the growth of capitalism and the ‘trickle-down theory’ of Reagan’s era, Scott positions us to reassess the consequences of overstepping our boundaries. In addition, both texts’ warnings also encompass the dangers of unrestrained scientific progress, where Frankenstein further demonstrates the Romantic Movement’s influence on Shelley’s mindset, as her criticisms of the Age of Reason and Industrial Revolution reflect their denigration of rationality. The imagery of the â€Å"dead corpse† and repetitious use of â€Å"horror† upon the creation of the â€Å"miserable monster† establish a strong aura of death and despair around this scientific advancement, whilst Victor’s warning of Walton to â€Å"avoid ambitions of science and discoveries† encapsulates Shelley’s vilification of contributors to the Industrial Revolution, including renowned inventor James Watt. Moreover, Shelley stresses her warning through the protagonists’ connections with nature, where Victor’s â€Å"insensibility to its charms†, arising from his immersion in science, results in his â€Å"deep, dark and deathlike solitude†, with the heavy alliteration exemplifying his degraded sense of humanity. Conversely, the monster possesses greater â€Å"benevolence† and a more intimate connection with â€Å"the pleasant showers and genial warmth of spring†, with such characterisation capturing Shelley’s reflection of Romanticism’s idolisation of nature, cautioning us against the dehumanising effect of unrestrained scientific advancement. Blade Runner is no different, with Scott’s reflection of the explosion of technological progress during the 1980’s, including the rise of computing giants IBM and Microsoft, highlighting the dangers of such unrestrained progress. Most notable is the opening panoramic shot of blazing smokestacks which, together with the haunting synthetic pulses of the Vangelis soundtrack, establishes a festering miasma of technological overload, adding further semiotic weight to the film’s nightmarish dystopian agenda. Indeed, this portrayal of a decaying environment reflects the growing ecological awareness of the 1980’s, which, whilst different to Shelley’s Romantic values, is similarly employed to highlight the destruction of mankind due to technology. Moreover, Scott illuminates us to the dehumanising effects of such progress, foregrounded through Deckard’s â€Å"retiring† of the Replicant Zhora. Here, the stylistic placement of the transparent poncho places further emphasises the violence of her death, with slow-motion low angle shot conveying her heightened sense of humanity within her last painful moments. In contrast, Deckard’s emotionless features, together with the monotonous drone of the droid, suggests that our artificial creations will ultimately lead to the dehumanising of mankind, undermining our humanist framework and hence, warns us of the dire consequences of unchecked scientific progress. Thus, we can see how both Shelley and Scott reflect their zeitgeists in their texts, Frankenstein and Blade Runner, as they draw upon the societal concerns of their times in order to warn us of the consequences of overstepping our boundaries and unbridled technological advancement. Subsequently, it becomes evident that despite their temporal and contextual differences, both texts are in fact linked through their common concerns and concepts.