African Americans and Slavery Essay

The American Revolution was a time of great turmoil for all men and women in the United States. Great debates came and went during this time; slavery and the freedom of black men being the main problems in these debates. Slaves were used for a great number of things during the American revolutionary period. The arrival of slavery to the American colonies began in the 1600s and started out in Virginia. As the years passed more and more African-Americans were brought into the colonies to be used as labor workers. The beginning amount of slaves continued to grow and by the beginning of the revolution there were about 273,000 slaves spread throughout the American states. With the coming of the revolution all African-Americans, slave or free, knew something was coming and each had a different response to these comings. There were differences in the responses of slaves and free men during the American Revolution. There were also consequences to their choices. â€Å"Gaining freedom in a land of captivity and wresting equality from a society whose founding documents guarantee it has been the consuming desire and everlasting hope that has kept harrowed bodies and weary souls going. † In the southern states African-American slaves were treated harsher than those in the north. The plantations down south required back –breaking hours of work in the sun that White Americans believed could only be done by those they had bought. There was a reason for them to be there and until they could no longer work they were to do all things imaginable for their owners, no questions asked. Some of these slaves thought it was easier to run away from their owners and that in doing so they would have a chance to fight for their country. Slaves could either flee to the north or they could flee to Spanish owned Florida. In cases where a master was called upon to fight, they would send a slave in their place and if they lived long enough to return home they earned freedom. Many of the slaves decided that if they had a chance to gain their freedom by joining the war effort then they would gladly take their masters place. They also believed that with the beginning to the revolutionary period would bring a new deed to the land and when it was over there would no longer be a need for slaves. The consequences for slaves in the south were innumerable. Like many slaves, they took this time to run from slave masters and plantations. If these southern slaves were caught, depending on the owner, the slave could suffer mild to severe consequences. Depending on the demeanor of the owner a slave could be punished in several different ways. Whipping, branding, slapping, being dunked underwater, and kicking were just some forms of punishment. The most severe punishments were to cut off a body part like an ear in the hopes that the slave would learn and never run again. There were also â€Å"nice† slave owners that chose not to punish their slaves. There justification for not punishing their slaves was so that they would continue to work and so that the owner could buy more slaves with the money that they continued to pool in from the work. Because of some owners that continuously harassed Washington, he stopped allowing slaves into his army. But General Washington, fearing rebellion, created an order that stated that all blacks were not allowed to fight. Later he partially reversed the order and allowed only free black men to fight with him. Some slaves believed that taking a chance to flee towards the north was a far-fetched idea. They were seeking freedom in the quickest possible way. Lord Dunmore sent out a proclamation that stated in exchange for freedom any black that came to him would fight against the patriots and become a loyalist. Dunmore’s promise of freedom fueled black slaves to escape and even some patriots fled to fight as a loyalist. After the war, true to his word, slaves gained their freedom. Some of these newly freed slaves went to Britain but many of them stayed in the Americas. On the other hand free men in the north believed the revolution would bring about change for the better. Their idea of the revolution was that they were being given the chance to gain independence from Great Britain and also for themselves. It was a defining moment in history that they were to be a part of. Fighting with white men gave these free black men a sense of honor and it also gave them a job where they could earn a little money to put towards getting homes and things of that nature. Men from the north gradually began to realize that they could fight with their brethren and bring independence to the land. General Washington passed an order stating that no black man was allowed into his army. This order came about because of general angst from some slave owners. These owners believed that there should not be any blacks fighting for the independence because they were only good for being slaves and they would never have say over anything. After some time Washington, fearing not having enough men to fight against the British, partially reversed this order to allow only free black men. Other than this there were not many consequences that are recorded for free black men. These free men not only fought for the independence of the nation but also for their independence and the independence of other black men and women. African-Americans from the north and south chose to join the continental army because they believed that they should help make the place the lived independent from a tyranny that had no say in the matters of a new country. They felt that this tyranny could take their rights and place them under unfair rule once again. Some of the freemen and slaves that had started out in the continental army decided to run to the British army but were not successful in their plights. Nash called the revolution the ‘greatest slave rebellion in American history’ because it was just that. The revolution opened up new grounds for slaves to rebel against owners because it was the most opportune time for them to do so. â€Å"If any group within America’s diversified people came close to answering John Adams’s plea that ‘we must all be soldiers,’ it was black Americans. No part of revolutionary society responded to the call for arms with anywhere near the enthusiasm of those who were black. Proportionate to their number, African American males— and some females— were more likely to join the fray than white Americans. † According to this excerpt from another one of Nash’s books, African-Americans were much more adept to answering the plea of John Adams. If there were more African-American fighters than white that meant that more black males were subject to put themselves in danger in order to gain freedom. They would rather have one day of freedom, not knowing if they would die in the next second, hour, or day, than be a slave for the rest of their lives. This is one of the reasons why Nash called the revolution the ‘greatest slave rebellion in American history’. â€Å"Desperate to fill the thinned ranks of its regiments, states offered freedom†¦ to serve during the continuance of the present war with Great Britain. Every black enlistee would be ‘immediately discharged from the service of his master or mistress, and be absolutely free, as if he had never been encumbered with any kind of servitude or slavery. † If states were desperate to have more men come into their ranks then there was nothing really stopping slaves from escaping their masters and coming to fight. They all wanted freedom from someone. Slaves wanted freedom from their bonds that were tied to the soil they worked and the Americans wanted freedom from Great Britain. Both groups had their reasons to fight and the only way slaves knew how to become free was to rebel and run to an army. This was a time for large rebellions on all fronts not just from the slaves. It was a rebellion against the British from the former colonists and a rebellion against the men and women that were taken from their homes to somehow create new ones. â€Å"It may have been, as Nash says ‘the greatest slave rebellion in American history,’ but for most of the rebels it ended like the others, in death. Slaves who supported the American side fared better, but not much better. Only with great reluctance did Washington allow some to join his army. Other Virginians had another wartime use for them. In 1780 the state legislature offered salves as a bounty for enlistment in the war against British tyranny. The revolution did see enactment of measures for gradual emancipation in the northern states, but the number who benefited was small. † My view on the American Revolution has changed somewhat because of how the African-Americans were treated during and after the period of war. The Americans act as though they had not been fighting alongside each other and because of this withhold distaste for the blacks. The completely disregard the idea that every man is created equal and has certain unalienable rights. They do not extend these ideas that were written down on the Declaration of Independence to the free black Americans. Men that had fought with and under Washington were not looked as the same because the color of their skin and were not given the same rights. Because of how they were treated I see the Revolution more as a war against Britain to save other whites from tyranny rather than to gain independence for all mankind. ——————————————–.of Revolution (Harvard University: 2006), 1. [ 2 ]. Taymor, . â€Å"US History Documents. † Last modified 2005. Accessed January 27, 2013. http://inside. sfuhs. org/dept/history/US_History_reader/Chapter2/Nashfighting. pdf. [ 3 ]. Taymor, . â€Å"US History Documents. † Last modified 2005. Accessed January 27, 2013. http://inside. sfuhs. org/dept/history/US_History_reader/Chapter2/Nashfighting. pdf. [ 4 ]. Edmund S. Morgan, review of The Unknown American Revolution:  .

Group Roles and Norms Essay

Explicit norms are rules that are clearly stated. Implicit norms are hard for people with difficulty with socially-based learning. Roles within groups are different tasks that different people perform and the specific accomplishments each is expected to attain (Baron, Branscombe & Byrne, 2009, p. 384). An example of an explicit role is a professor for a class. The students in the class play the explicit role in the course. The professor’s role is to guide and nurture their students. An implicit role that students have is that they are just as likely to have a great deal to offer to the class as a group if the professor can create a safe, accepting environment that encourages the free exchange of ideas. Norms are rules established by groups which define acceptable and unacceptable behaviors (Baron, Branscombe & Byrne, 2009, p. 387). Horne (2004) specifically focuses on the sanctions which enforce the rules. An explicit norm for the classroom is that the students come prepared to class, as the roles are clearly stated in the syllabus. An implicit norm is that students have to come to class prepared. Students attempt to enforce the implicit norm by letting the instructor know they are prepared for class. An explicit norm is the length of time for classes. The class can deviate from the implicit norm while adhering to the explicit norm that classes will meet the whole length of class time. Some of the initial consequences to deviating from the implicit norm which students are that they wish the professor will follow their body language to let class out early. This reinforces the explicit norm that they will come to class prepared, violating their implicit norm that they will not participate in class. The professor can uses a form of sanctioning called Jeopardy. Professors can have students clear their desk so that students cannot attempt to enforce the implicit norm that class will dismiss early. Rewards are provided by group assessments. Creating accountability, both to the group and to oneself by creating a grading system that balances group work, daily grades, and tests is the best way to ensure a fairly smooth and regular routine to the classroom. Students unwilling to meet these explicit norms will ideally move on quickly to other courses where the implicit norms are more likely to be met or choose to adjust their behavior. References Baron, R. A., Branscombe, N. R., & Byrne, D. (2009). Social psychology (12th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Horne, C. (2004). Collective benefits, Exchange interests, and norm enforcement. Social Forces, 82(3), 1037-1062.

Emotional Quotient And Spiritual Intelligence In The Workplace Essay

As the world progresses and advances towards globalization, the global economy is demanding for the existence of well-managed companies and organizations. Responding to this demand, organizations are trying to find more effective formula that will enhance or improve their outputs. Two of the latest discoveries that attract companies and organizations are the concepts of emotional and spiritual development of their human resources. More and more companies are integrating the said formula in their programs and action plans as they recognize the need of these concepts that were long been neglected. In this paper, we will analyze the arguments of two chosen articles which focus on Emotional Intelligence (Must Have EQ by Anthony Landale) and Spiritual Intelligence (The Practical Application of Spiritual Intelligence in the Workplace by Mike George). Anthony Landale, in his article entitled â€Å"Must Have EQ†, argued that Emotional Intelligence or EQ (Emotional Quotient) the key for an organization to meet the challenge of getting people work together more effectively (Landale, Andrew Feb/March 2007, page 24). In line with this, the author presented his stand in four clear points. First, he argued that EQ is vital in keeping the organization or team members intact. Second, he argued that each team member must be able to learn how to manage our emotions by constantly checking our own individual behaviors. Landale made it clear that behaviors are innate in humans and that every person has his own set of good and bad behaviors. Relative to this, a person who has high emotional intelligence is able to manage even the undesirable behaviors by expressing them in the right place, time and manner. Third, Landale argued that EQ development requires empathy, which is putting oneself in the place of others. This means that one is required to constantly deal with others at work, learn to adjust as needed and be able to adapt with the situation. Lastly, the author stressed that communication is vital in the development of emotional intelligence and of keeping the organization healthy. To be able to do this, every member must maintain an open and honest communication. It was also stressed that a two-way communication line is required which means that feedback to and from management must be kept working. Emotional intelligence is therefore measured according to the person’s skill of managing his or her emotions and behaviors because EQ is actually â€Å"Self-Management. † In partnership with EQ, a company must also train its human resources to develop Spiritual Intelligence (SQ). The author centered his arguments on the practical applications of SQ especially in the workplace because SQ development focuses on the three deepest motivations of humans: creativity, meaning and purpose (George, Mike 2006, page 3). The author argued that since Spiritual Intelligence directly work with these three human motivations, SQ development will definitely make a company a vibrant workplace. If a person’s SQ is well-developed, he will be able to have a clear sense of his identity and a definite purpose. Spiritual intelligence enables a person to live with integrity by setting a good example. Because SQ gives the individual the power the flexibility to adapt to the environment, a person with high SQ is able to be cool and focused even in a stressful situation. By developing one’s self-awareness, a person with high SQ also will have the power to find the cause of his emotions, its meanings and be able to manage them. This in turn will develop one’s empathy. Spiritual intelligence focuses on the development on a person’s ability to fight the ego in order for him to adapt to changes. Finally, development of spiritual intelligence enables a person to recognize the non-material reality of his being that is humans have non-material needs which when recognized alleviates life’s insecurity. If cognitive intelligence is about thinking and emotional intelligence is about feeling, then spiritual intelligence is about being† (McMullen, Brian 2003). In line with the arguments of Landale and George, this statement is parallel with their point of view that EQ has something to do with self-management while SQ deals with self-awareness of the non-material reality of the being. In the modern world, people are inclined to boosting their cognitive intelligence (IQ) as this may seem the measuring device for one’s success in life. But the real working world does not acknowledge the importance of IQ alone, rather the development of all four basic intelligences that define the successful individual. â€Å"IQ appears to be related to minimum standards to enter a given a profession† (Wiggleswoth, Cindy ). In line with Landale’s claim that EQ is of managing emotions, a study of store managers in retail chain proved that efficient management of emotions especially with stress is important for success (Cherniss, Cary 2000). However Cherniss stressed that this is just one aspect of the complex scope of emotional intelligence. He said that â€Å"emotional intelligence has as much to do with knowing when and how to express emotion as it do with controlling it. † This statement corroborates Landale’s idea that EQ is of acknowledging and identifying the emotions and learning how to express them in a proper behavior (Landale, Andrew 2007, page 24). The importance of this aspect of EQ was proven worthwhile in modern organizations as with the experiment done in the US navy wherein researchers found that â€Å"the most effective leaders in the US Navy were warmer, more outgoing, emotionally expressive, dramatic, and sociable† (Barsade, S. t. al 1998). Another aspect of emotional intelligence is empathy which is proven by researchers that it contributes to occupational success (Cherniss, Cary 2000). This is the aspect that overlaps with the concept of spiritual development which also acknowledges the importance of empathy in recognizing the cause of the emotions and be able to utilize them in adapting to changes. â€Å"EQ is the development of the capacity for self-control and the ability to respond with sensitivity and empathy† (Oxford Leadership Academy). This is also important if a manager or someone in the organization would like to positively influence the work behaviors of other members. A practical application of this as cited in one article is that one’s effectiveness can influence others depending on one’s ability to connect with them particularly of understanding the feelings of others (Goleman, Daniel 1999). To effectively influence others we also need to be able to manage our own emotions. Connected to EQ development is the spiritual intelligence which centers on developing the skills of the person in managing the inner self or the non-material reality of one’s being as claimed by George. One author defined spiritual intelligence as â€Å"the ability to behave with Compassion and Wisdom while maintaining inner and outer peace (equanimity) regardless of the circumstances† (Wigglesworth, Cindy). Since compassion encompasses the ability to understand the feelings of others, as what empathy suggests, the concepts of EQ and SQ therefore work together towards the complete success of a person and the organization where he belongs. The practical point of this is that when someone is emotionally and spiritually intelligent, he will be able to make the most out of his skills, emotions, behaviors and traits in managing himself and in turn will give him the power to positively connect with others. That optimism is brought about by the fact that the person, with empathy and compassion, understands the emotions of others which give him the ability to stay calm and focused no matter what the situation brings. Relative to George’s argument that spiritual intelligence in necessary for a person to live a life with integrity and in line with the clear purpose, one author has the same perspective. According to 1Wigglesworth, spiritual intelligence development encompasses self and universal awareness including the ego and social mastery. In the management world, spiritually intelligent manager is a â€Å"wise and effective change agent† who makes compassionate and wise decisions. Wigglesworth further said that SQ enables managers to have the calming and healing presence in the midst of stressful workplace. In contrast with George who did not acknowledge the importance of communication in the development of SQ, Landale stressed that EQ development requires a manager to â€Å"prioritize the giving and receiving of feedbacks† (Landale, Anthony 2007). Connecting with other members of the organization builds and cultivates relationships and that can only be possible when open communication is active in the organization. Putting the essentials of emotional and spiritual intelligence, we clearly draw out the idea that the development of these basic intelligences focus on relationships which is especially important in building an effective, efficient working environment. The human resources of the organization are its most valuable assets so it is vital that that training and development should include the wholeness of their being. Companies of the modern economy is already recognizing the fact the business is not all about making money, rather it encompasses the building of organization members with multiple intelligence. An organization with personnel, especially leaders, who have well developed cognitive, emotional and spiritual intelligence, is a happy and enthusiastic working environment. Developing the emotional and spiritual intelligence is the answer to the intangible needs of the organization: healthy working relationships.

The Power of Brand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Power of Brand - Essay Example Today, a brand is made out of not one, but a host of cultural ideas. Branding as a strategy involves a multitude of elements such as symbols, words and images; experiences and feelings, patterns of belonging, allegiance and identity; values, belief systems and knowledge; and many, many, many more. (Grant, 2006, p. 90) This study concerns the power of international brands of consumer goods to foster consumer loyalty to the brand. The dissertation proposes to explore the phenomenon of brand communities of international brands in local society, to describe and document how these brand communities distinguish themselves from one another in terms of their common viewpoints, attitudes towards their product brand, their rituals and traditions. It shall thereafter be verified whether this same set of values, representations, behaviour patterns and rituals are replicated in similar brand communities in other parts of the world. In particular, the study shall focus on the existence of brand communities as an element of the market strategy that seeks to foster what may be almost described as a â€Å"cult following† – a phenomenon more persistent than a fad and which has every indication of a subculture that goes beyond merely repeatedly purchasing the product. The study shall examine those brands for which the phenomenon has entrenched itself, such as the following suggested brands: One may argue that â€Å"Harry Potter† or â€Å"Star Wars† may be classified as â€Å"brands† for the purpose of this study, despite both being concoctions of literature and cinema. It cannot be denied that what was one book and one movie have spawned not only into a series of books and movies (commercially successful, one might add), but also several other product lines that have proved profitably franchises because they carried the names â€Å"Harry Potter† and â€Å"Star Wars†. In this manner, it may be said that â€Å"Harry Potter† and â€Å"Star Wars† have evolved into

Shakespeare's Sonnet 55 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Shakespeare's Sonnet 55 - Essay Example The audience is clearly the beloved, in the first instance, as there is tender intimacy in places, and can be interpreted as a gift used to woo. But the work can be accepted as directed at a universal audience, capable of understanding the messages. This essay will examine the speaker's tone as he applies it to the themes of death and immortality, and his belief in the power of his work to transcend one and create the other. No matter that 'marble' or monuments contain the strength of stone, as the visual imagery alludes, or that 'princes' are powerful, his written word is more lasting than either. With the next two lines, the tone becomes more tender and intimate, directed at the beloved and declaring that because of those words, he too will endure. The metaphorical adjective applied to time signifies his dismissal of it; he can transcend it with love and words. The poet is saying that the beloved will never be tarnished or eroded by time, because of his love and because the verse has made him immortal. There can be little doubt of Shakespeare's intent, for he is praising the object of his love and the poem itself. 'Wasteful wars' and 'broils' (battles), 'Mars his sword', and 'war's quick fires' may destroy the strong stone edifices, but never burn or ruin "The living record of your memory." (l. 8) This 'living record' is metaphorically related to the written word, while 'memory' literally places it alive in the minds of all. The subject again is the poet's lover and his own poem. This tone is so confident, and as history shows, this was not misplaced. The Enduring Love must be included as an apparent motivating creative force. The loved one will never be forgotten, thanks to the love he has engendered, and the place he has been given in posterity by the poet. These assertions contain that tone of certainty again, supported by tenderness. There is no insincere flattery, rather the work can be seen as an honest declaration of love, designed to woo and win the heart. ".your praise shall still find room Even in the eyes of all posterity. (l. 10-11) He is telling the subject, be it the lover or the verse, that he, the speaker has made certain of this through the power of his words. Paper and pen are mightier than any destructive power, and have immortalized the person and the poem. There is tenderness in the use of the possessive pronoun, 'your' but as ever, that belongs to the sonnet and the lover; he is certain he has given eternal life to both. In dealing with death, he is full of exultant self-belief. While he accepts its inevitability, he asserts that he can, and has, overcome its power. "'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth;" (l. 9-10), In the line that follows "the eyes of all posterity" - "That wear this world out to the ending doom." (l. 12), he is asserting that when the world ends, so long as just one person is left alive with a mind and a memory, both the words of the poet and

Quickbooks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quickbooks - Essay Example The company would have also opted to obtain loans from other financial institutions, this would have helped in increasing the companies gearing ratio which is very low. The company current ratio is also negative this is as a result of its payables being more than its receivables; the company has incurred a lot of accrued debts which are to be settled in the next financial year. These incurred debts tend to lower the companies gearing ratio thus putting it in a bad financial position. The company has no retained earnings as per the end of the month of December. This is quite evident on its financial statements because the little amounts that it has it uses it in paying its declared dividends and some money in paying out its debtors whose debt periods are almost maturing. The company has also used most of its funds in the purchase of assets as evident in the financial statements. The company should reduce the amounts of expenditure on assets and put much of its funds in generating additional income that will help in increasing its financial position a bit higher (Brown, Beekes & Verhoeven 2011). The company should also adopt a much more cost saving strategy that will help in reducing its rate of depreciation. The management should adopt measures that are much better that the policies adopted on the month of

Friendships Through Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Friendships Through Networking - Essay Example He is also satirical in his explanation, he supports the social network is good for reconnecting with old friends, which to I also supports this opinion. He also openly admits by the fact that he is Facebook member and he is hooked up in it. He comes out openly and true to himself, yet he is careful not to be termed as a loser in the end. Social networks have messaging functions, which is a good tool if the email had not been discovered. Even though, these sites are not merely for connecting and reconnecting, the act as means of re-branding. The old people are worried in the point that there could be no more privacy in this case. But, yet they should not be sharing things that they do not want other people to know. This is because we are allowing other people to write whatever they want in our walls. If we don’t like we can always erase. Stein refers the privacy in real life something being very hard; he further says that such privacy in life would have had the bathrooms in Mi nnesota airport empty. Other people term the social network a way of rebranding ourselves. This is because we misuse the network and at times, we are so addicted in it than anything else is. We are sometimes too blunt and think that our friends will check out whatever we post immediately (Levene 240). In some instances, through research I notice some views from other sources that teenagers who use Facebook more frequently have developed narcissistic behaviors, while young kids show some sign of psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive kind of tendencies. Frequent use of media and the technologies has had a negative impact on health of all children whose age is below 10 and those between ten and twenty. This makes them more likely be prone to anxiety, depression and to some extend psychological disorders. The extent would even put them at risk of developing future health problems. For those who are just working, if they use more of their time on t he social network, they would really concentrate on their work. They would frequently be use most of their work time chatting with friends. The use of social networks like Facebook would also distract learning and negatively affect the student’s time. Studies have shown that primary school, secondary school and college students who checked Facebook once during the 20-minute study time achieved a lower marks and lower grades in the end. In his book, Stein gives some examples of benefits of using social network as a tool of connecting and getting in touch with old friends. He has chosen to visit the opposite in brief; he had to show without being biased as a writer. In my own research and the study carried out, we notice that there are also benefits of the social networking. The fact that communicating and the need to travel has been made easy, there are also some huge benefits. The youths who spent some time on Facebook have shown some kind of empathy of their online friends w hom they have never met. The Facebook has helped some youths to socialize in all aspects. This can of media is also applicable for those who have large screen computers to those who have a small screen phones. The features are the same and most people can access online friends. Social networking has compelled teaching in some certain ways. The students engage themselves in the network and learn. In some certain cases, parents may feel unsecure about

Portfolio writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Portfolio writing - Essay Example Dreamy images in my work are portrayed as a paradox between realism and idealism. The realism associated with the harsh and pleasant realities of life and human nature are expressed subliminally and submerged with idealism. These moments of pleasure are dreams, not escapist fantasies, that allows for transition through life’s pitfalls. It perpetuates hope, segregating it from the reality of life’s journey. It gives life meaning and the themes ‘dreams’ and ‘hopes’ articulate the meaning of life in my work. I spent my teen and adolescent years in foreign countries as well as completing my bachelor’s and master’s programs in the UK where I majored in Fine Arts (painting), all the while yearning for Korea. I have always remained nostalgic about Korea and drawn to the spiritual art of the Orient. These passions for Korea and the spiritual art of the Orient greatly influences the work that I produce. Upon returning to Korea, I incorporated the speculative spirit of â€Å"line† commonly used in Oriental art (linear art that frequently characterizes Oriental art) into my painting, photography and installation. Remaining true to this tradition, I also introduced into my work, condensed symbolic expressions which I am endeavouring to apply to medium in a variety of genres. Consistent with this approach, I have utilized experimental expressions of formative art and continue to do so. By taking this approach I have capitalized on a number of different ways to use art medium for creative expressions. I have a preference for stab painting over traditional application of paint to canvas. I also represent images from my memory by virtue of a combination of stab painting and repetitive lines. By taking this approach I am able to reflect a repetitive cycle through the object painted. These painting methods permits a unique connection to the world that I am creating by allowing me to become more intimately connected to the brush. While my

The Aubrey-Maturin Series of Novels by Patrick O'Brian Article

The Aubrey-Maturin Series of Novels by Patrick O'Brian - Article Example The Aubrey-Maturin novels depict historical events took place during Napoleonic wars at the beginning of the 19th century. O'Brian does not follow a strict chronological order depicting events from 1801-1813, and 1813-1814. The uniqueness is that O'Brian vividly portrays cultural and religious settings and values of the epoch, its historical significance and social traditions. Two main characters, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin may be compared in matters of general cultural background, including politics and religion, as well as in three key elements of natural philosophy: the anatomical emphasis on pre-adapted functional design, the treatment of extinction, and the belief in fixity rather than transformation. All of these topics help define Maturin's patterns of thinking as a naturalist and shed light on subtly significant moments within the novels. Maturin was educated among the philosophes of the French Enlightenment, but both men, Aubrey and Maturin, also maintained a political and religious conservatism that some people found incongruous (King, 2001). The Aubrey-Maturin novels carry out the paradoxical process of instruction found in the most interesting historical fiction: at the same time they make readers conversant with ideas, tropes, and habits of an earlier world, they also perform the noble literary work of defamiliarization. In creating a compelling vision of natural philosophy, O'Brian makes room for a lost paradigm that seems oddly fresh, for all its scientific antiquity. He revives a naturalist's dream of preternatural design that has become increasingly difficult to imagine. O'Brian portrays that Maturin and Aubrey came to detest what grew from the Revolution and turned away from its democratic principles (King, 2001). In The Wine-Dark Sea, when Maturin meets up with a French utopian named Dutourd, he initially tempers his criticism with some sympathy (Teachout, 2003). Dutourd seems to be "a good benevolent man" led astray by that "mumping villain Rousseau and later by his passionate belief in his own system, based it was true on a hatred of poverty, war and injustice, but also on the assumption that men were naturally and equally good, needing only a firm, friendly hand to set them on the right path, the path to the realization of their full potentialities. This, of course, entailed the abolition of the present order, which had so perverted them, and of the established churches" (O'Brian 2004, p. 32). O'brian's assessment reveals his lingering attraction to revolutionary promises, but, he values established religious and social order above the systems of ideologues. Nor does he believe in the natural equality of humans (King, 2001). As Adrian Desmond has shown, French and British radicals of the period saw a linkage between the atomistic materialism of biology; in which all forms of life developed from a common origin, and revolutionary political theories based on natural equality. Maturin reject both the natural and political philosophy of democratic atomism (Teachout, 2003). When asked by Dutourd what he thinks of democracy, Maturin replies that "he did not think the policy that put Socrates to death and that left Athens prostrate was the highest expression of human wisdom," and he cites Aristotle's "definition of democracy as mob-rule, the depraved version of a commonwealth" (O'Brian 2004, p.

Lack of a clear plan, ineffective leadership, marketing effectiveness, Term Paper

Lack of a clear plan, ineffective leadership, marketing effectiveness, and lack of execution are common problems of a small business and how strategic planning can help avoid them - Term Paper Example Independent ownership implies sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or any other legal form (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2010). Irrespective of the industry, a small business operates in; it has been found that they suffer from largely the same types of problems. Small size of a business enterprise ensures that the management acts as a sharp cost controllers and active member of routine operations. This gives rise to many leadership related problems and loss of far-sighted visions. The discussion below further details the types of problems faced by small businesses. A major problem that infests a small business is ineffective leadership. Leadership, to be effective, should be influential enough for the employees so as to motivate them to work ethically and create values for their customers (Grenny, 2009). Most of the leaders today have no concrete idea of their work. They get involved in the hassles of routine instead of focussing on the long term goal of the business. The problem appears to more widespread in small businesses because the compulsion to save costs are higher. Hence, to cut down upon the number of employees, leaders end-up becoming a part of the operations instead of managing the operations. Also, leaders of such small businesses are often not trained scientifically and their decisions are the outcome of their experiences rather than established managerial practices. Another common problem among small businesses is lack of a clear plan (Harsberger, 2010). Lack of a plan results in short sightedness of the business and distracts the manager in aligning all the activities towards the common goal of the organization. Ultimately, non-essential activities result in wastage of cash resources which otherwise could be applied more usefully. There appears to be a direct correlation between the clarity of plan and the success of the business (Perry, 2001) Even if a business has proper marketing strategy and plan, the execution

Case study analysis and an action plan Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis and an action plan - Case Study Example An action plan as well as a summary of findings will be provided in order to deliver a comprehensive understanding of the current scenario of Paul and the recommendations as suitable to his condition. As argued by many scholars, including Barker (2012), Mytton & et. al. (2012) and Gomez-Pinilla (2011) among others, unhealthy diet can impose strong negative affects to the health of the consumer causing various diseases such as blood pressure, abnormal sugar levels and heart diseases along with immunity related issues. Diet is an important contributor to maintain fitness of the body or health throughout one’s life. The first and foremost requirement of practicing a healthy diet is to have it on time and follow a firm routine for the meals in the entire day. As per the common belief and also based on proven facts, dietarians recommend that a healthy diet chart should have adequate proportion of liquids, fats and protein to help a body function properly and mitigate chances of health related issues to the highest possible extent. It is in this context that there are certain possible diet related risks, which might arise due to untimely dietary practices, such as observed in th e case of Paul. For instance, Paul was observed to avoid taking breakfasts on time, sufficing only with two cups of tea and that too with a heaped spoon of sugar. Even such practices obstructs proper digestive functions of the body and thereby increases risks of obesity and falling immune system that might also be witnessed in Paul (Geneva, 2003). Notably, with his growing age, Paul is quite certain to undergo immune system deficiency whereby he shall require special focus on his dietary practices and follow the same in routine gaps. Apparently, the dietary chart taken by Paul’s is not good for the development of his health. As can be witnessed from the assessment of his meal plan, Paul’s current dietary practices show imbalances in the

Theories of development are important Essay Example for Free

Theories of development are important Essay A theorist is a person who develops or believes an idea in which to explain something, including what, how and why. Theories are development through observations, analysing and experiments. Theories of development are important because they help us to understand children’s behaviour, to help us understand the sequence that children and young people develop. Theorists- influencing current practice. Cognitive development. A Swiss biologist and psychologist jean piaget (1896-1980) is renowned for constructing a highly influential model of child development and learning. He suggested that children develop cognitive skills through mental â€Å"maps†, schemes and network concepts for understanding and responding to physical experiences within his or hers environment. Piagets theory identifies four developments stages these four stages are, sensorimotor stage 0-2 years, preoperational stage 2-7 years, concrete operations 7-11 years, formal operations 11-15 years. Educators must plan activities that are developmentally appropriate according to the curriculum which expands the student’s logical and conceptual growth. Another theorist that supports cognitive development is Vygotsky. He believes that children learn and understand through others around them, such as friends and family. He believed that children need challenges and teaching experiences set for them to help them develop in all areas and to help them to reach their full potential. Psychoanalytical development. Sigmund freud (1856-1939) another theorist believed that there are 3 parts to each child and young person’s personality. He believed that there are; the ID, the ego and the super ego. He believed that these 3 parts aren’t always there from when the child is born but develop with the child as they grow. He said that they are different through certain factors and behaviour between each different child, Humanist. Abraham maslow (1908-1970) looked at peoples motivation in the 1940’s. He believed that people needed to meet their fundamental needs before they could meet their potential or self-actualisation. He believed that if they were not met then they would become a deficiency in the person. This links to practice because we need to meet the needs of the children for, warmth, care, hunger and environment that they are providing and what they do to meet the children’s needs. Social learning. Social learning theorists believe that we learn through observing others. Albert bandura born 1925 believes that we learn through ‘imitation’. Eric Erikson (1902-1994) believed that a child and a young person’s personality will change throughout their life, due to social development and experiences. This links to practice as nursery practitioners are told to be good role models to the children. This is because they observe us and ‘copy’ or ‘imitate’ actions that we may make. Operant conditioning. The theory of operant conditioning is based on learning from the consequences or reinforcement due to a type of behaviour. B.F skinner (1904-1990) is recognised as a key figure for developing the behaviourist approach to learning and developing the theory for operant conditioning. He believed that we learn through our experiences in the environment and the consequences to our behaviour. Skinner separated the sequence of actions into three groups; 1; positive reinforces 2; negative reinforces 3; punishers. The positive reinforcers are what make us repeat actions or behaviour when we get something we desire. Skinner suggested that the positive reinforcement was the most effective way of encouraging new learning, such as getting attention from adults, receiving praise and receiving rewards. The negative reinforcers is a behaviour that also makes us repeat actions or behaviour, but not in a bad way but in a way to stop something bad happening from something good. For example children may learn to hold onto the stair rail when walking down the stairs to steady them self rather than feeling the need to sit on their bottom and bump down them. The ‘punisher’ is what is going to stop people from repeating behaviour, such as checking the temperature of the bath water before getting in it, after burning yourself because you didn’t check. Skinner also researched unexpected positive reinforcers. This is when children show negative behaviour to receive attention from adults. He proved that showing more frequent positive reinforcement was the most thriving way to help children learn about acceptable behaviour. This links to practice because we reward and praise children for showing positive behaviour. Nursery practitioners often say ‘well done’ to children as a way of praising them for showing positive behaviour than their negative behaviour. We also try to focus more on children’s positive behaviour rather than their negative behaviour, this is because they eventually learn that their good behaviour is more noticed and praised than their bad behaviour. This proves skinners theory. Behaviourist. The behaviourist theories suggest that learning is influenced by rewards, punishments and environmental factors. ‘conditioning’ is often used by behaviourists because we learn in a certain way due to past experiences that teach us not to do something or to do something. Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) was a physiologist who was studying dogs. Whilst doing this he recognised that the dogs started to salivate before their food had been put down for them. He came to the conclusion that they were doing this because they learnt to associate the arrival of the food with other things such as, the sound of footsteps and the bowls or buckets. He did and experiment to look at this more closely. He used a bell because dogs do not salivate when hearing a bell. The dogs eventually begun to associate the bell with been fed. He then rang the bell constantly and eventually the dogs begin to stop salivating and finally did not react to the sound of the bell. Behaviourists use the term extinction when this happens. John b.watson (1878-1958 Took up pavlovs work and demonstrated that children and adults can be classically conditioned. In an experiment he created a phobia of rats in a little boy known as little Albert. In our practice we do not experiment or use classical conditioning, although we may recognise it among the children for example, children may become excited when they see bowls or a tray been brought into the room, they may associate this with food being given to them after this happens. Another example would be that at the end of the day all the children put their coats on they then may anticipate home time because they associate putting their coats on with their parents arriving to take them home. It is also useful to remember that classical conditioning can relate to children’s phobias. Social pedagogy. Social pedagogy is the holistic and thoughtful way of working. The aim of this is to improve the life chances and social outcomes of babies and children, therefore we must work with each other as well as the children to find the best possible way of improving these outcomes. The theories of development that have been shown help childcare workers put together framework and education for the children. It also helps us to understand why babies, children and young people do things the way they do. Conclusion. This shows that theorists have helped us come to conclusions for why we do things the way we do as well as how we learn through our experiences. It also helps to understand these theories so that we can provide better care and knowledge in the childcare setting. Task c. introduction pack for a new staff member. At the mother goose pre-school we monitor each child’s development we do this by using the learning journey. In the children’s learning journey we have â€Å"early learning goals† for each specific age group, to give us guidelines or the â€Å"norm† development for each stage of their time at the setting. We also carry out observations on the children to show which stage they are at, at the time on the early learning goals. Before any observations take place on the children, permission must be given from the parent/carer, this is also helpful as we can share findings with the child’s parent/carer and they can share findings with ourselves. If we were to do observations on a child without consent from their parent/carer then they may feel angry and upset as they may not understand that this is normal practice and help us to help the children. Assessment methods. Here are two examples of assessment methods we use to monitor a child’s development; checklist/tick chart and a free description with a snap shot picture. A checklist and tick chart observation is a chart with particular activities written on and the child is observed to see if they can reach the milestones set according to the child’s age. These observations are usually taken place when structured activities are set up for the children to do and are based over a longer period of time, but are taken place less frequently to show the progress in the children’s development. The advantage of using this observation is that you can observe more than one child at a time and they are quick and easy to use. The disadvantage of this is that observing at different times may produce different results and that it only shows what the child can and cannot do, not how confident and happy they are to attempt tasks and join in. A free description with a snap shot picture is to show skills that children show or are seen doing. A description of what you see is written into a small observation sheet and put the child’s learning journey next to the picture of them doing so. These observations are used frequently to show what milestones the child is at for their age group. The observation has the advantage of been able to use it frequently and no preparation is needed. Although the advantage is that different observers pick up on different things that children do and it can be hard sometimes to find the right words to use to describe what you are seeing. Examples of why sometimes child/young persons development does not follow the expected pattern. Children develop at different stages for example, a baby of 12 months may be walking with support but a baby of 10 months may be walking unaided. Some children just happen to develop quicker or slower than others, but for some babies and children there are reasons why their development does not follow the expected patterns. Premature birth can have an effect on development, such as sitting up unaided, crawling, standing and walking. Learning difficulties can also have an impact on development, some children may pick up writing and reading easier than with a learning difficulty, but help is available such as special support and multi-agency approaches. Another reason why development may be delayed could be disability for example, a baby that has a disability with their legs may not be able to walk until they are 2 or 3 where as the expected age is roughly 1 years old. Impact by disability. Disability can impact and effect development as it can prevent children and young people from completing tasks. Although most activities can be adapted to suit children and young people’s needs. Intervention. Intervention can be done to promote positive outcomes for the child or young person where development is not following the expected pattern. Specialist support can be used in the preschool to support children with learning difficulties or disabilities. They can arrange meetings to come and see the child to observe them and give the child’s key worker activities and goals for the child to meet. Multi agency approaches can also take place to help babies, children and young people to meet the expected pattern of development. Another intervention could be supported play by adapting the activities to support the child or young person to reach the milestones for their age group. Task d . Early identification. Early identification of speech, language or communication delay is important for a childs well-being because it can affect their development. The sooner it is picked up on the sooner it can be amended therefore the child will not miss out on educational activities and lessons which would otherwise potentially hold them further back. Potential risks. Any delays in a child’s speech, language and communication could result in a lack of development in the future. They may not be able to develop their skills further for example, if a child cannot speak then communication will also become a problem. This is why it is important to identify these delays early. If a child cannot speak then their development will slow down as they cannot further their skills through others around them. This can therefore cause the problem to become greater if it is left to long. Importance of early identification and potential risks of late recognition. It is very important that early identification to speech, language and communication as it can affect children and young people’s further development and expanding skills. If it is picked up on early enough then help can be given to the child to either overcome the issue or to give extra support to them to help them develop further. If it isn’t picked up on early enough then the child could fall behind in development and education. When a child falls behind it can sometimes be difficult for them to catch up although there are organisations to give extra support to the child. Multi-agency team. There are many organisations that can help support a child or young person’s speech, language and communication. The child’s GP (general practitioner) can refer the child to a speech therapist which will help their speech and communication. The child’s health visitor can also help with the child’s speech, language and communication. How when and why. A multi-agency team would be brought in to support a child when a speech, language or communication delay takes place. The manager would have a meeting with the child’s parent/carer to discuss the issue and then they would discuss the best possible option for the child. If they decide that a multi-agency team is to be contacted then a meeting would be arranged with the team to examine how the child can be helped. They then will arrange with the team to examine how the child can be helped. They then will arrange the times and dates that they can come and visit the child either at the childcare setting or at home. Play opportunities. There are many types of play opportunities that can be put into place to help support a child’s speech, language and communication. Role play is one of the most important parts of play for children, it covers physical activity as well as allowing the child to communicate, be creative, be independent and build self-confidence. Another play opportunity could be music and movement activities which include singing, dancing and nursery rhymes. The children can be independent and make their own choices to join in. this allows children to communicate with each other and to sing along to the songs and rhymes. Reading stories are vital in a child’s development. By reading and listening, children pick up new words and meanings which allow their knowledge to expand. If a child has a difficulty in communicating or in their speech then books can be very useful for developing their speech and communication. Show and tell is another way of supporting a child’s speech, language and communication. It allows the children to listen to others and to communicate if they wish to by asking questions about the show and tell that is shown, which can expand their word dictionary by using new words. All of this concludes that noticing a delay in a speech, language or communication development is important to prevent further delay in other areas of development.

Characteristics of Chinese Culture in Online Games

Characteristics of Chinese Culture in Online Games Abstract Game industry is a kind of globalizing market. This research is investigating the relationship between game art and culture. Due to each culture has an original root which influences particular cultural forms. Therefore, cultural barriers play a crucial role in the game design. In some ways, cultural barriers prevent games from globalization market. The society of online games is formed by players who come from various culture backgrounds. Additionally, the online game which involves more interactive elements is affected by culture significantly. Players are not playing with computer but human beings. This new way of game play gives more freedom to players and designers. Meanwhile, online game has close connection with culture. When we talk about online game industry we cannot ignore the Chinese online game industry, because China is one of the biggest online game industries in the world. The paper focuses on Chinese online game industry because of its accomplishments, highest speed of development and huge online game market. And how this ancient culture influences the new media form is crucial area to investigate. Firstly, brief original Chinese culture will be presented for clearing an archetypal culture value. Based on Chinese online game industry, a local game named Westward Journey Online ? is examined for getting valuable methods which are how to use the archetypal cultural values into game art. From the examination on Chinese culture, value methods possible are getting for widen audiences all over the world. However, there is limitation existing in this paper which ignores other distinguishing culture contents. Further research might go more detailed on various culture forms for this particular research area.   1 Introduction The main purpose of this research is to examine the archetypal/universal characteristics that are expressed in Chinese culture within Multiple Massive Online Games in order to explain to a western the shared human values that are expressed in a uniquely Chinese expression of archetypal human values. The study examines the impact of archetypal cultural characteristics on game aesthetics that is important for corporations that are desirous to explore business throughout worldwide. Due to globalization might be a kind of megatrend in modern society as cultural forms, cultural barriers might exist to prevent the global distributions of games to some extent in the process of game development. There was a hot discussion about a female character in different cultural styles online (Liuduanyinsu 2008). This female character named Faith who was the heroine in Mirrors Edge which was developed by D.I.C.E studio in Sweden (2009). Her appearance caused controversy about what kind of female charac ter could reach the expectation from each side of culture backgrounds. When Mirrors edge came to Japan, the Japanese players were not satisfied in the design of this character. Therefore, some of Japanese players adopted the female character depending on their own expectations. We could see the clear distinguishing features of different tastes on female beauty from figure 1 and 2. After the adaptation of the character, each side of players expressed their opinions. Both sides were not satiated to the other sides design. The discussion presented the cultural barriers on female beauty. Exploring the question that is how the features of culture influences game aesthetics could clarify the future direction of both single Game Corporation and the whole game industry. Therefore, a high level of culture understanding is necessary for meeting players expectations. As a result, the cultural barriers influence game aesthetics in certain ways. The platform of the study is set in China which is a long history country and has various mythologies which could reflect traditional culture and the process of development of each culture in some way. The culture studies could give us the solid basis of understanding of the Chinese cultural root and human values. The newest form studies of combing game art and culture open the door to explore new opportunities for fresh knowledge in this area. At the same time, the examination of Chinese culture could give a brief impression to western readers for understanding the distinct cultural form which has very different philosophy of life, attitudes, lifestyle, ideology and values from westerners. Meanwhile, it is aware that the myths influence game design and aesthetics significantly. Many myths are widely applied into game design and art, for example the characters in myths become main adopted features into game design like priest, Druid, Dragons etc both in western culture and eastern cu lture. Why is this situation happening? Are there same features between mythology and games so that the two things could be concordantly combined? In the research, the Journey to the West and games that were adapted from it is employed as a successful case to investigate for finding the acceptable answers. Moreover, the fast speed of development online game industry gives the research an additional benefit to unfold the examination. According to the trend of globalization, bigger game marketplace could be opened by applying different cultural contexts into game aesthetics after the research. Moreover, the game industry gains much more attention from modern society which includes academic field and marketplace. People desire to obtain benefits from the fresh and cutting edge game industry such as entertainment and education. The major research question is: how archetypal/universal characteristics are reflecting in online games based on Chinese culture? Afterwards, two further questions are: what is the archetypal characteristic of Chinese culture? And what kinds of archetypal could be translated into universal for more audiences in online games? For answering these questions, multidiscipline study will be involved. There are culture studies, art, marketing and the newest one- computer games study. Depends on aims and research questions, the objectives have been listed below: To establish understanding of culture for game aesthetics using creative methods in culture studies To explore the relation of mythology and game aesthetics across several subjects To explore the functions of culture in game aesthetics and seek possibility of combining two different cultures into game art for widen players. 2 The background information of Chinese online game industry 2.1 Localization of Chinese online game industry Chinese online game industry has a fastest speed of development and gives a great influence on the globalization game marketplace. From the research of the three nations that are American, Korea and China, it could be discovered that the income of American online game came from games exporting, and Korea is developing the exporting outside and locally operating, the income of China online game mainly came from locally operating. Therefore, a part of income in American and Korea online games came from Chinese online game marketplace (iResearch 2009). The report from iResearch (2009) evinced that the revenue of Chinese online game market occupied about 27 percentages of global game market and it is ranked the second position, American online game industry is 29 percentages to take the lead and Korea is the third position as 21 percentages. Due to the fact about the data sources of game exporting, it is aware that Chinese online games industry is localization because of the lower export level. The reasons might be the strategy of government, cultural barriers or limitation of development. However, the Chinese online game industry is the biggest game marketplace in the world that is gradually getting more and more important status in international game industry by reason that the Chinese market size is 30.4 million dollars which occupies 27.1 percentages of the gross income of global online game marketing in 2008 according to the iResearch China Online Game Research Report (2009). In addition, China online game industry has the fastest developing speed. The report also predicted that the occupancy of Chinese online game market will continually increase at the speed of 5 percentages based on the research. Additionally, it is expected that the occupancy of Chinese online game market will be close to 50 percentages, and reach to 45.9 percentages (iResearch 2009). So it will become a big importing point of international online game industry. 2.2 The reasons of localization of online games boom in China The localization of Chinese online game industry is possibly caused by multiple reasons. Are the Chinese players easily accepting the games which are set in other cultural contexts? The answer is negative. Local games with strong cultural contexts could get sympathetic attentions by players who live in the cultural environments. The cultural barriers caused game marketplace in certain ways. Based on the research about the developing areas of online games which are paid great attention in Chinese online game industry by Baidu (2009), the highest attention rate of place of online games developers is China, the 49.65 percentages, following the second place is Korea which is 43.82 percentages, then there are American and Europe occupied 5.36 percentages and Japan is the lowest attention rate which is 1.18 percentages. So we can see the major online games are developed by local Chinese developers and Chinese neighbour-Korea which has similar culture with China. The similar cultures shared common online game market. And online game industry meet the situation in China, it is getting more and more advanced support from government and other objective supports. Since the operating of Chinese governments strategy named reform and opening-up, the political climate became enlightened and loosened so that peoples concepts are diversity and more easily accepting new things and globalization environment is established as a result of that popular culture could gain opportunity of booming (Xiaolin 2008). Moreover, why could the online games get improvement in China rather than console games? One main reason is the pirate. In China, players could spend just few money to get the illegal copies from peddlers. This becomes a bad habit in Chinese players. And the pirate brings a negative influence to the console and computer games. Therefore, Chinese developers cannot get deserved profits from developing videogames and console games. The intellectual property of game developers is not protected. The failure sales of videogames and computer games give more space to online games development in China. Finally, huge population forms the largest marketplace in China. It is reported that there are more than three hundreds millions cyber citizens in China until 17 July 2009 depending on the update database of China Internet Network Information Centre (2009). Thanks to the development of hardware and cyber technology, the disseminate internet is continually growing. More and more people use internet in China, and there are more potential players on internet. Based on the investigation of Niko Partners, there are forty six million online game players who spent seventeen million dollars on online games in China (Sina 2008). This great circumstance for online games creates more and more opportunities for online game development. Following on the fast developing speed of Chinese online game industry, the further potentials need to be explored by the industry insiders. 3 The background of Chinese culture 3.1 The collective and discriminative culture In different situation, the definition of culture has different explanation. The research mainly discussed art and culture for the latter investigation of game art and culture. Therefore, the definition of culture related to art or aesthetics is the focal point; it does not mean we ignore other important comprehension of culture studies, all the necessary study also is considered through the whole process of investigation. For the later research, which definition of culture is properly suitable for investigating the relation of culture and game aesthetics might be sorted out. Firstly the definition of culture in dictionary must be considered. The culture in English involves several meanings as a noun. The one of major definitions in Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary (1990, p.284) of culture described that all the arts, beliefs, social institutions, etc characteristic of a community, race, etc. In Collins COBUILD Advanced Learners English Dictionary (2004), there are similar explanations of the term culture that are culture consists of activities such as the arts and philosophy, which are considered to be important for the development of civilization and of peoples mind, a culture is a particular society or civilization, especially considered in relation to its beliefs, way of life, or art and the culture of a particular organization or group consists of the habits of the people in it and the way they generally behave. From there definition in dictionary, the main feature of culture is collective, a certain subject of peoples common min d. The common ground includes arts, beliefs, habits, lifestyle, customs, institutions and philosophy. So sometimes, the culture means peoples shared mind in one nation, one race even bigger in one group which has common benefits. Simply speaking, culture could be understood as a group of people who has a similar taste on game aesthetics in this field of research. This might be the reason why cultural barriers influence selling of games which involve strong cultural features. Excepting the property of collective of culture, another crucial nature of culture is discriminative. Culture is regarded as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another by Geert (2001). If a culture loses its own distinguishing feature, it will vanish in the world. In other word, culture involves another important function which is identifying humans origins. Therefore, different cultures exist by their identification and discrimination with other cultural forms. Applying the feature of culture into this research, the different areas in game industry could be distinguished by analysing cultural characteristics. There is another English word civilisation which is treated as a synonym of the word culture. It has similar definition with culture; however this word civilisation emphasizes on the differentiation of culture. People always say ancient Egyptian civilisation, American Indian civilisation and Arab civilisation etc. When we say Chinese civilisation, the name externalizes the particular cultural form. A culture is archetypal and distinguishing. Therefore, the different culture gives distinguishing art styles to various games. 3.2 Chinese culture The Chinese culture exists for thousands of years; it has great influences to the East area and other parts of the world. Due to the complex culture forms, it is hard to present a very clear and details of this particular culture. This paper is investigating the major root of Chinese culture which possibly affects modern new media the games. These contents of Chinese cultural root include Confucianism, Taoism and very crucial concepts of harmony between man and nature. These foundational concepts of Chinese culture give a great influence to very aspects of modern society. Meanwhile, games reflect or being reflected these traditional cultural concepts more or less. It needs to understand the cultural root for further studies of games and culture. 3.2.1 Brief introduction of Confucianism The Confucianism is a complexity. Some people consider it is a cult, others think it is a form of learning (Xinzhong 2000). However, the research regards Confucianism is a form of culture. The content of Confucianism involves several disciplines such as moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious which reflect cultural contexts in China. Due to the Confucianism involves different explanations in different historical periods; there is no specific definition for it. From different aspects, we could get different comprehensions from Confucianism. However, the central thought still exists and has positive impacts on modern Chinese people. Generally speaking, there are three cores themes and a crucial core concept in Confucianism. Those are Li ritual in English, De virtue, Ren humanity and the doctrine of mean. It is said that China is a state of ceremony because of the strict ritual from Confucianism. Some of the rituals were used into Chinese online games in order to give the local people familiar things in a virtual and realistic ancient world. In terms of original concept, Li is an important behavioural norm in Confucianism, and it includes traditional rituals. In Confucianism, it states that grades of peoples relationship which includes the monarch and his subjects, parents and children, older sisters (brothers) and young sisters (brothers) should be clearly distinguished, and upper position of person have superior rights than lowers (Baidu 2009). For example, in ancient Chinese imperial family the emperor could talk several wives, and the first wifes child is the son and heir who have greatest prerogatives than other wives children, such as acceding to the throne as the first person selected. And in modern China, the norm involves less power, but in Chinese family there are still some shadows of the Li existing. For instance, children should respect seniorities. When a Chinese family have an important dinner together, the oldest family member takes a seat in the best positions around a big table. The senior people usually have a greater power in the society, others always respect them. So the Li developed the strict hierarchy system in ancient Chinese society. The virtue named De in Chinese is a tool to measure humans behaviours. Filial piety and Loyalty are two main contents in Confucianism (Kai-wing 1994, p.36). Filial piety means children should respect their parents. Simply speaking, offspring should give supports to their seniorities that cannot take care of themselves. These supports include mental supports and material supports. There are many legends and tales talking about filial piety in China to instruct peoples behaviours. One of the famous stories about filial piety is that the person named Dongyong sold himself for money in order to bury his fathers body, the city named Xiaogan which means the miracle of filial piety inspires god came from the ancient story (Wilt 2009). Ancient Chinese emperor applies De into ruling. The virtue in Confucianism requests governors using benevolent politics and self virtue to rule civilians. It presents using virtue to educate people for peaceful and steady society. Humanity is a core content of Confucianism. It claims loving human, people should love each other, support each other and existing with each other. Therefore, the basic meaning of Ren is homage and friendship. In ancient Chinese governments always employed Ren into their ruling strategy, so it was developed to a kind of political strategy called policy of benevolence which advocated using the proactive and ethical human being to rule the country. It is different with western jural strategy. However, it involves some limit from contemporary viewpoints. The doctrine of mean is another crucial concept of Confucianism. Zhangxin who is a professor researching Sinology introduced his opinion about the doctrine of mean. The spirit of medium way is doing something using appropriate methods to keep the things in a reasonable and fair expectation for people. He also claimed culture does not need to meet the international standards and the archetypal culture is the universal. Medium way is a root of Confucianism and Chinese culture, it affects peoples behaviours at present. Peoples characteristics might be determined by the origin of their cultures. So the characteristics of Chinese people are introverted poise and defensive just reflect the medium way in Confucianism. 3.2.2 Brief introduction of Taoism In the research, the characteristics of China are going to discuss from the native religion of Taoism rather than investigation on religion itself. Taoism is a native philosophical and religious of China and it focus on the moral code. It came from China and has influenced East Asia for over two millennia and the West for over two centuries (James 2003). On one hand, Taoism is one of main original inspirations for Chinese games. On the other hand, it is a core of human value in Chinese society. Taoisms concepts could be applied into computer game design. The original religion involves several worships. Those include nature worship, totem worship, spirits worship and ancestor worship. Moreover, there is a complex system of Daoism, different branches have different leaders. These features of Daoism give great inspirations to game designers. The features have already employed into several Chinese games which used traditional themes and backgrounds. The Jianxia3 online employed many Daoisms elements into the game play (Kingsoft 2009). Players could choose Chunyang branch which is a real branch of Daoism as their clans. There are many rooms of Daoism could be employed into game design such as celestial beings, making pills of immortality and Fengshui theory in Daoism. Taoism affects human beings behaviours and thoughts; from this point the conducts in Taoism could reveal the core human value in China. The noun Taoism involves different elements with Daoism, at the first place we should distinguishing the two nouns for latter discussion. Taoism is a type of thought or doctrine; it was developed by Lao Tzu who is a thinker and ideologist in ancient China. The book named Tao Te Ching is a Chinese classic text which is considered as a basic origin in Taoism like Bible in Christianity. However, the first official classic of Daoism is named Taiping Ching. Tao Te Ching and Taiping Ching plus Zhouyicantongqi are considered as the origin of Daoisms religion and theory by current academic area. Simply speaking, Taoism is a kind of theory and Daoism is a religion. There are the jewels of the Tao: compassion, moderation and humility (Ray 1989, p.133). These conducts reflect to Taoist become a crucial belief named Wu wei which is action without bureaucratic, competitive, aggressive, or self-serving effort. Wu wei is a way of being that comes from an internal sensitivity to the natural rhythms of the universe, similar to water flowing over or around rocks, logs, or islands in a stream, (R. Paul 2002, p.152). Wu wei is a basic cognition of Taoism to the development of nature and human society. The general meaning of Wu wei action through inaction does not mean doing nothing but revealing things with soft and invisible power (Richard 2004). In Taoism, it is considered humans behaviours and the way of act should obey the law of nature. The all things in the world develop by themselves, human beings cannot intervene the development of nature and all other things. This thought forces Chinese people like to stick to old ways and make Chinese characteri stic becoming mediocrity. This is reflected in the characteristics is defensive and moderate temperament. 3.2.3 The relationship between man and nature in Chinese culture This concept of relationship between man and nature reflects into game design is that the characters in games usually involve appearances of natural things like animal monsters. The situation is very different from western games which seldom apply monsters came from nature. This might be caused by Chinese original root which is called harmony between man and nature which is widely considered as the main principal part of Chinese traditional culture. In the traditional Chinese culture, the world is separated into three parts that are heaven, manpower and earth. For each part there are specific classic texts for guiding peoples behaviours. I Ching is used to guide for explaining relation between heaven and manpower. It presents how to obey law of nature to make human ideal and healthy. The analects of Confucius expound relation between manpower and heaven for instructing people making right choices. And the Sunzi Art of War is a book to be used in war it presents relations of human bei ngs themselves. The Dao Te Ching which was mentioned in previous paragraph is employed to coordinate human and earth making the harmony between man and nature. The last one named Huang di nei Ching interprets earth and human beings for guide people to get the benefits from earth. The ancient classic traditional Chinese philosophy teaches Chinese people the major behaviours. It affects peoples choices more or less in modern society. Understanding Chinese culture, these principles have to be clarified, because when the character involves archetypal characteristics it must follows some elements from these concepts from ancient China. 3.3 The original mythology in Chinese culture Mythology should not to be neglected because it reflects culture in some ways. William considers myth is culturally important, and myths are this kind of story which are created by individuals interpretations in discriminating special societies (William 2000). Myths demonstrate certain culture contents such as religious, rituals, customs, and peoples behaviours. Therefore, it might bring us to an articulate culture form by examining the particular mythology. In terms of game design, there are many games applying mythic elements into character designs, background stories, environment designs and requests designs. There might have common senses between games and myths. Why could the mythic contents be widely employed into games? This chapter will discuss myth and find out the bonding point between myths and games. 3.3.1 The definition of mythology At the first place, it needs to clarify that what are mythology and what kind of characteristics is involved in mythology. Williams suggested that myths are fictional but not unreal and non-empirical, however they are not incomprehensible and formed by values of fundamental mythical orientations of cultures (Williams 2000). And a common contestation of mythology is that myths are stories about gods or remote ancestors, myths are sacred stories, myths are stories that explain how the world and humans came to be in their present forms, and myths encapsulate important information about human thought, feeling, history, and social life (Yang, Deming and Jessica 2005). However, particular myths could be understood by people who live in the particular culture environment, it is hard to be comprehended by other person who has different culture background if he has not established understanding of the particular culture. Because each culturally mythology has distinguishing features. But myths still have universal features like the statement was presented by Stith Thompson in 1955 that myths are connecting with gods and their behaviours, creation, and the general nature of the universe and of the earth (Yang, Deming and Jessica 2005). Therefore, myths are universal and archetypal in every cultural form by using dialectic method of analysis. Games as a creative industry need creation and imagination, however the design of games should not be incredible. The attributes of games are very similar with mythologys which discussed above. This is not a coincidence; this is why there are so many designers employed mythological elements into the game design. There are two reasons that games should be imaginative and believable. The first one is the purpose of playing for imaginative feature of games. Players are anxious for getting entrainment from games; they usually want to get different experiences from playing games. If the environment and characters in games are same with real life, the game will be boring. Even a simulating game like series of Sims also involves other virtual elements for giving different experiences to players. Another reason is for believable; a game should be attractive to players, when players play the game they are immersing into the games. Unreal and incredible characters and environment cannot be acc eptable by players. So most of successful games were adopted from real stories, the Non-players character, the monsters and the avatars for players were altered from fictional characters in mythology. Generally speaking, games and mythology have same attributes. That the reason mythologies are widely used into game design both in environment setting, background stories and character designs. 3.3.2 The origin of mythology The origin of mythology is various. Some myths are adopted from the narratives of scripture by adding several imaginative elements and altered contents of the original scripture. And historical events are another source of mythology; the real historical case was rewritten by later people using the forms of legends and fabulous traditions which are widely disseminated. Additionally, there are other two features could describe myths which are allegorical and physical, nearly all the ancient myths are symbolical and involved some educational contents in aspects of moral, religious or philosophical truth etc (Thomas 2004). In terms of the origin of Chinese mythology, it is generally believed that the Chinese mythology originated from the totemism of remote Chinese ancestors and legends of ancient tribes. Some Chinese myths are another form of historical records, for instance it is confirmed that the myth of Nà ¼wa is partly true after discovering the historical remains belongs to the period of maternal tribes in China (need evidences). Moreover, the Chinese myths mirrored contents of religions; the concept of three worlds that are heaven, earth and human being in Chinese mythology is coming from Buddha. Many online games which were set in ancient Chinese environment were applied the concept of three worlds into game design. The characters in these games are generally separated into three groups which are celestial beings, devils and human beings. The Chinese cultural concept of the harmony between human and heaven is also reflecting in the local mythology. The Chinese myths usually concentrate on explain rationalize, embellish, humanize, or historicize the mythical beings (Williams 2000 1993: 387). The Chinese myths usually involve the characters who came from nature, like various devils are transformed from animals or plants of the nature. And they involve historical events such as Yan Di who is a mythic figure that invented agriculture in Chinese history, and many devils in mythology are transformed from animals and plants so that their appearances embody the shape of original animals or plants. This phenomenon might be a kind of culture barriers existing in the form of mythology. From the statement above, we could see the origin of mythology causes a kind of culture barrier. Mythologies of one culture are formed with local nuances. For example, the Chinese mythologies are influenced by local religions which are Buddha, Taoism and cultural ideology which is the harmony between human and nature. The local culture might determine major contents of mythologies. And mythologies were spreading by people in the different periods, during the different historical periods peoples thoughts are different and in some way reflect the certain society cognition. Therefore, the mythology is a mixture of local culture and peoples ideology of that time. Depends on distinguishing history of every culture, the local mythology is hardly understanding by other people who came from different cultural background. 3.3.3 The Chinese mythology in online games Due to the similar points between mythology and games, they naturally combine together. Moreover, the

Nursing Essays Nurse Patient Safety

Nursing Essays Nurse Patient Safety Nurse Patient Safety The ICU Nurse and Patient Safety Abstract Nurses play a central role in direct patient care and safety surveillance at the point of care. This role suggests a need for consensus on a core set of measures that can be used to monitor safe practices and guide resource allocation decisions that affect patient outcomes in a health system. This work will review factors affecting patient safety in ICU and what to do to reach a proper patient outcome. The ICU Patients in Intensive Care Units are at risk of unsafe care because of the complex environment, also a patient may sustain an injury as a direct result of daily care. This makes nurses uniquely poised to have a tremendous impact on patient safety as professional caregivers in direct contact with patients and their families. Quality care and patient safety require a focused commitment from all level of an organization, yet nurses serve as the bedside safety advocate with the opportunity to put theory into practice. The challenges are: What is the right thing to do? Is the right thing being done? Is it being done right? You can get expert help with your essays right now. Find out more Factors that play a role in patient safety in ICU environment The critical care setting is one of the most complex environments in a health care facility. Critical care units must manage the intersecting challenges of maintaining a high-tech environment and ensuring staff competency in operating the equipments, providing high-quality care to the sickest patients of a health facility and attending to the needs of staff members working in a very stressful environment (Chang et al, 2005). Before building initiatives to enhance patient safety, the extent of patient injuries and events in ICUs must be well explained. Critically ill patients are at high risk for complications due to the severity of their medical conditions, the complex and invasive nature if intensive care treatments and procedures and the use of drugs and technology that carry risks as well as benefits (Chang et al, 2005). What to do? The first step of patient safety improvement process is to gain the support and engaging leadership.Risk managers, patient safety officers and critical care physicians start working together to make a business case to executives for patient safety investments. In short; implementing ICU patient safety plane becomes a team effort (Rainey and Combs, 2003). An improvement initiative will be more successful if a culture of patient safety prevails. This should create an ICU environment in which all members of ICU team understand how to exchange patient information in a meaningful and respectful way. A starting point in creating such a culture is to conduct an assessment of the current climate in the ICU whether and how it affects patient care (Rainey and Combs, 2003). A facility’s approach to provide safe critical care services will depend mainly on the ICU is organized, staffed and designed i.e. ICU staffing, structure and work environment. Generally, there are three organizational models for ICUs; the open model which allows different members of the medical staff to mange patients in the ICU. The closed model is limited to ICU certified physicians managing all cases. The hybrid model, it combines aspects of the previous two models on referral basis (Chang et al 2005, Rainey and Combs 2003 and Pronovost et al 2003). Work environment within the ICU is characterized by being high work load and fatigue; both have been identified as major negative contributors to patient safety. Staffing an adequate number of critical care educated nurses is essential to the delivery of high quality ICU care (Chang et al 2006). ICU equipment, technology and systems should be assessed from the perspective of patient safety before acquisition and implementation. When devices do not undergo a rigorous evaluation for appropriateness during acquisition or when they are not used properly or badly maintained, they can contribute seriously to patient safety (Pronovost et al 2003). Quality indicators: Savitz, Cheryl and Shulamit, conducted a meta-analysis on quality indicators sensitive to nurse staffing in acute care settings and their results did not to specific indicators that should necessarily be examined in monitoring performance and examining trends in safety as related to nursing staff. Get help with your essay from our expert essay writers What is needed? The shortage of critical care nurses has increased concerns for patient safety. Programs must retain experienced critical care nurses and maintain nursing staff competency with medial equipments and procedures. Continuing education must not be neglected on the assumption that the nurse can not be spared (Trossman 2000). Closer cooperation and understanding is always needed for the ICU staff members. Having a clear program for ICU patient safety should make the job easier. Conclusion Recognizing the critical linkage between nursing workforce and safe and effective outcome for patients, both health provider and professional organizations are committed to work together to accelerate the adoption of evidence based practices known to improve the working nursing environment, patient safety and quality outcomes for patients. This necessitates having a culture that supports patients safety, operating the ICUs as a dedicated team managed by intensive care specialists with specialized training. Finally, to ensure that the work environments can support the caregivers to interact productively, make proper level titrated vital decisions, perform medical intervention and operate medical equipments safely. References Chang, S. Multz, A. and Hall, J. (2005). Critical care organization. Critical care clinics, 21(5), 43-53. Rainey, G. and Combs, A. (2003). Making the business case for the intensivist directed multidisciplinary team model: In Proceedings from the Society of Critical Care Medicine Summit on ICU Quality and Cost. Chicago, IL. Pronovost, P, Angus, D. Dorman, T. et al. (2003). Physician staffing pattern and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients: A systematic review. JAMA 288(17), 2151-2162 Savitz, L. Cheryl, B. and Shulamit, B. Quality indicators sensitive to nurse staffing in acute care settings. Advances in patient safety, 4, 375-85. Retrieved from on 24/12/2007. Trossman, S. (2000), Nurses fight short staffing on several major fronts. Am Nurse 32, 1-2. American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Morrisons Sexual Depictions Essay -- Morrison Sexual Depictions Essay

Morrison's Sexual Depictions Toni Morrison incorporated vulgar sexual depictions into her novel with distinct literary intentions. Although many challengers of the novel contest that these scenes contain no value, Morrison composed these depictions with specific intent and purpose. It was not for shock value or merely to be obscene, but to illustrate to her audience the damaging effect society can have on its most vulnerable members. She spoke through the silence to lobby the destruction of an innocent black girl and became the voice for suffering individuals who did not have the ability to speak. She successfully reveals that societal abuse of the African American race as a whole has grave effects on the development of specific individuals. Describing Pecola’s sexual experiences so graphically, and with such brash severity, was meant to impact the reader into inciting societal reform. Her social commentary was not intended to drive simply sympathy for the oppressed children she described, but change. In her novel, The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison demonstrated the repercussions of rejecting a population of people through explicit descriptions of sexual abuse. The cycle of oppression that is illustrated throughout the novel is a prominent cause and result of sexual abuse. Various characters were born in purity and innocence but were degraded by societal treatment. This concept outlines Cholly’s experience in particular. As a child, he was unable to combat or resist oppression. The only reaction he could marshal to injustice was silence, depression and self contained rage. Because he developed under such damaging conditions, he was ultimately unable to love, express compassion or have virtue. Instead, he was only capab... ...female children was an outcome of societal abuse on African American males. By incorporating such sexually graphic depictions, Morrison leaves a lasting impression with her reader and more effectively conveys her message in order to incite reform. Works Cited Lazarescu, Lisa. â€Å"Themes of The Bluest Eye.† April 3, 2005. Eastern Oregon University. http://web.cocc.edu/lisal/thebluesteye/themes.htm. 2003. Mayo, James. "Morrison's The Bluest Eye." Explicator 60.4 (2002): 231-235. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. Central Oregon Community College Lib., Bend, OR. 12 May 2003 Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York, NY: Plume-Penguin Group, 1994. Napieralski, Edmund A. "Morrison's The Bluest Eye." Explicator 53.1 (1994): 59-63. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. Central Oregon Community College Lib., Bend, OR. 12 May 2003