Life Culture in London South Bank University

Life Culture in London South Bank University Executive Summary The report is about utilization of individual spirituality and emotional intelligence within various organizational set-ups. There is tendency in most organizations to neglect spiritual part of individual’s lives leading to aspect of imbalance between emotional, intellectual and spiritual livelihoods.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Life Culture in London South Bank University specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The article discusses various importance obtained from focusing on one’s spirituality hence forming the primary point from which one can quickly identify their purpose in life. From the perspective of the discussion, there is profound relationship between spirituality and overall performance within work-places. The paper starts by giving detailed annotated bibliography on articles based on spiritual and emotional intelligence. Then there is creation of cultural model used in Londo n South Bank University. Introduction Multicultural backgrounds ensure interaction between people having improved innovative abilities which can be used in generating new ideas and skills. Managing cultural diversity based on spiritual and emotional intelligence is helpful in the process of knowledge transfer. Using integrated cultural dimension, modern technology and the same language within institution makes it easier for communication amongst individuals; this enables more comfortable transfer of information as well as knowledge. Such scenario reduces the level of misunderstanding and misinterpretation owing to cultural differences hence leading to increased efficiency and productivity within institutions. Institutions are always available to assist their members understand and realize their ambitions. Motivation incentives granted to employees provide most basic and essential part of institution’s success. Good example is in London South Bank University where they provide students with talent capable of meeting work-place needs hence improving individual’s career progression.Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Step 1: Culture According to London south bank university (LSBU), analysis of culture comprises cumulative aspects of human character which incorporates systems of sound knowledge shared within society. LSBU has a problem on efficient management of online students and students with disability due to a high number of those enrolling on an annual basis. The current situation within the institution works based on Traditional Support Model where students are taken through courses enabling them to create innovative products, initiate their own theatre companies as well as creating designs for international sports teams. Within emotionally and spiritually intelligent culture the primary source of human energy and drive is based on emotional intelligence where most of work done by lecturers and students focuses on physical aspects. However, bigger percentage of success is based on emotional intellect with heart intelligence taking a smaller percentage. Step 2: Context for Cultural Change and the Preferable Changes My context focuses on Team-Based Model, which is different from concept of teaching from Traditional Support Model used in LSBU. Team-based model enables bringing together group of instructional experts from all departments within LSBU, hence enabling them collaborate with entire faculties. This model ensures that instructors are not burdened in the process of dealing with students, including those with disabilities. The Team-Based Model approach enables creation and sustenance of institutional culture with ability of allowing easy accessibility and sufficient support to all students, especially those studying online.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Life Culture in London S outh Bank University specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In LSBU the nature of the curriculum encourages natural exhaustion, which ultimately does not encourage spiritually focused life (Bass). There is need for change within people’s sense of integrity based on courage, love and reality on the fact that spirituality forms the most important part of individual role within society. LSBU needs to focus on forming organizations dealing with spiritual aspects of student fraternity. There should be total shift in life’s focus where instead of earning living, lecturers should live meaningful lives through sense of duty and call. This is since spirituality leads an individual not only towards working for success but also focus on significance and meaning of life. Step 3: Cultural Web The concept incorporates cultural diversity, which comprises various cultural differences existing between people. Such differences can be described from th e perspective of language, dressing, traditional values, religion, and societal interactions within same environment. Stories London South Bank University is known for provision of variety of professional courses to all students. The campus is known for providing an environment for professionalism, making great friendship, enjoyment of arts alongside service to others presenting opportunity to challenge ones-self. These qualities portray the campus as the most service-minded and spirited environments. Current prevailing culture, i.e., Traditional Support Model, can easily be identified through lecturers’ over-burdening experiences, especially in the process of dealing with disabled students.Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Students with disabilities are prone to being excluded from new media revolution within the campus. However, the new model will enable accessibility and at the same time, provide online students with access based on academic programming. To avoid disruption of learning from LSBU own practices, Team-Based model would support issues based on accessibility from a cultural point of view. This would ultimately encourage increased number of disabled and online grandaunts. Rituals, Routines and Symbols Students joining the campus expect a high level of vibrancy from cultural events, learning and recreation activities. These include both structured and unstructured activities suiting every member of the community. The cool creative and green environment gives the institution a vibrant image within such professionally recognized community. Organizational Structure, Control Systems and Power The institution follows hierarchical kind of organizational structure. LSBU is member of the British s ystem hence its organizational structure comprises of Vice-chancellor, principal, dean, head of departments and junior administrators including student leadership. The institution believes in producing high achievers at affordable costs, which is the main objective influencing LSBU’s corporate culture. At the same time it known for producing top professionals in business-related fields. Step 4 Annotated bibliography presents emotional intelligence as the inherent potential to feel, use, communicate, recognize, remember, describe, identify and learn. LSBU as higher learning institution should depend more on reorganizing their curriculum to accommodate cultural diversity and use it for the purposes of attracting international community. Multicultural challenges should be incorporated for effective management of students within such corporate culture. Like in the case of South African teachers, they find difficulties relating with students from diversified backgrounds since teac hing is taken as means of survival and not for purpose fulfillment. However, according to Diaz 2005, there is profound importance of emotional intelligence when dealing with various groups of people. The article reveals that individuals’ level of emotional intelligence determines the level of his/her relationships. There is need for creating appropriate actions capable of providing required harmony on all students’ spiritual and emotional intelligence. Provision of appropriate measures such as incorporating technological changes and language training facilities for the purposes of overcoming communication barriers is necessary for professionalism. The purpose of recruitment and training programs is to ensure creation of talented internationally mobile people capable of occupying management positions. Numerous benefits can be realized from management of cultural diversity and such actions include; appropriate innovative abilities, comprehensive competitiveness and trans fer of knowledge to the various minority groups. The process also enables development of better talents capable of reducing discriminative effects. Managing cultural diversity is also beneficial in enhancing corporate image of various organizations. Step 5: Natural Resistance to Change and Its Management Processes Usually, change is received with resistance since the process is normally uncomfortable as it requires new dimensions of thinking. Concerning this model, there would be perceived level of uncertainty within such institution since the model will encourage sacrificing familiar for unfamiliar experiences. Anxiety will also be part of the resistance since the model would require huge investment in terms of facilities capable of accommodating disabled and online students. Such issues are common amongst students and especially the most cooperative as well as supportive administrative staff. The model can as well be affected by partial support from Institutions administration inc lined to undermining change of effort. WESI provides various perspectives involved in managing change such as philosophical perspective, multiple intelligence involving spiritual and emotional experiences of students within classes and halls of residents. Using Steingard’s awareness Change Manifestation model in LSBU will bring into effect shifting focus on integration of spirituality and management of emotional requirements amongst students. The model comprises of three dimensions, which includes; awareness, change and manifestation. Including change within such institution requires that all those involved should be ethically responsible. Bass, Randy 2012, Disrupting ourselves: The problem of learning in higher education. Web. Diaz, Johann 2005, Why Self Awareness is so Important. PDF file. Web.

10 Facts You Didnt Know About Sicily

10 Facts You Didn't Know About Sicily Population: 5,050,486 (2010 estimate)Capital: PalermoArea: 9,927 square miles (25,711 sq km)Highest Point: Mount Etna at 10,890 feet (3,320 m) Sicily is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the largest island in the Mediterranean. Politically, Sicily and the smaller islands surrounding it are considered an autonomous region of Italy. The island is known for its rugged, volcanic topography, history, culture,  and architecture. The following is a list of ten geographic facts to know about Sicily: Geography Facts About Sicily Sicily has a long history that dates back to ancient times. It is believed that the earliest inhabitants of the island were the Sicani people around 8,000 B.C.E. Around 750 B.C.E, the Greeks began to form settlements on Sicily and the culture of the native peoples of the island gradually shifted. The most important area of Sicily at this time was the Greek colony of Syracuse which controlled most of the island. The Greek-Punic wars then began in 600 B.C.E as the Greeks and Carthaginians fought for control of the island. In 262 B.C.E, Greece and the Roman Republic began to make peace and by 242 B.C.E, Sicily was a Roman province.Control of Sicily then shifted through various empires and people throughout the Early Middle Ages. Some of these included the Germanic Vandals, the Byzantines, Arabs, and Normans. In 1130 C.E., the island became the Kingdom of Sicily and it was known as one of the richest states in Europe at the time. In 1262, Sicilian locals rose up against the government in the War of the Sicilian Vespers which lasted until 1302. More revolts occurred in the 17th century and by the mid-1700s, the island was taken over by Spain. In the 1800s, Sicily joined the Napoleonic Wars and for a time after the wars, it was unified with Naples as the Two Sicilies. In 1848, a revolution took place which separated Sicily from Naples and gave it independence. In 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Expedition of the Thousand took control of Sicily and the island became a part of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1946, Italy became a republic and Sicily became an autonomous region.The economy of Sicily is relatively strong due to its very fertile, volcanic soil. It also has a long, hot growing season, making agriculture the primary industry on the island. The main agricultural products of Sicily are citrons, oranges, lemons, olives, olive oil, almonds, and grapes. In addition, wine is also a major part of Sicily’s economy. Other industries in Sicily include processed food, chemicals, petroleum, fertilizer, textiles, ships, leather goods, and forest products.In addition to its agriculture and other industries, tourism plays a major role in Sicily’s economy. Tourists often visit the island because of its mild climate, history, culture,  and cuisine. Sicily is also home to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These sites include the Archaeo logical Area of Agrigento, the Villa Romana del Casale, the Aeolian Islands, the Late Baroque Towns of the Val de Noto, and Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica. Throughout its history, Sicily has been influenced by a variety of different cultures, including Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Norman, Saracens,  and Spanish. As a result of these influences, Sicily has a diverse culture, as well as diverse architecture and cuisine. As of 2010, Sicily had a population of 5,050,486 and the majority of the people on the island identify themselves as Sicilian.Sicily is a large, triangular island located in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from the mainland of Italy by the Strait of Messina. At their closest points, Sicily and Italy are separated by just 2 miles (3 km) in the northern part of the strait, while in the southern part the distance between the two is 10 miles (16 km). Sicily has an area of 9,927 square miles (25,711 sq km). The autonomous region of Sicily also includes the Aegadian Islands, the Aeolian Islands, Pantelleria, and Lampedusa.Most of Sicily’s topography is hilly to rugged and wherever possible, the land is dominated by a griculture. There are mountains along Sicily’s northern coast, and the island’s highest point, Mount Etna, stands at 10,890 feet (3,320 m) on its eastern coast. Sicily and its surrounding islands are home to a number of active volcanoes. Mount Etna is a very active, having last erupted in 2011. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe. The islands surrounding Sicily are also home to a number of active and dormant volcanoes, including Mount Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands.The climate of Sicily is considered Mediterranean. As such, it has mild, wet winters, and hot, dry summers. Sicily’s capital Palermo has a January average low temperature of 47ËšF (8.2ËšC) and an August average high temperature of 84ËšF (29ËšC).

Wholefood Company evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wholefood Company evaluation - Essay Example Customers who are not able to reach the outlets are able to ask for home deliveries using social media, which can be made available for them. Interaction with customers of all kinds helps Whole Foods Company understand their customers better and learn about their interests and dislikes. One of their major goals was to make relevant contents. All their stores located at different places created different accounts to inform customers on latest foods, and information about new developments at the stores. These accounts address specific customers’ desires and interests. Customers’ feedback about Whole Foods Company products, gives a general understanding of how customers enjoy the services, and what changes can be made to improve the company. Events happening at any of the stores are updated in the account, as well as foods review. The company also created other accounts for different products, which the customers use to interact with the department heads. Social interaction has helped Whole Foods Company to reach customers no matter where they are. Interaction with customers is important for growth of the company. The company has other social medial channels which help to expand channels of communication with customers. This is to give satisfaction and reach as many customers as possible. Customers also learn a lot concerning ingredients, healthy tips and various recipes, an action that makes the company more interesting and appealing. Whole Foods Company uses social media to attract customers who only shop occasionally for just a few favorite items. They do this by making announcements of promotions or short-term sales of some items to be sold on a single day only. In such an occasion, customers who do not shop regularly make time and shop at the store. Whole Foods allow time for customers to ask questions about products or anything else. This makes the company easy to approach and clear any doubts about products and prices. Customers post their

Duke Children's Hospital Balanced Scorecard Essay

Duke Children's Hospital Balanced Scorecard - Essay Example A Balanced scorecard therefore aids in achieving the firm’s strategic priorities and goals. In developing a balance scorecard, Duke Children’s Hospital had an established strategy: â€Å"perk up communications to perk up quality of health care while reducing expenses.† The organization sought to use the balanced scorecard in evaluating its business processes and stakeholder relationship due to its meditated impacts on business organizations. Duke Children’s Hospital employed the strategy of evaluating and examining its past records such as patient satisfaction survey data, in establishing the balanced scorecard. As a result of its anticipated positive results, the staff generally took it positively and was patient to reap the fruits. Analysis In the Duke Children’s Hospital, the developed BSC methodology started with the development of the strategic plan and a mission. The senior management were involved in setting the strategic goals and provided c redible support for the project. The key metrics for measuring performance were then developed and established. The process was concluded by developing initiatives that were pointed towards enhancing performance and to support the realization of the set strategic goals. The Balance Scorecard was set to act as an important platform to spearhead the incorporation of the principal methodologies, initiatives, and the established procedures across critical perspectives. Even though financial performance is a critical issue in any organization, the major focus of Duke Children’s Hospital over the balance scorecard was on clinical quality and patient safety. This interest is well executed in the organization’s mission and vision. In order to thrive as planned, Duke Children’s Hospital was compelled to make a number of changes with regard to the balance scorecard. First, the initial principal concern for the organization just like any other (financial interest) was inte rchanged as key concern and instead they focused more on the patient safety and clinical quality. This was altered from the normal arrangement perspective whereby the â€Å"Financial† interest was initially first, and was instead moved to position three while â€Å"Quality and Patient Safety† took the top position. Further, its significance and value was well indicated and stressed. Another change that was observed in the business process is that of linking goals with performance metrics. After the strategic plan was defined, the organization took the responsibility to determine specific goals which were then linked to each strategic perspective. Duke Children’s Hospital also sought to limit the goal to a smaller number for the purpose of maintaining focus on initiatives meant to drive the strategic plan. Specific metrics which were meant to be measured and collected after every four months were then defined and linked to the goals. In doing this, a number of me asures were employed to determine a manageable process. For instance, the metrics were derived from a variety of kept records of the organization. This involved retrieving the initial patient safety database derived from internal safety reporting systems, initial financial and hospital operational database, and the past patient satisfaction survey data, among others. Conclusion The establishment of the balance score

To determine the concentration Essay Example for Free

To determine the concentration Essay To determine the concentration of unknown standard sodium hydroxide solution and the enthalpy change of neutralization between different pairs of acid-base used (Thermometric titration) Principle of method: Neutralization is the reaction between an acid and a base, which is an exothermic reaction. In this experiment, two methods are used to determine the concentration of sodium hydroxide solution and the enthalpy change of neutralization. H+(aq) + OH-(aq) H2O(l) Method 1 is to measure the temperature change of the reaction mixture when different definite ratio of acid and base are reacted. There are totally 7 ratios. For each ratio, the initial temperature of acid and base is recorded. When they are mixed, the final temperature of the mixture is recorded so that: Let Va, Vb, Ta, Tb, T be the volume of acid, volume of base, initial temperature of acid, initial temperature of base and final temperature of mixture if they are not reacted (which is actually the initial temperature of mixture before reaction) respectively. Thus, Final temperature of the mixture after reacted T = Temperature change due to reaction. Method 2 is to measure the temperature of the reaction mixture when each small portion of acid are added to a fixed amount of base solution with using titration of acid against base. For both of the method, different pairs of acid and base are used and compared. To find the concentration of sodium hydroxide solution, the volume ratio of acid to base which makes the maximum temperature change(which means the reaction is most complete) should be found out and so: (Since the basicity of both acid and base is 1) By conservation of energy, the enthalpy change of neutralization = heat change of solution The density and specific heat capacity of solution are assumed to be equal to those of water since the differences between them are negligible. Results: Method 1 Using nitric acid: (A graph is attached at page 6) Volume of HNO3(aq) (cThis result was acceptable since it was consistent and close to the actual value. The enthalpy change of neutralization using nitric acid was found to be -47. 65kJ and -51. 48kJ respectively by method 12. The enthalpy change of neutralization using ethanoic acid was found to be -48. 24kJ and -61. 11kJ respectively by method 12. The enthalpy of neutralization found out in this experiment was not reliable because the result was not consistent for method 12 and there were great errors in the experiment. The most significant evidence that shows the result was not reliable was that theoretically, the enthalpy change of neutralization between ethanoic acid and sodium hydroxide should never be higher than that between nitric acid and sodium hydroxide. This is because nitric acid is a strong acid while ethanoic acid is just a weak acid that it only slightly ionized in water. Therefore extra energy was needed to ionize the ethanoic acid molecules so that the enthalpy change of neutralization of ethanoic acid should be less negative than that of nitric acid. However the result of this experiment contradicted with the above statement, so that the results of this experiment were not reliable. The most significant error in this experiment was heat loss to surrounding. Although foam cup was already used in the experiment, the upper surface of solution also produced great heat loss to the atmosphere. Also, there may still be heat loss through the cup. This error was more significant in method 2 since a period of time was used to titrate the solution. During the time of titration, a lot of heat can be transferred to the air and thus the recorded temperature would be decreased. As a result, the calculated enthalpy change of neutralization would be lower than the actual one. To reduce this error, a Styrofoam cup instead of a polystyrene cup can be used since Styrofoam is a better insular of heat than polystyrene. Some cotton wool can be used to wrap the cup in order to further reduce the heat loss to surrounding. Also, a lid can be used to cover the upper mouth of the cup in order to reduce the heat loss to surrounding. However, the lid should allow the thermometer to stir the solution and also allow the burette to add acids into it in method 2. Obviously, the titration in method 2 must be carried out quickly in order to minimize the time for the heat to be lost from surrounding, and thus reduce the above error. The second error was the fluctuation of room temperature. In method 1, the initial temperature measured and the temperature of the solution just before reaction might be different. This was because of the change in room temperature since it would affect the temperature of solution by thermo equilibrium. In method 2, the room temperature before the titration and during the titration might be different. This would lead to an error on the measurement of temperature as the same case in method 1. To reduce this error, a more constant temperature in the laboratory can be constructed by an air-conditioner. This can reduce the error brought from the fluctuation of room temperature. In the experiment, method 1 is more suitable to determine the enthalpy change of neutralization since the temperature was measured just after the reaction in method 1 but the temperature was measured for several times in method 2 and this lead to error in the measure of temperature. However, method 2 is more suitable to determine the concentration of sodium hydroxide solution since the number of times of measuring the temperature of solution was much more than that in method 1. Then the peak of the graph can be found out more accurately. Thus the volume of acid used with the highest temperature change can be more accurate. Based on the results of this experiment, the enthalpy change of neutralization was more negative with weaker acids, having same base. However, this statement was obviously wrong since in weaker acids, some energy was used to ionize the acid molecules. Theoretically, the enthalpy change of neutralization should be more negative with stronger acids. This was not shown on the results in this experiment since the error was too large. Conclusion: The concentration of the sodium hydroxide solution was successively found out and it was acceptable, but the enthalpy of neutralization found out was not reliable since it was not consistent and it contradicted to the theoretical values. On the whole, the results was not acceptable and so the objective of this experiment was not fulfilled. Reference: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Styrofoam http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/polystyrene.

The Significance of Mother-Daughter Relationships in Amy Tan’s The Joy

The Significance of Mother-Daughter Relationships in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club In her novel The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan tells of the lives of four Chinese immigrant mothers, their hopes, their dreams and the way each of their daughters feel about their mother's lives.   Mother-daughter relationships are the basis for the entire story.   Tan shows the hardships each mother experiences as a child and young adult, and how they all want better lives for their daughters.   She shows the struggles between the mothers and the daughters;   these struggles result from many different things, from the cultural gap, to dreams and goals that may have been set too high.   Each daughter knows her mother means well, but this does not make the battles any easier.   Through careful details Amy Tan shows readers the significance of each of the four mother-daughter relationships in the novel, how each daughter is slowly but surely becoming her mother. Even though Suyuan Woo is not alive her story is told through her daughter, Jing-mei â€Å"June† Woo.   In the beginning of the novel readers witness June realizing how little she really knows about her mother and her heritage when she joins the other members of the club her mother founded called Joy Luck.   Jing-mei struggles with the division between who she is and who her mother wants her to be.   ""Only two kinds of daughters."   She shouted in Chinese.   "Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind!"   Only one kind of daughter can live in this house.   Obedient daughter."" (153) Suyuan yells this when Jing-mei refuses to practice the piano after her embarrassing performance in the talent show.   She wants her mother to realize that she doesn't have to be a genius to be special, but Suyuan do... ...y knew that in the U.S. children would be able to choose whom they married and which career they wanted to pursue. Each mother had wanted to tell her children the events she had endured but did not feel the children would appreciate the stories for their full value.  Ã‚   For many years, the mothers did not tell their daughters their stories until they were sure that their wayward offspring would listen, and by then, it is almost too late to make them understand their heritage that their mothers left behind, long ago, when they left China.   The mothers knew their children must be old enough to understand what the meaning of their travels to the United States meant to them.   They came to this country with many hopes and dreams, not only for themselves but for the children they would soon raise. Works Cited Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Random House, 1989.

Does Suffering Lead to Wisdom Includes Discus Thrower the School and the Yellow Wallpaper

Diltej Singh Does Suffering lead to wisdom? Through life if there is one thing that everyone sees, it’s suffering. We all have seen it, if you haven’t you will in time. Even the short stories that we have read this year we have also seen it in them. It’s hard to see people go through that suffering, but do people gain any wisdom from that suffering. Through the short stories that we have read this year, we have seen on many occasions that it did not.One of those times is in the short story ‘The Discus Thrower’ we see that the man is in much pain, and clearly is suffering and yet he is mean to the nurse and makes them do things that they shouldn’t have to do. Another story that had suffering was ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ we see her suffer and not once do we see her stop and think about what she is doing why. We just see her going crazy. The last story we see suffering is in ‘The School’, we see that theirs is constant dea th in the story they don’t know what to do after so they keep buy and getting new things to replace the feelings they had they had for the animals, people, and plants.So they aren’t gaining anything The man in the Discus thrower is clearly suffering he his â€Å"skin is not brown from the sun. It rusted, rather, in the last stage of containing the vile repose within. And the blue eyes are frosted, looking inward like the windows of snowbound cottage. He is blind. The man is also legless; his right leg was missing from the mid-thigh down and left from below the knee. † With all these disabilities, he is still is asks the doctor to get his shoes â€Å"with the least amount of irony. † You wonder why he asking for them even though he has no feet.He makes the nurse clean eggs that he threw at the wall and he does this every single day. You expect someone in this situation to be more caring, looking at life in different perspectives, think about something diff erent they should have done and maybe things would have turned out in a different way. But instead we see him act different then we would see anyone else in his place. Then we see the nurse cheering and then we find out that he died. He leaves behind nothing but bad experience and memories for the nurses. He created nothing but a bad experience for himself. Throughout this whole story we don’t see any form of wisdom once.The women from yellow wallpaper might not be suffering physically but is suffering mentally. She’s told that she can’t do anything creative or fun. All she can do is lay in bed. Slowly she is suffering, she is mentally warring down. She we see her going mentally insane. She starts staring at the wall and see shapes and then eventually she sees a figure in the wall. At the end of the story she goes crazy by locking the door and tells her husband that the key is at the front door. And when he comes and he faints and she tore as much wallpaper as s he could and she herself was on the on ground crawling’s.As we see that she goes insane and she gets no wisdom. We ended of her crawling over him so we know anything can happen after that. We see that in the school they clearly have lost many things to death and they don’t try to figure out why everything is dying but keep replacing them with other things just to get the emotions and feelings back. In the story trees, salamander, tropical fish, Edgar, moms and dads, Matthew and Tiny die for one reason or another, they one time the students ask where all died things go he says I don’t know. Then they say is death that which gives meaning to life.They go into a serious conversation and then they hear a knock on the door and a gerbil walks in, the children cheer wildly. We see that children don’t gain anything from these deaths. As we in none of these characters get and wisdom after they have been see suffering. Most people now don’t even get wisdom f rom when they suffer. They live life going through pain like the man from the discus thrower; go crazy like the women did from the yellow wallpaper. Or go through life not realizing, or simple try to keep what they might lose, like the kids in the short story school.

The Borneo Rainforest

The Borneo Rainforest is located in Borneo which is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. The Rainforest is 130 million years old, which makes it the oldest rainforest in the world. The Borneo rainforest is one of the only remaining natural habitats for the endangered Bornean Orangutan. It is an important refuge for many endemic forest species, including the Asian Elephant, the Sumatran Rhinoceros, the Bornean Clouded Leopard, the Hose's Civet and the Dayak Fruit Bat.The Borneo lowland rain forests cover most of the island, with an area of 427,500 square kilometers. The Borneo mountain rainforests lie in the central highlands of the island, above the 1,000 meters elevation. There are species of birds found in the forest and 13 mammals. Tourism is also a popular thing in the Rainforest, with resorts and tours available. In the 1980s and 1990s Borneo underwent a remarkable transition. Its fore sts were levelled at a rate unparalleled in human history.Borneo's rainforests went to industrialized countries like Japan and the United States in the form of garden furniture, paper pulp and chopsticks. Initially most of the timber was taken from the Malaysian part of the island in the northern states of Sabah and Sarawak. Later forests in the southern part of Borneo, an area belonging to Indonesia and known as Kalimantan, became the primary source for tropical timber. Today the forests of Borneo are but a shadow of those of legend and those that remain are highly threatened by the emerging biofuels market, specifically, oil palm.Oil palm is the most productive oil seed in the world. A single hectare of oil palm may yield 5,000 kilograms of crude oil, or nearly 6,000 liters of crude, making the crop remarkably profitable when grown in large plantations, one study that looked at 10,000 hectare-plantations suggests an internal rate of return of 26 percent annually. As such, vast swa thes of land are being converted for oil palm plantations. Oil palm cultivation has expanded in Indonesia from 600,000 hectares in 1985 to more than 6 million hectares by early 2007, and was expected to reach 10 million hectares by 2010.Despite this outlook, there has recently been some positive conservation news out of Borneo. In February 2007, the governments of Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia agreed to protect roughly 220,000 square kilometers of tropical forest in the so-called â€Å"Heart of Borneo†. Environmental group WWF was particularly active in the establishment of the protected area. WWF says there are four big threats to Borneo's forests: land conversion, illegal logging, poor forest management, and forest fires.It adds that large-scale industrial projects (roads, and hydroelectric projects like the Bakun dam) and hunting are also threats, but to a lesser degree. A further issue is the climate of corruption, which permeates virtually all levels of government in K alimantan. Forestry decisions are now made at the district level, where officials are said to be sometimes easily swayed by money. A strategically gifted motorbike can often win influence at the village level. A fundamental problem is that development in Borneo is driven by extractive industries at present there are few economic alternatives.These industries are rarely sustainable, especially when little is invested in long-term management of resources. The causes of deforestation in Borneo are not complex; the solutions are. After large-scale deforestation in the lowlands and the importation of millions of people through poorly-executed transmigration programs, there are few economic options in most of Borneo. Having lost jobs in the forestry sector, many villages are faced with having to decide whether to give up the remaining forest for oil palm or continue with subsistence living.Oil palm plantations certainly offer economic potential, especially when they are planted on already deforested and degraded lands, but it makes little sense to establish them on increasingly scare areas of natural forest. Social safeguards are also required to ensure labour abuse and sharecropping schemes are avoided. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is one initiative working on equitable and sustainable palm oil production. Conservation is also an urgent priority in Borneo, especially in biologically diverse regions that have so far escaped the ravages of intensive logging and fires.The recent â€Å"Heart of Borneo† initiative is a shining example of what's possible. However, it is absolutely critical that once protected areas are established, they are maintained. The history of â€Å"protected areas† in Kalimantan where large percentages of supposedly protected area was logged and distributed for development is disheartening, but now is the time to move beyond this and plan for a future where conserved areas are actually protected and sustainable use of buffer zones is maximized. ——————————————- [ 1 ]. Borneo, 2012, accessed on 12/10/2012 at http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Borneo [ 2 ]. Wildlife of Borneo, 2011, accessed on 12/10/2012 at http://www. mongabay. com/borneo/borneo_wildlife. html [ 3 ]. Borneo forest, 2011, accessed on the 16/10/12 at http://www. google. com. au/url? sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CC8QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. wired. com%2Fnews%2Fculture%2F0%2C1284%2C62252%2C00. tml&ei=6sl_UMumLvCTiQemroFA&usg=AFQjCNE5UyM5Tg7VfoCUxhW1_RLCwwZwHg&sig2=tOBloXyugLND1LNqqDiz_A [ 4 ]. WWF, 2012, accessed on the 17/10/12 at http://wwf. panda. org/what_we_do/where_we_work/borneo_forests/ [ 5 ]. WWF BORNEO, 2012, accessed on the 17/10/ 2012 http://wwf. panda. org/what_we_do/where_we_work/borneo_forests/ [ 6 ]. WWF, 2012, accessed on the 17/10/12 at http://wwf. panda. org/what_we_do [ 7 ]. Deforestation in Borneo, 2012 , accessed on the 17/10/2012 at http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Deforestation_in_Borneo

Free Essays on Analysis of Gangs

Analysis of Gangs Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today’s society. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable awn prestigious way to live? The long range answer to these questions can only be speculated upon, but in the short term the answers are much easier to find. On the surface, gangs are a direct result of human beings’ personal wants and peer pressure. To determine how to effectively end gang violence we must find the way that these morals are given to the individual. Unfortunately, these can only be hypothesized. However, by looking at the way humans are influenced in society, I believe there is much to blame. On the surface, gangs are caused by peer pressure and greed. Many teens in gangs will pressure peers into becoming part of a gang by making it sound glamorous. Money is also a crucial factor. A young kid is shown that he/she could make $200 to $400 for small part time gang jobs. This amount of money causes gang life to look like a gold mine. Anyone could use this kind of many, and attempt to get it. Although these are important factors they are not strong enough to make kids do things that are strongly against their morals. One of the ways that kids morals are bent so that gang violence becomes more acceptable is the influence of television and movies. The average child spends more time at in front of a television set than he/she spends in a classroom. Since their minds are still working, they take in what is on the television and â€Å"learn† from it. Unfortunately, very few hours of television watched by children are educational. Many shows on television today are extremely violent. This shows children that gang life is exciting as well as acceptable. This is taught through many shows where the â€Å"good guy† captures the â€Å"bad guy† through violence and is then being commended. A young child sees this as ... Free Essays on Analysis of Gangs Free Essays on Analysis of Gangs Analysis of Gangs Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today’s society. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable awn prestigious way to live? The long range answer to these questions can only be speculated upon, but in the short term the answers are much easier to find. On the surface, gangs are a direct result of human beings’ personal wants and peer pressure. To determine how to effectively end gang violence we must find the way that these morals are given to the individual. Unfortunately, these can only be hypothesized. However, by looking at the way humans are influenced in society, I believe there is much to blame. On the surface, gangs are caused by peer pressure and greed. Many teens in gangs will pressure peers into becoming part of a gang by making it sound glamorous. Money is also a crucial factor. A young kid is shown that he/she could make $200 to $400 for small part time gang jobs. This amount of money causes gang life to look like a gold mine. Anyone could use this kind of many, and attempt to get it. Although these are important factors they are not strong enough to make kids do things that are strongly against their morals. One of the ways that kids morals are bent so that gang violence becomes more acceptable is the influence of television and movies. The average child spends more time at in front of a television set than he/she spends in a classroom. Since their minds are still working, they take in what is on the television and â€Å"learn† from it. Unfortunately, very few hours of television watched by children are educational. Many shows on television today are extremely violent. This shows children that gang life is exciting as well as acceptable. This is taught through many shows where the â€Å"good guy† captures the â€Å"bad guy† through violence and is then being commended. A young child sees this as ...

Jericho - The Archaeological Ruin in Palestine

Jericho - The Archaeological Ruin in Palestine Jericho, also known as Ariha (fragrant in Arabic) or Tulul Abu el Alayiq (City of Palms), is the name of a Bronze Age city mentioned in the book of Joshua and other parts of both the Old and New Testaments of the Judeo-Christian bible. The ruins of the ancient city are believed to be part of the archaeological site called Tel es-Sultan, an enormous mound or tell situated on an ancient lakebed north of the Dead Sea in what is today the West Bank of Palestine. The oval mound stands 8-12 meters (26-40 feet) tall above the lake bed, a height made up of the ruins of 8,000 years of building and rebuilding in the same place. Tell es-Sultan covers an area of about 2.5 hectares (6 acres). The settlement that the tell represents is one of oldest more or less continuously occupied locations on our planet and it is currently over 200 m (650 ft) below modern sea level. Jericho Chronology The most widely known occupation at Jericho is, of course, the Judeo-Christian Late Bronze Age one–Jericho is mentioned in both old and new Testaments of the Bible. However, the oldest occupations at Jericho are in fact much earlier than that, dating to the Natufian period (ca. 12,000–11,300 years before the present), and it has a substantial Pre-Pottery Neolithic (8,300–7,300 B.C.E.) occupation as well. Natufian or Epipaleolihic (10,800–8,500 B.C.E.) Sedentary hunter-gatherers living in large semi-subterranean oval stone structuresPre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) (8,500–7300 B.C.E.) Oval semi-subterranean dwellings in a village, engaging in long-distance trade and growing domesticated crops, construction of the first tower (4 m tall), and a defensive perimeter wallPre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) (7,300–6,000 B.C.E.) Rectangular houses with red- and white-painted floors, with caches of plastered human skullsEarly Neolithic (6,000–5,000 B.C.E.) Jericho was mostly abandoned at this timeMiddle/Late Neolithic (5,000–3,100 B.C.E.) Very minimal occupationEarly / Middle Bronze Age (3,100–1,800 B.C.E.) Extensive defensive walls constructed, rectangular towers 15-20 m long and 6-8 m tall and extensive cemeteries, Jericho destroyed circa 3300 cal BPLate Bronze Age (1,800–1,400 B.C.E.) Limited settlementAfter the Late Bronze Age, Jericho was no lo nger much of a center, but continued to be occupied on a small scale, and ruled by Babylonians, Persian Empire, the Roman Empire, Byzantine and Ottoman Empire up until the present day Tower of Jericho Jerichos tower is perhaps its defining piece of architecture. British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon discovered the monumental stone tower during her excavations at Tel es-Sultan in the 1950s. The tower is on the western fringe of the PPNA settlement separated from it by a ditch and a wall; Kenyon suggested it was part of the towns defenses. Since Kenyons day, Israeli archaeologist Ran Barkai and colleagues have suggested the tower was an ancient astronomical observatory, one of the earliest on record. Jerichos tower is made of concentric rows of undressed stone and it was built and used between 8,300–7,800 B.C.E. It is slightly conical in form, with a base diameter of roughly 9 m (30 ft) and a top diameter of about 7 m (23 ft). It rises to a height of 8.25 m (27 ft) from its base. When excavated, parts of the tower were covered with a layer of mud plaster, and during its use, it may have been completely covered in plaster. At the base of the tower, a short passageway leads to an enclosed stairway which was also heavily plastered. A group of burials was found in the passage, but they were placed there after the buildings use. An Astronomical Purpose? The internal stairway has at least 20 stairs made up of smoothly hammer-dressed stone blocks, each over 75 centimeters (30 inches) in width, the entire width of the passageway. The stair  treads are between 15-20 cm (6-8 in) deep and each step rises nearly 39 cm (15 in) each. The slope of the stairs is about 1.8 (~60 degrees), much steeper than modern stairways which normally range between .5-.6 (30 degrees). The stairway is roofed by massive sloping stone blocks measuring 1x1 m (3.3x3.3 ft). The stairs at the top of the tower open up facing to the east, and on what would have been midsummer solstice 10,000 years ago, the viewer could watch the sunset above Mt. Quruntul in the Judean mountains. The peak of Mount Quruntul rose 350 m (1150 ft) higher than Jericho, and it is conical in shape. Barkai and Liran (2008) have argued that the conical shape of the tower was built to mimic that of Quruntul. Plastered Skulls Ten plastered human skulls have been recovered from the Neolithic layers at Jericho. Kenyon discovered seven in a cache deposited during the middle PPNB period, below a plastered floor. Two others were found in 1956, and a 10th in 1981. Plastering human skulls is a ritual ancestor worship practice known from other middle PPNB sites such as Ain Ghazal and Kfar HaHoresh. After the individual (both males and females) died, the skull was removed and buried. Later, the PPNB shamans unearthed the skulls and modeled facial features such as chin, ears, and eyelids in plaster and placing shells in the eye sockets. Some of the skulls have as many as four layers of plaster, leaving the upper skull bare. Jericho and Archaeology Tel es-Sultan was first recognized as the biblical site of Jericho a very long time ago indeed, with the earliest mention from the 4th century C.E. anonymous Christian traveler known as the Pilgrim of Bordeaux. Among the archaeologists who have worked at Jericho are Carl Watzinger, Ernst Sellin, Kathleen Kenyon, and John Garstang. Kenyon excavated at Jericho between 1952 and 1958 and is widely credited with introducing scientific excavation methodologies into biblical archaeology. Sources Barkai R, and Liran R. 2008. Midsummer Sunset at Neolithic Jericho. Time and Mind 1(3):273-283.Finlayson B, Mithen SJ, Najjar M, Smith S, Maricevic D, Pankhurst N, and Yeomans L. 2011. Architecture, sedentism, and social complexity at Pre-Pottery Neolithic A WF16, Southern Jordan. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108(20):8183-8188.Fletcher A, Pearson J, and Ambers J. 2008. The Manipulation of Social and Physical Identity in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic: Radiographic Evidence for Cranial Modification at Jericho and its Implications for the Plastering of Skulls. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 18(3):309–325.Kenyon KM. 1967. Jericho. Archaeology 20(4):268-275.Kuijt I. 2008. The regeneration of life: Neolithic structures of symbolic remembering and forgetting. Current Anthropology 49(2):171-197.Scheffler E. 2013. Jericho: From archaeology challenging the canon to HTS Theological Studies 69:1-10.searching for the meaning(s) of myth(s).

Classical Realism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Classical Realism - Essay Example Elephant is a collection of short stories by Carver which includes the following: Boxes, Whoever Was Using This Bed, Intimacy, Menudo, Elephant, Blackbird Pie, and Errand. Carver used a "dirty realism" technique in presenting his thoughts in these short stories, "a North American literary construct born in the late 20th century where the narrative is stripped down to its fundamental features."2 A derivation of minimalism, dirty realism is present in most of the author's literary works, one essentially characterized by a focus on surface description and an economy of words. This literary genre is present in Elephant as it tends to eschew adverbs and allow context to dictate meaning.3 In minimalist stories, just like that of Carver's, the characters tend to be featured as unexceptional beings through the use of meaningful contexts and through incorporation of adverbs.4 Dirty realism is generally seen as a hallmark of Carver's Elephant as in the rest of his works. Setting out the differences between Carver's dirty realism and 19th century classical realism, the latter focuses on a broad category of artistic styles attempting to merge or combine classicism and realism in textual presentation. It is likewise broadly defined as "the faithful representation of reality", a literarily technique practiced by several schools of writing. Realism takes interest in scientific method, rational philosophy, and a reaction against the classic romanticism.5 It emphasizes "the immediate, the here and now, the specific action, and the verifiable consequence."6 The combination of classicism and realism seems to be an oxymoron, as classicism tends to idealize the subject matter while realism tends to develop a reaction against the idealists.7The 19th century realism tends to have a remarkable and monotonous agreement in main features. There is an excessive use of minute external detail, alongside with viewing the vaunted objectivity and impersonality as a faade for immorality and cynicism, neglecting the ideal. As rapid industrialization and urbanization take place, an expanding population and a rise in middle-class affluence provide an abundant ground for literary explorations, which is often regarded as "a strategy for imagining and managing the threats of social change."8 With Madame Bovary, the term was clearly established in France. Dickens was likewise held as "a novelist of the ideal or romantic school, welcoming the wholesome spirit of realism."9 As a dirty realist, Carver's objects are conveyed with a representational quality which may not be described as metaphorical, universal, or direct. His dirty realism is characteristically represented through truth and a depiction of commonplace events, characters, and settings. It considers characters and events which are very ordinary and uninteresting, attributing meaning and value to them.10 In his Elephant and Other Stories, he presents everyday objects in a realist, descriptive manner, with relevance to their relatedness in the syntax of sentences and the 'world' of the story.11 Intimacy, a story in the collection, suggests a constant fascination with animate objects with the character's expression of inexplicable things through the medium of objects depicted in the text. The story revolves around a man and his