Origins of the Cold War

Introduction The Cold War was the repercussion of World War II following the emergence of two key supremacy blocs in Europe one of which was subjugated by ideologies of the democracy of the capitalist America. The other one was led by communism and the Soviet Union ideologies.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Origins of the Cold War specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The two blocs never involved themselves in actual battlefields. In 1947, Baruch, an adviser to Harry Truman, popularised the term Cold War. Baruch used the words Cold War while addressing the legislature of South Carolina State on 16 April 1947 (Baruch and Melly 425). One can trace the origins of the Cold War back based on the relations that existed between the United States, Soviet Union, France, and Britain between 1945 and 1947 as the paper reveals. Pre-World War II Economic Differences The revolution that occurred in Russia in 1917 to form the Soviet Russia forms the basis of the Cold War based on the big differences of ideologies and economic positions that arose between the western powers and the capitalist nations. This was happening at a time when Russia was isolated by other major nations in matters of global diplomacy (Lee and Josey 59). There existed variations in economic and political organisation in Russia. The western powers took advantage of this situation to predate Russia. In 1918, the United States of America sent its troops to Russia to assist the anti-Bolsheviks during the civil war in Russia. This was the first major source of suspicion of the Soviet concerning the Capitalist America (Gaddis and Lenny 570). At this point Russia had differed with the western powers due to its decision to become part of the democratic capitalist economy of the world during the 19th century. Russia therefore became determined â€Å"to break from this dependence through a radical pull out from the economic system of the wor ld that was dominated by the capitalist† (Tucker and Carlos 34). This formed the basis of the mistrust that ensued later on between the two blocs and hence the Cold War. This fuelled the gap between America and Russia further through fear and mistrust. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact Another foundation of the Cold War is the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. This followed the signing of a trade pact by Germany and the Soviet Union (Ericson 57). This agreement was to allow the exchange of civilian and military equipments from Germany for industrial raw materials from the Soviet Union (Shirer 1990, p.668). This was known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. However, this agreement had a hidden side where Germany and Russia agreed to control the eastern part of Europe and Poland by themselves (Day et al 405). This was followed by the invasion of Poland by Germany just a week later (Tearsy and Kennedy 82). However, this agreement was broken by Germany in 1941 due to a series of aggressions.Advertis ing Looking for term paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The two powers continued to trade especially through the Soviet Union acquiring weapons from Germany in exchange of rubber, oil, and manganese. This was a foundation of the relationship between the two powers before the World War II. However, the â€Å"Soviet Russia found itself isolated from international diplomacy† (Tearsy and Kennedy 82). With the Soviet Union unsatisfied with this, other countries suspected that the Soviets could decide to attack them any time when they were unaware and hence the war. The World War II Differences When Germany invaded Russia, the soviet united with the western European countries and with America. This was aimed at winning against Adolf Hitler who was their seemingly common and major enemy. This war changed the balance of power in the world. Europe became weaker while the United States and Russia became super power s. These super powers had a great strength of the military. The alliances formed at this point were war based. They did not live long since, by the beginning of 1943, every side of the alliance was looking at its own interest of the war. For example, Russia took control of many parts of the Eastern Europe where she intended to install her ideologies in the countries in a bid to shield them from the influence of the capitalist. Regardless of complains from the other members of the alliance, Russia continued with her efforts to impose its communist ideologies on what they conquered. Russia was so powerful to the point of leaving the other members watching her impose her ideologies on large parts of Eastern Europe, Balkans, and even Poland. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, â€Å"the Soviet under Stalin immediately protested since Tuman gave it minimal influence of occupying Japan† (Tucker and Carlos 35). Immediately after the Second World War ended, the United States of America embanked on shipping of materials to the United Soviet Socialist Republic from America. This indicated that the relationship between the two nations was only formed for winning the war with nothing else to bid it. The two nations differed on this and began a quick competition between them in order to determine who was superior to the other hence the Cold War. Period of distrust between Capitalist and Communist After the end of the Second World War, there existed a variation of perceptions between the United States and the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union assumed that he would be assisted by America in reconstructing his country after the war in a bid to make Russia a good market for her industrial goods. The need for assistance arose because industrialisation and marketing of industrial goods had enabled the United States get out of the great depression. Therefore, Stalin envisioned the urgent America’s need for market (William 63) though this did n ot materialise.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Origins of the Cold War specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When World War II ended in 1945, there were two bloc divisions in Europe. Armies from western part of America occupied one side while armies from Russian east occupied the other bloc. The two blocs, capitalist America and communist Russia, had two opposing aspirations for Europe. The capitalist America wanted Europe to be democratic with no influence from communism while Russia sought after a non-capitalist Europe where it subjugated. At the beginning, Joseph Stalin of Russia believed that capitalism would easily collapse due to the in fighting of its leaders (Wettig and Haron 24). However, with time, the leaders became more organised and powerful. This intensified the rivalry. The west feared that Russia would invade them. On the other hand, Russia feared that the capitalists would make atomic bombs. Ru ssia also feared that the west would dominate the world’s economy while the capitalists feared that their economy would collapse due to this competition. The two blocs also differed in ideas of how the world order should be directed. The Soviets also feared that Germany might rearm herself and cause havoc in the world again. Winston Churchill, as Tucker and Carlos 34 confirm, â€Å"referred this fear (Cold War) and division of the west and the east as the Iron Curtain in 1946†. The Marshall plan and Economic Division in Europe When the threat of global destabilisation by the Soviet Union became more apparent, America responded through enactment of the containment policy. To begin with, in 1947 March12, the United States’ congress commenced an action to bar the Soviet Union from expanding its interest further with the aim of disrupting its status as a super power. In 1947, the communist expansion seemed to expand with an alarming rate. For example, in Hungary, th e government got into the hands of a true communist party that entrenched the idea of one-party communism rather than democracy while the Czech Republic was taken over by a communist government that got into power through a coup. The bitterest part of these dynamics was that these two nations were determined to exist as neither communist nor capitalist. Secondly, the western European nations were still struggling to come out of the economic devastation by the impact of the Second World War. This made the United States believe that countries that sympathised with these Soviets would be influenced by their deteriorating economies (Galley 242). This made the United States initiate the Marshall Plan. This was an economic order of economic aid, which was aimed at developing markets for both agricultural and industrial goods from America. It was also aimed at furthering the impact of the containment policy.Advertising Looking for term paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Marshall plan was carefully presented to countries in both west and east. However, this plan was met with utmost rejection from soviet inclined countries due to the influence of Joseph Stalin. This confirmed the earlier doubt of its acceptance by the United States and hence the Cold War. The Marshall plan was a great counter plan by the United States. The plan bore fruits for example when the communist coalition members were driven out of the government in France due to the impact of economic aids on America. America gave out foreign economic aids worth 13 billion dollars to 16 western nations from 1947 to 1952. This made the economies of these nations better, at the same time widening the gap between the nations and the soviets. The Marshall plan also created a clear economic partition between the soviets communist and the capitalist. This division became so as evident as the economic divide that existed earlier on. Joseph Stalin countered the Marshall plan through the formatio n of the Commission for Mutual Economic Aid (COMECON). This was for all the communist member countries. This would exaggerate trade relations between communist member countries. In addition, he formed an organisation that united the communist countries from all parts of the world with the sole aim of making communism a world order (Caley 78) against the wish of the majority. On the other hand, the United States continued with its containment efforts. In 1947, it was able â€Å"to impact on the election result of Italy using money to ensure that a Christian Democratic party defeated the communist party† (Tucker and Carlos 34). The Berlin Wall Following the impact of the 1947 political and economic outwits on the communist and the capitalist nations, Europe became a victim with one side, the capitalist being supported by America while the other side, the communist, was supported by Russia. East Germany was made a soviet satellite kind of state (Wetting 96). Germany now became a political and an economic battlefield for the two powers. Four powers namely France, Britain, Russia, and even America occupied parts of Germany. The capital of Germany fell under the Russian soviet side. However, it was divided. Joseph Stalin made a physical blocade that separated the side of Berlin City in order to compel the Allies to halt their move to divide Germany (Miller and Galley 25). To counter the effects of the Berlin wall, the Allied powers turned to physical airlifts of supplies to Berlin. This Berlin Airlift went on for about eleven months. Worse still, the airplanes that were airlifting supplies to Berlin had to fly over the soviet air space, an act that would have provoked Stalin to order for their shooting for violating their airspace. However, due to the fear of the occurrence of another war, the communists did not provoke war, as they realised that their earlier move of constructing the Berlin Wall did not work. Stalin opened the wall in 1949. In Berlin, German y, the Cold War foundations almost led to real battle. The two major blocs openly provoked each other with physical insults. The communist built a blocade to physically block the capitalists from supplying aids to their regions while the capitalist flew their supply airlift planes over the communist territory with an open will that, if they shoot on their planes, the battlefield war would emerge immediately. The formation of (North Atlantic Treaty organisation) NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was a military alliance that was formed in 1949 by the signing of the NATO treaty. This treaty was signed by western powers in Washington. At this time, the Berlin wall was still in enforcement by the soviets. The NATO was formed for the purposes of offering defense to the capitalists in case the soviets assaulted them within the ensuing competitive conditions. In retaliation, Russia intentionally detonated her first homemade atomic bomb in 1949. This was aimed at deterring t he speed that America was taking by diverting her attention to the eventuality of a nuclear war if Russia tried to assault the soviets. Following this act, the NATO members decided to rearm to include western Germany into NATO. In 1955, West Germany became a member of the NATO. To counter the impact of the formation of the NATO and the inclusion of West Germany into it, the eastern countries formed their own military alliance. The Warsaw Pact was formed just one week after West Germany became a member of the NATO. The Warsaw pact became the military wing of the soviets led by a soviet commanding officer. Their counterpart, the capitalists, put this military team in place to offer defense to members of the communist bloc in case of an assault. Differences between the two major blocs Following the above discussion, it is evident that, by 1949, two distinctive blocs were already formed in the world. These power blocs were opposed to any idea that came from their counterparts. The Sovie t Union believed that the United States and her allies were a real threat to their existence and the existence of their ideologies. At this point, the two blocs never involved themselves in any traditional forms of warfare. Their attitude towards each other became sour every day. It was almost evident that the third World War was on the offing especially with the Berlin blocade by the communist and the counter blocade strategies by the capitalist. The nuclear competition and standoff between the two major blocs and the widening ideological gap became a cause of worry to the whole world. There emerged the historical Red Scare especially in the United States. On the other hand, there was a crush of dissent on the side of Russia. The Cold War did not just develop because of the happenings in Europe and America. By 1947, it had spread beyond the European boundaries to the global arena. For example, China joined the communist bloc (Harry 66) while Korea and Vietnam became capitalists aft er the intervention of America in their wars. The Cold War was also perpetrated to a great effect by the show of might in nuclear weapons by the two major powers, the United States of America and Russia. The United States created its thermonuclear weapons of mass destruction in 1952. On the other hand, the United Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR) also created thermonuclear weapons of mass destruction in 1953. This changed the world order since, at the end of the Second World War, only the US had atomic bombs. The Soviet Union would not have posed any threat to it. Conclusion In conclusion, the Cold War was a war of ideologies, economic, and military competition that existed between the two major blocs that emerged after the Second World War. This war did not involve the actual battlefield war that could have been regarded as hot war. The Soviet Union led the communist bloc while the United States led the capitalist bloc. This war also involved other states. It was even fought on fore ign grounds. Later, following the intensified fear and tension created by this war when America and Russia began making thermonuclear weapons, the war ended with the collapse of the USSR in 1990s. These weapons would result to more expansive destruction of the world than even the two bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Americans airplanes during the Second World War. Prevalence of these weapons of mass destruction in the hands of opposed blocs almost assured the world of a total destruction in the eventuality of another world war. However, this tension and standoff in nuclear weapons made the world safe in the sense that neither the USSR nor the US could provoke the other into a battlefield war since any actual war ‘hot’ war would result in total destruction of the world. Works Cited Baruch, Gordon, and Bernard Melly. â€Å"Vital Speeches of the Day.† Cold War  13.14(1947): 425. Print. Caley, Martin. The origins of the Cold war 1941-1949. Connecticut : Yale University Press. Print. Day, Neol et al. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe. London: Word Press, 2003. Print. Gaddis, Farey, and John Lenny. Russia, the Soviet Union, and the United States— An  Interpretive History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Print. Galley, John. â€Å"The Columbia Guide to the Cold War.† Political Science Quarterly  87.2(1972): 242-269. Print. Harry, Truman. Memoirs. New York: Doubleday. Print. Lee, Kelly, and Stephen Josey. Stalin and the Soviet Union. London: Routledge,1999. Print. Miller, Noel, and Roger Galley. To Save a City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948–1949. Texas: AM University Press, 2000. Print. Tearsy, Robberts, and Geoffrey Kennedy. Stalin’s Wars: From World War to Cold War,  1939– 1953. London: Yale University Press, 2006. Print. Tucker, Pearl, and Robert Carlos. Stalin in Power: The Revolution from Above, 1928   –  1941. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1992. Print. Wettig, Pennyl, and Gerhard Haron. Stalin and the Cold War in Europe. Oxford: Blackwell, 2008. Print. William, Onsley. Stalin Embattled, 1943–1948. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1978. Print. This term paper on Origins of the Cold War was written and submitted by user Julia Lyons to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Romanticism and Victorian Essay Example

Romanticism and Victorian Essay Example Romanticism and Victorian Paper Romanticism and Victorian Paper Romanticism and Victorian l. Themes of English Romanticism In Literature Romanticism is a period, movement, or style in arts starting in the late sass and flourishing in the early sass, a time when the modern mass culture in which we now live was first taking form: the rise of nation-states as defining social and geographic entities, increasing geographic and social mobility, people moving to cities, new technology including power from fossil fuels, individualism, imaginative idealization of childhood, families, love, nature, and the past. The Romantic era is the historical period of literature in which modern readers most begin to see themselves and their own conflicts and desires. As what was mentioned in the class and as what I have researched, English Romanticism in terms of literature Is a shift from faith In reason to faith In the senses, feelings, and Imagination; a shift from interest in urban society to an Interest In the rural and natural; a shift from public, Impersonal poetry to subjective poetry; and from concern with the eclectic and mundane to Interest In the mysterious and infinite. There are various themes on how the authors of romantic literary pieces imposed their works. Those themes were based on the main idea of the revolutionary movement initiated during that time which was CHANGE. These people want to veer away from what was ordinary and stale and they came up with this radical change. I do not know if my idea regarding the themes used by romantic poets and writers is correct that is why I made further research. As I went through the research, I came up with these Insights regarding the subjects used by romantic writers. Imagination and emotion are more Important than reason and formal rules; Imagination Is a gateway to transcendent experience and truth. Imagination was one of the keys used by romantic poets and writers to effectively stress out and reveal what they want to convey their readers. They treat imagination with high importance because it was their belief that the only way to attain the highest form of art is to use your imagination. Sometimes, some of the writers do not only rely on their usual/ ordinary imagination. Sometimes they use other means like taking addictive drugs which allows hallucination to happen. For example, Coleridge Kabul Khan was written when Coleridge was high with laudanum, a solution of opium in alcohol used for pain relief. In the last lines, Weave a circle round him thrice, and close your eyes with holy dread, for he on honeydew hath fed, and drunk the milk of Paradise, he Is implying that writers Like him would be feared for their power to make such poems with the use of extraordinary Imagination. Since change Is the main Idea and reason for romantic movement, having exceptional kind of Imagination was one of their vital component. Romantic literature tends to emphasize a love of nature, a respect for life and believe that many of the ills of society are a result of arbitration. The Romantics inclined more on the natural aspect of the world rather than the urbanize and modernized sector because they have high respect on these entities. For example, Wordsmiths sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge accentuates the beauty of nature before man had touched and exploited it based on their needs. The lines Earth has not anything to show more fair: Dull would he be soul who could pass by, A sight so touching in its majesty Show the majesty of nature. The poem stresses out the reclaiming of natures own from what man has taken away from it. The poem also emphasizes the silence and stillness of nature which makes it great and marvelous. Change is what Romantics aim for but they did not veer away from what natural things/nature should be. They treat nature with divinity and respect. Romantics were attracted to rebellion and revolution, especially concerned with human rights, individualism, and freedom from oppression. Since change is the main reason for Romanticism to upsurge, rebellion and revolution is evident in their works. For example, Flakes The Chimney Sweeper talks about the abuse experienced by children who were chimney sweepers during that time. The lines That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack, Were all of them locked up in coffins of black wows that children who were chimney sweepers suffered a lot of harm and their only escape was death. Flakes work was an effective eye opener of what was happening during that time especially when it comes to child labor. Somehow, it ignites the fire of revolution but the thing about this poem was Blake ended it not with revolutionary kind of movement but with some sort of faith in God. Still, he managed to emphasize the oppression that was happening during that time which may call and did call for upheaval. There was emphasis on introspection, psychology, melancholy, and sadness. Since the Classics tend to feature the theme of mock heroic epic (which was said to be a craft and forced), the Romantics deviate away from it. One of the emphases of the Romantic writers works was melancholy. For example, Wordsmiths The Solitary Reaper has a tone of mystery, loss, nostalgia and loneliness. It was shown in the lines Some natural sorrow, loss or pain, that has been and maybe again? . Sadness was featured on the Romantic works because it was (somehow) the inspiration of the writers for not all of them lived Joyfully and vibrantly. Sadness was also one of the keys for an effective Romantic literary piece. Romantics were interested in the Medieval past, the supernatural, the mystical, the gothic, and the exotic. These things were also featured in the Romantic works. Authors we re very interested in the supernatural, the mystical, the gothic, and the exotic. Most of the literary pieces do contain these things. For example, Coleridge Rime of the Ancient Mariner highlighted these things. The lines Her lips were red, her looks were free, her locks were yellow as gold: Her skin was white as leprosy. The Night-mare LIFE-IN-DEATH was she, who thick mans blood with cold clearly depicts mysterious woman who appeared out of nowhere aboard in a ship which was already wrecked. These lines (and this poem) lucidly depict the mystery that the Romantic poets aim to show the readers the beauty behind mystery and bizarre things which were part of their aim for change. Victorian period, which encompasses the optimism and progress of Englishmen, was the perpetuation of the Romantic periods success in fulfilling its aim to obtain change and transformation. Romantic period was the time where the Englishmen perpetuated movement for literature, characterized by reliance on the imagination and subjectivity of approach, redeem of thought and expression, and an idealization of nature. This was also a call for drastic difference and divergence from what was ordinary and normal. This was also a way for the authors to show the reality behind the blindness of oppression and abuse. One good example is Flakes The Chimney Sweeper. The poem encompasses the details of the truth behind child labor and the cruelty experienced by the children who were employed in this Job. One can see that the poem shows how helpless the children were and there was no escape for them but death itself. It has a tragic and Lancelot mode for children who should be given the right to have a good life and a chance to study and improve their condition were exploited and deprived. Flakes approach was effective for the poem will surely catch the readers attention and emotion regarding the focus of the poem. But even though he was successful in establishing these moods for the reader, his ending does not seem to fit the aim of Romantics for change because his ending was stated like there would be angels who would open the coffins of these poor children and would accompany them to the Heavenly Father. Nonetheless, the poem showed what should be changed in his society during his time and somehow, it is an eye-opener and it calls for a revolutionary change. A lot of poems during that time also embody this kind of theme. They, during their time, wanted freedom and transformation. These literary pieces were their weapon, their defense. Movements made for change during Romantic era was successful. Freedom of expression was propagated, change was established. The Englishmen had the chance to grasp the power they were aiming for. They believed they were invincible and this led them to the Victorian period. Victorian period was the period of optimism. Since the Englishmen had the power in their hands, they will do everything to maintain the power that they have. Their craving for improvement, industrialization and education was fulfilled. This is clearly seen in some of the Victorian poems created during that time. Kipling Gang Din is a very good example. A lot of analysis given regarding this poem was focused on Gang Din, who was an Indian visit or water carrier who serves water for British Soldiers. But one aspect that I saw regarding this poem was it entails the power that the Englishmen have. The poem shows that they were superior and even an Indian as very submissive to them even they were Just soldiers (disregarding the ending of the poem wherein the soldier says uniform a better man than I am, Gang Din). All throughout the poem, Gang Din was described as a poor, low and abused slave and this also indicates that these British soldiers have the power over Gang Din and they can do whatever they want to do on Gang Din and they can ask him to serve them wherever and whenever. Although what I analyzed regarding the poem when exemplifies such. This poem also shows appearances which the Englishmen is trying to do during Victorian period. The soldiers in this poem show power and prudish, concealing their weaknesses in use of Gang Din. They were trying to show that they were controlling and strong through the continuous abuse that they were doing on Gang Din. Poems and other literary works were indeed effective ways of initiating and bringing up change in society (if not in the world). This did not Just happen in English history but in our own country as well. Literature has its own power to alter or retain, to intensify or weaken our society. But it is still our own choice on how to interpret and implement these works of art.

What If I Just Cant Bring Up My Grade in That One Challenging Class?

You’ve worked hard to achieve a shining high school transcript and standardized test scores to match. You participate in a variety of extracurriculars but have a clear area of specialty that makes you truly unique. You’re a strong leader, a hard worker, and a devoted community member. By almost every count you should be a shoe-in at any college. But what if math just isn’t your thing? Or what if your writing skills are a little lacking and always have been? What happens when you just can’t bring up your grade in that one pesky subject area? Are top colleges out of your reach? We at know that no one’s perfect. We’re used to helping students overcome obstacles and spin less strong subject areas as positively as possible. In this post, we’ll explore the implications of a single bad grade, explain some options for what you can do to head off its negative impact on your college admissions chances, and offer some broader perspective that will help to guide your approach to college applications and beyond. The easiest way to avoid that single less-than-stellar grade is to avoid that class altogether. While you might be tempted to sign up for every AP course and honors track possible, you need to set realistic goals based on your own strengths and abilities. By all means, choose courses that challenge you, but don’t choose courses that are completely beyond your abilities. And definitely, don’t be tempted to jump ahead too quickly in an attempt to build an ultra-impressive transcript. Ultimately, performing well in an easier class is always better than failing a difficult one. In addition, taking a course that’s too challenging for you might have a greater impact on your overall academic performance. If you’re stressed out and expending more time than usual on a single class, your performance in other classes might suffer. You might achieve poorer grades across the board or be unable to extend your usual time and effort to important extracurriculars. In the worst-case scenario, your own mental health or personal relationships could even suffer. Instead, it’s best to avoid the situation completely by selecting classes that strike the right balance for your abilities. Sometimes this means taking an objective step back, recognizing the areas in which you are prepared to handle the most challenging coursework, and acknowledging the areas in which you aren’t. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and if you’re reading this, there’s a decent chance that you’re already enrolled in a class that is proving to be somewhat beyond your abilities. If this is the case, you’re not completely out of luck. There are a few key avenues you should explore to get the help you need. First of all, rest assured that it is absolutely okay to ask for help. In fact, we encourage it. Ask your teacher, your guidance counselor, a friend, or a family member. If they can’t help you in this particular subject area, they might be able to point you in the direction of someone who can. Your parents might be willing to get you a tutor, or your friend might be willing to work with you one-on-one. Teachers may even meet with you after school or during their free periods. No one wants to see you fail, so there is no reason for you to struggle alone. You just need to ask for help. You could explore existing video tutorials in the subject area. Khan Academy is one great resource for this. Finally, consider joining a study group or enrichment group. Sometimes, hearing a different perspective, especially from someone else who also previously struggled to grasp the content, can offer the additional insight that you need. Even if a certain subject never â€Å"clicks† with you, there are many avenues to get the help you need to get through an important class. It’s possible that you may be better at certain subfields within a subject. So, while you might struggle with geometry, you could find that algebra comes easily to you. Once you get past this course, you might find the next one easier. It’s always worth your best effort to get through it. There are times, though, when it might become clear that you’ve exhausted your resources and still are not going to be able to pass the class with a respectable grade. If this is the case, you need to consider your other options. At some schools, you might be allowed to switch from an honors or AP course to a regular version of the course during the semester. You’ll need to check your school’s offerings and policies to see if this is an option for you. This is a particularly good choice if you need to fulfill a graduation requirement in that subject area but have realized that your chosen course is too difficult a track for you. Another option is to drop the class completely. This is something that you should consider very carefully and discuss with your teacher and guidance counselor in advance. Many schools have only a narrow window in which you’re allowed to drop classes without them appearing on your transcript. You should be aware that if you drop a class outside of this window, it may appear on your transcript as a Failure Due to Withdrawal, or similar notation. You can learn more about the decision to drop a course in our posts, Should I Drop an AP, IB, or Honors Class? and How Do I Decide to Drop a Course? . Our Early Advising Program helps students in 9th and 10th grade discover their passions and build strong academic and extracurricular profiles to succeed in high school. Finally, as you set your sights on your dream colleges, you need to be realistic about your own strengths and abilities. Ivy League schools generally require strong grades across all subject areas. While there’s nothing to prevent you from applying to them even if you have struggled in one area, you should keep in mind that you will be at a disadvantage if you’ve taken a less challenging course track or achieved less than stellar grades in a particular subject area. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you won’t be accepted, but it does mean that you’ll need to make up for this deficit in other ways on your application. That is, you’ll need to truly excel in other areas if you hope to gain acceptance. Also keep in mind that in order to get the most out of your college experience, you need to attend a school that is genuinely a good fit for you. It may be tempting to get wound up in the name or prestige of certain colleges, but ultimately the most important factor should be how well a college fits your specific goals and needs. If you’re struggling to keep up with a specific challenging course track in high school, it’s likely that you could continue to struggle with it in college if you attend a highly selective school with core requirements in that subject area. The same can be said for your intended career path. If you have always struggled with math, but you’re interested in becoming an engineer because it seems exciting and fun, you may need to critically evaluate the feasibility of this path compared with your own areas of strength. Are there other, similar fields that might be better suited for you? By keeping a realistic perspective, you will be able to strike the right balance of coursework that challenges your abilities without overextending yourself. To learn more about registering for classes or how to cope with a single bad grade, consider the benefits of the Near Peer Mentorship Program , which provides access to practical advice on topics from college admissions to career aspirations, all from successful college students.

Violent Behavior in Healthcare Institutions Research Paper

Violent Behavior in Healthcare Institutions - Research Paper Example Workplace violence can be categorized into different forms depending on the nature of healthcare institute, characteristics of patients and external environment, for instance, physical assault and verbal abuse is experienced by most of the medical staff. Violent behavior particularly in the mental healthcare setting has become a reality and also a major concern for both healthcare providers and policy makers. Therefore mental illness and psychological issues are thought to be the precipitating factors of violent behavior among patients. This paper aims to discuss the basic factors giving rise to sadistic behavior in healthcare institutions along with the responsibilities of medical stuff and dynamics of violence. Moreover, the intervention strategies and effective methods to follow up with victims shall also be discussed. Precipitating Factors There are number of factors contributing to the violent behavior of patients and physical assault of medical staff in Healthcare Institutions. Human Service providers in general, and nurses in particular are often exposed to critical conditions where they need to identify the precipitating factors of violent behavior in order to make security measures and also to safeguard the victims. Following are the most common factors which excites violent behavior among patients: Mental Illness: Mental illness is an abnormal psychological pattern which often leads to behavioral issues. There are different forms of mental illness which might result in violent behavior against the healthcare professionals. For instance, delusions have a very close relationship with violence since these patients frequently experience physical or mental insecurity due to which they harm others in order to save themselves. However, in this case anger contributes as the major element to excite the violent behavior. Study shows that Delusions might cause minor forms of violence but the extreme violent behavior is usually supported by anger which is a perso nality disorder (Coid, 2013). Another important precipitating factor is hallucination which causes an individual to feel, hear or visualize things which aren’t present. In such a situation patients who do not have command over the hallucinations harm the medical staff while others does not pose any significant threat to the service providers (McNiel, 2000). Violent fantasies such as desire to murder or rape also lead to aggressive behavior if not addressed on time. Homicides in healthcare setting are often due to the violent fantasies (Gellerman, 2005). Organic Issues: These largely include diseases and injuries related to brain. Patients with organic brain issues are reported to have been involved in violent behavior. For instance, Dementia causes damage to the memory, speaking abilities, problem solving skills and other significant brain functions of an individual which ultimately leads to aggression and sadistic conduct. Similarly brain injuries caused by accidents might a lso lead to considerable behavioral changes which might transform an individual into a violent personality (Fountoulakis, 2008). Personality Disorders: These occupy the largest proportion as precipitating factor of violent behavior against healthcare service providers. Mood swings, anger, impulsivity, lack of control over emotions, psychopathy etc. are the most common examples of personality disorders. Research indicates that issues concerning the social life of an

Programs & Activities of MCA(Muslim Community Association) Bay Area Essay

Programs & Activities of MCA(Muslim Community Association) Bay Area - Essay Example MCA provides the local community with a variety of services. Most importantly especially in San Francisco, MCA provides prayer opportunity five times a day. Besides, MCA offers educational programs for both adults and young children. The organization offers a school to the children of the Muslim communities in the bay area so that they can learn modern education in an Islamic environment. At present the association has three schools namely Granada Islamic School (K-8), Weekend (Sunday ) Islamic School and Al Arqam School. MCA also provides financial assistance to the needy people (about). There are many other activities and programs that MCA undertake. MCA offers free access to the knowledge of Islam not only through its website but also through different activities like Dawah, youth discussions, counseling, and other programs, for example visiting scholars. It provides information about the basic teachings of Islam needed by every Muslim to practice in all the spheres of life. MCA also tries to outreach the public in general as well as Muslims to inform them about Islam. It tries to dispel any misconceptions about Islam. It also organizes discussions and encourages community involvement for better understanding of Islam and developing close relationships. The major emphasis, however, the association lays is on the conduct and behavior of Muslims to attract the non-Muslims towards Islam towards serving the society (Islamic Services) . MCA provides various services to the students. The association offers different resources to help them in writing a college paper or a report on Islam. Furthermore, the association conducts interviews to point students to the right direction. A library is also available for use having a reasonably good number of books. Beside this, presentations are arranged for improving the knowledge of the people in the community about Islam. These presentations also offer opportunity to the audience to ask any

ROLE OF INTERNAL AUDITORS IN RISK MANAGEMENT Essay Example for Free

ROLE OF INTERNAL AUDITORS IN RISK MANAGEMENT Essay Effectiveness of Internal Auditing of institutions and bodies formed under Acts of Parliament has been less studied and reported in the literature. The study is focused in examining the relationship between the employees’ attitude and perception and the internal Audit’s effectiveness in delivering on their roles in a rapidly evolving environment and public’s awareness of their roles. The main aim of this research study is to better understand  and measure the effect of employee’s attitude and perception on the effectiveness of internal audit in public institutions, with National Social Security Fund as a case study. A survey of sampled 425 employees will be undertaken and the results of the quantitative and qualitative survey findings will be reported. The research is designed to be conducted using both quantitative and qualitative approaches by use of literature review, survey, and case study. Data will be collected from the chosen sample through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews as well as review of available documents and records targeting members of the Internal Audit. Data will be analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 11.0 tool, which is a computer based automated statistical tool and conclusions drawn; from the findings of the study, recommendations will be made which will help institutions to determine paradigm shift in attitude and perceptions by employees necessary to keep the internal audit as an effective critical function relevant in the future for robust public sector financial management and governance to assist organizations achieve their goals. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background to the Study. Traditionally, internal auditing in the public sector served as a simple administrative procedure to ensure compliance and it comprised mainly of checking for accuracy of transactions, pre-payment verification and control, counting assets and reporting on past events to various levels of management. However, combinations of factors in the social-political and economic discourse globally have led to greater citizen awareness and participation in the public sector governance. As a result, public institutions are moving towards higher levels of transparency, efficiency, accountability and integrity in the use of public resources. Consequently, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA, 1999a) redefined internal auditing as: †¦. an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by  bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes. This definition signifies that internal audit has undergone a paradigm shift from an emphasis on accountability about the past to improving future outcomes to help auditees operate more effectively and efficiently (Nagy and Cenker, 2002; Stern, 1994; Goodwin, 2004). Since, the definition equally serves both the private and the public sectors (Goodwin, 2004), it is used in this study as a basis to analyze public sector internal audit effectiveness. Internal audit is effective if it meets the intended outcome it is supposed to bring about. Sawyer (1995) states, â€Å"†¦ internal auditors job is not done until defects are corrected and remain corrected.† Van Gansberghe (2005) explains that internal audit effectiveness in the public sector should be evaluated by the extent to which it contributes to the demonstration of effective and efficient service delivery, as this drives the demand for improved internal audit services. Traditionally, ineffectiveness of internal audit has been as a result of understaffing, unqualified and nonprofessional staff and underfunding. Despite invigorated internal audit function with sufficient well trained, qualified and professional staff topped up with adequate funding in the public sector institutions such as National Social Security Fund (NSSF), and being charged with responsibilities of advising management on issues of policy and compliance, accountability, financial reporting, safeguarding of assets, risk management, prevention of fraud and on economic and efficient use of resources (PFA, 2003): there are continued incidences of budget deficits, unpaid utilities, unremitted pensions, unproductive investments, irregular payments, unaccounted for funds, loss of pension cash, non compliance with policies and procedures and general mismanagement of funds. A report by the Auditor General tabled in Parliament in June, 2013 indicated savers could have lost billions of shill ings in dubious transactions and shady land deals (SNP, June 6, 2013). There is urgent need to identify critical success factors to enable the internal audit to perform effectively the roles for which it is intended in the public sector financial management and governance. 1.1Statement of the Problem Public sector institutions have functional well funded internal audit departments with well qualified and professional staff whose role is to provide the management with re-assurance that internal controls systems are adequate and that they are complied with, that risk exposures are identified and addressed, and that fraud is quickly identified and inherently deterred. However, internal auditors have continued to be ineffective as envisaged by continued incidences of fraud and corruption, abuse of authority and outright financial mismanagement of massive scale due to perception and attitude issues towards their work. This precipitates the increased risk of financial failure of the institutions, poor and compromised service delivery, public agitation and political disaffection towards the government of the day. Little has been researched on the effect of employee’s perception and attitude on the effectiveness of internal auditors. This study therefore is meant to bridge that ga p by finding out to what extent the employee’s perception and attitude is attributed to ineffectiveness of the internal auditors thus affecting the delivery of assurance services `central to organization achieving its objectives. 1.2Purpose of the Research To determine paradigm shift in employee’s perception and attitude necessary to keep the internal audit as an effective and critical function relevant in the future for robust public sector financial management and governance. 1.3Objectives of the Research The research will be guided by the following objectives: 1. To determine the effect of perception and attitudes on the effectiveness of internal audit in the public sector financial management and governance. 2. To identify value addition services required to enhance relevance and effectiveness of the internal audit function in the public sector. 3. To identify the measures that would enhance or maintain better perception and more positive attitude by employees towards internal auditors. 1.4Research Questions The research questions of this study shall be: 1. How does employee’s perception and attitudes towards internal auditors affect internal audit effectiveness in the public sector financial management and governance? 2. Which value addition services are required to enhance relevance and effectiveness of the internal auditors and in effect ensuring they are perceived well? 3. What steps can be taken to ensure the employees continually maintain a positive perception towards the internal auditors so as to achieve organizational goals? 1.5Significance of the Study This study seeks to generate useful insights on how managing employee’s attitude and perception affects internal auditor’s effectiveness which then can be used by the government and public institutions. This promotes effectiveness in the role of internal audit functions in the public sector financial management and governance by addressing the employee’s attitude and perception. It can also be used by researchers for further research as this is a new area to be studied. 1.6 Basic assumptions of the study It is assumed that the respondents would be co-operative and provide accurate information when responding to the research questions. It is also assumed that the sample size to be chosen will be adequate to enable the researcher draw valid conclusions about the population. 1.7Limitations of the study Time constraint is a limiting factor because the study has to be concluded within a short time. Availability of funds is also a limiting factor to the study since the researcher is self sponsored. There is also no assurance that the respondents would return all the questionnaires duly completed, neither is there a guarantee that the subjects would respond to all the questions put forward to them comprehensively. The answers of some respondents may not be representative of the whole population. The condition of the subjects may affect their responses as emotions may be involved thus affecting their accuracy in responding. 1.8Delimitation of the study The study shall be restricted to three Branches of National Social Security Fund, within Rift Valley region. The study shall focus on how effectiveness of internal audit functions in public sector financial management and governance are affected by employee’s perceptions and attitudes. Public sector may be defined to include the Central Government, the courts, the National Assembly, the Senate, Constitutional Commissions, County Governments and institutions and bodies formed under an Act of Parliament. For precision and focus, the purpose of this study shall be restricted to public sector institutions formed under an Act of Parliament and case study is NSSF. Literatures on other independent variables are not to be studied as this research is to be narrowed down to employee’s perceptions and attitudes only. Due to time constraints and the budget, population to be studied is only narrowed down to NSSF staff which is convenient to the researcher within the province. On the methodology to be used, Telephone interviews wouldn’t be applied as it is unreliable, the employees may not cooperate, and is expensive than a candid face to face interview where all staff may be met in the same place as per their convenience. 1.9Organization of the study Chapter one provides a background on internal audit effectiveness, statement of the problem, purpose and objectives of the research, research questions that the study looks forward to answering, significance of the study, basic assumptions of the study, limitations to the study and delimitations of the study. Chapter Two outlines the various schools of thought on what constitutes internal audit effectiveness and factors affecting it, as expounded in various literatures available. Chapter three outlines the research design and methodology used for purposes of completing the study. It also describes in details research design, target population, sample, sampling procedure and data collection instruments. Chapter four will contain data analysis, presentation and interpretation while chapter five shall provide a summary of findings, discussion, conclusions and recommendations. This is followed by references and appendices sections. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction This chapter is will cover critical review of literature by other scholars and writers in relation to and the implication of employee perception and attitude on internal audit function and its effectiveness in the public sector financial management and governance. 2.1 Internal Audit Function Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organizations operations (IIA, 2002). It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes (Collier, etal, 1991). With this description forming a foundation, the essential characteristics of an effective internal audit function can be framed. According to Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA, (1999), internal audit is an important part of the corporate governance structure within an organization. Corporate governance includes those oversight activities undertaken by the board of directors and audit committee to ensure the integrity of the financial reporting process. Three monitoring mechanisms have been identified in the corporate governance literature. They are external auditing, internal auditing and directorships (Anderson et al, 1997; William, 2000) as well as the audit Committee (IIA, 2003). 2.2Internal Audit Evaluation Evaluating the internal audit function is to examine how well it can detect errors within an organization as well as fraud that have received greater emphasis (Rittenberg Anderson, 2006). The internal audit function is an important function that has been shown to add value and reduce detected errors by external auditors (Godwin, 2003; Carcello, 2005). Farber (2005), observed that the objective of internal audit function is to improve on the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance. Nestor (2004)  observed that internal audit function is taken to be an important governance tool to protect corporations from internal criminal behavior. Further, the professional literature suggests that internal audit is a vital tool in fraud detection when assets are misappropriated by employees or outsiders (Carcello et al, 2005b; Rittenberg and Anderson, 2006). As a result of the increase in accounting scandals in recent years, the internal audit function has received impressive atte ntion as an important contributor to effective public sector financial management and governance. Furthermore, the issue of effectiveness of internal audit is indispensable because it will create improvement in the government ministries (Unegbu Kida, 2011). In line with this, consideration over the measurement of the effectiveness of internal audit function keep receiving significant challenges, consisting the finding of the best and relevant method for measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of internal audit (Bota Palfi, 2009; IIA, 2010; Spertus et al, 2010). In this vein, measurement of internal audit effectiveness should be considered because it has a role to play in achieving public sector objectives. Therefore, Arena and Azzone (2010), Chaveerug (2011) and Mihret et al, (2010) emphasize the need for future studies to examine the factors that influence internal audit effectiveness and the possible interactions among them. Equally, it is interesting to focus on the model that will lead to the strength of internal audit effectiveness (Aguolu, 2009). Consequently, many stu dies that have been conducted on internal audit effectiveness give more concern to private sector and the central government and its various ministries and departments. Internal Auditing of institutions and bodies formed under Acts of Parliament has been less studied and reported in the literature. 2.3Internal audit effectiveness: The word â€Å"effectiveness† have been defined by different researchers, for instance Arena and Azzone (2009) defined effectiveness â€Å"as the capacity to obtain results that are consistent with targets objective,† while, Dittenhofer (2001) view effectiveness as the ability toward the achievement of the objectives and goals. In the same context, a program can be seen as effective if its outcome goes along with its objectives (Ahmad et al, 2009; Mihret et al, 2010). In this situation, internal audit effectiveness means  the ability of the internal auditor to achieve the established objective within the public sector institution. This goes along that the objectives of an internal audit for every organization depend on the goals set out by the management of the organization (Pungas, 2003) as such, the objective of internal audit in public sector institutions should also go a long with the set up goals by the management of the particular institutions and Acts of Parliament that established them. With regard to that, the internal audit should be able to achieve the established objective in order improve the performance of the organization. Consequently, to determine whether the internal auditing function is operating effectively or not, some things have to be considered which include; identification of the basic objective of internal auditing; define the goals to be accomplished by the internal auditing and establish measures that will assist toward the achievement of those goals (Aguolu, 2009; Dittenhofer, 2001) while Cassandra et at (2008) argued that in order to achieve internal audit objective, three basic c onditions must be satisfied i.e. independence; organizational status; and objectivity, also (Feizizadeh, 2012) consideration was that, for an internal audit function to achieve high levels of effectiveness these four items must be consider; goes along with stakeholder needs; achieves best to his abilities; complies with relevant professional standards and; performance measures. Thus, Beckmerhagen et al (2004) also argued that the audit effectiveness should not be measured based on achievement of the audit objectives or on the number of findings of the internal auditor alone, but also more important is to determine the quality and suitability of the audit plan, execution and follow-up. Similarly, Shareholders have the power to remove any internal auditor that is ineffective (Dhamankar Khandewale, 2003). This should also be the case in public sector, where internal auditors that are not effective despite the provision of all necessary measures that might have improved their effectiveness, should be removed by the stakeholders. Generally, researchers have also indicated some of the reasons behind the ineffectiveness of internal audit to include; ineffective management controls, non clear definition of objectives by some organizations and inadequate support from top management (Ahmad et al, 2009; Dittenhofer 2001; Unegbu Kida, 2011). Therefore, in line with their findings, the implications of an ineffective internal audit in a public sector management can lead to; the possibility of the emergence of fraud; low or non compliance with internal policies and procedures; ineffective financial decision for successful operation (Unegbu Kida, 2011). Hence, the effective internal audits carry out an independent evaluation of the financial and operating information and systems and procedures with a view to provide good recommendations for improvements (Mihret Yismaw, 2007; New Delhi, 2006). That is why proper internal organization is also essential factor that lead to the achievement of internal audit effectiveness. Similarly, internal audit effectiveness can also be enhanced by ensuring consistency in the documentation of audit work, quality of reporting and proper implementation of their recommendation (Mihret Yismaw, 2007). Therefore, having such effective internal audit within organization, will automatically helps to achieve performance and profitability and prevent in loss of revenues particularly in public sectors (Vijayakumar Nagaraja, 2012), even though Pilcher Gilchrist and Singh (2011) observed that efficiency and effectiveness of audit in a public sectors context is more complex than in the private sectors. Several studies have been conducted on the internal audit effectiveness. For example the study carried out by Ahmad et al (2009) on the effectiveness of internal audit in Malaysian public sector, using simple percentage for data analysis found the lack of audit staff is ranked as the major problem faced by internal auditors in conducting an effective internal auditing. The study concluded by suggesting that future studies should adopt other methods such as field survey of wider groups of internal auditors both in public and the private sectors. Likewise, Theofanis, et al (2011) examine the relationship between element of internal control system and internal audit effectiveness and the result of the study reveal positive relationship between the two relationships. Even though the studies used only 52 Hotels in Greek as a sample and mail survey for data collection, but at conclusion they suggest that if future studies should carried out research on internal audit effectiveness with large sample, the result will be better than their own. Also Feizizadeh (2012) carried out study on strengthening internal audit  effectiveness and found that most of the companies measure and quantify the performance effectiveness of their business activities. Therefore, looking at the above studies, they consider the effectiveness of internal audit at company’s level, hotels and banks ignoring such effectiveness at local level. In this vein, this study extends the previous study through examining such effectiveness at public sector institutions and mainly on the employee perception and attitude which many did not cover. 3.4 Conceptual Framework Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of factors influencing Internal Audit CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.0Introduction This chapter will focus on the methodologies used for the study which will include: research design, study area, identification of the target population, sample selection method and size, data collection techniques, data analysis methods and the anticipated constraints. 3.1 Research design The study will adopt a cross sectional survey design where both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis will be used. The respondents will be selected from different departments within the branch; this includes; managers, Internal Audit, Human Resource, Information technology staff, Finance and Accounts staff of NSSF. 3.2Scope of the study The study will be carried out at NSSF Branches at Nandi Hills, Kericho and Sotik in Rift Valley Region. All information and respondents targeted to participate in the study are expected to be easily accessible in the offices situated in these places. Other variables will not be considered in this study. It is limited to the attitude and employees’ perception 3.3Population The public sector in Kenya constitutes the central government and the allied ministries and departments, the county governments and the related departments, the courts, constitutional commissions and institutions and bodies formed through Acts of Parliament. It is the single largest employer of internal auditors, but the target population for this study within the NSSF will include and be stratified as: Branch Managers, Accountants, and other staff, totaling 425 possible respondents. 3.4Sample Selection and Size A purposive sample is used. Accordingly a survey type of research will be adopted in which a sample from the target population will be used for the study. The total staff population in NSSF is 1455. To arrive at the sample size for the purpose of this research study, a sample size calculator is used. By putting the confidence level at 95% and a confidence interval of 4, the sample size needed to be selected is from the 1455 employees will be 425 which represent 29.2% of the sample target population. This represents an average of a third of the total number of members of staff and will be representative enough for this research. It is distributed as shown in the table below: Composition of staff with NSSF Kenya for the purpose of the research working. Category Target Population Target Sample Percentage of target population Managers

Ethical Business Practices :: Business Ethics

Ethical business practices include assuring that the highest legal and moral standards are observed in your relationships with the people in your business community. This includes the most important person in your business, your customer. Short term profit at the cost of losing a customer is long term death for your business. A reputation for ethical decisions builds trust in your business among business associates and suppliers. Strong supplier relationships are critical to a successful business. Consider the problems you might have if you could not supply what the customer needs...at the time that they need it. The entrepreneur is the role model for employees. If your behavior includes lying to customers, taking money out of the cash register, or taking home some of the inventory or supplies, you cannot be surprised if your employees follow your lead. Your family members may see the business as their own and take things that really belong to the business. Employees may see this as being dishonest, or as a conflict with their needs for a raise in pay. The community expects your business to operate in an ethical manner that enhances the image of the community as a whole. If you are located in a mall, for example, your code of ethics will help or hinder customer traffic for the other businesses too. A reputation for telling customers anything they want to hear, regardless of the truth, eventually hurts your business and other businesses around you. It usually isn't illegal to lie to customers, but it isn't good business. Ethical behavior is merely making good business decisions based on an established "code of ethics". Entrepreneurs should establish a written code of ethics that can serve as a framework for decisions to be made by the entrepreneur as well as the employees. In developing this code of ethics you should consider the following items: 1. Identify your general principles that would lead to fair business practices. 2. Check with your industry association for basic standards to review 3. Allow for the fact that ethical questions do not always have a unique, faultless answer. 4. Write out specific statements that will assist you and others in making day-to-day ethical decisions. 5. Apply your code of ethics to a written policy and procedure manual identifying the major rules for operating your business. 6. Train your employees (and family members) to make ethical decisions about the business.

Imagining Society: Hegemony in Poetry and Fiction Essay

The concept of hegemony, which asserts that society is ruled by a set of beliefs ingrained within the minds of individuals figures heavily into not only the ideals of society but also the representation of images and ideas. In poetry, we can see it in the references to nature, literature, and common social themes that reach beyond national boundaries to be easily relatable to the masses. In fiction, we can see the same concept in the attitudes and behaviors of characters and their respective communities. The poems â€Å"The Love Song of J.  Alfred Prufrock,† â€Å"A Song on the End of the World,† and â€Å"Odessa† the poets use universally relatable images to invoke imagery and emotion within the characterization of humanity. Kazuo Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day uses a similar notion but rather than representing these ideals through imagery, he exerts the dominance of hegemonic ideals in the behavior and beliefs of an individual character. Each work shows the hegemonic concept in practice, relating the easy acceptance of beliefs and ideals both blatantly as shown in Ishiguro’s story and through a coercion of imagery. They show that Gramsci’s theory applies beyond acceptance of societal norms to the emotional and tangible evidence of the connectedness of perceptions within society. The reading from Kazuo Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day, shows the ability for hegemonic ideals of the upper class to penetrate within an individual’s consciousness in a seemingly unaware manner. For Mr. Stevens, the butler, the silver polish represents a bygone era in his life. This was the height of the society in which he found himself in the periphery. His participation in this ritual, which he describes as significant in an outsider’s view of that particular household, â€Å"no other objects in the house were likely to come under such intimate scrutiny from outsiders as was silver during a meal, and as such, it served as a public index of the house’s standards† (Ishiguro 86). As butler, he was directly tied into the representation of these standards. The question is why this silver, which had no discernable effect on his own personal life carried such weight for him? Quite simply, Mr.  Stevens as part of the mechanism of upper class society had adopted their views as his own. Though the presentation of silver at the dinner table has little to no relevance in a lower or working class home, the ideal of finely polished silver represents a dream of upper class affluence. The influence of this upper class practice on Stevens is evident in the pride he retains in the â€Å"pleasing impact† (86) of the Darlington Hall silver on guests. The only relevance this has on his life, and for that matter the lives of the other butlers in great houses, is a matter of hegemonic assignation. They have inherited this ideal of silver from their employers, given their own servant status it would be unlikely they would adopted this view of silver without the influences of the great houses. Similarly in the poem â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† the images created by Eliot are easily associated within the mind of the reader. He in fact relies on the hegemonic ideal to help the reader associate his imagery with the correct feelings and sensations. The character of the poem, struggles himself against the constraints of such ideals which relate the world around him to concepts he accepts but cannot reconcile. He is playing his part in the larger play of life, â€Å"There will be time, there will be time/ To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;/ There will be time to murder and create† (Eliot 137. ll. 26-28). He is a middle-aged man fighting the depressions of the sameness, the women â€Å"Talking of Michelangelo† (138. ll. 36) but ignoring the living. Prufrock is left in uncertainty between the ideals, which have been ingrained within him by society, and his own desires to break free, â€Å"Do I dare/ disturb the universe? † (138. ll. 45-46). His struggle is accented with Eliot’s imagery of a broken man that is highlighted by references easily discerned and relatable in the ideas and literature of modern society, â€Å"I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;/ Am an attendant lord, one that will do/ To swell a progress, start a scene or two,/advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,/ Deferential, glad to be of use† (139. ll. 111-115). In this reference to Hamlet, Eliot identifies Prufrock as a tragic figure though less so than a hero or villain; Prufrock’s sorrow is of a peripheral kind that never reaches the passion of Hamlet’s excesses or madness. Prufrock’s melancholy is tempered by his knowledge of what he ought to be and what he wants to be, â€Å"Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? / I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. / I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. / I do not think that they will sing to me† (ll. 122-125). He has grown accepting of his role as assigned by society, while Eliot highlights his sadness in the silent songs of the mermaids who even mythical fail to acknowledge or recognize this unremarkable man. His tragedy lies in his anonymity, having absorbed too much of the upper class ideal as part of himself. While the two above readings center in part around a particular class of society, and through that representation show their ideals and the roots of the hegemony within the individual context, Czeslaw Milosz’s poem â€Å"A Song on the End of the World† offers a departure in the lack of specificity to an upper or middle class society. Instead Milosz’s poem relies are universal images of nature, that are easily put into context regardless of class or nationality. By doing this, he is showing the capability to tragedy to reach beyond these boundaries. He juxtaposes the heavy line â€Å"On the day the world ends† (ll. 1) with the natural and everyday details of nature, â€Å"A bee circles a clover†(ll. 2). He is playing off the religious idea of the world ending in great catastrophe. However, in this poem the â€Å"world† is not meant to imply the Earth as a scientific fact to be destroyed by natural or manmade disaster. Instead the â€Å"world† is humanity, an idea of community and the individual that is implied throughout in the singular, though relatable images of a â€Å"drunkard† (ll. 9), a â€Å"yellow-sailed boat† (ll. 11), and a â€Å"violin† (ll. 2) to show both the universal and personal nature of such an event. Milosz’s relies on hegemony to help the reader understand the interconnectedness of life. He uses easily associated and common images to avoid alienating the audience, instead bringing them into the idea of oneness that was behind the 1944 Warsaw uprising against the Nazis. For the Polish of Warsaw, this defeat represented an ending to the world they had known. Ilya Kaminsky’s â€Å"Dancing in Odessa,† like Milosz and Eliot’s poems relies heavily on imagery to bring the reader into the moment. Though her images to do not carry the universal relatability of Milosz’s nature images, the emotional and mental effects of the invasion of the German’s into Odessa. She builds the first part of the poem with imagery to evoke a sense of freedom, which contrasts sharply with the restrictions of the German invaders. Where once the family had lived â€Å"north of the future† (Kaminky 12. ll. 1) and the invaders reveal this removal from the future as a removal from the damages of reality that are encroaching on this community. The danger that arise smother this future and the people live in the past, even before they are so roughly brought to the present, â€Å"my mother danced, she filled the past/ with peaches, casseroles† (ll. 9-10). Her retelling of the story, is meant to evoke memory buried within the individual. The imagery is such as to show the dreamlike quality of the past seen through the brutal truth of the future. Unlike Eliot and Milosz’s poems she does not rely solely on cultural markers such as Shakespeare or Michaelangelo nor does her nature carry the same universality of the images of nature. However, the day-to-day life as imagined by Kaminsky allows for an understanding that plays on emotion and historical allusions. More separate than the other writers from the hegemonic ideal, the emotions evoked by displacement are meant to strike at the basic human core. Her search for understanding is not so unlike the other poets’ expression of reality and the altering effects of the human mind on this reality. Any longer in literature language and imagery overlap with history to provide a core understanding that branches barriers of class, nationality, and culture. An understanding of the world is gleaned through these works by the use of the relatable and hegemony of the ideals which dominate the context of their subjects. In both Kaminsky and Milosz’s poems we can easily see and understand the references to the Nazi dominance of World War II and the loss of hope. For Eliot’s Prufrock, so influenced by the ideals of society, the loss of hope is highlighted by his inability to move beyond his melancholy and the life role assigned to him. He has become and will remain what is expected of him. Assigned to a particular class, carrying all of its restrictions and belief within his actions, Prufrock is stunted by his inactivity against this structure. Similarly, Mr. Stevens has taken on the role of butler and absorbed not only the ideals of his status but also those of his employers. In mindset, he is upper class in his equal obsession with silver as a marker of status but in reality he remains a servant without status. The hegemonic concept is apt in the looking at the relationship between language and perception, allowing writers and poets to impart imagery and feeling through easily relatable conclusions. We do not doubt the sadness of Prufrock or the hopelessness that accompanied the Nazi occupation of Warsaw or the subsequent crackdown on the rise the rebellion, nor can we deny the sadness, which accompanies remembering in Kaminsky’s poem. We do not doubt them because we can relate, we can accept these images as representative of the beliefs and ideals of the society to which we are also a part.

Biographical Interpretation Works In Relation Essay

Many literary works come across as hard for explanation, it’s been a problem since literature has been a main stay in society. Over time many styles of interpretation have been both approached and adapted by readers and critics alike. One of the most popular is the biographical interpretation. This is when a reader makes use of details regarding the life, times and works of an author as a means of solving interpretive problems. The biographical interpretation is a very good way to get inside the readers head because the past, and your past experiences are what shape your mind as it matures over time, even the smallest experience can make a decent sized impact on one’s thought process. Mark Twain is a good example of an author that has been analyzed, possibly even over analyzed. By every angle he has been looked at, most notably for his works on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. If you were to read his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn without taking a look at any biographical pieces about Mark Twain you would undoubtedly not get as much out of the novel as you would in contrast, if you were to read the biography. To prove the point the help of the semi-biographical essay The Life of Samuel Clemens and the Reception of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will be called upon throughout the essay. At the beginning of the biographical essay there is an excellent explanation of the personal side of Twain â€Å"the only clear picture is that Twain was a man of paradox† (pg. 19). The reason this excerpt fits the topic of biographical interpretation is because one key word within that quote, that key word being paradox. A paradox is a statement that seems contrary to common sense and yet is perhaps true. With The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn being the novel that we are taking a look at in contrast to the biographical side of Mark Twain this word, paradox, fits perfectly since there are paradoxes running throughout the novel. A good example of a paradox in the novel is from the mouth of Huck Finn himself: When it was dark I set by my campfire smoking, and feeling pretty satisfied; but by-and-by it got sort of lonesome, and so I went and set on the bank†¦ and counted the stars and drift-logs and rafts that come down, and then went to bed; there ain’t no better wa y to put in time when you are lonesome; you  can’t stay so, you soon get over it. (Pg. 62) The paradox that has been spoken by Huckleberry is that depression and lonesomeness can be slept away. Which when first heard can be looked over and seen as straight out nonsense. However if it is thought about closely most people that are depressed can be get a quick fix from what makes them depressed by sleeping through it as much as they can, sort of like sleep and relaxation was the drug of it’s time. It may sound inconceivable now, but in the era that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was penned the idea of sleeping, or rather lounging around for days was not that inconceivable because they did not live the busy lifestyle in which we live in current time. This is just one of many paradoxes throughout the book that reflect the author in a great way due to the fact that he was known as a living paradox because of the way he lived his life. For a man that made money out of writing about adventures of rafting down the Mississippi and barely getting by money wise seem so interesting. But grew up living in Connecticut for a good amount of time in his life and also seeking to be filthy rich, and have no worries is most likely the biggest paradox of his life. Another way that the book of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn can be looked at from a biographical perspective and make sense is the fact that the main characters in the novel have a very similar background as to which they grew up in. In a paragraph written by an African American professor of eastern studies and a writer of African-American folktales and poetry. A man by the name of Julius Lester speaks of the relationship between Huck, Tom, and Mark Twain himself in a very unique manner. Just after he speaks of how he does not recollect ever reading the writings of Mark Twain, but then says something to the effect of what American child hasn’t read the tales of Huck and Tom so maybe he has, but the literature was not that significant to his life. What Lester has to say is something that most people taking the biographical interpretation approach should use as an approach to all authors in relation to the characters they write of: I do have an emotional memory of going to H annibal, Missouri with my parents when I was eight or nine, and visiting the two-story frame house where Mark Twain lived as a boy-where Huck and Tom lived as boys. (Pg. 341, Morality and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) This is a great comment because when you take a novel and  try and put a biographical interpretation onto that novel you need to take a very close look at the characters and their relation to the author. That is the mainstay of the biographical interpretation, how the characters are at all a parallel to the author. With Mark Twain himself growing up for part of his life on the Mississippi it gave him great knowledge of what he was talking about, and it gave him the roots of the characters that are now notable American icons. Him having the knowledge of the Mississippi, and of southern life in America at that time influenced the characters and the novel infinitely. Whether it is a satirical look at the way American life was at that time is a whole different essay. With all of this in mind it can be said that he sure lived the life of Huck and Tom whether it be on a lower level, or a parallel these characters and Mark Twain are one in the same. These are only a few examples of how the biographical interpretation of a novel is a very reliable approach to analyzing literature as long as you know that the biographical information is accurate. Doing this will also make the novel much more enjoyable because if you read the biographical essay, paragraph, novel, etc. Then you will be able to go along the book and be able to not look down upon the book, but look more for the reason that that author had said what he said, and what he really meant by it. It is about looking from the inside and looking out at the novel for the reasons behind what was said, instead of looking into the novel for the reasons to not read the book altogether

Journey Creative Writing Essay Example

Journey Creative Writing Essay Example Journey Creative Writing Essay Journey Creative Writing Essay Essay Topic: Creative If you only had a certain amount of time to live, would you live every day to the most of it? Well that’s what I have to do. I turned 40, 4 days ago and a week ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I was told I only have a few months to live. This is when I decided I had to make the most of the next few months; I decided I wanted to travel the world. I have 2 daughters, Tahlia (12yrs) and Molly (15yrs), I also have a son, Chris (16yrs). My husband was there when we were told the bad news but I didn’t know how to break it to my kids.It was just so unexpected†¦ I received a letter in the mail on the day we were leaving to go on our journey. It gave me all the more reason to go†¦ it looked as if it was written years ago; all crinkled and written in calligraphy. It has a residential address; and contact information, but it has no name to it. Maybe I should visit them? Take the letter with me and whilst I’m over there I should just pop in and trace back on who it is. The letter has a lot of information and stories about my family and the writer keeps apologising for not being there for me when I was little.I wonder if it’s a family member. Who could it be and why would I only just receive it now? I have to go visit them in France; I want to know who it is! As I said I have to make the most of my last few months so I might as well do what my heart is telling me. Well it’s time we make our way to the Sydney airport ready to fly out to Spain. The kids are so excited but curious as to why we are travelling; just like I’m curious to track down this letter. Hours and hours have passed and we have arrived in Spain, it looks so amazing here!I can’t wait to explore†¦ this is the best idea I’ve had in a long time. A taxi took us to our luxury hotel and we got settled in then it was time to hit the streets to look around. We are staying here for a week then we are moving off to France. The weather is beautiful, just like a hot summer’s day. I could get use to this. The kids just want to go shopping so perhaps we should take them down to wander the little shops on the streets. After days of shopping, swimming in lovely temperature water and just relaxing on luxurious holiday it was time to move on to our next destination; France.This is what I have been waiting for, for the past week. My husband keeps asking me if I think it’s the right thing to do but my hearts keeps telling me to go for it; to find out this mystery person. If it were him that received the letter he would want to do the exact same thing, but he just doesn’t understand how I feel, how much I want to know who this long lost person is before it’s my time to leave everyone. It’s kind of scary knowing that I haven’t got long to live and I want to go home with something special to remember; to shut my eyes to.Once again, after hours and hours we have arrived in France; I’m starting to get butterflies in my stomach, why? I think it’s because I am nervous to track down this letter†¦ now I’m getting second thoughts†¦ should I still do what my heart is telling me to do? I can’t see any harm in just going to this address and finding out who it is then just sit down with a cup of tea and talk about the letter. It wouldn’t do any harm would it? My husband seems to think I shouldn’t just rock up on their doorstep but how else would I contact them.They didn’t leave a number or a name. They just left their address and details on where they live, so maybe they will eventually be expecting me†¦ Tomorrow I will do it but for today I will just settle in and share some special time with my family as I have no time to waste. The language here is so different, not many people speak English†¦ we can hardly understand a word everyone is saying. Luckily the kid’s study French as a language at their school and pick up a few things people are saying to us. The kids are loving all the different meals to the ones we eat at home.All this is just an eye opener to them. I’m glad I brought them here to enjoy some amazing places with me in my last months with them. Anyways, back to the hotel we go, to enjoy a relaxing dinner together and to head to bed to get some sleep for an adventurous day coming our way. Woke up the next morning†¦ so excited†¦ but so†¦ so nervous. My heart is still telling me to go for it. We went down and hired a car for the rest of the time we will be staying here just so we didn’t have to catch taxis everywhere and then off we went to this address written on the letter.As we were driving up their driveway I could see a very old, fragile lady raking the leaves away from the porch. Could it be her? Maybe she wrote the letter. I got out of the car and started walking towards her, then her little voice yelled out hello my dear, can I help you? . I replied to her telling her I had some questions to ask so she invited me in for a coffee even though we were complete strangers to each other. I then got straight to it and asked her about the letter. She told me she was expecting this day to come very soon but I asked why?She said, the letter in your hand was written by your grandmother, she use to live here in this house but she asked me if this day ever came if I could pass this message on to you and tell you how she is now safe up in heaven looking over every move you make†¦ in the letter the reason she apologises to you a lot is because she didn’t give you the care you needed when you were a little girl; when your mum wasn’t there to give you the help you needed†¦ I interrupted and asked her what happened to my mum.She then went on, when you were very young, your mum was killed in a car accident but you were too little to understand. You would always tell your grandmother that you didn’t need her help because your mum would be back from her holiday and be with you soon and every time she tried to help you, you pushed her away. Anyway, that is enough of that†¦ she left some family treasures here with me and asked me to pass them on to you on this very day. Take them back home with you and keep them very safe, pass them down through the family so they will always be treasured as a family token.Thank you for making the decision to come now you have a gift of the family to keep in your heart. This was such a surprise to me; I didn’t know what to say. How could I do that to my grandmother? I didn’t even give her the chance to help bring me up as a child. Oh well, I suppose I can’t take back time and change things now. Now that that’s over and done with I feel so special inside and now I can go enjoy the rest of my time with my wonderful family in such an amazing place.We enjoyed every day for the rest of our holiday as if there were no tomorrow and it was just great knowing we were together as a family. But time went so fast and it was time to go back home, you know what they all say time goes fast when you’re having fun’. We made our way back home after a very long plane trip and some car travelling, but once we got there, it felt so good to be home. We all sat at the dinner table together and Molly asked, mum, why did we go on that trip? What was it for? .I told her what was wrong with me; sweetheart mummy is really sick, I didn’t know how to tell you guys before but now I know it’s the right thing to do, any day now mummy can just not wake up, but you guys will be okay because you will have daddy here to look after you. Mummy will be up there with her mum and grandmother and the rest of our family looking over you and guiding you through your journey of growing up. I will always be in your hearts and in your minds and no matter what I will always love you! . The kids didn’t know what to say, it was such as surprise. They all got up and hugged me as we all shed some tears.I told them everything was going to be okay and that one day we would meet again! It was one of the hardest things I have had to do, it broke my heart seeing them so upset, but I know my husband will have it all under control. We all went to bed, I tucked in my kids and told them a story that I use to tell them when they were little to put them to sleep every night. Then it was my turn†¦ I put my head on my pillow. Knowing I had come home with a gift of life, and knowing that when it’s time, I will just be reunited with my mum. I laid there†¦ and shut my eyes for the very last time†¦

Chapter 2 summary of Understanding Comic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter 2 summary of Understanding Comic - Essay Example Scott made use of this instance to show one of the numerous uses of icons, or images used to characterize a person, thing, place or idea. In this chapter the writer describes that there are three different kinds of icons which are Symbols, including peace symbols, party logos, and the similar, are one type. The letters of the alphabets and mathematical operators and numeric are the second type. The third and the last type of icons are the pictures which are the images designed to actually look like their subjects. The writer looks in detail at the conception of the artistic types that are Language, realistic art and icons and symbols, and the standards behinds these forms. The writer explains that there is a big variation between realism and abstraction, and this chapter explains how the more abstract art of cartoons can often let for a improved expression of standards than to their basic form and focus on only significant details. This basic form also allows a wide categorization of their images, letting more people to willingly understand them and to see themselves in the artwork, explaining why people have such an association with cartoons particularly at a young age. The writer also looks at a number of comics and their creative merit on a degree between ‘reality, sense and the picture plain’ and how diverse position on this scale can create an range of meanings to different people. In the same way, we took a look on how different types of animations or artworks are used in a variety of customs to impact on their audience in definite ways. For example, how Disney would use big eyes and other attractive features on little Simba in the Lion King movie to appeal to the younger audience, or how Japanese manga will use colorful face alterations in an extremely abstract form to appeal to the funny side of the Japanese youths. Fundamentally, the focus of the writer in this chapter was to detail how comics use the

Analysis of an International Organization Research Paper

Analysis of an International Organization - Research Paper Example For airlines, it is necessary to have a strong team of professional enthusiastic individuals to make the business a success. Like every business in the service sector, airlines too require their workforce to be internally satisfied so that this behavior of theirs is reflected in their behavior with the customers. If one looks up ‘HR challenges faced by United Airlines’ online, every search engine gives an array of links that discuss the failing, almost embarrassing, situation of the airlines. Since its merger, it has faced a number of problems that range from operational inefficiency to lack of HR training. In the world of today, where options at hand are plenty and the organizations need to stand out through effective strategies and customer orientation, this is not a good business scenario. For every service business, the customer touch point is an essential deal maker or breaker. The moment a customer interacts with an employee representing the service organization, he gets a taste of the organizational culture and sets a service expectation standard. Customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal of such organizations. The major HR problems faced by United Airlines are as follows: -Lack of a strong organizational culture after the merger: After United Airlines made the acquisition of Continental Airlines, there was a lack of effort on the management’s side to unify the workforce so that there is a uniform sense of dedication towards the ‘United’ brand (Busmanagement.com). Even though efforts were made to gather the best talents from both the sides of the merger, the company still faces issues with bringing all its employees to term with their merger. -Lack of employee training programs: the employees are not trained to be customer oriented which reflects in their service levels. Their focus is on getting their work done and not making sure that the customers are made to feel genuinely valued and cared for. This is