Disparity and Discrimination Essay

Statistics continue to reflect issues of disparity and discrimination within the American criminal justice system. The issues that affect the enforcement of laws and government policy can result in justice for the safety of society and/or justice that will single out members of society. With the diverse population living in the United States, stereotypical judgments and attitudes can influence and possibly overwhelm the direction of the criminal justice system. The American system of criminal justice is thought to include equal rights, due process of law; in addition to fair and equitable treatment for all people – these ideas do not correlate to the information provided by law enforcement, court procedures and correctional facilities. Disparity is defined as, â€Å"The condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree† (American Heritage Dictionary, 2005). This idea whether on an individual level or communal, is something heavily affected by the difficulti es of crime. The conflict issues within members of society and the existing disparities are becoming ever more complicated by the growing immigrant and minority populations in the United States. From these disparities, the seeds of discrimination are sown. Discrimination is the act of singling out a certain individual/group for unfair treatment and has been defined as, â€Å"Treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit† (American Heritage Dictionary, 2005). Discrimination should not and cannot be tolerated in a just society, especially in its criminal justice system. There are varied causes of disparity including law enforcement emphasis on certain communities, criminal activity, policies by legislature and by criminal  justice professionals during decision making processes using broad discretion. Racial disparity in criminal justice is when â€Å"the proportion of a racial/ ethnic group within the control of the system is greater than the proportion of such groups in the general population†¦Illegitimate or unwarranted racial disparity results from the dissimilar treatment by the criminal justice system of similarly situated people based on race. In some instances this may involve ov ert racial bias, while in others it may reflect the influence of factors that are only indirectly associated with race† (The Sentencing Project, 2000, p. 1-2). The impact of racial disparity is evidenced in all levels of the criminal justice system. â€Å"Statistics show that more than one-fourth of all black males and 16 percent of Latinos can expect to spend time in prison during their lifetime, while only 4 percent of white males ever go to prison. African-Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, but they compose about half of all prison inmates and 40 percent of those sentenced to death. Even more startling, a third of all African-American males aged 20-29 are right now either locked up, on probation, or on parole† (Brown, 2006). Interpretations of the crime data can vary based on its source and these variations call into question whether the disparities come from racism within the criminal justice system or other factors. There are those that believe racial disparity results directly from discrimination and is a violation of equal justice. It is often that disparities have a collective effect; for example, biased inf luences at one stage could contribute to an increase of disparities in the following stages. One illustration given by The Sentencing Project stated that if bail practices resulted in minorities with similar situations being detained before trial in greater occurrences that whites, these minorities will also be disadvantaged during trial and sentencing due to less access to defense counsel, community resources and treatment options (The Sentencing Project, 2000. p3). Another alarming trend is the use of capitol punishment practiced in cases of black offenders v. white victims. Disparities are a simple fact of our ever shrinking world as we continue to come into contact with multiple peoples from all over, especially in the United States. While these disparities can often lead to discrimination; the reverse can also be true. Society must realize that both of these issues affect decisions resulting from conflicted notions from its members.  Within the criminal justice system discretion should be used cautiously and provide justification for such use. In many stages of the correctional process there are possibilities of discrimination due to disparities. If this situation occurs, the action would be considered biased and inconsistent with the idea of justice as it should be upheld in criminal justice proceedings. It is unfortunate that disparity is often intertwined with discrimination directed at minority groups. Additional factors that can contribute to discrimination from disparity are income level, learned skills, education and connection to society. Crime and its conviction should be based on the knowledge of what is right and wrong; not the basis that one particular group is more likely to commit that particular crime. Differences or disparities should not have to result in discrimination; however, the key lies within the education of society as a whole. References The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright  © 2005, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated 2005. Brown v. Board of Education. (2006). Retrieved on May 17, 2009 from the Landmark Cases website: http://www.landmarkcases.org/brown/home.html The Sentencing Project. (October, 2000). Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System, A Manual for Practitioners and Policymakers. Retrieved on May 17, 2009 from The Sentencing Project website: http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/rd_reducingrdmanual.pdf

Advertising Board of the Philippines Essay

The Advertising Board of the Philippines, also known as Adboard is composed of eight national organizations involved in advertising that are unified together to uphold the progress of Philippine advertising through self-regulation. Being the umbrella organization of the advertising industry, its mission is to practice world class advertising along with advocating professional ethics through responsible and truthful advertising. Adboard was formerly known as the Philippine Board of Advertising. The board was formed as a result of a series of meetings in 1973 by leaders in the advertising industry. They felt the urge to commit themselves in creating a committee to achieve their goal in serving the interests of the nation. The Board was established on May 3, 1974. ADBOARD, being the mother and umbrella association of TEN (10) member-associations such as OAAP, PANA, 4As, ASAP, UPMG, IBA, MORES, IMMAP, MSAP and CAAP, also has its own Standards of Trade Practices and Conduct representing the trade practices from various advertising sectors, with which OAAP is the only recognized outdoor advertising association. The Adboard seal is symbolic of the 5 areas of endeavor engaged in by the nine (9) associations comprising AdBoard; advertiser, advertising agency, media, advertising services sector and the consumer sector. The 5 elements are shown as adjacent circles, which symbolize unity and harmony. They appear to be in motion which depicts vitality and dynamism. The background is a deep blue field which symbolizes social consciousness and service to country. Adboard promotes truthful and informative advertising for the benefit of consumers and the public in general and upgrades the practice of advertising in order to develop public confidence in advertised products and services and in the credibility of advertising as an economic activity. It also strengthens the effectiveness of the industry’s self-regulations and enhances professional relationship and to promote greater cooperation among the various sectors of the industry. Adboard develops industry awareness and commitment to its social responsibilities, including the promotion of values and lastly, to enhance the industry’s contribution to economic progress and in nation-building.

Critical Thinking Assignment Essay

The memorandum from Salvador Monella to the Board of Directors addresses the rising costs of employee healthcare benefits at Penn-Mart. His communication includes an explanation of his purpose in addressing the healthcare costs, findings regarding Penn-Mart’s benefits costs, a recommended program to implement for cost reduction, and a discussion containing support for their recommendation. While some business people may be tempted to simply accept the information presented in Mr. Monella’s memorandum, it is my opinion, after reading Browne and Keeley’s Asking the Right Questions (2012), that adopting a critical thinking approach is the most effective way to evaluate the document. Using a critical thinking approach to evaluate this business document will help a reader to know when to accept and when to reject information they are presented. The reader knows that information that passes the critical thinking questions they ask is worth accepting. Implementing strong-sense critical thinking and using the same skills to evaluate all claims, even one’s own, prevents falling to conventionality. In the tenth edition of Asking the Right Questions (Browne & Keeley, 2012), there are ten critical questions to ask that are presented. The ten questions are: What are the issues and the conclusions?, What are the reasons?, Which words or phrases are ambiguous?, What are the value and descriptive assumptions?, Are there any fallacies in the reasoning?, How good is the evidence?, Are there rival causes?, Are the statistics deceptive?, What significant information is omitted?, What reasonable conclusions are possible? (Browne & Keeley, p. 9) After asking and evaluating each of these questions, a reader will have a solid basis on which to decide if Mr. Monella’s recommendations should be accepted. It is my opinion that his recommendations should not be accepted until more information is provided. Each of the ten critical thinking questions will be evaluated in order to demonstrate how this conclusion was reached. The first question a critical thinker must ask when reading is, â€Å"What are the issues and conclusions?† (Browne & Keely, p. 18) As a reader, it is  important to identify the issue the author is discussing and the conclusion they have drawn in order to successfully form an opinion regarding the information presented. The issue is the topic that an author is addressing, while the conclusion is the message they intend to convey to the reader. There are two types of issues- descriptive issues and prescriptive issues. A descriptive issue poses questions regarding descriptions of the past, present, or future. Prescriptive issues pose questions about actions that should be taken, what is ethical or moral, and what is good or bad; they are issues that require prescriptive answers. In the memorandum, Mr. Monella presents a descriptive issue that requires an answer to describe how the work place will be in the future. How can Penn-Mart control the cost of employee healthcare benefits? The conclusion presented is to implement a new wellness program call the â€Å"Get Well† program. The second question that must be addressed is, â€Å"What are the reasons?† (Browne & Keeley, p. 29) Reasons are the statements an author provides that support or justify their conclusion. As the book states, â€Å"you cannot determine the worth of a conclusion until you identify the reasons.† (p. 29) In order to identify the reasons supplied by an author, a critical thinker must ask why the author believes their conclusion. In the memorandum, the reasons stated support the conclusion of initiating a â€Å"Get Well† program. The memorandum states that data â€Å"indicates that individuals who voluntarily neglect their health account for the greatest impact on the growth in benefits costs.† The data includes smokers, individuals who do not exercise, and those who avoid preventative care in the group in question. The second reason given is that the program will make employees more aware of their own health status and identify issues they can improve to becom e more fit. Other reasons provided by the memorandum are that the initiative aligns with other public health initiatives, there have been other studies on obesity, the initiative will provide initiative for employees to adopt healthier lifestyles, and it will make employees feel better about themselves. After identifying the basic structure of a message, a critical thinker must ask, â€Å"What words or phrases are ambiguous?† (p. 40) An ambiguous word or phrase is one that has multiple possible meanings.  Ambiguous words or phrases in an argument create the need for clarification of the meaning before a reader can fully evaluate the argument. When reading a document such as the memorandum, it is helpful to mark ambiguous words or phrases in statements as they occur. The ambiguous terms identified in the memorandum have been italicized. â€Å"The objective of the ‘Get Well’ program is to†¦help them identify issues that they could mitigate on their own to become more fi t.† (p. 2) â€Å"The ‘Get Well’ initiative completely aligns with other current public health and fitness objectives†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 2) â€Å"There have been numerous research studies on obesity published in scholarly journals.† (p. 2) â€Å"We firmly believe that many Penn-Mart employees want to get fit and that the ‘Get Well’ initiative will provide the necessary incentives†¦ Giving a blood sample and filling out a survey form is not intrusive or burdensome – these are two things that people do routinely. Those who might oppose â€Å"Get Well† are either unfit, or they have something to hide.† (p. 2) â€Å"These recommendations have been thoroughly researched and represent state-of-the-art in our field.† (p. 2) Each of the italicized phrases can either have multiple meanings, or is not specific enough to use to determine the statement’s validity. For example, the suggested program is intended to help identify employee health â€Å"issues,† however different people may consider different things to be health issues. While one person may consider smoking to be a health issue, others may not. â€Å"Completely align[ing]† with objectives may mean that initiatives are designed by the same person, implemented for the same group of people, and intended to accomplish the same goal; however it also may mean that it has the same general objective. Each ambiguous term has the same possibility of containing various meanings. Next a critical thinker must ask the fourth critical question, â€Å"What are the value and descriptive assumptions?† Assumptions are beliefs that are generally taken for granted that support the reasoning and conclusion of an argument. Value assumptions demonstrate a preference for one value over another. Descriptive assumptions demonstrate beliefs about the world. In the memorandum both value and descriptive assumptions are demonstrated. The value assumption demonstrated is equality versus individualism. Mr. Monella states that is unfair to young, healthy people to let employees unequally use healthcare insurance resources. This demonstrates a preference for individualism over equality. The descriptive assumption in the memorandum involves beliefs about Penn-Mart’s healthcare benefits strategy and controlling the cost of the employee healthcare program. It assumes that there are no other ways to control spending, other than by implementing the Get Well program. Fifth, a critical thinker must ask, â€Å"Are there any fallacies in the reasoning?† (p. 74) Fallacies are logic tricks an author may use to lure a reader into accepting their conclusion. There are multiple fallacies in the memorandum. First, the authors claim that the â€Å"Get Well† will make Penn-Mart employees feel better about themselves, which appeals to emotions. The memorandum states that the recommendations have been thoroughly researched and represent state-of-the-art in our field, which appeals to questionable authority; the researchers and qualifications for being state of the art have not been specified. Those who might oppose â€Å"Get Well† are claimed to be either u nfit, or they have something to hide, which attacks person rather than ideas. The final statement, â€Å"to quote the famous Charles Darwin, ‘survival of the fittest’ is a natural part of evolution,† introduces a red herring. The next step in evaluating the conclusion is to ask, â€Å"How good is the evidence?† (p. 92) The memorandum cites data from underwriters that indicates individuals who voluntarily neglect their health account for the greatest impact employee healthcare benefits costs, which is the author using a case example as evidence. The underwriters believe that many Penn-Mart employees want to get fit, which generalizes the desires of a portion of the employees to the entire population. Cited published research studies on obesity appeal to authority. A research study is used as evidence with data from underwriters is cited twice. The â€Å"Get Well† program is claimed to make Penn-Mart employees feel better about themselves, generalizing from the research sample. Finally, an employee survey about satisfaction with their benefits could be a biased survey. â€Å"Are there rival causes?† (p. 128) This question helps evaluate an argument’s strength by examining any other reasonable causes for the event in question. Rival outcomes would provide different causes for the rising employee healthcare benefits costs at Penn-Mart. The memorandum states that the rise in benefits costs is driven by causes such as an aging workforce with tenure. However, other possible causes exist, such as inflation for common medical procedures such as physical examinations. The memorandum also demonstrates the  fundamental attribution error by citing individuals who â€Å"voluntarily neglect their health† (p. 1), although there may be other reasons they do not exercise, such as preexisting conditions like arthritis. While statistics may seem like impressive additions to an argument, they may also be deceptive. They frequently do not â€Å"prove what they appear to prove.† (p. 142) Knowing the unreliableness of statistics makes it important for a critical thinker to ask, are the statistics deceptive? (p. 142) Statistics stating that wages and benefits make up roughly 40 percent of Penn-Mart’s annual budget are cited, however 40% is not clearly defined or accurately identified. Also cited is data from underwriters indicating that participation in voluntary health benefits programs â€Å"peaked at 5% of total FTE’s in 2006† (p. 1), but what does 5% of total FTE amount to? The 5% is again not clearly defined or accurately identified. Equally as significant as the information included in an argument is the significant information that is omitted. Omitting significant information from an argument shapes the reasoning in favor of the author. In order to judge the quality of an argument’s reasoning, a critical thinker must ask, what significant information is omitted? (p. 153) For example, in Penn-Mart’s situation, the potential long-term negative effects of the Get Well program are omitted. Could the program have negative consequences? The suggestions state that employees who do not comply with the terms of â€Å"Get Well† should be given the possibility of paying a fine, declining future healthcare benefits, resigning, or being fired. However, the memorandum does not address what the consequences might be of the majority of employees refusing Get Well would be to Penn-Mart. If the company selects to fire those employees, they may lose many workers, causing the whole organization to suffer. The final question to ask in the critical thinking model is, what reasonable conclusions are possible? (p. 163) As a critical thinker, the objective is to determine and accept the most reasonable conclusion(s) to an argument that most closely adheres to personal value preferences. There are frequently alternative conclusions or multiple conclusions that are possible given the reasoning of an argument. For example, one conclusion to the Penn-Mart situation is that the Get Well program is the best solution to rising healthcare costs. Another conclusion may be that there is another program that may be a better fit for Penn-Mart. After asking and evaluating  all ten of the critical questions to ask, I believe that I have determined the most reasonable conclusion. To determine the best conclusion, it would be necessary to obtain clarification about the ambiguous terms before evaluating the argument’s strength. Without that information it is not possible to make a firm opinion about the strength of reasoning. Until the clarification is provided, it is my opinion that the suggestions of the consultant company should not be accepted. There are too many ambiguous terms and fallacies employed to determine that the argument is strong enough for acceptance. Resources Browne, M. N., & Keeley, S.M. (2010). Asking the right questions: A guide to critical thinking (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Trends In HR Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trends In HR Technology - Essay Example The benefits to the organization from efficiencies realized when employees change their own HRIS data and â€Å"serve themselves,† to more informed, effective decision making by managers support a transformation of HR’s role within the organization. The role will change from an essentially administrative function to a strategic business partnering function where HR personnel contribute to bottom-line results. HR self-service eliminates the non value- adding administrative tasks that can be handled automatically by the system. HR self-service are somewhat different for employees than for their managers. In all cases, however, the time, cost, and quality improvements enabled by a self-service HR adds value to the organization. Not only are HR department and HRIS administrative expenses sharply reduced, but employees and managers using a well designed self-service system spend â€Å"less time doing more† for themselves, their colleagues and the business.

FMCG COMPANIES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

FMCG COMPANIES - Essay Example The company has invited actress Katty Holmes to be its global brand ambassador in order to promote the Olay products. The actress has been actively involved in various ads and mass media ads. The fact that the company has attracted such superstar as Katie Holmes has made the campaign successful. Celebrity endorsement in case of Olay has made the brand more recognizable in the eyes of potential customers. Also, it is possible to suggests that the presence of Mrs. Holmes has helped to increase loyalty of customers and reliability towards the brand. P&G has rolled out the #BestBeautiful campaign across multiple channels including TV, print, social media, and in-store displays, where the celebrity encouraged women â€Å"to never settle in any aspects of their life, including caring for their skin† (Academic.mintel.com, 2014, n.p.). Olay is very active in social media networks. It has 1.9 million fans and 61,000 followers (Lacy, 2014). For promoting its campaign Olay actively utilizes both Facebook and Twitter in order to communicate with and engage its target audience. Botanicals face moisturizer is an organic skin moisturizer enriched with natural herbs and oils (Botanicals, 2014). The brand is positioning itself as a producer of organic and natural cosmetics and therefore its niche is quite narrow. While there is no information available regarding the Awards to the Botanicals face moisturizer, the company gets awards for its products, such as: The Green Parent Natural Beauty Awards, Free From skin care Awards, Best Organic Facial Skincare, and the Natural and Organic Awards 2010 (Botaicals.com, 2014). For promoting its products, the Botanicals focuses on promoting the quality of its products, the natural benefits, and organic ingredients used for blended by hand products. That is why the marketing promotion is limited in the company as it relies on the brand’s reputation. In order to grow its reputation, the company is

Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Essay

Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) - Essay Example This, therefore, has resulted to an open innovation concept where organizations discover that all the components of innovation do not have to originate from within the institution. However, they can increase or accelerate their efforts by obtaining the required technology from external sources. Sources, that is of the same minds with them but use a different method in producing their goods and services. Henry in his book, ‘The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology’, describes external innovation as the â€Å"act of allowing external information derived from sources such as cooperation with universities or (corporate) venture capital efforts to be part of a company’s innovation process and permeating the company`s boundaries from outside to inside† (Henry, 2006). The concept of outdoor innovation is one of many pathways shaped in the company. This is to allow new product thoughts to tour inside and outside the firm’s borders and to be bundled with exterior skills and knowledge. One of the organizations that have undergone enormous innovation due to the external thoughts is the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is an organization that improved the development of therapies and potential cures based on the stem cell science (Michael & Panetta, 2005). In November 2004, voters provided three billion dollars for the stem research. California has a massive biotech industry that spreads around San Diego and San Francisco, this pool of funds is used for innovation. The funds also helped in enhancing research and creating job at the university level and in confidential sectors. The California Institute for Regenerating Medicine created an oversight that determined how and where grants were to be made and the organization. The California institute for regenerating medicine also defined on the allocation of funds in order to meet the set mission. The org anization had to focus on innovations both internal and external by carrying out research on product development and clinical trials. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine later specially made an external evaluation of its strategy procedures and policies that they afterward implemented. The main purpose of employing an external review was to come up with ways of evaluating CIRM`s precedent performance. The review also provided a recommendation on what to be put in place for long term success. CIRM conducted a public meeting on different days with Governing Board`s heads and those who took part in the Review. This helped them to understand fully what CIRM entails, and what is needed for CIRM to achieve its goals. Towards the end of the year 2006, the CIRM published the first magazine to define its scientific strategic plan. This plan served as an outline for the procedures and programs implementations. This plan has helped the institute in its progress thus, being able to register a remarkable progress in the subsequent years. The institute has progressed much in areas of management or leadership, industry appointments, product growth and group prioritization. The institute achieves this while it continues to look after the people and science that will drive them forward CIRM’s first objective has been to support research at the uppermost level of scientific merit. These objectives have been achieved and in return, significantly improved

How does globalization affect the environment Essay

How does globalization affect the environment - Essay Example One area of human life that has experienced heavy issues due to globalization is the environment in which human beings live. Policy makers, environmentalist and other stakeholders have attacked globalization for impacting human environment in a negative manner. Body Disadvantages One of the main impacts of globalization is that globalization has led to increase in the spending ability of all individuals and have led to elevation in the consumption levels of human beings and this has impacted the ecological system in a negative manner. Increase in income level have made people demand for more goods and services and this has led to decrease in the natural resources that are offered by the environment. With the increase in demand for goods and services, there has been an increase in the transfer of natural resources from one region to another. Before globalization started spreading, people used to be dependent on their local manufacturers and service providers for goods and services. No w due to decrease in boundaries, people have started demanding for goods and services that are developed in foreign regions. To transfer goods and services, heavy amount of fuel is consumed which has led to degradation of the environment due to increase in pollution. The fuel used in transportation of goods has led to increase in the amount of fossil fuels burned to produce fuel. ... s waste is being dumped in oceans and this dumping process has ruined the underwater life and has led to increase in chemicals being deposited to oceans. For example: during the period of 2010, oil spill from the containers of British Petroleum ended up damaging the ocean in a very negative manner and this happens to be one of the several harmful effects of globalization on the environment (Cook, 2010, p.214). Increase in industrialization along with globalization has led to an increase in the amount of chemicals that are dumped into soil and due to this several plants as well as weeds have been produced. The waste that is toxic in nature and is dumped in soil has severally damaged plant life and had interfered with the natural way of growth of plants. Throughout the world heavy cut down of forests are taking place as wood obtained from forests is used in production of several goods such as furniture and paper. Due to this, carbon dioxide in the environment has increased and release of oxygen by plants has decreased. Similarly, cut down of mountainous regions have even been conducted to create new roads and for real estate purposes and this has long term negative impacts on human health. Plastic is being heavily used throughout that world for several purposes such as packaging and this plastic is not renewable in nature. Plastic is used in then discarded in form of waste which is negatively impacting the environment. Plastic bags tend to enter water lines as well as beaches and as plastic waste is burned, it result in emission of fumes that are toxic in nature and these fumes tend to impact the environment in a negative manner. According to Savedge, more than 100,000 marine animals experience death or are murdered by animals as they dump plastic bags in oceans and

Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and the reformation in England Essay

Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and the reformation in England - Essay Example natural deaths, two with beheadings of his wives for various violations of the law, including treason and adultery and two others were ended after being terminated by the king. The king’s children Elizabeth I, Edward VI and Mary I later on took turns in ruling over England. The king was handed over the throne at just 17 years. Immediately six weeks after taking the reins of power, he married Catherine of Aragon. King Henry and Catherine were able to have three daughters and three sons within the next fifteen years while in power. Unfortunately, all but one died during infancy. Mary was the only child that survived. During Mary’s childhood, Henry the VIII was actively participating in jousting, hunting and music writing and composing. King Henry additionally wrote a book commenting on Martin Luther’s proposed reforms on the church. The book received much recognition, even from Pope Leo X, branding him a â€Å"Defender of Faith† (Shrank, 2006). However, his lack of a male child, particularly because he procreated a healthy unlawful son in 1519 worried him very much. In the 16th Century, England was a land of much dissimilarity. It was not as urbanized as either Netherlands or Spain; it nonetheless controlled a flourishing transnational trade headquarters in London. In addition, Cambridge and Oxford were two Centers of learning of exceptional repute. The two institutions later on played a fundamental function in the initial campaigns against Martin Luther King. King Henry VIII kept the brightest theologians by his side, providing him with substantial arguments that allowed him to counter the growing Lutheran sacrilege. The process of Reformation in England was tightly associated with King Henry’s personal matters. His swelling fear to be released from his matrimonial duties and responsibilities to Catherine of Aragon obligated him to consider deep-seated changes that heavily contradicted the grain of his inbred religious obscurantism. In light of this, the

Nurses Irony Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nurses Irony Poem - Essay Example Now her nurse side plays its role and she starts to become more considerate towards the child and she starts waning away from her own child, these feeling are not coming in her as sympathy or empathy for the child but because of the irony that in spite of all the resources the child is so helpless, so alone, and at the same time so negligent to the world that the feeling towards him automatically arose in her and she finds herself in a very helpless situation, one side it's her mothers emotions that are playing the role and the other side her selfless and emotions that are developing for the child. Might be that's why she is a nurse or we can say she is destined to be a nurse, as she is ready to take any curse any punishment in order to occupy the position of the mother of the child and at the same time become indifferent towards her very own, she is being pulled from two directions but the thought of her own child, her very own self and the thought of any wrong is not enough for her being pulled from the selfless emotions being developed in her. This poem reflects the irony of a situation and the role of human behavior on it which in turn is not something static but is a part of slow and steady development process in which some initial years of his/her upbringing plays a pivotal role. The situation in which our character is can be utilized by anyone for his/her self benefit as the mother of child is totally ignorant towards the child and the father indifferent, but our character instead of waning away from the child has developed more affection towards him and up to the limit that she has started ignoring her very own child. So one can derivate from the above explanation that the behavior is more based on your societal interactions, and they play a very pivotal role in the

War is never justified Essay Example for Free

War is never justified Essay In this essay I shall give a review of the current war on Afghanistan and some of the theories behind it being either just or unjust war. In these time is can be difficult for people to give their honest and pure opinions on war, partly because of their countries allies, enemies and even their personal friends foes. People living in the United States of America will be influenced by their leaders getting them to go to a war against Afghanistan in which they call: War Against Terrorism. There is one problem with this and that is that you cannot wipe out all the wicked off the world as this is impossible. You may be able to stop a significant amount of it but not all of it, it is just physically impossible. I said at the beginning of this essay that I would go through some of the theories, so here they are: 1. Realism: no moral justification Realism is when the public do not get a decision to go to war, it is all up to the government to decide and work at their own interests on the war. 2. Consequentialism: Consequentialism is when a war is justified by the consequences on both sides. This prevents any possible tragedies happening. 3. Just War Theory: The Just War Theory has VERY strict conditions, in fact if a war is justified it must meet with seven conditions: 1.Just cause 2.Last Resort 3.Lawful Authority 4.Formal Declaration 5.Right Intention 6.Prospects of Success 7.Proportionality (good overall effects) 4. Pacifism: Pacifism is simply that war is never justified, this is what I believe. Now let me give you three questions that give a simple sum-up of what I have just said: 1. Is war allowed or not? Pacifism versus non-pacifism 2. If allowed, are any ethical limitations suitable? Realism versus ethics-of-war theories. 3. If moral constraints are appropriate, what should they be? Consequentialism, Just War Theory or Pacificism. Ill bet there are many more theories out there, but I have just picked these out because it gives a good range of different perspectives. I will now go through the seven conditions of the Just War Theory and apply them of the war against Afghanistan: 1.Just cause 2.Last Resort 3.Lawful Authority 4.Formal Declaration 5.Right Intention 6.Prospects of Success 7.Proportionality (good overall effects) Just Cause Just Cause means that you cannot just attack a random country for some poor reason, for example (this is imaginary): The USA attack Monte Carlo because they are jealous of a wonderfully complex and twisty racetrack they possess. This would be pathetic as the Americans have the Laguna Seca Raceway and it just seems so childish. Anyway, back to the point, this theory has to include two states, one being attacked and the other doing the attacking. The problem with this is that no state attacked America, it was an organisation. So this part of the Just Cause Test has been failed. Now for the second condition. Last Resort This condition states that if all other reasonable (in the eyes of the theory) options have been exhausted then the best option can be taken. It seems debatable that other options have not been exhausted, so another failure. Lawful Authority Formal Declaration The war must be formally declared to the public and the opposing state. Bin Laden has completely failed this test, but the USA has formally declared their war. This test has been passed with flying colours Right Intention Not only do states have to have a just cause, they must let the public know about it, not just some hidden intention like the imaginary example I gave earlier. If we look at American foreign policy since World War II it shows that the policy has been inconsistent throughout. Through their disobedience of justice we can positively say that the same has happened here, so this test is almost undoubtedly failed. Prospects of Success If there are no signs stating that this war will be won, then it will be a disastrous waste of life. The current War against Terrorism covers such a colossal span it is evident that the named battle will never be won. Another test failed. Proportionality (good overall effects) No war is justified unless the good effects gained by the war are better than the evil it inflicts. The war is causing starvation (including death of it), many casualties, and death because of protests. According to the just war theory two out of the seven conditions have been passed, so in this theory the war should not be continued. Realist View Nothing better will be gained for the Americans, so from this view the war should not have been started either. Utilitarian view The verdict is doubtful for utilitarianism, too. Whether the war has better consequences than any alternative approach depends not just on the last point of the Just War Theory, which itself makes it very doubtful that the war can be justified. Also, utilitarianism requires not just that the results of war be on balance but on the war being the alternative with the best results, which is even more doubtful. Completely failed. Consequentialism According to Consequentialists the key question is: Will the final strategy minimise the bad-effects compared to all the other options? You must consider that all lives are equal. So, if all lives count equally, then a military strategy that kills many more civilians for the sake of a smaller reduction in military casualties on one side cannot be justified on consequentialist justifications. But this is precisely the reason why the US and its allies have used massive air strikes in what they say is the first phase of the war. It seems likely that this strategy does not minimise the bad effects compared to all alternatives and so any consequentialist justification is doubtful. Summing up I believe that there is no such thing as a just war and countries should stop, tidy up and talk, it would save a lot of lives and be a lot more logical, even if it means translating!

The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer Abstract This paper aims at exploring the charm of the adventures of Tom Sawyer. It includes two parts: they are the charm of the plot arrangement and the charm of the words. It analyzes childrens characteristics in the novel. Besides, it indicates the charm of the twists and turns in the novel. Finally, this paper analyzes the charm of the words of the adventures of Tom Sawyer. Readers can understand the novel better through the above analyses. Key Words: charm, Tom Sawyer, adventures 1. Introduction Over the past decades, there have been many different kinds of novels come out. In addition, these new kinds of novels attract a lot of readers. However, it does not mean that people have to ignore or give up the old famous works. On the contrary, these famous works are unique; people should cherish the treasure which was left by those famous writers. People can know and learn much information from these works. For example, Mark Twains the adventures of Tom Sawyer. It was published in 1876; it focuses on Toms personal growth. The novel follows the development of Tom from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. It also resembles novels of the picaresque genre, in that Tom moves from one adventures to another. The adventures of Tom Sawyer fits the style of satire, folk narrative, and comedy. This novel is worthy to read. This paper analyzes the charm of the adventures of Tom Sawyer. It includes two parts: they are the charm of the plot arrangement and the charm of the words. The author intends to analyze this novel in different ways, to let more people understand and like this amazing novel. 2. Literature Review In these years, the adventures of Tom Sawyer is a popular topic for experts to conduct their studies. Different aspects relevant to the adventures of Tom Sawyer have been come out. This section provides a brief survey of some researches on the adventures of Tom Sawyer. Li Li ping, from Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, she indicated, Though this novel tells about the life of childrens adventures, it is romantic and legendary; in the meanwhile, it is a very serious novel.(2008). Cao Shan ke, from Sun Yat-Sen University, he pointed out that the adventures of Tom Sawyer sustains its vitality to keep attracting readers from one generation to another, that is determined by its own literature charm. Mark Twain used variety kinds of writing skills to make this novel stretch over ages and keep pace with history,. In addition, he can let readers produce new realization and thinking about the heroes in the novel. (2003). Jiiang Li na, from Gan su Union University, she indicated, Tom make the experience of adventures and irony theme, both were dispersive, join together. Mar Twain uncovered the social hypocrisy and sati red the ugly people and phenomenon by the humorous and irony way. A sense of humor and irony is one of the most attractive features in this novel.(2009). There are many researches of the adventures of Tom Sawyer, but some aspects are the same, it will be difficult for readers to understand this novel in different angles. 3. The charm of the plot arrangement 3.1The charm of childrens characteristic 3.11 Childrens curiosity Curiosity is childrens common characteristic. Curiosity makes them interest in everything. Children want to explore the world; they want to know something new. In other words, curiosity is motivation; it can push children to do something. That is why Mark Twain endowed Tom Sawyer curious and venturesome characteristics. In chapter 2 of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, one Saturday morning, Tom was punished by Aunt Polly; he had to whitewash the fence. That was impossible for Tom, who was a boy could not stop hanging out. So, he had to find out a way to solve this problem. And, he saw Jim, who was the only guy was interested at his sore tore. Normally, who wants to look at a sore toe, who cares others sore toe. That was incredible. However, children were different form adults, they were curious about anything that they had not seen yet. As a result of curiosity, Jim helped Tom whitewash the fence just for the sore toe. Unluckily, Aunt Polly found that, Tom had to do it by himself again. Clever Tom always had methods, the key was -childrens curiosity. He did something to catch childrens attention. Tom went on whitewashing paid no attention to the steamboat. No answer. Tom surveyed his last touch with the eye of an artist What do you call work? Tom pretended to enjoy whitewash. Besides, he succeeded to stimulate others curiosity. Children wanted to try that mysterious task, and they were willing to exchange their toys to the whitewashing. In addition, Tom became a winner because of the childrens curiosity. And in the latter chapters, Tom persuaded his friends, Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn to slip away to Jacksons Island. They agreed to do that because they had never experienced that before. Their curiosity pushed them to do that. In fact, in our daily life, curiosity has become an important part of childrens motivation to do anything. Curiosity seems a catalyst for the children; it can provoke children to finish tasks spontaneously. 3.12 Childrens naughtiness Naughtiness is childrens inborn nature. Children like playing, and playing is the essential task for them. So, in the novel, boys were so naughty that they made a lot of fun or troubles. In chapter 1, Tom had already showed his naughtiness to the readers. Though Aunt Polly had made some measures (sewed shirt collar, white thread) to prevent Tom swimming, clever Tom could still avoid those measures to go to swim. He could nearly succeed, but Sid let him down. Why did Tom make himself at risky? He knew Aunt Polly would check him whether swim or not. Because of naughtiness, which was childrens characteristic, it pushed Tom to take adventure. Naughtiness not just showed in chapter 1, in chapter 21, boys expressed their naughtiness onto the headmaster. He seemed to take a vindictive pleasure in punishing the least shortcomings, so the smaller boys spent their days in terror and suffering and their nights in plotting revenge. That just liked a circle, the kids became naughtier, and the hea dmaster punished them more. Consequently, the boys planed to make a big project-a cat. She grabbed his wig with her desperate claws, clung to it, and was snatched up into the garret in an instant with her trophy still in her possession! And how the light did blaze abroad from the masters bald pate for the sign-painters boy had gilded it! How naughty they were! They dared to play a joke on the headmaster. The boys were not evil, but just naughty. They did that just for fun, the biggest motivation. Actually, in the daily life, children like tricks, too. When parents tell them not to do that, they may not listen to their parents obediently. Because they are naughty, they do not want to a good boy or good girl. Or, they can catch others attention when they are naughty. People can accept childrens naughtiness because that is childrens nature. 3.13 Childrens innocence Childrens innocence is also another childrens common trait. Children do not like adults; they seem to be a piece of white paper, there is no stain on it. They are pure, they have not entered the society yet, instead, they live in a sterile world-a simple children circle. If they want to get one thing, they will just go for it, always directly, without other thinking. In the novel, though we can see many chapters show us childrens naughtiness, childrens innocence also was set. In chapter 6, Tom lay thinking. Presently it occurred to him that he wished he was sick; then he could stay home from school. Children are children; they often have this thinking-skipping class. Not for what, just do not like having class or for going out to have fun, this is a simple motivation. However, it seemed well worth while to chance it, so he fell to groaning with considerable spirit. When children want to skip class, they always want to find out a reasonable excuse. And the most frequently used and eff ective one is being ill. Many people have used this excuse when they were kids. But sometimes, it does not work, because parents know their children well. In the novel, Aunt Polly also found out Tom was pretending ill. Finally, Tom gave in. He said: Oh, please, auntie, dont pull it out. It dont hurt any more. I wish I may never stir if it does. Please dont, auntie. I dont want to stay home from school. Tom is typical, he is a portrait of children. He is clever, but he cannot hide his innocence. Adults can easily figure out these childish tricks. Overall, children are children, they will never solve problem with deep consideration as adults. They will just use their naÃÆ' ¯ve, simple way to deal with problems. That is also the big difference between children and adults. The charm of childrens wish to become adult Many children do not agree that they are still children, they do not want to stay in a little childrens world. They want to grow up as soon as possible. They suppose they are adults, they are mature enough to handle anything. Sometimes, they even hate others treat them as children. They want fair treatment (they think being treated like children is unfair). They often image that one day morning, they have become a adult when they wake up, and then they go to work not go to school. That is childrens desire-to be adults. 3.21 A wish to be a pirate In the novel, Mark Twain also set children with this wish. In chapter 8, he would be a soldier, and return after long years, all war-worn and illustrious. Boys not only like being heroes, but also cheers and big hand. However, being a child could not help to develop into a hero, Tom wanted to change this situation, so he would like to be a soldier that means he had the chance to become an adult and hero. And away in the future come back a great chief, bristling with feathers, hideous with paint, and prance into Sunday- School, some drowsy summer morning, with a blood- curdling war-whoop, and sear the eyeballs of all his companions with unappeasable envy. Many children may think that when they return home with wealth and power, their families and friends will proud of them. Therefore, the first step is, being an adult and going out. Then they can make their dream come true and do whatever they want to do. Thats one of the reasons why children hope to adults. 3.22 Study to smoke Children might be drawn to smoking for any number of reasons to look cool, act older, seem tough, feel more confident and independent. The most important is, they think that smoking makes them appear in the eyes of others more mature. They also believe that they will more easily be accepted or respected by their peers if they smoke. They want to shape their own identities by smoking among teenagers. They would like to break through the circle of being a good child, instead, they would prefer to be heroes. Children often image that they will grow up when they wake up next day. Then, they can go outside to make their dreams come true. At last, they will come back to hometown with wealth and power, their families and friends will be proud of them. In chapter 16, when Tom and his friends, Joe and Huck took adventure at an island, they studied to smoke that made them willing to stay at the island. Tom said, I wish the boys could see us now. Smoking became an approach to show off. They wa nted to let their peers to know that they were different among them. They were superior. They were not kids any more. How cool they were! And Ill say, Oh, thats all right, if its STRONG enough. And then youll out with the pipes, and well light up just as cam, and then just see em look! à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Though Tom and his friends seemed to be naÃÆ' ¯ve, childish, it could not cover the truth they really wanted others to know that they could smoke, that means they had grown up. They could appear as adults. Children wanted to be more grown up because they thought that there would be fewer rules to follow. What needed to do was raise their status among other peers. They could be their examples and leaders. Tom, Joe and Huck studied to smoke not for the excitement of tobacco, but for the wish to become adults. They wanted to show they were not kids any more. (Even they were). The charm of twists and turns The adventures of Tom Sawyer can keep its own vitality from one generation to another because of its own literature charm. In the meanwhile, it attracts more and more readers. Mark Twain made this novel popular among these years. Even periods are different; The adventures of Tom Sawyer can let readers come about their own realization and thoughts about the characters in the novel. Twists and turns is one of the charms of novel, this kind of writing technique makes the novel more attractive. Mark Twain set lots of suspense, tortuous plots and terrifying description in the novel. All of these increased a kind of mysterious tension to make readers can not help to finish the novel. 3.21 Tragedy in the graveyard In chapter 9, Tom sneaked out of bed and went to the graveyard with Huck at night. They hid in the trees to wait for devils. After a while, three figures went into the grave. Tom and Huck thought they were the devils. They were delighted and horrified In fact, these three devils were three adults from the town. In addition, the boys were surprised to recognize the young Dr. Robinson accompanied by two local outcasts, the drunken Muff Potter and Injun Joe. Dr. Robinson ordered two men to dig up a corpse. After finishing the job, a fight ensued because of the extra payment. In the scuffle, Dr. Robinson knocked Potter unconscious with a stone. Moreover, Injun Joe killed Dr. Robinson with Potters knife. Tom and Huck witnessed the murder happened. This murder produced suspense, because the real murderer, Injun Joe told Potter that he killed Dr. Robinson. In addition, Potter believed that. From an adventure to a murder, this children fiction became a mystery story. It made the boys more ma ture in one night. It was difficult to accept the bloody killing process. The murder setting was astonishing for readers, too. In the previous chapters, they were just about childrens tricks, childrens adventures, which were simple, funny and interesting. However, in this chapter, the children innocent style was swerved to detective logically one. Actually, the author had set some tips to suggest that something different would happen. The ticking of the clock, Old beams, the stairs, chirping of a cricket, the howl of a far-off dog, a most melancholy caterwauling etc, showed the atmosphere was strange. These descriptions were so particular that made readers feel like the boys in the novel. These hints drew people into a creepy night to go for adventures with Tom. The boys were shocked by the murder and grew up psychologically in one night. In the meanwhile, readers suddenly realized that it was not only for children, but also for adults. 3.23 The salvation of Muff Potter After witnessing the murder, Tom and Hucks immediate reflection was to flee, both physically and psychologically. They ran from the scene of crime back into the world of children. They were shocked. When Injun Joe blamed Muff Potter for the crime, the boys did not tell the truth because of a blood oath and fear. Tom and Huck felt guilty. Nevertheless, they could still go back to the normal life. Forming pirate crew, learning to smoke, tricking the headmaster and so on, Mark Twain let the funny and relaxing style come back again. Readers can loosen their nerve temporarily from the previous tense atmosphere. Mark Twain could control this situation perfectly (loose-tight-loose). He could catch readers attention and give space for them to take a break or have a thought. Therefore, in chapter 23, a sharp turn came again. Readers sights were focus on the crime once more. In this chapter, Muff Potters trail approached, Tom and Huck agonized about whether they should reveal what they had kno wn. They feared Injun Joe would kill them if they speak out the truth. Huck, they couldnt anybody get you tell, could they? Get me tell? Why, if I wanted that half-breed devil to drownd me they could get me to tellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I reckon were safe as long as we keep mum. But lets swear again, anyway. Its more surer.' Children are children; they do not know what to do if they find something wrong. When readers read these words, they may worry about whether the boys would tell the truth or not. How Muff Potter would be sentenced? Whether Injun Joe would be charged? A series of question are raised. Fortunately, Potters lawyer called Tom as a witness for the defense. And Tom told the truth finally. At this moment, readers can take a break. However, at the same moment, the real murderer, Injun Joe escaped. Then, what would happen? Suspense was set again, which made readers worry once more. 3.24 The discovery of real robbers After Injun Joes escape, the town back to normal. Tom and Huck decided to hunt for the treasure. They discussed possible places to dig out treasure. They imaged what they would do if they find treasure. They dug a number of places around the tree but found nothing. At the midnight, the boys came back, found nothing again. Finally, they hesitantly agreed to go to the haunted house, a deserted building nearby. That appeared to be another adventure along the lines of the boys trip of Jacksons Island. It was only when Injun Joe appeared at the house that twists and turns showed again. Readers realized that narrative was no longer skipping from adventure to adventure but instead driving toward an ending. Tom and Huck found one of the two robbers was Injun Joe. At first, they were frightened that Injun Joe would make reprisals. However, when boys found the robbers wanted to hide gold coins at the house. They With gloating eyes they watched every movement. Luck!the splendor of it was beyond all imagination! Six hundred dollars was money enough to make half a dozen boys rich! Before the large sum of money (though they not yet had it), fear could be forgotten temporarily, that was kids thought. Nevertheless, they became desperate because robbers changed the hiding place. By this point of the novel, Mark Twain tight readers nervous again. Twain let the key chapter, Injun Joe show up to prepare finishing the novel. At this point, readers also have a deep thought. What is the ending? Happy or sad? Would Injun Joe take revenge ¼Ã… ¸ A series of query showed Mark Twain succeeded in setting this suspense. Actually, the discovery of real robbers was the hint to foreshadow the ending of the novel. But Mark Twain caught every chances to catch readers eyes, he liked twists and turns, so do the readers. This plot also showed Toms development of maturity and the effects that it had on his interactions with his friends and family. Twists and turns worked again. The charm of words Childrens tone Literature is the art of words. The words of childrens novel should be suitable for children. Childrens novel seems a game, which is played on paper. This game should be interesting and active because its readers are children, and their parents are selectors. This game is also full of childrens humor, direction, curiosity, simplicity and variety. Children can understand the lines without difficult logical reasoning. The adventures of Tom Sawyer is exactly this type of novel. Mark Twain passed the relaxing atmosphere to the readers by the words of Tom and other boys. The tone of the novel is children style; it can express its meaning and convey the characters characteristics by the words. In addition, most of the words of the novel were said by children. And the children in the novel were not good or well educated. In the daily conversations, they often used non-standard oral English, even dialect and slang. Their words were different from the standard language in St. Petersburg; they were thought to be vulgar, dirty and low-down. Mark Twain believed that bad boys should use bad language, they were perfectly matched. In chapter 1, Tom was very angry because Sid told Aunt Polly that he skipped class to swim. He scolded Sid: Siddy, Ill lick you for that. Besides, a boy was a new comer. Tom did not like the boy only because the boy was well dressed. Tom provoked: I can lick you! Id like to see you try it. Well, I can do it. No you cant, either. Yes I can. No you cant. I can.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ A naÃÆ' ¯ve and pure image was presented by Toms sharp and violent words. These words fit in with childrens speaking habit. That will be humorous and funny for the reader, no matter the reader is a kid or an adult. Exquisite description Another feature of this novel is exquisite description. Through the exquisite description, readers can understand the boys in the novel better. Mark Twain was good at description. In chapter 2, the most interesting plot is Toms whitewashing. In a beautiful Saturday morning, Tom was punished to whitewash the fence. For exchanging with his freedom, he took out his treasure-He got out his worldly wealth and examined-bits of toys, marbles and trash. He wanted to use these treasure to tempt other kids to help him whitewash. Afterwards, Tom had a better idea. He pretended the job-whitewashing was not work, it was an Art creation-Tom surveyed his last touch with the eye of an artist. Toms enjoyment of whitewashing caught kids attention as expected. And they were willing to exchange with their treasure for this art creating. Tom pretended to accept the deal reluctantly. Actually, he was happy to exchange. Moreover, he continued to plan another step. planned the slaughter of more innocents. H ow clever Tom was! He knew the boys way of thinking. As if the price of something is higher, people will believe the quality may higher than the cheaper one too. So, Tom knew if he wanted other kids to help, he must let them know how funny the job was and he liked the job. That is kid. If you wanted kids cherish what they got, you should let them get it more difficult. Mark Twains exquisite description not only shows us that the novel is funny but also his understand of childrens thinking. Through these exquisite descriptions, readers can entirely get into the novel, to know, to enjoy the world of children. A sense of humor and irony Humor and Irony is an indirect way to express authors thought. In the novel, Mark Twain satirized social vices, ugly phenomenon and people at that time by humor and irony. The most attractive characteristic of the novel is humor and irony, Mark Twain was always good at using it. In chapter 5, Mark Twain showed us an interesting scene that was people went to church to pray. When talking about the mayor, the author used these words the mayor and his wife-for they had a mayor there, among other unnecessaries, unnecessaries tells the readers that the mayor was a small potato, his position existed in name only. Then, after the minister sung the hymn which was thought beautiful, and the ladies would lift up their hands and let them fall helplessly in their lap, and walltheir eyes, and shake their headsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ On one hand, helplessly and wall expressed peoples appreciation to the minister. On the other hand, people were absent-minded. When the minister droned through an argument, ma ny a head by and by began to nod , they nod not because they agree or understand the argument, but because they dozed off. And another scene was interesting too. That was the first time when Tom met a girl who was a new comer; he fell in love with her immediately. Actually, A certain Amy Lawrence vanished out of his heart and left not even a memory of herself behind. He had thought he loved her to distraction; he had regarded his passion as adoration; and behold it was only a poor little evanescent partiality. Tom was fickle in love; he could love someone easily, and forget her more easily. How bad he was! Mark Twain did not mean to express Toms badness; he just wanted to show Toms naughtiness, smartness and loveliness through these humor and irony words. 5.Conclusion All in all, this paper tells the readers that the charm of the adventures of Tom Sawyer. It includes two parts: they are the charm of the plot arrangement and the charm of the words. From this paper, readers can know more information about the novel. It analyzes childrens characteristics in the novel, they are curiosity, naughtiness and innocence; it explains why the children in the novel did something like that. Besides, it indicates the charm of the twists and turns in the novel, Mark Twain was good at setting suspense to attract readers. Finally, this paper analyzes the charm of the words of the adventures of Tom Sawyer. Readers can understand the novel better through the analyses about the tone, description and writing style of the novel.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS INDUS TOWERS LIMITED

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS INDUS TOWERS LIMITED Strategic  leadership  basically means using strategy in the  management  of workers. The main strategy usually employed in a strategic style of  leadership  is to motivate workers to take the initiative to improve their productive input into the company. Strategy involves thinking and planning.  Leadership  inspires others to take the appropriate action. Strategic  leadership  is a management  model that trains and encourages employees to best prepare the company for the future.Strategic leaders are always looking ahead and analyzing the present in terms of preparation for what may be ahead for the business. Awareness is a big part of a strategic  leadership  style, but it must be followed up with well thought out action. Strategic leaders are adaptable and growth-oriented. They take responsibility for getting things done by training employees to think and act more effectively to achieve the best result possible for the company. 1.2. The Impact of Management and Leadership Styles on Strategic Decisions Company Background Aircel group is a mobile phone service provider in india. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM Cellular phone coverage throughout India. Aircel is a joint venture between Maxis Communication of Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd of India. UTSB has a 74% stake in Aircel and the remaining 26% is with Apollo Hospitals. It is Indias Seventh largest GSM mobile service provider with a subscriber base of over 51.83 million, as of January 31, 2011. It has a market share of 6.72% among the GSM operators in the country. As on date, Aircel is present in all 23 telecom circles. Aircel placed an actual dinghy lifeboat to a downtown billboard. A rope with a sign reading, In case of emergency, cut rope, held up the branded raft. July 15, 2009 the monsoon arrived with flooded streets and so did Aircel customer service. The dinghy was cut down and pedestrians were safely transported. What Aircel calls Corporate Social Responsibility A Solution. The company was able to generate positive p ublicity and show consumers that they care. Aircel is famous for innovative Pocket Internet cards for Free GPRS service for 1day/3days/7days/30days. Aircel become first to introduce Online service to subscribe and manage Dialer tunes. It is first in country to introduce SMS bank/Phone Book/Reminder/Talking SMS. In the past several decades, management experts have undergone a revolution in how they define leadership and what their attitudes are toward it. They have gone from a very classical autocratic approach to a very creative, participative approach. Somewhere along the line, it was determined that not everything old was bad and not everything new was good. Rather, different styles were needed for different situations and each leader needed to know when to exhibit a particular approach. 1.3.Leadership Styles Can Be Adopted For Different Situations A leadership style survey is a innovative thinking of starting about leadership. using leadership style in organization is a different way from leadership competencies of explaining leadership. Leadership style is the essential quality in the organization, implementing plans, innovative thinking, initiative, motivating the team members Three of the most basic leadership styles are: Autocratic Laissez-faire Democratic Autocratic: This is something one peson decision, the leader tells the employees what to do and what not to do, the employees dont have any option they have to follow their leader instructions. The employees dont have the liberal freedom by thinking of innovative or they cant take any initiatives in the work or growth for the organization. This style can be followed only if the employees have all the sources in the hand, because its something the leader orders to the employees and they follow them, so if every information is available to the employees they can finish the work with in the time frame of the limit. Actually this type of style should not be used as it is a emergency case. If we need initiatives and commitment from our employees we have to motivate our employees, so we have to follow the participative style. In this autocratic style we have a gap leaders and employees this leads to improper communication and understanding. Laissez Faire: In this style the leader gives the full liberty to the employees to take there own decision. But its not something final what the employee does, the employee has every rights to take the decision, However leader is responsible for whatever the decision is been made, The decision can be made where the employee should know about the in and out of the process and analyse the situation how the decision can be made, we cant make the blind decision, we can set the target to complete the task. This is not a style we can blame the employees if things went wrong, its something we are trusting employees and having confidence of the people who work below us. We should not afraid of using this style, we can use it wisely, by following this style employees will gain confidence and they can grow as an future leader. Democratic: This is the current style used in the organization, this style leader and employee merge together and comes to the final decision. Because certain things can be assessed only by the employees and not by the leader. The work done by the employees cannot be predicted how to handle this issue in the hectic situation. So the leader has no other go to contact the employees for final decision. Its not something the employees can take the final decision, it should be authorized by the leader, then it may get in to final decision. This style shows the good understanding between the employees and the leader. The employee recruited are highly skilled. Using this style will benefit the organization as well as it creates the good relation with the leader and employees. 2.1.The Selected theories of management and leadership have on organizational strategy: Under the autocratic leadership style in the organisation, The leader has the power of centralized decision making in the organisation. This is common to the directive style from organizational situational leadership Autocratic managers do not entertain any idea or initiatives from coworkers. The autocratic management is helpful to the managers because it gives a recognition to the team and organisation as well as it motivates the manager. It helps in quick decision making, as he is the only to decide for the whole team and the manager keeps decision to himself until he feels that is necessary to be shared to the coworkers. The autocrat tells others what not to do and what to do but not necessarily why it might be an appropriate model for the organisation where the team has low experience and skills or It has to be used in the effective way in the organisation with modern work forces. Participative or democratic style The democratic leadership style advantage decision making by the group as shown, such as first leader will set up the meeting with the group and he asks for the suggestions then he will give instructions to the group members. This style is more helpful for the managers so that the group member will be cooperative to the managers, and they may be motivated effectively and positively by the managers. The decision of the democratic leader is not unilateral as with the autocrat, because generally they used to discuss with group members and they will get a final idea with the group, and finally the manager will go for suggestion and ideas so that all the group members will participate by them. Democratic is not something is put to the vote it is the manager involves in to the participation of the group of members and make decision consulting with the group member and he has every right to take the own decision and cascade the final decision to the team members. If some one could not follo w or discuss with the team members then it may be a weak leadership. Free rein style or Laissez-faire A free-rein leader does not lead, leaves the group freely entirely on its own as shown; such as leader allows maximum liberal freedom to the group members, i.e they have given a liberal freedom and suggestions in choosing their own policies and procedure methods. 2.2.Leadership Stretegy Supports organizational direction: Its to remember the alternative situations for alternative leadership styles in the organisation. In the emergency time we have only little time only and where as in designated authority has more experience in the organisation or the rest of the whole team if they follow the autocratic leadership that would be more effective. In the case of highly motivated and designated team with a knowledge level of expertise, a more democratic or laissez faire style may be much more effective. When I complete the strategic leadership style survey I should remember that the leadership style has adopted and that would be the most effective and achieves the objective of the whole while balancing the interest of members of individuals. Also this leadership style survey is provided the answer but its not something we got the right answers, but I have the opportunities to ask the right knowledge questions in a right time about the leadership style at present and in the future cases. 3.1. Appropriate Method to review current leadership requirements: Jun Liu Business School, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China Xiaoyu Liu School of Labor Relations Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China Abstract Leadership research has gone through several phases of development in the past 80 years or so. The paper identifies the major theories in each phase, and investigates the strengths and weaknesses of the research. Among those theories, transformational/charismatic leadership and leader-member exchange (LMX) are heavily discussed. The paper also discusses the future trend of research in leadership areas. Keywords: Review, Transformational Leadership, LMX Leadership can be defined as a process that an individual influences a group of individuals to implement strategies and achieve the collective goals (Yukl, 2002). Research in the area seeks to find out what types of leaders are likely to be successful and what factors determine leadership effectiveness. Generally, leadership research has gone though four paradigms: trait approach, behavioral approach, situational approach, and the contemporary theories of leadership. The paradigms of leadership theories shift with the progress from static to dynamic view of leadership with the trait and behavioral theories reflecting a personal, the situational theories an interpersonal, and the contemporary theories a relational approach to conceptualizing leadership. That is to say leadership has been examined as intrapersonal competencies, interpersonal processes, and relational dynamics. More specifically, I review those approaches, their strengths and weaknesses as followed: The trait approach The trait theories assumed that leaders were born, not made. In the literature, Stogdill (1948, 1974) completed two comprehensive reviews by synthesizing more than 200 studies of the trait approach. His two surveys identified a group 3.2.plan for the development of future situations requiring leadership -poor management performance -low   employee morale -unstable   organization structure -unsustainable business practices -high   employee turnover -unable to   manage diversity -Poor   Measured organizational performance improvement -Decreased quality of management -Poor   Healthy organizational climate- -Lower   morale -Increased   labor   turnover -Lack Organizational and personal growth -Poor teamwork -Lack   of   Retention strategies-talent leaving   the organization. -chronic industrial relations problems   -no means of resolving employee grievances   -increasing   employee turnover   -inter-group conflicts   -dissatisfaction with pay and conditions   -unclear job roles   -no clear performance measures   -poor recruitment standards / practices   -no management development programs   -no induction training for new employees   -critical skill shortages   -inter-departmental conflict   -lack   of   sufficient skills / power bases in the organization. -lack   of   appropriate leadership skills within the organization?   -lack   organization structure flexibilty   in the face of changing demands. staff have no clear roles and responsibilities?   -lack   of   procedures and management practices to facilitate the accomplishment of tasks. -lack   of   Ã‚  staff   potential spotting   Ã‚  and development   Ã‚  for the future. -lack   of   staff encouragement   to perform well through the giving of recognition, feedback, etc. -staff   do no   know what their expected performance standards are.   -organizations systems   do not encourage effective performance among your staff. -systems are   not   consistent across the organization. -there are   no clear rewards for effective performance within the   work group.   4.1. Developing leadership skills for a specific requirements Leadership has been described as the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.   Alan Keith of Genentech states that, Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. According to Ken SKC Ogbonnia, effective leadership is the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals. The above characteristics of being leaders; they are controlling and directing day to day business, they support the staff, they work as chefs and waiters and they try to achieve the best profit they can. 4.2. Useful methods to plan the developing of leadership skills Basic Skills in: Solving the problem and Making the decision Strategic Planning Delegation of work Internal Communications with the team Meeting Management with the mentor Managing Yourself with in the organisation

Physics of Skydiving :: physics skydiving

The Forces at Work Gravity ... God OBVIOUSLY intended for us to skydive. After all He DID create gravity! So exactly what forces are acting on the skydiver? Well, of course there's the obvious one, the force of gravity of the Earth. This force is exerted on everything on the Earth and is exerted on the skydiver even though there is no direct contact between the skydiver and the Earth. This type of force, when two objects exert forces on one another even though they are not touching, is known as a noncontact force. According to Newton's second law, the acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object; or Fnet =ma The gravitational force that the Earth exerts on the skydiver is equal to the weight of the object on Earth. The acceleration of the gravitational force is the acceleration due to gravity (g), which is the acceleration of an object under the sole influence of gravity. Thus, the weight of an object is a product of its mass and acceleration due to gravity or W=mg The acceleration due to gravity (g) near the Earth's surface is a constant that was determined to be 9.80 m/s. So, the weight of an object depends on how much mass an object has. The mass of an object is a quantitative measure of inertia, where inertia is the natural tendency of an object to stay at rest or in motion at a constant speed along a straight line. Air Resistance Another force acting on the parachutist is air resistance. Air resistance is the colliding of an object with molecules of air. The falling skydiver collides with air molecules during the downward fall. These air molecules create a force pushing upward which is opposite to the skydiver's direction, as well as the force of gravity. Air Resistance is more complicated force than the force of gravity because it is a nonconservative force. A nonconservative force is one in which the work it does on an object moving in between two points depends on the path of the motion between the two points. The amount of air resistance encountered by the skydiver depends mainly on two factors: 1: The speed of the skydiver. 2: The cross-sectional area of the skydiver. An increase in the speed and/or the amount of cross-sectional area leads to an increase in the amount of air resistance encountered.

An Analysis of Guests of the Nation :: Poetry Frank OConnor

The basic situation of the short story "Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor is a story of friendship and war between two opposing sides, the Irish and British during war time. The two Englishmen, Belcher and Hawkins whom are prisoners of war and the Irishmen who are holding them captured engage in frequent card games, joke telling and arguing altogether while the war seems worlds away. The conflict with in the short story is an internal conflict. The Irishmen are forced to forget about all humanity when dealing with the enemy during combat. This was extremely hard for the guards because all but Donovan had befriended the prisoners. It was stated that if any Irish prisoner was killed by the English, then Hawkins and Belcher would be executed. This was hard for both the guards and the prisoners because although they knew that Hawkins and Belcher would have nothing to do with executions elsewhere, they would be the target of punishment. As enemies, not by choice, the Irish must enforce this because they are on the lower chain of command. So in a way they are absolved from their feelings of guilt because they "have a duty to do so." I believe the crisis occurs when Donovan shot Hawkins. The crisis is the turning point of the action in the plot of the story. At this point, they all "stood very still watching him settle out in the last agony." The first shot did not work so the narrator, Bonaparte was to shoot him again. After this, Belcher began to laugh for the first time throughout the entire story and then began to talk excessively. I view this as the falling action immediately following the climax. It was as if he could not contain his emotions of what he had just witnessed. Theme plays a very important part in this short story. Theme is the idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character and action. The great example of theme that is evident throughout the entire short story is the duty to perform certain acts. We can see here that the Irishman Donovan is very big on obeying his duty to carry out orders that have been authorized to him.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

I think the most predominant subject that comes to mind involving the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U. S. Constitution centers around â€Å"same-sex marriages. † The argument in this issue centers around whether a gay couple who gets married in Massachusetts would/should be recognized as legally married in any other state they move to. I am sure the framers of the Constitution could never have imagined that some 200+ years later, that the original intent of Article IV Section 1 of the Constitution, the â€Å"Full Faith and Credit Clause,† could possibly undergo the scrutiny it has had to endure in recent years. The word â€Å"marriage† means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word â€Å"spouse† refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. The Constitution specifically delineates that no State shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of any other State, or any right or claim arising from such relationship. If â€Å"same-sex marriages† have become legally acceptable in some states, then those couples should enjoy those benefits in the states in which they are considered to be legal. States are granted the right to determine those laws that have effect on their own citizens, and, should a gay married couple wish to reside in a state where same-sex marriages are not legal by law in that state, then they must accept the law in that state as binding on them. Any state that chooses to not recognize same-sex marriages within their own constitution certainly has that right under the Full Faith and Credit Clause. Until at such time someone finds a way to challenge the constitutionality of the Clause, gay couples will have to resign themselves being able to practice their chosen lifestyle, but without the benefits of such union in states where it is deemed illegal. In further support of this issue, I believe that the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) (1996) is unconstitutional on its face. DOMA violates principles of equal protection and due process. A strong case can also be made that DOMA abuses the Full Faith and Credit Clause and contravenes fundamental principles of federalism. Since there are relatively similar laws enacted in all 50 states, with only small differences between most of them, I see no reason that the Full Faith and Credit Clause should be held applicable to the issue of same-sex marriages. I find it difficult to imagine how the Court could find excluding same-sex couples from the definition of marriage unconstitutional without creating a constitutional requirement that same-sex couples be allowed to marry. Therefore, I believe that the Constitution guarantees each and every one of us the right to choose to marry the one we love. The fact that they are of the same sex should not deprive those individuals of the same rights and privileges of other citizens merely because it violates some individuals morals or beliefs. Since the Constitution itself does not actually delineate the definition of marriage, I believe that all attempts that deprive gay people certain rights not otherwise deprived of other individuals violates the spirit of the Constitution, and abuses the Full Faith and Credit Clause therein.

Stigma Obesity

Laura Mealer 4/11/12 Essay #9 Stigma: Obesity The fat stigma is becoming a global problem according to an article in the New York Times by Tara Parker-Pope. â€Å"Dr. Brewis and her colleagues recently completed a multicountry study intended to give a snapshot of the international zeitgeist about weight and body image,†(NY times). ‘The findings were troubling, suggesting that negative perceptions about people who are overweight may soon become the cultural norm in some countries, including places where plumper, larger bodies traditionally have been viewed as attractive,’ according to a new report in the journal Current Anthropology.Dr. Lear, who is studying rising childhood obesity in that country and in Canada, agrees the potential for stigmatization exists. †We know in developed countries that obese people are less successful, less likely to get married, less likely to get promoted,† he said. The researchers elicited answers of true or false to state ments with varying degrees of fat stigmatization. The fat-stigma test included statements like, †People are overweight because they are lazy† and †Some people are fated to be obese,†(NY Times).Using mostly in-person interviews, supplemented with questions posed over the Internet, they tested attitudes among 700 people in 10 countries, territories and cities, including American Samoa, Tanzania, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Argentina, New Zealand, Iceland, two sites in Arizona and London. Dr. Brewis said she fully expected high levels of fat stigma to show up in the †Anglosphere† countries, including the United States, England and New Zealand, as well as in body-conscious Argentina. But what she did not expect was how strongly people in the rest of the testing sites expressed negative attitudes about weight.The results, Dr. Brewis said, suggest a surprisingly rapid †globalization of fat stigma. † But what appears to have changed is the level of criticism and blame leveled at people who are overweight. One reason may be that public health campaigns branding obesity as a disease are sometimes perceived as being critical of individuals rather than the environmental and social factors that lead to weight gain. †A public health focus on ‘You can change,' or ‘This is your fault,' can be very counterproductive,† he said. †Stigma is serious. ‘ â€Å"Key ideas in the global model of obesity include the notions that obesity is a disease and that fat reflects personal and social failing. In all our samples, some fat stigma is evident, and the global model suggests that the cultural shared idea that fat or obesity is a basis for judging the social and personal qualities of the individual. However, and critically, the shared cultural model also suggests the culturally correct perspective that expressing those judgments too obviously or forcefully is not acceptable. (JSTOR) â€Å"In summar y, these analyses suggest that norms about fat-as-bad and fat-as-unhealthy are spreading globally and that cultural diversity in conceptions of ideal or acceptable body size appears to be on the decline. Certainly, negative and especially discrediting ideas about fat/obesity are now seemingly much more widespread than a thorough reading of the available ethnographies would suggest. This process of cultural change appears to be happening very quickly, likely representing homogenization in beliefs in this domain just within the last decade or two.This leans us toward the age-old anthropological challenge of better understanding what drives the cultural diffusion of new ideas and feeds their gaining salience. Our findings hint that newer forms of educational media, including global public health campaigns, may be driving this trend. Whatever their source, it is important to understand the dynamics of fat-stigmatizing cultural models because of their potential influence on both physical and social well-being of individuals in a wide range of socioecological contexts. †(JSTOR)

“Reading Blind” by Margaret Atwood Essay

1. In her commentary â€Å"Reading Blind,† Margaret Atwood gives her opinions on factors that make a short story good. She writes that a good story has to have a voice that moves not only across pages but also through time. Most people are first introduced to stories at a young age by the â€Å"scandalous gossips† and â€Å"family secrets† that children overhear their mothers discussing in the kitchen, or the oral tales with â€Å"talking donkeys† and â€Å"definite endings† that their grandmother recites to them. All these stories come by voice; and they influence the way each and every person expects from or brings to stories. According to Atwood, a good story has, in many ways, qualities that are similar to those that children want in the tales they are told or overhear. For a story to be successful, it needs to have elements of mystery, proper buildup, unexpected twists, and an â€Å"impeccable sense of timing.† It also has to effectively hold the attention of the readers, and gives them a sense of urgency and excitement in the narration. Toni Cade Bambara’s short story â€Å"The Lesson† is one that effectively embodies the voice that Margaret Atwood mentions in her essay. This short story is told through the voice of the main character—a girl from the ghetto named Sylvia. Sylvia’s narration of the events in this story is as raw and as true to life as any fiction can be. In â€Å"Reading Blind,† Atwood quotes from Raymond Chandler: â€Å"All language begins with speech, and the speech of common men at that.† The voice in â€Å"The Lesson† precisely portraits the speech of a black girl living in the poor urban area with sentences that lack auxiliary or conjugations, and by doing so, reveals the reality like it truly is. In order to closely picture the setting in her story, Bambara has sacrificed the proper and boring ways of the English language and stay faithful to the speech and voices of the people whose stories she depicts. Only with this unmasked honesty can Bambara create a short story that is so appealing and speaks powerfully to the readers. Intentionally or not, Bambara’s story â€Å"The Lesson† closely observes Margaret Atwood’s qualities of a good story; and therefore, it is one that captures the attention of the readers and maintains their interest until the end. 2. In her essay â€Å"Writing Short Stories,† Flannery O’Connor stresses the importance of meaning in a short story. It is, she writes, what â€Å"keeps a short story from being short.† She goes on further to explain that the meaning drawn from a story are from experiences, and by making statements about the meaning, a person can experience it even more deeply. She uses her own â€Å"Good Country People† to demonstrate this point. The plot of this story, a bible salesman stealing the wooden leg of a faithless lady who tries to seduce him, can simply be nothing more than a â€Å"low joke. † However, as the meaning of the wooden leg is explored, and the act of stealing the leg is looked into further, it is revealed that this story deals with much deeper issues. In O’Connor’s opinion, no formula, technique, or theory can really provide guidance for a story. In order to learn to write a story, a person must first write one, then â€Å"try to discover what [he has] done.† She also discusses the two qualities of fiction: the sense of mystery and the sense of manners. She stresses that manners collected from the surrounding environments can provide insights into a work of fiction, and also the importance in the depth of personality in the characters. In Eudora Welty’s short story â€Å"Why I Live at the P.O.,† the author explores the problems buried deep beneath the surface sibling rivalry of a Southern family. Both Sister—the overlooked older daughter—and Stella-Rondo—the beloved younger one—has troubled stories that prevent them from committing themselves to a â€Å"peaceful† family life. A shallow reader might summarize the plot of the story in one sentence: â€Å"A woman is angry at the return of her sister—Stella—when her family turns from her to embrace Stella and her child—Shirley T.; and after a while she leaves home and leaves at the Post Office,† making it an unsophisticated and even somewhat comical drama. However, as the readers ponders more about the meanings lying deep under each character’s actions: their argument about the nature of Shirley T.’s adoption, the competition for attention of the elderly in the family, and most important of all, the act of breaking away of Sister. When the readers have got past that initial stage of merely comprehending the story, they can start unraveling its hidden meaning and draw their own conclusion and make their own statements about these meanings. â€Å"Why I Live at the P.O.† is also a story that draws plentifully from the Southern culture of Mississippi from which the author is from. Welty utilizes her knowledge of the people and environment around her to create characters that are realistic while at the same time mystifying, and thus achieves success in her craft. 3. In his essay â€Å"Looking for Raymond Carver,† A. O. Scott makes a statement saying that â€Å"More often than not, the big talkers in Carverâ€⠄¢s stories are in possession of a degree of class privilege†¦ People who carry on as if they know what they are talking about are regarded with suspicion. Carver’s greatest sympathy is reserved for those characters who struggle to use language to make sense of things, but who founder in the attempt.† By studying Carver’s two short stories â€Å"Cathedral† and â€Å"What We Talk about When We Talk about Love,† the readers will soon come to the conclusion that this statement is very true indeed. The very first line of â€Å"What We Talk about When We Talk about Love† reads: â€Å"My friend Mel McGinnis was talking. Mel McGinnis is a cardiologist, and sometimes that gives him the right.† It is made clear that Mel is one of the people of the first group, the ones who talk and flaunt their ability to talk in front of other people. Being a cardiologist might have given Mel a position superior to his friends’, but that fact still does not justify the fact that he talks on. His wife—Terri—does not seem as enthusiastic to discuss the matter of love as he did, however. In the w hole conversation, the only idea she is insistent about is the fact that Ed—her ex-lover—loves her. The dialogues in this story are dominated by Mel, who constantly denies this information. For Mel—a character that â€Å"carries on as if he knows what he is talking about,† Carver’s approach for him has not been generous. He describes them with a filter that exposes the flaws and imperfection in their personalities. Mel has a medical degree, and also a past in the seminary. He is certain that the extent of his knowledge gives him the authority to talk; and he utilizes that power with no reluctance. He has a set of ideology of what love should be, and expects that only things that closely follow his criteria can be called love. He deems the actions of Terri’s ex- husband as not only violent and threatening, which they are, but also not love, which they can be. His prejudice on life and love makes him appear less reliable to the readers than the other characters, and therefore, he is viewed with â€Å"suspicion.† The narrator in â€Å"Cathedral,â₠¬  on the other hand, falls into the second category of characters. Even from the beginning of the story, he has always had little to say. He struggles to make a connection in communication with the blind friend of his wife, but does so unsuccessfully and with a lot of troubles. The barrier between him and the blind man is formed not only by their inability to reach each other, but also because of the superior position he has put himself above his wife’s friend. Throughout the whole story, the readers witness his efforts to be relevant to the guest and his wife as well; but he fails to do so. His attempts to communicate with the other characters fall flat, because he is too caught up in his own world. He does not want a person from the outside to come in and interrupt the life he is living, much less a man who knows his wife all too well. He is reluctant and uncertain of this visit and the effects it will have on his life; and that is what causes him in the attempt to make sense of things. The empathy that Carver reserves for the narrator in â€Å"Cathedral† can be seen throughout the whole story. Even with his cynical but ignorant outlook in life, the narrator still possesses some qualities that are admirable to the readers. This character is a man who has the typical characteristics of an alpha-male. He is protective of his wife, and becomes jealous of another man who has gotten close to her. His inability to connect with Robert—the blind man—ultimately boils down to the competition for his wife’s compassion, and even though his thinking is flawed, his desire to keep his wife evokes empathy in the readers. Any person would have felt the same jealousy towards another one who can potentially take what are theirs, and the narrator’s failure to communicate with the friend of his wife, no matter how pathetic, is understood by a universal audience and Raymond Carver himself. The narrator in â€Å"Cathedral† and Mel in â€Å"What We Talk about When We Talk about Love† are two types of characters created by Raymond Carver. Mel is a man who can talk a lot about many things, particularly love; he comes across as a man who is judgmental and closed-minded. The other one, the narrator, while having his own struggles with jealousy and compassion, portraits a more universal and understandable kind of person, and therefore reserves more empathy from the readers and the author himself. By studying these two characters, it can be concluded that A. O. Scott’s observation that â€Å"the big talkers are in possession of a degree of class privilege†¦ People who carry on as if they know what they are talking about are regarded with suspicion. Carver’s greatest empathy is reserved for those characters who struggle to use language to make sense of things, but who founder in the attempt† is a true and accurate statement. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. â€Å"Reading Blind.† The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. 1408-11. Bambara, Toni Cade. â€Å"The Lesson.† The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. 71-6. Carver, Raymond. â€Å"Cathedral.† The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. 168-78. Carver, Raymond. â€Å"What We Talk about When We Talk about Love.† The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. 187-95. O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"Writing Short Stories.† The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. 1619-24. Scott, A. O. â€Å"Looking for Raymond Carver.† The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. 1595-9. Welty, Eudora. â€Å"Why I Live at the P.O.† The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. 1317-26.