English Essay Example

English Paper Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are not Enough In the article, The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough Fausto-Sterling claims that our culture is wrong to put people into categories as either male or female. Fausto-Sterling claimed that there are actually five sexes-and perhaps even more. She defines the sexes as male, female, hermaphrodites (herms), male pseudo-hermaphrodites (merms) and female pseudo-hermaphrodites (ferms). It has provided several insights that show diversity to be an element that is provided in societies but is in great contrast with the commonly accepted idea that there are indeed only two sexes that are present in the society. The diversity is shown to come from the genetic makeup of the individuals together with the environment which they live in. As the society becomes more mature and genetic make-ups produce a set of sexes, diversity comes about in for the people within it to have a greater sense of awareness. In the article, it is clearly shown that it is the society and the norms that are ass ociated with it which dictates what is normal. There are certain notions that are commonly accepted as to how one should act, live, and behave and any deviation from the rule would be considered in negative terms. To a certain extent, there is a boundary that is formed that limits who is accepted and who is not. More often than not, the characteristics that come in greater frequency or that which is considered to be the characteristics of the majority are the ones which are labeled as normal. Definitely, the article has provided several insights with regard to the five sexes that are present in the society. The coming about of these different sexes is due to the genetic makeup and the complicated reasons that are associated with the natural sciences as to how there are the so-called ferms, herms, and merms. However, there is a great role that the society plays because of the norms, values, and beliefs that they create over what is normal and what is not. There are particular sets of limitations that are provided and this makes the situation more complicated for the hermaphrodites. If I were to quiz someone on the article, my question would be: 1) What are the three categories for intersexes that Fausto-Sterling suggests and how are they defined Answer is: herms, merms, and ferms. Herms are those who possess one testis and one ovary, merms in the other hand are those who have testes and some aspects of the female genitalia but with no ovaries. Ferms are those who have ovaries and some aspects of the male genitalia but lack testes.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was created by the Treaty of Lagos in Lagos, Nigeria, on May, 28, 1975. It had its roots in earlier attempts at a West African economic community in the 1960s and was spearheaded by Yakuba Gowon of Nigeria and Gnassigbe Eyadema of Togo. The primary purpose of ECOWAS is to promote economic trade, national cooperation, and monetary union, for growth and development throughout West Africa.   A revised treaty intended to accelerate the integration of economic policy and improve political cooperation was signed on July 24, 1993. It set out the goals of a common economic market, a single currency, the creation of a West African parliament, economic and social councils, and a court of justice. The court primarily interprets and mediates disputes over ECOWAS policies and relations, but has the power to investigate alleged human rights abuses in member countries. Membership There are currently 15 member countries in the Economic Community of West African States. The founding members of ECOWAS were: Benin, Cà ´te dIvoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania (left 2002), Niger, Nigeria, Senegal,  Sierra Leone, Togo, and  Burkina Faso  (which joined as  Upper Volta).  Cape Verde  joined in 1977; Morocco requested membership in 2017, and the same year Mauritania requested to rejoin, but the details have yet to be worked out. ECOWAS member countries have three official state languages (French, English, and Portuguese), and well over a thousand existing local languages including cross-border native tongues such as Ewe, Fulfulde, Hausa, Mandingo, Wolof, Yoruba, and Ga. Structure The structure of the Economic Community has changed several times over the years.  In June 2019, ECOWAS has seven active institutions: the Authority of Heads of State and Government (which is the leading body), the ECOWAS Commission (the administrative instrument), the Community Parliament, the Community Court of Justice, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID, also known as the Fund), the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA).  .  The treaties also provide for an advisory Economic and Social Council, but ECOWAS does not list this as part of its current structure. In addition to these seven institutions, specialized agencies in ECOWAS include the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF), ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency(ECREEE), The West African Power Pool (WAPP), ECOWAS BROWN CARD, ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC),  ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre (EYSDC), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), and ECOWAS infrastructure Projects. Peacekeeping Efforts   The 1993 treaty also laid the burden of settling regional conflicts on the treaty members, and subsequent policies have established and defined the parameters of ECOWAS peacekeeping forces. The ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group (known as ECOMOG) was created as a peacekeeping force for the civil wars in Liberia (1990–1998), Sierra Leone (1991–2001), Guinea-Bissau (1998–1999), and Cote DIvoire (2002) and was disbanded at their cessation.  ECOWAS does not have a standing force; each force raised is known by the mission for which it is created.   The peacekeeping efforts undertaken by ECOWAS are just one indication of the increasingly multifaceted nature of the economic communitys efforts to promote and ensure the prosperity and development of West Africa and the well-being of its people. Revised and Expanded by Angela Thompsell Sources Ecowas agrees to admit Morocco to West African body. BBC News, 5 June 2017.Francis, David J. Peacekeeping in a Bad Neighbourhood: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Peace and Security in West Africa. African Journal on Conflict Resolution 9.3 (2009): 87–116. Goodridge, R. B. The Economic Community of West African States, in  Economic Integration of West African Nations: A Synthesis for Sustainable Development. International MBA Thesis, National Cheng Chi University, 2006.Obi, Cyril I. Economic Community of West African States on the Ground: Comparing Peacekeeping in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, and Cà ´te dIvoire. African Security 2.2–3 (2009): 119–35. Okolo, Julius Emeka. Integrative and Cooperative Regionalism: The Economic Community of West African States. International Organization 39.1 (1985): 121–53. Osadolor, Osarhieme Benson. The Evolution of Policy on Security and Defence in ECOWAS, 1978–2008. Journal of t he Historical Society of Nigeria 20 (2011): 87–103. The Economic Community of West African States, official website

The NBA Lockout Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The NBA Lockout - Essay Example A labor union uses certain tools to enforce their demands such as strikes and collective bargaining with the management, while the management uses tools such as lockouts to strengthen their position in a negotiation. There are a number of causes for a lockout. A lockout can be triggered by a strike of the labor union, for example, if the strike causes loss to the organization, the management of the organization may call a lockout in order to weaken the position of the workers and the management may continue the lockout unless the workers leave the union and agree to work with the organization or the labor union ends the strike and agrees the terms of the management. In more common cases, a lockout takes place when the labor union refuses to accept the final offer made by the management of an organization in a negotiation. In such scenarios, the management calls for a lockout in order to put pressure over the workers to accept the offer of the management. The case with the NBA lockout is quite similar to the second example presented above. The NBA owners initiated the lockout after the owners proposed significant cuts in the salaries but the union of players refused to accept the offer. The contract ended before the union and the NBA owners could reach a final settlement and the scenario resulted in a lockout. From the analysis of the historical data available regarding the NBA lockouts, it has been found that the main reason behind lockouts is the failure to negotiate the salary system of the players. In some scenarios, the management agrees to accept the demands of the union as a result of the shock effect but in case of NBA the negotiations are usually stricter as compared to other organizations. In the 1998-99 NBA lockout the owners wanted to change the salary cap system of the players and sought to cut down the overall salaries of the players. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) refused to accept the plans of the owners and demanded for incre ases in the salaries of the players. Ultimately, the negotiations reached a dead end and a consensus could not be reached by both the sides and this scenario ended in a lockout which lasted from 1 July 1998 to 20 February 1999. The 2011 NBA lockout occurred due to a reason similar to that of the 1998-99 lockout. The last negotiations between the owners and the players took place in 2005 and both sides reached a deal before the end of the last contract. The term of the contract was six years and it was due to end on 30 June 2011. In order to enter into a fresh contract, negotiations between the owners and the players started in the beginning of 2011. The argument on the owner side was a little stricter this time because the owners presented a claim that they were not gaining enough revenue and they were bearing a loss of $300 million each year. The league proposed to reduce the salaries of the players by as much as 40% and it also proposed a modification on the salary cap of teams wh ich would result in a reduction of the salaries of the players. Such strict changes were completely unacceptable by the union which did not consider these figures equitable for the players, thus the union initiated collective bargaining with the owners. The union planned to be steadfast in its bargaining to such as extent that the director of the union, Billy Hunter, advised the players to be ready for a lockout which was expected considering the strictness on both sides of the negotiation

Caribbean history Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Caribbean history - Research Paper Example Preceding the European invasion, Caribbean region was densely inhabited with millions of native people. The period starting in 1492 realized a sudden influx of explorers that caused the natives to almost face a total extermination. Following this period, only a few native Indians survived, most of who relocated to the mountains far from European control (Beckles, & Verene, 3- 6). Here they intermingled with Africans escapees and other colonial rebels. The speedy decline of native Caribbean matched with the initial importation of slaves from Africa. Trans-Atlantic slave trade played the greatest role in these relocations, as it brought close to 11 million Africans to the Americas. Out of these African slaves, over 40percent were taken to the Caribbean were they greatly shaped the region's culture and population. This work explores the gradual changes that characterized the Caribbean slave societies as they struggled to oppose their enslavement and secure their freedom. The purpose of this paragraph is to detail various modes of resistance developed in plantation societies by field, domestic, and skilled slaves as well as the evolution of maroon societies. African fight against enslavement and captives’ revolt against the slavery conditions were a common reaction. According to the enslavers, ‘slaves were notoriously lazy and ill disposed to labor’ which suggest daily resistances as ubiquitous. (Beckles, & Verene, 12)The forms of resistances depicted by the enslaved Africans included: runaways, day to day resistance, adaptation and conspiracy. ‘RUN AWAYS’ Taking off was considered a common and most frequent act of resistance displayed by the enslaved throughout the slavery era in the Caribbean. In taking off, slaves in this region peacefully opposed their enslavement. This presented a gross mistake of subordination in the eyes of the slave masters who regarded every successful escape as serious failure in security. In addition, the act of running away depicted erosion of discipline which was established to maintain control and order among the enslaved. ‘Run aways’ caused the slave owners serious inconveniencies, while on the other side carried no negative implication on stability of the slave society (Beckles, & Verene, 65). In essence, ‘run aways’ served to deny the enslavers the much needed labor and at the same time signal those who remained behind to assert their power , thought to have significant impact on economic activities. The fact that all enslaved peoples needed freedom above all other things is no secret; the only puzzle remained on the issue of how one would accomplish such a desire. Individuals who successfully ran from their captures later came together on their own to form what is commonly referred as maroon communities (Engerman, Seymour and Robert, 23). . DAY –TO- DAY RESISTANCE The purpose of this paragraph is to detail on day –to –day resista nce as a tool used by the slave societies to fight against their enslavement. While slaves taking off from their enslavers publicly showed their opposition to the status they were in, fellow slaves who choose to remain continued with other forms of resistance. These different approaches to opposition were shown throughout the slavery era on a daily basis. Most of them were hard to identify as intentional owing to their subtle nature. Many of these actions were

Middle East Fashion - Syria and Jordan Research Paper

Middle East Fashion - Syria and Jordan - Research Paper Example The essay "Middle East Fashion - Syria and Jordan" explores the fashion of Syria and Jordan. Archeological data show that the ancient Jordanians practiced tradition such living in circular house, domesticating animals, used sophisticated methods for agriculture, made pottery and worshipped ancestors. The data also show that Jordanians practiced copper smelting as evidenced by the large copper mines in Khirbet Feinan. Jordanians speak Arabic as the native language though English is the favorable means of communication among the schooled population. During ceremonial occasions, Jordanians serve tea, Arabic coffee or fruit juice, usually accompanied by sweets. The main dish of the community is Mansaf that consists of lamb meet prepared using dried yogurt, and serve alongside seasoned rice place on flat bread. Mansaf is common meal during ceremonies such as holidays, weddings, engagement, and visits by friends and family. Islam is the dominant and national religion in Jordan, meaning tha t most of the customs are Islamic in nature. Women in Jordan wear conservative clothes that limit at long dresses and hijab for covering the head and face. The traditions do allow the Jordanian women to dress in tight clothes, shorts, sleeveless blouses and short skirts. Jordan allows different types of clothing for women depending on their backgrounds. Very religious women dress in jilbab or libis shari, which are floor-length. The women also cover their heads with scarf. Another type of clothing is national costume.

Challenges to Governance and Leadership in Africa

Challenges to Governance and Leadership in Africa It is undeniable the fact that governance and its progeny, leadership, pervades every aspect of human life and existence. In nations, organizations, families and wherever human life is found, these two variables exist in one form or the other. It is also a truism, that there exists a huge governance and leadership gap in many countries in the world, especially, in Africa. The slow pace of Africa’s development is concomitant to this governance and leadership predicament. A 1989 World Bank report on the topic â€Å"SubSaharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth: A Long-Term Perspective Study† affirms this position by stating that â€Å"underlying the litany of Africa’s development problems is a crisis of governance† (p60). In a similar way, Walumba et al posited that â€Å"while African countries are richly endowed with all manner of natural resources, their economic performance since independence has been generally abysmal with a few exceptions† (426). They further argued that â€Å"ultimately a country’s economic performance is contingent on the effectiveness of its leadership† (425). These assertions, dispassionately underscores the governance and leadership predicament in Africa. Consequently, this essay seeks to discuss some of the reasons why governance and leadership still remain a big challenge in Africa, and also proffer ways to alleviate these bottlenecks, respectively. To begin with, this essay would want to point out that several reasons contribute to why governance is impoverished in Africa, especially in the Sub-Saharan region. These reasons include the wrong form of governance the continent practises as a result of colonialism, selfish leadership, weak institutions, and too much foreign interference on the continent. First and foremost, it is not a ruse that the governance and leadership challenge Africa faces is an upshot of the wrong form of governance the continent is practising or being coerced to practise. Historical evidence have shown that, many years ago, before Africa was colonised by the Europeans, Africans governed themselves through the chiefs, clan and family heads, etc and the form of government they practised was gerontocracy and monarchy. These systems of governance as practised by these pre-colonial Africans had its root in their cultural and religious beliefs. Thus, governance and religion/culture were intricately interwoven. Yet, after being colonised, the Europeans forced their form of government on the indigenous people. These forms of government, which are the different forms of democracy we see around the world nowadays, had obstructive and damaging consequences on the religio-cultural orientation of the indigenous people. However, the colonial masters turned a blind eye on these developments. Decades after Africa gained independence, these colonial forms of governance are still being practised in Africa, with much complicatedness. This is simply because, the cultural and religious underpinnings of the African orientation of what governance is, and should be is different from those of the colonial masters. As Africans, our cultural upbringing upholds, fundamentally, communalism which is expressed in our proverbs, religion, folklores, songs, and mythology. In a sharp contrast, the colonial masters’ form of governance had as its foundation, capitalism. Hence, putting the square peg in the round hole has led to the current governance and leadership challenge in Africa. African leaders are thorn between satisfying their people based on tradition and pleasing their colonial masters because of the carrot and stick model of diplomacy they (colonial masters) employ. This complexity is the basis of the governance and leadership predicament in Africa. Moreover, selfish leadership is a major setback to good governance in Africa, and the underdevelopment of the continent. Post-independent Africa has seen the rise of selfish, stomach-driven and inconsiderate leaders. Some came to power through coup d’à ©tats, amidst shedding of innocent bloods, destruction of infrastructure left for the continent by the colonial masters, and looting of the wealth of these African nations. These leaders used the power they ceased to amass as much wealth as they could for themselves, their families and cohorts at the detriment of their nation’s development. Obviously, these leaders had no expertise or knowledge about governance or effective management, hence the worsening of the socio-economic lives of their country, and countrymen. Principles of fundamental human rights were not honoured, while individual, ideological, partisan or even labour dissent were strongly stamped out. The result was regimes’ collapse either internally or externally engineered between 1963 and 1966, and which attracted international outcry against the governance style of post independence Africa- Leaders. The other set of leaders, who supposedly were elected to lead their countries, were of no significant difference from their predecessors. Most of these leaders only have as their aim, the comfort and satisfaction of themselves and their families at the disadvantage of the populace. They had no clear vision for their countries. Democratic rule, in their various countries, witnessed horrible governance style, mismanagement of resources and propagation of self-aggrandizement. Undoubtedly, the leaders Africa has had after independence, under the guise of liberating their people, have rather contributed to the free-fall/underdevelopment of their countries. This they did by their profligate spending, inept management of state resources and infrastructure, and visionless governance. Furthermore, weak institutions since independence have contributed significantly to the governance and leadership predicament in Africa. After most African countries gained independence, instead of the leadership to focus on building strong institutions, where in their absence, those institutions could work to achieve the development they sought for which reason they fought of independence, they rather built strong personalities and empire around themselves. This phenomenon has continued perpetually till now. In Africa today, there is the practise of â€Å"rule by law† not â€Å"rule of law†. This is because, people in authority (government) use their power, position and influence to tweak institutions in their favour when it comes to matters of the law. Institutions cannot hunt certain individuals in society nowadays because those people are above the law. This phenomenon which is brought about by the partisan politics we practise, have corrupted majority of the state institutions in Africa. It has made justice, accountability, transparency and fairness a fairy tale, simply untenable. Institutions in Africa are simply weak and frivolous. Adding to the non-functional institutions is a collection of skewed and corrupt civil society organizations. Instead of these civil societies to be a watchdog of the populace to strengthen state and institutional efficiency, most of them are pursuing partisan agenda. Even more, too much interference of foreign nations on the continent is worrying and highly destructive. This phenomenon is as a result of globalization. Virtually every decision and every action that most African leaders make, is contingent on the approval of their pay masters, the foreign nations. These foreign nations come into the continent in de guise of helping develop it, but with the mindset of draining the natural and human resource of the continent. They determine for us almost everything, from economic policies, to education, to religion, to who should lead the country etc. The ordinary African has a limited stake in deciding for himself and in helping build his country or continent. The Constitutions’ in most African countries rarely exists due to rule by foreign powers. The ordinary African is not consulted on any issue as power is in the hands of these overlords while our leaders only serve as errand agents to ensure compliance of their subjects.

Effect of Communication Barriers in Organization

Ladies and Gentleman’s, Today, I want to share with you about ‘Effect of Communication Barriers and how to overcome this barriers’. Good communication is very important. Without communication, there is no way to express our thoughts, ideas and feelings. Since we babies and grew up, we learnt more words and study how to communicate with different people, at different times, in different ways. Studying about communication enables us to be good communicators and brings a ways to a good effective communication. Communications have a many definition. What in important, communication needs a sender and a receiver of the message.No matter how, communication can describes as a process which begins when we have a message that want deliver to other person’s, the person’s received the message, react to it and respond our message. That response may lead us to react and give another message (Elizabeth Tierney, 1998). This message must be conveyed through some med ium to the recipient. It is essential that this message must be understood by the recipient in same terms as intended by the sender. There are three (3) types of effective’s communication that we used every day in our lives (Camp & Satterwhite 2002).First is Oral Communication. Oral Communication is the spoken interaction between two or more of people. It’s used as an instant and immediate to conveying and receiving of information. It’s also builds self-esteem for both the audience and the speaker. It includes individuals conversing with each other, be it direct or telephonic conversation. Speeches, presentations, discussions are all forms of oral communication. These recommended when the communication matter is of temporary kind. Face to face communication (meetings, lectures, conferences, interview, etc. is significant so as to build a rapport an trust. According to Camp & Satterwhite (2002), Oral Communication follow ways by Face to Face conversation, meeting , voice mail messages, tele-confering, oral presentation and lastly is public speaking. All these ways can be good communication and it’s most effective when the sender of a message has a good skill to deliver what they want to said. The second types are a Written Communication. It means a representation of a language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbol (Wikipedia).Written Communication is the way how we interpreted the feeling by some piece of paper. Written Communication can take place via letters, faxes, memos, e-mail, and reports, minute of meeting and new releases. It provides documentation and proof of the exchange of information. It helps in laying down apparent principles, policies and rules for running of an organization Last and not least, any kind of communication not involve the word, it’s called non verbal communication. This is the last types of communication that we use every day.It is communication of feelings, emotions, alti tudes, and thoughts through body movement, gestures, eye contact, etc. Non verbal can include vocal sounds that are no word such as grunt, sigh, and whimpers. Effective communication plays an important role not only in organization but is equally important in our personal life. Effective communication is important at all the levels in an organization. Effective communication goes a long way in passing the correct and the desired information to the recipient and the work is accomplished without errors in a short span on time.Effective communication also nullifies the chances of misunderstandings, conflict and errors which might crop in cases where the message is not clear. But, in the same time, there has a barriers can distract and prevent person’s from paying full attention to the message. It called as ‘Communication Barriers’. Ok, let’s see what that communication barriers, Barriers Communication is an interference or noise that might interfere when comm unication process happen. When I making the research what kind effect of communication barrier, they have lot of barrier can may distract and prevent the receiver from paying full attention to the message.Therefore, on this day, we will be discussing five (5) communication barrier and how to solve this problem. One of communication barriers is Physical interference. Physical interference is external and outside the control of both the speaker and the receiver. It affects the physical transmission of the message. Example a noise disturbances like loud music, the sound of traffic from a busy road, static coming from loud speaker system, or loud drilling from a nearby. Those kind of physical interference will affect the massage that been transferred from speaker to the listener.Let’s have a test to prove that this. Try to get 20 person sitting in the circle near to a radio and give a sentence to the first person â€Å"She swim at the sea shore and find a sea shell†. I con fident that the word after receive by the last person in the group will only â€Å"She swim.. † and the other word will be lost between the root from one person to another. This is a common thing that happened to us every day because of the surrounding and to avoid this thing happen and we have to overcome the problem first.Try to look at the issues here; the massage was not been transfer correctly because of the sound surrounding the group. At any circumstances, the message might be wrongly be delivered because of the music from the radio itself. Human bodies are connecting to each other and were link to our brain. If the ears are hearing something else other than the message that the delivered, the brain will capture something that similar to the massage or will lost in the transmitting. To solve this problem, we have to make sure that there are no interruption or and activity other than the group itself.In our life, if someone are having a discussion that involve two way c ommunication, we have to make sure that we at the place that no other thing can interrupt the conversation between the group. In a corporate organization, they will always having a meeting in a meeting room so that everyone can concentrate to the thing that they discuss and came up with a best solution or result. A second barrier of communication is a Lack of Enthusiasm, Subject Knowledge, Language and Emotion. Many of us are quick feel hopeless and turn away from a situation.This is one of the problems that lead to communication barriers. Do you really believe your organization is better than the competition’s Do you look as confident manager as you say you are? If you don’t have knowledge about your organization, it’s problem to your organization. Why I say so, this is because when you’re don’t have knowledge and experiences, it can hamper to the overall working of an organization. So, to solve this problem, we as a manager must show some enthusi asm like begin paying attention to the types of expressions we use.When everything we do with a smile, a serious or negative message will not happen. Languages play an important role in a joint communication in an organization. When we do a dealing with other country, we must have a requires skill to understand the language of their country. Example this language barrier is, when a country like Malaysia trade with Japan, the problem occurs when the communication dealing. This is because, Japan use their language as a intermediate language. So Malaysian must learn their language to communicate with them other than English to facilitate a transaction.Emotions are obstacles to any communication. If there are negative feelings that arise in the mind of a person, all communications will be interrupted. In an organization, we, as a manager should play an important role in a good relationship with all employees. We must be ready to solve problems that occur between subordinates not with a heavy heart side even with a sense of rational. On my knowledge and experiences, each organization provides performance evaluation for each employee. Every manager must needs to put forward their views on the performance of employees.Problem to this situation is, when manager used their emotion to this views on the performance of employee like dishonesty, jealousy, and other negative feelings, it will affect the progress of performance subordinate staff. These things should not happen in to organization. So, all manager here, please don’t use your emotion when evaluating the performance on your subordinates. The third problem of communication is a Semantic Barrier. Semantic barriers are the misunderstandings meaning of word and can occurs the barrier of communication. Someone can interpret the meaning with their experienced.It’s related between word, signs & phrases. It’s is the most difficulties in communication arise because the same word or symbol means diffe rent things to different individuals. Example of Semantic Barriers is like Connotation and Fluency. Connotation is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word’s or phrase’s explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation (Wikipedia). They have a two (2) distinct sense. First is a ‘What must we know in order to determine the reference of an expression’ and secondly an idea to we suggested for implemented.For all knowledge, a sentence can convey entirely different meanings depending on the emphasis on words and the tone of voice for example, the statement, â€Å"I didn't SAY you were stupid† has six different meanings, depending on which word is emphasized like ‘I didn’t say YOU were stupid’ and ‘I didn’t say you were STUPID’. Some point to all remember is when we are angry or excited, our speech tends to become more rapid and higher pitched, when we are bored or feeling down, our speech tends to slow and take on a monotone quality and when we are feeling defensive, our speech is often abrupt.Fluency is the ability to read text accurately and quickly. Most people around us do not fully master the skill to speaks and read with confident. This weakness makes one’s self look weak in any communication with co-workers and managers. Fluency is very important to all of us. Why I say it is important? These is because, it shows that someone is knowledgeable in a particular field, say with utmost confidence and this will make the people around respect for ourselves. The fourth problem is a Physiological Interference. Health problems are one of the causes of the outbreak of the communication barrier.Headache, hearing loss, blindness, lack of focus, and suffer from short term memory lost due to physiological challenges on the part of the speaker or the receiver. When this happens, the speakers or the receiver will not take note of the things that will be presented by the speaker. Conditions such as headaches, blindness, lack of memory, hearing loss occurs in every person around us. Is my own example, if we have a headache, blindness, pain throughout the body, we will automatically fully concentrate on the pain and if someone started chatting, we like to take cognizance of and did not focus on it.If someone who was hearing-impaired, it is the biggest problem faced to communicate with people around. As speakers, if we want to deliver a thing of message, we must say with a loud tone clearly so that the receiver understands the meaning that we want delivered. For the blindness eyes, this will also affect the delivery of on-screen if any speakers make presentation using power point slides. This resulted in someone's difficult to concentrate on a slide that is displayed. Therefore, health is very important in a relationship communication.We will be constantly emphasize that our personal health symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, dim eyes, aching body is not the case because when it is in our bodies, all the important things will not be able to fully focus especially if are performing their duties in place work. Last and not least, is a lack of written and spoken in English. This is the one problem that happen in all of us expecially who doesn’t know how to communicate in English. In an organization, English is the main language. Less of reading book in English also be

It is not only Hamlet who is ‘transformed’ Essay

â€Å"Something have you heard of Hamlet’s transformation† It is not only Hamlet who is ‘transformed’: the concepts of transformation and decay are at the centre of the play both for Shakespeare’s audience and for modern theatregoers. Discuss. The opening scene of Hamlet is one filled with nervousness and emotional tension. Shakespeare shows this through the language of his characters. Barnardo’s first line of â€Å"Who’s there† followed by Francisco’s reply of â€Å"Nay, answer me.† reveals to the audience the agitation of the sentinels. This unstable atmosphere continues throughout the scene and the audience find out that there is a threat from Fortinbras to attack Denmark and the old king has died. Certainty dissolves into rumour showing there is also dislocation in Denmark’s society â€Å"At least the whisper goes so† as the people are uncertain about what is going to happen. The play speaks of a â€Å"strange eruption† to the state and so it could be argued that Denmark has gone through a ‘transformation’ of political power and the state itself has changed. This is because Marcellus speaks of the ‘old’ Denmark and how â€Å"hallow’d and so gracious is that time† when the nights were â€Å"wholesome†. The ‘new’ Denmark, on the other hand, is a place where the dead are restless and the future of the country is uncertain. The theme of political instability was a significant factor for a 17th century audience who had experienced similar traumas. England had struggled to raise a navy to meet the Spanish Armada in 1588. Shakespeare’s Denmark is in a state in jeopardy- just as England was after the death of Elizabeth as the public awaited to see who would succeed the throne. Shakespeare’s first audience could see a scene of their own recent history- and an unsettling reminder of their uncertain future. Like the sentinels, an audience in the 1600s would feel uneasy and sense the dislocation of Denmark. A modern audience understands the instability in the opening scene, however, they would not necessarily be fully aware of its intenseness, as there are different attitudes towards kings and the transmission of power of one regime to the next today. Nevertheless, the opening scene has a dramatic impact on both audiences and although an audience in 1600 would relate to the ‘transformation’ of the state more than an audience in 2003, both audiences understand that â€Å"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. † The instability of the natural world affects the different audiences in different ways. The entrance of the Ghost had particular significance to Shakespeare’s audience; religion and the state were intertwined; ghosts walked the earth and their return signified unfinished business, a threat to the state or buried treasure. In this case, the ghost is seen wearing armour showing that evil must have occurred which harmed the former king: â€Å"My father’s spirit – in arms! All is not well. I doubt some foul play. † The arrival of the Ghost establishes the break between this world and the next, the natural and the supernatural. This adds to the idea of ‘transformation’ of Denmark that has gone from a place of natural stability into a state of constant turmoil where the supernatural and natural are combined. There is a greater dramatic impact on Shakespeare’s audience when the Ghost arrives because they believed in the supernatural world and therefore would understand this unstableness in the state. Modern audiences, however, would not be fully aware of how significant the arrival of the Ghost is in the play. More people today do not believe in such things as ghosts and the supernatural realm. However, modern audiences would sense that there has been a ‘transformation’ in the natural order of Denmark, the reasons for this change such as political and moral instability would affect the audience more than the supernatural aspect of the play. Moral issues in Hamlet add to the idea that the state has been ‘transformed’. Both audiences would have been shocked to discover the marriage between Claudius and Gertrude having found out that Claudius is the dead king’s brother. Shakespeare shows us disgust through the language of his characters. Hamlet’s line of: â€Å"O most wicked speed! To post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets! † has hissing sibilants that truly show the disgust of the prince and therefore the audience. Shakespeare also emphasises Hamlet’s repulsion repeatedly with vivid sexual imageries, † In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed†¦ † furthermore increasing our disgust of incest between the â€Å"Bloat King† and his queen. Some among Hamlet’s first audience would recognise this marriage as a parallel to English history. Claudius kills a king and assumes his throne. Henry VII killed King Richard III at Bosworth and founded a Tudor dynasty on a flawed pedigree. Claudius marries Gertrude his late brother’s wife as Henry VIII married his brother’s widow, Katharine of Aragon. Shakespeare’s audience knew how England had suffered because of the immoral involvement between the royals, such as incest and murder, so they could predict that Denmark will suffer because of its king as England did. By relating his play to parts of recent history, Shakespeare relies on his audience to supply the details of what is to come.

Theoretical Issues in the Horror Film Halloween essays

Theoretical Issues in the Horror Film Halloween essays In this essay, you are required to discuss any (one) of the topics covered in the module, and demonstrate how such a theoretical paradigm informs an understanding of a particular horror film of your choice, but not one already on the module or that you chose for your first essay. Obviously, this essay requires greater evidence of secondary reading, but it should not ignore some textual analysis in order to demonstrate the theoretical principles you are highlighting. There are many different issues and theories surrounding the study of the horror genre, and in order to gain a greater level of understanding of the genre one must analyse all of these different elements thoroughly. Such topics which warrant discussion are genre, and the sub-genres associated with it, its audience, issues of gender, sexuality and representation, structural and narrative approach, aesthetic values, etc. Obviously an essay discussing all of these elements in depth would be huge, so in the following essay I aim to look mainly at gender, sexuality and sexual representation in John Carpenters Halloween (1978). I will also outline briefly some of the other issues which warrant discussion, and relate them to my chosen film, looking in slightly more detail at the different sub-genres present in horror, with an aim to highlight their conventions and place 'Halloween' into one of those sub-genres. The reason that I chose 'Halloween' for analysis, quite apart from the fact that it is one of my favourite horror films, is that it is an effective choice as an example of how (especially 80's) horror films represent women. The film is also a favourite among theorists in both categorisation and conventions of the horror genre, and gender issues in film. So there is plenty of available reading and research available to me, making it an ideal choice for analysis. 'Halloween' was shot in 1978 by John Carpenter, on a relatively small budget of $130,000. It is seen by m...

A Dolls House Essays

A Dolls House Essays A Dolls House Essay A Dolls House Essay Miss Julies struggle against the societial expectations of her time can be compared to that of another female character of modern drama, namely Nora in Ibsens A Dolls House. Nora believed in her ability to realize her true self, but it relied on her escaping her home, which represents the trap of her loveless marriage. Noras own psychological struggle is also referenced to the arrangement of the set. Similar to Miss Julie, the dramatic activity throughout A Dolls House is focused entirely on the one room (with four doors) that is visible on stage. The set creates a visual correspondence that communicates the essential dramatic idea of the work: Nora is sheltered from the outside world in her fantasy doll house. Early in the play, Ibsen defines the space onstage as Noras: Is that my little lark twittering out there? 2 Helmer calls from his room in the opening lines of Act I. This simple line not only identifies the space on stage as Noras, but Helmers allusion to the lark further suggests that Noras life is much like a bird cage protected, confined within the boundaries of her home. Noras space thus defined, certain actions take on a symbolic context of meanings. We notice that Nora always keeps the doors leading to the other rooms closed, except when there is motion through them; for example, Nora is able to bolt the door shut to Helmers study, she takes the children out of the living area when Krogstad enters, so in a sense she has control as it relates to people invading her space. Her life in her dolls house is thus defined by the stage space, so when her life is interrupted, so is this space. For instance, Krogstads entrance through a door left ajar upsets her, unleashing the sequence of events that determines her departure. Ibsens stage directions read: Meanwhile there has been a knock at the hall door The door is half open and Krogstad appears. 3 Ibsen emphasizes the fact that the door through which Krogstad makes his unsolicited entrance had been left open and Noras life susceptible to intrusion, leaving her in a disquieted state of mind. Noras psychological struggle is further emphasized by Ibsen through the use of the Christmas tree, which aside from its use as a conventional indicator of the passage of time serves as a visual representation of Noras emotional turmoil. Soon after Krogstads visit, Nora tries to set aside the eminent threat to the destruction of her doll house by asking the maid to bring in the tree, and place it in the middle of the floor. She is confident that her home and her family must come first before any legal matter. The audience recognizes the tree as a powerful symbol representing family security and happiness, set defiantly in the center of the stage to dominate it, as if its mere presence is sufficient to banish Noras troubles. As Nora begins to dress the tree, she states: A candle here and flowers here -. The horrible man! Its all nonsense theres nothing wrong. The Tree shall be splendid! I will do everything I can to please you, Torvald! 4 Thus, the tree is the visual representation of Noras blind conviction that things will be fine, merely because she says so. However, the opening of Act II presents a very different atmosphere. In the opening stage directions, Ibsen indicates that The Christmas tree is in the corner by the piano, stripped of its ornaments and with burnt-down candle-ends on its disheveled branches. 5 One soon realizes that Nora finds herself in a greatly altered state of mind. At this point, she has become fully conscious of the reality of Krogstads threat, and she loses hope that she will succeed she is terrified. The family gaiety and happiness is spoiled, and she dares not play with the children. Whereas before, the Christmas tree dominated the stage, in Act II, when the curtain goes up, the tree has been stripped of its ornaments, and it has been pushed in a corner of the room a very fitting symbol of dejection. In Act III, there is an implication that the Christmas tree is no longer present, foreshadowing Noras shocking decision to leave her family. The act opens in the same scene, however there is no mention of the Christmas tree, which develops the symbolism one step further, seeing as the scandalous rezolution can be clearly foreseen at this point. Similarly, Strindberg utilizes prop pieces to expose Jeans psychological struggle; however, unlike Ibsens dynamic prop pieces, which change in appearance and position with the advancement of the plot, Strindberg uses several objects that remain static throughout the duration of the play. This technique is employed in portraying the Count, whose powerful presence and influence over the characters is represented mostly by scenographic means: the ringing bell and speaking tube that mediate his orders, as well as his riding boots. At the beginning of the play, Strindbergs stage directions read as follows: Jean enters, dressed in livery and carrying a pair of large riding boots, with spurs, which he puts down on the floor where they remain clearly visible. 6 Strindbergs insistence that the boots remain visible throughout the play is meant to symbolize the Counts omnipresence in the house as well as his supreme power over the characters. Jean, in particular is tormented by the counts invisible presence. Throughout the play, Jean expresses an avid desire to climb up from his social position. There are numerous power shifts between Jean and Miss Julie throughout the play, however, in the end, both end up in submission to the Count, who is both father and master. The superiority Jean gains in relation to Julie immediately founders when he is reminded of the Count, which causes him to acknowledge his inferior position in society. At one point, he exclaims: I only have to see his gloves lying on a chair, and I feel so small I only have to hear that bell up there, and I start like a frightened horse and now, when I see his boots standing there so high and mighty, it sends a shiver down my spine! [kicks the boots] 7 At this point, Jean has just shared his plans for starting a hotel abroad with Julie. He talks about his dreams of buying a title in Romania and becoming a Count. However, as soon as Julie makes any mention of the Count or his house, Jean becomes insecure and disquieted because he realizes that he is still just a mere servant despite his many ambitious plans for the future. Thus, although often undermined when reading a play, scenography is a vital component of dramaturgy; it unleashes a powerful vocabulary spoken by space and props, which act to convey ideas and define character in their own right. As was shown above, both Ibsen and Strindbergs careful attention to visual detail uncovers an entirely new dimension of the work, exposing many metaphoric parallels between the scenography and the psychology of the characters. The scenographic dimension of a drama is one of the key ones that enables the audience to interpret the private world of the fictional heroes the physical surroundings of the heroes functioning as objectifications of their inner world, and as such, acting as a window through which the audience can understand the internal struggle of the characters. A Dolls House Essays A Dolls House Paper A Dolls House Paper In my opinion, of the three terms given for us to define, feminism suits this play best.It applies to the play only in the sense that Nora, the female figure in the play, is oppressed.Henrik Ibsen;s A Doll;s House shows how a housewife is sent over the edge by her oppressed position.The action she takes exposes a hideous side of human nature.It takes the female character, Nora,and uses her as the doll in which the house belongs to, but she does not have any power over the house. The society at the time of A Doll;s House was driven almost exclusively by males.The man and wife had clearly defined roles.The man was the provider who worked during the day and rested at night.The wife had to run the homestead.She was responsible for the children and the house, but her influence on any major decisions was minimal. In the play Nora is thrown into dire circumstances.When her husband was sick she gathered a sum of money to help finance a recuperating trip.She decided to take the initiative of getting the funds, but her role in society permitted her from attaining the cash.She was dependent on a male to vouch for her, and instead of bothering her dying father she forged his signature.This act would definitely come back to haunt her. The whole fiasco led Nora to question her position within the household.She realizes that she is nothing more than a ;doll; for her father and her husband.Without their status she cannot act alone.Her whole life has been for other;s benefit and the only thing she can do to declare her independence and to make the rest of the world acknowledge her identity is to kill herself.That way she can overcome the oppressive male or male characters. In more recent times people have begun to become A Dolls House Essays A Dolls House Paper A Dolls House Paper Essay Topic: A Dolls House In the play ;A Doll House; by Henrik Ibsen, the author chooses two very unique characters to play Nora and Torvald.He sets them up in a marriage relationship, which is somewhat unrealistic in today;s standards of marriage.Nora plays a weak wife in a relationship where her every action is dominated by her husband, yet she plays along to keep him happy. Torvald is a wealthy man that controls his wife in everything that she does and in his mind believes that she is truthful about everything with him.These two characters provide for conflict although Nora stands for her husband;s abuse until she can;t take it anymore. Throughout the entire play, Torvald plays the role of the dominant character in his marriage to Nora.Nora is a delicate character and she puts up with Torvald for eight years.However, when she finally realizes his insensitivity, she knows she must leave him.One example of Torvald;s dominance over Nora, occurs when he forbids Nora to have any macaroons in the house, even though she really enjoyed them.Also, when they were going to the costume party he picked out her outfit in almost the same way a parent would treat a child.This demonstrates the one-sided nature of the marriage and household.Through everyday conversation, Nora and Torvald reveal that they have a relationship filled with meaningless talk and games, such as ;Is that my squirrel rummaging around?.;Whenever Torvald seeks Nora she comes to him as a puppy would go to their master; she is his puppet.Their relationship is empty even though they act like a normal couple when they are around others. When they are alone Torvald dominates everything that happens.While from the outside the household may have the appearance of being socially acceptable, the marriage of Torvald and Nora was falling apart because of the lack of identity, love, and communication.Nora is a woman that relied

A Teachers Role in the Lives of Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

A Teachers Role in the Lives of Students - Essay Example These qualities include being honest, patient, humble, understanding, affectionate and exhibiting an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. The teacher as a role model must have some â€Å"sterling qualities of head and heart, which the child gets impressed by† (Matthew, n.d.) A teacher is also a provider of experiences. Teachers spend a lot of time with their students, as such, they must be able to provide an environment which is free of fear but rather, one which is a â€Å"warm and protective environment but at the same time professional† (Csun.edu, n.d.). A teacher’s role goes beyond textbooks and the course syllabus. They help the child experience the challenges that go with education. The learning experiences that teachers impart are not confined to the ABCs or the 123s; they also teach how life is beyond the four walls of the classroom. Through the teacher, a child learns how to become a student, a classmate, a friend, a leader, a follower and a responsible citizen of the country. These experiences are provided through lectures, role-playing activities, and extra-curricular activities. Students are able to experience independence depending on the activities introduced by the teacher. Teachers guide students in facing the different chal lenges that life offers. The teacher as an interactor stimulates students towards classroom interactions. The interaction should not only be between student and teacher but also between the student and the other students. As interactors, teachers must act as facilitators so that students interact well with each other (Mwalim, 2011). Moreover, the students must be motivated to become creative and be critical thinkers. On the issue of time spent by children in front of the computer, there are several statements which a teacher may use to help a child expand, specify, problem solves and clarify.  

Strategic Management of Target Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic Management of Target - Assignment Example Target stores are usually large and cover about 95000 to 135000 square feet. They carry a variety of goods that includes hard lines, soft lines (clothing) and a few groceries. The items found in the target stores specifically includes clothing, shoes, jewelry, beauty and health products, electronics, DVDs, pet supplies, hardware supplies, beddings, sporting goods and kitchen supplies. The stores also carry seasonal merchandise, which includes Christmas decorations during the months of November and December. Depending on the location, the stores might also contain target optical, target clinic, and a portrait studio. By offering a variety of items to the customers, target stores emerge as a business that can survive in a competitive market (Bouwens and Kroos, P. 171).To survive in a competitive environment, a business should be able to assess its internal and external environment. In the internal environment, the business should be able to know its strengths and weakness. The strength s being factors within the organization that makes it compete favorably with the other competitors while weakness is factored at the organization that makes the business not to compete favorably with the other competitors. In external environment, the business should assess its threats and opportunities to be able to adjust to the market changes. This will enable the business to thrive in such environment. The target stores have a number of strengths that make them survive in the today’s competitive retail business.