Saturday, August 31, 2019

Erving Goffman And His Legacy To The Modern Sociology Essay

Human beings are stage performers and human life is centered on performing our culturally defined fronts (Goffman, Erving, 1959 p. 22). Initially found himself working with the National Film Board in Ottawa from1943 to 1944, young Goffman discovered his special interest in sociology (Manning, Philip 1992, p. 53). Erving was the son of a shopkeeper named Max and Anna, a plain housewife. Erving’s parents are Jewish nationals but were driven by fate to Canada in 1897 when the Ukrainians were forced to evacuate to run away from the violence of the First World War. Born on June 11, 1922 in Manville, Alberta, Erving has the natural inclination for natural sciences, which was probably enhanced, or shall we say suggested by his decision to attend St. John Technical High School in Dauphin. Raised from a poor family of Ukrainian immigrants, his family can only afford to send him to the University of Manitoba to pursue an undergraduate degree in Chemistry. Although his biography did not expressly revealed relevant information, this writer speculates that his earnings with his temporary work in the National Film Board could have been one of his tickets which gave him an access to the University of Toronto to pursue his now increasing interests and sociology and anthropology. After graduating in 1945, Goffman went to graduate school at the University of Chicago where he, according to Manning, had taken â€Å"numerous courses† (Manning, Philip 1992, p. 99). Nonetheless, he has completed his graduate studies in 1949. His frustration with the results of his quantitative analysis of his mater’s thesis could have been one of the reasons, if there be anything else, for Erving to use employ qualitative analysis and reasoning for his works. According to Manning’s narration, Goffman â€Å"failed† to use the quantitative analysis method called Thematic Apperception Test (G. Smith, 1999 in Manning, Philip). Erving’s thesis was then about quantitatively analyzing the responses of the middle class women in Chicago over the famous radio soap opera entitled, â€Å"Big Sister†. Goffman immediately pursued his doctorate studies at the University of Chicago wherein he studied the life in the Island of Unst, a small community also known as â€Å"Dixon† (P. Manning). He focused his dissertation on the social interaction of the people in the small island where he stayed from 1949 to 1951. Instead of returning to Chicago, Goffman flew to Parish and returned to Chicago to get married. There are writers’ observations that say that Goffman gained his initial prominence in the community not as sociologist but as poor boy who radically transformed into a wealthy individual. As Manning noted, â€Å"Through both education and marriage, he was now part of an intellectual and economic elite. † This writer finds it important to look into the background of Goffman’s wife, Angelica Choate because this woman may have also played an important role in Goffman’s transformation to elite life. Choate was from elite American family who has connections with media companies. Choate was just 23 when she get married with Goffman whom she met at the University of Chicago. The two just got one child, Tom who was born in 1953. Meanwhile, Goffman completed his doctorate studies at the University of Chicago in 1949 and 1953 in sociology and social anthropology respectively (Blackwood, Diane B. 1997). Like all other theorists, sociologists or scientists, Goffman was never an exemption to criticisms. I would say that he has equally gained appreciation and criticisms for every work he had accomplished. There is one thing that one critique has noted of Goffman: he never named any of his theories, which is unusual in the field (Schweingruber 1994). One observer of Goffman also stressed that Erving was one kind of writer who never cites his influences (Miller, Dan E. ). This then suggests that Goffman really would want to be noticed or recognized as an original writer and of course a sociologist who developed his own and original theories. Goffman’s famous book entitled â€Å"Asylums† which was published in 1961 might have been conceived when he worked at the Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital at the time Goffman and his family moved to Washington D. C.  Three years after working with sociological studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Goffman then secured work at the University of California in Berkeley on January 1958 (D. Blackwood, 1997). After another three years, Goffman’s credentials might have been recognized by the academy and was then promoted as a full professor at the said University. It is also safe to assume that his book Asylums had helped him get the said position after it was published a year before his promotion. In just a decade, that is from 1959-1969, Goffman’s academic achievements were already worth noting in the history of sociology after publishing seven remarkable books (Burns, Thomas 1992, p. 81). If we are to look into the other side of Goffman’s life, we will see that he was not at all focused on writing books and like other intellectuals, the sociologist also had other leisure activities that he probably had loved as much as he loved his career. Historical data revealed that Goffman was also in loved with antiques and had been addicted to playing blackjack and poker. What is interesting in these revelations is that these addictions did not at all paint a bad color on his reputation as sociologist. In fact, these had opened the opportunity for Goffman to enter and analyze the world of the gamblers. Performing regularly as a blackjack dealer at the Station Plaza Casio in Las Vegas, Erving, later promoted as a Pit Boss, it turned out that he had seriously considered to do an ethnographic work and completed a research project on the social life of gamblers. It was just sad to know that none of his works relative to this area was published. It was not all however well and good for Goffman. Behind his success in his career, he had experienced a tragic end of his wife’s life when the latter killed herself in 1964. It was after this event that Goffman’s tragic life behind his success was revealed especially his pains in taking care of his mentally-ill wife. All of his pains, frustrations and bitterness on the death of his beloved wife have been reflected in his book entitled â€Å"The Insanity of Place† which was published five years after the death of his wife. At the time he was probably recovering from losing his wife, Goffman spent time working at the Harvard Center for International Affairs with Thomas Schelling from 1966. Two years after, he had to resign from the University of Berkeley as a professor. In 1968 he was appointed as the Benjamin Franklin Chair in Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Because his appointment was opposed by the faculty of the sociology department of the said institution, he was transferred to the office of the Anthropological Museum where he enjoyed working. While working at the Museum, Erving had productive time as evidenced by several, and well-noted books were published in his name. In 1969, he published Strategic Interaction with his other two papers in game theory, Relations in Public in 1971, Frame Analysis in 1974, Gender Advertisements in 1979 and Forms of Talk in 1981. After having his daughter Alice with his new wife Gillian Sankoff whom he married in 1981, Erving died of stomach cancer on November 20, 1982. At age 60, Goffman could have written and published more books should he not had cancer. In fact he was just been elected as the President of the American Sociological Association on the year of his death. He was not able to deliver his presidential address which he prepared for several weeks. Nonetheless, his draft was read at the annual meeting of the said organization which he had entitled â€Å"The Interaction Order. † One of the most controversial works of Goffman was his â€Å"Gender Advertisements† where most critics regarded it as a picture gallery and a magazine rather than a book. With about 500 advertising and news photographs, I would have to personally agree with them. For others however, it is unique and distinctive sociological work that â€Å"represents a rare and exemplary instance of an empirical study which treats photographic materials as data, worthy of analysis in their own right, and not merely a handy illustrative resource intended only to vivify the serious business of analysis accomplished by the written text† (Ball & Smith, 1992). Gender Advertisements is actually album-sized book, with 56 of its 84 pages contains sets of photographs arranged in a way that they are supposed to be read if it they are in magazines and where each set has a commentary. First published in the United Kingdom, Gender Advertisements gained wide controversy with its cover â€Å"featuring two female models posed in a manner contrived to be alluring to the male gaze† (V. Gornick, 1979, p. 18). Other critics regarded it as an example of â€Å"the use of women as sex-objects to promote the sale and Goffman made use of some useful hints in this study of the advertiser’s trade† (P. Hunt, 1980, p. 443). Despite this, I regarded the book, although it did not look like based on its size and bulk picture contents, as something worth an objective analysis of what it had to say about human life. Gender Advertisements had in its own right established its purpose of revealing the realities of advertising trade and that those exploited pictures show evidences of gender role stereotyping. What could have been the reasons for its gained controversy are the interests of those in the advertising trade in using such as a communicative process. One of the bad realities in the world is that once you got something done that touches the interests, or ego of the others, you will surely have to face and endure the pains of skepticism because what it more painful is to hear the truth. For Goffman, â€Å"the differential treatment of males and females is often justified by folk beliefs which presume some essential biological differences between the sexes† (Gornick, p. 55). He however stressed that biology has nothing to do or at least cannot explain nor determine social practices. He sees biological and natural consequences relative to the differences between male and female as mere excuses for honoring and producing such differences. In his book â€Å"Behavior in Public Places† published in 1963, Goffman established the three types of co-presence namely: gathering, situation and social occasion. Goffman regarded â€Å"gathering† as the coming together of two or more persons while â€Å"situation† happens when there the mutual monitoring of the persons involved. On the other hand, a â€Å"social occasion† takes place when there is the presence of the props or special equipment and is bounded by time and space. From here, we can already see how Goffman’ background in theatre arts had influenced his work and they way he sees human existence. Meanwhile, the significance of such types of co-presence identified by Goffman is that they each present a â€Å"pattern of communication traffic order† which he termed as â€Å"situational properties† (Goffman, Erving 1963, p. 24). In all these situations, Goffman saw the necessity of interaction, either as â€Å"focused on unfocused† wherein people read each other through body idiom and perceived involvement (Goffman, p. 14). He also recognized the presence of the dominant and subordinate groups involved in such interactions and the attention one draws against the other. These are actually simple observations of the daily routine of people yet these simple interactions are realities of life that only few like Goffman paid attention to. Moreover these simple observations are realities from which we can base our analysis of more complex situations. In short, Goffman has done the simple and the basic for us to have a building block to understand the more complicated ones. Probably a product of his working experience with Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital, Asylum was one of Goffman’s still controversial works. It was regarded as â€Å"highly unusual: it provides very little detailed information about the hospital; rather it conveys a ‘tone of life’ (Fine and Martin 1990, p. 93). This book featured the â€Å"moral career of the mental patient† because it contained an analysis of his life as a pre-patient, an in-patient and his being an ex-patient† (Ibid, p. 89). According to Goffman, a mental patient’s life begins with the â€Å"betrayal funnel† wherein the family and the people he is most closed with conspire against him by questioning his actions. These people then decide to have the patient to be housed in the mental institution where everything in their daily lives will be regulated and any violation of such rules will be punished. Those whom the psychiatrists have seen good behavior will be transferred to the ward system indicating an improvement. Goffman’s observation that mental institutions are â€Å"forcing houses† for changing people can be justifiable based on the mentioned processes. They are actually being forced to changes because primarily they are subject to rules and regulations of the institution thereby losing their innate freedom to decide for themselves. However, I would argue that these people are subjected to such rules and with their state of mind, they cannot obviously decide for themselves, or if they can, it would not likely be good for them. The book was controversial because Goffman attacked the procedures psychiatrists undergo in treating the mental patients that such procedures are considered by Goffman as a mere â€Å"misunderstanding† of the patients’ behaviors which psychiatrists regarded as evidences of mental illness (Manning, Philip 1992, p. 183). The same concepts and theories lay in his book Stigma which was published in 1963. Stigma, according to Goffman is a ‘deeply discrediting’ attribute in the context of a set of relationships (Goffman, 1963 p. 3). In this book, he has identified three types of stigma as abominations of the body, blemishes of character and tribal stigma (ibid, p. 4). In his analysis, stigmatized persons try to make use of techniques in controlling information. What is bad about it is that these techniques are discrediting and undisclosed and therefore can cause damage to the person. Such damaging information, according to Goffman is â€Å"critical for three aspects of our identity: the ‘personal’, the ‘social’ and the ‘ego’ (ibid, p. 57). Goffman defined â€Å"personal identity as those attributes that make us unique with that of the others while our social identity is what others understand about us, identified by the characteristics of the group by which we belong. On the other hand, our ego identity refers to what we think about ourselves (Ibid, p. 69). In the Presentation of Self in Everyday Life published in 1959, Goffman’s theatre arts engagement is more evident wherein he lay out six general themes of human beings’ face-to-face interaction. The central themes in the book are: the performance, the team, the region, discrepant roles, communication out of character and the impression management (Barnhart, Adam, 1994). In this book, Goffman considered human beings as â€Å"performers enacting rehearsed lines and roles in places that are carefully constructed in order to maximize the potential for deception† (Blackwood, Diane B. 997). Goffman’s ten year effort of writing Frame Analysis is worth the sweat as it was considered his crowning achievement when published in 1974 (Manning, Philip 1992, p. 121). In this book, Erving plotted human experiences into frames wherein an organizational experience could have been a joke, a lesson, an invitation or a warning. Goffman also emphasized that in human experience, actions which he called frames can be misleading since not all what people sees as for example a fight can only in fact a joke, or vice versa. In short, there are actions that can only be considered as fabrications. The same theme as with the Frame Analysis, Goffman published another book entitled â€Å"Forms of Talk† in 1981. It has five essays that convey only one theme: the footing of talk which is portrayed or displayed by the person during his course of conversation with others. In Frame Analysis, Goffman has integrated the concepts of individual and social behavior while analyzing the interaction of both. As one writer saw this work as something that has a direct correlation with Perceptual Control Theory because of the presence of concepts of â€Å"acts† although Goffman considered them as â€Å"guided doings† (Miller, Dan E. ). Miller stressed that Goffman wanted to emphasize the fact that the actions of a person are guided by their expected or desired results of such actions. â€Å"A serial management of consequentiality is sustained, that is, continuous corrective control, becoming most apparent when action is unexpectedly blocked or deflected and special compensatory effort is required† (Goffman, 1974 p. 2). It is just surprising to know that Goffman insisted on his non-interest in understanding individual behavior rather on social behaviors. However Goffman might have realized that he has to in his statement: â€Å"I assume that the proper study of interaction is not the individual and his psychology †¦ None the less, since it is individual actors who contribute the ultimate materials, it will always be reasonable to ask what general properties they must have if this sort of contribution is to be expected of them† (Goffman 1974, p. 2). One critic of Goffman however argued that â€Å"it takes a self – not necessarily an ethnomethodologist or a sociologist – to see a self† (Travers, Andrew 1997). Travers further argued that it is first important to know the public self before one could fully understand the whole of society. This however makes sense of the issue. According to Travers, it not at all scientific to analyze the self by seeing others and then compare these to his own. In my opinion, it still make sense to compare one’s self to others in order to clearly see what makes him or her different or the same with others. I would say that an assurance of objective evaluation of the self is hard to attain if Travers is suggesting that it does not take an expert (sociologist or ethnomethodologist) to make the analysis. Let us say that I see myself as morally upright because I have compared myself with that of the criminals. But if I am to compare myself with those who does not even take the courage to lie, then I might come up with a different evaluation of myself. The point is, there is subjectivity in comparing oneself to others so it really takes someone who is more qualified to understand what is really going on with the self. Erving Goffman, however controversial his works maybe, had been generally a man worthy of noting in the history of sociology. Although he had undoubtedly, as had been presented in this paper, gained too many criticisms in his ideas and concepts on human experiences, what he had conceptualized and written were realities of life that man has somehow had to accept. Working mostly on typical and everyday human interaction, Goffman was able to present complex analyses of simple events that became bases for others in the same field. We have also observed that his works primarily was influenced by his personal experiences as a boy rose in a poor family, worked hard and became economically and academically successful. His developed interests in theatre arts had him benefited in analyzing facts of life of which he regarded as stage play where human beings are actor and actresses in a stage play with different and distinctive roles. Goffman in his own right has been a successful man in his own field. For those who are in the same field, Goffman had contributed a lot it the development of modern sociological theories which are evidently being used today.

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Red Wheelbarrow Analysis

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens. The Red Wheelbarrow Summary Our speaker reflects on how important a certain red wheelbarrow is. This wheelbarrow is wet from a recent rain, and there happen to be white chickens hanging out with the wheelbarrow. The End. The Red Wheelbarrow Summary Line 1 so much depends * Our speaker doesn't say â€Å"much depends† or â€Å"things depend† or â€Å"I depend,† he says â€Å"so much depends. † That â€Å"so† makes us feel the gravity of the situation. It's as though our speaker really wants and needs to drive the point home. The verb â€Å"depends† is a strong one too, and one that suggest a that whatever is being depended upon is a pretty big deal. Line 2 upon * â€Å"Upon† – what a pretty preposition. And an important one too. So important, in fact, that it gets its very own line. * Visually (o n the page) the first line of the poem (which is way longer than this line) actually looks like it's resting upon the â€Å"upon† of line two. The first line  depends  upon this second line. Hehe. Line 3 a red wheel * A brand new couplet. We're dying to know what â€Å"so much† depends upon – drum roll, please. So much depends upon â€Å"a red wheel. † * A red wheel?We haven't seen too many red wheels in our days. * The use of the word â€Å"red† really gets our imaginations going, for some reason. We hear the word â€Å"red† all the time, but for some reason, this color really sticks out in this poem. Why do you think that is? Line 4 barrow * Oh! It's a red â€Å"wheelbarrow,† not a red wheel. Our speaker just chose to split the word â€Å"wheel† and â€Å"barrow† up and didn't put a dash between them. * By splitting up the two pieces of this word, our speaker makes us think about the fact that a wheelbarrow is comp osed of two distinct parts: the wheel and the barrow (the part you load stuff into).In some ways, we feel like this couplet looks like a wheelbarrow. * OK, now that we've figured out what â€Å"so much† depends upon, we're dying to know what kinds of things depend upon a red wheelbarrow. Um, dirt could depend upon a wheelbarrow. Six-year-olds who like to be pushed around in wheelbarrows could depend upon a wheelbarrow. A person who likes to do heavy gardening could depend upon a wheelbarrow. * What else could depend upon a wheelbarrow? It might help to do some research on wheelbarrows. Apparently, they've been around for almost 2,500 years and were invented in Ancient Greece. Why is it important that this particular wheelbarrow is â€Å"red†? The redness factor seems to play a huge part in just how cool this wheelbarrow is. Line 5 glazed with rain * A new couplet! * The word â€Å"glazed† makes us think of a shiny, glossy, glassy surface. Our wheelbarrow is spar kly from the rain. * Who left this VIP wheelbarrow out in the rain? Talk about neglect. If we owned a red wheelbarrow upon which much depended, we would take better care of it. * But the idea that it is â€Å"glazed with rain† makes us think that it looks pretty snappy. Line 6 water Again, we have a one-word line, making it seem like the first line of this couplet (line 5)  depends  upon this section line. * Again, our speaker decides to split up the word â€Å"rainwater† into its equal parts: â€Å"rain† and â€Å"water. † Why would he do this? Perhaps to remind us that rain is composed of water? Line 7 beside the white * A new couplet! Here, we're introduced to yet another snappy preposition: â€Å"beside. † * We're given some more information about where our red wheelbarrow is and about the things around it. Apparently, our red wheelbarrow is standing beside something white. Talk about one colorful poem. We see the color â€Å"white† all the time in our daily lives, but there's something special about this â€Å"white,† just as there is something special about the wheelbarrow's â€Å"red. † These colors are sticking out in our minds. Line 8 chickens * The wheelbarrow is not alone! Thank heavens. There are chickens to hang out with. * We think it is interesting that the speaker refers to these chickens as â€Å"the white chickens† and not as â€Å"some white chickens† or â€Å"the chickens. † He wants to describe them very carefully and very precisely. These are some special chickens. Again, the second line of this couplet looks (visually) as though it were holding up or supporting the first line, emphasizing the idea that so much depends upon the wheelbarrow. * Are these chickens part of the â€Å"so much† that depends upon the red wheelbarrow? What kind of relationship do you think these chickens have with said wheelbarrow? In a Station of the Metro|   | by  Ezra Po und| | The apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough. | | | | | In a Station of the Metro Summary A man sees a bunch of faces in the subway and thinks they look like flowers on a tree branch. In a Station of the Metro† Summary Line 1 The apparition of these faces in the crowd; * The poet is watching faces appear in a crowded metro (subway) station. * You wouldn’t know it only from reading the poem, but we’re in Paris, which means that everyone looks really nice. * The poet is trying to get us to see things from his perspective, and the word â€Å"apparition† suggests that the faces are becoming visible to him very suddenly and probably disappearing just as fast. They almost look like ghosts. If you’ve ever been in a crowded subway, then you’re probably familiar with this phenomenon. By calling them â€Å"these faces,† he puts us right there in the metro station, as if he were pointing his finger and saying, â €Å"Look! † * The station must be pretty full, because there is a â€Å"crowd. † Line 2 Petals on a wet, black bough. * Although he doesn’t say so, the words â€Å"looks like† are implicit at the start of this line. The faces in the crowd â€Å"look like† flower petals on a â€Å"wet, black bough. † * A â€Å"bough† is a big tree branch, and the word, in case you’re wondering, is pronounced â€Å"bow,† as in â€Å"take a bow. † * When is a tree branch wet and black?Probably at night, after the rain. A Paris subway, on the other hand, is always wet and black. * Now, we’re going out on a limb here (pun! ), but he may be seeing the faces reflected in a puddle over black asphalt. Or it could just be a more general sense of wetness. At any rate, the faces in the subway are being compared to flowers on a tree branch. * Another fact to keep in mind is that Japan is famous for its beautiful flowering trees, and con sidering that this poem is written in Japanese  haiku  style . . . well, heck, he might just be thinking of a Japanese tree. HelenBY  H. D. All Greece hates the still eyes in the white face, the lustre as of olives where she stands, and the white hands. All Greece reviles the wan face when she smiles, hating it deeper still when it grows wan and white, remembering past enchantments and past ills. Greece sees unmoved, God’s daughter, born of love, the beauty of cool feet and slenderest knees, could love indeed the maid, only if she were laid, white ash amid funereal cypresses. Summary: The narrator praises  Helen  for her beauty, which he compares to a ship bringing a â€Å"weary, wayworn wanderer† to his home.Her classic beauty has reminded him of ancient times, and he watches her stand like a statue while holding a stone lamp. Analysis: In â€Å"To Helen,† first published in 1831 and revised in later years, Poe displays an early interest in the theme of female beauty to which his later works often return. He wrote this poem in honor of Jane Stith Stanard, the mother of his childhood friend Rob, although he later wrote a different, longer poem of the same name to Sarah Helen Whitman. Jane Stanard had recently died, and, through his writing, Poe sought to thank her for acting as a second mother to him.The Helen of the 1831 poem embodies a classic beauty and poise, and by using Jane Stanard as the inspiration, Poe celebrated the latter woman as one of his earliest loves. Although Poe never explained why he changed Jane Stanard's name to Helen in the poem, one possible interpretation is that he intended to connect her to the famed Helen of Troy, who sparked the Trojan War of Homer's  Iliad  because of her beauty. The remainder of the poem shows a definite classical influence, with Poe's elevated diction and his direct references to â€Å"the glory that was Greece† and â€Å"the grandeur that was Rome. He also praises Hel en's beauty by describing her â€Å"hyacinth hair† and â€Å"classic face,† details that are associated with ancient standards of the female ideal. If Poe indeed intended for the name â€Å"Helen† to refer to Helen of Troy, then he has given his character high praise indeed. Along with the ambiguity of Helen's name, the identity of the narrator is also in question, as he does not have a name or much of a physical presence. He refers to himself as the alliterative â€Å"weary, wayworn wanderer† who has returned home, drawn to Helen's alluring and comforting hearth.Poe may have intended the narrator to be a direct reflection of himself, who as a boy felt more welcome in Jane Stanard's house than in other environments. At the same time, he may have sought to depict the narrator as an archetypal man, who like all other men found a nurturing source in a woman's home. Otherwise, the narrator might be akin to a victorious Greek warrior who, like Homer's Odysseus , has returned from some struggle overseas. The role of the female in â€Å"To Helen† is multifaceted.In one sense, Helen guards the home hearth in the traditional domestic role of caregiver while displaying a faithful attachment that recalls the idealized love of  Annabel Lee  in Poe's eponymous 1849 poem. Simultaneously, Helen is the protagonist's guide and inspiration who brings him back from the lonely seas, and her depiction as â€Å"statue-like† with an â€Å"agate lamp† characterizes her as steadfast and dependable. Finally, there are mentions of Naiads, or ancient Greek water nymphs, and Psyche, the mythological woman who represents the soul and who marries Eros, the god of love.These twin allusions emphasize the concordance between Helen's outer and inner beauty. As is typical with many of Poe's poems, the rhythm and rhyme scheme of â€Å"To Helen† is irregular but musical in sound. The poem consists of three stanzas of five lines each, where the end rhyme of the first stanza is ABABB, that of the second is ABABA, and that of the third is ABBAB. Poe uses soothing, positive words and rhythms to create a fitting tone and atmosphere for the poem. His concluding image is that of light, with a â€Å"brilliant window niche† and the agate lamp suggesting the glowing of the â€Å"Holy Land,† for which Helen is the beacon.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Antarctica

White fields of snow, surrounded by ice covered mountains and no civilization around for miles. This may sound like a fantasy land but is the blank canvas of Antarctica. Some people think of it as an arctic waste land but I see it as an unexplored frontier. Antarctica is one of last places on the planet that has not been thoroughly explored. It gives the land a kind of mystery; like anything could exist there. It represents an older simpler time in the world, before industrialization, automobiles, and roads. People have not breached this still natural and wild habitat. This natural world holds a magnificent beauty that is unparalleled anywhere else. It is one of the last uncultivated places left in the world where nature still reigns, free from the influence of human kind.Antarctica intrigues me because I am also interested in what is new and developing. This land has the opportunity to be created into anything. Any kind of government or economy; a whole new way of life could be crea ted here. Any type of society could develop from a colonial government controlled by some world power or a new sovereign nation. The unknown ignites my imagination. It makes me ask the question what new advancement in technology can be found or scientific discoveries can be made? I am intrigued by the unknown and of all the places in the world Antarctica is the epitome of the unknown.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Critical analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Critical analysis - Coursework Example Conversely, Mahtani (2014) implemented qualitative methods by organizing and executing interview sessions among the women to get the status of ideal of progress after multiculturalism. The reading of McNeil (2010) provides information regarding the perspective of Negro, wherein they believe that they were being hindered to perform their work and they were being dominated due to dark complexity due to the effect of multiculturalism. Conversely, the reading of Mahtani (2014) reveals about the collaboration of multiracialism and ideal of progress. It can be said that McNeil (2010) multiculturalism leads to black people’s personal and social growth and development, if Canadian people have mutual relationship with the Negros. Whereas, Mahtani (2014) illustration is positive towards effectiveness of ideal of progress through multiculturalism but progress also builds through genetic behavior and surroundings of the society. In the study of McNeil (2010) and Mahtani (2014), I faced issues regarding not getting proper consecutive data and information in relation to research as illustrated in articles of both the authors. Conversely, related examples in relation to subject matter made it easier to understand. I analyzed from the study of article of McNeil (2010) and Mahtani (2014) that both the authors emphasizes on the effectiveness of multiculturalism but McNeil (2010) describes about negative believe by Negro people that multiculturalism would affect their social life, culture and religion to great extent. Whereas Mahtani (2014) describes that multicultural will leads to people growth and development which is an ideal of progress of society and country. Racial discrimination is an issue that causes multiculturalism due to various aspects causing several issues in the society. There are various questions, which arises in the mind after examining and analyzing both authors illustrated articles. In

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Michael Jackson and How the Media Betrayed Him Assignment

Michael Jackson and How the Media Betrayed Him - Assignment Example A large number of interviews and news columns was publicised which have indicated Michael was a pedophile. Michael suffered the disparaging and debasing media charges and criticisms and persistently implored the media not to condemn him because his guilt was not yet proven (Barris & Gray, 2006). But the media kept on depicting the King of Pop in the most damaging way possible. Although the media has claimed their reports were for the public’s entertainment, the scathing media reports have constantly burdened and troubled Michael. For a media that flourished on generating images of Michael which depicted his life’s undesirable facets; the media coverage has been less disparaging in portraying the death of the King of Pop. His demise did not generate the burst of images normally depicting a famous icon’s passing away. The sole media image being shown is Michael’s ambulance snapshot while an EMS specialist was trying to revive him (Lee, 2009). It is somewhat unexpected that the media has easily acknowledged the verification of Michael’s death from law enforcement and family members. It is actually worrying because the media has constantly projected an ‘investigative’ character when it referred to current events or controversial personalities, particularly regarding the King of Pop (Hadley, 2009: 37). However, the media has not once challenged or looked into the legitimacy of Michael’s demise. They have been accommodating of family’s verification of Michaelâ €™s death and the unintentionally ‘disclosed’ coroner analysis of the cause of Michael’s demise (Campbell, 1994). The media has tracked and monitored Michael for roughly forty years, but they were not knowledgeable or informed of the degree of the alleged substance addiction of Michael. This is puzzling and incredulous a media quite meticulous in giving viewers photos and updates of   Michael and his children going abroad wearing surgical masks, being manhandled in a wheelchair, and going to establishments late at night (Sartore, 2000).

Monday, August 26, 2019

Marketing Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 3

Marketing Research - Essay Example According to McNamara, C (2008), marketing analysis is carried out by an organization or business venture in order to gauge the market niche. To Hunt, N & Tyrrell S (2004), marketing is all about advertising the products one has, enhancing public relations and efficient customer service. Effective marketing of products generally depends on many aspects ranging from security, trust, usability of the product, its appearance and its ability to satisfy customer requirements. The kind of business one is doing does not matter, the first thing to consider is the nature of products and services which you plan to offer your targeted customers and the best way to market it to them (Field, A 2009). Each and every business needs a marketing plan which is reliable and attainable. Customer trust is built through; Products need to be test-retested to ensure security of the consumers. Side effects and other negative perceptions by customers drive them away (James, T.F Et al. 2001). Again, if a product is not easy to use, then continuity is impossible. According to Morris, C (2008), gender is an important aspect in marketing since some forms of marketing suits females while others are meant for males. In order to ascertain this, a random sample will be selected from the database given and a new one will be developed based on the selected sample. Random sampling, stratified sampling and cluster sampling are some of the methods used to sample data. Random sampling is used in case the database to be used is made up of homogenous data; data with same character traits and the elements are selected randomly from the entire database. On the other hand, stratified sampling is used when the database is heterogeneous. In this case, elements with the same character traits are put together and then a random sample is selected. The different data groups are then combined to for the stratified sample. This sampling technique will be used in this case. Lastly, cluster sampling is the

Macroeconomic Convergence, Financial Development and Economic Growth Coursework

Macroeconomic Convergence, Financial Development and Economic Growth - Coursework Example The theory of absolute convergence states that the growth level of countries initially varies due to the difference in their levels of capital. The second theory of conditional convergence states that each country has a steady state and they converge to their own level of the steady state. The paper focuses on the effect of convergence on China and the resultant financial development and economic growth in this country. Deep-down analysis of the fact that poor countries can catch up to the rich countries through the increase in the average rates of growth has been carried on for a proper understanding of this topic. The investigation of the way in which the financial development and economic growth of China helped it to reach the position equivalent to a developed country is considered for the purpose of review. The Solow swan model and laws of diminishing marginal utility are used to help in the process of interpretation of the topic in a simple and easy manner. The empirical evidence is laid down in the paper along with charts to facilitate the process of understanding. The idea of catch-up-effect or convergence in economics is based on the hypothesis that the per capita income of the poorer economies will tend to grow at a much faster rate than the richer ones. The resultant factor is the convergence of both the economies in terms of the per capita income. The financial functions control the investment and saving decisions, technological innovations and therefore economic growth (Shahbaz, Khan and Tahir, 2013). Classical theories: The Ricardian theory of production and growth are related to the law of variable proportion. The law states that if any factor of production is increased while keeping the other same with no technological changes, there can be an increase in the output but in diminishing rate. This increased output eventually approaches towards zero.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

( Construction field ) differences between iron and steel Research Paper

( Construction field ) differences between iron and steel - Research Paper Example In the absence of steel and iron, the manufacturing of automobiles and skyscrapers like the Burj Dubai (later named as Burj Khalifa) in Dubai was possible. Many people have the false belief that steel and iron are one and the same material. However steel and iron have lot of differences. This paper analyses the major differences between steel and iron in general and answers specifically the questions like how the various steel blocks are formed, how structural shapes are produced, how are the weights and thicknesses of a structural shape changed and the contrast the production of iron shapes and forms as well as the production of light-gauge members. The basic difference between steel and iron is the fact that iron is an element whereas steel is an alloy. To be more precise, steel is an alloy of carbon and iron even though iron is the major constituent of steel. The basic form of steel contains only carbon and iron; however, we can make the properties of steel different by adding oth er elements such as chromium, silicon, manganese etc. Stainless steel is produced by adding chromium to the ordinary steel in a particular ratio. The second difference between iron and steel lies in strength. ... Roll forming, stretch forming, drawing, stamping, etc are some of the popular methods of sheet metal forming in steel industry. I-beam, Z-shape, HSS-shape, Angle (L-shape), Channel, Tee, etc are some of the major structural shapes produced out of steel which are used in the construction industry. The three most common types of structural members are the W-shape (wide flange), the S-shape (American Standard I-beam), and the C-shape (American Standard channel). These three types are identified by the nominal depth, in inches, along the web and the weight per foot of length, in pounds. W-shapes are used as beams, columns, truss members, and in other load-bearing applications. S-shapes are used less frequently than W-shapes since the S-shapes possess less strength and are less adaptable than W-shapes. The C-shape is not very efficient for a beam or column when used alone. However, efficient built-up members may be constructed of channels assembled together with other structural shapes an d connected by rivets or welds (Structural Steel Construction Methods And Terms) Each shape has its own advantages in construction industry. It is impossible to use only a particular shape of structural steel in construction industry because of the diversified necessities. For example, the steel structure suitable for the foundation works may not be suitable for other works. For foundation works heavy weight steel structures are necessary whereas for other works, light weight steel structures are preferred based on the characteristics of a particular construction. Apart from steel, cast iron and wrought iron are the major industrial iron types.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Unionization of a Parker-Hannifin Corp Research Paper

Unionization of a Parker-Hannifin Corp - Research Paper Example This creates ways that are more sustainable getting materials and people, to places that they want to go. The employees are free to join labor unions. However, the employees and management must agree on collective bargaining. In case of a strike, the workers have to reach to a tentative agreement with the management, like the case in Toronto, where an agreement was reached hours after extending deadline of the strike, on June 23, 2010 (Bennett, 2009). Bennett claims that the company’s spokesman, John Arnone had failed to give an accord details with two workers of the Canadian Auto, who represented 2,700 office and production workers. Other strikes that were solved by unionization and management negotiations were in 2000, where job security and pension negotiations collapsed. Parker-Hannifin is concerned with the manufacture of design, and marketing of systems and components for users and builders of durable goods. On June 30, 1987, Bennett assess that the company had 28,708 em ployees, where only 6.5% (18570 were union members. In this company, there is no collective bargaining between the management and the employees, on issues concerning them. The company’s labor rules and practices are practiced as per the management’s will, without any agreement with the employees. This has really down played the employees welfare, while the company reaps substantial benefits. What are the differences in the bargaining powers of employees between the two companies? And, what are their bargaining items?

Friday, August 23, 2019

Alcohol Abuse among College Students and Programs to prevent it Research Paper

Alcohol Abuse among College Students and Programs to prevent it - Research Paper Example A research conducted by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) revealed that alcohol related deaths among college students has been on the rise in the United States (Reinberg). This implies that underage drinking is seriously affecting the country mainly because of premature deaths. Alcohol has its health problems but heavy drinkers have a higher probability of engaging in other risky behaviors such as drank driving and engaging in unprotected sex among others (Hanson). All new undertakings are exciting and this is the reason why college students are faced with challenging environments as they start living away from home. It is worth noting that college students have very many challenges because most of them are living away from home for the first time. College students suddenly realize that they have become their own masters because their parents’ vigilance is no longer there. After they realize that they are independent, most of them are tempted to test t he things, which they have never done. Moreover, the pressures associated with college education drives many students into engaging in alcohol and other drug abuse (Labrie, Pedersen, & Tawalbeh 25). 2.0 Alcohol Abuse among College Students According to Reinberg, it has been established that in excess of thirty percent of Americans have had problems with alcohol at a certain stage of their lives. 17.8% have abused alcohol while 12.5% are alcohol dependent. Alcohol abuse leads to daily living problems, financial problems and interpersonal problems that are caused by excessive drinking. It has been established that majority of the people start to drink when they are very young. Although the government has put in place measures to control underage drinking it has been very hard to implement it because of technological advances, which enable underage people to buy alcohol via the internet. Those who sell alcoholic beverages via the internet should come up with ways of establishing the ag es of their customers (Labrie, Pedersen, & Tawalbeh 25). Studies have established that higher education drinkers are heavy drinkers and they are supposed to be responsible. Despite the measures that the government has taken to reduce college drinking, studies have established that annually, more than one thousand and four hundred college students die from alcohol related events, which are mainly associated with road accidents. Researchers have established that around two million students in college drive under alcohol’s influence occasionally and in addition, about three million of them ride with colleagues who are under the influence. This is the leading cause of deaths among young people in the United States because they do not care about what happens when they are drank (Monahan et al 290). 2.1 The Role of Parents in the Care of Their Children Parents have a leading role to play when it comes to reducing binge drinking among their children. This can be attributed to the fa ct that parents are the best people who are in a position to understand their children’s behaviors. Heavy episodic drinking is a problem that is common across the world. Although it varies from one place another, it is important to acknowledge that it

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Social group Essay Example for Free

Social group Essay This book, Ain’t No Makin’ It, shows the lives of the youth who are living in a neighborhood of low income earners. It shows that people are not poor because they are not ready to work, but it is because of various societal structural barriers that get them entrapped in poverty. The book is about the lives of two distinct units of teenagers who live in the inner- city with one unit believing in the ideology of achievement while the other unit rejects it. It further shows how the society can play a destructive part in the lives of the marginalized in the society thus giving the well to do a chance to blame the less fortunate yet they are the victims with the excuse of achievement ideology. The working class kids are the blacks who call themselves the brothers and believe in achievement ideology. They have realized that racial discriminations which have already ceased to exist made the past generations not to excel in their endeavors. Now they view the society as one that has given them a level playing ground and they decide to achieve what they want by excelling in school and not engaging in bad habits. The second social group, which is made up of the whites who call themselves hallway hangers, on the contrary, reject the ideology of the achievement and believe that their aspirations are low in the labor market (MacLeod, 2008, p283). The hallway hangers have realized from friends and family that they can’t make it out of the poverty and due to this, they engage themselves in bad habits like smoking dope and dropping out of school among other unlawful deeds (ibid p29). Despite the fact that both groups have different aspiration levels, no single group prospers in its endeavors. The hallway hangers do not get any degree of upward-ness but the brothers, although they fail to get what they exactly aimed for, they do make to achieve a fraction of it. Thus the poor blacks turn out to be better of than their parents but the poor whites turn out poorer than their parents. Macleod has the belief that the working class kids have a tendency of ending up in working class professions; with this he also points out that the family’s class structures are passed to the coming generations through the school system. The working class kids are also seen using limited linguistic codes which form a disadvantage at school while the other group uses elaborated codes which have an advantage for they are the codes used in the school’s academic setting (ibid, p226). As it is evidenced, no single group prospers with the reason for this failure being that the whites believe that everything is on their way but the blacks believe that they have to struggle to make it in life. They both end up as losers due to the fact that they are disintegrated with different ideologies. Although the blacks excelled in school, what they achieved from the school were theories which could not help them excel in life. The fact that the blacks gained some upward mobility but not all they expected shows that one can not jump from the bottom to the top of the society in one lifetime for it has to take time; it also shows that at that rate, in three generations time the blacks will be at the middle class if at all they teach their children to follow in their footsteps. Despite the efforts the blacks made in school, they view themselves as losers and tend to view the America as a society which does not keep its promises thus ending up in hurting themselves more. The working class families should mentally change their fashion through being honest to themselves and thus be able to improve the education in their children; this can be through working very hard to show their children the importance of commitment and working hard in school for even if they do not excel, they will be able to overcome some barriers. Macleod’s work is seen to have played a very important role in both the Brother’s lives as well as that of the Hallway Hangers since it made it possible for them to see beyond their immediate despairs and conditions. Both groups experienced a persistent cycle of poverty with negative role models such that they could not help themselves; for those who had no fathers, they suffered great grief and anger. Although the brothers believed in achievement ideology while their counterparts did not, the outcome is that the dominant culture guarantees a better result for the hallway hangers as compared to the outcome of the brothers (ibid p66). Education cannot be treated as a part of luxury, but as a necessity in the country. There is a major advantage for the outcome of attending school. Nevertheless, it is until the United States comes to recognize the reality that America as a country symbolizes several ways of interpreting data on the basis of various linguistic codes in comparison with various cultural and social classes; through this they will know that the way education is arranged in the public schools is an enormous disadvantage to the groups in consideration, that is the brothers and the hallway hangers. There is no theory being constructed up to this moment to bring about societal equality in the manner education is arranged. For instance, in Haiti, the colonizers do not allow for educational equality but the parents have struggled to make their children be able to recognize some linguistic codes used in Parisian French so that they can fit in the professional market. For people to grow individually there is need of self- actualization; this is to mean that with the brothers getting positive role models who will give them just a bit of basic motivation, their lives will change a great deal (ibid, p283). The whites should stop their negativity in life and understand that hard work is the key to success; it is through this that they will not depend on the fact that they are white for their survival. The brothers should realize that patience pays and it is through patience that they will get to the top since they can not go to the top at once but has to go through steps which take time (ibid p 226). If the teenagers tried hard enough in their every day lives then they could have made it in life. There is one boy who almost made it but he fails because he can’t drop the behaviors of the poor such as having kids at a tender age. There are some behaviors which cannot be changed by education as is shown by the boy who makes it to a community college and has a chance of going further but has to drop out after he impregnates a girl in the neighborhood. The youngsters just lacked the drive to forget about their beginnings and thus work hard to better their lives so their failure to achieve their set targets had nothing to do with capitalism. The theoretical framework used by the author is that of the two major races in the United States which can never be at par in their achievements in the society. The blacks are expected to be below the whites and seen working very hard and achieving very little while the whites should just have achievements come their way with no struggling. The main topic of discussion is that of whether hard work pays as it is shown in the lives of the brothers who although achieve little, it is due to the efforts they put; the whites end up gaining nothing since they do not work hard at all and in deed leave school and engage in illegal activities. It is at this point that the country should change the academic curriculum to fit the groups in discussion. The topic of discussion is very important to the author for he wants to show that even the blacks can make it to the top of the society if at all they work towards it. It also shows that the blacks should not loose hope because they are not gaining to their expectations since they can not do it in a day. One only needs to set a target and work towards it and be satisfied even if he makes a single step towards it and believe that it is only a matter of time before he achieves the whole of it (ibid, p 204). Macleod hangs out with both groups to get the first hand data rather than relying on statistical data. He follows them and even after realizing their beliefs, that is achievement ideology, he later goes back to them to collect data on how far they have gone in realizing their dreams. He goes directly to his interest group which is the teenagers (the blacks and whites) and in fact he shows no interest in their background families but is only interested in their aspirations and beliefs. The author used the best method in his collection of data since he got the first hand information which is never distorted and biased; this is shown by the fact that he interviewed those people he was interested in and also use the method of data collection of observation. He also asked the questions for the information that he saw necessary such as their aspirations and the intended ways of achieving those aspirations. The results he yielded are valid because as he collects the data by asking questions, he can as well see for himself the realities for he is collecting the data by himself. He further goes back to them to see what they have achieved and finds that it is as he had expected. His going back shows that the results are true for it is at this point that he sees for himself the outcome of their beliefs without interviewing. Since his research is based on many people of two different races and ideologies, it is okay to apply it as if it is for the general population as long as the circumstances he based his research on are the same. The researcher has taken a good sample which is a good representation of the whole population since he has included in his research two races and two ideologies. There are no other better methods which could have been used to conduct this research since the most applicable are observation and interviewing and they are the ones used. The research yielded valid results since it gives a reality in America which nobody can deny; this shows that he had the best methods applicable in use to get valid results. The interpretation of the data by the author is the best he could have given since it is the reality that you have work hard to achieve your expectations and also the fact that it took time for him to make the conclusions. After he interviewed the teenagers, he had to come back to them years later to see how the youths were doing. He found out that the blacks had achieved something which is because they were optimistic but the whites had made zero progress because of their pessimism in life which led to most of them dropping out of school and start taking drugs. The book is a good read because it shows that the less fortunate in the society can change their status by working hard and stop blaming the society for their failure. The book clearly shows that one becomes what he aspires to be if he is focused and optimistic thus anybody’s son can be the president. Work cited MacLeod Jay, Aint No Makin it: Leveled Aspirations in a Low-income Neighborhood, NY, Perseus Books Group Publishers, 2008

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Improving Organizational Performance Essay Example for Free

Improving Organizational Performance Essay Celsey Evans, of Airdevils, has hired Peter Mallow, of Dream Teamworks, to address the problems currently existing in and affecting the Airdevils Company. These problems consist of dissatisfaction among customers, less wins at award ceremonies, a high turnover rate, and low job satisfaction among employees. Surveys, amongst other factors, determined that job dissatisfaction is particularly high among the stunt performers. With the stunt performers as the target group of the study, Celsey and Peter will identify the reasons for psychological underpinnings of low job satisfaction in the company. Using motivational and behavioral approaches and making adjustments to the core reasons for employee dissatisfaction will help Airdevils attain the status that they seem to have lost. Determining the underlying causes, implementing interventions, creating a team for preparing innovating stunts, and reducing stress among employees are the keys to catapulting Airdevils back to the status it deserves. According to the JDI and JIG (survey) scores for Airdevils’ employees the stunt performers are the least satisfied in general, but all of the employees are dissatisfied below acceptable levels in Promotion (infrequencies) and Pay (too low). Supervision and Work are also low with stunt performers but higher than â€Å"good† among other employees. If one were to rely on this information alone, one would determine that pay and promotion needs to be examined and adjusted. Further information provided, blogs and profiles, show that there are issues with ‘holier than thou’ attitudes among E8’s, less time at home with family members, low salaries, and drudge routines. After examining these factors one can determine generally that the main cause of low job satisfaction among stunt performers at Airdevils is that the stunts lack exciting challenges. Because the members of Airdevils performing teams were put into hierarchal positions, they were placed into spe cialized stunt routines. This created a more rigid organizational structure. * Though the budget does not allow a perfect overhaul to Celsey’s organization, many interventions can be chosen to be simply delayed. Recommended for the Airdevils immediately are allow participation in open competitions, entering in a new line of stunts, rotation in industry meets, and offering performance-based incentives in salaries. Allowing performers to perform outside work and cross-training are factors that should be considered quickly. After implementation of these interventions there proves to be a marked increase in the company’s performance and there is an improvement in job satisfaction. * In the next phase of the reorganization, Celsey wants to create a group of three people to begin preparing innovative stunts for the regular customers of the Airdevils. Should this idea work well, the customers will like the plans and will want to spend extra money for stunts consultation. In this case, the Airdevils will form a stunts consultancy division. Given seven excellent candidates for this three person team the three chosen by Dream Teamwork’s for Celsey’s team are Cari, Charlie, and Alverta because of their combined work experience, enthusiasm for the job, personalities, and high probability of achievement. Applying this decision is successful. The mixture of experience, high skill levels, and high emotional stability prove to be an excellent combination to make a powerful team for the Airdevils. * In the next phase, Dream Teamworks helps Celsey choose what measures should be taken by the Airdevils to reduce stress among the support crewmembers. After considerations of the measures available to the Airdevils those that would most benefit the company and its staff are relaxation training, stress-inoculation training, software training, modifying team structure, offering transportation services, establishing a code of conduct, and allowing a flexi ble work schedule. These are the best measure possible to reduce stress levels among crewmembers. The results are lower absenteeism, less stress, more teamwork, more personal time with family, and a better ability to cope with stressors from work (Britt Jex, 2008). Absenteeism, turnover, job performance, and counter-productive behavior can be addressed through motivation. Based on the situation illustrated in the simulation the theories of employee motivation that could be used by Celsey and the management team of the Airdevils team to tackle issues are need-based theories, cognitive process theories, self-determination theory, and job-based theories. A need-based theory such as need for achievement would be an effective place to start. Need-based theories propose that achievement and power are needs evoked by different stimuli in the environment (Britt Jex, 2008). Maslow’s need hierarchy does explain that the higher one gets on their hierarchy pyramid, from physiological to self-actualization, the more content a person becomes. This could explain why Airdevils has a need to reorganize their corporation. Making employees content in more factions of their lives makes more productive employees. ERG is another needs-based theory that could be considered. ERG allows for the possibility that the stunt performers in the Airdevils may be regressing because their needs at the most basic level of their work are not satisfied. They are too concerned with the issues that the they may have with the redundancy of the routines and personality issues. Also, they are not allowed to experiment and show their own individuality and true colors and feel as thpugh they are failing to live up to their potential. Need for achievement theory is another that could be considered for this situation. Those who have consistent distinguishing characteristics of perso ns who have a high need for achievement can describe many of the stunt performers at Airdevils. These characteristics include the tendency to set moderately difficult performance goals, seek feedback, and work long hours because they absorb themselves in work (Britt Jex, 2008). Goal-setting, Control, and Equity theories and behavioral approaches are just some examples of further applications that can be studied for this case. Many theories could be applied to the Airdevils’ situation. Should Celsey and Peter go through each of the theories that could be applied to their situation, they may find that each theory will touch on a subject currently adversely affecting the company and its profits. Through examining them all, they could reach conclusions on correcting behaviors throughout the company. Knowledge of human behavior, cognition, and affect can be used to enhance relationships in the workplace. Understanding how people interact with each other and why can help management can place people together in teams accordingly. It can also prepare the company for behavioral changes among the employees. This knowledge can help solve problems, create stress free workplace environments, and create productive and powerful teams. Employee workplace stressors can be reduced by organizations. By paying attention to the results of surveys, blogs written by employees, and general complaints throughout the company any organization can come to understand what particular stressors affect their particular employees. Clear definitions of job titles and descriptions of jobs would assist an organization from having role stressors. Workloads should be studied and divided amongst employees according to ability and pay to alleviate workload stressors. Independent control over their own workloads could be considered. For example, in regard to Airdevils, allowing more team members freedom to decide on adjustments to routines could reduce stress levels there. Alleviating interpersonal conflict by teaming like members together is one way that companies like the Airdevils can control stressors. Reducing organizational constraints is another example. In the case of the Airdevils’ organizational constraints, they do not allow their employees to participate in open competitions or rotate in industry meets. Releasing these constraints could strengthen the organizations relationships with their employees as well as relieve some of the stressors they face. Perceived control and work-family conflict are further stressors that should be examined. Making adjustments to schedules, pay, and employees behaviors will relieve many organizational conflicts and stressors and benefit the company greatly. Job security, layoffs, mergers and acquisitions are not currently affecting Airdevils but do affect other organizations. Stress management training, adjusting work schedules, providing telecommuting options, offering family-friendly benefits, and offering health and fitness programs are further ways that an organization can combat stress among its employees (Britt Jex, 2008). Careful consideration of each aspect by the organization will ensure that they can make informed decisions regarding each stressor. After analysis of survey, employee blogs, and paying attention to the behaviors of its employees, Celsey and Peter can make the changes that Airdevils desperately needs to survive and grow. The company has a superb foundation and understands that changes must be made to achieve success. By applying studying and understanding employees’ behaviors, cognition, and applying relevant theories Dream Teamworks and Airdevils can create a prospering work environment for Airdevils’ employees and will find more satisfied employees, be subject to less turnover, win more awards, and satisfy customers better than they ever have. Reference Britt, T. W., Jex, S. M. (2008). Organizational psychology: A scientist-practitioner approach. (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Raising Awareness of Cholesterol Link to CHD

Raising Awareness of Cholesterol Link to CHD This essay will be based around a health promotion activity that was carried out by 6 students, the main focus is health promotion and raising awareness of cholesterol link to CHD. Centre for disease control and prevention (2013), defines cholesterol as a waxy, fat-like substance in the body that is necessary for normal function. In addition, health needs assessment will be identify, continuing with target groups involved with support from relevant epidemiology, demography and national and international policies. It will also outlined aims and objectives, approaches or strategy needs used to identify. Finally evaluation tool to consider the effectiveness of the health promotion activity. When promoting health, health can have different meaning to different individuals. WHO (1946), defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Naidoo and Wills (1998), highlights in order to promote health, it is necessary to prevent disease, improve health and enhanced well-being. Hubley and Coperman (2008), supports this by identifying, health promotion as a process in enabling individuals to increase control over and improve their health, in order to reach a complete physical, mental and social well-being. However, in promoting health, health need assessment is the first step in promoting health activity. According to Cavanaugh and Chadwich (2005), health needs assessment is defined as a systematic process of identifying priority health issues, targeting risk groups in the population with the most needs and taking action in the most cost effective and efficient way. Macdowell, Bowell and Davies (2006), went on to highlights health need assessment is important because it is a recommended tool in providing evidence about a population in which to plan services and address health inequalities. It can also help in strengthening community involvement in decision making by collaborative team work. In carrying out the health need assessment, a target group has to be identify. According to Hubley Coperman (2010), a target group is a section of the community at which the health promotion activities are directed. They went on to suggests, when considering a target group, it is necessary to have some consideration in mind. For instance, ethnic, cultural or age because they all have distinctive needs and their needs changed during life. The target group used for this assignment, age 25-34 was identified from statistics with the aim of trying to prevent the disease before it starts. In tackling health promotion, Scriven (yr), highlights that in preventing ill health for individuals within the population, first try to prevent the problem, prevent the problem by detecting and dealing with the problem and finally preventing the consequences or complications of the problem. Hubley Coperman (2010), highlights a situation assessment not only involves analysing the situation, but also asking why did the situation arose, what factors contributed to the situation and what contribution can health promotion make to improve the situation. UK statistics Epidemiology of coronary heart disease Epidemiology is a study of the population while it provides generalisation. For instance, how much exercise an average person needs. There might be individuals who needs might be different to others because of lifestyle (Heavey, yr). This can pose difficulty for health promotion. Therefore, taking finding from epidemiology and turn them into clear advice such as eating five portion fruits and vegetables per day and reducing saturated fat. However even with limitations, epidemiology is a key discipline in health promotion. It is necessary to understand the problem before action is taken to prevent or promote health (Hubley Copeman, 2010). According to Wright (2010), coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death and premature death in the uk. It has been identify that 1 in 5 men and 1 in 7 women die from CHD and the death rate each year is 94,000. LDL cholesterol widely accepted to be one of the main risk factors for CHD. Of all the key contributors to CHD, high blood pressure, low fruits and vegetables intake physical inactivity high blood cholesterol has been the greatest impact and yet use more than half the people in the western countries have cholesterol level higher than desirable. Mortality rate is 46 percent higher in men and 51 percent higher in women. According to British Heart Foundation (2012), there is around 2.3 million individuals living with CHD. This is due to increase of hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidaemia, along with socioeconomic deprivation and lifestyle (cite). In the UK immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have a 50 percent greater risk of premature CHD. However, African-Caribbean population have a lower risk than national average risk of CHD (Naidoo Wills, 1998). International statistics According to the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing (2014), it was highlighted that results from the National Health and Nutritional examination survey, approximately 3.4 million American adults above 20yrs, have severe hypertryceriaemia above 500. These individuals have a higher risk for developing CHD. As a consequence, CHD, is the leading cause of death for adults in the USA. Furthermore, Roth et al (2010), went on to support this by stating, CHD, cause over 18 million death in the world in 2005. (Wright, 2010). Policy According to the department of health (2010), policy paper healthy lives, healthy people our strategy for public health England, set out implications of health inequalities. Social, environmental, behavioural and biological factors are important influences on health. It highlights in tackling health inequalities, a much broader context needs to be consider. For instance, providing a route for poverty. Naidoo Wills (1998), supports this by highlighting that there are considerable evidence to show low income, inequality, diet, poor housing, lack of health care are factors that contribute to health persistent inequalities and deprivation. There is also a social gradient of health the lower a person’s social position the worse their health. Individuals in disadvantaged areas are more likely to have shorter lives expectancy and a greater burden on health is experience. The policy went on to highlights the gap of up to 27 yrs between the richest and the poorest neighbourhood, and wide variations within areas (Lloyd et al,2007). For example in London Kensignton and Chelsea, a man has a life expectancy of 88 yrs whereas in Tottenham Green, one of the poorest the age is 77 yrs. Obesity, smoking and alcohol misuse are associated with low income and deprivation (Waugh Brooker, 2007). However the gap has been narrowed due to health promotion. People are now more healthier and living longer than before and their level of well-being are as good as those in European countries. Also because of public health innovations such as enhanced nutrition, smoking cessation clinics, cholesterol screening, physical activity to include exercise, has helped to reduce cost and mortality and morbidity rates (Llyod et al, 2007). Also, empowering people and health promotion approaches, it has shown an improvement on individuals and communities behaviour or lifestyle changes. According to Tones (1995), for many health promoters, empowerment at an individual level is a central tenant of health promotion. However, empowerment is a difficult concept to measure (Scriven Orme, 2001). However, Bradshaw (1972), classified four needs normative, felt, expressed and comparative. For this assignment the group identify normative need. According to normative need refers to what expert opinion based on research. For instance, a decision by the GP that a patient needs medication, after cholesterol screening. Approaches It is important when providing health promotion to have an understanding of the approaches. There are five approaches and the group has chosen the behavioural and educational approach. According to Katz et al (2002), behavioural approach encourages individuals to make positive health related changes. For instance, in the workplace it is encourage to use the stairs instead of the lifts. This is beneficial and can help to reduce weight which can have an effect on coronary heart disease. Other targeted lifestyle behaviour that can have impact on coronary heart disease is smoking, alcohol use, diet and nutrition. The aim of this approach is to prevent disease such as heart disease by reduction of associated risk factors such as eating more fruits and vegetables and cutting down on saturated fat. The intention of the educational approach is to provide people with knowledge and information that will enable them to develop the necessary skills to make informed choices about their behaviours. Therefore, communication skills are the key to this approach. Educational approach can be in the form of mass media, and one-one. According to Tones and Tilford (1994), there are many examples of success in enhancing knowledge and information through health education carried out in healthcare settings. One advantage of this approach, it can easily be measured. For instance, survey. With limitation, evaluation of this approach may be difficult. People may have increased their knowledge and understanding of their health behaviour but may not make the necessary change (Naidoo Wills, 2009). Therefore, when health promotion is carried out, aims and objectives need to be followed. They should be specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time. The group identified several aims and objectives. The aim of the group at the end of the health promotion, was to raise awareness and educate of the danger of cholesterol link to CHD. According to( ) aims are defined as general statement of what the programme is trying to achieve such as reduce inequality as in health promotion. Whereas, the objectives or a target is a statement of proposed change over a fixed period of time. An objective should be measurable. This will allow others to know what is been planned making a decision about its implementation and evaluates. The objectives were as follows: Three risk factors which can increase coronary heart disease Describe what coronary heart disease is. Three complications that can occur because of high cholesterol. Where someone can go to get their cholesterol check. Evaluation Evaluation is a systematic way of learning from experiences and the lesson learnt use it to improve current activities and promote better planning (Scott Western, 1998). Evaluation is also done to measure its effectiveness, whether or not stated objectives has been achieve, and efficiency which is the amount of effort in terms of time, human resources and cost was worth the effort and process evaluation monitoring the progress during the programme which involves to find out if what was done has been achieved (Pender et al, 2006). During evaluation programme different types of evaluation maybe undertaken at different stages including process, impact and outcome. First the process evaluation is undertaken if the aims are to determine the degree to which the programme or its individual components is reaching the target group or the materials and components of the programme are of good quality. Process evaluation is important to undertake in conjunction with impact or outcome evaluation, as it helps to explain better both positive, and negative intervention effect ( Scott Western, 1998). It was highlighted that the health promotion activity objectives has been achieved. For instance, the literature such as questionnaire demonstrated to some extend that the message that was put across which is knowledge and understanding in relation to cholesterol with link to coronary heart disease. It has also shown to be cost effective because the group spend less than the fifteen pounds that was allotted for spending on resources and material used. Some resources were either borrowed or given as gifts. To continue with the impact evaluation, this is referred to as the immediate effect Macdowell et al (2006). The participants’ knowledge and understanding of the subject was successful in most areas as highlighted by the figures after the questionnaires were done. For instance, 100% of people found that the health promotion was useful, 80% were able to list 3 factors which can increase cholesterol level, 100% tick the correct statement to describe coronary heart disease, 95% of people knew where to go to get their cholesterol level check either a GP, clinic, or hospital. The other two questions were at a lower percentage of 50% and 75%. This could have been due to some people may not of understood the question, did not read the question properly or the health promoter was not clear enough or did not explain or was lacking knowledge on the subject. The final theory the outcome, focus on the results or changes brought about by the programme intended or unintended. The choice of outcome to measure is determined by the programme goal (Scott Western, 1998). For example, if the goal is to achieve reducing cholesterol level of understanding the link to coronary heart disease, it will need to be measured before and after. For outcome to be measured it would be difficult for the group because the audience would be difficult to contact at a later date and the setting which was a university was not the best place in educating individuals and to get a follow up. The community clinic or GP would be more appropriate. There were positives that came out of the forum as highlighted by the questionnaires and feedback from other members of groups and tutors. However, it was highlighted some posters were to small, target group were not identified and also one tutor highlighted the target group use from evidence and statistics were not suitable. However, the target group used which was 25-34 was discussed in lectures with our tutor and was told to target individuals from the statistics by preventing the disease before it starts. Word count 2360 needs 2200 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quality-standards-for-coronary-heart-disease-care https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthy-lives-healthy-people-our-strategy-for-public-health-in-england

Monday, August 19, 2019

Huck Finn :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the book it is obvious that there are characteristics that Mark Twain either detests and despises, or respects and values them. Twain quite obviously is making fun of the undesirable characteristics such as the natural curiosity of people and also the greed for money. Although there are not many values that he respects, there is one that is shown in this book, friendship.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is natural to show curiosity towards something but Mark Twain despises this characteristic and pokes fun at it. The biggest example of this trait is shown when the King and Duke are pulling a con on people with the â€Å"Royal Nonesuch.† The sign used to get people to come to the show was the first innocent sign of natural curiosity, by saying that women and children would not be admitted. The whole performance was to have King streak across the stage colored with the bright colors of the rainbow. People only laughed at first but then suddenly realized that they had been scammed out of their money. Since they did not want to look like fools they told people that the show was great and to go and see it. They pulled it off three times total before people caught on and were going to start to rebel against the King and Duke’s show. The audience was so intrigued by their flier that they showed up anyways. That shows people’s natural curiosity. M ark Twain satirizes this incident and makes fun of how curious people really are. The people’s curiosity ultimately led them to losing their money and their embarrassment made them decide not tell other citizens about how their curiosity caused them to lose their 50 cent admission price. That is the reason behind why Twain despises curiosity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A second and much worse characteristic that Twain hates is peoples general greediness. Mark Twain starts mentioning greediness very early in the book when he talks about Huck’s father, Pap. When Huck found out that Pap was alive, the first thing he went to do was give Judge Thatcher his $6000, because he knew his father would want it all. The greediness of Pap has caused his own son to hide his money from him so he will not take it, showing the lack of respect in their relationship. Even when Pap runs into Huck immediately he asks him is how much money he had on him, and Huck had to hand it over.

The South Pole, a comparison essay :: essays research papers

An arid tundra; temperatures so cold that limbs become black and immobile, land so barren that hardly anything can survive, this is the South Pole. Why anyone would want to go there may be hard to understand. Traveling to the South Pole isn’t just a lengthy process and an uncomfortable experience, it is extremely dangerous as going to far south provides several life threatening conditions. To survive in such cold conditions one would need specially made clothing designed for such extremely cold climate. Maybe the pre-planning part of the trip is what separates Amundsen and Scott the most. Both explorers have reached the South Pole but only Amundsen has returned, in good health. This can be mostly attributed to careful planning or as some would call, luck. Amundsen once said, â€Å"’Victory awaits those who have everything in order. People call this luck†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (517). It can be judged from this quote that Amundsen is not one to believe in superstition. He believed that luck is a direct result of cautious planning and careful decision making. Scott on the other hand had a more fate oriented outlook on luck. A note was found beside Scott’s body that read, â€Å"’The causes of the disaster are not due to faulty organization but to misfortune’† (522). Scott believed that several events could take place during a journey that were out of the control of the explorer, who in this case was Scott. Several events have occurred in Scott’s journey but not in Amundsen’s. Some of the misfortunes of Scott’s advent ure include having several supplies break through thin ice and become lost in the South Pole water. This mishap probably couldn’t have been avoided unless the utmost scrutiny was observed during the trip. Being so cautious and careful would take a large amount of travel time away however and one can not possibly expect to reach the South Pole while traveling so slowly. So perhaps Scott was right and Amundsen has succeeded by blind luck along with his careful planning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amundsen analyzed every aspect of the journey before setting forth. If he felt that any particular item wasn’t as efficient as it possibly could he would upgrade and modify it. This act of Amundsen can be attributed to his success as well as some other plans he made. Amundsen planned for a long time, he studied everything that was written about the South Pole.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Examine the role of processes in schools in producing different educational achievement among pupils from different social groups. :: essays research papers fc

Examine the role of processes in schools in producing different educational achievement among pupils from different social groups. Differential educational achievement is unquestionable affected by different social groups however this is not the only factor that affects the educational success of students. Members of working class place a lower value on education, they place less emphasis on formal education as a means to personal achievement, and they see less value in continuing school beyond the minimum leaving age. They place a lower value on achieving higher occupational status, when evaluating jobs they place emphasis on stability, security and immediate economic benefits and tend to reject the risks and investments involved in aiming for high status occupations. Job horizons tend therefore to be limited to a good trade. Manual and non-manual jobs account for differences in outlook and attitude, middle-class occupations provide an opportunity for continuous advancement in income and status but this is not the case for manual workers. They reach full earning capacity relatively quickly and are provided fewer opportunities for promotion. This would therefore affect the attitude of parents and this attitude and outlook on life would be passed on to the next generation. Pupils from w orking class origins would be socialized in certain situations, e.g. fatalism, immediate gratification, present time orientation and collectivism. Parental interests in their children education effects school achievement, middle class parents express interest in their children progress, they are more likely to want their children to do well and stay at school beyond the minimum leaving age level and so will encourage them to do so. Middle class children also tend to receive greater stimulus from their parents in the early years, which forms a basis for high achievement in the educational system. Different social groups have different life experiences and chances, the habitats of each group will be different and will lead individuals to make certain choices regarding behaviour. Through up bringing and education, people learn to be able to express good taste; those with legitimate taste can mix in the most culturally advantaged circles. This gives students with higher-class backgrounds more chance of success in education. Social inequality is reproduced in the educational system and as a result is legitimated, and is particularly effective in maintaining the power of the dominant classes. Social class is not the only thing that affects educational achievement. Ethnicity has been seen to affect the educational attainment of pupils; research by Drew (1995) found that Afro-Caribbean males were at the bottom of each class group in terms of attainment.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Examine the Themes of Relationship in To His Coy Mistress and Valentine Essay

In my essay, I will be examining the theme of relationships in To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell and Valentine by Carol Anne Duffy. I will write about the poems themes’, ideas, structure and linguistic devices. I will compare and contrast each poem, then give my opinion on my favourite and why. Andrew Marvell wrote his poem, To His Coy Mistress in the 16th century. The poem has three stanzas and is written in rhyming couplets. It is about a man who is in a rush to have sexual intercourse with his mistress. He is lured by her beauty and wants to enjoy her beauty before the time is over. He presents a familiar theme in literature – carpe diem (meaning seize the day), he uses this as he tries to seduce a woman and declare his love for her, while she his shy and hesitant, he tries to persuade her to think that they must take advantage of the moment. There are two themes in the poem, carpe diem and seduction. ‘Time’s winged chariot hurrying near;’ Here, he tells his mistress that time is flying so they should have sex now and seize the day, he is rushing her and trying to charm her by telling her to make the most of the time they have. The seduction theme is mostly implied in the third stanza, ‘through the iron gates of life.’ He refers to her hymen being broken and her virginity being taken as they make love. ‘Let us roll our strength†¦ up into one ball,’ he wants them to be entwined and wrapped together as they have sex and have a connection. Line 11 shows the young man who is pleading for the young lady to stop playing hard to get and accept his love, compare his love to a vegetable. ‘My vegetable love should grow,’ He could be using the vegetable as a phallic symbol to refer to his penis growing as he gets an erection. However, he could be referring to his love growing for her as it is nurtured like a vegetable by love and feeling so that it flourishes. He mocks romantic poetry through crude imagery in Lines 27 and 28, ‘then worms shall try that long preserved virginity.’ He is persuading her by making her think that if she leaves it until she is old and dead and doesn’t have sex with him now, or the worms will be the only things that will get benefit of her body. As they eat her, they will take her virginity with them. Marvell uses a gross example of hyperbole in Line 15, ‘two hundred to adore each breast,’ now he tries seduce her by telling her if they had all the time in the world and they were immortal and could live forever, he would spend two hundred years staring at each breast. He uses an expression of personal and private feelings such as: ‘and into ashes all my lust’ here he is being honourable towards his mistress as he describes his passionate desire towards her. He is now pressuring her as he is saying that when he dies and is made into ashes, i.e. cremated all his love for her will be burnt as well as his body. The structure of the poem is set out according to the ‘argument’. Stanza one and two are when he uses hyperbole and carpe diem to declare his love for the young lady and stanza three is the conclusion. The arguments are ‘If we had’ ‘but’ and ‘therefore’. The first stanza shows that the space and time are eternal as the second stanza shows that we ourselves are not. The third and final stanza shows that we only have to live our every moment for fun. The arguments are about eternal love and lust. Eternal love is long and lasting; therefore the first stanza is long as that is its sub ject. The life of the young man and the mistress is short, so is the second stanza. The last stanza is short also, as sex and passion, in this case, is just a spark. There are two similes in the poem: ‘sits on thy skin like morning dew’ and ‘like amorous birds of prey’. The first simile represents the crystal-clear skin of the mistress and refers back to her beauty. The second stanza means the strength and speed and the passion made by the pair of lovers when they make love. ‘Nor would I love at a lower rate’ and ‘Time’s winged chariot hurrying near;’ are two examples of metaphor which are used in the poem. ‘Love her at a lower rate’ he is saying he would love her for as long as he could, but time equals money so they should just have sexual intercourse now before they waste even more time. He is summing up what he wants and getting straight to the point here. The second poem which I will be examining and analysing is Valentine by Carol Anne Duffy. Duffy has written this poem in seven stanzas, t hree of which consist of a single line. It represents a real relationship as she wants us to speak more honestly about love in relationships. In this poem Duffy states her dislike for the normal stuff you get on Valentine’s Day. On a deeper level she wants to modernise the symbols we use for love. There are several themes in the poem, all of which are different to Marvell’s. They are all to do with a realistic relationship such as: honesty, romance, negative experience, tenderness and bitterness. The poet views love as healthy so long as it avoids both tacky romance and marriage. A ‘red rose’, a ‘satin heart’ and a ‘cute card’ are the usual lovers’ gifts on Valentine’s Day. Duffy is harsh on these clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½d symbols of love. In the poem Duffy suggests these normal cards, red roses and kissograms lack any real meaning: ‘Not a red rose or a satin heart’, ‘Not a cute card or a kissogram’. She seems to be a tough character as she gives her lover and onion instead of a rose, ‘I give you an onion.’ She looks at the different ways that an onion is suitable for showing love as she tells her lover what an onion will do for him. The onion represents light, discovery and tears; it represents the tough side of love. She thinks the onion stands for the truth about love, therefore the poem takes a deep look at it as she looks at what love is made up of. Duffy explores what makes a relationship meaningful, ‘I am trying to be truthful,’ she argues that you have to be honest to make a relationship work. The first linguistic device in the poem is a metaphor and how it explains why an onion works as a love gift. ‘It is a moon wrapped in born paper,’ the brown skin is the wrapping paper of the gift, the onion. She compares her gift to a moon wrapped in brown paper, this picture of the moon represents the whole onion, just after it has been peeled, and we know that when the paper is removed we will see the moon’s light. The moon’s ‘light’ represents love, and moonlight often provides a romantic setting. ‘Light’ can also mean the truth. The peeling of the onion is like two people taking off each other’s clothes before they make love: ‘like the careful undressing of love’. The different layers of the onion are like the layers of someone’s personality. You gradually discover these layers in a love relationship. The onion represents discovery. The third stanza shows that love is more complex than lovey-dovey romance. In line 6, she announces her gift to her lover: ‘Here’. She is obviously handing the onion to the other person to hold and peel, it is then that we see another aspect of love, ‘tears’. At s ome stage in the peeling or the unwrapping of the onion, the eye sheds tears. ‘Tears’ and ‘grief’ are part of real life love so the reason for these tears is emotional. Not only will the onion make your eyes water, the pain caused by a loved one similarly brings tears. Photos of happy moments are usually shared between lovers so it is imagined that in real life there are moments of hurt or sorrow in a relationship. Duffy thinks lovers should honestly admit to these too, ‘wobbling photo of grief’. She uses the language of a wedding as she offers her onion gift: ‘I give you an onion,’ that sentence sounds like ‘I give you this ring’. The poem states that the taste and scent of an onion are like the passion of love, an onion is a good symbol for passion because its taste remains with you, ‘stay on your lips’. In the last stanza, Duffy demands her lover take the gift, ‘Take it.’ She tells him that they might marry. She suggests that the bright white core of the onion is like a wedding ring, ‘Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring’. The final image about scent clinging has another meaning, scents linger after lovemaking. These scents will remain in memory after the relationship ends. The smell of an onion stays on your fingers for good while, again, the onion proves to be a good way of getting the poet’s message across. After examining each poem I have chosen Valentine as my favourite poem. In Marvell’s poem, I could feel the passion of the young man, and how much he admired the coy Mistress, but I came to the conclusion that the poem was a little smutty. Therefore, I chose Valentine as I liked how she used the onion as a love symbol in a realistic relationship. The idea of the scent ‘cling to your knife’ was very real, just like a relationship, sharp and cutting. In conclusion, I have examined the theme of relationships between the two poems To His Coy Mistress and Valentine. I have explored the linguistic devices and ideas of the poems, also giving my opinion on my favourite and why.