Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener”: Humorous or Tragic? Essay

If ever there are two opposite themes offered in the telling of one tale, it is in Herman Melville’s short story, â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener†. As his perspective swings between the objective and subjective, so swings the theme from comedy to tragedy. Regardless of the two perspectives from which Herman Melville relates the story of Bartleby, the telling of a tragic story with humorous subjectivity, the story’s plot and outcome determines the categorization. In fact, had Melville not peppered the story with his narrative, light-hearted, internal musings, and shared with the audience a â€Å"grasping at straw† style of rationalization, the main theme could only have been categorized as tragic. Regardless of the two perspectives from which Herman Melville relates the story of Bartleby, the telling of a tragic story sprinkled with humorous subjectivity, the actual story line, through its progression should determine its categorization. For this reason, Bartl eby the Scrivener, is a tragedy. Throughout the story Melville relates the many troubling incidents experienced with the mysterious copier. Bartleby’s reactions to his superior are so unlike those which most of us have ever experienced, human nature causes the reader to attempt to apply logic to his eccentricities. When asked to proofread a copy, Bartleby’s outrageous answer is, â€Å"I prefer not to†. Having just been introduced to Bartleby and still formulating a first impression, the audience is required to grapple with a logical explanation for his troubling behaviour. At that point, Melville introduces his first bit of comic relief, enlisting the audience’s empathy in stating, â€Å"To befriend Bartleby; to humour him in his strange wilfulness will cost me little or nothing, while I lay up in my soul what will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my conscience†. Since there is no excusing Bartleby’s behaviour, Melville finds solace in rationalizing his reaction and the r eader is quick to empathize, having found no explanation for the behaviour. When his conscience no longer provides for rationalizing the acceptance of Bartleby’s strange behaviour, Melville invites the reader to appreciate the behaviour’s usefulness. To some degree, the â€Å"little guy† in us is somewhat envious of Bartleby’s statement, â€Å"I prefer not to†. How many times would we have used this statement in our lives if we had no fear of the  repercussions? As the story progresses and Bartleby’s behaviour is becoming the norm, the banter between Mr. Nippers, Turkey and the lawyer becomes filled with the word â€Å"prefer†, the expression which has caused everyone such grief up to that point. After suggesting that Bartleby â€Å"would prefer to take a quart of good ale every day†, Turkey states, â€Å"Oh. Prefer? Oh yes – queer word. I never use it myself†. He then replies, â€Å"Oh, certainly, sir, if you prefer that I should†, upon being asked to leave the room. Melville is calling on the reader’s â€Å"little guy† to relate to the subconsciously driven behaviour of the characters. As the employer becomes more agitated, as a result of his circle of friends and acquaintances’ comments, Melville shares his mental gymnastics with the reader. His though process begins with the suggestion that, allowing Bartleby’s occupation of his offices would result in him having to â€Å"mason up his remains in the wall†, when he died. This not being a logical solution, he moves on to the question of whether or not Bartleby could be considered a vagrant. The reader is astonished with his conclusion that, not only will he not force Bartleby to move, he, himself will move without Bartleby. However extreme the employer’s solution has become, the reader can offer no solution and is dragged, empathetically, once again, into the rationalization of the employer, yet still amused by the bizarre situation. Melville lends humour to one conversation between the lawyer and Bartleby, in the form of contradiction. While visiting Bartleby at the office where he had been left, the lawyer again makes suggestions to Bartleby of ways in which he can better his circumstances. Along with the usual â€Å"I prefer not to†, all suggestions were punctuated with, â€Å"I am not particular†. It is at this point in the story, although amusing in its use of contradiction, the reader comes to realize that Bartleby is not making any kind of statement in his refusal to conform. Having become more evident as the story has progressed, is the fact that Bartleby’s amusing, shocking and at times humorous behaviour is not personality driven but driven by his mental instability. As the story winds down, Melville allows no more room for amusement at  Bartleby’s expense. Bartleby has wound up in â€Å"The Tombs, or to speak more properly, the Halls of Justice†. He has rejected the lawyer’s attempts at conversation and although the lawyer is still trying to make Bartleby’s life easier in the few ways he can, Bartleby refuses to acknowledge it. The sad rumour is shared with the reader, about Bartleby’s experience in the Dead Letter Office, which helps to explain Bartleby’s mental state. Once again, the reader is required to examine his own conscience. Bartleby, as it turns out, if not a product of humanity with all its flaws, is at least an example of it. He draws our attention to this in exclaiming, â€Å"Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!† â€Å"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street†, should be considered a tragedy, if not in the nature of the story-telling, then in the unfolding of the plot. The characters’ eccentricities, when coupled with the narrator’s take on them, have allowed Melville to present the tragedy in an amusing manner but Bartleby has lead such a sad life ending in such a regrettable way, this short story is tragic in theme.

Alcohol and Tobacco

Alcohol and tobacco use is becoming more common every day in our society. The media is continuously advertising tobacco companies and different brands of alcohol, while the government is continuously sending warning messages about the harm that alcohol and tobacco can cause. Tobacco can forever damage you’re your internal organs, while alcohol can cause major damage to your body as well as the people surrounding you. Although the public knows about the negative effects of these products, people still continue to use the substances without thinking twice.These products are legal if you are of age, so people will continue to experiment with alcohol and tobacco. On the other hand, drugs are not legal and are not advertised all over the media because they are prohibited in our society. If drugs were legal, experimentation and usage of these dangerous and deadly drugs would skyrocket. The usage of alcohol and tobacco is legal, but the usage of drugs should be prohibited in the Unit ed States. A theory is that if a person tries one drug such as marijuana, there is a high likelihood that that person will eventually try a harder drug such as cocaine.This is a very scary thought. If drugs were legal, many more individuals would be trying them. The media would be advertising cocaine like it was voldka. There is a large difference between these two products. People would feel like it was okay to experiment with the drug because its usage was legal. This could be harmful, because everyone can have a different effect to each drug. Drugs such as cocaine and heroin are highly addictive and dangerous. They not only cause damage to the person using but also to surrounding people.I am not trying to undersize alcohol and the damage it can cause, but at least there are laws against driving while intoxicated so that you can prevent yourself from harming another individual. Tobacco use affects your body in the long run, but other than second hand smoke, it does not directly pu t others in danger. Certain drugs can make a person spiral out of control and make them do certain things that they would never do if they were clean. A counter viewpoint is that drugs should be legalized because it is a person choice to use or consume whatever they wish.Advocates of legalizing drugs say that people will use drugs if they have the desire to whether it is legal or illegal. They mention that what is the difference between tobacco and alcohol versus drugs. Alcohol can be just as damaging to other people as drugs can be sometimes. The United States is a free country where we can speak how we feel and do how we feel and no one can tell us how to live our life. They say that if people want to use alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, they should have the freedom to do so. Both sides make valid points, but I definitely feel that drug usage would contaminate our society even more. Alcohol and Tobacco Alcohol and tobacco use is becoming more common every day in our society. The media is continuously advertising tobacco companies and different brands of alcohol, while the government is continuously sending warning messages about the harm that alcohol and tobacco can cause. Tobacco can forever damage you’re your internal organs, while alcohol can cause major damage to your body as well as the people surrounding you. Although the public knows about the negative effects of these products, people still continue to use the substances without thinking twice.These products are legal if you are of age, so people will continue to experiment with alcohol and tobacco. On the other hand, drugs are not legal and are not advertised all over the media because they are prohibited in our society. If drugs were legal, experimentation and usage of these dangerous and deadly drugs would skyrocket. The usage of alcohol and tobacco is legal, but the usage of drugs should be prohibited in the Unit ed States. A theory is that if a person tries one drug such as marijuana, there is a high likelihood that that person will eventually try a harder drug such as cocaine.This is a very scary thought. If drugs were legal, many more individuals would be trying them. The media would be advertising cocaine like it was voldka. There is a large difference between these two products. People would feel like it was okay to experiment with the drug because its usage was legal. This could be harmful, because everyone can have a different effect to each drug. Drugs such as cocaine and heroin are highly addictive and dangerous. They not only cause damage to the person using but also to surrounding people.I am not trying to undersize alcohol and the damage it can cause, but at least there are laws against driving while intoxicated so that you can prevent yourself from harming another individual. Tobacco use affects your body in the long run, but other than second hand smoke, it does not directly pu t others in danger. Certain drugs can make a person spiral out of control and make them do certain things that they would never do if they were clean. A counter viewpoint is that drugs should be legalized because it is a person choice to use or consume whatever they wish.Advocates of legalizing drugs say that people will use drugs if they have the desire to whether it is legal or illegal. They mention that what is the difference between tobacco and alcohol versus drugs. Alcohol can be just as damaging to other people as drugs can be sometimes. The United States is a free country where we can speak how we feel and do how we feel and no one can tell us how to live our life. They say that if people want to use alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, they should have the freedom to do so. Both sides make valid points, but I definitely feel that drug usage would contaminate our society even more.

Content Comprehension and Analysis Task Assignment - 3

Content Comprehension and Analysis Task - Assignment Example To correct the problem, the manager ordered for modern production equipment to boost the quality of output. After one month of introducing the new production equipment, an upsurge in the quality of output was noticed. Charismatic leadership can be termed as the assumption of power by an individual through an impression of personality other than the external authority. The followers of a charismatic leader respect the leaders instructions based on character or appeal of the leader. In essence, it is difficult to give an exhaustive meaning of charisma. In simple terms charisma can be described as charm. The major influence of a charismatic leadership is the personality of the leader. Examples of charismatic leaders include politicians and religious leaders. Transformational leadership  may  be termed  as a leadership style where the leader impacts change in an organization through inspiration and working closely with the committed group of people in the organization. Unlike charismatic leadership, transformational leadership  is  based on the ability to deliver and not the leader’s personality. In a transformational leadership style, the employees will not follow the instructions of the leader because of personal attributes or charm. Instead, the employees will follow the leader’s instructions based on projected results. Transformational leadership inspires employees to be responsible for their daily tasks. Basically, transformational leadership is based on intellectual stimulation, idealized stimulus, and individual motivation and inspiration of employees. Introducing change in an organization is sometimes very challenging. It is usually difficult to bring change in leadership and among the employees. Some of the difficulties experienced when introducing change in employees and leadership include; personality differences, organizational structure, political pressure, seasonal

Report Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Report Proposal - Essay Example Employee engagement is a necessary tool for creating innovative, motivated, committed and high productive workers in Wal-Mart. Conversely, the Wal-Mart has adopted a lean strategy that has enabled it to enhance efficiency while minimising resource wastages, thus saving a significant amount of resources for the company. Currently, Wal-Mart operates approximately 8,900 outlets globally out of which 54% are located in America. In 2010, the firm reported revenues amounting to$ 408 billion, which was a 1% increase from the previous year. Arguably, Wal-Mart has been able to control the retail chain segment in the industry since it commands over 60% of revenues of the retail chain industry (Thomas, 2010). Wal-Mart is the preferred organisation for this study because of its long time success in the retail chain industry. The organisation recognises employee engagement as a crucial tool and mechanism for improving employee productivity and motivation. The organisation recognises employees as an imperative strategic resource through which it can deliver quality products to the customers and as a mechanism for achieving organisational goals and objectives. Thus, it is imperative to examine Wal-Mart in this study to find out how crucial employee engagement is to the organisations success. (Walker, 2012). Employee engagement and involvement is an emerging trend in the human resource department of organisations. It has become imperative that organisations should engage their organisations to ensure an organisation achieves its core objectives at the least cost possible. Wal-Mart over the years has invested heavily in its human resources through in-house training and engagement in key administration functions in which they are bestowed with immense responsibilities to enable them develop personally and gain self-drive in performing their assigned duties

Competency Training (Fire Service) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Competency Training (Fire Service) - Essay Example Fire fighters need up-to-date, comprehensive training materials to thoroughly prepare for any situation that may arise. The mission is to provide leadership to career and volunteer chiefs, chief fire officers, and managers of emergency service organizations through vision, information, education, services, and representation to enhance their professionalism and capabilities [2]. The main goal is that the firefighters in the operation department would execute their duties professionally, and with confidence, which would result in reduction of property loss and damage, subsequently re-instating stakeholder confidence in the Fire Department to carry out its mandate. One of the major challenges today to attain this goal is that a number of independent systems of training and education staggers fire service professionals. Besides, as the professional qualification series has grown, it is becoming increasingly difficult for firefighters or departments to find the necessary time to accomplish these levels of competency [3]. Efficient training systems are those that identify what they do well and take advantage of the strengths and opportunities provided by other systems to supplement their efforts. There should be a national system for fire service training and education because, as with other professions, a theoretical core of academic courses should be a prerequisite for entering these fields. The fire and emergency services should move towards becoming a full-fledged profession just like doctors, lawyers, nurses and other professions [4]. In theory providing emergency fire service is a ‘portable’ skill. Right now, there is no one un iversally recognized and reciprocal system to acquire the knowledge and skills required in the Fire and Emergency Services. The Fire Service training has important roles to play in the reform agenda. They should be re-modeled in order to be more effective. There is a need for

Analysis of POLITICAL CARTOONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of POLITICAL CARTOONS - Essay Example t, Steve Breen, I realize that he has presented a very weighty issue of wage hike in contemporary societies, and the mechanisms that are either set in motion in its anticipation or brought about by its occurrence. The stable man withstanding the weight of an equally bulky man on top portrays small businesses in the economy of nations that more often than not, bear the weight of the pay hikes which despite their minimal status, bear huge weight on the small businesses. Despite the massive burden of the pay hike, the small businesses are seen to be resilient and persevere to sustain themselves and the weight altogether. The cartoon also displays some unethical practices occasioned by the introduction of the hike. Physically, the cartoon, shows the bulky individual-the weight- mercilessly down treading on rather clean and well pressed shirt of the man bearing the weight, introducing dirty marks on the shirt. Moreover, upon reaching the top, the carried man steps right in the nose of the one below, thereby suffocating him. Furthermore, the carried individual mercilessly strikes the eye of the one below and by that blinding him. In trying to decode this last range of observations, these acts could indicate the confusion that come with such issues of pay hike. The dirtying, blinding and the suffocation in the process of bearing the weight is suggestive of the corrupt practices and all other forms of unethical practices that the small businesses suffer from. The level of grooming of the man on the top is also suggestive of a golfer; a game conventionally associated with the wealthy. This can only suggest that those who go about corrupting the systems to their advantage are by majority, the wealthy. Comparably, the cartoon text seems to compute with more impact than the plainly written text about the same issue. This is because the visual impact of a cartoon is more enhanced than that of the written text. It is also agreeable that the use of different colors at

Internal Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Internal Control - Essay Example Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all annual financial reports must include an internal control report stating that management is responsible for an adequate internal control structure and an assessment by management of the effectiveness of the control structure (Sarbanes-oxley-101, 2015). The creation of SOX established new standards for internal controls that corporations must abide to, while at the same time ensuring that upper management became accountable for the actions of the company. The new internal control requirements must be monitored by upper management including the CEO and CFO who must personally sign the report making them liable in case these internal controls fail (Kmpg, 2004). This raises their accountability by 100% in comparison with the past. The act also requires a statement from the public company that audited the financial statement that it has issued an attestation report on managements assessment of the internal control of the company (Sec, 2008). Peavler, R. (2015). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Enron Scandal – Why are they Important. Retrieved January 6, 2015 from http://bizfinance.about.com/od/smallbusinessfinancefaqs/a/sarbanes-oxley-act-and-enron-scandal.htm Sec.gov (2008). Final Rule: Managements Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and Certification of Disclosure in Exchange Act Periodic Reports. Retrieved January 6, 2015 from

Week 11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 11 - Essay Example 2.) Caputo admits to joining the Marines for two reasons: he was incredibly bored in the suburbs where he had grown up; and he was swept up in the romanticism of John F. Kennedy’s Camelot. Caputo’s basic training experience was, like all Marines, even today, one of character and physical strength building. Creating a sense of camaraderie and loyalty and, most importantly, a willingness to sacrifice one’s own life for the virtues of America (God, Corp, Country). By the time Caputo did his second tour and was reassigned to headquarters, he had already begun to have an â€Å"affected† take on the war and the government and society. Once assigned to headquarters, his job was to make sure that there was a â€Å"body count.† A count that was fact or fiction in the favor of the American victory and success in Vietnam. Caputo was completely disillusioned. 3.) Caputo had a loyalty to his men, his corp, because that was what had been drilled into him during his basic training experience. Even when his feelings about the military and government began to sour, as a leader in the Marines, Caputo was concerned about the men with whom he was charged to lead; and developed the bonds of men together in a war environment. 4.) Caputo’s experience as an inexperienced young lieutenant was one rooted in fear; fear of losing control, fear of losing a man, fear of losing his own life. He was completely – and admits to it – unprepared for the reality of the environment and the experience of war. It was nothing, he wrote, like the way they rehearsed it in the woods of Virginia or North Carolina. In this way, his experience was somewhat like that of Frederic in A Farewell to Arms. 5.) From Caputo’s book it was possible to gain a sense of what the mood in America was before, during, and after the war – and from a hindsight is 20/20

Poetry Essay Example for Free

Poetry Essay Poetry is a form of literary art and uses particular forms and conventions to suggest alternative meaning in the words and to evoke some emotional responses. There are sound patterns in poetry which create further meaning, such as assonance, alliteration and onomatopoeia. These sound effects have a particular function in a poem. Poems often make heavy use of imagery and word association to quickly convey emotions. [1] Poetry is distinguished from prose because are used some techniques such as rhyme, meter and repetition. The same sounds can convey different meanings and it depends on the context of a poem. Sound patterns can be also discovered in some advertising slogans. In advertisement we have the freedom to change the natural order of the language. It depends on the product and the target group of consumers. The advertising text has to capture the reader’s or listener’s attention. Therefore the natural order of the language is modified, shaped and stylized. One of the most frequently used devices in slogans, catchphrases and article titles is alliteration: Don’t Live a Little, Live a Lotto! 2] The advertising slogans are the most effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of the product. In this text we can spot an example of foregrounding. ‘Deviation, which is a linguistic phenomenon, has an important psychological effect on readers (and hearers). If a part of a poem is deviant, it becomes especially noticeable, or perceptually prominent. We call this psychological effect foregrounding’. [3] Most of the writers use the sound of words in such a way that the readers’ attention is immediately engaged. The most common mean which is involved by the writers is repetition. Our attention is captivated and we start analysing the reasons why the writers use it. We can recognise play of sounds : little/lotto. There is also alliteration- the repetition of ‘l’ and ‘t’ sounds. Alliteration refers to tbe repetition of the same or similar consonants. /t/ is a voiceless, alveolar, plosive sound. It is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords, by obstructing the airflow in the vocal tract. /l/ is a voiced, bilateral, retroflex and approximant sound. The vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation and the airstream flows over the both sides of the tongue. When poets construct a poem they carefully choose words for their meanings, connotation and sounds. According to Paul Simpson ‘we make connections between, on the one hand, the physical properties of the sound represented within a text and, on the other, the non- linguistic phenomena situated outside a text to which these sounds relate’[4]. The sound effects of the poetic text are basic to the interpretation of poetry. When a relationship between sound and meaning is obvious, then it can reinforce the significance of a word for speaker and hearer. ‘The way people ‘sound’ their language can, certainly, be an indication of their individual or cultural personalities Speakers of a different language, from a different culture, might associate different implications with such sounds’. [5] The most critics are interested in the form of the poem and its meaning, and the poet’s message. According to Paul Fussell ‘Poetic forms are like that: they tend to say things even if words are not at the moment fitted to their patterns. As Louis MacNeice has said, â€Å"In any poet’s poem the shape is half the meaning. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. [6] Poetic forms refer to different sets of rules followed by poems. The rules describe such ascpects as the meter or rhythm of the poem, the rhyme scheme or the use of alliteration. One of the basic ways in which poetry can be distinguished from prose is the possession of metre. Some critics maintain the idea that the rhythm and metre are the same thing. The difference between both is in the way in which they relate to the whole. The metre is ‘an extra layer of rhythmic structuring’. 7] The rhythm is ‘the apprehension of a series of events as a regularly repeated pulse of energy, an experience which has a muscular as well as a mental dimension’. [8] The following lines aim to discuss the relationship between sound patterns, their function and their contribution towards the meaning a certain poem generates. Attention will be paid to the poem ‘My Last Duchess’, written by Robert Browning. He was an English poet and playwright whose verses of dramatic monologues made him one of the most renowned Victorian poets today. The poem is anthologised as an example of the dramatic monologue, ‘in which an identified character, or person, is the sole speaker: that is, the voice in the poem is ‘playing’ a role as in drama’. [9] The structure and the style of this poem play a significant role. It contains three formal elements – an occasion, a speaker, and a hearer. The words in dramatic monologues not only convey setting and action but also reveal the speaker’s character. The comments which he makes reveal information about his personality and psyche, knowingly or unknowingly. The main focus of a dramatic monologue is the personal information, not the topic which the speaker happens to be discussing. ‘We can see the personality of both poet and speaker in dramatic monologue, and can be aware of them operating as a reflex in the elements of action which is constant picture and vice versa’. [10] Browning defined the poem as a dramatic lyric. It is dramatic because there is an actor in it and performs a scene. However, at the same time it can’t be said that it is a typical lyric poem. The poem appears as one half of a conversation. He is not speaking his thoughts aloud to himself while he is alone. In general poems are written with the ‘full body’ of words and have their own meaning. ‘Meaning is something the reader intuits through the distorting influence of ‘form’, something the writer may choose, but does not necessarily control. ’[11] The goal of Browning is to illustrate a scene. There is a relation between sounds and meanings, the reality which language may represent. In his piece of work Robert Browning uses many techniques – enjambment, a simple rhyme scheme and caesura to convey various characteristics and qualities about the speaker and the situation. Mick Short claims that ‘The basic idea was that poems should enact what they described: ‘the sound must seem an echo to the sense’ (Alexander Pope, ‘An Essay on Criticism’, line 365). Musicality revolves around phonetic and rhythmic effects in particular, and it is thus necessary to be able to do metrical analysis in order to be able to explain important effects in many poems’. [12] ‘My last Duchess’ is written in iambic pentameter in order to imitate natural speech so that the poet is not confused with the persona. Browning’s intention is to imitate natural speech could be to distance himself from the Duke, who is the speaker in the poem.

Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B Dubois Essay Example for Free

Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B Dubois Essay Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois were two famous African American leaders during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were both activists and wanted blacks to have an education; they also wanted to end discrimination towards blacks. These leaders both wrote great speeches which clearly specified what they thought was right for African Americans. Even though Washington and Dubois focused on the same social, political and economic issues, they strongly disagreed on strategies of achieving their goal of equality. The first African American leader that changed America forever was Booker T. Washington. Booker T. was one of Americas greatest African American leaders who believed that blacks deserved to be equal. Booker T. mainly focused on education, he wanted blacks to concentrate on their education and not equality. He believed that if blacks mainly focused on getting equality, than blacks are wasting their time because racism and hatred will always be a part of everyday life from now and even in the future for all different kinds of races, cultures and religious beliefs. Booker T. wanted blacks to have something called Industrial Education, and this certain type of education provided the skills needed for jobs that were available to the majority of African Americans. Since he was mainly focusing on blacks in the south, he wanted blacks to  master and be advanced at agriculture and farming skills. Booker T. stated  that overtime, whites will see that blacks have responsibility and commitment of being an American citizen. This will earn respect and equality from whites and accepted as citizens of the United States of America. Booker T. Washington was recognized as being a great speaker. He gave many motivational speeches to black people saying not to let whites control them because as American citizens you are free to do whatever you want. He told blacks to think positive and stop hiding from people that are trying to put you down in society and defend yourself on what you think is right. He told white people that you are underestimating blacks for what they could accomplish in society; you are being disrespectful to blacks just because of their skin color. The second African American leader that changed America forever was W.E.B Dubois. He focused on the exact opposite things that of Booker T. Washington. Dubois was also mainly focused on education as Booker T. Washington was, but he believed that blacks should be book smart and be as well educated as a white person, this was called the gradualist political strategy. Dubois realized that Booker T. Washington was accommodating white interests in his speech called the Atlanta Compromise, this made many people shocked on how Washington was basically saying that you can treat blacks as unequals and discriminate us as long as we get a decent education. Dubois and his supporters responded to this speech by establishing the Niagara Movement. The Niagara Movement was a group of African-American civil rights activists including W.E.B Dubois; they wrote a speech that demanded for equality and to cease discrimination. The speech claims that as American citizens, we have rights and by not giving these rights to us, you have made no accomplishment on what you founded this land for. Dubois does not believe in violence but believes that sacrifices had to be made in order to get African Americans to be seen as equals. He labels his speech in numbers from one through five and in each request; he explained each of his demands in a very  aggressive tone. He sought for an immediate change and will not be satisfied by the little changes that will be made over time. Both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois both had great arguments and philosophies for trying to get African Americans to have futures of being seen as equals, but I felt like Booker T. Washington made more sense at the time. Booker T. understood that blacks would never be seen as equals and he accepted it. Booker T. preached that being equal is not all that important but as time goes by, we will get accepted in to this nation as equals. He said this to blacks because he didnt want blacks lose faith on ever being seen as equals but instead, blacks started focusing on themselves and lived their daily lives without anyone putting the down in society. There are still many people that are racist but now they have learned to accept it and carry on with their lives. Booker T. Washingtons theory will always be a part of our nation and other countries all around the world. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois were two famous African American leaders during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were both believed that blacks deserved equal rights as being an American citizen. These leaders both wrote great speeches which clearly specified what they thought was right for African Americans.

History Of Gender Inequality In Movies Film Studies Essay

History Of Gender Inequality In Movies Film Studies Essay The classic Hitchcockian woman remains a staple image of glamorous femininity within Western culture a depiction of femininity which has survived various waves of feminism, Betty Friedans condemnation of The Feminine Mystique (1963) and Naomi Wolfs revelation of The Beauty Myth (1991). Despite these attempts to eradicate such depictions of constructed womanhood, the Hitchcock blonde seems to remain forever in vogue, consistently seeing a resurgence within visual media, both in the cinema and within fashion editorials and advertising. The fact remains that this version of Woman remains steadfast within the culture conscious, upheld as the pinnacle of class, elegance and demure femininity. The dominating and controlling powers of the existing patriarchal culture system has created, promoted and perpetuated the idea of this previously discussed idyllic femininity. Despite the suggested modern progressions in gender equality, inevitably, it must be understood that this version of passive femininity is glamorised simply as it promotes a more manageable version of woman for masculinity. It seems ludicrous; however, that passive femininity is so thoroughly promoted within modern visual culture, openly focusing upon aesthetics which characterise the Hitchcock Blonde, while seemingly choosing to forgo the consideration of what these iconic representations actually communicate. There is a consistent re-emergence of this sort of glamorisation within fashion and advertising (Fig. 1 4), serving only as a constant re-communication of its desirability, seemingly ignoring the fact that this also glamorises the kind of ideology expressed in these films as well as the style. In essen ce, these images of woman, promoted in contemporary times, seems extremely regressive, as all they can inevitably communicate is an era of woman that is constantly depicted as dominated by man while plagued by the feminine mystique, ultimately demoralised and trapped within their domesticity. A time when, as Friedan discusses, women were defined only in sexual relation to men mans wife, sex object, mother, housewife and never as persons defining themselves by their own actions in society. In the twenty first century, however, there exists a general consensus that this kind of gender inequality is a thing of the past, truly a problem for a long forgotten era. Yet, the reality remains that while progress has certainly been made towards a more positive outlook for femininity under patriarchy, progress has been severely overestimated by the media, allowing the facade of equality and demonstrative exhibitions of gender equality in the work place to permit this belief in substantial developments. For example, while women may now have a more substantial position within the workforce, the fact remains that behind the headline figures of near equality of participation, there remain major differences in the employment conditions and pay of women and men, ultimately highlighting the remnants of this deep seated belief in a gender hierarchy, of passivity and dominance. While there may exist this facade of equality, seemingly functioning in order to placate society, the ideology which creates this unequal environment remains in action. This lack of evident progression within media representation seems to highlight what many third wave feminists or post feminism movements have expressed that this lack of significant results is the cause for a decrease in the optimism and idealism which seemed to characterise the feminist movements of the 1970s. Far from seeing this as perhaps position for the current state of feminism, it could be argued to, instead, be a positive progression. Judith Stacey, interviewing the second-wave feminists and their daughters, found that this new generation of feminism did not want to continue the trend of anger and political protests. An opinion which seems to be the current assessment, as the observations of Alice Rossi, through her studies of the feminist movement over the past hundred years, reveals the desire to see a ch ange in how feminist values are acted out. This seems to suggest that movement towards a more post feminist approach to equality, combined with a more postmodern approach to media representations seems to be the way in which progression can be made. A dramatic reorganisation of a representational system would certainly be both too radical and inconceivable, but adhering to more postmodern ideas surrounding complicity would perhaps provide more progressive results. Linda Hutcheon, literary theorist and postmodernist, believes that the combination of both complicity with dominant representational strategies and critique is what characteristically defines a work as postmodern. Essentially suggesting that the process of working within the cinema system, utilising the existing codes and conventions which have been responsible for publicising and perpetuating this image of passive femininity, yet producing work which suggests the possibility for a re-evaluation of the ruling ideology. The use of a more postmodern approach to progression is certainly more appealing, reinforced by the ways in which Hutcheon discusses how: contemporary artists engage with the systems of the media and the market with strategies of subversive complicity, by which she means the ability to operate within dominate codes of representation while at the same time questioning them. Considering this in the context of a more progressive cinema system, postmodernism would function by utilising the position as an insider, operating many usual codes and conventions, yet ultimately working to de-toxify existing cultural conventions, the givens that go without saying' within narrative, mainstream cinema. Presenting the possibility of providing the feminist cause with a way in which to resist or alter oppressive ideologies from within the system which has been responsible for creating them.  While not all postmodern work may utilise this process of subversion through complicity, there is certainly an argument for its use in the cause of progressing equality within cinema narratives for women. Perhaps the best example of such subversion within cinema lays with the work of director David Lynch. Fittingly, his Hitchcockian influence is obvious with his obvious addressal of of film noir aesthetics as well as with his implimation of HITCHOCKIAN THEMES SUCH AS VOEYIRSM, PSYCHOLOGY HIS INTENTIONS ARE OBVIOUSLT ALWAYS TO SUBVERT THE DOMINANT ORDER OF CINEMA   While he may not specifically have such aims, the work of Lynch can be argued to showcase a possible development towards a more agreeable cinematic depictions or messages which differ from the dominant order. While Lynch may adhere to many typical conventions of cinema (often passive women, voyeurism, dominance, violence etc) women are not alone in their degradation within Lynchs narratives. Postmodernism? while not all postmodern work may utilise this theory or complicity in order to create change, there is certainly an argument for the success of such an approach. Such an approach seems useful for the cause of feminism, allowing cinema, to not be utterly deconstructed and reconstructed, but instead, merely subverted. Perhaps one of the most notable examples of this kind of subversion is the work of David Lynch. His work complies to the general rules of cinema, presenting Typical cinematic depictions? Women and men? Narrative? But at the same time, causing spectators to witness a narrative which subverts what mainstream cinema has caused them to expect. Considering this idea of postmodernism within cinema, the discussion of director David Lynch is extremely useful. Primarily considered a surrealist and significantly influenced by Hitchcockian film noir motifs and visual styles, Lynchs narratives adhere to many cinematic conventions, yet subverts the usual message which audiences have come to expect through constant exposure to mainstream cinema. There, for instance, exists a notable lack of the blot which characterises Hitchcocks work, as Lynch instead practices what Zizek refers to a as extraneation: the decomposition of reality in such a way as to expose the fantasy and real elements that constitute it. Essentially, lynch utlisies cinemas abibilty for creating fantasies and entertainment, yet seems to utilise it in a way which creates an unnerving effect. This extraneation presenting fiction, while causing us to consider the reality that formed it. However, it is precisely in this way, Zizek argues, that Lynch achieves what he calls the ridiculous sublime. On the one hand we have the flimsy, absurd symbolic; and next to it we find the real, abominable Thing. In a way quite different from Hitchcock, yet with a certain kinship with him, Lynch has exposed the mechanism of sublimation without altogether dispensing with it. Against the ideology of psychologically convincing characters, Zizek favors Lynchs extraneation of the characters, the effects of which are strangely de-realized or de-psychologised persons. There is a method to Lynchs madness, so to speak. The psychological unity of the characters disintegrates into a spiritual transubstantiation of common cliches, as Zizek calls it here, and into outbursts of the brutal Real, with reality and its fantasmatic supplement acting side by side, as though existing on the same surface. Ultimately, Zizeks reading of Lynch, and by extension Lynchs fim itself, is profoundly political. Their common method is the opposite of obscurantism or pastiche of arcane topics. Both in their own way provide proof that our à ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã†â€™fantasies support our sense of reality, and that this is in turn a defence against the Real. Together with their sublime thought, both Lynch and Zizek are profoundly entertaining through their ridiculous art.Pg.6 Firstly, Zizeks observation that extraneation in Lynchs work has a magic redemptive quality is ecvhoed in Jungs theory of consciousness and unconscious: Only in an interplay of consciousness and the unconscious can the unconscious prove its value, and perhaps even show a way to overcome the melancholy of the void. If the unconscious, once in action, is left to itself, there is a risk that its contents will become overpowering or will manifest their negative, destructive side (Jaffe. Pg.297) This interplay can be directly observed in the style of all three films, especially where the distinction between dreamlike but real images and dreams as fantasy images are blurred. Pg22 We Live Inside a Dream: The Function and Origins of Dreams in David Lynchs Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and Lost Highway

Dependent Personality Disorder Essay -- essays research papers

A Psychological Aspect of Susan Smith: Dependent Personality Disorder   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On October 25, 1994, Susan Smith drowned her two sons, Michael and Alex, in the John D. Long Lake in Union County, South Carolina. For nine days she lied about knowing where the boys were. On November 3, she confessed to the killings and would soon go to trial. Susan’s defense team hired a psychiatrist to conduct a psychiatric evaluation of her. She was diagnosed as having dependent personality disorder. He described her as a person who â€Å"feels she can’t do anything on her own†. â€Å"She constantly needs affection and becomes terrified that she’ll be left alone† She was only depressed when she was alone. The psychiatrist studied her family history and concluded that based on her family history and his interviews with her, Susan had a tendency toward depression that began in her childhood. Susan’s attorney argued that his client was psychologically destabilized by a lifetime of betrayal. A father who killed himself when she was just six, a stepfather who sexually molested her as a child, a husband who cheated on her and a boyfriend who toyed with her affections (Pergament).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Her boyfriend testified that â€Å"the pleasure she got from sex was not physical pleasure, it was just in being close and being loved†. The psychiatrist testified that Susan had sex with four different men during the six-week period leading up to the murders and she had begun to drink heavily during this time (Pergament). Alcoholism is a component of dependent personality disorder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After only four days of testimony, the defense rested its case. Susan was charged with two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole in 30 years, the year 2025.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dependent personality disorder is an inability to function without significant reliance on a forceful or dominant person providing direction. Individuals diagnosed with dependent personality disorder are usually quiet, and needy for attention, valuation, and social contact. Lack of self-confidence and relying on others are typical. Threatened with solitude or separation, a dependent disorder person may panic  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  with feelings of profound helplessness (Gillihan). The person may be convinced that he/she is incapable... ...ost effective in treatment (Gillihan).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, The National Mental Health Association suggests that: There are many types of help available for different personality disorders. Treatment may include individual, group, or family psychotherapy. Medications prescribed by the patient’s physician may also be helpful in relieving some of the symptoms of personality disorders including problems with anxiety and depression. References American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV. (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author Bornstein, Robert F. (1993). The Dependent Personality. New York: Guilford Press Gillihan, Lori. (n.d). Dependent Personality Disorder. Retrieved March 1, 2002, from http://cstl-coe.semo.edu National Mental Health Association. (n.d.). Personality Disorders. Retrieved from http://www.nmha.org Pergament, Rachel. (n.d.). Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim? Retrieved March 1, 2002 from http://www.crimelibrary.com Rey, Joseph M. (1996) Antecedents of Personality Disorders in Young Adults. Psychiatric Times, 13 (2). Retrieved March 1, 2002, from http://www.mhsource.com

chlamydia :: essays research papers

Chlamydia (STD) Æ’Ã ¦ Chlamydia trachoma is a sexually transmitted disease that is transmitted by direct contact through oral, vaginal and anal intercourse and is also transmitted to newborns through vaginal birth by an infected mother. This disease is not passed on by indirect contact, such as a toilet seat. Æ’Ã ¦ Chlamydia trachoma is biologically active in vaginal and penile secretions and fluids. Æ’Ã ¦ The usual reservoir for C. trachoma is the mucous membranes of the body found in the genital region, throat, and eyes. Æ’Ã ¦ The etiological agent of Chlamydia is C. trachomatis which has the following general characteristics: obligate intracellular parasite gram negative coccoid bacteria nonmotile intracellular does not possess a peptidoglycan layer unable to produce its own ATP. Æ’Ã ¦ The following tests are used to identify C. trachomatis: 1) ELISA test and FA test may be effective only when the bacterium is metabolically active (not infectious), these tests are used to detect group specific LPS and strain-specific outer membrane proteins 2) gram staining (negative, coccoid) 3) culture and iodine staining for inclusion bodies (used because the trachoma species of Chlamydia cannot be stained with iodine because it does not contain glycogen) 4) Serological tests that detect high titer IgM antibodies indicates a recent infection (used in adults, cannot distinguish between current and previous infections, not very useful) 5) nucleic acid probes (these are currently new and further info was not available) Æ’Ã ¦ The bacterium C. trachomatis was first discovered in 1907 by Stanislaus von Prowazek in Berlin. The genus part of the name, Chlalmydia, comes from the Greek word chlamys, which means cloak and the species part of the name, trachomatis is also Greek and means rough or harsh. This name is perfectly associated with the actions of this disease. Æ’Ã ¦ A cloak is meant to hide, conceal or even disguise; and that is what C. trachomatis does on the inside of the body, it hides, it is usually asymptomatic (no symptoms). It enters the body through mucous membranes on the body as elementary bodies that bind to receptors on the host cells and are taken in by endocytosis or phagocytosis. The elementary bodies become reticulate bodies that do not combine with the lysosome and are able to resist being digested and killed. The reticulate bodies reproduce by binary fission and change back into elementary bodies which leave by reverse endocytosis. The elementary bodies have a rough outer membrane that allows them to be resistant against  ¡Ã‚ §harsh ¡Ã‚ ¨ environmental conditions which is associated with the name trachomatis.

Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 1-2

PART ONE SATURDAY NIGHT Like one that on that lonesome road Doth walk in fear and dread, And having once turned round walks on, And no more turns his head; Because he knows a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner 1 THE BREEZE The Breeze blew into San Junipero in the shotgun seat of Billy Winston's Pinto wagon. The Pinto lurched dangerously from shoulder to centerline, the result of Billy trying to roll a joint one-handed while balancing a Coors tallboy and bopping to the Bob Marley song that crackled through the stereo. â€Å"We be jammin' now, mon!† Billy said, toasting The Breeze with a slosh of the Coors. The Breeze shook his head balefully. â€Å"Keep the can down, watch the road, let me roll the doobie,† he said. â€Å"Sorry, Breeze,† Billy said. â€Å"I'm just stoked that we're on the road.† Billy's admiration for The Breeze was boundless. The Breeze was truly cool, a party renaissance man. He spent his days at the beach and his nights in a cloud of sinsemilla. The Breeze could smoke all night, polish off a bottle of tequila, maintain well enough to drive the forty miles back to Pine Cove without arousing the suspicion of a single cop, and be on the beach by nine the next morning acting as if the term hangover were too abstract to be considered. On Billy Winston's private list of personal heroes The Breeze ranked second only to David Bowie. The Breeze twisted the joint, lit it, and handed it to Billy for the first hit. â€Å"What are we celebrating?† Billy croaked, trying to hold in the smoke. The Breeze held up a finger to mark the question, while he dug the Dionysian Book of Days: An Occasion for Every Party from the pocket of his Hawaiian shirt. He flipped through the pages until he found the correct date. â€Å"Nambian Independence Day,† he announced. â€Å"Bitchin',† Billy said. â€Å"Party down for Nambian Independence.† â€Å"It says,† The Breeze continued, â€Å"that the Nambians celebrate their independence by roasting and eating a whole giraffe and drinking a mixture of fermented guava juice and the extract of certain tree frogs that are thought to have magical powers. At the height of the celebration, all the boys who have come of age are circumcised with a sharp stone.† â€Å"Maybe we can circumcise a few Techies tonight if it gets boring,† Billy said. Techies was the term The Breeze used to refer to the male students of San Junipero Technical College. For the most part, they were ultraconservative, crew-cut youths who were perfectly satisfied with their role as bulk stock to be turned into tools for industrial America by the rigid curricular lathe of San Junipero Tech. To The Breeze, the Techies' way of thinking was so foreign that he couldn't even muster a healthy loathing for them. They were simply nonentities. On the other hand, the coeds of S.J. Tech occupied a special place in The Breeze's heart. In fact, finding a few moments of blissful escape between the legs of a nubile coed was the only reason he was subjecting himself to a forty-mile sojourn in the company of Billy Winston. Billy Winston was tall, painfully thin, ugly, smelled bad, and had a particular talent for saying the wrong thing in almost any situation. On top of it all, The Breeze suspected that Billy was gay. The idea had been reinforced one night when he dropped in on Billy at his job as night desk clerk at the Rooms-R-Us motel and found him leafing through a Playgirl magazine. In Breeze's business one got used to running across the skeletons in people's closets. If Billy's skeleton wore women's underwear, it didn't really matter. Homosexuality on Billy Winston was like acne on a leper. The up side of Billy Winston was that he had a car that ran and would take The Breeze anywhere he wanted to go. The Breeze's van was currently being held by some Big Sur growers as collateral against the forty pounds of sinsemilla buds he had stashed in a suitcase at his trailer. â€Å"The way I see it,† said Billy, â€Å"we hit the Mad Bull first. Do a pitcher of margaritas at Jose's, dance a little at the Nuked Whale, and if we don't find any nookie, we head back home for a nightcap at the Slug.† â€Å"Let's hit the Whale first and see what's shakin',† The Breeze said. The Nuked Whale was San Junipero's premier college dance club. If The Breeze was going to find a coed to cuddle, it would be at the Whale. He had no intention of making the drive with Billy back to Pine Cove for a nightcap at the Head of the Slug. Closing up the Slug was tantamount to having a losing night, and The Breeze was through with being a loser. Tomorrow when he sold the forty pounds of grass he would pocket twenty grand. After twenty years blowing up and down the coast, living on nickle-dime deals to make rent, The Breeze was, at last, stepping into the winners' circle, and there was no room for a loser like Billy Winston. Billy parked the Pinto in a yellow zone a block away from the Nuked Whale. From the sidewalk they could hear the throbbing rhythms of the latest techno-pop dance music. The unlikely pair covered the block in a few seconds, Billy striding ahead while The Breeze brought up the rear with a laid-back shuffle. As Billy slipped under the neon whale tail and into the club, the doorman – a fresh-faced slab of muscle and crew cut – caught him by the arm. â€Å"Let's see some I.D.† Billy flashed an expired driver's license as Breeze caught up to him and began digging into the pocket of his Day-Glo green surf shorts for his wallet. The doorman raised a hand in dismissal. â€Å"That's okay, buddy, with that hairline you don't need any.† The Breeze ran his hand over his forehead self-consciously. Last month he had turned forty, a dubious achievement for a man who had once vowed never to trust anyone over thirty. Billy reached around him and slapped two dollar bills into the doorman's hand. â€Å"Here,† he said, â€Å"buy yourself a night with an Inflate-A-Date.† â€Å"What!† The doorman vaulted off his stool and puffed himself up for combat, but Billy had already scampered away into the crowded club. The Breeze stepped in front of the doorman and raised his hands in surrender. â€Å"Cut him some slack, man. He's got problems.† â€Å"He's going to have some problems,† the doorman bristled. â€Å"No, really,† The Breeze continued, wishing that Billy had spared him the loyal gesture and therefore the responsibility of pacifying this collegiate cave man. â€Å"He's on medication. Psychological problems.† The doorman was unsure. â€Å"If this guy is dangerous, get him out of here.† â€Å"Not dangerous, just a little squirrelly – he's bipolar Oedipal,† The Breeze said with uncharacteristic pomposity. â€Å"Oh,† the doorman said, as if it had all become clear. â€Å"Well, keep him in line or you're both out.† â€Å"No problem.† The Breeze turned and joined Billy at the bar amid a crunch of beer-drinking students. Billy handed him a Heineken. Billy said, â€Å"What did you say to that asshole to calm him down?† â€Å"I told him you wanted to fuck your mom and kill your dad.† â€Å"Cool. Thanks, Breeze.† â€Å"No charge.† The Breeze tipped his beer in salute. Things were not going well for him. Somehow he had been snared into this male-bonding bullshit with Billy Winston, when all he wanted to do was ditch him and get laid. The Breeze turned and leaned back, scanning the club for a likely candidate. He had set his sights on a homely but tight-assed little blond in leather pants when Billy broke his concentration. â€Å"You got any blow, man?† Billy had shouted to be heard over the music, but his timing was off; the song had ended. Everyone at the bar turned toward The Breeze and waited, as if the next few words he spoke would reveal the true meaning of life, the winning numbers in the state lottery, and the unlisted phone number of God. The Breeze grabbed Billy by the front of the shirt and hustled him to the back of the club, where a group of Techies were pounding a pinball machine, oblivious to anything but buzzers and bells. Billy looked like a frightened child who had been dragged from a movie theater for shouting out the ending. â€Å"First,† The Breeze hissed, waving a trembling finger under Billy's nose to enumerate his point, â€Å"first, I do not use or sell cocaine.† This was half true. He did not sell since he had done six months in Soledad for dealing – and would go up for five years if he was busted again. He used it only when it was offered or when he needed bait when trolling for women. Tonight he was holding a gram. â€Å"Second, if I did use, I wouldn't want it announced to everybody in San Junipero.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Breeze.† Billy tried to look small and weak. â€Å"Third,† The Breeze shook three stubby fingers in Billy's face, â€Å"we have an agreement. If one of us scores, the other one gets cut loose. Well, I think I found someone, so cut loose.† Billy started to shuffle toward the door, head down, his lower lip hanging, like the bloated victim of a lynch mob. After a few steps he turned. â€Å"If you need a ride – if things don't work out – I'll be at the Mad Bull.† The Breeze, as he watched the injured Billy skulk away, felt a twinge of remorse. Forget it, he thought, Billy had it coming. After the deal tomorrow he wouldn't need Billy or any of the quarter-ounce-a-week buyers of his ilk. The Breeze was eager for the time when he could afford to be without friends. He strutted across the dance floor toward the blond in the leather pants. Having wafted through most of his forty years as a single man, The Breeze had come to recognize the importance of the pickup line. At best, it should be original, charming, concise but lyrical – a catalyst to invoke curiosity and lust. Knowing this, he approached his quarry with the calm of a well-armed man. â€Å"Yo, babe,† he said, â€Å"I've got a gram of prime Peruvian marching powder. You want to go for a walk?† â€Å"Pardon me?† the girl said, somewhere between astonishment and disgust. The Breeze noticed that she had a wide-eyed, fawnlike look – Bambi with too much mascara. He gave her his best surfer-boy smile. â€Å"I was wondering if you'd like to powder your nose.† â€Å"You're old enough to be my father,† she said. The Breeze was staggered by the rejection. As the girl escaped onto the crowded dance floor, he fell back to the bar to consider strategy. Go on to the next one? Everybody gets tubed now and then; you just have to climb back on the board and wait for the next wave. He scanned the dance floor looking for a chance at the wild ride. Nothing but sorority girls with absolutely perfect hair. No chance. His fantasy of jumping one and using her until her perfect hair was tangled into a hopeless knot at the back of her head had been relegated long ago to the realm of fairy tales and free money. The energy in San Junipero was all wrong. It didn't matter – he'd be a rich man tomorrow. Best to catch a ride back to Pine Cove. With luck he could get to the Head of the Slug Saloon before last call and pick up one of the standby bitches who still valued good company and didn't require a hundred bucks worth of blow to get upside down with you. As he stepped into the street a chill wind bit at his bare legs and swept through his thin shirt. Thumbing the forty miles back to Pine Cove was going to suck, big time. Maybe Billy was still at the Mad Bull? No, The Breeze told himself, there are worse things than freezing your ass off. He shrugged off the cold and fell into a steady stride toward the highway, his new fluorescent yellow deck shoes squeaking with every step. They rubbed his little toe when he walked. After five blocks he felt the blister break and go raw. He cursed himself for becoming another slave to fashion. Half a mile outside of San Junipero the streetlights ended. Darkness added to The Breeze's list of mounting aggravations. Without trees and buildings to break its momentum, the cold Pacific wind increased and whipped his clothes around him like torn battle flags. Blood from his damaged toe was beginning to spot the canvas of his deck shoe. A mile out of town The Breeze abandoned the dancing, smiling, and tipping of a ghost-hat that was supposed to charm drivers into stopping to give a ride to a poor, lost surfer. Now he trudged, head down in the dark, his back to traffic, a single frozen thumb thrust into the air beaconing, then changing into a middle finger of defiance as each car passed without slowing. â€Å"Fuck you! You heartless assholes!† His throat was sore from screaming. He tried to think of the money – sweet, liberating cash, crispy and green – but again and again he was brought back to the cold, the pain in his feet, and the increasingly dismal chance of getting a ride home. It was late, and the traffic was thinning to a car every five minutes or so. Hopelessness circled in his mind like a vulture. He considered doing the cocaine, but the idea of entering a too-fast jangle on a lonely, dark road and crashing into a paranoid, teeth-chattering shiver seemed somewhat insane. Think about the money. The money. It was all Billy Winston's fault. And the guys in Big Sur; they didn't have to take his van. It wasn't like he had ever ripped anyone off on a big deal before. It wasn't like he was a bad guy. Hadn't he let Robert move into his trailer, rent free, when his old lady threw him out? Didn't he help Robert put a new head gasket in his truck? Hadn't he always played square – let people try the product before buying? Didn't he advance his regulars a quarter-ounce until payday? In a business that was supposed to be fast and loose, wasn't he a pillar of virtue? Right as rain? Straight as an arrow†¦. A car pulled up twenty yards behind him and hit the brights. He didn't turn. Years of experience told him that anyone using that approach was only offering a ride to one place, the Iron-bar Hotel. The Breeze walked on, as if he didn't notice the car. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his surf shorts, as if fighting the cold, found the cocaine and slipped it into his mouth, paper and all. Instantly his tongue went numb. He raised his hands in surrender and turned, expecting to see the flashing reds and blues of a county sheriff cruiser. But it wasn't a cop. It was just two guys in an old Chevy, playing games. He could make out their figures past the headlights. The Breeze swallowed the paper the cocaine had been wrapped in. Taken by a burning anger, fueled by blow and blood-lust, he stormed toward the Chevy. â€Å"C'mon out, you fucking clowns.† Someone crawled out of the passenger side. It looked like a child – no, thicker – a dwarf. The Breeze blew on. â€Å"Bring a tire iron, you little shit. You'll need it.† â€Å"Wrong,† said the dwarf, the voice was low and gravely. The Breeze pulled up and squinted into the headlights. It wasn't a dwarf, it was a big dude, a giant. Huge, getting bigger as it moved toward him. Too fast. The Breeze turned and started to run. He got three steps before the jaws clamped over his head and shoulders, crunching through his bones as if they were peppermint sticks. When the Chevy pulled back onto the highway, the only thing left of The Breeze was a single fluorescent-yellow deck shoe. It would be a fleeting mystery to passers-by for two days until a hungry crow carried it away. No one would notice that there was still a foot inside. PART TWO SUNDAY All mystical experience is coincidence; and vice versa, of course. – Tom Stoppard, Jumpers 2 PINE COVE The village of Pine Cove lay in a coastal pine forest just south of the great Big Sur wilderness area, on a small natural harbor. The village was established in the 1880s by a dairy farmer from Ohio who found verdant hills around the cove provided perfect fodder for his cows. The settlement, such as it was – two families and a hundred cows – went nameless until the 1890s, when the whalers came to town and christened it Harpooner's Cove. With a cove to shelter their small whaling boats and the hills from which they could sight the migrating gray whales far out to sea, the whalers prospered and the village grew. For thirty years a greasy haze of death blew overhead from the five-hundred-gallon rendering pots where thousands of whales were boiled down to oil. When the whale population dwindled and electricity and kerosene became an alternative to whale oil, the whalers abandoned Harpooner's Cove, leaving behind mountains of whale bone and the rusting hulks of their rendering kettles. To this day many of the town's driveways are lined with the bleached arches of whale ribs, and even now, when the great gray whales pass, they rise out of the water a bit and cast a suspicious eye toward the little cove, as if expecting the slaughter to begin again. After the whalers left, the village survived on cattle ranching and the mining of mercury, which had been discovered in the nearby hills. The mercury ran out about the same time the coastal highway was completed through Big Sur, and Harpooner's Cove became a tourist town. Passers-through who wanted a little piece of California's burgeoning tourist industry but didn't want to deal with the stress of life in San Francisco or Los Angeles, stopped and built motels, souvenir shops, restaurants, and real estate offices. The hills around Pine Cove were subdivided. Pine forests and pastures became ocean-view lots, sold for a song to tourists from California's central valley who wanted to retire on the coast. Again the village grew, populated by retirees and young couples who eschewed the hustle of the city to raise their children in a quiet coastal town. Harpooner's Cove became a village of the newly wed and the nearly dead. In the 1960s the young, environmentally conscious residents decided that the name Harpooner's Cove hearkened back to a time of shame for the village and that the name Pine Cove was more appropriate to the quaint, bucolic image the town had come to depend on. And so, with the stroke of a pen and the posting of a sign – WELCOME TO PINE COVE, GATEWAY TO BIG SUR – history was whitewashed. The business district was confined to an eight-block section of Cypress Street, which ran parallel to the coast highway. Most of the buildings on Cypress sported facades of English Tudor half-timbering, which made Pine Cove an anomaly among the coastal communities of California with their predominantly Spanish-Moorish architecture. A few of the original structures still stood, and these, with their raw timbers and feel of the Old West, were a thorn in the side of the Chamber of Commerce, who played on the village's English look to promote tourism. In a half-assed attempt at thematic consistency, several pseudo-authentic, Ole English restaurants opened along Cypress Street to lure tourists with the promise of tasteless English cuisine. (There had even been an attempt by one entrepreneur to establish an authentic English pizza place, but the enterprise was abandoned with the realization that boiled pizza lost most of its character.) Pine Cove's locals avoided patronage of these restaurants with the duplicity of a Hindu cattle rancher: willing to reap the profits without sampling the product. Locals dined at the few, out-of-the-way cafes that were content with carving a niche out of the hometown market with good food and service rather than gouging an eye out of the swollen skull of the tourist market with overpriced, pretentious charm. The shops along Cypress Street were functional only in that they moved money from the pockets of the tourists into the local economy. From the standpoint of the villagers, there was nothing of practical use for sale in any of the stores. For the tourist, immersed in the oblivion of vacation spending, Cypress Street provided a bonanza of curious gifts to prove to the folks back home that they had been somewhere. Somewhere where they had obviously forgotten that soon they would return home to a mortgage, dental bills, and an American Express bill that would descend at the end of the month like a financial Angel of Death. And they bought. They bought effigies of whales and sea otters carved in wood, cast in plastic, brass, or pewter, stamped on key chains, printed on postcards, posters, book covers, and condoms. They bought all sorts of useless junk imprinted with: Pine Cove, Gateway to Big Sur, from bookmarks to bath soap. Over the years it became a challenge to the Pine Cove shopowners to come up with an item so tacky that it would not sell. Gus Brine, owner of the local general store, suggested once at a Chamber of Commerce meeting that the merchants, without compromising their high standards, might put cow manure into jars, imprint the label with Pine Cove, Gateway to Big Sur, and market it as authentic gray whale feces. As often happens with matters of money, the irony of Brine's suggestion was lost, a motion was carried, a plan was laid, and if it had not been for a lack of volunteers to do the actual packaging, the shelves of Cypress Street would have displayed numbered, limited-edition jars of Genuine Whale Waste. The residents of Pine Cove went about their work of fleecing the tourists with a slow, methodical resolve that involved more waiting than activity. Life, in general, was slow in Pine Cove. Even the wind that came in off the Pacific each evening crept slowly through the trees, allowing the villagers ample time to bring in wood and stoke their fires against the damp cold. In the morning, down on Cypress Street, the Open signs flipped with a languid disregard for the times posted on the doors. Some shops opened early, some late, and some not at all, especially if it was a nice day for a walk on the beach. It was as if the villagers, having found their little bit of peace, were waiting for something to happen. And it did. Around midnight on the night that The Breeze disappeared, every dog in Pine Cove began barking. During the following fifteen minutes, shoes were thrown, threats were made, and the sheriff was called and called again. Wives were beaten, pistols were loaded, pillows were pounded, and Mrs. Feldstein's thirty-two cats simultaneously coughed up hairballs on her porch. Blood pressure went up, aspirin was opened, and Milo Tobin, the town's evil developer, looked out the front window to see his young neighbor, Rosa Cruz, in the nude, chasing twin Pomeranians around her front yard. The strain was too much for his chain-smoker's heart, and he flopped on the floor like a fish and died. On another hill, Van Williams, the tree surgeon, had reached the limit of his patience with his neighbors, a family of born-again dog breeders whose six Labrador retrievers barked all night long with or without supernatural provocation. With his professional-model chain saw he dropped a hundred-foot Monterey pine tree on their new Dodge Evangeline van. A few minutes later, a family of raccoons who normally roamed the streets of Pine Cove breaking into garbage cans, were taken, temporarily, with a strange sapience and ignored their normal activities to steal the stereo out of the ruined van and install it in their den that lay in the trunk of a hollow tree. An hour after the cacophony began, it stopped. The dogs had delivered their message, and as it goes in cases where dogs warn of coming earthquakes, tornadoes, or volcanic eruptions, the message was completely misconstrued. What was left the next morning was a very sleepy, grumpy village brimming with lawsuits and insurance claims, but without a single clue that something was coming. At six that morning a cadre of old men gathered outside the general store to discuss the events of the night before, never once letting their ignorance of what had happened interfere with a good bull session. A new, four-wheel-drive pickup pulled into the small parking lot, and Augustus Brine crawled out, jangling his huge key ring as if it were a talisman of power sent down by the janitor god. He was a big man, sixty years old, white haired and bearded, with shoulders like a mountain gorilla. People alternately compared him to Santa Claus and the Norse god Odin. â€Å"Morning, boys,† Brine grumbled to the old men, who gathered behind him as he unlocked the door and let them into the dark interior of Brine's Bait, Tackle, and Fine Wines. As he switched on the lights and started brewing the first two pots of his special, secret, dark-roast coffee, Brine was assaulted by a salvo of questions. â€Å"Gus, did you hear the dogs last night?† â€Å"We heard a tree went down on your hill. You hear anything about it?† â€Å"Can you brew some decaf? Doctor says I've got to cut the caffeine.† â€Å"Bill thinks it was a bitch in heat started the barking, but it was all over town.† â€Å"Did you get any sleep? I couldn't get back to sleep.† Brine raised a big paw to signal that he was going to speak, and the old men fell silent. It was like that every morning: Brine arrived in the middle of a discussion and was immediately elected to the role of expert and mediator. â€Å"Gentlemen, the coffee's on. In regard to the events of last night, I must claim ignorance.† â€Å"You mean it didn't wake you up?† Jim Whatley asked from under the brim of a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball cap. â€Å"I retired early last night with two lovely teenage bottles of cabernet, Jim. Anything that happened after that did so without my knowledge or consent.† Jim was miffed with Brine's detachment. â€Å"Well, every goddamn dog in town started barking last night like the end of the world was coming.† â€Å"Dogs bark,† Brine stated. He left off the â€Å"big deal† – it was understood from his tone. â€Å"Not every dog in town. Not all at once. George thinks it's supernatural or something.† Brine raised a white eyebrow toward George Peters, who stood by the coffee machine sporting a dazzling denture grin. â€Å"And what, George, leads you to the conclusion that the cause of this disturbance was supernatural?† â€Å"Woke up with a hard-on for the first time in twenty years. It got me right up. I thought I'd rolled over on the flashlight I keep by the bed for midnight emergencies.† â€Å"How were the batteries, Georgie?† someone interjected. â€Å"I tried to wake up the wife. Whacked her on the leg with it just to get her attention. I told her the bear was charging and I have one bullet left.† â€Å"And?† Brine filled the pause. â€Å"She told me to put some ice on it to make the swelling go down.† â€Å"Well,† Brine said, stroking his beard, â€Å"that certainly sounds like a supernatural experience to me.† He turned to the rest of the group and announced his judgment. â€Å"Gents, I agree with George. As with Lazarus rising from the dead, this unexplained erection is hard evidence of the supernatural at work. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have cash customers to attend to.† The last remark was not meant as a dig toward the old men, whom Brine allowed to drink coffee all day free of charge. Augustus Brine had long ago won their loyalty, and it would have been absurd for any one of them to think of going anywhere else to purchase wine, or cheese, or bait, or gasoline, even though Brine's prices were a good thirty percent higher than the Thrifty-Mart down the street. Could the pimple-faced clerks at the Thrifty-Mart give advice on which bait was best for rock cod, a recipe for an elegant dill sauce for that same fish, recommend a fine wine to complement the meal, and at the same time ask after the well-being of every family member for three generations by name? They could not! And therein lay the secret of Augustus Brine's ability to run a successful business based entirely on the patronage of locals in an economy catering to tourists. Brine made his way to the counter, where an attractive woman in a waitress apron awaited, impatiently worrying a five-dollar bill. â€Å"Five dollars worth of unleaded, Gus.† She thrust the bill at Brine. â€Å"Rough night, Jenny?† â€Å"Does it show?† Jenny made a show of fixing her shoulder-length auburn hair and smoothing her apron. â€Å"A safe assumption, only,† Brine said with a smile that revealed teeth permanently stained by years of coffee and pipe smoke. â€Å"The boys tell me there was a citywide disturbance last night.† â€Å"Oh, the dogs. I thought it was just my neighborhood. I didn't get to sleep until four in the morning, then the phone rang and woke me up.† â€Å"I heard about you and Robert splitting up,† Brine said. â€Å"Did someone send out a newsletter or something? We've only been separated a few days.† Irritation put an unattractive rasp in her voice. â€Å"It's a small town,† Brine said softly. â€Å"I wasn't trying to be nosy.† â€Å"I'm sorry, Gus. It's just the lack of sleep. I'm so tired I was hallucinating on the way down here. I thought I heard Wayne Newton singing ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus.'† â€Å"Maybe you did.† â€Å"The music was coming from a pine tree. I'm telling you, I've been a basket case all week.† Brine reached across the counter and patted her hand. â€Å"The only constant in this life is change, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Give yourself a break.† Just then Vance McNally, the local ambulance driver, burst through the door. The radio on his belt made a sizzling sound as if he'd just stepped out of a deep fryer. â€Å"Guess who vapor locked last night?† he said, obviously hoping that no one would know. Everyone turned and waited for his announcement. Vance basked in their attention for a moment to confirm his self-importance. â€Å"Milo Tobin,† he said, finally. â€Å"The evil developer?† George asked. â€Å"That's him. Sometime around midnight. We just bagged him,† Vance said to the group. Then to Brine, â€Å"Can I get a pack of Marlboros?† The old men searched each other's faces for the right reaction to Vance's news. Each was waiting for another to say what they were all thinking, which was, â€Å"It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy,† or even, â€Å"Good riddance,† but as they were all aware that Vance's next rude announcement could be about them, they tried to think of something nice to say. You don't park in the handicapped space lest the forces of irony give you a reason to, and you don't speak ill of the dead unless you want to get bagged next. Jenny saved them. â€Å"He sure kept that Chrysler of his clean, didn't he?† â€Å"Sure did.† â€Å"The thing sparkled.† â€Å"He kept it like new, he did.† Vance smiled at the discomfort he had caused. â€Å"See you boys later.† He turned to leave and bumped straight into the little man standing behind him. â€Å"Excuse me, fella,† Vance said. No one had seen him come in or had heard the bell over the door. He was an Arab, dark, with a long, hooked nose and old; his skin hung around his piercing gray-blue eyes in folds. He wore a wrinkled, gray flannel suit that was at least two sizes too big. A red stocking cap rode high on the back of his bald head. His rumpled appearance combined with this diminutive size made him look like a ventriloquist's dummy that had spent a long time in a small suitcase. The little man brandished a craggy hand under Vance's nose and let loose with a string of angry Arabic that swirled through the air like blue on a Damascus blade. Vance backed out the door, jumped into his ambulance, and motored away. Everyone stood stunned by the ferocity of the little man's anger. Had they really seen blue swirls? Were the Arab's teeth really filed to points? Were, for that moment, his eyes glowing white-hot? It would never be discussed. Augustus Brine was the first to recover. â€Å"Can I help you with something, sir?† The unnatural light in the Arab's eyes dimmed, and in a humble, obsequious manner he said, â€Å"Excuse me, please, but could I trouble you for a small quantity of salt?†

Black Feminist Theory Essay

Sula is Morrison’s main character and is a perfect example of a Liberated woman. According to Lois Tyson’s definition of a Liberated Woman, Sula has â€Å"discovered her abilities, knows what she needs, and goes about getting it. † Along with all these activities, comes pride and independence. It began when Sula was younger as she had Nel, her best friend, by her side. â€Å"In the safe harbor of each other’s company they could afford to abandon the ways of other people and concentrate on their own perceptions of things,† (55). Her friendship gave her the comfort to be herself and confident on acting on her own terms. Sula continued this attitude into adulthood but not everyone agreed with her actions towards getting what she wants. Sula leaves for 10 years to go to college and live her life beyond the Bottom. When she finally comes back, she and Eva get into an argument. Eva brings up her disappointment in Sula for not settling down with a family and Sula lashes back with, †I don’t want to make somebody else. I want to make myself, † (92). She displays her aversion to not have anyone dependent on her and she wants to only care for herself. Having a family and a husband, in her opinion, would stop her from getting what she wants or needs and would put herself second in her life. Sula doesn’t want to be tied down and oppressed by a man, she wants to be independent and she’s not ashamed about being the only woman wanting her independence . When Nel finally confronts Sula about her affair with Jude, Nel accuses Sula of being proud but she responds with â€Å"‘What you talking about? I like my own dirt, Nellie. I’m not proud’,† (142). This shows how Nel, along with everyone in the bottom, thinks she’s proud or conceded, but in actuality, she’s just not ashamed of her decisions or life style. Lois Tyson continues the definition of a liberated woman with â€Å"the ‘liberated woman’ has already found herself and likes what she has found. † When sula says â€Å"I like my own dirt† she supports Tyson’s definition because Sula also â€Å"likes what she has found. † Sula’s independence, and her pride in being so, fully supports Tyson’s complete definition of a Liberated Woman. Nel’s character fits into an Emergent Woman as she â€Å"[comes] to an awareness of her own psychological and political oppresion†¦ usually through a harsh experience of initiation that makes her ready for change. † On Nel’s trip to meet her grandmother, Nel witnesses her mother’s â€Å"custard† being revealed. From then on Nel â€Å"resolved to be on guard- always. She wanted to make certain that no man ever looked at her that way. That no midnight eyes of marbled flesh would accost her and turn her into jelly† (22). Ashamed of the â€Å"jelly† or the weak substance â€Å"custard† that Morrison also associates with Helene, Nel makes certain that no man shall look at her, and make her into anything weak. In this secne, she becomes aware of her mother’s oppression and makes the decision to never allow it in her life. At the end of their trip, Nel lays in bed thinking about the possibility of ending up like her mother. To establish her independence separate from her mother, Nel states, †I’m me. I’m not their daughter. I’m not Nel. I’m me. Me,† (28). As an Emergent woman, she demonstrates her ability to make her own choices and establish her own independence. Years Later, filled with resentment towards Sula, Nel visits ill Sula in her deathbed. For years, her depression was encouraged by the thought that her husband was taken and now she is alone to take care of her children. She believed it was all Sula’s fault and she hated her for this, but one day she confronts Sula about taking Jude away from her, and Sula asks â€Å"What you mean take him away? I didn’t kill him, I just fucked him. If we were such good friends, how come you couldn’t get over it? † Nel starts to think of the idea of it not being Sula’s fault, that Jude was the one who put her through the heart break of being alone. Sula dies and Nel attends her burial. There she realizes that â€Å"all that time, [she] thought [she] was missing Jude,† but actually, she missed her friendship with Sula (174). Their friendship was more supportive than her marriage as Sula helped bring out the ’me’ in Nel that she lost in her marriage to Jude. Her epiphany helps her to notice how Jude was the one who hurt her , and now she can move on. Toni Morrison portrays Eva Peace as a suspended woman. According to Mary Helen Washington, a suspended woman is a â€Å"victim of men and of society as a whole, with few or no options. † Morrison starts off Eva’s story with her discontented marriage to her husband, BoyBoy. BoyBoy â€Å"liked womanizing best, drinking second, and abusing Eva third,† (32). Eva, disappointingly, tolerates all his abuse, because of her dependency on BoyBoy. One day, when he leaves her and their three children, her dependency becomes clear. Being inconsiderate of his family’s welfare, he leaves as his worst affliction to his wife. Now, abandoned with nearly no money,Eva realizes that â€Å"the children needed her† and â€Å"she needed money,† (32). This shows her desperation and how BoyBoy belittled her as she had to beg and rely on the neighbors for basic necessities like food for her children. Her Neighbors â€Å"were very willing to help, but Eva felt she would soon run her welcome out† and the fact that she had to continue begging, knowing she had ask for enough, embarrassed her. Eva struggles to raise them on her own and one day her son, Plum, stopps having his bowel movements. When all the stress and pressure gets to her, â€Å"Eva squatted there wondering†¦ what was she doing down on her haunches†¦ She shook her head as though to juggle her brains around, then said aloud, ‘Uh uh. Nooo,’†(34). Eva leaves her children with her neighbor for more than a year and comes back with one leg, losing the other for money to care for her children. If BoyBoy had never abused or had left her, she would have never been a victim and never would have had to sacrifice her pride and her leg. This proves she’s a suspended woman because BoyBoy’s abuse and abandonment left her with the only option to leave her children and sell her leg, because as a black woman in their society, she had very few options. Toni Morrison exemplifies Mary Helen Washington’s definitions in Nel, Sula, and Eva through out Sula, using their experiences and personalities. Sula’s independence, Nel’s epiphany, and Eva’s abuse all characterize them into their type of African American female character, making Sula a Liberated Woman, Nel an Emergent Woman, and Eva a suspended woman.

Compressed Work Week

Compressed work week is an alternative work arrangement where a standard workweek is reduced to fewer than five days, and employees make up the full number of hours per-week by working longer hours. The most common option in a compressed workweek is working four 10-hour days. Some organizations have been organized in measuring outcomes and perceptions amongst stakeholders, while other organizations are pleased to move to a compressed work schedule simply because management believes the employees are satisfied.There are even organizations that are going back to a traditional work schedule after having implemented a compressed work schedule, due to lack of structure. Organizations today are being challenged with a variety of new obstacles. This is due to the results of much social, political, and economic confusion in the world today. These changes can have a huge impact on organizational behavior, such as today’s global context in organizations. Global economy, in which busines ses of different nations and cultures operate, come together to conduct business.As a result of the change in the global economy there is a drastic increase in competition for consumers. Companies have had to make structural and behavioral changes just to stay afloat. Organizational structure, as we all know, is the relationship of responsibility and authority between groups, as well as individuals and the organization. The better the company knows their organizational structure the more effectively they can interact with it and know what is best for the organization.In the 1940s, social psychologist Kurt Lewin developed a simple three step model as a way of looking at change that has helped many organizational leaders manage resistance to change. The three steps that were developed by Kurt Lewin were: (1) Unfreezing (2) Moving (3) Refreezing. The first step helps identify what needs unfreezing; what significant event(s) occurred to make people most affected. Next, active participat ion by the affected parties in the change process is most effective and important for communication. It helps implement change and barriers that affect change.This helps the movement step in order to analyze the results of the new system. The final step is the refreezing step which puts the new system into place, with backup from the analyze data. If the analyzed data is tested, debugged, and efficient then the new system is a go, but if there are flaws then maybe the beginning obstacle just needed tweaking, but not changing the system entirely. According to Lewin’s force field analysis, â€Å"a person’s behavior is the result of two opposing forces: the force that maintains the status quo (staying the same) and the force that pushes for change.When the two opposing forces are equal, the current behavior is sustained, creating an equilibrium† (Cronshaw, 2008). â€Å"While Lewin’s change model does not spell out in detail what change agents need to do to effect change, it does illuminate with remarkable clarity the major steps that each such effort must follow to be successful. As such, it is a powerful tool that deserves a place in the toolbox of every would-be change enabler† (Cronshaw, 2008). As with any change within a company, there are always weighted pros and cons.Even though the advantages out way the disadvantages on this particular concept, a big disadvantage to look at would be the marketing aspect of the company. â€Å"Even though the compressed work week would provide job satisfaction for employees, what does it do to the customers† (Rotenberg, 1977). Management personnel would have to staff the office on the fifth day to maintain communications with customers, which would make for management personnel to come in and supervise.This disadvantage would leave fewer days to provide service to customers, which would make them irritated and seek other companies. If your company is working a compressed work week a nd other business are not, then how can businesses work together if some operate a 9-5 business week? As much as this compressed work week sounds appealing, take a look at the working families and their struggles. â€Å"Their stress levels are higher, especially for mothers because they are the ones doing most of the cooking and child care.Longer days at the office can lead to a more stressed life for women due to the demand of responsibilities at home† (Carey, 1997). When both working spouses come home for a longer day at work, due to compressed work week, they are tired and only have time for dinner, shower, and bed. There are normally few hours left in the day to do odds and ends around the house or to spend time with their children going over their day; the more that chores that are â€Å"put off† the more stressed parents get.Another disadvantage to the seemingly appealing work week is the lack of actual work. â€Å"Some workers on extended work days may pace the mselves differently than workers on traditional shifts. Other employees may slow down at the end of a day as fatigue sets in† (Humphrey, 2012). This could also mean more break times or even longer breaks, which could mean less work is actually being down in a week when compared to a traditional work week. Something else to think about would be the holiday and vacation hours. Employers typically pay holiday reimbursement as eight hours, requiring employees on extended work days to use their vacation pay to compensate. Some employees become unhappy when forced to use their vacation in this manner† (Humphrey, 2012). As organizations begin to find themselves having to deal with more complex environments, change methodologies that focus on the problem, such as Kurt Lewin’s three step method, will help put in perspective the ramifications of change.Is it okay to put a few employees concerns at heart, but not look at the other half of the employees concern? Is it better to look at a different alternative to work schedules? What will benefit the company’s global aspect, customer service aspect, and employee aspect. What measures will be sufficient enough to bring higher performance, efficient marketing and employee satisfaction? All these questions and the help of Kurt Kewin’s method will help each organization make an educated judgment about their company.

Property ownership: the case of muslim women

AbstractionProperty ownership has been extremely debated in recent old ages particularly when it comes to adult females. The instance of Muslim adult females has been dismaying in certain Muslim states because though adult females are allowed to have belongings some traditions when set together with some Islamic Laws are extremely curtailing adult females ‘s ownership belongings. Property in this light includes land, house and other touchable belongingss. This paper based on exemplifying the different beginnings of belongings acquisition which has been hindered due to, in most instance calculated confusion of Islamic Torahs and customary Torahs which had restricted the ownership of belongings by Muslim adult females in different Islamic parts. IntroductionWomans in many states still face inequality at place, in their communities and the society at big. They are normally left in the background because of province Torahs, customary Torahs and spiritual beliefs. This inequality besides affects their right of belongings ownership. The rights of adult females to have, inherit, manage and dispose of belongings whether touchable or intangible has been minimized by persons, imposts and Torahs in many states of the universe today. These adult females who most frequently constitutes a greater population of the state, are non give the chance to ain land, houses, autos, bank history, cowss, harvests and many other signifiers of belongings. Women ‘s right to belongings most frequently depends on the relationship they portion with work forces around them. Religion excessively has besides had an impact on the ownership of belongings by adult females when set together with customary beliefs. These two when put together in utmost instances greatly limits the right of a adult females to ain belongings. Religion has been interpreted to the hurt of the Islamic adult female but to the advantage of the Islamic adult male. These several reading of Islam under different customary Torahs has reduced the rights of adult females to ain belongings. This paper hence brings out the function of Muslim faith on the ownership of belongings by Muslim adult females. Analyze what the Islamic faith says about adult females having belongings and what is the existent state of affairs at manus. That is how the Islamic faith is integrated with tradition and province jurisprudence and its impact on the ownership of belongings by Muslim adult females in Muslim parts. The Role of Islam in Property Ownership amongst Muslim WomenHistorically, the Quran acknowledges the right of adult females to ain belongings. The Quran explains of import station held by adult females during the period of the prophesier which made them to get belongings. In general footings the Islamic jurisprudence allows adult females to keep, usage and dispose of belongings but when you go into inside informations the footings become really complicated and this therefore restrict these adult females. The Islamic jurisprudence acknowledges the fact that a adult female should be given what she earns and which can be a adult male ‘s when she volitionally transfers it to the adult male. But when we consider the fact that Muslim adult females are suppose to be really reserve, their right of belongings ownership which can be gained merely when they are exposed is restricted. To have a belongings in any signifier means you need to pull off this belongings and this direction can no n be adequately established in the private infinite you need the public infinite. The undermentioned analyses discuss the different ways in which belongings can be acquired but which adult females are being restricted in societies where Islam and tradition are being practiced in extremes. InheritanceIn Islam the adult male is considered the caput of the household and has the right to ain belongings. Inheritance which is a signifier of belongings ownership extremely favors the adult male. Though adult females have the right to inherit belongings of a asleep member of their household, their ain portion is normally half of what the adult male inherits. Though adult females have the right to inherit from their male parent, it is normally two portions for work forces and one for adult females. They believe that adult females do non hold any duty to take attention of the household as the work forces do, therefore the work forces should be given more. In most traditional Muslim states the combination of customary and Muslim jurisprudence against adult females refering this issue makes adult females to be wholly refused the right of belongings ownership. For them since these adult females do non take attention of the household, they should non be given the right to have any b elongings. Besides in most jurisprudence tribunals like in Northern Nigeria where Islam is practiced, the right of adult females to inherit belongings is denied by some Judgess though Islam accepts these rights. Most frequently, the heritage is done in theory and non in patterns. The adult females are merely told that they have been assigned this part of belongings which in most instances is ne'er given to them. Property ownership is consider as a adult male ‘s concern since adult females are considered to be dependent and weak and needs the support of a adult male to manage belongings issues. Annelies Moors ( 1995 ) besides explains that while in Islamic jurisprudence adult females have heritage rights, these so are by and large more limited than those of work forces. This she explains that, looking into the portions of the widows and girls, the male penchant is normally really clear. This is because, in the instance where the hubby dies it is hard for the adult female to inherit the hubby ‘s belongings because she can acquire married to another adult male or better still she is suppose to remain under the protection of the work forces in the hubby ‘s household be it her b oies or the hubby ‘s brothers. Harmonizing to Islam, married womans are entitled to one-eighth of the belongings of their hubbies when the deceased hubbies have kids and to one-fourth if they are childless while girls on the other manus are entitled to merely half the portion of their brother ‘s portion. Besides, when there is an lone girl she gets half of the asleep male parent ‘s belongings and the remainder goes to the male parent ‘s male relations while an lone boy gets the full belongings of the asleep male parent demoing a biased against these adult females. This is because the belongings the adult female with kids owns goes to her kids particularly if they are male childs and if she does non acquire married, she is given less and most frequently refused because she can be remarried. The instance of a childless adult female is worst because she is left with nil as belongings even if she contributed in the acquisition of the belongings. Besides, having a belongings means giving the adult female an upper manus and altering her private infinite to a public infinite. A adult female is suppose to be really modesty in her private infinite and non exposed by having belongings to the public infinite which is considered a adult male ‘s infinite. This perceptual experience is different with urban and rural Muslim adult females. Annelies Moors ( 1995 ) , discusses that although the adult females in both country knew their rights of belongings ownership, some those in the urban countries accepted their ain portion of the estate but most in the rural countries stayed retrained from geting their ain portions. This I believe was the consequence of their customary jurisprudence in those rural countries which prohibited them.EducationEducation is a signifier of belongings acquisition because when you are educated you are exposed to issues of cognizing your rights. In most parts of Africa where Islam is practiced, the figure o f misss traveling to school has been comparatively low compared to the Christian countries. The people do non see the demand of educating the miss kid since she is believed to be the belongings of the adult male. Education is non a precedence but early matrimonies are encouraged. Traveling to school is meant for the male childs who will finally go a household caput and needs instruction and belongings to take attention of the household. This is really common with Muslims particularly in the rural countries who strongly believe in their customary and Islamic Torahs. Most of them are non cognizant of any province jurisprudence or international human rights Torahs or even the Islamic which give them the right to ain belongings. Vanessa Maher ( 1974 ) , explains that Berbers in Morocco equivalent of privacy, and continuing household award integral in maintaining their miss kid at place since schools are considered as a corrupting influence and giving entree to the populace sphere doing instruction really irrelevant.WorkHarmonizing to the Islamic jurisprudence, adult females are allowed to work but this is normally under certain fortunes and under really rigorous conditions. In many Islamic states, occupation chances for adult females and work forces are non the same. They are non given equal chances because adult females are extremely restricted from public life. A adult female is non supposed to work entirely with a adult male because harmonizing to the Quran they might be tempted. A adult female is non supposed to make any occupation that will expose her award of muliebrity but she is supposed to stay modest. Islam by and large recommends that adult females stay at place and take attention of the place. When Vanessa Maher carried out her field work on Women and Property in Morocco in 1974, she pointed out that adult females do non work for rewards because their engagement in the ‘public domain ‘ is considered immoral. This alone prohibits these adult females from making anything that will do them get belongings. Besides the adult male has is oblarged harmonizing to Islam to continue his duty of keeping the adult female. The hubby is responsible for keeping his married woman and the full household non the other manner round even when the married woman has the agencies, so this besides discourages Muslim adult females from working.Harmonizing to the Islamic jurisprudence, adult females are allowed to work but this is normally under certain fortunes and under really rigorous conditions. In many Islamic states, occupation chances for adult females and work forces are non the same. They are non given equal chances because adult females are extremely restricted from public life. A adult female is non supposed to work entirely with a adult male because harmonizing to the Quran they might be tempted. A adult female is non supposed to make any occupation that will expose her award of muliebrity but she is supposed to stay modest. Islam by and large recommends that adult females stay at place and take attention of the place. When Vanessa Maher carried out her field work on Women and Property in Morocco in 1974, she pointed out that adult females do non work for rewards because their engagement in the ‘public domain ‘ is considered immoral. This alone prohibits these adult females from making anything that will do them get belongings. Besides the adult male has is oblarged harmonizing to Islam to continue his duty of keeping the adult female. The hubby is responsible for keeping his married woman and the full household non the other manner round even when the married woman has the agencies, so this besides discourages Muslim adult females from working.Even the dowry and care gift in which the adult female is entitled to be given to her for matrimony is merely owned by her in theory and non in pattern. Annelies Moors 1995 when she carried out her research in Palestine explained that â€Å" younger small town adult females seldom expressed an involvement in selling their gold ( which was their dowry ) to purchase productive belongings ; they would instead put it in their hubby and his house † . This is because when she gets married to the adult male this belongings automatically goes back to the adult male since he is supposed to command the household ‘s resources. At times the dowry and care gift are orally given through promises and the adult female ne'er receives it. The dowry is bit by bit losing its value because most modern-day Muslim adult females will prefer their hubbies to put his resources in the up support of the household. They do non truly care about the dowry particularly in the urban countries. More so, in instance of divorce since the married woman does non hold any right of belongings compensation or sharing all what was given to her as dowry is taken by the hubby. This is because, during matrimony the belongingss she contributes to the household are non regarded as hers but the hubby ‘s belongings. Annelies Moors ( 1995 ) , in her research in Palestine explains that adult females no longer sell their gold dowry to purchase productive belongings because independent female ownership of such belongings clangs with their definition as dependent married womans. They alternatively use it to put in their households therefore cut downing their entree to belongings. DecisionThough attempts are being made to heighten belongings ownership by Muslim adult females, this issue is more complicated in the rural countries since there are strong customary Torahs which restrict adult females. When these customary Torahs are put together with the Islamic Torahs, these adult females are wholly isolated in the ownership of belongings. This is because there is a calculated confusion between Islamic Torahs and customary jurisprudence by work forces which suppress a adult female ‘s right of having belongings doing the customary jurisprudence to rule. Actual control of belongings has still remained in custodies of the work forces. Women ‘s less right of belongings harmonizing to Islamic ideas is seen to be compensated with the fact that they are under the detention of the work forces. Property is considered as power, and the more belongings you own the more powerful you are. MentionsDUPRET, B. , BERGER, M. , Al-ZWAINI, L. ( Eds. ) , Legal Pluralism in the Arab World, The Hague, Kluwer International, 1999 ROSEN, L. ( 2000 ) : The Justice of Islam. Comparative Perspectives on Islamic Law and Society, Oxford U.P Vanessa Maher ( 1974 ) ; Women and Property in Morocco: The Changing Relation to the Process of Social Stratification in the Middle Atlas. Cambridge University Press. Annelies Moors ( 1995 ) ; Women Property and Islam: Palestinian Experience 1920-1990. Cambridge Middle East Ngon & A ; eacute ; Diop Tine and Mohamadou Sy ( 2003 ) : Womans and Land in Africa: A instance Study from Senegal.