History - Civil War and Dictatorship in Spain - Was it justified to Essay

History - Civil War and Dictatorship in Spain - Was it justified to describe the international volunteers who fought for the Republic during the Spanish Civil W - Essay Example What do we mean with the term ‘Moscow’? How is ‘Moscow’ linked to the civil war? What and who were the international volunteers and what were their links with ‘Moscow’? And lastly, what did the volunteers fight for and did they know what they were fighting for? There are several views on what the war was about. Rather than expound in such a short paper the wide range of perspectives depending on which side of the political and social spectrum lies each viewer and opinion giver, it may be sufficient for our purposes to identify two of the extremist views about the Spanish civil war. On one side are people like Beevor (1983) who view the civil war as a military uprising against a legitimate communist government that was carrying out a revolution as part of a Marxist class struggle aimed at reforming the corrupt economic and social structures of the time. Inspired by the success of the 1917 Russian revolution and driven by new ideologies for the liberation of peoples, several agents of change inside and outside Spain saw the Russian model as an applicable and pragmatic solution to social problems. The people (proletariat), therefore, fought back and waged war against a military force that wanted to topple the legitimately elected government. On the other side you Arrarà ¡s (1968) and Carroll (1996) who see the civil war as a crusade fought to preserve Spain’s culture, mainly their religion, and poetically compares it with the country’s long 700-year war against Islam (Artieta 33). Carroll claims (6) that contrary to declarations by the politician who would later on become the President of Spain, Manuel Azaà ±a, who in a major speech in October 1931 stated that â€Å"Spain had ceased to be Catholic† (Payne 49), most Spaniards remained devoted to their Catholic religion. For Carroll, therefore, the majority of the people supported the military in the civil war. Spain in the 1930s was in turmoil, as were other European nations after

Graham Greene’s four fundamental requirements Essay Example for Free

Graham Greene’s four fundamental requirements Essay Westerhoff narrates about Graham Greene’s four fundamental requirements for leading a spiritual life. (1) willingness to embrace suffering of world while enduring one’s own (2) a life of solitude and silence (3) introspection of deep restlessness within spirit (4) to see the image of God (Christ) within the community of faith. (John. H. Westerhoff 1994, 30) To preach or to teach, expertise level of human knowledge and understanding is required in order to communicate verbally without hurting others. There were no instances in Bible where Jesus hurted disciples or followers. Jesus was above solutions and problems and that is why offered a formulae by saying â€Å"Take my yoke† which means accepting one’s own suffering along with world’s suffering. â€Å"My burden is light† (St. Matt. 11:29) which includes a fact that Jesus carries the burden along with those who are practicing Jesus teachings. Spiritual life with God can be compared with a grape wine climber as Jesus said â€Å" I am the true vine† (St. John 15:1) â€Å"Abide in me and I in you† (St. John 15:4) . A constant communication with God or clinging to the word of God leads to spiritual formation. â€Å"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you†. (St. John15:7). Communication with God through prayer is explained by Urban Holmes in the book â€Å"A History of Spirituality†(John H. Westerhoff 1994, 53) wherein knowing God in two different methods. (1) Kataphatic means knowing God indirectly in which relationship with God is mediated (2) apophatic means, knowing God directly and where there is no mediation. Speculative-kataphatic encourages rationalism. Further this school of prayer is based on imaginary senses and even includes writing of conversations with God, while affective-kataphatic encourages pietism which is more charismatic and includes all the bodily expressions and senses in complete contact with God (e. g. clapping, moving body, shouting etc). ,. Speculative-apophatic leads to encratism while affective-apophatic leads to quietism. The four symbols of four categories are : speculative-kataphatic = â€Å"S†, speculative-apophatic = â€Å"T†, affective-kataphatic = â€Å"F†, affective-kataphatic = â€Å"N†. These categories offered by Jung are applicable in prayer and devotion according to the personal preferences. Schools of spirituality can only be applied as an aid for spiritual growth. Prayer purifies souls, castes away unhealthy minds and thoughts and brings closer to God who is an embodiment of love. (St. John 3:16) (I Corinthians 13). God also said â€Å"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you†. Seeking God amidst of daily lives and chores. Karl Rahner, the Jesuit priest-theologian, in a letter to God, discusses about tiring hours of activities in a day and how the time is not allocated to God and lays emphasis on how important it is to be in relation with God. Further states that for the entire mankind seeking God’s guidance and support amidst of daily life, is another way of practicing God’s presence. Conclusion Prayer is the only means and a wonderful gift of God to be in constant relation with God. Prayer is a strong weapon that has been used by several preachers in the past such as King Martin Luther, D.L. Moody, John Wesley, David Livingstone and several holy and pious preachers. The present international evangelists and Bible preachers include Dr. Billy Graham (BGEA)and Charles Stanley (In Touch Ministries) who believe concretely in the power of prayer. The preachers who dedicate hours of prayer to God, receive visionary experiences, divine power to deliver gospel of God. Preachers have to maintain a dual relation, one with God and second with those who are receiving the gospel/word of God.

Music In The Movies: Experiencing Something New :: essays research papers fc

Question: â€Å"For the elements of music are not tones of such and such a pitch, duration and loudness, nor chords and measured beats; they are like all artistic elements, something virtual, created for perception . . .sounding forms in motion.† [Suzanne Langer, Feeling and Form (1952), p.107]. The success of music in film relies on the perceptions and interpretations of audiences based on their social experiences. Discuss. Response to Question: The function of film music is not easily defined. Film music is often associated with realizing the social experiences of the audience, such associations then leading into psychological and aesthetical discussion. Whether or not film music is examined as an analyzable art form, it is part of an audiovisual system that allows spectators to escape. If this is so, music is subliminal in the sense that it unconsciously prepares the spectator for the means by which to do so. Cinema events can allow audiences to perceive reality in a passive framework and therefore, the success of film music does not heavily rely upon interpretations of viewers’ social experiences. More to the point is the fact that film music allows a virtual reconstruction of ‘experience’ along with the proposal of new ones. If cinema accommodates the invention of virtual social experiences, then by what means does the music contribute to this? An understanding of the relationship between music and the cinematic world of the ‘make believe’ will help to answer this question. Film music can allow far-fetched ideas to become plausible. Alien attacks, shootings, murders and court room hearings are not usually associated with the vocabularies of our everyday social experiences, so how can cinema extrapolate such experiences so realistically? Music certainly has an important role. Suzanne Langer discusses in depth the associations between music and time. She suggests that: Music creates and image of time measure by the motion of forms that seem to give it substance, yet a substance that consists entirely of sound, so it is transitoriness itself. Music makes time audible, and its form and continuity sensible. Jean Mitry has similar ideas: Film needed a king of rhythmic beat to enable the audience to measure internally the psychological time for the drama, relating it to the basic sensation of real time. Consequently, film music can cover up the incoherencies between real time and virtual time. The relative time passed between events on screen can be expressed through the music. How else can a narrative spanning decades logically take place within and hour or two of film?

Cash for Organs

Sheila Rivers ENG 101/MWF Oct. 29, 2012 Mr. Viquesney Cash for Organs Charity should be the only basis for organ donation. On the other hand, cash compensation for donating organs should be an option and legalized. With the overwhelming need for organs and not enough donors in the United States, an open, regulated, and legal cash-for-organs market is needed to balance the need and shortage of organs. There will always be a need for organ donations.According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), as of October 2012 there are 116,421 men, women, and children on the organ transplant waitlist to receive hearts, livers, kidneys, and other human organs. With a total of only 8,280 donors alive and deceased so far this year, the need for donated organs far exceeds the donation of organs. This need for donated organs leaves a large gap in transplants and consequently patients wait months, even years on the waiting list for donated organs. Every ten minutes another name is added to th e national organ transplant waiting list.By the time patients get on the waiting list they have been evaluated by a transplant doctor and is in end stage organ failure. According to (organdonor. gov) right now, there are more than enough people waiting for an organ to fill a football stadium twice over. On average, 18 people die every day waiting for a transplant that never happens as a direct result of the lack of organ donations. Patients that can afford it will travel to other countries to purchase organs on the black market to save their life. The National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) passed in 1984, made the buying and selling of human organs in the United States illegal.Over all too many people die each year waiting for a donated organ that is not available to save their life. The option to sell an organ should be solely left up to the individual who wants to do so, as long as the procedure and all the risks that are involved are fully understood. If someone decides to sell and organ to who ever they want, for a momentary compensation they should have the right to do so. It will not only save the life of the recipient, but also financially compensate the donor in return. After all it is their body and the government should not have the right to tell people that selling an organ for compensation is illegal.With so many people dying and waiting for a life saving organ transplant, this would decrease the deaths and wait time for an organ. In 1988 Iran became one of the first Nations to permit and regulate payment and other incentives for living donor transplants. As a result, the number of renal transplants performed substantially increased such that in 1999, the renal transplant waitlist was completely eliminated. Currently, Iran has no renal transplant waiting list. With results such as this, proves that cash for human organs can potentially eliminate the transplant waitlist in the United States.A number of transplant experts have been convinced tat provid ing financial incentives to organ sources, as an alternative to altruistic organ donation needs careful reconsideration. By permitting an open, regulated, and legal cash-for-organs market this could save the lives of the people who suffer and die daily because of kidney failure while waiting for a donated kidney. The director of Kidney Health Australia said â€Å"if it was carefully regulated in a way that avoided any potential abuse and was organized by the government or some other process that was meaningful, a pilot would be worthwhile doing† [Mathew].If there were some kind of compensation for organ donations, more people would be interested and willing to become organ donors. The kidney is the only organ a person can sell or donate and safely continue to live without. Even though we are born with two kidneys a person can live a full and normal life with just one, in addition to living just as long as a person with two. In the case of a kidney, a love donor is capable of living successfully after a transplant surgery, because over the years surgeries have become safer and less invasive for the donor with less down time.According to the registry data from UNOS, research has shown that a kidney from a live donor is the best option for long-term transplantation. Over the years the number of living donors have steadily decreased while the deceased donors have increased, although the increase in not enough to offset the decrease. NOTA was also created to address the critical organ donation shortage and improve the organ matching and placement process. As said, â€Å"Due to the high success rate of organ transplants over the years it has made getting an organ more difficult.Improved survival rates and the expectation that organ replacement will enhance quality of life have encouraged more doctors and their patients with organ failure to opt for transplantation† [Klein]. The early organ transplants performed routinely had a high mortality rate; the major issue was the patients’ immune system rejected the foreign organ. Throughout the years with the introduction of medicine has helped lower the mortality rate due to the rejection of the foreign organ and organ transplants have become more routine and less experimental.To their surprise, donors do not understand or know how many lives are saved or can be saved simply by donating organs. There are no age requirements to being an organ donor. The fact is everyone can be an organ donor; anybody under the age of eighteen has to have a parental consent. The process of convincing individuals to be an organ donor is challenging, and some of these challenges are a lack of knowledge, fear of premature death, and the lack of trust of the medical profession. Most people do not know what the process of organ donation is and how it works to save lives.People feel that if the doctor knew they where an organ donor he/she would not put as much effort into saving their life because of thi s. If people had a better understanding and more knowledge about the process of organ donation more people would be willing to donate organs to help save lives. Charity should not be the only option for organ donation. When charity is the only option the donor do not have the right to give their organ to who they wish. With so many people on the waitlist for an organ transplant and way to few donors there needs to be another way to attract donors.The cash for organ program that has shown a success in other countries should be looked at on a more serious note. Due to the shortage sever shortage of donated organs that has led to needless death of so many people, the cash for organs seems to be a very legitimate way to save lives. Until modern medicine can completely grow fully develop human organs there will always be a need for human organs and the fastest way to obtain organs for transplant is to offer monetaury compensation.The compensation for human organs will open up a market fo r willing donors. Bibliography optn. transplant. hrsa. gov unos. org Klein, Andrew S. , MD, director of Cedar’s-Sinai Medical Center Declining Organ Donations, Causes Widening Need Gap, Life Science, 22 March 2010 Ahad, Ghods J. , Dr. ‘Iranian Model of Paid and Regulated Living-Unrelated Kidney Donation. † Cjasn. asnjournals. org N. p. , n. d. Web Page 1 www. unos. org Page 2 www. optn. transplant. hrsa. gov Page 2 Andrew S. Klein, MD, director of Cedar’s-Sinai Medical Center

Independence day essay Essay

I take it as a honour to stand before you and say a few words on Indian Independence Day. It was today on 15th August that India woke up with Freedom way back in 1947 which is one of the biggest achievement for us. Who can forget that midnight of 15th August 1947 when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the Tri-coloured Indian Flag on Red Fort. Since that day we have got a great reason to celebrate this occasion every year with pride and honour. Independence Day in India is celebrated every year in each and every school with great spirits. Every school is decorated by keeping the theme Independence Day in mind. Flag Hoisting is done by our Principal who then speaks about few words on how we have to be thankful for this day and how we should follow the same path and philosophies of these great leaders. No one can ever forget how much it took to get independence for India, how much we lost and how much blood we shed? We definitely had lot to lose and we can never forget how much valuable gift Independence Day is for us from our ancestors who fought for the freedom and also from those almighty freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Chandrashekhar Azad, Rani Laxmibai, Lokmanya Tilak whose sacrifice can never be forgotten. When we watch movies inspired by stories of these National and historical figures, we get idea about how it would have been difficult to achieve freedom. The British ruled upon India for more than 400 years, and it was a period of chaos and injustice. Our treasures were looted and we were pushed to poverty and agony from all side. There was no safety for people within their homes as well as in neighborhoods and people thus lived in shadow of fear for each and every moment. But a handful of courageous men made it possible to stand in front of the big army of British and ask for freedom. Who can forget how the freedom movement shaped up in presence of great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi who followed the path of Ahimsa and inspired many people to walk on the same. No wonder he is been called the Father of the Nation with all respect. We look upon celebrating Independence Day every year and sing patriotic songs  to pay respect to the great national leaders without whom it wouldn’t have been possible for us to enjoy the spirit of Independence the way we do today. I salute to all the freedom fighters and national leaders who made it possible for us to enjoy and celebrate our independence. Thank You, Jai Hind! Vande Mataram

A Historical Aspect of Ageism Essay Example

A Historical Aspect of Ageism Essay Example A Historical Aspect of Ageism Essay A Historical Aspect of Ageism Essay Identify 2 or 3 issues faced by the aging population. 1 Older adults experience unequal treatment, discrimination and prejudice in the workplace 2 Not growing old is not an option 3 Health problems Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. ?What is ageism? How does ageism influence the presence of diversity in society? Ageism is the [prejudice and discrimination against the elderly. Ageism reflects a deep uneasiness among young and middle-aged people about growing old. For many, old age symbolizes disease and death; seeing older adults serves as a reminder that they too may  someday become old and infirm. By contrast, society glorifies youth, seeing it as interchangeable with beauty and the future] (Schaefer, 2012). Ageism restricts the acceptance of the elderly by discriminating against them. The elderly are often referred to as â€Å"them† when most of us will one day be in that category. AGING AND DISABILITY WORKSHEET 3 ?What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? How does the ADA address issues for the aging population? The Americans with Disabilities Act was an anti-discrimination law that started in 1992, covering people with a disability, defined as a condition that â€Å"substantially limits† a â€Å"major life  activity† such as walking or seeing. It prohibits bias in employment, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunication against people with disabilities. Businesses with more than 15 employees cannot refuse to hire a qualified applicant with a disability; these companies are expected to make a â€Å"reasonable accommodation† to permit such a worker to do the job. Commercial establishments such as office buildings, hotels, theaters, supermarkets, and dry cleaners are barred from denying service to people with disabilities (Schaefer, 2012). One of the  ways that the ADA addresses issues for the aging population is that it established requirements for businesses of all sizes (ADA, 2014). ?What is being done to address the issues you identified? [Many older adults with diminished heart and lung functions and reduced mobility will have placards or license plates for accessible parking. When parking is near the main door of the facility, these patrons have strength left after entering your business to shop, enjoy entertainment, or eat heartily. Clear, wide paths without stairs to the establishment’s entrance and throughout the  business leave room for canes and walkers and accommodate people with reduced mobility and stamina. Minimum-weight doors with accessible hardware are easily opened by people who have arthritis or use a cane for extra balance. For heavier doors, automatic and power-assisted openers are helpful to everyone. Entrances and aisles with adequate head clearance and minimal AGING AND DISABILITY WORKSHEET 4 projections into the path of travel result in easier navigation for people with lessened visual acuity or those who may be disoriented by clutter] (ADA, 2014) ?Is the number of aging population expected to rise in numbers or decrease? [The growth of the elderly population is projected to be over twenty one percent (21%) by 2050. An increasing proportion of the population will be composed of older people. This trend is expected to continue well through the twenty-first century as mortality declines and the postwar baby boomers age. Looking over a period of a century, we see the proportion over age 65 increases from less than one in 10 in 1960 to almost one in four by 2050] (Schaefer, 2012). ?What types of legislation may or may not be affected by the aging population? There are many issues facing the elderly today any many could involve legislation  affecting things as Social Security and Medicare healthcare benefits. The development and workings of groups aimed at protecting not only the threatened benefits of Social Security, Medicare, and other healthcare, but also other considerations for the elderly lifestyle are on the rise and proving to be helpful to our aging society as our Baby Boomers approach retirement age. ?How does poverty affect the aging population? Poverty among the elderly is seen as much less today as it was in the past. This can be attributed to pension plans and higher paying jobs that the people worked at. Although the rate of  poverty is declining in the elderly, poverty is still an issue. One major cause is the rising cost of AGING AND DISABILITY WORKSHEET 5 long term healthcare and medicines. With the increased life expectancy rates, this only compounds the problem as people are living longer. Part II Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. ?What does the ADA provide for people with disabilities? The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and  telecommunications. It also applies to the United States Congress. To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability or have a relationship or association with an individual with a disability. An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered (US Department of Justice, April 9, 2012). ?How have people with disabilities been treated in the past? Lukoff and Cohen (1972) note that some communities banished or Ill-treated the blind while others accorded them special privileges. In a comparison of the status of persons with disabilities in a number of non-occidental societies, Hanks and Hanks (1948) found wide differences. Persons with disabilities were completely rejected by some cultures, in others they were outcasts, while in some they were treated as economic liabilities and grudgingly kept alive AGING AND DISABILITY WORKSHEET 6 by their families. In other settings, persons with disabilities were tolerated and treated in  incidental ways, while in other cultures they were given respected status and allowed to participate to the fullest extent of their capability (Disability Studies Quarterly, 2014). ? How has the attitude toward people with disabilities changed over time? A Lou Harris poll conducted in 1991 was revealing and positive. For example, 98% of individuals questioned believe that all people, regardless of one’s ability, should have an opportunity to participate in mainstream society. Furthermore, there was a strong sentiment toward increased employment of persons with disabilities; 92% polled believed that employment  of persons with disabilities would be economically beneficial to society. There is a strong trend toward acceptance. These attitudes are in sharp contrast to the prevailing attitudes of the first half of this century. (University of Florida College of Dentistry, 2014) ?What are some unique circumstances or issues encountered by people with disabilities? There are numerous circumstances or issues encountered by people with disabilities daily. The task of accomplishing simple tasks can sometimes seem insurmountable. Those with physical disabilities must often times depend on the help of others to get along daily, let alone  pursue a meaningful life. Public transportation can be difficult; sidewalks are not always wheelchair friendly, doorways are sometimes not wide enough, print can be too small to read on menus. AGING AND DISABILITY WORKSHEET 7 ?What is being done to address those issues? Businesses that serve the public must modify policies and practices that discriminate against people with disabilities; comply with accessible design standards when constructing or altering facilities; remove barriers in existing facilities where readily achievable; and provide auxiliary aids and services when needed to ensure effective communication with people who  have hearing, vision, or speech impairments. All businesses, even those that do not serve the public, must comply with accessible design standards when constructing or altering facilities (ADA, 2014) ? What types of legislation have been introduced to address issues faced by people with disabilities? Following the original Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), including changes made by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (P. L. 110-325), which became effective on January 1, 2009. The ADA was originally enacted in public law format and later rearranged and published in the United States Code. The United States Code is divided into titles and chapters that classify laws according to their subject matter. Titles I, II, III, and V of the original law are codified in Title 42, chapter 126, of the United States Code beginning at section 12101. Title IV of the original law is codified in Title 47, chapter 5, of the United States Code. (ADA. gov, 2008) AGING AND DISABILITY WORKSHEET 8 References ADA. (2014). ADA Business Connection. Retrieved from ada. gov/business. htm ADA. gov. (2008). Americans With Disablities Act of 1990 As Amended. Retrieved from ada. gov/pubs/adastatute08. pdf Disability Studies Quarterly. (2014). Past and Present Perceptions Towards Disability: A Historical Perspective. Retrieved from sds. org/article/view/3197/3068 Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and Ethnic Groups (13th ed. ). Bergen County, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. US Department of Justice. (April 9,2012). A Guide To Disability Rights Laws. Retrieved from ada. gov/cguide. htm University of Florida College of Dentristy. (2014). Societys Attitude Towards People with Disabilities. Retrieved from http://paul-burtner. dental. ufl. edu/oral-health-care-for- persons-with-disabilities/societys-attitude-towards-people-with-disabilities/

Free Essays on Red Badge Of Courage Essay

It is often called America’s first great war novel, yet Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage is more than just a tale about the civil war. Each person goes through his or her own personal struggle during the process of maturing. Some have this easy; others strive very hard to reach this goal of development. Although there may be constant struggles, there usually is one major event that creates somewhat of a bridge between childhood and adulthood. The Red Badge of Courage traces the steps and major events in the life of Henry Fleming, focusing mainly on his evolution into manhood. We meet Henry as a naà ¯ve young man, seeking glory, yet unprepared for life on the front lines, and leave him much wiser and mature. Henry, hardened and experienced by the war, grows and matures, finally learning the true meaning of courage. Henry is introduced as he prepares to enlist in the Union army, leaving his mother and their farm home behind. The young Henry Fleming lives a secluded and protected life seen by his mother’s warning:... Free Essays on Red Badge Of Courage Essay Free Essays on Red Badge Of Courage Essay It is often called America’s first great war novel, yet Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage is more than just a tale about the civil war. Each person goes through his or her own personal struggle during the process of maturing. Some have this easy; others strive very hard to reach this goal of development. Although there may be constant struggles, there usually is one major event that creates somewhat of a bridge between childhood and adulthood. The Red Badge of Courage traces the steps and major events in the life of Henry Fleming, focusing mainly on his evolution into manhood. We meet Henry as a naà ¯ve young man, seeking glory, yet unprepared for life on the front lines, and leave him much wiser and mature. Henry, hardened and experienced by the war, grows and matures, finally learning the true meaning of courage. Henry is introduced as he prepares to enlist in the Union army, leaving his mother and their farm home behind. The young Henry Fleming lives a secluded and protected life seen by his mother’s warning:...

How Long Should a Blog Post Be to Get the Most Traffic and Shares

How Long Should a Blog Post Be to Get the Most Traffic and Shares â€Å"How long should my blog post be?† We hear this question a lot. There’s a ton of advice out there that says everything from 275 to 2,500 words. That’s †¦ not a very helpful range. So, we did some research to definitively determine the answer. The following studies will show you what length of content gives you the best chance of ranking on Google. Plus, we’ve included some raw data we compiled from our own top-performing blog posts (and will show you how to analyze your own top content to determine your own best blog post length). Optimize Your Blog Content With This Template Bundle Dont just guess at the best blog content length. Know the best length for every post on your blog. Snag this template bundle, and youll get: A Blog Post Template to help you write posts that are the optimal length for the best results. A Blog Post Length Analysis Template to record your own data and draw your own conclusions (just like we did at ). ’s 2018 Blog Content Length Research Report. This report breaks down different trends that we have spotted in our content that may influence how you create your own. All that for free? Get em now, and then lets continue.How Long Should a Blog Post Be to Get the Most Traffic and Shares?About The 12 Blog Post Length Studies ... So, where did we get all our information from, anyway? The answer is these twelve studies (plus our own research): For Blog Posts in 2017, What’s the Best Length for SEO from Snap Agency. How Long Should a Blog Post Be from Yoast. Blogging Statistics and Trends: The 2017 Survey of 1000+ Bloggers from Orbit Media. How Long Should Your Blog Post Be? A Writer’s Guide from The Write Practices. How Long Should My Blog Post Be from Forbes. 4 Statistics Every Blogger Should Know About Content Word Count from Copy Press. 2017 State of the Blogging Industry from Convert Kit. Compiled research from Clariant Creative. The Perfect Blog Post Length and Publishing Frequency is B?!!$#à ·x from MOZ. ProBlogger FAQ: How Long Should Posts Be from Problogger. The Optimal Length for Every Social Media Update and More from Buffer. The Character Count Guide for Blog Posts, Videos, Tweets More from Hubspot. Want to know how long blog posts should be? Check out these 12 studies.Check out this infographic for more statistics from the studies: DID YOU KNOW: 's WordPress and social media integrations make it easy to plan, publish, and promote every blog post on one marketing calendar. What Our Data Demonstrates We gathered data on our top blog posts that have gained the most traffic and the most social shares. Here’s what we found. Our Top Traffic Data After analyzing our posts, the following data was found from our top ten highest-traffic posts: What can we draw from the data we found? Every post that ranked on the first page of Google was over 2,000 words. Comprehensive content (which usually needs to be long) ranks well because it helps search engines offer users a complete answer to the query. If the reader doesn't need to bounce back to the search engine to read another post, then the search engine has succeeded. So, help Google, help you. However, just because a post is long, it doesn’t mean it will rank well. The content you write must give your audience what they’re looking for as well as contain relevant keywords and LSI terms. The results we saw prove a lot of what the above studies say is true. If you want your blog content to rank on Google, our data supports the theory that blog posts over 2,000 words tend to outperform shorter content in organic search. Why? The added length also gives you a chance to include the detail you need. This provides more usefulness for the reader which encourages them to stay and read longer.  It also helps ensure that your readers don’t have to bounce back and read multiple posts to gather the information they need. The less readers pogo back to Google, the more likely you'll be rewarded with higher rankings. Our Top Shared Posts After gathering our data on our most shared blog posts, here’s what we found: Interesting data from 's top-shared blog posts ...What conclusions were we able to draw from this data? A specific length doesn’t necessarily mean more social shares.  Take a look at our 5th most shared blog post. It’s only 299 words long. This shows that even though our post was really short (especially by our standards) the topic was popular enough and gave enough information to catch the attention of our audience. The interest of your audience in the topics that you write about may have more of influence on social shares. For example, if you write a 2,000 word post on your love of brussel sprouts that may not go over as well as your 1,000 word post on how to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. For , Pinterest plays a vital role in the shares our content gets.  Try including an image or two that can be published on the site when you write your next post. Regarding what the previous studies mentioned, we found that while writing at least 1,600 words helped, it didn’t mean that longer posts would necessarily garner more shares. Rather, content that gets shared, is content that's interesting and high-quality (whether it's long or short). Recommended Reading: How to Build the Best Social Media Promotion Schedule For Your Content How To Study Your Own Blog Post Data One way to help determine how long your blog posts should be is to look at and analyze the data from content you have already posted. Remember, your audience will help indicate what kinds of content they want to see. Here are some places to gather your data from. Get Traffic Data From Google Analytics In Google Analytics, you can track the organic and overall traffic from your blog posts by going to Behavior: Site Content: All Pages: Record your traffic for each post in your report template: Track Your Rankings Another critical part of your report is tracking how your content is ranking in Google search engines. There are tons  of tools out there that help you do this (and more). Here are a few: Moz: One of the most popular all-in-one SEO software platforms out there. Ahrefs: This is another popular SEO tool that packs tons of features. SERPs.com: While SERPs offers a robust premium platform, their free rank checker is worth using in a pinch (or on a budget). Another powerful free tool is Google Search Console. While there's a lot you can do with Search Console, not everyone is aware it can pull in ranking data. Watch this video to learn how: Then record the ranking of your posts after thirty days in your report template. Recommended Reading: When is the Best Time to Publish a Blog Post? Check How Often Your Content Is Shared On Social Media The last part of your report is checking the number of social media shares for after the first 30 days that your content has been published. Typically, you would need to go to each social network and check the number of shares on each post you published. Another way to do this is to use ’s Top Content Report. It automatically reports how many shares your content receives.Once you gathered your data, record it in your report (included in this post). As you continue to track your data look for specific trends. Does the word count of your content affect how often your posts are shared? Is your audience clamoring for long-form content posts or do they prefer shorter posts? Use that data to help fuel your blog content creation strategy. DID YOU KNOW: You can discover your most-shared blog posts easily using Top Content Reports in . See how they work here. How Long Should Each Part Of Your Blog Post Be? So far you’ve covered the opinions of 20 different studies, and you’ve seen a brief overview of what the data here at is telling us about the best length of your blog post. But maybe you have a few more questions. After all, a blog post is more than just a few paragraphs of body copy. What are some other components of your blog post that you should keep length in mind for? Here's how long every piece of the perfect #blog post should be:How Long Should Your Headlines Be? Your headline is one of the most important parts of your blog post. It’s what hooks your reader in, and if you don’t grab their attention from the get-go, you’ll lose them before you even begin. So where does the length of your headline come into play? Our research shows that headlines should be about 55 characters  to get the most click-throughs. To test your headlines before you publish your blog posts, use our  Headline Analyzer: How Long Should Your Sub-Headers Be? What’s a sub-header you ask? A sub-header is an H2 or H3 header tag in HTML that breaks up specific sections of each post. An H3 sub-head should be the sub-point of an H2 tag (and an H4 a sub-point of an H3, and so forth). Here at , we stick to H2 and H3-level headers. This helps maintain a clean and crisp appearance. So how long should a standard sub-header be? At we shoot for between eight to 10 words. It gives our readers enough to see there is a break in the section of the post without becoming overly wordy. Source: https://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-exquisite-subheads Keep sub-heads between 8 and 10 words long. Learn why (and get more content length tips) here:How Long Should Your Paragraphs Be? For web content writers a short paragraph is another crucial component of keeping your readers engaged with your content. So what’s the best length of a paragraph of text in your blog post? A maximum of three sentences. Why? Because it helps break down huge chunks of text which once again helps the reader consume your content and find the information they’re looking for. If you’re looking for some more insight into web content writing, read this post from Search Engine Journal. Recommended Reading: 40 Content Writing Tips to Make You a Better Marketer Now How Long Should Your Sentences Be? Just like short paragraphs, concise and readable sentences are important for your blog posts. Just like short paragraphs keep your blog post easy to read, so do short sentences. So how short should your sentences be? For easiest readability on the web, the answer is 25 words. Really long sentence have an overly abundant amount of words make it difficult to skim your content, and it becomes really easy to lose your train of thought. ^^See what I mean. Shorter sentences much easier to read. Keep sentences under 25 words for easy readability on the web.How Long Should Your Meta Descriptions Be? What is a meta description? A meta description is the short amount of text that appears below your web page in a Google search. It tells readers at a glance what kind of information is in your post. They look like this: Meta descriptions should be written around 156 characters or less. However, keep in mind that Google recently issued an update, and may display over 230 characters in some (but not all) cases. Summary: Here's How Long Everything in Your Blog Post Should Be We've thrown a lot of data and numbers at you. Feel like your head is spinning? Use this quick cheat sheet: Blog Post Content: 2,500 Words. Title Tag: 70 Characters. Meta Description: 156 Characters. Headlines: 55 Characters (or Six to Seven Words) Sub-Heads: Eight to 10 Words (Or Less) Sentences: 25 Words or Less. Paragraphs: Three Sentences or Less. There you have it! Now Go Write Great Blog Posts To sum up the studies from this post: Long form content is powerful if you want it to rank in Google. However, if your team is looking more for social shares or comments, shorter posts may be the better option for you. No matter what you decide, you need to look at your own data to see what your audience wants. Once you’re ready to start writing, create, edit and publish your blog posts with . Start a trial  or request a demo  today. How Long Should a Blog Post Be to Get the Most Traffic and Shares â€Å"How long should my blog post be?† We hear this question a lot. There’s a ton of advice out there that says everything from 275 to 2,500 words. That’s †¦ not a very helpful range. So, we did some research to definitively determine the answer. The following studies will show you what length of content gives you the best chance of ranking on Google. Plus, we’ve included some raw data we compiled from our own top-performing blog posts (and will show you how to analyze your own top content to determine your own best blog post length). Optimize Your Blog Content With This Template Bundle Dont just guess at the best blog content length. Know the best length for every post on your blog. Snag this template bundle, and youll get: A Blog Post Template to help you write posts that are the optimal length for the best results. A Blog Post Length Analysis Template to record your own data and draw your own conclusions (just like we did at ). ’s 2018 Blog Content Length Research Report. This report breaks down different trends that we have spotted in our content that may influence how you create your own. All that for free? Get em now, and then lets continue.How Long Should a Blog Post Be to Get the Most Traffic and Shares?About The 12 Blog Post Length Studies ... So, where did we get all our information from, anyway? The answer is these twelve studies (plus our own research): For Blog Posts in 2017, What’s the Best Length for SEO from Snap Agency. How Long Should a Blog Post Be from Yoast. Blogging Statistics and Trends: The 2017 Survey of 1000+ Bloggers from Orbit Media. How Long Should Your Blog Post Be? A Writer’s Guide from The Write Practices. How Long Should My Blog Post Be from Forbes. 4 Statistics Every Blogger Should Know About Content Word Count from Copy Press. 2017 State of the Blogging Industry from Convert Kit. Compiled research from Clariant Creative. The Perfect Blog Post Length and Publishing Frequency is B?!!$#à ·x from MOZ. ProBlogger FAQ: How Long Should Posts Be from Problogger. The Optimal Length for Every Social Media Update and More from Buffer. The Character Count Guide for Blog Posts, Videos, Tweets More from Hubspot. Want to know how long blog posts should be? Check out these 12 studies.Check out this infographic for more statistics from the studies: DID YOU KNOW: 's WordPress and social media integrations make it easy to plan, publish, and promote every blog post on one marketing calendar. What Our Data Demonstrates We gathered data on our top blog posts that have gained the most traffic and the most social shares. Here’s what we found. Our Top Traffic Data After analyzing our posts, the following data was found from our top ten highest-traffic posts: What can we draw from the data we found? Every post that ranked on the first page of Google was over 2,000 words. Comprehensive content (which usually needs to be long) ranks well because it helps search engines offer users a complete answer to the query. If the reader doesn't need to bounce back to the search engine to read another post, then the search engine has succeeded. So, help Google, help you. However, just because a post is long, it doesn’t mean it will rank well. The content you write must give your audience what they’re looking for as well as contain relevant keywords and LSI terms. The results we saw prove a lot of what the above studies say is true. If you want your blog content to rank on Google, our data supports the theory that blog posts over 2,000 words tend to outperform shorter content in organic search. Why? The added length also gives you a chance to include the detail you need. This provides more usefulness for the reader which encourages them to stay and read longer.  It also helps ensure that your readers don’t have to bounce back and read multiple posts to gather the information they need. The less readers pogo back to Google, the more likely you'll be rewarded with higher rankings. Our Top Shared Posts After gathering our data on our most shared blog posts, here’s what we found: Interesting data from 's top-shared blog posts ...What conclusions were we able to draw from this data? A specific length doesn’t necessarily mean more social shares.  Take a look at our 5th most shared blog post. It’s only 299 words long. This shows that even though our post was really short (especially by our standards) the topic was popular enough and gave enough information to catch the attention of our audience. The interest of your audience in the topics that you write about may have more of influence on social shares. For example, if you write a 2,000 word post on your love of brussel sprouts that may not go over as well as your 1,000 word post on how to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. For , Pinterest plays a vital role in the shares our content gets.  Try including an image or two that can be published on the site when you write your next post. Regarding what the previous studies mentioned, we found that while writing at least 1,600 words helped, it didn’t mean that longer posts would necessarily garner more shares. Rather, content that gets shared, is content that's interesting and high-quality (whether it's long or short). Recommended Reading: How to Build the Best Social Media Promotion Schedule For Your Content How To Study Your Own Blog Post Data One way to help determine how long your blog posts should be is to look at and analyze the data from content you have already posted. Remember, your audience will help indicate what kinds of content they want to see. Here are some places to gather your data from. Get Traffic Data From Google Analytics In Google Analytics, you can track the organic and overall traffic from your blog posts by going to Behavior: Site Content: All Pages: Record your traffic for each post in your report template: Track Your Rankings Another critical part of your report is tracking how your content is ranking in Google search engines. There are tons  of tools out there that help you do this (and more). Here are a few: Moz: One of the most popular all-in-one SEO software platforms out there. Ahrefs: This is another popular SEO tool that packs tons of features. SERPs.com: While SERPs offers a robust premium platform, their free rank checker is worth using in a pinch (or on a budget). Another powerful free tool is Google Search Console. While there's a lot you can do with Search Console, not everyone is aware it can pull in ranking data. Watch this video to learn how: Then record the ranking of your posts after thirty days in your report template. Recommended Reading: When is the Best Time to Publish a Blog Post? Check How Often Your Content Is Shared On Social Media The last part of your report is checking the number of social media shares for after the first 30 days that your content has been published. Typically, you would need to go to each social network and check the number of shares on each post you published. Another way to do this is to use ’s Top Content Report. It automatically reports how many shares your content receives.Once you gathered your data, record it in your report (included in this post). As you continue to track your data look for specific trends. Does the word count of your content affect how often your posts are shared? Is your audience clamoring for long-form content posts or do they prefer shorter posts? Use that data to help fuel your blog content creation strategy. DID YOU KNOW: You can discover your most-shared blog posts easily using Top Content Reports in . See how they work here. How Long Should Each Part Of Your Blog Post Be? So far you’ve covered the opinions of 20 different studies, and you’ve seen a brief overview of what the data here at is telling us about the best length of your blog post. But maybe you have a few more questions. After all, a blog post is more than just a few paragraphs of body copy. What are some other components of your blog post that you should keep length in mind for? Here's how long every piece of the perfect #blog post should be:How Long Should Your Headlines Be? Your headline is one of the most important parts of your blog post. It’s what hooks your reader in, and if you don’t grab their attention from the get-go, you’ll lose them before you even begin. So where does the length of your headline come into play? Our research shows that headlines should be about 55 characters  to get the most click-throughs. To test your headlines before you publish your blog posts, use our  Headline Analyzer: How Long Should Your Sub-Headers Be? What’s a sub-header you ask? A sub-header is an H2 or H3 header tag in HTML that breaks up specific sections of each post. An H3 sub-head should be the sub-point of an H2 tag (and an H4 a sub-point of an H3, and so forth). Here at , we stick to H2 and H3-level headers. This helps maintain a clean and crisp appearance. So how long should a standard sub-header be? At we shoot for between eight to 10 words. It gives our readers enough to see there is a break in the section of the post without becoming overly wordy. Source: https://www.copyblogger.com/how-to-write-exquisite-subheads Keep sub-heads between 8 and 10 words long. Learn why (and get more content length tips) here:How Long Should Your Paragraphs Be? For web content writers a short paragraph is another crucial component of keeping your readers engaged with your content. So what’s the best length of a paragraph of text in your blog post? A maximum of three sentences. Why? Because it helps break down huge chunks of text which once again helps the reader consume your content and find the information they’re looking for. If you’re looking for some more insight into web content writing, read this post from Search Engine Journal. Recommended Reading: 40 Content Writing Tips to Make You a Better Marketer Now How Long Should Your Sentences Be? Just like short paragraphs, concise and readable sentences are important for your blog posts. Just like short paragraphs keep your blog post easy to read, so do short sentences. So how short should your sentences be? For easiest readability on the web, the answer is 25 words. Really long sentence have an overly abundant amount of words make it difficult to skim your content, and it becomes really easy to lose your train of thought. ^^See what I mean. Shorter sentences much easier to read. Keep sentences under 25 words for easy readability on the web.How Long Should Your Meta Descriptions Be? What is a meta description? A meta description is the short amount of text that appears below your web page in a Google search. It tells readers at a glance what kind of information is in your post. They look like this: Meta descriptions should be written around 156 characters or less. However, keep in mind that Google recently issued an update, and may display over 230 characters in some (but not all) cases. Summary: Here's How Long Everything in Your Blog Post Should Be We've thrown a lot of data and numbers at you. Feel like your head is spinning? Use this quick cheat sheet: Blog Post Content: 2,500 Words. Title Tag: 70 Characters. Meta Description: 156 Characters. Headlines: 55 Characters (or Six to Seven Words) Sub-Heads: Eight to 10 Words (Or Less) Sentences: 25 Words or Less. Paragraphs: Three Sentences or Less. There you have it! Now Go Write Great Blog Posts To sum up the studies from this post: Long form content is powerful if you want it to rank in Google. However, if your team is looking more for social shares or comments, shorter posts may be the better option for you. No matter what you decide, you need to look at your own data to see what your audience wants. Once you’re ready to start writing, create, edit and publish your blog posts with . Start a trial  or request a demo  today.

Philosophy of Utilitarianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Philosophy of Utilitarianism - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that utilitarianism requires that the good outcome should be more than the bad. We don’t know whether his liver will surely be useful to the recipient, clearly whoever receives it can still die because of the complication of the surgery. In such situation, there is a loss of two lives and it will not be utilitarianism. The last thing is that the family is likely to suffer more if they lose such a healthy father over a risky surgery as opposed to a stranger who may get the liver and go unnoticed. A gift of health and life are among the basic needs that every human requires. Risking ones’ life never produce a good feeling. The fear in his family says it all, it will not be considered utilitarianism because family suffering is much greater even if he comes out of theater alive. There are many ways to do good without risking life. He cannot donate every part of his body because of doing good.

Total Quality Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Total Quality Management - Case Study Example Total Quality Management helps in integration of activities, which constitutes of the integrated system of various principles and is the prime determinants of sustainable competitive advantage for any other company. To retain customers and to create customer value the management needs to focus on providing employees a service, which is customer effective than its competitors. The customer satisfaction transforms into customer delight when the services and goods exceed customer expectations. TQM approach helps in improving the quality of services and goods on a continuous basis, which involves the participation of the individuals at every level and phase of organization. The Japanese organizations were the first to adopt the TQM approach during the early 1950’s. TQM includes methods like Just in Time and Jidoka, which means in station quality. Just in Time system is the most widely used TQM approach which involves the flow of materials in processed way where the right part is r eceived at the right time and the right place. (Radisic, n.d.).The Kanban or the instructions are received from customers and helps in the process of replenishment of the material parts. The results are the establishment of pull approach towards production activities followed in most of the companies. The concept of Jidoka is extremely complex in nature and is not popular amongst other companies. This relates to the types of intelligence machine, which has the potentiality of stopping the production process

Compare and contrast the two stories, Black Men in Public Space by Essay

Compare and contrast the two stories, Black Men in Public Space by Brent Staples and Where are you Going, Where have you Been by Joyce Carol Oates - Essay Example This can be seen in the short stories â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† by Joyce Carol Oates through her characters Connie and Arnold Friend as well as in â€Å"Black Men in Public Space† by Brent Staples through the narrator’s own experiences. The first character to be introduced in Oates’ story is Connie, a teenaged girl just beginning to discover the world outside of her parents’ home. As this character is examined, a trope is revealed in her name itself. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, one of the definitions of ‘trope’ is â€Å"a word or expression used in a figurative sense† (2009). Connie’s name suggests a person involved in a con, or farce of some kind as she certainly is. At home, she is the typical lazy but innocent teenager, but in public she attempts to become someone quite different. â€Å"Everything about her had two sides to it; one for home and one for anywhere that was not home: her walk, which could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyone think she was hearing music in her head; her mouth, which was pale and smirking most of the time, but bright and pink on these evenings out† (Oates). She is not what she seems to be which make s her a ‘con’ artist. Her mother understands her to be irritating and lazy but generally innocent while Oates makes it clear that Connie has been sexually active in opening her story with an example of Connie’s typical evenings out as she ditches her friend in order to spend the evening with a boy named Eddie. â€Å"She spent three hours with him, at the restaurant where they ate hamburgers and drank Cokes in wax cups that were always sweating, and then down an alley a mile or so away, and when he left her off at five to eleven only the movie house was still open at the plaza† (Oates). While her mother continues to have an impression of

A quel point la perscution des minorits refltait-elle la volont des Essay - 1

A quel point la perscution des minorits refltait-elle la volont des forces doccupation et quel point refltait-elle des tendances au sein de la socit franaise elle-mme - Essay Example t de la droite politique blà ¢mà © [certains politiciens] pour la « excà ¨s  »de Vichy ».1 Pendant ce temps, Vichy a luttà © pour maintenir son appel mà ©tropolitaines, mais il a à ©tà © aux prises avec les problà ¨mes sociaux qui ont de persà ©cuter un segment de la socià ©tà © franà §aise. La zone non occupà ©e de la [France] et lassistance nà ©cessaires administration à ©conomique.2 Il y avait des problà ¨mes majeurs. Les deux Franà §ais et Britanniques ont combattu pour lindà ©pendance de la France. "Dans la campagne de 1940 les Franà §ais se sont battus courageusement, mais ... [l]es Britanniques ont combattu beaucoup plus obstinà ©ment ... ».3 Pour donner un peu de contexte, lAllemagne avait acquis une partie de la France qui a à ©tà © envahie par les gens.  «En occupant la moitià © nord du pays et toute la cà ´te Atlantique, lAllemagne sest approprià © le partie la plus riche et le plus peuplà © de la France mà ©tropolitaine ».4 En raison de loppression de son peuple, la rà ©putation de Vichy est à   jamais ternie. "Lhistoire de Vichy, en cette epoque, abonde en pareils trompe-lÅ“il ».5 À la dà ©fense du peuple juif, les combats ont à   lEst. "Par consà ©quent, au cours de la plupart des annà ©es de combats sur le front de lEst (oà ¹ la majeure partie de larmà ©e allemande a à ©tà © engagà ©), les conditions sont devenues de plus en plus semblables à   celles sur le front occidental dans la Premià ¨re Guerre mondiale ».6 Il semblait que beaucoup de gens mà ©prisaient les Juifs, cà ©tait un sentiment populaire et à   la mode dà ©pouser à   là ©poque. "Mà ªme aprà ¨s la guerre, Xavier Vallat revendiquà ©e, avec quelque raison, que lanti-sà ©mitisme de Vichy avait rà ©flà ©chi volontà © populaire. Dans les registres tenus par ladministration franà §aise au cours de 1940-1944 il ya des signes à ©vidents de lantipathie populaire pour les Juifs, en particulier pour les rà © fugià ©s juifs à ©trangers ... ... rà ©pandre sur les Juifs dorigine franà §aise ainsi  ».7 Pendant ce temps, le cerveau se cache derrià ¨re la

Main factors of seismic vulnerability of buildings and how the Essay

Main factors of seismic vulnerability of buildings and how the assessment of the vulnerability of buildings could be used for as - Essay Example 1.3. Large Settlements in Seismic Areas There is a large population that lives in seismic vulnerable areas and the buildings there are more prone to earthquakes because of aging and lack of maintenance. 1.4. Non-Engineered Constructions Non-engineered construction is very much prone to seismic vulnerability as the buildings will not have good engineering techniques that would save them from seismic waves. 2. Seismic Vulnerability Assessment can be used for assessing the seismic impacts in an urban area. Urban area consists mainly of those buildings that are vulnerable to earthquakes and hence are damaged or poorly maintained. For example, a lot of urban area damaged â€Å"occurred in vulnerable houses in every earthquake experienced by Italy in the post-war period, and particularly during the Friuli and the Irpinia earthquakes† (Cozzi, Menoni, Pergalani & Petrini 2003:4). The vulnerability assessment of seismic activity in urban areas and the application of proper solutions to counter these damaging activities can be helpful in reducing the causalities and destruction (Agrawal & Chourasia 2008) and economic loss caused by future earthquakes, according to Vicente et al. (2010).

An entrepreneurial viewpoint Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

An entrepreneurial viewpoint - Essay Example Discerning the module has taught me that there are certain traits that any successful entrepreneur needs to be endowed with. A careful scrutiny of my own personality against these entrepreneurial traits has confirmed to me what I have and areas that I need to improve on to call myself a happy and successful entrepreneur. My entrepreneurial spirit is hemmed in by several personality traits that the module has helped me identify about myself and most immediately is confidence. Like Michael Bloomberg puts it: â€Å"Don’t be afraid to assert yourself, have the confidence in your capabilities, never letting the bastards drag you down.† I believe that confidence comes in handy for startup success. I have the confidence to take the risks, and to lead teams in creating a vision and to confidently sell the product to investors and customers (Straut, 2008). The other trait is optimism, Bill Gates has made fortunes as an entrepreneur because he looked at what was ahead of him with optimism; and that is how I always look at things that are ahead of me. I have learnt from the module that an entrepreneur should be optimistic about a product, their teams and their future. A study done by Baron (2004) found out that entrepreneurs perceive risks as being smaller than they are in actual sense, and also smaller than many people would ordinarily perceive them to be. It is with such optimism that I look at the future that though things may look obscured at the beginning, soon they will clear up, all it takes is to hang on and be positive. Passion has taught me that anyone can succeed in anything they set out to do, as long as their endeavor is anchored on unlimited and incredible enthusiasm. I am very passionate about everything I believe in and speaking about the importance of passion in entrepreneurship, Baron (2004, pp. 230) wrote, â€Å"Passion is a key cog in the wheel of determination, it is both contagious and palpable, many consumers, businesses and investors will be swayed by an entrepreneur who exhibits great passion.† Going with passion is self-efficacy. Nolan Bushnell was quoted saying that â€Å"many people have great ideas, but it’s only a few of them who decide to do something about those ideas now; a true entrepreneur is the one who is a doer, rather than a dreamer† (Choo, 2004). The last characteristic that wraps up my entrepreneurial spirit is persistence. I made a promise to myself that I was going to be successful in anything that I put my all into. There is no amount of money, or any amount of labor neither any number of hours would deter me from giving the very best that is in me. The module is clear that a successful entrepreneur is one who is will overcome and persevere despite the many hurdles, setbacks or failures (Osborne, 1995). Entrepreneurs are able to learn from their failures to make improvements on themselves, their team and their products. I have an entrepreneurial mentality as opposed to an employee mentality and so it would more fulfilling for me to work in an entrepreneurial organization as an entrepreneurial manager as opposed to working in a conveniently structured organization with convenient management approaches. This is inspired by the fact that I have a vision to chart and create my own path, as opposed to that employee mentality

Main factors of seismic vulnerability of buildings and how the Essay

Main factors of seismic vulnerability of buildings and how the assessment of the vulnerability of buildings could be used for as - Essay Example 1.3. Large Settlements in Seismic Areas There is a large population that lives in seismic vulnerable areas and the buildings there are more prone to earthquakes because of aging and lack of maintenance. 1.4. Non-Engineered Constructions Non-engineered construction is very much prone to seismic vulnerability as the buildings will not have good engineering techniques that would save them from seismic waves. 2. Seismic Vulnerability Assessment can be used for assessing the seismic impacts in an urban area. Urban area consists mainly of those buildings that are vulnerable to earthquakes and hence are damaged or poorly maintained. For example, a lot of urban area damaged â€Å"occurred in vulnerable houses in every earthquake experienced by Italy in the post-war period, and particularly during the Friuli and the Irpinia earthquakes† (Cozzi, Menoni, Pergalani & Petrini 2003:4). The vulnerability assessment of seismic activity in urban areas and the application of proper solutions to counter these damaging activities can be helpful in reducing the causalities and destruction (Agrawal & Chourasia 2008) and economic loss caused by future earthquakes, according to Vicente et al. (2010).

Cathedral by Raymond Carver Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cathedral by Raymond Carver - Essay Example Years before she and the narrator were married, his wife had a job as a reader and helper to Robert. She kept in touch with him by recording her thoughts and feelings onto tapes, a sort of auditory journal, which she would send to Robert on a regular basis. Robert would send tapes to her as well. The narrator feels threatened by this â€Å" I heard my own name in the mouth of this stranger, this blind man I didn’t even know!† While listening to the tape, they were interrupted, and the husband was relieved not to hear any more: â€Å"Maybe it was just as well. I’d heard all I wanted to.† His wife’s suicide attempt is related to Robert, who is a sort of father confessor to her. â€Å"Now this same blind man was coming to sleep in my house† the narrator says. â€Å"Maybe I could take him bowling† he tells his wife. She gets angry and tells her husband that the visit is important to her, and he will be a good host if she loves him. She say s she would do the same for him, but â€Å"you don’t have any friends.† Her husband’s isolation, both actual and spiritual, are shown in this statement. It is also illustrated by his need to party.

Gender Roles in American Households Essay Example for Free

Gender Roles in American Households Essay The social phenomenon of changing gender roles in American households is explored in this paper. Are men and women sharing more equally in assuming household responsibilities? Do women still bear the majority of the responsibility? How do race, age, and cultural influence play a role in the division of labor in the household? I have done research on the change in gender roles among people of different ages, genders, and race. Data was collected to see if there is a difference in change between races, if there is a significant change in roles between generations, and if men and women view the change the same or differently. To gain the data I used surveying and interviewing as my research methodologies. These methods were used as they were the most practical ways to obtain enough information needed to form conclusions. Caucasian, Asian, and African Americans of both genders and diverse ages were surveyed and interviewed. I feel my research will show that with each generation, as more women entered the work force, the households of all races have undergone significant change in which women and men are sharing both work and domestic duties more equitably. That being said, the distribution of domestic chores does contribute to household stratification of gender roles. Both currently and historically race plays a role in that stratification. Gender role research is socially relevant because each individual in a household is impacted by it. Gender roles in the household can be a factor in whether a marriage is happy and successful. They also influence decision making in the family and parent and child relationships. Researchers could use my data to delve deeper into the impact of gender roles in different types of households. Since everyone grows up in some type of household setting, the research could have far reaching implications for most of the population. The first research method I choose to collect data is the survey. Using a survey to collect data allowed me to reach a large number of people. Family and friends helped in distributing and collecting the surveys. My parents work at a hospital, my Aunt is a teacher, and my friend attends a large university. That allowed me to reach the age groups, genders, and races I needed in order to collect enough data. Included in my survey were both questions about today and about the past. In addition, using a survey allowed me to ask questions that were not opened ended and could easily be converted to statistical data. In the end, I had responses from a minimum of fifteen respondents in each of eighteen categories. The categories are Caucasian females ages 19-30, Caucasian males ages 19-30, Caucasian females ages 31-49, Caucasian males ages 31-49, Caucasian females ages 50 and above, Caucasian males age 50 and above, and the same for both African Americans and Asian Americans. Because of the large number of groups I needed to collect data on, I felt 15 individuals per category would be a large enough number to get a representative sample. I looked at the responses and felt I had a good sample. Had that not been the case, I would have handed out more surveys. Included in the survey were questions on the household the person grew up in and questions about their household today. For example, respondents were asked if they were raised in a two parent home. This is a question I checked the responses to when I determined if I had collected enough surveys. It was necessary to have enough positive answers to this question since gender roles is the issue I am looking at. Also on the survey were questions asking your race and age, who you were raised by, if your mother worked outside the home, percentage of division of household chores, and whether the perceived change in gender roles is positive. I did not have any problems with the survey itself. The only difficulty was finding fifteen respondents for a few of the categories. The second research methodology I used was the interview. In interviewing I was hoping to be able to ask follow up questions and steer the interview in a direction that would supply me with the information I needed. The survey did not lend itself to follow up questions. In addition, participant observation and experimentation methodologies were not at all suited to investigate the question of changing household gender roles. I interviewed one person from each of the three races I was researching. In addition, each was from a different age category. All of the interviews were conducted separately as I would not have wanted to inconvenience the people who were nice enough to participate. All were interviewed once in an informal manner since I believe that discussing your childhood and present home life is best accomplished in a comfortable setting. I interviewed Dr. Espejo, a 49 year old of Asian decent by telephone as she was unavailable in person. Helen Bonokallie, a 24 year old of African decent was my second interview. I spoke with Helen at her workplace as she works third shift and that was most convenient for her. My last interview was with Sylvia Johnson, a 66 year old Caucasian. I interviewed her in her living room. I have known Sylvia my entire life and have a close personal bond with her. Aside from choosing my subjects for interviewing and directing the questions to get the answers I needed I did not shape the outcome of the interview. The survey results revealed several trends related to gender roles in American families. The following charts and statistical analysis help to clarify the collected data from the surveys. The three tables that follow represent each of the three races I surveyed. Each chart shows the three age groups surveyed and their responses to two questions. The first, as a child what percentage of household work was done by each of your parents? The second, in your home today, what percentage of household work is done by the male and what percentage is done by the female? Looking at the charts a few trends are seen. First, regardless of race, the percentage of work done by the male is greater in the adult household as compared to the father in the childhood home. That indicates that with each generation gender roles in the home have changed. Ratio of CaucasianCaucasianCaucasianCaucasianCaucasianCaucasian work doneAge 19-30Age 19-30Age 31-49Age 31-49Age 50+Age 50+ female:malechildhoodadultchildhoodadultchildhood adult In %householdhouseholdhouseholdhouseholdhouseholdhousehold 50-504%40%0%38%0%0% 60-400%40%4%31%0%40% 70-3012%20%15%23%0%40% 75-250%0%11%8%0%13% 80-2014%0%0%0%20%7% 85-1512%0%11%0%3%0% 90-1058%0%30%0%30%0% 95-50%0%11%0%27%0% 100-00%0%18%0%20%0%. Ratio of AsianAsianAsianAsianAsianAsian work doneAge 19-30Age 19-30Age 31-49Age 31-49Age 50+Age 50+ female:malechildhoodadultchildhoodadultchildhood adult householdhouseholdhouseholdhouseholdhouseholdhousehold 50-500%26%0%0%0%0% 60-400%39%0%16%0%0% 70-307%30%0%36%0%28% 75-2510%0%0%12%0%0% 80-2023%5%17%24%3%22% 85-157%0%10%12%13%0% 90-1050%0%30%0%23%36% 95-50%0%30%0%25%0% 100-03%0%13%0%36%14% Ratio of African AfricanAfricanAfricanAfricanAfrican work doneAge 19-30Age 19-30Age 31-49Age 31-49Age 50+Age 50+ female:malechildhoodadultchildhoodadultchildhood adult householdhouseholdhouseholdhouseholdhouseholdhousehold 50-500%0%0%0%0%6%. 60-400%63%0%18%0%18% 70-3031%31%7%28%0%38% 75-2531%0%8%12%5%7% 80-2015%6%8%36%25%12% 85-150%0%23%0%0%0% 90-1023%0%46%6%30%19% 95-50%0%8%0%25%0% 100-00%0%0%0%15%0% In addition, under no circumstance did the males of any race or age perform more household work than the females. The data also shows that there is no difference in gender roles today among Caucasians, African Americans, and Asian Americans in the 19-30 age group. In the Asian American group of individuals fifty and older, 72% of women still do 80-100% of the household work today. In contrast, in the same age group, only 7% of Caucasian women and 31% of African American women perform 80-100% of household work. According to the 2004 United States Census, 69% of Asians were born in another country (Lee and Pituc 2007). This is significant in that many older Asian-Americans adhere to traditional cultural values. Traditional Asian gender roles prescribe for women to place the role of wife and mother above all others: men are expected to be the breadwinner and spokesperson. Asian cultural values consequently encourage distinct spheres for men and women and a gendered household division of labor in which the burden of household duties such as housekeeping tasks and childcare rest heavily on women (Lee and Pituc 2007: 1). The following graph was compiled based on the survey question; did your mother work outside the home? The y-axis is percentage of working mothers and the x-axis is the age of those surveyed. The graph shows that over time more mothers have become workers outside the home. It also indicates that for all age categories 70% of African American women were in the workforce. Kane stated â€Å"White women have a history of lower levels of labor force participation and higher levels of economic dependence on men than do African-American women† (2000 p. 421). This graph when looked at in conjunction with the 3 charts above shows a correlation between women working outside the home and men giving more help around the house. The last survey question was do you think the change in gender roles in the household is positive or negative. The results were 99% positive and 1% negative. The information obtained from my interviews mirrored the information I got from the surveys. Talking to Sylvia, the 66 year old Caucasian, the idea that generation and women in the workplace play a part in changing gender roles was reinforced. Sylvia related what her home was like as a child, indicating that household work was entirely done by her non-working mom. Her home on the other hand is different in that her husband does help out to some extent. She also said her children’s homes are even more equitable when it comes to dividing household chores. Dr. Espejo’s parents worked together and shared responsibilities in the home. It is the same in her home today, where she and her husband, both physicians, share household duties. Dr. Espejo stated that she feels sharing of household responsibilities strengthens the relationship between a husband and wife and between parents and children. This may be explained by a 2003 study conducted by Y. Espiritu. Trask (2006) states: Based on an analyses of various studies of Asian-American families, Espiritu found that more educated couples tended to share and practice greater egalitarian relationships within households. While women still performed more of the housework, their husbands did participate in all aspects of family work. This increased participation by men may be explained due to an equal monetary contribution from men and women which led to wives successfully forcing their husbands to participate in domestic chores. (P. 4) In my interview with Helen, she pointed out that sharing responsibility around the house helps to equalize the stress between both male and female. In the African- American household she grew up in her father did the cooking and laundry while her mother cleaned and helped the children with homework. A recent study has a possible explanation for the sharing of household work in Helen’s childhood home. The study concluded, â€Å"When referencing the family and work, black men may be less traditional because they are more sensitive to oppression in general, may share resistance with black women to racial inequality, and often gain acceptance of women in the workforce during early years while being raised by a single working mother† (Carter 2006: 209). In addition, Blee and Tickamyer state, â€Å"African American men do not equate masculinity with success, wealth, ambition, and power, but rather with self-determinism and accountability† (1995 p. 21). All three interview subjects expressed that change in gender roles where there is a more equal distribution of household responsibilities is very positive. The research I have done shows that over time gender roles have changed among the three races I studied. Every group I looked at had fathers who helped out less around the house than the males in their homes today. One important reason for this could be the fact that over time more women have entered the workforce outside the home. It simply has become a necessity for men to help out more around the house. In addition to more women in the work force, culture and race play a role in gender and the household stratification of gender roles. Culture remains important to many Asians Americans, especially the older generation. In those cultures Asian men are seen as the breadwinner and women as household caretakers. That dictates women being almost entirely responsible for the household. In contrast, African American men do not define their masculinity by success, but instead by accountability. That leads to many African American men being more equitable in sharing household chores. Since everyone in a household is affected by gender roles, this subject is very important socially. It is a subject worth investigating further as the findings could impact many people. References Blee, Kathleen and Ann Tickamyer. 1995. â€Å"Racial Differences in Men’s Attitudes about Women’s Gender Roles. † In Journal of Marriage and Family. Vol. 57, pps 21-30. Carter, J. Scott and Mamadi Corra. 2009. â€Å"The Interaction of Race and Gender: Changing Gender Role Attitudes, 1974-2006. † In Social Science Quarterly. Vol. 90, pps 196-211 Kane, Emily. 2000. â€Å"Racial and Ethnic Variations in Gender-Related Attitudes. † In Annual Review of Sociology. Vol. 26, pps 419-436 Lee, Sandra and Stephanie Pituc. 2007. â€Å"Asian Women and Work-Family Issues. † In Sloan Work and Family Research Encyclopedia. pps 1-6 Trask, Bahira. 2006. â€Å"Traditional Gender Roles. † In Sloan Work and Family Research Encyclopedia. pps 1-5.

Ever At Odds: The Conflict and Reconciliation of Science and Religion in Paradise Lost and The Blazing World :: Paradise Lost Blazing World

Ever At Odds: The Conflict and Reconciliation of Science and Religion in Paradise Lost and The Blazing World Throughout history, scientific theories and spiritual beliefs have often been at odds. Even today, most people are faced with the difficulty of reconciling their religious beliefs with modern science. In the 17th Century, when scientific thought was in its infancy and religion was the established source of knowledge about the universe, this conflict was of particular interest to writers and philosophers. Two similar but contrasting viewpoints on this issue can be seen in John Milton's Paradise Lost and Margaret Cavendish's The Blazing World. Milton and Cavendish both see science as a tool for exploring the world; however, while Milton feels that science can provide no deep insight into God's workings, Cavendish believes that science can potentially be a source of greater knowledge and understanding. Under the reign of Elizabeth I, England enjoyed a period of religious toleration. However, near the end of her reign, a growing religious minority, the Puritans, became increasingly critical of her policies, believing that she was still too close to Catholicism. These grievances were magnified when Elizabeth's successor, James I, a devout Anglican, proved to be far less tolerant and tactful. Furthermore, James was accused of abusing his royal authority by attempting to undermine Parliament. The growing tension between Anglicans and Puritans worsened under James' son, Charles I, who repeatedly angered a Parliament in which the House of Commons had gained a significant Puritan influence. In response, the Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell, called for a reformation of the church, including the abolition of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and a ban on bishops voting in the House of Lords. When Charles attempted to dispel the situation by arresting five Commons leaders, loyalties in the country split and the English Civil War began. Under Cromwell's political and military leadership, the Puritan forces gained organization and determination. His New Model Army won a major battle in Naesby in 1645, which ultimately lead to Charles' surrender. In January 1649, Charles I was executed and the Interregnum under Cromwell began. However, Cromwell's reign was not successful, and by 1653 he was forced to rule through military dictatorship. After Cromwell's death in 1660, Charles II was invited to return from exile to claim the English throne. His return to power is known as the Restoration (Chambers 478-85).

The Role of Propoganda in the American Revolution :: Essays on American Revolution

The colonists during and before the Revolutionary War believed that they had many well-thought reasons to rebel against England. Some of the most popular reasons would have to be the concept of "Taxation without representation" and the famous Stamp Act. Many colonists were not so concerned with taxes so they sided with the reason of the British restricting their westward expansion. But those colonists who did not go along with those excuses for rebellion just plain hated the British for invading their homes. But a single question arises: "What put all of these strong feelings toward Britain into the minds of the colonists?" The answer is simple: Propaganda. Many of the colonists along the coast began to thing that the land they were living in was beginning to become a little too crowded. The majority of these colonists looked to the land west of the Appalachian Mountains, but there was one problem. In 1763 King George III created something known as "The Proclamation of 1763". The Proclamation of 1763 restricted the colonists in the English colonies from moving westward into the lands beyond the Appalachian Mountains. It also forced those who had already settled west of the Appalachians to go back to the eastern side. King George III made this law because he wished to keep peace with the Natives and keep the taxpayers paying taxes. He succeeded partially, but he also managed to confuse and upset a large amount of the colonists. Another problem that made the colonists angry was the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act stated that the colonists must house British soldiers and pay for their expenses. Nearly every colonists was affected by this, even if they did not house a soldier, because the British soldiers would attempt to find odd jobs in their off hours. Thus, the colonists would be in direct competition with the British soldiers for jobs when the colonists were already underpaid due to taxes, such as the Stamp Act. Taxes were a hard part of every day life in the colonies. Many of the taxes Britain placed on the colonies seemed to be very unreasonable to the colonists. One such example of the unreasonable taxes is the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was put in place to help pay for some of the cost from the French and Indian War. Everything from newspapers to playing cards was taxed. This infuriated the colonists greatly, because the tax from the Stamp Act affected every one in the colonies in some way or another.

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest: the Power of Laughter Essay

Jimmy Buffet once said â€Å"If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane. † When an individual is no longer capable of laughing, he is also no longer capable of being in control of himself. This happens when a greater authority has the power to deny a person of their laughter; which, inevitably, denies him of his freedom. Ken Kesey conveys the idea that laughter and freedom go hand in hand throughout his novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Kesey portrays laughter as a parallel to freedom through various literary symbols and imagery in order to illustrate how the power of laughter can free a man who is under the control of an unjust authority. Through the characterization of Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, Kesey illustrates how the manipulation of others and the challenge of authority is a key component in the ability to laugh. Through the characterization of Nurse Ratched, Kesey illustrates how one person can manipulate others for her own specific intentions. Throughout the story, it is clear that Nurse Ratched (Bug Nurse) manipulates the patients and faculty to control them so she has all the power. As the book starts, we are immediately brought into this mental ward in the eyes of Chief Bromden. As he walks down the hall, and the aids insult him because he is dumb and deaf. However, little do they know that Chief is the exact opposite. As they continue to speak as if he weren’t there and hand him the broom, â€Å"They laugh†¦[it is a] Hum of black machinery, humming the hate and death and other hospital secrets† (10). The laughter of the black aids is not clear and freeflowing like laughter should be. Instead, it is described as a â€Å"hum† which illustrates that even the aids do not have the freedom to laugh. They are â€Å"black machinery† or descendents of the combine which demonstrates that the faculty on this ward is under the control of Nurse Ratched and the combine. It is also evident that they are all working together because when machines are working correctly, they hum in synchronization, just like these men are doing with their empty laughter. Along with the machine-like laughs, the men also know what is going on in the ward because chief implies that their humming contains all of the mysteries. Kesey uses machine-like references and imagery in order to illustrate Nurse Ratched’s influence on her employee’s; she is the reason there is no laughter on the ward. Another cene that expresses Big Nurses power is when Chief is describing how Big Nurse hates when things are out of order. Chief explains that even her uniform has to be crisp and clean at all times, and when its not, she still smiles and pretends not to care, but inside it bothers her to no extent. He makes it clear that he sees, â€Å"her sit in the center of this web of wires like a watchful robot, tend her network with mechanical insect skill, know every second which wire runs where and just what current to send up to get the results she wants† (30). Big Nurse is portrayed as a mechanical spider who has the knowledge and ability to control whatever is in her â€Å"web. † Kesey references her as machine-like figure due to her constant necessity to be in control. Everything she does must be in a certain order and flow a certain way. When Chief says she knows how to â€Å"get the results she wants† it makes it clear that she is able to manipulate everyone. This demonstrates that her manipulation takes away all of the patients power to do anything; it even takes away their freedom and laughter. Another example that portrays this idea is in the article Salvation Through Laugher. The author, Stephen L. Tanner, is analyzing Kesey’s work, and as he discusses the first chapter of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, he notes how, â€Å"Miss Ratched is pleased when a ‘completed product’ goes back into society as a ‘functioning, adjusted component'† (Tanner 57). Tanner’s analysis expresses how Big Nurses intentions are to create these robots that do not have the ability to think for themselves. A â€Å"completed product† or success, will be think and act like the faculty, just another part of the machine. The pleasure Nurse Ratched gets out of these success’ illustrates that she loves gaining power and taking away people’s freedoms. Nurse Ratched manipulates the men on the ward and the faculty in order to gain power and take away all of their freedoms, even their freedom to laugh. Kesey conveys that the challenge of authority is the key to finding true identity. The protagonist, McMurphy immediately is introduced as this man with a huge, impenetrable ego. From the moment he steps on the ward, Chief notices that he’s different. Upon McMurphys arrival, Chief is awakening from the fog he is in. He’s in the day room with his inmates and is listening in on their conversations. Suddenly he hears Nurse Ratched announce that there is a new arrival. McMurphy enters the ward and is laughing. Chief notes that, â€Å".. it’s free and loud†¦[it] sounds real†¦it’s the first [real] laugh I’ve heard in years† (16). This illustrates how McMurphy, even from the beginning, has the intentions to challenge the rules. Before him, no one laughed on the ward, or even spoke above an indoor voice. However, as soon as he arrives, his laughter is â€Å"loud and free† which demonstrates that he is boisterous and independent. The combine will not succeed in taking away his freedom, nor will Nurse Ratched take away his ability to laugh. A second example is the scene in which McMurphy and his inmates disregard Big Nurses orders that they cannot watch the world series and watch it anyway because they had the majority in the second vote. As they all stop cleaning and sit down in front a blank TV screen, Nurse Ratched’s anger builds. Finally, she loses it and screams at McMurphy that he is , â€Å"‘supposed to be working during these hours! ‘ Her voice†¦a tight whine†¦a saw ripping through pine† (127) â€Å"her voice sounds like it hit a nail†(128). McMurphy’s breaking of the rules and influence on his inmates drives Nurse Ratched to the edge. Her voice hitting â€Å"a nail† illustrates authority running into a large bump and stopping it right in its tracks. The whining in her voice demonstrates that McMurphy is frustrating her, he is testing her power and this worries her, because she does not want to lose her power, and McMurphy is threatening her. However, no matter what Nurse Ratched does, she cannot seem to stop McMurphy and his free laugh. One of the most vital scenes is when McMurphy breaks the glass in the nurses station just after Cheswick commits suicide. He walks up to the nurse’s station, â€Å"†¦as big as a house! †¦[and says] in his slowest , deepest drawl how he figured he could use one of the smokes he bought†¦then he ran his hand through the glass†¦[it came] apart like water splashing†(172). McMurphy, haven been gone for a short while, challenges Big Nurses power and shows her that he’s back and is not losing this war. Him being â€Å"as big as a house† gives a visual that his power is radiating off of him. When he asks for his cigarettes, its in a slow and deep voice, and he does not wait for a response, just runs â€Å"his hand through the glass† it illustrates that he is not asking permission for anything. He will go against all of her rules because she cannot control him. The imagery Kesey uses to illustrate the glass shattering because when water splashes, there are many droplets and its not just one massive drop. McMurphy did not just break the glass or scratch Big Nurses power, he shattered it. He made his point that he has the power, not her, and he will always be free. Throughout the story, Kesey continues to have McMurphy constantly breaking the rules and challenging conformity in order to put across the idea that challenging authority can bring individuality. Ken Kesey, the author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, conveys the idea that laughter and freedom go hand in hand when it comes to a person being an individual. Through the characterization of Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, Kesey suggests that manipulating others and challenging authority is an essential part of laughing and freedom. I have come to learn that freedom can be achieved by laughing and it’s a necessity to laugh, therefore it’s a necessity to be free. After reading this novel, it is clear that laughter is crucial part of individuality and without it, we would all be mechanical robots because as Kesey once said â€Å"if you lose your laugh, you lose your footing. â€Å"

Refusal in Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener

The apparently peculiar protagonist of Herman Melville’s short story, Bartleby, the Scrivener, is a man whose attitude becomes marked by general refusal in the end. After being a diligent scrivener for the lawyer who narrates the story, Bartleby becomes increasingly recluse and resistant, until his speech is almost reduced to a single phrase: â€Å"I would prefer not to. †His refusal to perform at his job, to leave the office and finally to eat, seems, at first, extravagant and gratuitous. However, as it shall be seen, Bartleby embodies the idea of passive resistance against oppression.The lawyer, who is here the narrator of the story as well, represents the pragmatic and materialistic life. Wall Street, which is the most famous street associated with the business world, becomes here a symbol of pragmatism. Significantly, the office where Bartleby is employed is enclosed within walls that obstruct the view at the window. Bartleby, who stares at the great wall incessantl y, is the idealist whose metaphysical revolt crashes against the pragmatic world of business he is a part of. The story is told by a lawyer, who is obviously puzzled by Bartleby’s unaccountable behavior.Because he does not know how to react to Bartleby’s refusals, the lawyer attempts to play a charitable role and let him stay on the premises, without asking him to work anymore. He gives up on his bizarre scrivener however, when he sees that his business has to suffer because of Bartleby’s presence. As many other of Melville’s characters, the copyist is a Transcendentalist, who tries to see life beyond the superficial. He refuses the lawyer’s commands and offers because he believes that business makes man obliterate his own perception of a deeper reality.Bartleby’s thesis is that human action is useless, and he wraps his thesis in the form of negative preferences, giving to understand that he couldn’t act otherwise precisely because it is not a simple matter of will. He seems absolutely paralyzed in inaction, gradually renouncing almost all occupation. As an explanation to the character’s strange behavior, the narrator recalls that Bartleby’s former employment had put him in charge of the ‘dead letters’ or the letters that have reached a dead man at their destination.The former employment obviously added to Bartleby’s belief in the vanity or uselessness of human action in the form of business or commercial employment. Bartleby’s inaction clearly contrasts with the agitated world of business: â€Å"Sometimes an attorney having business with me, and calling at my office, and finding no one but the scrivener there, would undertake to obtain some sort of precise information from him touching my whereabouts; but without heeding his idle talk, Bartleby would remain standing immovable in the middle of the room† (Melville 38).His clash with this pragmatic world is significa nt: he refuses to be involved in the superficial employments of those who do not nurture their own spirits and choose to live artificially. Melville’s association with Transcendentalism is acknowledged. Bartleby’s view on life can be therefore explained with the use of the Transcendentalists’ philosophy. Thus, in Life without Principle, Thoreau remarks that the one element that is completely opposed to poetry and life itself is business: â€Å"I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay to life itself, than this incessant business†(Thoreau 1).Thoreau continues his idea by giving example of men who were involved in businesses that are immoral, such as the â€Å"gold rush† to California. According to Thoreau, a business which implies that one man will take advantage of another, without actually performing something useful, is offensive to religion and to the divinity: â€Å"It makes God be a moneyed gentl eman who scatters a handful of pennies in order to see mankind scramble for them† (Thoreau 1). In the same way, in his lecture Man the Reformer, Emerson criticizes the practice of business and commerce, when these surpass man’s primary needs.According to Emerson, to the extent that it is possible, man should depend on his own powers for at least a part of the manual labor, in order to have a direct relation to the world: â€Å"But the doctrine of the Farm is merely this, that every man ought to stand in primary relations with the work of the world, ought to do it himself, and not to suffer the accident of his having a purse in his pocket, or his having been bred to some dishonorable and injurious craft, to sever him from those duties†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Emerson 1).Thoreau’s and Emerson’s ideas about business are illustrated by Bartleby’s attitude towards his employer’s profession and the world of Wall Street. Bartleby is sensitive to the fact tha t such an employment keeps men from enjoying life for its real value. His peculiar behavior and his absolute refusal of the lawyer’s proposals show that he holds a different view of life, than that of the common people.Bartleby’s contemplative nature is a further hint that he is immersed in thoughts and meditations and refuses to take part in the shallow activities of the men who surround him. The main character is Melville’s short story is therefore a social misfit, who refuses to acknowledge the superficial world of business that the modern man has walled himself in. With the Transcendentalists, Bartleby is focused on contemplation and understanding of the deeper reality, refusing to become involved in a world of petty and purely materialistic concerns.? Works Cited: Emerson, Ralph Waldo. â€Å"Man the Reformer. † The Transcendentalist, 2001. Ed. J. Johnson Lewis. Retrieved at July 30, 2009. http://www. emersoncentral. com/manreform. htm. Melville, Herm ann. The Complete Shorter Fiction. London: Everyman’s Library, 1997. Thoreau, Henry David. â€Å"Life without principle. † The Transcendentalist, 2001. Ed. J. Johnson Lewis. Retrieved at July 30, 2009. http://www. transcendentalists. com/life_without_principle. htm.