Protecting our Individual Rights essays

Securing our Individual Rights articles Singular rights are one of the foundations this nation is based upon. Truth be told, singular rights are the establishment of any majority rule government, and unquestionably discrete us from the hopelessness of autocracy, socialism, and dictatorship. Be that as it may, while numerous residents underestimate singular rights in our general public, there are other people who are determined to decreasing person rights for the sake of balance and wellbeing. Our individual rights are in risk from an assortment of sources, and securing them, while still ensuring society in general, ought to be principal in the psyches of all Singular rights are not another idea. They were chief in the psyches of our ancestors who produced another country. Three Constitutional specialists note, As ahead of schedule as 1646 there emerged in Massachusetts the interest for the 'pleasure in our lives, libertys and homes, as per our due and common rights, as freeborne subjects of the English country' (Barlow, Toll, and Masugi 169). This voracious requirement for opportunity originated from times of mistreatment and oppression in Great Britain, where just the highest echelons of society and business appreciated the most distinction and benefit. Recently settled Americans would have liked to fashion a land where there were no class differentiations, and everybody could appreciate similar benefits and freedoms. Truth be told, we constitutionalized these rights, which as a result implied the governing body couldn't just enact singular rights, they were ensured by the Constitution, and would require state endorsement to modify singular rights. These laws are likewise alluded to as principal law, higher law, or vital law (Barlow, Levy, and Masugi 170). Along these lines, law ensures our individual rights, and accordingly, we now and then take them Singular rights envelop numerous aspects regularly neglected in the battle for independence versus the benefit of the entirety. Remembered for the essential rights we appreciate are the privilege to... <!

Precise Molded Products Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Exact Molded Products - Case Study Example Likewise, the organization may go through some cash on the trainings and extra working hours for the entire division yet the outcomes will profit the organization over the long haul. Today is smarter to contribute on human capital and have the drawn out advantages than set aside cash today and constantly cause misfortunes in light of the rejects later on. The top administration will hold a gathering and converse with the individuals from the quality office and get some information about their issues and worries about their specialty, the items, and the organization in general. In the wake of assessing the issues experienced in the office, proficient learners will hold the preparation. The preparation will incorporate group structures to improve the representatives' relationship with one another so clashes and correspondence hindrances will be forestalled. Second, TQM preparing will be done on the grounds that it is presently generally used to guarantee quality in all parts of the organization. All out Quality Management is likewise fit for disposing of imperfections and mistakes in activities (Stark, 1998). Six Sigma will likewise be remembered for the preparation. This is currently a well known pattern in the executives where information serious philosophy is utilized to take out deformities in the organization's creation (Six Sigma). This will help Bob Thomas in decreasing the creation rejects of the organization utilizing systematical approaches. References Six Sig

This is where my decisions have taken me

This is where my decisions have taken me “Einen Faden in die Hand nehmen, der in jedem Fall, unter allen Umständen weiterläuft, an dem man sich, wenn es not tut, halten kann…” “To take in one’s hand a thread which continues always and through all circumstances, to which one can hold tight, when necessary…” from Nachdenken über Christa T. (The Quest for Christa T.) by Christa Wolf *         *        * I used to think of decision-making as a complicated optimization problem. There was some quantity I wanted to maximize (say, my happiness, or the good I could do for the world) and would maximize, if I could only be prescient enough to solve for the best combination of choices. Once solved for, I could plan my future by laying these decisions out in front of me; once in place, I could follow them where I wanted to go. So there I was one afternoon at MIT, talking to Dumbledore in his office, outlining the pros and cons of some decision. I guess my anxiety gave away my obsession with getting it all exactly right. Anna, Dumbledore said, Let me tell you a story. One day, as a young man, he got in an elevator. Another person got in the elevator. It was a slow elevator, I suppose, so they had time to talk. That person became a mentor to him, encouraged him to go to graduate school, and the rest is history. That anecdote probably got over-simplified while making a home for itself in my memory. But I think that the moral was this: you can try to micromanage your future, but ultimately you can’t predict or control what will happen to you. Your decisions set the initial conditions, and chance encounters will deflect you. You should work hard so that you’re prepared to take advantage of what comes (like a chatty stranger in an elevator) but that’s fundamentally different from, say, choosing the “right” major or the “right” career. I think that sometimes we reconstruct our paths in our memories so that it all flows logically, but I suspect that there’s more chance and arbitrariness than we’d like to admit. Could I have majored in something else and been just as happy? Probably. Could I have a different job right now and feel just as “right”? Almost certainly. Is that something to agonize over? No. At some point, there’s too much scatter between a set of options for yo u to be able to predict which one is “best.” You narrow things down to a reasonable set, then pick one and run with it. I picked grad school in astronomy. As a result, the contents of the binders on my bookshelf have narrowed in scope. They used to contain arrow pushing diagrams from organic chemistry, notes on plays by Tom Stoppard, and equations describing every conceivable combination of springs and swinging pendulums. Now, it’s all space physics: notes on the fate of stars, on how galaxies form and evolve, on runaway thermonuclear reactions, on the thermal history of the universe. This would horrify undergrad Anna, who was afraid of specialization, the consequence of making decisions. But it feels good to specialize. As a grad student, Im responsible for every detail of a project. I own it, even if goodness knows it wasn’t my idea. When my colleagues grill me on my research, its satisfying because I know the details. I did the details, I am the expert. It’s a kind of high, being so deeply engrossed in a topic. And I get to take this depth with me when I discuss science with the public. Last weekend, I gave a talk for the Santa Monica Amateur Astronomy Society, and the audience asked me questions I couldnt have answered a year or even a few months ago. I answered, and then I answered the follow-up questions, and was surprised to find that I could go deeper and deeper. I’ve found fulfilment in expertise and joy in obsession. Another reward of specialization is the community, united by the kinds of problems you think about or the approaches you take, and even a shared language. When I arrived in Germany (I spent a year there on a Fulbright, after I graduated) I remember thinking to myself that I had to learn two foreign languages: outside work I was surrounded by German, and at work I was surrounded by stellar spectroscopy and galaxy evolution. I had no idea what anyone was talking about, anywhere, anytime. I slowly picked up both languages, and now I find it oddly comforting to hear German, the same way I find it oddly comforting to hear particular astro-lingo. There is a danger in this: you might forget how to speak other languages. It’s eerie to ask someone what they work on and get a response that is technically correct English yet totally incomprehensible. It’s in your interest to be able to effectively translate what you do, to your colleagues and to the source of your funding. And it’s your responsibility to effectively translate what you do to the public, to do what you can to improve science literacy. Earlier this summer, I went to a workshop where the goal was to train graduate students how to effectively communicate their science with the public part of this was reminding ourselves what language we used to speak, before we arrived at our respective specialties. Another danger of specialization is to one’s self esteem. I’m only a year into grad school, but my impression is that an all-consuming occupation like research can sneak its way into becoming the sole way you judge yourself. Research progresses slowly, so the timescales on which you are rewarded are long, and in between you can feel aimless and frustrated. So, its important to pursue hobbies and interests that routinely make you feel happy, on a timescale much shorter than the timescale on which research rewards you. I identified what those pursuits are for me while I was at MIT: engaging with the public about what I do by giving talks,  teaching, volunteering. It’s not that “hard” in the sense that over time I’ve built up a set of materials that I can use over and over again, and I’m not scared of questions because I either know the answer or know how to find it. And it’s always immediately rewarding, and sometimes even deeply rewarding on longer timescales, when I stay in touch with old students and watch them grow. It is harder to pursue other interests now that I’m no longer an undergrad, where anytime I left my room I was bombarded with more interesting things than I could handle (and the interesting things even sneaked their way into my room, via a zillion mailing lists). But I’ve taken strands from MIT in hand, and pulled them with me to grad school. My senior year, I was bummed when the Paradise Lost seminar didn’t fit my schedule, and Prof. Arthur Bahr generously offered to read it with me. After I graduated, Arthur offered to put me in touch with a medievalist at Caltech “whenever you feel like your feet are planted enough to resume thinking about medieval literature.” Now, I have a reading group with this professor and two of my friends (including Becky ’12, another former student of medieval literature at MIT!) We’re making our way through Pearl, a beautiful haunting poem from the 14th century about coming to terms with love and loss. The reason I suggested Pearl is that Arthur wrote an essay (and is maybe even writing a book?) on it. I’m excited to finish the poem, read Arthur’s essay, then write him a note to let him know that Becky and I caught the Medieval Literature bug from him, big time. These other activities give me the chance to climb out of my specialist hole, dust myself off, have a look around, and remind myself what else is out there to be enjoyed and learned. Thats what Im doing right now, writing this at a cafe near Caltech. I’m just starting a new research project, and it’s frustrating to be a beginner again; I felt like I had a handle on my old project, and it’s tempting to hide in that old project forever. But I know that it’s good for me to do something new. And it’s an exciting problem (gravitational waves and merging black holes and radio interferometry, anyone?) but UGH, Ive been banging my head against the wall for the past couple of weeks. So, thanks for the excuse to take a break and blog, Chris. This afternoon, I’ll dive right back in again.

Understanding Iridium Flares

Our night skies are packed full of stars and planets to observe on a dark night. However, there are more objects closer to home that observers plan on seeing every so often. These include the International Space Station (ISS) and numerous satellites. The ISS appears as a slow-moving high-altitude craft during its crossings. Many people often mistake it for a very high-flying jet. Most satellites look like dimmer points of light moving against the backdrop of stars. Some satellites appear to move east to west, while others are in polar orbits (moving nearly north-south). They generally take a little longer to cross the sky than the ISS does. A pair of Iridium satellites flaring. Jupiter is to the right and the bright star Arcturus is to the lower left. Jud McCranie, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0. There are thousands of artificial satellites around Earth, in addition to thousands of other objects such as rockets, reactor cores, and pieces of space debris (sometimes referred to as space junk). Not all of them can be seen with the naked eye. Theres a whole collection of objects called Iridium satellites that can look very bright during certain times of day and night. Glints of sunlight bouncing from them are referred to as Iridium flares and for years they have been observed fairly easily. Many people probably have seen an iridium flare and simply not known what they were looking at. It also turns out that other satellites can show these glints, although most are not as bright as the iridium flares. Whats Iridium? Satellite phone or pager users are major users of the Iridium satellite constellation. The constellation is a set of 66 orbiting stations that provide global telecommunications coverage. They follow highly inclined orbits, which means that their paths around the planet are close to (but not quite) from pole to pole. Their orbits are roughly 100 minutes long and each satellite can link to three others in the constellation. The first  Iridium  satellites were planned to be launched as a set of 77. The name Iridium comes from the element iridium, which is number 77 in the periodic table of the elements. It turns out that 77 were not needed. Today, the constellation is used largely by the military, as well as other clients in the airline and air traffic control communities. Each  Iridium  satellite has a spacecraft bus, solar panels, and a set of antennae. The first generations of these satellites go around Earth in roughly 100-minute orbits at a speed of 27,000 kilometers per ho ur. The History of Iridium Satellites Satellites have been orbiting Earth since the late 1950s when  Sputnik 1  was launched. It soon became obvious that having telecommunication stations in low-Earth orbit would make long-distance communications much easier and so countries began launching their own satellites in the 1960s. Eventually, companies got involved, including the Iridium Communications corporation. Its founders came up with the idea of a constellation of stations in orbit in the 1990s. After the company struggled to find customers and eventually went bankrupt, the constellation is still in operation today and its current owners are planning a new generation of satellites to replacing the aging fleet. Some of the new satellites, called Iridium NEXT, have already been launched aboard SpaceX rockets and more will be sent to space to orbits that will likely not produce as many flares as the older generation has. What Is an Iridium Flare?   As each Iridium satellite orbits the planet, it has a chance to reflect sunlight toward Earth from its triad of antennae. That flash of light as seen from Earth is called an Iridium flare. It looks very much like a meteor flashing through the air very rapidly. These brilliant events can happen up to four times a night and can get as bright as -8 magnitude. At that brightness, they can be spotted in the daytime, although its much easier to see them at night or in twilight. Observers can often spot the satellites themselves crossing the sky, just as they would any other satellite. Looking for an Iridium Flare It turns out that Iridium flares can be predicted. This is because the satellite orbits are well known. The best way to find out when to see one to use a site called  Heavens Above, which keeps track of many known bright satellites, including the Iridium constellation. Simply enter your location and get a feel for when you might see a flare and where to look for it in the sky. The website will give the time, brightness, location in the sky, and length of the flare for as long as they continue to occur. Saying Goodbye to Iridium Flares Over the next few years, many of the low-orbiting Iridium satellites that have been reliably producing flares will be decommissioned. The next generation of satellites wont be producing such flares as reliably as the old ones did due to their orbital configurations. So, it may be that Iridium flares could become a thing of the past. Fast Facts Iridium flares are caused by sunlight glinting from the surfades of low-orbiting Iridium satellites.Such flares can be very bright and last only a few seconds.As new generations of Iridium satellites are being put into higher orbits, Iridium flares may become a thing of the past.

Amazon The Leading E Commerce Organization - 1592 Words

HR Relevance With Amazon.com currently reigning as the leading e-commerce organization in the world, it would be hard to fathom this would be the case without major efforts from human resources. According to my review of the literature in the coopetition case study, Amazon believes in serving the customer and creating value for that customer. This value creation and customer service would be difficult to achieve without an important HR function; recruitment and selection, and the staffing of organizations. â€Å"Staffing is a critical organizational function concerned with the acquisition, deployment, and retention of the organization’s workforce† (Heneman, Judge, Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012, p. 6). In simple terms, Amazon would not be the organization it is today without being able to hire the people it needs, use them effectively, and keep them from leaving. Additionally, as noted by Heneman, Judge, Kammeyer-Mueller (2012), â€Å"staffing is arguably the most criti cal function underlying organizational effectiveness, because â€Å"the people make the place,† because labor costs are often the highest organizational cost, and because poor hiring decisions are not easily undone† (p. 6). Second, successful negation is another element Amazon uses with its coopetition-based business model in essentially letting their competitors win. â€Å"A seminal game theoretic rationale by Brandenburger and Nalebuff (1996) is that â€Å"letting your competitors win too is ok, as long as you win yourself.†Show MoreRelatedAmazon Business Strategy 11203 Words   |  5 PagesAmazon Business Strategy BIS/219 Amazon Business Strategy Successful business partnerships are the driving force behind competitive online retailers. Innovated strategies, business techniques, and customer relations management (CRM) will further enhance Amazon’s customer satisfaction and loyalty. 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The competitive advantage and evolution of Amazon can b e analyzed by determining if the company if movingRead MorePestel / Pestle Analysis Of Amazon971 Words   |  4 PagesAn Organization I am familiar with I want to speak about its Pest analysis is Amazon. Amazon.com Inc. successfully shelters the issues shown in the PESTEL/PESTLE examination of its e-commerce business and remote or macro-environment. The PESTEL/PESTLE Analysis model is a tool for classifying the external factors that shape the conditions of a company’s remote or macro-environment. In the case of Amazon, the circumstances of the online retail market are measured. As the largest firm in the marketRead MoreThe Company Amazon.com Inc. An E Commerce Based Industry Essay1289 Words   |  6 Pages Political The company Amazon.Com Inc. an e-commerce based industry can be affected by the country’s political external factors for example: A) political stability of developed countries. It could creates an opportunity to expand . 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Slaughterhouse-Five and Beloved Free Essays

string(63) " novel is from the point of view of a severely disturbed mind\." The modern human attitude is largely framed by the philosophy of science, in America. According to this philosophy the world is governed by the fixed laws of physics, through which humans find intellectual enlightenment. In this world of science, knowledge is power, and this power renders humans more able to shape their destiny. We will write a custom essay sample on Slaughterhouse-Five and Beloved or any similar topic only for you Order Now The American ideal of the self-made individual, (although usually vouched in the terms of religion), is structured upon this science based premise. But a contradiction lies at the heart of this blending of scientific philosophy and individual identity. It is that a physically and scientifically determined universe does not allow for free will. The modern headlong march towards scientific utopia thus carries grave peril because a philosophy that denies the inexorable human desire for free will ultimately is not self-sustaining. It is as if people are surrendering to destiny at the price of believing that the will is empowered by science. It recalls Franklin Roosevelt’s memorable comment that â€Å"freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved† (qtd. in Singh 143). This crucial issue is dealt with by Kurt Vonnegut in his novel Slaughterhouse-Five. Although many readers view Vonnegut’s novel as advocating fatalism, the opposite is true. Billy Pilgrim, the novel’s protagonist, clearly advocates that humans must overcome fatalism in order to restore free will and sustain forward movement. Toni Morrison, in her novel Beloved, suggests that humans also should overcome the fixity of time. To move forward, both Sethe and Paul D must learn to redefine themselves by psychologically releasing themselves from the physical chains of their previous slavery. The central message of both authors is that there is no looking back. A vigorous free will must always look forward. Sociological and psychological factors may be challenges, but they are not impediments to the free will. The only such barriers are those that exist within humans. The crucial factor is the orientation of people’s vision. Both texts stress the importance of escaping the grip of the past by focusing on the future, and thus are aimed at nourishing hope. The guiding motif in this analysis is thus time. The novels can also be read as reminders of the American ideal, and what it means to be a successful American in the modern era. The American outlook has always resisted historicity. Its orientation is to leave the old world behind and focus on the forging of the new. But modern Americans are surrendering to historicity once more, and thereby squandering their freedom. By chasing synthetic and materialistic dreams (which is merely slavery to past success), we lose our moral orientation, and this is a failure of the American ideal. If we hope to recover from this decadence we must re-establish our freedom, which should be in the spirit of Emerson’s â€Å"nonconformism†. The novel Slaughterhouse-Five is intensely personal to Kurt Vonnegut, though Billy Pilgrim is not necessarily the alter ego of the author. He draws on his experience of having fought in the Second World War, been taken prisoner, and surviving the blanket firebombing of Dresden. He survived by being trapped as a prisoner-of-war in an underground locker of a slaughterhouse, and emerged a few days later to apprehend the charred desolation. In the novel, Billy Pilgrim goes through the same experience which turns out to be the defining moment of his existence. He has become â€Å"unstuck in time† through his experience of this event, meaning that the flow of time does not effect him anymore, and that he can shift at will from one moment in time to another. He experiences only episodes, in random order, and over and over again, but they always refer back to the Dresden massacre. He does not realize what is happening until much later, when he is abducted by alien creatures known as the Tralfamadorians. They reveal to him that free will is only an illusion, and because they exist in four dimensions – the fourth dimension being time – they observe past, present and future simultaneously, and the entire life as a unified whole. Time itself is indestructible, and, therefore, one lives one’s life over and over again. One only has free will to the extent that one chooses to concentrate on the better moments in life. This is the way Tralfamadorian literature is written, as one of his captors reveals to him, â€Å"There isn’t any particular relationship between the messages, except that the author has chosen them carefully, so that, when seen all at once, they produce an image of life that is beautiful and surprising and deep. There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time (Vonnegut 88). † After this encounter, Billy is confirmed in his fatalism, and he is described as living the episodes of his life over and over again. Before his violent end in the year 1976, he reveals to the world the secret about the nature of time which he has learned from the Tralfamadorian. He does so with calm and collected purpose, because he knows beforehand that his message will be accepted. He even avoids bearing a grudge towards his own murderer, knowing that it is all fated, and that death itself is of no consequence. The vital clue that the novel as taking place frozen time is found in Vonnegut’s introduction, in which he says, â€Å"This is a novel somewhat in the telegraphic schizophrenic manner of tales of the planet Tralfamadore, where the flying saucers come from† (Ibid, title page). The tales told on that distant planet take place in static time, and by pointing out this similarity the author is acknowledging the existence of dynamic time, which the Trafalmadorians deny. Regarding this weird theory, there is ample evidence that what is told about the aliens is nothing more than a figment of Billy’s imagination, and that much of the novel is from the point of view of a severely disturbed mind. You read "Slaughterhouse-Five and Beloved" in category "Papers" It is his own fixity in time which he tries to rationalize with his tales of the aliens. The description of the aliens as upside down toilet plungers is laughable, and this is a clue from the author that we are not supposed to believe in them and their outlandish concept of time. Even though Billy is portrayed as a weakling, readers should not judge his fatalism as abnormal, or his ideas about time as merely the products of an unsettled imagination. Vonnegut is passing judgment on the ethos of the human age, and readers know this because the world accepts Billy’s revelations in the end, also, because the narrative is rooted in the Second World War. This is the event that finally shatters the notion of â€Å"progress† as in the eighteenth century Enlightenment. The consequence of the two world wars is the paralysis of cultural will, and this is captured through Billy’s fantastic notion of time, also rooted in the Second World War. Billy’s particular circumstance, allied with his curious nature, allows him to come to vital understanding that he lives in an age of stagnancy. But even though the novel is mainly concerned with depicting the human age, there are also enough clues that point to the way out of this nightmare. For example, Vonnegut, in his own character in the novel, talks about its composition to his publisher in Chapter 1, and says, â€Å"People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore. I’ve finished my war book now. The next one I write is going to be fun. This one is a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt (28). † Whatever deep secrets it conveys, the novel is declared to be a failure, and Vonnegut admits that he too is subject to frozen time in writing such a novel, describing himself as â€Å"a pillar of salt†. The reference in to Lot’s wife, who is described in Genesis as turning into a pillar of salt because she chose to look back with attachment to the incinerating city of Sodom. Looking back is made to be the most fatal destroyer of the will. So he promises he will not do it again, and his subsequent novels will be situated in dynamic time. For Vonnegut, hope resides in leaving the past behind. Toni Morrison delivers the same message in a very different context. Slavery is an integral part of the birth of the American nation. It is now universally admitted to have been a cruel institution. But, as E H Carr puts it, history is only â€Å"the key to the understanding of the present† (14). It is very difficult for us to empathize with the motivations of the slave-owners, and any effort in this direction is bound to be controversial. But in her novel Beloved, Morrison is not intent on giving the reader further history, or even a commentary of history. The advocacy is clear, that humans should leave history behind. Sethe is a former slave, now living out her freedom with her teenage daughter Denver, and recently having admitted another former slave Paul D as her partner. She is trying to suppress her horrific past, but the arrival of Paul D brings it back to her. Once, when fleeing from her sadistic owner, she had murdered her 2 year old daughter, thinking that capture was inevitable, and she did not want her children to suffer slavery. Soon after the arrival of Paul D, the embodied spirit of her murdered daughter appears, calling herself Beloved. Her appearance brings new life into all that come in contact with her, because she infuses tension into their lives, by which they must react. She becomes a demanding presence in the household, and Sethe finds herself at her beck and call. The shy and retiring Denver find herself forced out of the household and in the process acquires maturity. Even Paul D learns to open up his â€Å"rusted tin tobacco box† of a heart in her presence. In the end she disappears just as suddenly, and all the tensions are at once relieved. But she has touched lives in such a way that in her aftermath they are all restored to life and hope. Beloved clearly represents a horrible past, and one which must be dealt with finally. Even traces of the tale itself must not be left behind, and so the novel ends, â€Å"This is not a story to pass on† (Morrison 324). The past must be completely extinguished, and once this has been done, there is the possibility of shaping one’s destiny through the exercise of free will. These novels by Vonnegut and Morrison raise the issue of what it means to be successful in America today. Traditionally, historicity had been part of the old world, and that which the new world tries to leave behind. But these novels suggest that historicity has certainly caught up with modern America, and is the root to modern decadence. But to review the exhortations of the greatest Americans of the past is only to confirm that the nation was established on the basis of freedom, and freedom necessarily entails the letting go of the past. In the early period of the Puritan fathers the message use to be couched in terms of religion, and which we may detect in the sermons of Jonathan Edwards. In his speech â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God† there is no reference to anything in the past. It is entirely aimed at striking terror in the heart of the sinners, by evoking the visions of the hell that awaits them, laced with such warnings as: â€Å"There is nothing that keeps wicked men, at any moment, out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God† (Edwards 90). Edwards relies on the immediacy of his message, and thereby strikes a particularly American note. The calm transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson may seem to be at a polar opposite, yet projects the same obligation to freedom. In his essay â€Å"Nature† he says, â€Å"Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchers of the fathers. It writes biographies, histories, and criticism. The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes† (Emerson 181). Writing in the middle of the 19th century, he warns that the true American spirit of freedom is being quickly eroded, and will not be recovered until we relearn how to apprehend nature with immediacy. â€Å"Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist,† he says in his essay â€Å"Self Reliance† (Ibid 269). Any sort of conformity is compromising to the freedom, and therefore is a betrayal of the American ethos. Mark Twain conveys the same message in his classic children’s adventure story Huckleberry Finn. Set in the context of slavery and emancipation, it is more truly about the slavery of the whites than that of the blacks. Huck is fleeing from his drunken father, but he also becomes wary of the pious and benevolent reach of society that tries to civilize him. He sets himself up on a floating raft, with an escaped slave, and only here he feels free and himself: â€Å"[T]here warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft† (Twain123). Huck’s suspicion towards society and civilization is the central point of the novel, and this makes him a true American. Vonnegut and Morrison would say that modern American is a betrayal of the founding spirit of the nation, where conformity to a media constructed reality in the norm. It is a historicity of a different sort which America enslaves itself to. It is as if history is rewritten by Hollywood, and such false history tends to become the worldview of the average American. The media projects crass materialism in every aspect, where fame is the highest criterion for judging worth. So, Americans not only follow the dress code of celebrity film stars, they also follow the history and sociology of celebrity historians and sociologists. This in conformity of the most enslaving form, and represents a total loss of freedom. The judgment must be that, without the recovery of the Emersonian spirit of nonconformism there is no way out of this predicament. Americans must strive once again to succeed as human beings, and must stop chasing the fame and fortune of film stars. The crucial necessity is to recover free will. Both Vonnegut and Morrison bring the message that the barriers to the exercise of free will lie not in external conditions, but within each human being. If people believe that they lie with social, psychological or emotional factors, then they subscribe to the thinking of the Enlightenment, which believed that a scientific approach to understanding external conditions will result in their gradual removal, and generally in the direction of utopia. Vonnegut intends to explode this myth, and tells readers that such determinism renders the free will paralyzed, and he depicts the modern world as having met this unacceptable end. Like Morrison does in her novel Beloved, Vonnegut advocates that humans must overcome the past if they hope to exercise control over their future. Morrison’s specific concern is the fixity of Black America in the past of slavery, but she is in fact addressing a wider malaise in America as a whole. The common message is that slavery to the past is destructive to the free will, and therefore disastrous to the American ideal. Works Cited Carr, E. H. What is History? New York: Penguin Books, 1967. Edwards, Jonathan. A Jonathan Edwards Reader. Eds. John Edwin Smith, Harry S. Stout. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Eds. William H. Gilman, Charles Johnson. New York: Signet Classic, 2003. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Vintage International, 2004. Singh, M. P. Quote Unquote. Twin Lakes, WI: Lotus Press, 2007. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Signet Classic, 2002. Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-five, Or, the Children’s Crusade: A Duty-dance With Death. New York: Dell, 1969. How to cite Slaughterhouse-Five and Beloved, Papers

Willy loman vs. Oedipus The King Essay Example For Students

Willy loman vs. Oedipus The King Essay Although they were composed around 2,500 years apart from one another, Oedipus The King by Sophocles, and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller are known as two of the best tragedy plays ever written. Both of these plays twist and turn with tragedy, and irony. Oedipus was bore to the king and queen of Thebes. At a very young age, they disowned Oedipus and drove metal pins through his ankles and gave them to a shepherd. The shepherds job was to put Oedipus on top of Cithaeron and leave him there to die. The shepherd gave the baby to a fellow shepherd he met on the mountain from the city-state of Corinth. Soon enough the child ended up in the household of the childless king and queen of Corinth. As a young man he learned of his fate to kill his father and marry his mother. Fleeing his family and seeking refuge from his terrible future in a distant city-state of Thebes only brought the actualization of the forecast. Unbeknownst to Oedipus, he had killed his father on his journey and entered the bed of his mother. We will write a custom essay on Willy loman vs. Oedipus The King specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now He lived in his relationship and as King of Thebes for many years until at last he painfully revealed the blinding truth over the course of one shocking day. Realizing what he had done, he blinds himself with the golden pins of his wardrobe and has himself banished to a far away land where he will cause nobody harm. Death of a Salesman is a modern day tragedy based on the life of Willy Loman, a New England traveling salesman in the mid 1900s. Willy, the average American Joe is married to Linda Loman, a deep and caring woman, who he had two sons Biff and Happy with. The play starts out when Biff and Happy are in their twenties, and Willys sales career is on a downward spiral, with his whole family there to watch it. Willy has never had a great relationship with either of his sons, especially Biff. Willy feels he is failing his family. Willy lives his life in a series of illusions of the past. All of these illusions are of great family, and career memories. Willy stays in these illusions because I feel he is too afraid to live in reality where he would be forced to examine his affair in Boston, his philosophy and all of his family and financial debts. Willy loses his job and is on the brink of suicide and forever failing his attempts to make his family better than average. Willy commits suicide so his family can receive the insurance check and so Biff can live a successful life without worries. I feel that both these characters life came crashing down on them, and I feel for each man and play, but more for Willy and Death of a Salesman. Willy had his reason to die, but even in the end his plan didnt work as expected. At his funeral no one except for his family and best friend Charlie showed up. He worked so hard to accomplish so little. The impact of this play was amazingly strong. I feel for this man because his life is so common, unlike the strange and horrible life of Oedipus. He was an ordinary working Joe with a family and wife to support. As any man, Willy had big dreams, but to see them come crashing down upon him left me with a sense of pity for the man. He seemed like a crazy man who had lost his mind. But we all know he was just a guy whod had it all rough and simply couldnt take it any more. Death of a Salesman hit home with us all, and that is why I feel it is the more tragic play. Aristotle and Arthur Miller have theories of tragedy in which they can be somewhat compared and contrasted. Aristotle believes that the tragic hero should be one of higher society, in which his downfall and emotions effect the lives of many people around him. Miller on the other hand believes that the tragic hero should be one of the common man, some sympathetic character that everyone can relate to, someone stuck deep in the virtues of society. Both men though feel that the character either in their mind, or publicly have a supreme pride in which must be abolished, adding to the tragedy of the tragic heros life. Both once again, feel that the tragic hero must have a sense of vigorous protest. Both Oedipus and Willy know their pain and situation but try not to realize it until it is too late. Oedipus by never believing he killed Lauis until he was shown with evidence. Willy, by never really accepting the fact he was failing his family and job. Aristotle feels that the turning of the Gods on the characters life is what causes his downfall. .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .postImageUrl , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:hover , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:visited , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:active { border:0!important; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:active , .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008 .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5d2d6b5533c912e022b988b68b1bb008:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Pop Culture WarsReligion The Role of Enterta EssayMiller believes that the heros fall is blamed on something superior, not the Gods, but society in which case is like a god to Willy. The tragic hero should not be perfect, nor should he be so dull and stupid or so young as to be incapable of understanding what is happening to him, stated by Aristotle, in which Miller agrees greatly. They also both believe that the protagonist may be a victim, but he must also know and bow in total acceptance of his destruction. Aristotle believes that the tragic figure makes choices and takes actions that result in his consequences. You can strongly feel that Miller believes that some, if not most of the figures downfall is caused by his words towards others (This also is where most of the irony is in his play, why Sophocles relies mainly on dramatic irony). I feel that Millers approach to tragedy and the tragic hero prove to be most valid. I think that Aristotles approach is somewhat outdated. I believe that in the times of his life, society and the arts were based mainly on the lives of the noble, therefore never reflecting the lives or emotions of the common man. Miller gets somewhat a little of both worlds into his theories. He still follows some basic rules formed by Aristotle (as noted above), but yet changes the view of the tragic hero in ways that the common mans life is tragic, and needs to be recognized in all that it is. I enjoy that. Although societys outlook on people do change over the years, Miller was very well able to produce theories in which any man, from any time would be able to relate to. To sum it up, I feel overall tragedy must preach revolution, and that is exactly what Miller does. Both plays have a sense of true tragedy other than that of just the tragic hero. The plots of these two plays is a good example. The very complex plot in Oedipus The King is both filled with horrible views of incest and disgust, while it also delivers a sense of pity for the character. This play includes a complete reversal in the situation of the play. This occurs in Oedipus when he begins to feel that he is the one that murdered Lauis and slept with his mother, after trying to tell himself and the country that he was not that man. That shows a sense of recognition also, in which Aristotle believes is a true element of tragedy. I feel though the more affective plot, although simple, is that of Death of a Salesman. The story starts off with the reader already realizing Willys downfall and his losing life, which brings the pity to the play. This play I think is very strong because it is full of drama all the way through, not consisting of a reversal or recognition. Recognition is not shown in this play because Willy is just ignorant to realize his life, in which no change occurs. That dramatically effects the plays strength. The structure in these two plays is a key element in their tragic effects towards the reader. In both Oedipus and Death of a Salesman. flashbacks play an important role in the play. In Oedipus The King, it is through flashbacks that Oedipus realizes he is the murderer of his father, bringing the downfall on him. The flashbacks in Death of a Salesman are a lot stronger in effect towards drama, because the Willy lives his life in them. It is through flashbacks that the reader realizes the true drama and irony of both the present day actions and words of Willy. The play is illusion vs. eality. If this play wouldnt of been structured around Willy Living his life in the past, it would not be considered one of the greatest dramatic plays. The reader realizes the downfall of Willy and his Family through them. The transition from time periods in a lot more obvious in Death of a Salesman and a lot more important than that of Oedipus, in Oedipus The King there is a are a few scenes in which he visits the past, while the text clearly shows the transition. In Death of a Salesman, Miller shows the transition of the past and present by a few notable things. .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .postImageUrl , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:hover , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:visited , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:active { border:0!important; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:active , .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2 .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u272d5cecb2d6e61ed99f44bec5bb7ba2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Observation phase EssayIn the present, Millers writing and tone is more serious and dark, while in the past, the tone becomes a lot more brighter and optimistic. Irony plays another key role in the success of these dramatic plays. Most of the power of Oedipus derives from dramatic irony. The reader is clued in on this in the prologue, in which is the richest in dramatic irony. In that scene, everyone concerned is still in complete darkness to the truth and their ignorance therefore causes their words and actions to carry much greater weight. In Death of a Salesman, it is that of situational irony that brings the reader closer to Willys downfall. The entire play is carried almost completely by the dialog, which is vital to the plays success. One such incident is Willys views of Biffs career track. Biff is a lazy bum! , shortly after, Willy states: Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such -personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker . Theres one thing about Biff-hes not lazy. (Death of a Salesman 16). Another example is when Willy wishes that cars today would have fold down windshields, They just dont make them liked they used to Willy said. Linda soon reminds him that he told her he was driving with the windshield down on the way home from his trip. Situational irony drives this play to greatness, without it, the plot would be lost. Oedipus The King is weaker in the irony part, compared to Death of a Salesman, because in Oedipus it just answers the questions, doesnt tell the story. The tragic man is the key role in both of these plays. Oedipus in Oedipus The King, and Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Through Oedipus a man is presented whose good side causes harm and whose bad side works good. Oedipus himself is one vicious irony, for his virtues devolve into virulent vices that wreak his complete destruction. Oedipuss main tragic flaw was that he had a lack of knowledge, and because he thought he was doing good only to find out that what he was doing was bad. His power fell just as quickly as he got it. Oedipus was born a helpless pawn of fate. Willy on the other hand is a far more tragic hero in Millers eyes, and somewhat in Aristotles eyes. According to Arthur Miller, The tragic feeling is invoked whenever we are in the presence of a character, any character, who is ready to sacrifice his life, if need be, to secure one thing, his sense of personal dignity. Willy Loman was willing to do that no matter what the cost. This makes Willy an excellent example of Aristotles tragic hero also. Willys one tragic flaw is his lack of a grip on reality. He couldnt differentiate the difference between the current time and the past. His flashbacks are a part of his everyday lifestyle, only he doesnt know that he is experiencing them, because he lacks awareness, bringing on his downfall. He died for money and most of all for the love of his family. That is where I feel the word hero in Willys life comes from, and tragic comes from the everyday struggle for Willy Loman to do two things, achieve the American Dream and be known as a great man like his father was, with everyone knowing your name. To finish it off, I feel that the common man, Willy Loman, In Death of a Salesman exceeds the tragic greatness of King Oedipus in Oedipus The King. Throughout my research on both of these Tragic plays, I have realized that the common man and his everyday struggle just to make it through society and the changes brought by industrialization is a viewpoint that more people can really hit home with, instead of a play that seems like an episode of Jerry Springer. Death of a Salesman was filled with pity for Willy, the weak, old, struggling family man. Oedipus the King was plainly just filled with disgust. Willy Loman, the average American family Joe, and his lifestyle and family make Death of a Salesman the superior tragedy.

Immortality - A Possibility essays

Immortality - A Possibility essays Immortality has been highly sought after by many individuals since the beginning of time. It is also in our biological nature to keep living and reproducing, thus maintaining our family line. Immortality is the ability to live on to your hearts content and cheat natural death. You can still die by many other tragedies, such as getting hit by a car, but will remain alive as long as you indulge yourself in safe and smart activities. This is the first line of humans that will have the chance at being bicentennial, an animal that lives for at least 200 years. Only one generation ago, our parents for example, this was a far-fetched idea that would have not been proposed as a possibility! Despite the new fate that may await us, there are a few species that are already capable of this feat and have been for quite some time. The Turritopsis nutricula, a jellyfish believed to have originated in the Caribbean, is capable of a process known as cell trans differentiation. This is a process in which the jellyfish alters the cells in their current state and transforms it into a completely new cell. The jellyfish then reabsorbs its tentacles and begins a new life as a baby, also known as a polyp. This can occur for as long as the jellyfish pleases and can die happily on its own accord. The last species that has been known to be immortal is surprisingly, a human. A woman known as Henrietta Lacks is not alive today, but her cells are abundant in almost every laboratory in the world, constantly dividing and growing. Henrietta Lacks was a poor black tobacco farmer who was diagnosed with cancer in 1951. A doctor examining her at the time, removed a tumor from her body without her consent or knowledge and sent it into a lab for further investigation. Her cells were remarkable; they kept on dividing and living and would never die. These cells became one of the most important tools in medicine and greatly contributed to the development of the polio...

Scrivener 3 Dont Use it Until You Read This!

Scrivener 3 Dont Use it Until You Read This! Scrivener 3: Don't Use it Until You Read This! If you’re familiar with the writing tools provided by Literature and Latte, you might already know about - and be using - Scrivener 3.But if you’re a Scrivener 2 user who’s hesitant to make the switch because of Scrivener’s steep learning curve, or if you’re a Windows user who’s simply waiting for Literature and Latte to release a compatible version of Scrivener 3, we’ve got some advice to help you make the decision - or just tide you over.Before we start talking about the new functionalities on offer, let’s quickly cover what Scrivener actually is. 📚 Debating whether or not to switch to Scrivener 3? This review might help. What is Scrivener?Scrivener by Literature and Latte is a word processor for Windows and Mac, designed expressly for writers - fiction and nonfiction authors, screenwriters, journalists, academics, and more.One of the issues many writers of long texts face is navigation: assembling all of their research and information in a way that makes it easy to access what they need, when they need it. Scrivener helps with this, offering writers the tools to organize concepts, notes, research, photos, videos, documents, and more.Fun fact: What does a scrivener do? Back in the day, a scrivener (or scribe) was someone who could read and write, and made their living writing or copying material on behalf of others. How to Write a Book: The Ultimate Guide Read post Making the callScrivener is known for its feast of functionalities - but also its steep learning curve. If you struggle to stay organized while writing a book, its many tools might just be the ticket to keeping you on track to the finish line.However, if you just want a place to write - but are hoping to format as you do - consider giving the Reedsy Book Editor a try. It doesn’t offer outlining or research tools, but it will leave you with a professional-looking manuscript at the end. Or if you’re not done your book-writing software window-shopping session yet, check out this list of six book-writing softwares - other than Scrivener!Have you used Scrivener 3 - or any of its earlier iterations? Let us know what you liked about it or any struggles you faced in the comments below!

Smart phone ,how they have change our life Research Paper

Smart phone ,how they have change our life - Research Paper Example Smart phones can do most of the tasks done by the computer and hence have changed lives in several ways in the contemporary society. First, smart phone have made life easier than before with the development of various applications that makes tasks easier. Smart phones have made communication to be much easier as people can send short messages, engage in conversations using various platforms such as tweeter and face book among others thus smart phones have eased communication. In addition, individuals can learn through the smart phone, as there are applications that allow users to read books, search-learning materials over the internet and even search answers to questions at any time (Richard, web). Applications such as maps have also made life much easier, with the smart phone an individual can easily be directed to a destination by simply searching the Google maps or using the GPS among others. Scheduling work anywhere has also been made easy by the Smart phone and thus the applications are numerous and have eased our lives in different ways. Despite the numerous ways smart phones have had positive impacts on the society, there are a number of the disadvantages associated with smart phones. The major negative impact smart phone has is that it is changing the norms of the society. Richard (web) argues that â€Å"people have started being disrespectful without noticing† being busy on the smart phones. People are texting everywhere most of the time and this may have repercussions more specifically on school going teenagers. According to Richard (web), adults may receive work related calls while on leaves or holidays with the families thus smart phones may also have negative effects the relationships among individuals. In addition, smart phones can easily be destruction and individuals when not careful may waste a lot of time playing games or charting with friends instead of doing something constructive. In conclusion, smart phone are changing the society

Journal Entries and Comparisons to Semester II Domains of Study Coursework

Journal Entries and Comparisons to Semester II Domains of Study - Coursework Example This would potentially ensure huge savings in time for the Company as well as a more efficient informational process for the Company, through a much more efficient execution of the leadership process in so far as communication is concerned. I also discovered this when communication issues cropped up during the execution of our Power Point project. The problem here was the breakdown in communications, so that members of the team did not have the information that they needed to integrate their efforts harmoniously with the other members of the team. This illustrates how the objective of working towards a common goal could have been improved if one of us has assumed the leadership role at first and during the initial meeting, established what information each member of the group would communicate to the others, as well as the frequency of that communication. In the absence of a leader and a well developed policy on communication, we faced problems in coordinating our efforts. The four c ore aspects that a good manager must take into consideration in managing his team members effectively are as follows: (a) select a person (b) set expectations (c) motivate the person and (d) develop the person (Buckingham and Curt, 1999). Good leadership constitutes the modification and adaptation of these aspects, for instance by selecting someone for talent not just for experience, intelligence or determination; while setting expectations, focusing only on the outcome rather than the method, while motivating, focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses and when developing the person, finding the right fit rather than merely pushing up the rungs of the ladder. I found this to be true in the management of my program for teen mothers; for example this program has helped to identify and motivate youngsters who were previously uninterested in work. By focusing on outcomes, as I did during my visit to the hospital with Amber, I was able to demonstrate to her – without a word bei ng said – the reality of being a mother and it may have also motivated her to work harder at her job because of the realisation that she needed to earn money for the huge investments that would be required in raising the child. It also produced a positive motivation because it focused upon identifying her strengths as a potential mother rather than seeing her pregnancy as a potential weakness that needed to be overcome. In the context of hiring employees, Lawler (2003) has pointed the example of Southwest Airlines, which bases its hiring decisions on a realistic preview, making its employees tell jokes and make announcements, thereby simulating the actual job environment that employees will encounter. When I took Amber with me into the wards, I was exposing her in a similar manner to what she would be exposed to after giving birth, thereby providing me with a good estimation of how she was likely to react. In a similar way, when I got the insurance company involved in dealing with Rick’s recovery after he was moved out of the ICU, I met Mrs McDonnel from the insurance company, who was the most professional, organized woman I had ever met. This woman was a typical example of good hiring by her employers, in accordance with the policy practiced by

The great Voyages of discovery

The great Voyages of discovery What was the economic significance of the Great Voyages of Discovery during the late fifteenth century? Compare the consequences for the Venetian Republic and Portugal. The Great Voyages of Discovery dates back to the late fifteenth century and this period can be termed as the Age of Discovery. The Portuguese navigators had a major role during this period. The voyages had a long run impact on global economy, thus it can be inferred that the voyages had great economics significance. They had significant consequences on both the Venetian Republic and Portugal. It is also worth noting that the Economic significance of the voyages of discovery were two folds: Opening up of new routes to east around southern tip of Africa broke the Venetian monopoly of trade between Europe and East. Discovery of New World opened up new possibilities of international specialisation between the New world and Europe. It is important to note that during that period Venice played a major role in opening the Mediterranean economy to West European commerce. It had important connections with North Europe. In building up its trade, Venice created a political empire. Between 1388-1499, Venice acquired territory on Italian mainland, by 1557, total population of these territories was about 1.5 million. It developed types of ship suitable for venetian commerce and the conditions of trade in the Mediterranean. The biggest enterprise in Venice was the Arsenal, a public shipyard . The other big sectors of Venetian economy apart from international trade were banking, book production, sugar production, trades in timber, carpentry, rope etc. There were also considerable manufacturing activities producing goods for local use and export. It was a leader in glass blowing. Venice traded with Asia in raw silk and silk products, but eventually this led to import substitution in Europe. The Venetian government regulate d production of silk and related products. The products were of very high quality and they made a substantial contribution to Venetian exports. They also traded in spices. For trade with east, they relied on Mediterranean followed by Egyptian and Syrian middlemen. Thus briefly stated, Venice had a political empire and it also had trade monopoly with the east. Europeans wanted direct access to the spices and trade with Asia, thus discovering a route to east was not a new idea. By 15th century, it was clear that such a venture would be very expensive and highly risky, but developments in eastern Mediterranean made it clear that the old Venetian route through Egyptian and Syrian middlemen was under threat, and the benefits from a new route would be enormous and rewarding. Therefore, there were preparations for this venture. It started when Prince Henry established a marine research station in Portugal. There had been developments in ship design, rigging and seamanship which made it possible to undertake long distance trips in deep waters. Further the Portuguese undertook trial voyages to explore possible route and wind patterns, like the one by Bartolomeu Dias. He discovered the Cape of Good Hope (May 1488). The Portuguese strategy of doing by knowing made good sense. Each trip built on the one before; each time they went a little farther. All these finally led to the voyage of Vasco da Gama around Africa to Calicut, India during 1497-99. The voyage itself was not very feasible, but he had proved the feasibility of the route and found a new source of gold in east Africa. He also confirmed that there were no maritime fleets in the Indian Ocean which could impede Portuguese access to spice trade. Following da gamas first voyage, Padro Cabral set sail to improve on the route, bring back a significant cargo and establish a base on Kerala coast. Cabral went farther west in the Atlantic than da Gama, and accidently found Brazil, which was within the boundaries allotted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas. It was further followed by da gamas 2nd voyage to India. All these developments led Portuguese Kingdom discovering and mapping most of the Globe. It is also worth noting that Europeans also went west. In 1492, Spain financed Columbus for his venture, he set sail and sighted West Indies. Later, to protect the respective interests, Spain and Portugal negotiated for a line of demarcation to divide the world into two halves for purposes of further exploration, with western half reserved for Spain and eastern for Portugal. The demarcation line even gave Brazil to Portugal. The Venetian role in spice trade was greatly reduced at the beginning of the 16th century because of restrictions on trade with Syria and Egypt imposed by the new Ottoman authorities, and competition from direct Portuguese shipments from Asia. Venetian spice import fell from 1600 tons a year towards the end of 15th century to less than 500 tons a year by the first decade of the sixteenth century. Thus the leading role of Venice in trade had declined. Its sugar industry in Crete and Cyprus also declined because of competition from Portuguese production in Madeira and later in Brazil. There were changes in shipbuilding technologies because of which the Venetian galleys became obsolete, because of which there was a sharp decline in the main product of the Arsenal. The Venetian merchants increased their purchase from abroad. Venice could not adapt to technological change because it did not have access to cheap timber unlike other Atlantic economies. The great old mercantile and industrial city state of Venice eventually lost out. Venetian republic along with other city states had been at the forefront of the medieval commercial revolution and had led the way into international trade and division of labour, but they never really capitalized on the opportunities opened by the great discovery; there was no Italian ship in Indian Ocean or crossed Atlantic. It was entered and caught in the great inland sea. It is also worth noting that over the 16, 17, 18th centuries Venice did not expand much in population and per capita income, but it remained one of the richest parts of Italy and Europe until overtaken by the Dutch in the 17th century. After da gamas second voyage, he returned to Lisbon with 13 of his ships and nearly 1700 tons of spices i.e. about the same as annual Venetian imports from the middle east at the end of the 15th century. However, the Portuguese margins on this trade were much bigger than the Venetian. Portugals primary commercial objective in the east was to obtain pepper and other spices and ship these directly to Europe, bypassing the intermediaries that the traditional traffic faced across Asia into the Mediterranean. The Portuguese did this by purchase or seizure. The Portuguese displaced Asian traders who had supplied spices to Red Sea and Persian gulf ports for onward sale to Venetian traders. Initially, these measures were a huge success and earned a large share of trade i.e. 40 percent of the pepper imported into Europe was going around the cape of good hope. This significantly hurt the venetians. But as time progressed, the older trade routes were being reused. The direct Portuguese share fell back to about 20 percent. To make up for the shrinking spice trade, the Portuguese foot into intra Asia exchange. There was trade within the Asian waters in textiles, porcelain, precious metal, carpets, perfume, jewellery, horses, timber, salt, raw silk, gold, silver, medicinal herb s and many other commodities. In the 1550s to the 1630s this kind of trade between China and Japan was a particularly profitable source of income for Portugal. Silk and porcelain played an increased role, and in the 17th and 18th century, cotton textiles and tea became very important. The Portuguese completely controlled the Indian Ocean. All merchant vessels were required to purchase a Portuguese trading license. Those who did not abide by the rules were liable to seizure. This domineering had another positive effect for Portugal: many fewer ships went out from Europe to Asia. In 1570, the crown gave up its monopoly of trade between Lisbon and Goa. This led to decline of Portugal as a trade leader. The various voyages by Portuguese navigators (Dias, Cabral, da Gama) had laid the foundations of the Portuguese trading empire in east Africa and Asia. Portugal maintained a monopoly of traffic round the Cape of Good Hope until the last decade of the 16th century. Thus it can be comfortably said that without advances in shipbuilding and navigation, journey to far east would not have been successful. Overall, the costs of trade were much low for Portugal as compared to the Venetian method-through Mediterranean and by land across Asia. Thus, the great voyages of discovery completely transformed European trading with the east, breaking the monopoly held by the venetians and making many of the goods found in Asia more accessible to rest of Europe. References: Maddison, A.(2001).The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective. Paris: OECD Maddison, A.(2007). Contours of the World Economy, 1-2030 AD: Essays in Macro-economic History.Oxford: Oxford University Press Landes, D.(1998). The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: why some are so rich and some so poor .Little, Brown and Company Winius, G.(2007). Portuguese Indian Ocean Exploration Voyages, 1497-1515,The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Maritime History. Ed. John B. Hattendorf. (online) (http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Mainentry=t232.e0659). Oxford: Oxford University Press(Accessed 06 December 2009)

Theories of Leadership

Professional and Staff Development FSPSD200 Leadership Theory Simplified Allisen Penn Assistant Professor  ­ Leadership Development â€Å"Pop leadership† philosophy abounds in our culture today. Book stores have shelves full of books on leader ­ ship. Leaders and leadership are discussed daily on tele ­ vision, radio, newspapers, magazines and on the web. As a result, many mixed messages about leadership are expressed. So – how do you decide what is accurate? Read the inside cover of a leadership book and you may find that the book is more about manage ­ ment and business than leadership. A agazine or newspaper may just express the opinion of a famous person about leadership. While the perspective of a well-known leader or the insight offered in a book may be valuable, you may want to ask – is this information supported by research? An understanding of the existing leadership research may help you shape your own opinion about what is good leadership. Once you determine what is good leader ­ ship, you can begin to develop your own leadership approach. Arkansas Is Our Campus Visit our web site at: http://www. uaex. edu What is leadership? There are almost as many definitions of leader ­ hip as there are books and opinions about leadership. You may want to define leadership for yourself. Write your definition of leadership: A commonly accepted definition of leadership is a process used by an individual to influence a group of members toward a common goal (Bass, 1990; Howell and Costley, 2001). Maxwell (1993) simply states that leadership is influence. The following overview of leadership theories is intended to provide a synopsis of some of the research conducted on leadership in the last 50 years. There is a list of suggested reading (page 4) to help you learn more about the theories hat appeal to you. University of Arkansas, United States Department of Agriculture, and County Governments Cooperating Seven Common Views of Leadersh ip Describe below: There are some common beliefs, which include both fact and fiction, about leadership that can be summarized into seven views of leadership (Lee and King, 2001). 1. The Genetic View – Some people are born with leadership talents and others are not. Only certain people can learn to lead effectively; they are naturals. If you do not have this inborn talent, there is nothing you can do. 2. The Learned View – If you study leadership arefully and practice, you can learn to be an effective leader, no matter whom you are. In a sense, this is the opposite of the genetic view. This view is common in the military and among leadership development professionals. 3. The Heroic View – The only good leaders are those who perform courageous, wise and compas ­ sionate feats that the rest of us can’t. Think of the movie roles played by Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. The perception is that this is the type of leaders who get the rest of us ou t of trouble. 4. The Top-Only View – Leadership only happens at or close to the top of an organization.Everyone else â€Å"just follows orders. † If you are not the boss, you are nothing. If you are the boss, you are everything anyone could wish for. Being â€Å"the boss† is the ultimate goal. 5. The Social Script View – When it is your proper turn to be the leader, you will be asked. When asked, you should accept and be grateful. After all, not everyone is asked. This approach is common in professional associations and civic or community organizations. 6. The Position View – If you are in the job and have the title, you are a leader. This idea is tradi ­ tional in bureaucracies and highly structured rganizations and carries some validity even in the most effective systems. If your title is phrased â€Å"director of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"head of†¦,† your leadership virtues are assumed. 7. The Calling View – Although not neces sarily a religious experience, a â€Å"call† to lead can be quite compelling. This concept suggests that leaders have a sense of mission or purpose. Do any of these sound familiar to you? Which one of these viewpoints have you experienced? Every leader is different, and no single theory works for all leaders. Begin to develop your own leadership approach by learning more about the following leadership theories. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Great man Trait Behavioral Contingency Transactional Transformational Great Man. Researchers who support the Great Man theory believe that people are born to leadership. This may include members of royalty, high-ranking military officers and industry heads. Today, many people still hold this traditional belief, and even though this theory may sound oldfashioned, research suggests that some people have personality traits, behaviors and knowledge that lend themselves to leadership (Yaverbaum and Sherman, 2008). Studying famous roya l, military or industry leaders may provide you with some tools that help ou develop your own leadership abilities. Trait Theory. Similar to the Great Man theory, Trait theory suggests that the characteristics or the personality of a person may make them an effective leader. Several academics believe that potential leaders can be spotted by studying the personality traits of the individual and matching them to the characteristics of actual leaders. Trait theory was almost abandoned by leadership practitioners as leadership research evolved, but in the past few years, there has been a renewed interest and more research related to Trait theory. Leadership traits include physical or background raits, personal or ability traits and/or task or social traits such as: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Articulate Committed Decisive Determined †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Educated Energetic Integrity Intelligence Persistence Responsible Social Social Status Self-Confident James Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of The Leadership Challenge, interviewed 75,000 people to identify the top ten characteristics needed in a leader. Their list includes the following characteristics: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Broad-minded Competent Dependable Fair-minded Forward-looking Honest Inspiring Intelligent Supportive Straightforward All of these characteristics are not personality raits. Many researchers say you don’t have to be born with all of these traits. In fact, you can develop some of these characteristics as part of your personal leadership approach. Behavioral Theory. Behavior theory focuses on what an effective leader â€Å"does. † Leadership is not something you are born with, nor do you need a set of commonly accepted traits. However, effective leader ­ ship is dependent on the right behavior. Researchers proposed that for a leader to be effective, their behavior mus t vary with the situation. In other words, you can learn how to act like a leader. that match their ability.The leader provides coaching, direction, motivation and rewards for the followers. †¢ Situational Theory recommends that different situations call for different kinds of leadership. This calls for the leader to change their style to the abilities of their followers. Transactional Theory. Transactional leadership requires that the leader and follower agree to a contract. The follower is responsible for following orders to perform a task. The leader, in turn, gives rewards for following orders in completing the task. Transactional leadership suggests that people only complete tasks when there are external rewards.However, many people accomplish tasks and reach goals because of their own internal motivation. Transformational Theory. Transformational leadership is a process in which the leader engages others, builds trust and creates a connection that increases the motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower. (Northouse, 2001). A trans ­ formational leader focuses on others and their needs in order to help them reach their potential. In many ways, transformational leadership is about a leader’s ability to create a vision related to a goal that has meaning for both the leader and follower.Personalizing Leadership Which of these theories has the most appeal to you? Write a description about how and when you would use the theory, with whom, where and what skills you may need to learn to be more effective. What theory? Behavior theories are based on categories of behavior and leadership types. The myth in this thinking is that outward behavior is enough to establish leadership. In the 1970s, research found most of the Behavior theory research to be invalid (Howell and Costley, 2001; Yaverbaum and Sherman, 2008); however, leadership behavior is still frequently discussed.Contingency Theory. In a more progressive approach to leadershi p, Contingency theory recom ­ mends matching a leader’s style to the right situ ­ ation, which involves matching to the team of people and goals. Two common Contingency theories are Path-Goal theory and Situational theory. †¢ Path-Goal Theory proposes that effective leaders help followers reach goals through motivation by involving them in fulfilling and meaningful tasks How do you plan to use what you have learned? When will you use what you learned? References and Suggested Reading Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass and Stogdill’s Handbook ofLeadership: Theory Research and Managerial Application. New York: Free Press. Howell, J. P. , and D. L. Costley (2001). Understanding Behaviors for Effective Leadership. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. With whom do you plan to use what you learned? Kouzes, J. M. , and B. Z. Posner (2002). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Lee, R. J. , and S. N. King (2001). Discovering the Leader in You: A Guide to Realizing Y our Personal Leadership Potential. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc. Where do you plan to use what you have learned? Lewis, J. P. (2003). Project Leadership. New York: McGraw-Hill.Maxwell, J. C. (1993). Developing the Leader Within You. Nashville, TN: Injoy, Inc. Northouse, P. G. (2001). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. What else do you need to learn to be more effective in this area? Yaverbaum, E. , and E. Sherman (2008). The Everything Leadership Book, 2nd ed. Avon, MA: F+W Publications, Inc. Printed by University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Printing Services. ALLISEN PENN is Assistant Professor – Leadership Development with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, located in Little Rock.FSPSD200-PD-11-08N Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas. The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Analysis Of The Poem Snake - 944 Words

Upon reading and reflecting on the poem â€Å"Snake† by D.H. Lawrence, I couldn’t help but feel like the poem hearkens back to Emily Dickinson’s poems â€Å"A Narrow Fellow in the Grass† and even â€Å"A Bird, Came Down the Walk.† Like Dickinson’s poems there is a recognition of not only the beauty and majesty that is in nature but also the danger that lurks in the unknown. Lawrence’s â€Å"Snake†, like Dickinson’s poems, utilizes personification, not only to connect humankind to nature, but also to elevate the serpent to an almost human level. I will focus on the poem â€Å"Snake† by D.H Lawrence and explore the ways the speaker in the poem uses this personification, sound devices, allusion, language and even structure to convey the speakers reverence and fear of nature, more specifically the snake or subject in the natural realm. As â€Å"Snake† begins we are introduced to the speaker encountering this element of the wild, the snake. Early in the poem, the language utilizes the use of sound devices that not only immerse the reader in the scenario, but also the speaker at the level of the snake. Lines 4-13 simulate a snake’s hiss by employing words beginning with â€Å"S,† such as â€Å"strange-scented shade† (4), â€Å"steps† (5), â€Å"slackness soft† (9), â€Å"stone† (8-9), and â€Å"He sipped with his straight mouth/ Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body/ Silently† (11-13). This poetic device is used later in the poem, however it not only simulates the hiss, but also the slither, â€Å"And slowlyShow MoreRelated Poetry Analysis of Emily Dickinson Essay1307 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of Emily Dickinsons The snake, In the Garden, and It bloomed and dropt, a Single Noon—. Emily Dickinson uses nature in almost all of her poetry. She uses many literary techniques in her poems to show her interpretations of nature and the world around her. 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On first reading of the text, the poem seems to be built around an idea of anger towards repressing one’s individual thoughts and not voicing personal opinion. However, through a deconstructive reading, there are inconsistencies within the text’s language that question whether the speakerRead MoreMy Grandmothers House by Kamla Das1143 Words   |  5 Pagesa search for the essential woman, and hence the woman persona of her poems plays the various roles of unhappy woman, unhappy wife, mistress to lusty men, reluctant nymphomaniac {A woman with abnormal sexual desires}, silent Devdasi and love-lord Radha. Kamala Das has also been called a poet in the confessional mode. The confessional poets deal with emotional experiences which are generally taboo. There is a ruthless self-analysis and a tone of utter sincerity. E.V.Ramakrishnan rightly says, â€Å"In her

Bertrand Russells Classic Essay in Praise of Idleness

Noted mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell tried to apply the clarity he admired in mathematical reasoning to the solution of problems in other fields, in particular ethics and politics. In this essay, first published in 1932, Russell argues in favor of a four-hour working day. Consider whether his arguments for laziness deserve serious consideration today. In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell Like most of my generation, I was brought up on the saying: Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do. Being a highly virtuous child, I believed all that I was told, and acquired a conscience which has kept me working hard down to the present moment. But although my conscience has controlled my actions, my opinions have undergone a revolution. I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached. Everyone knows the story of the traveler in Naples who saw twelve beggars lying in the sun (it was before the days of Mussolini), and offered a lira to the laziest of them. Eleven of them jumped up to claim it, so he gave it to the twelfth. this traveler was on the right lines. But in countries which do not enjoy Mediterranean sunshine idleness is more difficult, and a great public propaganda will b e required to inaugurate it. I hope that, after reading the following pages, the leaders of the YMCA will start a campaign to induce good young men to do nothing. If so, I shall not have lived in vain. Before advancing my own arguments for laziness, I must dispose of one which I cannot accept. Whenever a person who already has enough to live on proposes to engage in some everyday kind of job, such as school-teaching or typing, he or she is told that such conduct takes the bread out of other peoples mouths, and is therefore wicked. If this argument were valid, it would only be necessary for us all to be idle in order that we should all have our mouths full of bread. What people who say such things forget is that what a man earns he usually spends, and in spending he gives employment. As long as a man spends his income, he puts just as much bread into peoples mouths in spending as he takes out of other peoples mouths in earning. The real villain, from this point of view, is the man who saves. If he merely puts his savings in a stocking, like the proverbial French peasant, it is obvious that they do not give employment. If he invests his savings, the matter is less obvious, and differ ent cases arise. One of the commonest things to do with savings is to lend them to some Government. In view of the fact that the bulk of the public expenditure of most civilized Governments consists in payment for past wars or preparation for future wars, the man who lends his money to a Government is in the same position as the bad men in Shakespeare who hire murderers. The net result of the mans economical habits is to increase the armed forces of the State to which he lends his savings. Obviously it would be better if he spent the money, even if he spent it in drink or gambling. But, I shall be told, the case is quite different when savings are invested in industrial enterprises. When such enterprises succeed, and produce something useful, this may be conceded. In these days, however, no one will deny that most enterprises fail. That means that a large amount of human labor, which might have been devoted to producing something that could be enjoyed, was expended on producing machines which, when produced, lay idle and did no good to anyone. The man who invests his savings in a concern that goes bankrupt is therefore injuring others as well as himself. If he spent his money, say, in giving parties for his friends, they (we may hope) would get pleasure, and so would all those upon whom he spent money, such as the butcher, the baker, and the bootlegger. But if he spends it (let us say) upon laying down rails for surface card in some place where surface cars turn out not to be wanted, he has diverted a mass of labor into channels where it gives pleasure to no on e. Nevertheless, when he becomes poor through failure of his investment he will be regarded as a victim of undeserved misfortune, whereas the gay spendthrift, who has spent his money philanthropically, will be despised as a fool and a frivolous person. All this is only preliminary. I want to say, in all seriousness, that a great deal of harm is being done in the modern world by belief in the virtuousness of work, and that the road to happiness and prosperity lies in an organized diminution of work. First of all: what is work? Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earths surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid. The second kind is capable of indefinite extension: there are not only those who give orders, but those who give advice as to what orders should be given. Usually two opposite kinds of advice are given simultaneously by two organized bodies of men; this is called politics. The skill required for this kind of work is not knowledge of the subjects as to which advice is given, but knowledge of the art of persuasive speaking and writing, i.e. of advertising. Throughout Europe, though not in America, there is a third class of men, more respected than either of the classes of workers. There are men who, through ownership of land, are able to make others pay for the privilege of being allowed to exist and to work. These landowners are idle, and I might therefore be expected to praise them. Unfortunately, their idleness is only rendered possible by the industry of others; indeed their desire for comfortable idleness is historically the source of the whole gospel of work. The last thing they have ever wished is that others should follow their example. (Continued on page two) Continued from page oneFrom the beginning of civilization until the Industrial Revolution, a man could, as a rule, produce by hard work little more than was required for the subsistence of himself and his family, although his wife worked at least as hard as he did, and his children added their labor as soon as they were old enough to do so. The small surplus above bare necessaries was not left to those who produced it, but was appropriated by warriors and priests. In times of famine there was no surplus; the warriors and priests, however, still secured as much as at other times, with the result that many of the workers died of hunger. This system persisted in Russia until 1917 [1], and still persists in the East; in England, in spite of the Industrial Revolution, it remained in full force throughout the Napoleonic wars, and until a hundred years ago, when the new class of manufacturers acquired power. In America, the system came to an end with the Revolution, except in the South, whe re it persisted until the Civil War. A system which lasted so long and ended so recently has naturally left a profound impress upon mens thoughts and opinions. Much that we take for granted about the desirability of work is derived from this system, and, being pre-industrial, is not adapted to the modern world. Modern technique has made it possible for leisure, within limits, to be not the prerogative of small privileged classes, but a right evenly distributed throughout the community. The morality of work is the morality of slaves, and the modern world has no need of slavery. It is obvious that, in primitive communities, peasants, left to themselves, would not have parted with the slender surplus upon which the warriors and priests subsisted, but would have either produced less or consumed more. At first, sheer force compelled them to produce and part with the surplus. Gradually, however, it was found possible to induce many of them to accept an ethic according to which it was their duty to work hard, although part of their work went to support others in idleness. By this means the amount of compulsion required was lessened, and the expenses of government were diminished. To this day, 99 per cent of British wage-earners would be genuinely shocked if it were proposed that the King should not have a larger income than a working man. The conception of duty, speaking historically, has been a means used by the holders of power to induce others to live for the interests of their masters rather than for their own. Of course the holders of power conceal this fact from themselves by managing to believe that their interests are identical with the larger interests of humanity. Sometimes this is true; Athenian slave-owners, for instance, employed part of their leisure in making a permanent contribution to civilization which would have been impossible under a just economic system. Leisure is essential to civilization, and in former times leisure for the few was only rendered possible by the labors of the many. But their labors were valuable, not because work is good, but because leisure is good. And with modern technique it would be possible to distribute leisure justly without injury to civilization. Modern technique has made it possible to diminish enormously the amount of labor required to secure the necessaries of life for everyone. This was made obvious during the war. At that time all the men in the armed forces, and all the men and women engaged in the production of munitions, all the men and women engaged in spying, war propaganda, or Government offices connected with the war, were withdrawn from productive occupations. In spite of this, the general level of well-being among unskilled wage-earners on the side of the Allies was higher than before or since. The significance of this fact was concealed by finance: borrowing made it appear as if the future was nourishing the present. But that, of course, would have been impossible; a man cannot eat a loaf of bread that does not yet exist. The war showed conclusively that, by the scientific organization of production, it is possible to keep modern populations in fair comfort on a small part of the working capacity of the modern world. If, at the end of the war, the scientific organization, which had been created in order to liberate men for fighting and munition work, had been preserved, and the hours of the week had been cut down to four, all would have been well. Instead of that the old chaos was restored, those whose work was demanded were made to work long hours, and the rest were left to starve as unemployed. Why? Because work is a duty, and a man should not receive wages in proportion to what he has produced, but in proportion to his virtue as exemplified by his industry. This is the morality of the Slave State, applied in circumstances totally unlike those in which it arose. No wonder the result has been disastrous. Let us take an illustration. Suppose that, at a given moment, a certain number of people are engaged in the manufacture of pins. They make as many pins as the world needs, working (say) eight hours a day. Someone makes an invention by which the same number of men can make twice as many pins: pins are already so cheap that hardly any more will be bought at a lower price. In a sensible world, everybody concerned in the manufacturing of pins would take to working four hours instead of eight, and everything else would go on as before. But in the actual world this would be thought demoralizing. The men still work eight hours, there are too many pins, some employers go bankrupt, and half the men previously concerned in making pins are thrown out of work. There is, in the end, just as much leisure as on the other plan, but half the men are total ly idle while half are still overworked. In this way, it is insured that the unavoidable leisure shall cause misery all round instead of being a universal source of happiness. Can anything more insane be imagined? (Continued on page three) Continued from page twoThe idea that the poor should have leisure has always been shocking to the rich. In England, in the early nineteenth century, fifteen hours was the ordinary days work for a man; children sometimes did as much, and very commonly did twelve hours a day. When meddlesome busybodies suggested that perhaps these hours were rather long, they were told that work kept adults from drink and children from mischief. When I was a child, shortly after urban working men had acquired the vote, certain public holidays were established by law, to the great indignation of the upper classes. I remember hearing an old Duchess say: What do the poor want with holidays? They ought to work. People nowadays are less frank, but the sentiment persists, and is the source of much of our economic confusion. Let us, for a moment, consider the ethics of work frankly, without superstition. Every human being, of necessity, consumes, in the course of his life, a certain amount of the produce of human labor. Assuming, as we may, that labor is on the whole disagreeable, it is unjust that a man should consume more than he produces. Of course he may provide services rather than commodities, like a medical man, for example; but he should provide something in return for his board and lodging. to this extent, the duty of work must be admitted, but to this extent only. I shall not dwell upon the fact that, in all modern societies outside the USSR, many people escape even this minimum amount of work, namely all those who inherit money and all those who marry money. I do not think the fact that these people are allowed to be idle is nearly so harmful as the fact that wage-earners are expected to overwork or starve. If the ordinary wage-earner worked four hours a day, there would be enough for everybody and no unemployment—assuming a certain very moderate amount of sensible organization. This idea shocks the well-to-do, because they are convinced that the poor would not know how to use so much leisure. In America men often work long hours even when they are well off; such men, naturally, are indignant at the idea of leisure for wage-earners, except as the grim punishment of unemployment; in fact, they dislike leisure even for their sons. Oddly enough, while they wish their sons to work so hard as to have no time to be civilized, they do not mind their wives and daughters having no work at all. The snobbish admiration of uselessness, which, in an aristocratic society, extends to both sexes, is, under a plutocracy, confined to women; this, however, does not make it any more in agreement with common sense. The wise use of leisure, it must be conceded, is a product of civilization and education. A man who has worked long hours all his life will become bored if he becomes suddenly idle. But without a considerable amount of leisure a man is cut off from many of the best things. There is no longer any reason why the bulk of the population should suffer this deprivation; only a foolish asceticism, usually vicarious, makes us continue to insist on work in excessive quantities now that the need no longer exists. In the new creed which controls the government of Russia, while there is much that is very different from the traditional teaching of the West, there are some things that are quite unchanged. The attitude of the governing classes, and especially of those who conduct educational propaganda, on the subject of the dignity of labor, is almost exactly that which the governing classes of the world have always preached to what were called the honest poor. Industry, sobriety, willingness to work long hours for distant advantages, even submissiveness to authority, all these reappear; moreover authority still represents the will of the Ruler of the Universe, Who, however, is now called by a new name, Dialectical Materialism. The victory of the proletariat in Russia has some points in common with the victory of the feminists in some other countries. For ages, men had conceded the superior saintliness of women, and had consoled women for their inferiority by maintaining that saintliness is more desirable than power. At last the feminists decided that they would have both, since the pioneers among them believed all that the men had told them about the desirability of virtue, but not what they had told them about the worthlessness of political power. A similar thing has happened in Russia as regards manual work. For ages, the rich and their sycophants have written in praise of honest toil, have praised the simple life, have professed a religion which teaches that the poor are much more likely to go to heaven than the rich, and in general have tried to make manual workers believe that there is some special nobility about altering the position of matter in space, just as men tried to make women believe that th ey derived some special nobility from their sexual enslavement. In Russia, all this teaching about the excellence of manual work has been taken seriously, with the result that the manual worker is more honored than anyone else. What are, in essence, revivalist appeals are made, but not for the old purposes: they are made to secure shock workers for special tasks. Manual work is the ideal which is held before the young, and is the basis of all ethical teaching. (Continued on page four) Continued from page threeFor the present, possibly, this is all to the good. A large country, full of natural resources, awaits development, and has has to be developed with very little use of credit. In these circumstances, hard work is necessary, and is likely to bring a great reward. But what will happen when the point has been reached where everybody could be comfortable without working long hours? In the West, we have various ways of dealing with this problem. We have no attempt at economic justice, so that a large proportion of the total produce goes to a small minority of the population, many of whom do no work at all. Owing to the absence of any central control over production, we produce hosts of things that are not wanted. We keep a large percentage of the working population idle, because we can dispense with their labor by making the others overwork. When all these methods prove inadequate, we have a war: we cause a number of people to manufacture high explosives, and a number of others to explode them, as if we were children who had just discovered fireworks. By a combination of all these devices we manage, though with difficulty, to keep alive the notion that a great deal of severe manual work must be the lot of the average man. In Russia, owing to more economic justice and central control over production, the problem will have to be differently solved. The rational solution would be, as soon as the necessaries and elementary comforts can be provided for all, to reduce the hours of labor gradually, allowing a popular vote to decide, at each stage, whether more leisure or more goods were to be preferred. But, having taught the supreme virtue of hard work, it is difficult to see how the authorities can aim at a paradise in which there will be much leisure and little work. It seems more likely that they will find continually fresh schemes, by which present leisure is to be sacrificed to future productivity. I read recently of an ingenious plan put forward by Russian engineers, for making the White Sea and the northern coasts of Siberia warm, by putting a dam across the Kara Sea. An admirable project, but liable to postpone proletarian comfort for a generation, while the nobility of toil is being displayed amid the ice-fields and snowstorms of the Arctic Ocean. This sort of thing, if it happens, will be the result of regarding the virtue of hard work as an end in itself, rather than as a means to a state of affairs in which it is no longer needed. The fact is that moving matter about, while a certain amount of it is necessary to our existence, is emphatically not one of the ends of human life. If it were, we should have to consider every navvy superior to Shakespeare. We have been misled in this matter by two causes. One is the necessity of keeping the poor contented, which has led the rich, for thousands of years, to preach the dignity of labor, while taking care themselves to remain undignified in this respect. The other is the new pleasure in mechanism, which makes us delight in the astonishingly clever changes that we can produce on the earths surface. Neither of these motives makes any great appeal to the actual worker. If you ask him what he thinks the best part of his life, he is not likely to say: I enjoy manual work because it makes me feel that I am fulfilling mans noblest task, and because I like to think how much man can transform his planet. It is true that my body demands periods of rest, which I have to fill in as best I may, but I am never so happy as when the morning comes and I can return to the toil from which my contentment springs. I have never heard working men say this sort of thing. They consider work, as it should be considered, a necessary means to a livelihood, and it is from their leisure that they derive whatever happiness they may enjoy. It will be said that, while a little leisure is pleasant, men would not know how to fill their days if they had only four hours of work out of the twenty-four. In so far as this is true in the modern world, it is a condemnation of our civilization; it would not have been true at any earlier period. There was formerly a capacity for light-heartedness and play which has been to some extent inhibited by the cult of efficiency. The modern man thinks that everything ought to be done for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake. Serious-minded persons, for example, are continually condemning the habit of going to the cinema, and telling us that it leads the young into crime. But all the work that goes to producing a cinema is respectable, because it is work, and because it brings a money profit. The notion that the desirable activities are those that bring a profit has made everything topsy-turvy. The butcher who provides you with meat and the baker who provides you with brea d are praiseworthy, because they are making money; but when you enjoy the food they have provided, you are merely frivolous, unless you eat only to get strength for your work. Broadly speaking, it is held that getting money is good and spending money is bad. Seeing that they are two sides of one transaction, this is absurd; one might as well maintain that keys are good, but keyholes are bad. Whatever merit there may be in the production of goods must be entirely derivative from the advantage to be obtained by consuming them. The individual, in our society, works for profit; but the social purpose of his work lies in the consumption of what he produces. It is this divorce between the individual and the social purpose of production that makes it so difficult for men to think clearly in a world in which profit-making is the incentive to industry. We think too much of production, and too little of consumption. One result is that we attach too little importance to enjoyment and simple ha ppiness, and that we do not judge production by the pleasure that it gives to the consumer. Concluded on page five Continued from page fourWhen I suggest that working hours should be reduced to four, I am not meaning to imply that all the remaining time should necessarily be spent in pure frivolity. I mean that four hours work a day should entitle a man to the necessities and elementary comforts of life, and that the rest of his time should be his to use as he might see fit. It is an essential part of any such social system that education should be carried further than it usually is at present, and should aim, in part, at providing tastes which would enable a man to use leisure intelligently. I am not thinking mainly of the sort of things that would be considered highbrow. Peasant dances have died out except in remote rural areas, but the impulses which caused them to be cultivated must still exist in human nature. The pleasures of urban populations have become mainly passive: seeing cinemas, watching football matches, listening to the radio, and so on. This results from the fact that their activ e energies are fully taken up with work; if they had more leisure, they would again enjoy pleasures in which they took an active part. In the past, there was a small leisure class and a larger working class. The leisure class enjoyed advantages for which there was no basis in social justice; this necessarily made it oppressive, limited its sympathies, and caused it to invent theories by which to justify its privileges. These facts greatly diminished its excellence, but in spite of this drawback it contributed nearly the whole of what we call civilization. It cultivated the arts and discovered the sciences; it wrote the books, invented the philosophies, and refined social relations. Even the liberation of the oppressed has usually been inaugurated from above. Without the leisure class, mankind would never have emerged from barbarism. The method of a leisure class without duties was, however, extraordinarily wasteful. None of the members of the class had to be taught to be industrious, and the class as a whole was not exceptionally intelligent. The class might produce one Darwin, but against him had to be set tens of thousands of country gentlemen who never thought of anything more intelligent than fox-hunting and punishing poachers. At present, the universities are supposed to provide, in a more systematic way, what the leisure class provided accidentally and as a by-product. This is a great improvement, but it has certain drawbacks. University life is so different from life in the world at large that men who live in academic milieu tend to be unaware of the preoccupations and problems of ordinary men and women; moreover their ways of expressing themselves are usually such as to rob their opinions of the influence that they ought to have upon the general public. Another disadvantage is that in universities studie s are organized, and the man who thinks of some original line of research is likely to be discouraged. Academic institutions, therefore, useful as they are, are not adequate guardians of the interests of civilization in a world where everyone outside their walls is too busy for unutilitarian pursuits. In a world where no one is compelled to work more than four hours a day, every person possessed of scientific curiosity will be able to indulge it, and every painter will be able to paint without starving, however excellent his pictures may be. Young writers will not be obliged to draw attention to themselves by sensational pot-boilers, with a view to acquiring the economic independence needed for monumental works, for which, when the time at last comes, they will have lost the taste and capacity. Men who, in their professional work, have become interested in some phase of economics or government, will be able to develop their ideas without the academic detachment that makes the work of university economists often seem lacking in reality. Medical men will have the time to learn about the progress of medicine, teachers will not be exasperatedly struggling to teach by routine methods things which they learnt in their youth, which may, in the interval, have been proved to be untrue. Above all, there will be happiness and joy of life, instead of frayed nerves, weariness, and dyspepsia. The work exacted will be enough to make leisure delightful, but not enough to produce exhaustion. Since men will not be tired in their spare time, they will not demand only such amusements as are passive and vapid. At least one per cent will probably devote the time not spent in professional work to pursuits of some public importance, and, since they will not depend upon these pursuits for their livelihood, their originality will be unhampered, and there will be no need to conform to the standards set by elderly pundits. But it is not only in these exceptional cases that the advantages of leisure will appear. Ordinary men and women, having the opportunity of a happy life, will become more kindly and less persecuting and less inclined to view others with suspicion. The taste for war will die out, partly for this reason, and partly because it will involve long and severe work for all . Good nature is, of all moral qualities, the one that the world needs most, and good nature is the result of ease and security, not of a life of arduous struggle. Modern methods of production have given us the possibility of ease and security for all; we have chosen, instead, to have overwork for some and starvation for others. Hitherto we have continued to be as energetic as we were before there were machines; in this we have been foolish, but there is no reason to go on being foolish forever. (1932)