Epistles Of The French Revolution English Literature Essay

â€Å" It is with sorrow that I pronounce the fatal truth: Louis ought to die instead than a 100 thousand virtuous citizens ; Louis must decease that the state may populate † A Maximilien Francois Robespierre â€Å" Justice has its choler, my Godhead Bishop, and the wrath of justness is an component of advancement. Whatever else may be said of it, the Gallic Revolution was the greatest measure frontward by world since the coming of Christ. It was unfinished, I agree, but still it was sublime. It released the untapped springs of society ; it softened Black Marias, appeased, tranquilized, enlightened, and set fluxing through the universe the tides of civilisation. It was good. The Gallic Revolution was the anointment of humanity. † Victor Hugo â€Å" Liberty, equality, fraternity, or decease ; – the last, much the easiest to confer, O Guillotine! † Charles Dickens ( A Tale of Two Cities ) Helen Maria Williams was a adult female in front of her clip. While composing letters place to England during the Gallic Revolution, the convulsion and political turbulence around her closely mimicked the convulsion she was sing personally. An friendless amongst her friends, Williams ‘ observations and devastation are evident in her Letterss Written in France, in the Summer of 1790, a aggregation of her Hagiographas to friends and household still in England. As a adult female efficaciously on the front lines of war, Williams was able to capture the world of the revolution and record her observations in Letters, the recognized composing medium of adult females. Romanticism was an rational motion which began around the latter half of the eighteenth century and is was defined largely by alteration. Most humanistic disciplines, like music, poesy, literature, and even political relations began to accommodate in response to the disruptive societal clime seen in France during the Revo lution. Romanticism emphasized emotion, imaginativeness, and originality, which was in blunt contrast to the scientific discipline, ground and order defined by the â€Å" Age of Enlightenment † which came after the Revolution. Romanticism, as opposed to Enlightenment, concentrated more on the single author or creative person themselves, as opposed to the province or ground. Both ocular humanistic disciplines and literature, from the Romanticism motion, elevated and famed Nature as a wild Being, instead than as something that can easy be explained ground or survey. The Romanticism motion in literature evolved in response to the Gallic Revolution and instead than concentrate on ground and reason to explicate nature and adult male, Romanticism focused more on emotions and feelings to explicate and portray them. The poesy and Letters of Helen Maria Williams espouse the Romanticism ideals as they portend the hereafter of feminism and adult females who live their lives for themselv es. Helen Maria Williams straight confronted the ideals of the Revolution. Williams had relocated to Paris in 1792, and she was imprisoned for a short clip in the Bastille during the Reign of Terror. Both her clip in prison, and the atrociousnesss she witnessed during the Revolution, personally influenced her and straight influenced the tone of much of her work. While captive, Williams wrote many of her verse forms, like â€Å" Sonnet to the Curlew † , which trade with freedom and yearning. In the â€Å" Curlew † verse form, Williams identifies with a curlew and wants she could be every bit free as he is upon the air current. As Williams faced the Revolution of France, she began to confront a revolution of her ain that was reminiscent of the ideals of both Romanticism and Feminism. During her early old ages in France, Williams began a relationship with John Hurford Stone, a married Englishman and extremist militant. Though Stone divorced in 1794, it is ill-defined whether Williams and Stone of all time married and their relationship caused a dirt in England which resulted in Williams being personally attacked by the British imperativeness. Before Williams foremost visited France in 1790, she had been celebrated as a all right, feminine poet. After publically placing with the Revolution, Williams was denounced as a unblushing adult female who had developed debased political and sexual propensities. She had become a adult female who had â€Å" betrayed both her state and her sex † ( Blakemore 676 ) . In a Gentleman ‘s Magazine, a referee of her Letterss from France said of Williams â€Å" [ s ] he has debased her sex, her bosom, her feelings, her endowments in entering such a tissue of horror and villainousness and make bolding to diss a regular authorities and a happy people [ i.e. , the English ] with such inside informations, whose consequence, we defy her to demo has yet been productive of one individual good † ( Adams 114 ) . Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford, referred to Williams as â€Å" a scribbling slattern † in his Correspondence and in Anti-Jacobin Review and Magazine, Williams was portrayed as Lechery in a emanation of the Seven Deadly Sins. The magazine went so far as to province, â€Å" [ Williams has ] an inveterate hatred of all bing constitutions, by an earnest desire to advance their devastation, and by a disdain of truth, decency, and decorousness, which constitute the general features of a female head infected with the toxicant of democracy † ( Blakemore 676 ) . Williams was vilified by the imperativenesss, both at place and abroad, and it is apprehensible that she would seek a more hospitable venue to name place. For Williams, that welcoming topographic point was a state in the throes of civil war. In June 1794, Williams and Stone fled to Switzerland after a jurisprudence was passed by Maximilien de Robespierre necessitating all aristocracy and aliens leave Paris under punishment of jurisprudence. Williams and Stone remained in Switzerland for 6 months, and she wrote Tour in Switzerland which dealt with subjects including political relations, history, and nature. In response to the effects of the revolution, Williams said that she appreciated what the Revolution had done for adult females ‘s rights, but she openly condemned the force needed to accomplish it. In her letters, Williams ‘ response to the Revolution varies, frequently comparing the feminine civilization of the Revolution with the â€Å" Antient authorities of France † and she condemns the force much as she had during the American Revolution. aˆÂ ¦The executioner held up the hemorrhage caput, and the guards cried ‘Vive La republique! ‘ [ ‘Long live the democracy! ‘ ] Some dipped their hankies in the blood-but the greater figure, chilled with horror at what had passed, desired the commanding officer would take them immediately from the topographic point. The hair was sold in separate braids at the pes of the scaffold ( 100 ) . After depicting the scene of King Louis XVI ‘s decease by closure by compartment, Williams describes the wake in an about composure and calm voice, as though she had become asleep to the force of the Revolution aˆÂ ¦The devastation of the monarchy in France on the 10th of August-the horrors of the slaughter of the 2d of September, and so the decease of the male monarch, eventually alienated the heads of Englishmans from the Gallic revolution ; rendered popular a war, which otherwise no curate would hold dared to set about ; disgusted all wise, and shocked all human work forces ; and left to us, and all who had espoused the cause, no hope but that Heaven, which knows how to convey good out of immorality, would watch over an even so interesting to the public assistance to mankind as the Gallic revolution ; nor suffer the folly and frailty of the agents concerned in it, to botch the greatest and noblest endeavor of all time undertaken by a state ( 100 ) . Laetitia Matilda Hawkins, a coeval of Williams, wrote a response to each of Williams ‘ letters warning Williams for her positions on the Revolution Hawkins ‘s Letters conveys a sense of pressing crisis ; for her, the Revolution is a foreign invasion endangering English life and English womanhood-a Revolution turning the natural order upside down. She bases her response to Williams ‘s Letterss on a reading of the first two series ( in the Scholars ‘ Facsimiles & A ; Reprints edition, 1:1.1-223 ; 1:2.1-206 ) , in which Williams celebrates the function of adult females in the Revolution every bit good as their â€Å" topographic point in the universe † ( 1:1.27-8 ) ( Blakemore 677 ) . Although Williams seemed to appreciate what the Revolutionary civilization did for adult females, she did non O.K. of the force used to accomplish the alteration. Williams was going a newer, more self-asserting and unchained adult female than she was earlier. â€Å" In the old ages predating the Gallic Revolution, a patriarchal political orientation stressing proper female behaviour, the â€Å" natural domestic function of adult female, and her biddable subordination to her hubby ( underscored in assorted scriptural texts ) had been in topographic point for centuries † ( Blakemore 673 ) . After sing societal turbulence, imprisonment, expatriate from her adopted fatherland, and the loss of some of her closest friends, Williams emerged as a adult female who was non afraid to populate her life her ain manner. In Paris, as in London, Williams was introduced to and hosted many outstanding intellectuals and literary figures in her salon, such as Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft. Williams ‘ salon rapidly became a meeting topographic point for outstanding Girondins, but as the Jacobins gained power, many of her friends were arrested and executed. Williams wrote in a manner acceptable for adult females ‘s Hagiographas, the epistolary. Despite the controversial content of her Letters, Williams ‘ Hagiographas received by and large positive reappraisals from many English magazines. What negative reaction her authorship received, was in response to the manner and vocabulary she chose because she would frequently utilize Gallic colloquialisms and spellings which alienated many of her English readers. Williams lost about everything she held beloved during the Gallic Revolution. She had lost her fatherland, her freedom-for a clip, her friends, but she refused to lose herself. Because of Williams ‘ Letterss, readers have a adult female ‘s first-hand history of the political and societal turbulence seen during the Revolution. The singularity of the history contained within her Letters has assured Williams a topographic point in women's rightist survey, irrespective if that was her original purpose. Williams personifies all the ideals of Romanticism within herself and her writings-emotional entreaty to trepidation, horror and awe-and the sublimity of wild nature.

Soft Skills

What is softskills? Soft skill is the ability required and expected from persons for finding a suitable job, its maintenance and promotion. Softskills is an important facet of life. It is essential in all spheres of life. Be it an interview or dealing with the project leader or working out a solution with a team or writing a report, getting across the point effectively is what matters. The success of an endeavour hinges on the ability to communicate effectively in today's fast paced life, everyone is asked to do more with less.In such a scenario effective communication holds the key. Effectively communication centers round the usage of words, speed of delivery of words, pitch modulation and body language. Using the right tools to communicate the right messages at the right time can salvage a crises and motivate people to work towards success. Truly said, communication works but for those who work at it. In the existing globalization scenario, most of the Information Technology, I.T E nabled Services, management institutes, public and private sector, multi-national Companies, Union Public Service Commission, and State Public Service Commission are search for a right and suitable fresher for executive posts. Whatever be the recruiting criteria that I. T, ITES, industry giants had in their agenda, once this was clear a first class degree would not serve the purpose, the candidate have to satisfy the skill sets that the companies were looking for. And unanimously, the skills set that they were looking for Softskills.The immediate results of developing good communication skills are: 1. Ability to Listen effectively 2. Ability to send Clear Messages 3. To win confidence and respect of peers, employers 4. Impressive non-verbal behaviour Scope of softskills development It is very important to develop softskills because it enables you to: * To handle interpersonal relations * To take appropriate decisions * To communicate effectively * To have good impression and impact to gain professional development Types of Softskills 1. Verbal Communication skills * Softskills form the corner stone of soft skills Every human being has to essentially ; effectively communicate with others * Effective communication is the hallmark of one's education * The ability to speak fluently using the right word in the right order is an good communication * Message using appropriate vocabulary and syntax form effective communication 2. Body language Non verbal language * Face is the index of the mind and it clearly displays the persons   interest * Body language presents to the audience what we feel & think about the particular matter * Body language (e. , arms crossed, standing, sitting, relaxed) * Emotion of the sender & receiver (e. g, speaking clearly, enthusiastic) 3. Written communication Skills * Writing evaluates a person's proficiency indications, spelling grammar etc†¦ * Errors committed while writing circulars, reports ; agenda considerably spoil the image of the writer * Good visual presentation using graphics, color, balanced design layout- adds so much to written communication. * Keep handouts and other written materials for your presentation 4. Presentation Skills Presentation skills include planning, preparation ; delivery of the message.Making a formal speech is also one form of presentation. Presentation skills can be broadly categorized into physical oral, ; electronics. * Success in life depends on presenting ideas in an appropriate manners * Look at the eyes of audience ; speak in a natural, conversational voice * Appropriate voice will make the presentation effective and interesting * Ask for feed back from your audience about your presentation ; change accordingly * In presentation especially, stop occasionally to ask the audience understand what you have said . Team Work * People of either gender, different age groups, qualification, status ; skills work as a team with a common objective of accomplishing the task * The s uccess of any organization largely depends on in the coordinated efforts of its employees * It mainly refers to the agreeableness ; co-operation among the team members 6. Professional ethics * Professional ethics is the need of the hour in India * When a person is at the work spot, he must think of his work only * He must put his heart ; soul into the work Each employee is a organic part of the organization ; must strive to contribute his mite to the successful functioning of the organization 7. Interpersonal Skills Man is a social animal ; his success in life largely depends on his relationship ; interaction with others We must respect the views ; sentiments of others. When we want to differ their views, we must very politely give hints to them without wondering their feelings 8. Time ; Stress Management Prioritize the work ; schedule your time accordingly * Impotent work should be allotted more time ; taken up first * Listening to classical music ; practicing Yoga will considerabl y reduce the physical,emotional ; mental stress of an individual 9. Leadership Softskills Leaders, executives ; managers need to be very clear about what they expect from others * Trust your self * Keep smiling * Share ; stay together * Always learn new things * Accept responsibility for your self ; your actions * Look at problems ; challenges * Be grateful always * Love your selfSo if you want to improve upon your softskills, this is the best time to go ahead. Start now, Start well Soft skills is a sociological term relating to a person's â€Å"EQ† (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people. [1] Soft skills complement hard skills (part of a person's IQ), which are the occupational requirements of a job and many other activities. Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job perfor mance and career prospects.Unlike hard skills, which are about a person's skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity, soft skills relate to a person's ability to interact effectively with coworkers and customers and are broadly applicable both in and outside the workplace. A person's soft skill EQ is an important part of their individual contribution to the success of an organization. Particularly those organizations dealing with customers face-to-face are generally more successful, if they train their staff to use these skills.Screening or training for personal habits or traits such as dependability and conscientiousness can yield significant return on investment for an organization. [2] For this reason, soft skills are increasingly sought out by employers in addition to standard qualifications. It has been suggested that in a number of professions soft skills may be more important over the long term than occupational skills. The legal profession is one exa mple where the ability to deal with people effectively and politely, more than their mere occupational skills, can determine the professional success of a lawyer. 3] Soft Skills are behavioral competencies. Also known as Interpersonal Skills, or people skills, they include proficiencies such as communication skills, conflict resolution and negotiation, personal effectiveness, creative problem solving, strategic thinking, team building, influencing skills and selling skills, to name a few Meaning Critical thinking clarifies goals, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions, and assesses conclusions. â€Å"Critical† as used in the expression â€Å"critical thinking† connotes involving skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc. Critical† in this context does not mean â€Å"disapproval† or â€Å"negative. † There are many positive uses of critical thinking, for example formulating a workable solution to a comp lex personal problem, deliberating as a group about what course of action to take, or analyzing the assumptions and the quality of the methods used in scientifically arriving at a reasonable level of confidence about a given hypothesis. To add further clarification on what is meant by thinking critically, Richard Paul (1995) articulated critical thinking as either weak or strong.The weak-sense critical thinker is a highly skilled but selfishly motivated pseudo-intellectual who works to advance one's personal agenda without seriously considering the ethical consequences and implications. Conceived as such, the weak-sense critical thinker is often highly skilled but uses those skills selectively so as to pursue unjust and selfish ends (Paul, 1995). Conversely, the strong-sense critical thinker skillfully enters into the logic of problems and issues to see the problem for what it is without egocentric and/or socio-centric bias.Thus conceived, the strong-sense mind seeks to actively, sy stematically, reflectively, and fair-mindedly construct insight with sensitivity to expose and address the many obstacles that compromise high quality thought and learning. Using strong critical thinking we might evaluate an argument, for example, as worthy of acceptance because it is valid and based on true premises. Upon reflection, a speaker may be evaluated as a credible source of knowledge on a given topic.Critical thinking can occur whenever one judges, decides, or solves a problem; in general, whenever one must figure out what to believe or what to do, and do so in a reasonable and reflective way. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening can all be done critically or uncritically. Critical thinking is crucial to becoming a close reader and a substantive writer. Expressed in most general terms, critical thinking is â€Å"a way of taking up the problems of life. â€Å"[10] Skills The list of core critical thinking skills includes observation, interpretation, analysis, infere nce, evaluation, explanation, and meta-cognition.There is a reasonable level of consensus among experts that an individual or group engaged in strong critical thinking gives due consideration to establish: * Evidence through observation * Context * Relevant criteria for making the judgment well * Applicable methods or techniques for forming the judgment * Applicable theoretical constructs for understanding the problem and the question at hand In addition to possessing strong critical-thinking skills, one must be disposed to engage problems and decisions using those skills.Critical thinking employs not only logic but broad intellectual criteria such as clarity, credibility, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, significance, and fairness. Habits or traits of mind The habits of mind that characterize a person strongly disposed toward critical thinking include a desire to follow reason and evidence wherever they may lead, a systematic approach to problem solving, inquisitiven ess, even-handedness, and confidence in reasoning. [16] When individuals possess intellectual skills alone, without the intellectual traits of mind, weak sense critical thinking results.Fair-minded or strong sense critical thinking requires intellectual humility, empathy, integrity, perseverance, courage, autonomy, confidence in reason, and other intellectual traits. Thus, critical thinking without essential intellectual traits often results in clever, but manipulative and often unethical or subjective thought. The clients have indicated that, after  inspecting the progress of the project they have outsourced, they would like to meet  the team members working on it. Why? To select one team member for a stint onsite — something  almost every software engineer  aspires for.Ravi has been one of the most active members in the project and has done a wonderful job. He is technically brilliant, but has some concerns: * Will he able to communicate his performance to the clien t in an impressive manner so that he is chosen? * Why do his team mates not prefer to come to him for solutions and go to less capable people instead? * His project manager doesn't seem to be very warm towards him either, although he does drop in those occasional mails appreciating his work.Here is a  typical scenario in an IT company; or for that matter, any organisation where interpersonal communication is involved. Or, like in Ravi's case, where an employee suffers from  a lack of interpersonal skills. Are technical/ job-related skills enough? Technical and job-related skills are a  must, but they are NOT sufficient when it comes to progressing up the ladder. With the traditional paternalistic style of leadership becoming passe, professional managers expect their teams to be proactive and communicate openly. â€Å"Soft skills are very important in business.It is essential to be technically sound, but one should also have the ability to convey the idea to the masses in the simplest possible manner,† says  Mayurkumar Gadewar, an ERP consultant with Pricewaterhouse Coopers. With the  boom in outsourcing taking root across industries, many  professionals and subject matter experts directly deal with their clients on a regular basis. Their approachability and people skills are what ultimately sustain the contract their employers have bagged. â€Å"Planning is necessary but execution is also equally important.And it takes soft skills to execute any idea because it involves dealing with people directly,†Ã‚  says Gadewar. 6 soft skills for every hard-nosed professional Behavioural training experts say there are several soft skills are required in these circumstances. Some of them  include: i. Interpersonal skills ii. Team spirit iii. Social grace iv. Business etiquette v. Negotiation skills vi. Behavioural traits such as attitude, motivation and time management Do you have these? If your answer is yes, good for you. But if your answer is no, then you know it is time to approach either a  training organisation or a training  consultant.Will formal training enhance your soft skills? There is a lot of argument in the industry as to whether it is possible to enhance soft skills in a few hours of training, especially when one considers the fact that  a person has lived with those traits all his life. To this, the answer is harsh but real — a professional who wants to do well in his/ her career does not really have a choice. In the initial years of your career, your  technical abilities are important to get good assignments. However, when it comes to growing in an organisation, it is your  personality that matters, more so in large organisations where several people with imilar technical expertise will compete for a promotion. Training on soft skills becomes all the more relevant in a country like India where the education system does not delve into personality development. â€Å"Soft skills training is essential because we do not have it in our academic curricula. Therefore, corporate houses have to take up the task of grooming employees who are the link between the company and the external world, so that they are able to present themselves better, † says Sumeet Mehta, an equity research analyst with Fortis Securities Ltd.Be your own trainer! While organisations are definitely investing in augmenting their staff's people skills, here are some inputs for professionals and students who would like to initiate the process themselves: i. Be a part of team activities It could be  either as a part of your church choir, or an NGO, or your local youth circle. Observe your own behaviour in the group and how you relate to others. ii. Ask  family members or close friends to write down your best and worst traits. Ideally, have at least four to five people do this for you.Evaluate the common traits all of them have mentioned. Thus, you can be aware of your strengths and work improvin g your weaknesses. iii. How well do you manage your time? Think. Can you do more in life? Or is your day too crammed with activities? Effective time management is very essential in the corporate world. iv. Introspect on how you react to feedback. In organisations, people skills mostly come into the picture when there is feedback given — be it for an idea, an executed project or a presentation. You are judged by the way you respond to feedback.Do you get defensive? Do you insist you were right? Do you meekly accept criticism? Remember, people tend to be judged and stereotyped according to their responses. You will, too. v. How good are you at critiquing? While responding to feedback is one side of the coin, giving feedback is the other side. Are you aggressive? Pessimistic? Do you believe in constructive criticism? Or prefer to be the yes-man? vi. Live consciously Any organisation is manned by people, therefore soft skills are all about how you deal with people and present you rself.Though it may be easier said than done, soft skills can be enhanced simply by being aware of oneself and living consciously. Rukmini Iyer is a corporate trainer and instructional designer. She  writes regularly on business etiquette, communication, language enhancement  and grooming. Definition soft skills Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job performance and career prospects. Unlike hard skills, which are about a person's skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity, soft skills are interpersonal and broadly applicable.Soft skills are often described by using terms often associated with personality traits, such as: * optimism * common sense * responsibility * a sense of humor * integrity and abilities that can be practiced (but require the individual to genuinely like other people) such as: * empathy * teamwork * leadership * communication * good manners * negotiation * sociability * the ability to teach. It's often said that hard skills will get you an interview but you need soft skills to get (and keep) the job. Definition Emotional intelligence (EI) is the area of cognitive ability involving traits nd social skills that facilitate interpersonal behavior. Intelligence can be broadly defined as the capacity for goal-oriented adaptive behavior; emotional intelligence focuses on the aspects of intelligence that govern self-knowledge and social adaptation. The term first appeared in 1985, in Wayne Payne's doctoral thesis, A study of emotion: Developing emotional intelligence. Payne's thesis centered on the idea that society's historical repression of emotion is the source of wide-scale problems such as addiction, depression, illness, religious conflict, violence and war.Daniel Goleman, a psychologist and behavioral science journalist, later popularized the term and developed related concepts in his influential book, Emotional Intelligence (1995). In Working with Emotional Intelligence (1998), Goleman explored the function of EI on the job. According to Goleman, emotional intelligence is the largest single predictor of success in the workplace. Goleman and others have developed the concept of a testable EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) counterpart to the IQ (intelligence quotient).In contrast to the focus on academically-oriented skills, such as mathematical ability, that are evaluated in an IQ test, an EQ test focuses more on the individual's capacity to deal effectively with others. To that end, it evaluates traits and abilities such as self-awareness and empathy, which are sometimes referred to as soft skills. Goleman describes emotional intelligence as â€Å"managing feelings so that they are expressed appropriately and effectively, enabling people to work together smoothly toward their common goals. † According to Goleman, the four major skills that make up emotional intelligence are: * Self-Awareness Self-Management * Social Awareness * Relations hip Management. The Importance of Soft skills When it comes to skills in employment, the first line of emphasis is typically towards abilities, training and knowledge of specific skill sets. These are referred to as hard skills. Soft skills are often overlooked, but they also play an important role in day-to-day operations. Small business owners should place equal importance on hard and soft skills during the hiring process for new employees. In addition, current employees should be encouraged to develop soft skills if they are lacking in this area. Drive/Work EthicThis is a difficult skill to quantify, but employees will typically either display a strong work ethic and the drive to complete tasks, or they won't. While a work ethic is largely an innate skill, it can be learned with proper training and motivation. Some employees may be able to develop a stronger work ethic with incentive based pay or monetary rewards such as bonuses if they reach a certain goal. Communication Skills Communication skills are the most important soft skills for an employee. The ability to communicate through the spoken and written word is a necessity in nearly every industry and in every workplace.Communication skills can be learned and improved with the right training. It may take time for employees to learn effective communication skills, particularly if they have a naturally shy disposition. In this case, a course on public speaking can work wonders. The techniques learned by speaking to a large crowd can be adapted for daily communications and these lessons are typically good confidence builders for employees. Teamwork The ability to work well within a team is another important soft skill. Some employees may naturally feel comfortable working within a group, while others may have problems and prefer to work alone.It is necessary to spot these personality types ahead of time for proper group formation. Every team should have a diverse set of personalities that mesh together as a cohesive whole. Team building exercises can be very beneficial in helping employees develop this skill. Decision Making and Problem Solving Being able to make quick decisions, think on their feet, and solve simple problems are important employee traits. Even simple problems such as a copier being out of toner can grind an office to a halt if no one displays these simple skills.At least one employee needs to have the ability to take charge of a situation and guide the others through if they have difficulty. The employees who display these decision making skills are often excellent candidates for promotion to management level. Importance of Soft Skills in Our Life Most of us feel that if we have good technical knowledge & skills we will achieve success. Hence; not many try to learn soft skills. This presentation brings out the importance of soft skills in our life. It shows that without soft skills, it will be difficult for us to achieve progress & be successful

Organisation Communication Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organisation Communication Case Study - Essay Example The noise can be present in the process because of the sender, mediums of communication or receiver. Noise exists in the communication process if sender of the communication is unable to explain his message properly, if the wrong medium of communication is received and if receiver of communication is unable to trust the intentions of the sender of the message. However, after examining the case, we can see that the reason why noise exists in the communication process is because of problems with all three members of the communication process i.e sender, medium and receivers of the communication process. The noise in the process exists because of the sender. It can be seen from his email that Jeff Butler uses very small messages. He does not elaborate on them. This leads to different people interpreting the message different and sometimes because of this there’s a gulf between what the sender of the communication is trying to say and what is being taken by the receiver of the mes sage. This has lead to great noise in the communication process. ... Hence, the message will lose its importance and will be taken differently by people. It may lose its meaning and may be take for what the sender does not actually want to say in this message. The second reason why noise exists in the communication process is because of the wrong channel of communication received. Jeff Butler has been interfering in the organization policy and announcing decisions on his own. This is extremely concerning for the people working in the organization. Since people expect information to reach them via proper channel and therefore Jeff Butler’s announcing the organization’s policy on his own will be disturbing for the people working in the organization. It was not a right decision for Jeff Butler to announce that the organization will soon be migrating from Lotus to Microsoft Exchange. A good channel to announce this new would have been Senior Vice-President or the President announcing the organization policy. This lead to job dissatisfaction and a few people left the organization on hearing this from Jeff Butler who was younger than them in terms of organizational experience. This can be seen in the following message: I know that I am forever the â€Å"thorn in your side† about terminology and data/technical design, but that is my â€Å"calling† †¦ So, with that in mind, here goes †¦ We should not look to Lotus Notes applications as we go forward as sources of data; they are not databases †¦ That is, we need to keep in mind that the data in Lotus Notes should not belong to Lotus Notes. As we continue to deploy the intranet/internet/extranet publishing paradigm, we need to look at the data that is published via Web technology, as derived from a true database standpoint †¦

Impact of Telephone Technology on Society Research Paper

Impact of Telephone Technology on Society - Research Paper Example Specifically, the upsurge in 3G connections, sustained by the production of the current data-enabled devices which permit mobile internet connectivity, caused a huge growth in mobile data use. Currently, an examination of the economic influence of this technological transformation has been restricted by data availability. However, Van (2012) used VNI Index data of Cisco for 14 nations to investigate this concern and he found a strong relationship existed between economic growth and mobile data usage per 3G connection. Van also asserts that doubling the use of mobile data causes the GDP per capita to increase by 0.5 percentage points. Although the effects of telephone have fully been realized in developed markets, telephone technology continues to offer strongly assist developing markets. Issa, Isaias & Kommers (2013) who measured the influence of ‘simple’ telephone penetration on Total Factor Productivity of a nation – a parameter of economic productivity which al ways reflects the technological dynamism of an economy – found out that an increase of 10% in telephone penetration upsurges Total Factor Productivity by 4.2% in long run. Telephone technologies add considerably to GDP growth. It is projected that the technology will occasion a 1.8% GDP growth in UK and 24.9% GDP growth in Egypt across 2010-2020. Again, Issa, Isaias & Kommers (2013) claim that the impact will be great in developing nations. They claim that the impact of increasing phone subscriptions, across 10 nations.

Compensation and Benefits of banks at Canada Research Paper

Compensation and Benefits of banks at Canada - Research Paper Example Scotia Bank follows a systematic recruitment program to get the best workers within the Canadian job market. The HR policies and procedures are followed strictly when procuring candidates for positions within the bank. A job evaluation exercise is initially carried out by the HR department for any vacant post that arises, which is subsequently followed by an advertisement process. The bank believes in grooming its employees to take up positions in the bank as they arise (Carmona, 2009). Therefore, it means that a suitable candidate will first be sourced from within the bank and its subsidiaries. Upon issuing an internal advertisement within the bank, internal staff members are allowed to apply, subject to a rigorous interview process aimed at finding a suitable candidate. Therefore, for staff members already with the bank, there are added chances for securing positions in better departments, if qualifications warrant so. Failure to find a prospective candidate within a stipulated per iod prompts the HR department to advertise externally, with local media and other public media outlets (Scotiabank, 2015). The process is carried out just like any other recruitment process.HSBC Canada is a subsidiary of the larger HSBC Bank Plc., which is one of the biggest banks in the world regarding assets and market capitalization. Therefore, HSBC Canada compensation and benefits system is a replica of the bigger bank headquartered in London. The methodology applied by the bank in rewarding its employees.

Successful Conflict Resolution for Divorced Couples Essay

Successful Conflict Resolution for Divorced Couples - Essay Example At other times, people appear to have rushed into a marriage without properly understanding each other and knowing all the aspects of their spouse's personality. In such a scenario, marriage turns out to be a shock when one comes across the true nature of one's life partner. There is no dearth of cases when the couples tend to have different relational expectations and thus end up having a divorce. However, once a divorce is finalized, the problem does not end here only. The post divorce scenario gives ways to a plethora of conflicts and issues between the couples. The divorce process in itself tends to be a very stressful and trying situation for the involved couples. The entire procedures involves settling and deciding upon a whole range of vital issues like splitting the finances and assets, deciding as to whether the couple intends to go fore a divorce by mutual consent or intends to contest, and above all parenting and kids. Unless both the parties tend to cooperate and resolve their disputes with ample patience and caution, the divorce procedure and the post divorce situation could end up getting real nasty and miserable (Sherman, 2000). Under such circumstances, apt and effective interpersonal communication could play a pivotal role in a successful conflict resolution between the divorced couples. Interpersonal Interpersonal communication stands to be the interactive process that takes place between the two people and this interaction may tend to be face-to-face or may perhaps be mediated by a third party. Apt and conducive interpersonal communications not only plays a central role in most of the successful marriages, but it could also go a long way in settling disputes between the aggrieved couples in a post divorce scenario. Still, the irony is that in most of the divorces, shoddy interpersonal communication tends to be one of the, if not the sole responsible factor. Therefore, how can one expect the divorced couples to negotiate amicably in a post divorce scenarioDivorce can be really less painful if the divorced couples tend to be cognizant of some fundamentals of interpersonal communication. The basic thing to be understood by the divorced spouses is that they simply cannot escape the requisite interpersonal communication, even if they are divorced (King, 2000). Hence, a willingness to communicate tactfully with one's ex could go a long way in settling the post divorce issues, reasonably and amicably. The second thing that the divorced couples must accept is that interpersonal communication is always complex, especially in a divorce scenario (King, 2000). In addition, interpersonal communication always happens to be irreversible (King, 2000). One simply cannot rescind a message, once it is conveyed. Therefore, communication between divorced couples requires patience and a capacity to listen to each other. Above all, interpersonal communications always takes place in a context and never happens in

Judaism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Judaism - Research Paper Example This paper analyses Judaism and its comparison with Christianity. Moreover, Holidays concerning Judaism, Traditions of Judaism, How Judaism shapes ones life, Most of the beliefs and traditions of Christians and Jews are one and the same. In fact both of them accept the existence of same God and believe in prophets up to Moses. Judaism is based on the teachings of Moses whereas Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jews believe that the Messiah has not come yet and Jesus Christ was only an ordinary person; not the Messiah offered by the God. Christians and Jews have more common elements in their beliefs and customs, but they strongly disagree on the issue of accepting Jesus Christ as the son of God or Messiah. Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God, the Messiah promised by the God and human can attain salvation only through the belief in Jesus Christ. But Jews believe that the Messiah is yet to come and Jesus Christ was not the one offered by the God. The main difference between the beliefs of Jews and Christians lie on the issue of Jesus Christ. As per the Jews beliefs, Messiah should have certain peculiarities other than ordinary people. Jews don’t have any beliefs in the miracles performed by Jesus Christ. They believed that the miracles performed by Jesus were with the help of magical powers rather than any godly power. They argue that the offered Messiah will come as a natural person using the natural means of birth. Moreover Jews thought that the coming Messiah will do something to bring back all the Jews back to the offered land ‘Canaan’. Jews thought that the coming Messiah will definitely build one more temple where as the Jesus has not even attempt to make any temple. (The Good News Bible, Ezekiel 37:26-28) â€Å"Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations and Jewish belief is based on national revelation† (Rabbi Simmons) Jews, not even consider Jesus as a prophet and they

Material Science - conclusion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Material Science - conclusion - Assignment Example he two is inversely proportional, which means that if the tempering temperature increases, the hardness decreases, and when the temperature decreases, the hardness increases. The lower the presence of carbon in the alloy, the lower the grade of the carbon steel is, thus, the softer the metal is. Whereas, the higher the presence of carbon content, the higher the grade, and the stronger the carbon steel is. Another issue is the machinability per se of the metal. As it enters the high machining zone, it could potentially lead to poor surface quality. In order to improve the process of machining, the involvement of heating, cooling, and mechanical vibrations should be integrated into the external energy assisted machining. The future trend should be of perfecting the machining process of metals instead of the use of external energy assisted machining per se. Moreover, considering the applications where Carbon steel is commonly used, it is important that it should be heated and machined

Born Global and Gradual Internationalization Essay Example for Free

Born Global and Gradual Internationalization Essay In traditional models, firm internationalization is seen as a gradual process of capability build-up by which firms slowly accumulate the resources necessary to face foreign market uncertainty (Eriksson, Johanson, Majkgard, Sharma, 1997). These models assume that firms grow in their domestic markets before they start to export extensively. This is supposedly so because there is a learning process involved in facing unknown markets, and such a process requires knowledge and resources to face and overcome uncertain outcomes and costly investments. Knowledge and resources are progressively acquired through experience, first in known domestic markets and then in larger foreign markets (for a review see Leonidou Katsikeas, 1996). Much literature has documented this liability of foreignness, or the cost faced by firms that operate abroad, and the need for companies to create capabilities in foreign markets (Mezias, 2002; Zaheer, 1995; Zaheer Mosakowski, 1997). Conventional models of internationalization have drawn criticism (Andersen, 1993; McDougall, Shane, Oviatt, 1994; Turnbull, 1987). There is empirical evidence that shows the existence of small, young firms, endowed with very limited resources, which begin to export immediately after their foundation. For instance, Moen and Servais (2002) reported, for a sample of Norwegian, French, and Danish firms, the existence of many companies exporting a large share of their total sales shortly after their establishment. Such empirical evidence suggests that the Uppsala model is not the only possible way to describe the firm internationalization processes. Turnbull (1987) criticizes the determinism inherent in stage-based models, and argues against the notion that all firms, regardless of industry type, country context, or other variables, must inevitably follow a fixed route to become international. Other authors (Chadee Mattsson, 1998; Erramilli Rao, 1993; OFarrell, Wood, Zheng, 1998) contend that the internationalization process is not equally complex and costly in all industries. In industries where trade barriers, fixed investment, and transportation costs are low, such as services, internationalization may be less costly in terms of monetary and organizational resources. The born global argument essentially states that firm internationalization does not have to go through the progressive accumulation of resources and capabilities. It posits that firms can start exporting from the moment they are created, and it asserts that firms are capable of penetrating markets that are far away, both geographically or â€Å"psychically† (on account of their different cultural and language traits), despite having limited resources and little accumulated organizational learning. The definition of a born-global firm was coined by McKinsey Co.in a report that analyzed a sample of Australian exporting firms (McKinsey Co. , 1993). It was used to describe firms that, apparently, had undergone faster processes of internationalization than would have been expected for firms of similar size, age, and nature. It was thus proposed that these firms were born globals. Cavusgil (1994), and also Knight and Cavusgil (1996), elaborated McKinsey Co. s empirical observation to argue against traditional models of internationalization. Cavusgil (1994: 18) went as far as to state that â€Å"gradual internationalization is dead. † These claims sparked an academic debate revolving around different theories of internationalization. Since then several authors (Collis, 1991; Knight Cavusgil, 2004; Madsen Servais, 1997; McDougall et al. , 1994; Oviatt McDougall, 1994) have attempted to provide a theoretical foundation for these empirical observations. The theory has focused on establishing the antecedents of such firm behavior. One research stream argues that the born global phenomenon will be most prevalent in knowledge-intensive firms, such as those that make software or information technology products. Once created, many knowledge-intensive products, such as software, can be replicated at low marginal cost. Amongst the 25% Born Global firms in Australia who achieved 76% of their sales through exports, several are high-tech firms, but the typical firm uses well-known technology. Because of this, it is argued that small knowledge-intensive firms can bypass the home market and target foreign markets, or enter domestic and international markets simultaneously (Bell, 1995; Bell, McNaughton, Young Crick, 2003; Boter Holmquist, 1996). Autio, Sapienza, and Almeida (2000) found that firm knowledge-intensity was positively correlated to international sales growth, and several studies (Bell, 1995; Boter Holmquist, 1996; Coviello, 1994) have documented the tendency for firms in knowledge-intensive sectors to internationalize rapidly. According to cavusgil, born global companies which normally compete in niche markets are very flexible and move fast. They are successful due to: 1. Skill to satisfy customized or specialised product requests from customers. 2. Advances in communication technology and let their managers work across boundaries and their response time is shorter and are very flexible and adaptable. A proposition often made is that the home market has little importance for the born-global firm, to the point of conjecturing that a small local demand might drive the firms efforts to seek opportunities abroad. Bell et al. (2003: 341), for instance, argue: â€Å"This behavior is particularly prevalent among firms operating in small open economies and in emerging nations, where domestic demand may be limited. † For example, Denmark is a very small market and firms are left with no other option but go to different markets to increase their sales and hence as a result there are many Born Global firms in Denmark. Approximately 39% of the firms in Denmark are born global. Most of the firms are extremely active exporters with exports accounting for almost 70% of their sales. Previous international experience of founders and employees has also been proposed as playing a mediating role in early internationalization (Bengtsson, 2004). Such experience enhances the firms ability to learn and, consequently, to internationalize rapidly. Some authors argue that the new firms knowledge and accumulated experience amount, in the end, to the entrepreneurs own knowledge about other markets (Knight Cavusgil, 2004). Madsen and Servais (1997) posit that differences between traditional exporters and born-global firms can be attributed largely to differences in their founders backgrounds. The founders international experience may affect the extent to which psychic distance from strategic markets is perceived to be an obstacle to internationalization. It is plausible that entrepreneurs with international experience have a well-developed network of contacts that allows them to internationalize earlier (Contractor, Hsu, Kundu, 2005; Kundu Katz, 2003). In the past 2 years several scholarly studies have focused on the network dynamics of international new ventures (Coviello, 2006; Mathews Zander, 2007; Mudambi Zahra, 2007; Zhou, Wu, Luo, 2007). To summarize, it appears that many theoretical and empirical considerations support the existence of born-global firms. This notwithstanding, extant theoretical developments and empirical studies are far from proving that â€Å"gradual internationalization is dead† (Cavusgil, 1994). The born-global literature is still lacking a precise definition of what a born-global firm is, and some existing definitions are tautological. Moen (2002) asserts, for instance, that â€Å"although firms that follow this incremental development pattern may still exist, the normal pattern may be different in the new millennium. † His assertion is supported by the fact that between 30 and 40% of the exporting firms in his sample of Norwegian and French firms were exporting within 2 years of their creation. The fact that 60–70% of firms in the sample were not exporting within those 2 years seems to be absent from the discussion. It also appears that the born-global argument can be made empirically stronger by simply changing the time span to first export required for a firm to be considered born global and also what percentage of sales should exports account for. Inconsistency in definition criteria makes it difficult to compare the born-global phenomenon across different studies. Another important thing in deciding whether a firm is truly global is to consider the Psychic distance I. e. ; the difference in culture, language and trade agreements between the firms country and the country to which it exports. For example, in Costa Rica many firms established a very dynamic trade with nearby countries. These countries – regional neighbours such as Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras – are close to Costa Rica in terms of cultural traits and business practices. Few firms, however, exported upon birth to the more challenging strategic markets, such as the US and Europe, which have very different business and cultural practices. The majority of firms that were classified as â€Å"born global† firms, turned out to actually be â€Å"born regional. † This means that although they started exporting very early in their lives, and continued exporting a fairly large share of their sales, much of these exports were aimed at regional neighbouring countries. There was only one firm, whose current exports account for 81% of total sales, that started exporting, right from its inception, to the most strategic market: the United States. This firm can be said to be a true â€Å"born global† firm, because it started out with more than half of its customers in a foreign country located far in terms of psychic distance. The existence of born-global firms contradicts much evidence that has shown the predominantly regional focus of the international activities of multinational enterprises (Rugman Brain, 2003). In the absence of country-specific advantages, one should expect a strong firm-resource endowment in order for firms to expand abroad successfully (Rugman Verbeke, 2005). Finally, the born-global conjecture lacks empirical support from firms that start operating in small developing countries. Developing countries could prove a suitable litmus test for the born-global hypothesis. This is so because the internal markets of developing countries are small. Hence, according to these theories, firms must look to larger, foreign, markets in order to grow, and therefore firms that operate in small developing countries should have strong incentives to internationalize early. Gradual internationalization is a concept that is still very relevant depending on the industry of the firm and size of the market. If a firm is in a Industry where it takes time to learn and an Industry that requires huge investment and is based in very big market it will adopt the Gradual internationalization model.

Imperialism and socialism in the context of Africa Essay Example for Free

Imperialism and socialism in the context of Africa Essay Cecil Rhodes Social Darwinism advocate states, â€Å"I contend that we are the finest race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit the better†¦Ã¢â‚¬  King Leopold of Belgium, To open to civilization the only part of the globe where it has yet to penetrate †¦is, I dare to say, a crusade worthy of this century of progress. From the above assertions, it is prudent to note that, colonial powers thought Africa to be devoid of an organization in social, political and economic perspective and therefore they wanted to make Africa, England. In that thought of naivety of the Africans, there were societal structures and organizations which British did not care to observe. However, it was not going to be easy as where two or three cultures interact a clash is inevitable. Although Africa was not a plain or bear continent, Africans had their way of life, structure of government, religion, economic activities, education, systems of marriage and development plans for their societies, nevertheless the British brought their systems which conflicted with Africans established way of life, this was because the British, as many other European powers were economically depressed and Africa appeared to be the only way out. The British wanted to pass the three C’s; Commerce, that is to make money through the acquisition of free labor form Africans, raw materials for their industries as industrial revolution back in Britain was rapidly taking place, a market for their surplus production; Christianity to save Africans.Explorers such as David Livingstone, Vasco Da Gama, Portuguese Diego Cam and Arabs with Muslim faith had missionary zeal. The last C is for Civilization, they wanted to civilize Africans in terms of education, culture and many other aspects. Thu s, to a larger extent, the activities of British heartened conflicts. African traditional religion is rooted in the African culture, it was difficult for Christianity to penetrate through. Portuguese tried in the fifteen century and failed. For Christianity to take the course the Africans had to abandon their culture which was hard so to say. The Missionaries in the nineteenth century, however, came up with an elaborate plan for them to spread Christianity. They introduced through religion, education and health centers which contradicted informal learning and the institution of medicine men. Africans gradually began to embrace Whiteman’s way of life but not without several clashes. These battles are seen in various forms such as spiritual, doctrinal, cultural and practical. The African religion has been given several definitions by different scholars, for instance, Mbiti has elaborated aspects of African religion. In his book African Traditional Religion, Mbiti (1991) African religion is very pragmatic and realistic (p2), he explains that it is applied in circumstances where the need arises. In addition, he states that religion is rooted in the local language, so to comprehend the religious life of an African society one has to understand the local dialect. He further affirms, â€Å"To be an African in the traditional setup is to be truly religious.† (p30) He states that the religion can be seen in five aspects of culture; beliefs, practices, ceremonies and festivals, religious objects and places, values, and morals and religious officials and leaders. He defines African religion as: â€Å"The product of the thinking and experiences of our forefathers and mothers that is men and women of their generations. They formed religious ideas, they observed religious ceremonies and rituals, they told proverbs and myths which safeguarded the life of individual and his community.(pp 13-14) Mbiti notes that African religion has no scriptures as compared to Christianity and other religions, it is written in peoples history, hearts and experiences of the people.(p14) Awolalu in his book Sin and its Removal in the African Traditional Religion defines African religion as â€Å"†¦largely written in the peoples myth and folktales, in their songs and dances, in their liturgies and shrines and in their proverbs and pithy sayings. It is a religion whose historical founder is neither known nor worshipped; it is a religion that has no zeal for the membership drive, yet it offers persistent fascination for Africans, young and old. The African traditional religion was not homogeneous as the communities had different ethnic background thus the religious practices such rituals varied one community to the other. It is worth noting that it was oral, not scripted or written and was passed from one generation to the other by word of mouth, as I earlier alluded in the definitions of religion. Within their organized societal structures, Africans believed in supernatural beings together with ancestral spirits. The ancestral spirits were believed to link the li ving societal members to the gods. Therefore, the African traditional religion was and still is interweaved to the African culture. From the above insights, one cannot talk about African religion without African values as they are intertwined and inseparable. African religion was embedded in moral values or codes or standards which were believed to originate from God through the ancestral spirits, these values when observed one would be rewarded with maybe good harvest from their cultivation of land or increased number of the flock of cattle. When these values have violated the culprits were reprimanded. The concept of values is a vital point as one talks of the African religion. For that reason, African religion is drawn from the African values and Culture. African Culture was the source of law through the moral codes and values passed from generation to generation. From the above description, we can see that law or rules of conduct were embedded in religion and that African religion was interweaved in the African culture. Local dialect was the medium through which African culture and religion were propagated. The African religion had some institutions as Mbiti points out in the aspects of African religion, who presided over religious functions, these institutions were believed to communicate directly to ancestral spirits (living dead) who in turn would communicate to the gods and grievances of the living societal members would be heard. In the Kenyan context, these institutions include Orkoyot of the Nandi, Oloibon of the Maasai, Seers, Diviners, and Rainmakers depending on the ethnic communities which they came from. These institutions apart from the veneration of the ancestors, they blessed warrior before going for war, advised the political leaders, offered sacrifice to god and conducted rituals for the culprits who violated moral values in the community. The gods had some specific names for instance, in Kenyan context, we had Enkai for the Maasai, Encore for the Abagusii, Mulungu for Akamba, Asis the Nandi, Ngai for the Agikuyu and Nyasaye for the Luo. There were specific worship plac es which were regarded as holy, this places included shrines, mountaintops some special trees such as mugumo, hills, and some caves. The diversity of the names given to gods and places of worship, show the lack of uniformity in the African Religion. Consequently, Africans were of different ethnic background and had their own religion, gods, and religion as a community. The clashes can be seen in the five aspects as earlier alluded in Mbiti’s work that is beliefs, practices, ceremonies, festivals, religious objects and places, values, and morals, religious officials and leaders. These aspects of African religion differ from those of Christianity. The Africans believed that their religion was sourced from god, who they believed long before their ancestors’ existence. The British Missionaries conflict with Africans by telling them about the existence of a God who had a son and lived among them many years ago. The religion of British was written (Bible) thus one had to have the ability to read and write in order to understand it, whereas that of African was passed from generation to generation by oral tradition. There is an introduction of a new system of identifying the origin of religion which conflicts with the African system. Language is also conflicted as Africans could not comprehend English, hence missionaries such as Ludwig Krapf translated the Bible into the local dialect. The Africans revered in special caves, Mountaintops, hills, Forests, Special trees (mugumo) and shrines. The British tell Africans that they should worship God places called Churches. This encounter shows that there is a bit of clashing as the African places were very clearly defined and preserved by the community members. The British also seized African land to construct churches or chapels, Africans, as a result, became very hostile as they had distinct worship places which occurred naturally. They believed that their land was in cultivation and a gift from their gods. The Africans practiced their religion by reverence to their ancestors, offering human and animal sacrifices and invoking the ancestral spirits, for instance, the Umira Kager clan believed in spirits in the S.M Otieno case. They offered sacrifices in order to get favors in terms of harvest. The African worship was communal that is, all community members used to convene to pray for rain and ask for the wellness of the community. The British religion had an aspect of confession of one`s sins before worship, repentance, and forgiveness of sin are granted. This aspect of forgiveness of sins lacks in the traditional African religion, one had to be punished for wrongdoing. British missionary religion brings out an aspect of offerings in terms of money and tithe which is ten percent of one`s total earnings. The British advocated for human rights and therefore disregarded and condemned human sacrifices. In African religion, worship was led by Diviners, Rainmakers, and Seers who were considered righteous. The work of religious leaders was taught through apprecentiship and was hereditary from specific clans in the community. There were certain clans from whom diviners would descend. They were highly respected in the community. The British Christian religious leaders attend school to be trained mainly in theology. They study formalities of worship and nature of God. Any member of Christian family can become a religious leader although there are some myths which say one has to be ‘called by God. A Christian leader has to have the ability to read and write so as to pass the scriptures to his congregation. African traditional religion was diverse from one ethnic community to the other due to the linguistic differences, migration patterns and origin. Christianity is introduced as a homogeneous religion as the author of it is Jesus Christ, a common ancestry and reference point for all Christians. The diversity of worship is dismantled by the British introduction of this even religion. Africans were notoriously religious as it was found in each group. Africans who lived as per the traditional way of life were regarded as very religious.it is also worth acknowledging that Africans are at crossroads due to the fact that religion is embedded in the African culture and language. It is thus difficult for Africans to fully be committed to Christianity as being fully whole-hearted means they will have to abandon some of the partaking of African culture and indigenous dialect by embracing the Whiteman’s language and culture. This has already happened as some dedicated African Christians according to Quarcoopome (1987), refer to traditional religion as paganism, fetish, and animism. References. Awolalo, JO, Sin and Its Removal from the African Traditional Religion (1976) History and Government Form One to Four, KLB Fourth Edition. The People of Kenya Up to the 19th Century Kwasi W, Towards Decolonizing African Religion and Philosophy, African Studies (1998) Quarterly volume 1 Issue 4. Ojwang’ JB and Mugambi JNK (eds), The SM Otieno case, Death and Burial in Modern Kenya, (1989) Nairobi University press Mbiti, JS, African Religion and Philosophy, Oxford, England, (1999) Heinemann Educational Publishers. Mbiti, JS, Introduction to African Religion Oxford, England, (1991) Heinemann Educational Publishers. Uchenna O, African Crossroads: Conflict between African Traditional Religion and Christianity, (2008) The International Journal of Humanities vol 6 No. 2 Quarcoopome, TNO, West African traditional religion. Ibadan, Nigeria: (1987) African Universities Press. NAME: MUNYALO, DANIEL MUTHENGI REG.NO: G34/102614/2017 COURSE: GPR 100 LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING CONVENER: DR. NKATHA KABIRA â€Å"The encounter between the British and Africans was a case of two worlds colliding.† Discuss†¦

Unite Habitation Marseilles By Le Corbusier

Unite Habitation Marseilles By Le Corbusier Unità © DHabitation Marseilles by Le Corbusier was actually the starting point of all basic theories regarding town planning and dwellings that we have today. The giant, twelve-storey apartment block can fit 1 600 people is cast to solve a severe post Second World War housing shortage. It is specially build up to human scale and also emphasize the beauty of using bare concrete (J.R Curtis, 1996). Le Corbusier compare the bare concrete of the Unità © to human skin, which shows it age and character it flaws.which. The building is situated on a nine acre site on the outskirts of Marseille, has an east-west orientation. It is 450 feet long, 80 feet wide and 185 high (Birkhauser, 1995). The apartments, all built on two levels, are conceived as individual bottlerack. The northern faà §ade is empty, while the other facades are filled by the glass walls and sunbreak loggias of the living area (Choay F, 1960). The design of this Unità © is according to solar shading, ventilation, and also passive heating due to the position of the faà §ade. Unità © DHabitation Marseilles consists of 377 different apartments. It includes 23 discrete types of apartments ranging for single occupants as well for big families (Choay F,1960). Basically, the structure of this building is simple; a rectilinear building which has different precast individual units slotted into it. Le Corbusier intends to make it that way, so it looks like bottles into a wine rack; because that is how he derives the idea of this Unità © DHabitation. 15 measures of the Modulor are also used to dimension the Unità © (Birkhauser, 1995). Right after the Second World War, as what had been expected from the static surrounding of the France government, Le Corbusiers promotion of his urban dwelling proposals were quite complex to be realized due to some of the political issues that is happening by that time. (Choay F, 1960). However, Le Corbusiers resolution to this historical conflict of individuals and collective was the Unità © DHabitation. This so called vertical garden city of the Unità © DHabitation assured that this Unità © can bring phenomenal changes to the whole situation of the post-war. Le Corbusier classified this unit as the extended dwelling, due to the services and facilities provided to the individual home through collective (Choay F, 1960). To intensify the idea of Unità © DHabitation as a collective housing prototype, he eventually filled it with with various professional offices, shops and services. These apartments are made distinctive to each other by having twos and overlap head to foot along the inside corridors named interior streets. These streets were placed on every two floors giving passage to apartments that is paired at the level of the living room (in the lower apartments). Le Corbusier also deliberated all the corridors as instruments of the collective. He even made these interior streets in his urban theory as the sixth in a hierarchy of seven ways of urban circulation (Choay F, 1960). Besides that, level 7 and 8 of the Unità © was bringing together commercial stores such as food, apparel, pharmacy and even hairdresser. On the other hand which is the 18th level, the terrace roof was accommodating with a number of facilities for collective use: day nursery, kindergarten, gymnasium for adults, open-air theater and even a 300 meter race track (J.R Curtis, 1996). THE ARCHITECT, LE CORBUSIER Biography and Influences Le Corbusiers real name is Charles-Edouard Jeanneret. He was born on 6 October 1887 in La Chaux-de-Fonds Switzerlands. He was the second son of Georges-Edouard Jeanneret, a dial-painter in watch industry and and Madame Marie-Charlotte-Amelie Jeanneret-Perret, a musician and piano teacher (Deborah G, 2006). His familys Calvanism, very enthusiastic for the Jura Mountains, love the arts and Charles LEplattenier, a teacher at a local art school were all formative influences on the young Le Corbusier. In particular, LEplattenier played important roles in his artistic development were also very active in searching for a new kind of aesthetics, that could represent the Jura Landscape and could be used by local craft industry. Le Corbusier became an apprentice to a watch engraver; however he had to give it up later on due to his poor eyesight. He began to study decorative art with an aim to become a painter but he also studied architecture on the advice of LEplattenier whom he called My Mast er (Deborah G, 2006). Le Corbusier travelled to many countries as a way to improve himself. After completing his first house, Villa Pallet, in 1907, in 1908 to 1912, he had travelled to Vienna, Paris, Munich, Italy, Eastern Europe and also Acropolis. Due to travelling, he became more familiar with the latest architectural movements such as the structural rationalism of Auguste Perret, a pioneer of reinforced concrete construction, and the Werkbund perspective of Peter Behrens which were total different from the LEplatteniers theories (Deborah G, 2006). He went back to La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1912 and started to teach along with LEplattenier and started his own independent architectural studio. Before the First World War, Le Corbusier spent few months in Germany where he is still frequented Behrens studio and by that time he is acquainted with the Werkbund. However, the war intteruptes his career and he spent for years as a teacher at his old school in La-Chaux-de-Fonds (Deborah G, 2006). During the war, Le Corbusier conducted a research on the Modulor, a rule of proportion that is based on quadrature and Golden Section to measure the human body. Later in Unite DHabitation, he applied the Modulor system and extended it to both large and small dimensions. This was a great tradition as a continuation to the Renaissance anthropometries, to Vitruvius and even Pythagoras (Deborah G, 2006). Immediately after the war, Le Corbusier returned to Paris. He met Amà ©dà ©e Ozenfant, a Cubist painter and both of them together publish their manifesto, Aprà ¨s le cubisme and established a new artistic movement, Purism, which is called for the restoration of the integrity of the object in art in 1918 (Choay F, 1960). They also published a journal named LEspirit Nouveau. Le Corbusier piled up essays from the journal in a book Vers Une Architecture. In the essays, he came up with a proposal that architecture by that time should satisfy both the demands from the industry and the perpetual architectural form as defined in antiquity (Deborah G, 2006). Influenced by problems that he saw in industrial cities at the turning of the century which is between the 19th and 20th century, Le Corbusier eventually become the pioneer of the modernist movement. He planned and thought of a way to create a better society and living conditions by creating a new housing concept since industrial housing techniques led to overcrowding, dirty and lack of moral landscape. By that time, he was also heavily influenced by Ebenezer Howards Garden Cities of Tomorrow (Birkhauser, 1995). In 1922, Le Corbusier and his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret formed an architect partnership. They placed their office in the corridor of a former Jesuit Monastery at 35, Rue de Sevres. It eventually remained forever as Le Corbusiers office for the rest of his life. Le Corbusier died while swimming in the Mediterranean due to heart attack (Choay F, 1960). LE CORBUSIER Le Corbusiers Philosophy Impact Modulor System Le Corbusier was famous for his use of mathematics in his architecture. By that, he eventually develops a system called Modulor System which is a rule of proportion that pertains the geometric proportion of Quadrature and Golden Section the measure of human body (Deborah G, 2006). It is very interesting to see how he sees the Golden Section (the use of geometry of phi), Ancient Egyptians pyramid and Greeks Phytogoras as an inspiration for him to developed this modulor system. It is quite obvious that Le Corbusier was admiring Classicism. This can be seen as he was referring to Vitruvius, Leonardo and Alberti by the time he develops this Modulor System based on the human bodys proportions. And actually that was how the modulor system came up in his own unique modernization of those classical ideas; proportion, harmony and balance (Judi Loach, 1998) The Golden Section and quadrature were parts of the classical methods that had been before until the Renaissance. However, Le Corbusier wanted to do something with it and thus he developed an ideal proportion that would help the designer in integrating human scale in mind while designing. He eventually make the Modulor system to become an international methodology that could be a guideline in the design process. In addition to that, he also translated it to inches so that everyone including the non-metric countries could use the system (Judi Loach, 1998). According to him, the idea for this Modulor system was from a vision of hypothetical man inscribed with three overlapping but contiguous squares. However, there was also a few problems with that earlier Modulor system. Figure 2 The images shows the Red and Blue series of Modulor (Judi Loach, 1998) Nevertheless, after a few experimentation, Le Corbusier came up to a settlement on a six foot tall (1.828m) English, male, body with an upraised arm (Judi Loach, 1998). The man was placed in a box that was subdivided correspond to the Golden Section. It was then further divided using a variation of the Fibonacci series, with two scales that ended up establishing a double-helix, which Le Corbusier mentioned them as the Red and the Blue series. Basically, this Unite DHabitation was the first experimental site for the application of modulor (Deborah G, 2006). Every element in the building can be illustrated by usng the fifteen Modulor units. Those fifteen Modulor units are described in the steel of measure, the first stone and the human figures inscribed in the building. A polychromy so dazzling that the mind was forcibly detached from the dissonances, carried away in the irresistible torrent of major color sensations (Deborah G, 2006). However, the brise-soleils framed was misproportioned by mistake. To deal with that, Le Corbusier paint the bare exterior with polychromy colours, which consist of different fascinating colours to attract the users mind rather than realizing the misproportioned of the brise-soleils framed. He also acknowledged that the human error was one of the way to get an inspiration. (Judi Loach, 1998). It is very interesting to see how Le Corbusier used mathematics to solve his design on each space. His use of mathematics through Modulor system while designing the Unità © DHabitation Marseilles seems to be contrasting to him as an artist. In addition, it also shows that he really use human proportion while designing which shows a good thing which every architect should really done that, considering human proportions. It is very clear how he used the figure of the man to eventually show the proportion of the space that he is creating. That is very interesting because even though a person has never been to that place, he/she can still imagine the space at the building through this image. Five Points of Architecture So we designed a structural system, a frame, completely independent of the functions of the plan of the house: this frame simply supports the flooring and the staircaseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Le Corbusier, 1914. Le Corbusier developed his Five Points of Architecture based on his Dom-ino housing scheme that he was working on during 1914. Thus, he came to a solution where he labeled the scheme as a quick and inexpensive way of reconstructing the city. In the end, he came out with above statement to solve the housing shortage by that time (Judi Loach, 1998). It was also the pioneering moment when the use of reinforced concrete starts to get around. From his attempt to bring up the standardized house, he eventually made up his Five Points of Architecture. Le Corbusier put on his own theory of this Five Points of Architecture in his book titled Towards A New Architecture, that later on become a guideline for his own building design and it become a trend for other architects too. His five points or architecture consists of the pilotis, roof gardens, free plan, vertical faà §ade, and long horizontal windows. For the first point, the columns are lift up from the ground to allow lights to penetrate through it. It also saves the ground space for parking and garden. It obviously creates a circulation space under the building.The second point is the roof garden, where the roof space is being benefited to something else. In Unite DHabitation Marseilles, the roof terrace on the top is said to be replacing the lost land under the building that was supposedly meant for recreation. The third one is the free plan. This free plan means it is free from any column support. Instead, it was supported by skeleton structure and thus helping it to be free from any interior partitions. However, since the partition walls among the apartments are load-bearing, it makes the facades to become free and thus enabling sound-proofing in between those apartments. It can be said as part o f the building success to combine both privacy and communal living. However, the free plan has become the free volume instead since the two-story apartments were integrated to each other and the entrance corridor and elevator were only needed at the third level. (Simon Glynn, 2001). The fourth point is the vertical faà §ade that supports the building. The free facades is said to be so due to the exterior walls that are not using the load bearing walls anymore, thus creating a free structural sense due to the skeleton structure. And for the fifth point is the long horizontal windows, which are the ribbon windows that can eventually helps in better ventilation and lighting (Simon Glynn, 2001). To sum up, using this Five Points of Architecture, Le Corbusier was actually creating a new possibilities for interior and exterior connection and the interior connection itself. (J.R Curtis, 1996). Purism to Brutalism Le Corbusier has built many villas and small apartment and even office building during his early years. However, Le Corbusier recognized his own style pure prisms. It was basically consists of rectangular concrete blocks, glass and steel, building lift up from the ground and even roof gardens. It also used very pure colour, as the principle that they were using by that time is that colour was associated with purity, simplicity and health (Birkhauser, 1995). Purism combined both Le Corbusier and Amà ©dà ©e Ozenfan (Choay F, 1960). They declared their own manifesto titled Aprà ¨s le Cubisme highlighting that a design approach should have give more attention to the main and simple one, which is the more important form of the objects. They did not agree and criticized the heir of Cubism which has been bringing up an art that is totally decorative and ornamental because they made up a point that fantasy and individuality would never be in modern art (Choay F, 1960). Le Corbusier shifted from purism towards another movement after the World War 11. He pioneered a movement so called Brutalism in the 1960s and 1970s (Frampton, 1992). Brutal, as dull as it is was showing the truth of the materials. However, Le Corbusier believes that it was more truthful to Modernisms basic principle (Birkhauser, 1995). For Unite DHabitation Marseilles, Le Corbusier was exploring the use of breton brut (raw concrete) for the buiding itself. A pebbled effect of concrete was brought to the buildings by bush-hammering (Birkhauser, 1995).

Aspergers Syndrome Essay -- Disease/Disorders

Hans Asperger, a pediatrician from Austria, began to study a group of children at his clinic in 1944. He noticed that the young boys he was studying were clumsy, lacked social skills, and did not understand nonverbal communication. Asperger’s syndrome (AS), named after Doctor Hans Asperger, is a developmental disorder. Research by Woodbury-Smith and Volkmar (2009), claim that AS was originally thought of as a less severe form of Autism, in which the individual has higher linguistic ability but still lacks social skills. Many researches now consider AS an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, it is disputed amongst researchers as to whether it is explicit from High Functioning Autism (HFA). Many characteristics of AS and HFA are overlapped, making it difficult to distinguish between one and the other (Woodbury-Smith and Volkmar, 20089, p. 2). In this paper, Asperger’s syndrome, as depicted in the film, â€Å"Adam†, will be evaluated. Asperger’s syndrome is defined as an ever-present neurodevelopmental disorder, in which social communication is affected and discernment and attentiveness may be bounded (Woodbury-Smith and Volkmar, 2009, p. 2). According to Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Robinson, & Woodbury-Smith (2005), Asperger’s syndrome can be characterized by various behavioral and social symptoms: lacking the ability to understand social cues; preoccupation with one or few interests; disliking change in routines; repetitive behavior; failure to understand emotional tones in speech; and a seeming lack of empathy. The title character in the film â€Å"Adam†, Adam Raki, is a 29-year-old man who has AS. At the beginning of the film, Adam is left alone for the first time after the death of his father. When Adam meets his new upstairs neig... ...Cited Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Robinson, J., & Woodbury-Smith, M. (2005). The Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA): A Diagnostic Method. Journal Of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 35(6), 807-819. Hurlbutt, K., & Chalmers, L. (2004). Employment and Adults with Asperger Syndrome. Focus On Autism & Other Developmental Disabilities, 19(4), 215-222. O'Connor, K. (2007). Brief Report: Impaired Identification of Discrepancies Between Expressive Faces and Voices in Adults with Asperger’s Syndrome. Journal Of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 37(10), 2008-2013. Rogers, K., Dziobek, I., Hassenstab, J., Wolf, O. T., & Convit, A. (2007). Who Cares? Revisiting Empathy in Asperger Syndrome. Journal Of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 37(4), 709-715. Woodbury-Smith, M. R., & Volkmar, F. R. (2009). Asperger syndrome. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry,18(1), 2-11.

Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow and Samuel Beckett Essay -- Brendan B

Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow and Samuel Beckett Existential works are difficult to describe because the definition of existentialism covers a wide range of ideas and influences almost to the point of ambiguity. An easy, if not basic, approach to existentialism is to view it as a culmination of attitudes from the oppressed people of industrialization, writers and philosophers during the modern literary period, and people who were personally involved as civilians, soldiers, or rebels during WWII and witnessed the worst aspects of life and war. These attitudes combined the aspects of loss of identity and autonomy, the uselessness of pain, a sense of alienation, and the meaninglessness of a harsh life where death is the only way out; all of these things helped give birth to a new philosophy that for the first time dealt with the cold reality of life after WWII. The canon of existential literature almost singularly deals with native authors from France, Germany, Russia, and the former Czechoslovakia; however, there has yet to be a u niversally accepted Irish writer to belong to this category. Some argue that this segregation of Irish writers has to do with Ireland’s geographical location and its neutrality during WWII; however, if existentialism is purely an amalgamation of attitudes, then a country’s location and direct political policy play a meager role in the classification of a work as existential. Moreover, those arguments pay no attention to expatriates, or the simultaneously related socio-political condition of other countries; thus, a reevaluation of the canon, or at least a reconsideration of Irish works as existential is appropriate. Two Irish playwrights who epitomize the attitudes of existentialism a... ...which criticism and interpretation of modern society are available. Behan and Beckett are trying to open society’s eyes in order for them to question their lives and the world in which they live. When the representations are understood, the audience can begin to question the establishments of society, the rationality of blind or complete faith in a soulless and seemingly meaningless world, and the real purpose and meaning of their own lives. Behan and Beckett heighten expectations of existential writing and thought through their unforgiving and callous treatment of society, which reflects the abominable demeanor and absurdities of modern society and life. Works Cited Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. New York: Grove Press, 1954. Behan, Brendan. The Quare Fellow. Modern Irish Drama. Ed. John P. Harrington. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, Inc, 1991. 255-310.

We Are What We Eat

I have interviewed 2 of my family members, my mother and father about their identity and their favorite food. My father said,† I am a Honoring of course, although I born in China, I have grown up and lived in Hong Kong for 30 years. † He came to Hong Kong from Shanghai, China to study secondary school when he was 13 years old. The poor policy and living environment in China are the main reasons he do not think he is a Chinese, he lived in a dirty village and did not have chance to study when he had lived in Mainland.Besides, his favorite food is rice because he loves the warm feeling inside belly after eating rice and it is quite cheap. My mother is a born and raised Honoring, however, she said that she thought she is a Chinese as Hong Kong is a part of China. I was quite shocked after hearing her answer. She is a typical Honoring, lived In a small public house with many family members and studied very hard every day when she was young.China can stabilize and facilitate H ong Kong is the main reason she think that she Is a Chinese. Her favorite food Is noodles since she do not like to chew many times inside the mouth and she like to eat some hot and cooked food when having meals. In fact, after the discussion with my parents, I found that their choice of favorite DOD is different, but there still Include similarity Inside. Both of their choice of food Is Chinese traditional food and they also quite popular In Hong Kong nowadays.Thus, I agree with the saying of ‘we are what we eat'. From the two Interviews above, It Is obvious to link up their Identity and values and their favor of the food. Their birthplace and growing place affect a lot of this favor of food. As they are In the same generation and similar birthplace, they are both favorite In some Chinese traditional food. Even though they are In different genders and personalities.

Coco-Cola and Coco Frio

The journey of Coco-Cola and Coco Frio In the poem â€Å"Coca-Cola and Coco Frio† Martin Espada talks about a boy who travels to Puerto Rico searching for something different, that he himself has never had or tasted before, Puerto Rican Culture. The narrator explains that he only knows stories of his family, realization of his identity, and finally connects with his true identity after his first trip. In the poem Espada says â€Å"island of family folklore† witch indicates that stories that he has heard is all he knows of Puerto Rico, the family’s that live there.Espada also says the fat boy wandered, table to table, with mouth open. He was looking for heritage, culture, and identity instead he found what he had in Brooklyn witch was Coco-Cola. In the text he keeps on referring to himself as the fat boy that is on the island, like and out sider that doesn’t fit anywhere. The fat boy sees himself going to every table where he sees a â€Å"great-aunt† giving him a cold glass of Coco-Cola. Witch in his mind he is thinking to his self why Coco-Cola is such a great thing here. Espada makes it clear that the fat boy is lost in his own identity.In the second stanza he still refers to himself as the fat boy when he gets to the roadside stand off the beach. That first sentence he says â€Å"opened his mouth to Coco Frio†. That means he finally opened his mind to a new feeling in his identity, Culture. Once the fat bot tried the Coco-Frio he was no longer the fat bot he was the boy now. As the green shell overhead, drooled coconut milk down his chin. He finally got to know how his family culture is. The last sentence in the second stanza Espada says â€Å"suddenly, Puerto Rico was not Coco-Cola or Brooklyn, and neither was he†.He was explaining how Puerto Rico and Brooklyn weren’t all about Coco-Cola anymore. He finally connects to his culture and he knows his identity. Time went by and the boy thought back of how p eople on the island would drink Coco-Cola and sing songs from WW2. To the boy people in Puerto Rico were losing their culture and they were focusing on the American culture with coco cola. As Espada would state in the third stanza â€Å"while so many coconuts in the trees sagged have with milk, swollen and unsuckled†.The boy was trying to say that as a lot of people focus on coco cola as a new icon in Puerto Rico there losing their true identity and Culture as the boy did before trying the coconut. The experiences that Espada went through when he got to the island other people go through also. Every day people try to find their true identity in their culture making sure people don’t miss important details. The boy finally understands what it means to be a true Puerto Rican, it’s not all about the party’s and fun u can have on the island. Its learning how the island has symbols that people don’t see. Coco-Cola and Coco Frio The journey of Coco-Cola and Coco Frio In the poem â€Å"Coca-Cola and Coco Frio† Martin Espada talks about a boy who travels to Puerto Rico searching for something different, that he himself has never had or tasted before, Puerto Rican Culture. The narrator explains that he only knows stories of his family, realization of his identity, and finally connects with his true identity after his first trip. In the poem Espada says â€Å"island of family folklore† witch indicates that stories that he has heard is all he knows of Puerto Rico, the family’s that live there.Espada also says the fat boy wandered, table to table, with mouth open. He was looking for heritage, culture, and identity instead he found what he had in Brooklyn witch was Coco-Cola. In the text he keeps on referring to himself as the fat boy that is on the island, like and out sider that doesn’t fit anywhere. The fat boy sees himself going to every table where he sees a â€Å"great-aunt† giving him a cold glass of Coco-Cola. Witch in his mind he is thinking to his self why Coco-Cola is such a great thing here. Espada makes it clear that the fat boy is lost in his own identity.In the second stanza he still refers to himself as the fat boy when he gets to the roadside stand off the beach. That first sentence he says â€Å"opened his mouth to Coco Frio†. That means he finally opened his mind to a new feeling in his identity, Culture. Once the fat bot tried the Coco-Frio he was no longer the fat bot he was the boy now. As the green shell overhead, drooled coconut milk down his chin. He finally got to know how his family culture is. The last sentence in the second stanza Espada says â€Å"suddenly, Puerto Rico was not Coco-Cola or Brooklyn, and neither was he†.He was explaining how Puerto Rico and Brooklyn weren’t all about Coco-Cola anymore. He finally connects to his culture and he knows his identity. Time went by and the boy thought back of how p eople on the island would drink Coco-Cola and sing songs from WW2. To the boy people in Puerto Rico were losing their culture and they were focusing on the American culture with coco cola. As Espada would state in the third stanza â€Å"while so many coconuts in the trees sagged have with milk, swollen and unsuckled†.The boy was trying to say that as a lot of people focus on coco cola as a new icon in Puerto Rico there losing their true identity and Culture as the boy did before trying the coconut. The experiences that Espada went through when he got to the island other people go through also. Every day people try to find their true identity in their culture making sure people don’t miss important details. The boy finally understands what it means to be a true Puerto Rican, it’s not all about the party’s and fun u can have on the island. Its learning how the island has symbols that people don’t see.

Fred Hoyle and the Big Bang Theory Essay

History is such a hard thing to study. The older the story gets, the tougher it is to retrieve facts and details about it. Records are prone to be destroyed and lost as time goes by. But the most demanding task of all is to determine the elements of an event that happened even before anyone could make a record of. Or even a time when no possible witness exists to tell the story to the future. The beginning of the universe is one such thing. It is impossible for someone to come up with an answer that would specifically define certain details and factors that happened thousands or millions of years ago. Theories have been constantly formed, upgraded, and evolved to support different evidences that lead to the origin of the universe. Up to date, there are still several speculations and contrasting beliefs on how the big galaxy started, the most popular of which is the â€Å"Big Bang Theory† coined by Fred Hoyle (Silver, 2000). Fred Hoyle was a man of science. He was an astronomer, a mathematician, a novelist, and a very intelligent man. He was considered to be a clever man even during his childhood. In fact, he was able to memorize the multiplication tables up to the multiples of 12 (12Ãâ€"12=144) at a young age of four. After attaining his educational degree on Mathematics and Physics, he worked in several laboratories and establishments. During the World War II, Hoyle participated in the development of the radar. He also published several studies and papers about cosmology, the galaxies, the universe, and the earth (Books and Writers, 2003). But he was very much known for being a controversialist, and for bringing the term â€Å"Big Bang† to the public. Ironically, Fred Hoyle was not in any way a contributor to the formation of the said theory. He was also not the instigator nor the supporter of the principles. He was, in fact, opposing and discrediting it as an explanation of how the universe began. The â€Å"Big Bang† theory’s idea actually originated from a Belgian Jesuit priest, Georges Lemaitre (Silver, 2000). He suggested that: the universe started as a sphere, a â€Å"primeval atom,† about thirty times larger than the sun. (p. 455) This theory marks the beginning of a universe with a spontaneous explosion. Unlike other scientific theories of that time, this was partly accepted by the Catholic Church due to its similarity with the Genesis story of the Bible, the coming up of something out of nothing (Books and Writers, 2003). Fred Hoyle however was not convinced. He claimed that although galaxies, stars and atom each had their own beginnings, the universe itself did not have one (Books and Writers, 2003). He continually examined the theory’s weak points and criticized it in conventions and in radio shows. And as a way of mocking the ideas and principles of the theory, he brought up the name â€Å"Big Bang†, like a very unscientific way of explaining the universe’s origin. The name was probably used to link the theory to something funny and not serious. However, after a few years, the hypothesis of an origin from an explosion became a standard scientific paradigm, and was since then always referred to as the â€Å"Big Bang† theory. References: Silver, B. L. (2000). The ascent of science. New York: Oxford University Press Books and Writers. (2003). Sir Fred Hoyle. Retrieved May 08, 2008, from http://www. kirjasto. sci. fi/hoyle. htm