Comparing and Contrasting Country Lovers and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Essay

These elements contribute to the short story’s effectiveness as author uses different literary forms and styles to connect the reader to the story. Style has many characteristics that help the author engage the reader such as; punctuation, the use of connotations, and culture. This is what helps the reader’s imagination take over, paint the picture, and get emotionally connected to the author’s story. In comparing and contrasting the two short stories of â€Å"the Secret Life of Walter Mitty† by James Thurber and â€Å"Country Lovers† by Nadine Gordimer you see the differences and similarities in style between the two authors. The culture, which is the common characteristics of a group or a region (Clugston 2010), is very similar in both stories since they are close to real life with the setting in the 1900’s. Both stories revolve around relationships and love. Thurber style is more imaginative then Gordimer which is defined by his use of connotations and punctuation, although both stories are very detailed when it comes to the characters and settings within the stories. In the short story â€Å"Country Lovers† Gordimer does a great job illustrating the setting, which is the time or place in which the action occurs (Clugston 2010). Gordimer provides details about the South African culture that allow the reader to understand the separatism and segregation the characters are living. The reader gets to feel what it’s like to be black in South Africa through the detailed descriptions of the loving conditions and treatment of blacks. The main characters in the story are Paulus and Thebedi. Paulus is the son of a farmer who was raised with the children of the black families that worked on his father’s farm. He falls in love with a black childhood playmate as a teenager but he understands that a relationship with her is forbidden. Thebedi is Paulus black childhood playmate who becomes his lover. The two begin a sexual relationship which results in a child being born. The theme, which is a representation of the idea behind the story (Clu gston 2010), is interracial love or forbidden love. The laws and culture of South Africa forbid interracial couples. Thebedi & Paulus are aware of the dangers of being together but choose to get involved anyway. As the story unfolds, Gordimer brings out the imagination of the reader through the use of metaphors, which is an implied comparison between one object and another that is different from it (Clugston 2010). An example of this is when Goridmer writes, â€Å"hidden by the mesh of old, ant–eaten trees held in place by vigorous ones, wild asparagus bushing up between the trunks, and here and there prickly–pear cactus sunken–skinned and bristly, like an old man’s face† (Clugston 2010). This allows the reader to visually paint the picture of where Thebedi and Paulus are at and what the scenery is. A common symbolism, which is something that has a literal identity but also stands for something else (Clugston 2010), that is used in â€Å"Country Lovers† is a tree. A tree can be a symbol for life, death, or immortality. This is a good match with the theme and plot of the story. The plot, which is a dynamic element in fiction, a sequence of interrelated, conflicting actions and events that typically build to a climax and bring about a resolution (Clugston 2010), thickens as both Thebedi and Paulus continue their love affair. Thebedi goes on to marry Njabulo, who is also black, and fails to tell Paulus of her marriage. At the same time Thebedi  also finds out she is pregnant with Paulus baby. When Thebedi gives birth to her daughter it’s obvious the baby isn’t Njabulo’s but he accepts her as it was his own. When Paulus finds out about the marriage and the child he becomes upset, why does he get upset, I believe it’s a sign of his love for Thebedi which ties back to the theme of forbidden love. The story takes an interesting twist, although the author never clearly states that Paulus killed the baby, it’s evident he did by the flow of the story. It’s up to the reader to understand the â€Å"why†, why would Pau lus kill the baby? Again, I believe the â€Å"why† ties back to the theme of forbidden love. Paulus has accepted that Thebedi will never be his wife due to society and the racial customs of South Africa. Understanding this he doesn’t want anyone to find out about the baby because interracial relationships are forbidden so he takes the extreme measure of killing the baby. One could also argue that he killed the baby out of jealousy and not wanting another man to raise his child. The story ends with Thebedi refusing to testify against Paulus in the killing of her baby. This shows that Thebedi has accepted her role in society as a black woman giving up any hope if a relationship with Paulus. Throughout the whole story Thebedi character is submissive to Paulus but the ending shows that Thebedi is also submissive to society by giving into social traditions and discriminatory behavior of South Africa. The short story of â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† by James Thurber is written in a third person point of view, which occurs when the speaker is not a participant in the story (Clugston 2010). The form is limited omniscient, which is when the thoughts and feelings of only one of the characters are related through the narrator (Clugston 2010) that character is Walter Mitty. The setting of this story occurs in a city called Waterbury but the state is never mentioned or disclosed, one can assume its Waterbury, Connecticut. The main characters are Walter Mitty and Mrs. Mitty. Walter Mitty is someone who gets bossed around by his wife so he creates a secret life for himself. In his secret life he see’s himself as a powerful man who is admired by all, something he is not in real life. Mrs. Mitty is the bossy, nagging, overbearing wife of Walter Mitty. Thurber does a great job illustrating the relationship between Walter and his wife which many people can relate too, I found it very humorous. That takes me to the theme of the  story, which I believe is marriage. Thurber portrays a marriage where the husband is submissive to his bossy, nagging, and overbearing wife. A second theme could be masculinity since all of Walter’s dreams portray him as a powerful man who’s admired by all. The story is about Walter taking his wife into town to visit her hair dresser. Along the way Walter begins to fantasize to escape the reality of his real like. Thurber does an excellent job of engaging the reader’s imagination through each of Walter’s fantasy’s allowing the reader to vividly picture what Walter is fantasizing about. An example of this is during Walter’s first fantasies where he is commanding a hydroplane through a storm, â€Å"Rev her up to 8500! We’re going through!† The pounding of the cylinders increased: ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa† (Clugston 2010). The sound of â€Å"ta-packeta-pocketa† is just the cylinders of the car Walter is driving. Each one of Walter’s fantasies is tied to something that is specific to what’s going on in the story. As Walter drives past the hospital he starts to fantasize about being a surgeon. As the newsboy shouts about the Waterbury trial Walters fantasi zes about being in a courtroom. The Liberty magazine leads Walter into a fantasy about military dugout. Thurber does a great job of interweaving Walter’s fantasies with the surroundings of the story. The uses of symbolisms in â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† were not used in the traditional literary forms. Instead Thurber ties in the symbolism of control and power in each of Walter’s fantasies by Walter showing bravery, no fear, power, fame, and a man with high ranking titles. Thurber does a great job of connecting and supporting the symbolism with the theme of marriage and masculinity. The use of this symbolism is to show how Walter feels about marriage, since Walter feels powerless throughout the story as his wife talks down to him. There are many differences and similarities in â€Å"Country Lovers† and â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty†. The first and most recognizable difference is â€Å"Country Lovers† is a tragic story with a plot that builds up along with way with romance, physical relationship, racial discrimination, pregnancy,  arranged marriage, murder, deception, secrecy, and acceptance of normalcy. While â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† is a comedy with not much of a plot. Where they are similar, both are written in a third person limited omniscient point of view. Both had themes of love and marriage but were very different in how each played out. â€Å"Country Lovers† was forbidden love and arranged marriage while â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† was love and marriage between a husband and wife. These literary elements contribute to the short story’s effectiveness as author’s uses different literary forms and styles to connect the reader to the story. References: Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

First Generation Romantics

Brittani Powell Dr. Matthew DeForrest ENG435/ TR 9:30-10:45 March 1, 2010 Individualism: First Generation Romantics The Romantics were known for their use of the unusual and old-fashioned in their poetry because they were in a very unusual and old-fashioned state of mind when writing their poetry. The Romantics were experimental writers and they lived during a very tough time period, and itshowed in their poetry. The Romantic period had the shortest life span of any literary era in the English language. It lasted 43 years, beginning from 1789 to 1832. It started during the French revolution and ended during the parliamentary reforms, which established a foundation for which still exists in modern day Britain. There were six major Romantics, and they were split into two generations. The first generation consisted of William Blake, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The second generation consisted of Percy Bysshe, John Keats, and George Gordon, Lord Byron. These poets were considered old-fashionedbecause they were the first to experiment with this style of writing. There was no one before them, so for influence they had to look back to the past for influence. Even when inventing a new style of writing there still has to be some influence. It is very hard to come up your own completely original literary style. They admired the work of Milton and Shakespeare very much. All the first generation romantics felt those two were the best poets and admired their style. Shakespeare and Milton were very old poets and they influenced the Romantics so their poems came off very old-fashioned and out dated. They used very old English that was hard for people to comprehend, making some people feel the writings were unusual. The Romantics were known for their theories on the connection between nature, the mind, and the imagination. The English Romantics accepted the reality of the link between man and nature in the form of the human imagination as the basis of human understanding, rejecting the scientific world view onmaterialism. Imagination is a force, or energy, that allows such a connection to be made. William Blake saw the human imagination as essential to human understanding of the world they live in; he saw reality as a â€Å"mental construction. According to Blake and the other Romantic poets, â€Å"once the energy of imagination is used effectively to realize the connection between man and nature, the individual gains freedom from the restrictive bonds of unimaginative thought. † The first generation romantics are characterized by their shift in style and subject manner from the Neo Classicalist. The use of satire is rare and the Romantics tend to focus on particular aspects of objects, people, and events instead of the fundamental nature of objects, people and events. One of the most important works pertaining to the change of style during this time was William Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical Ballads, which demonstrates Wordsworth’s particular motivations for how he writes the Lyrical Ballads. Notably the subjects of these poems, are â€Å"incidents and situations from common life† verses the normal neoclassical subject of incidents and situations from elevated life, like Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock, which is about the aristocracy and not the common people (Norton 266). Wordsworth also changes the style of his poetry when he states, â€Å"The reader will find that personifications of abstract ideas rarely occur in these volumes; and, I hope, are utterly rejected as ordinary device to elevate the style, and rise it above prose†, and â€Å"there will also be found in these volumes little of what is usually called poetic diction; I have take as much pains to avoid it as others ordinarily talk to produce it; this I have done for the reason already alleged, to bring my language near to the language of men, and further, because the pleasure which I have proposed to myself to impart is of a kind very different from what is supposed by many person to be the proper object of poetry† (Norton 267). Wordsworth and other first generation poets take a notable step away from their Neo Classical predecessors by embracing the common people and the common language. First Generation romantics also believe in the possible ability of dreams to clarify real ity, as seen in Coleridge’s Kubla_ Kahn_. Also _Kubla Kahn_,presents a different kind of characterization of the poet. The narrator states, â€Å"I would build that dome in air,† which shows the narrator’s desire to use his words combined with his imagination to create a poem, which is unlike the characterization of the poet in Rassles(Norton 448). In _Biographia Literaria_, Coleridge distinguishes imagination from fancy and even separates imagination further by distinguishing between primary and secondary imagination. Romanticism is often associated with radical individualism, and much Romantic poetry focuses on the struggles of the individual will to break or exceed its social and metaphysical bonds. Millenarianism, on the other hand, consists of the expectation of the fulfillment of God's providential design, in which the place left for individual human agency is limited if not nonexistent. The French Revolution could thus be viewed either as the work of heroic individuals struggling for liberty or as an act of God. The role of an individual as shown in Samuel T. Coleridge’s Religious Musings, is to know thyself; he starts the poem reflecting his Unitarian ideas about the independence of God, who is only One but at the same time He is everything we can feel and see and he equals God with Love. â€Å"There is one Mind, one omnipresent Mind, Omnific. His most holy name is Love† (Lines 105-106). Coleridge repeats two times â€Å"one† to emphasize the Unitarian Idea of the oneness of God. In the lines19-23 he speaks about the disaster of the war, the fight between France and England. A sea of blood bestrewed with wrecks, where mad embattling interests on each other rush/ With unhelmed rage ‘Tis the sublime of man. † You can imagine how terrible the situation was. It was like a disastrous vision, but a necessary vision because after it 1000 y ears of peace had come. According to Coleridge after that God will judge all the nations, â€Å"Our noontide Majesty, to know ourselves, parts and proportions of one wondrous whole! (Lines 127-129). † After this time of violence, a new better time came. The thoughts of the major part of the romantic poets are influenced by the French Revolution when they wrote about religion or other topics. Although at first some writers like Coleridge had a positive view of this violent period, later they changed their opinions because the results were not what they had expected. All the relations between the prophecies and the periods of violence did not come true and they felt disappointed. The French Revolution and the Unitarian tendencies of Coleridge is the key to understanding the major parts of his works and indispensable to understanding his religious point of view. Wordsworth's poetry is distinguished by his straightforward use of language and meter and his natural and often conversational themes and imagery. This is not to say, however, that Wordsworth's ideas are simple. He unites several ideas throughout his poetic works, including the importance of the natural world, transcendentalism and interconnectedness, religion, morality, mortality, memory and the power of the human mind. Wordsworth began publishing in 1793, at the age of 23, with a collection of poetry about a tour he took in the Swiss Alps – Descriptive Sketches. Wordsworth's poetry was a little ahead of its time; however, it instigated Romanticism in England through its emotional nature and its allusions to nature. His work has had a profound legacy on the Victorian and twentieth-century literature as well. Yet his ultimate goal was the betterment of mankind through the discovery of an individual's own joy and emotions. Percy Bysshe Shelly’s first major poetic work was _Queen _Mab. This poem was written early in his career and serves as a foundation to his theory of revolution. Shelly took William Godwin’s idea of â€Å"necessity† and combined it with his own idea of ever-changing nature, to establish the theory that contemporary societal evils would dissolve naturally in time. This was to be coupled with the creation of a moral mentality in people who could envision the ideal goal of a perfect society. The ideal was to be reached incrementally, because Shelley (as a result of Napoleon's actions in the French Revolution), believed that the perfect society could not be obtained immediately through violent revolution. Instead it was to be achieved through nature's evolution and ever-greater numbers of people becoming honorable and imagining a better society. _Queen _Mab was infused with scientific language and naturalizing moral prescriptions for an oppressed humanity in an industrializing world. William Blake, a painter and poet, and one of England’s most famous literary figures. A great predecessor to the Romantics, Blake was a revolutionary and visionary artist and his work represented a decisively new direction in the course the Visual Arts. He expressed an individualized view of humanity that became important to Romanticism. His poetry is described as â€Å"highly individual in style and technique† (Lawall, ed. , 540). To relate to his readers, Blake uses different voices and puts forth his own ideas about human existence. In his poem, The Little Black Boy, Blake uses the voice of a black boy who is confused on how he is different than the white boy. The reader is probably â€Å"painfully† aware of the society’s judgments of black people during this time. The black boy concludes by seeing himself as a protector to the white boy, â€Å"I’ll shade him from the heat till he can bear / To lean in joy upon our father’s knee† (Lawall, ed. , 544). Instead of understanding that white means good and black means bad, the black boy comes up with a new meaning for his black skin (Lawall, ed. 541). Blake uses emotion in his poetry to enhance the reader’s reaction to his works. He also looks to exposethe inner thoughts of the human being. Blake’s individualism within his poetry portrays the ideology that Romanticists sought to convey during this time period. The specialty of William Blake’s work is that he uses numerous literary techniques and devices to articulate his thoughts. He created such literary work because he was a creative thinker, fully conscious of the realities and complexities of experience, particularly the poverty and oppression of the urban world where he spent his most of his life. Still today, his artistic and poetic creations are valued in British culture. The first generation Romantics accepted reality of the link between man and nature, and man as an individual, in the form of the human imagination as the basis of human understanding, rejecting the scientific world view of materialism. The Romantic writer’s attempted to discover hidden unity between man and nature. It is imagination –a force, or energy, that allows such a connection to be made. The realization of this interdependent relationship carries with it a kind of freedom for the individual. William Blake saw the human imagination as essential to human understanding of the world; he saw reality as a â€Å"mental construction. † The Romantics asserted the importance of the individual. Brittani Powell Dr. Matthew DeForrest ENG435/ TR 9:30-10:45 March 1, 2010 Individualism: First Generation Romantics An Annotated Bibliography Damrosch, David, and Kevin Dettmar*. * *The Longman Anthology of British Literature. * New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. Print. This texton British Literature describes the distinction and conviction the first generation of the Romantic writers felt on individualism. The authors give a fresh approach to the study of Romantic Literature edited by scholars in the field. Major prose works are included in their entirety, together with a wealth of poetry and drama, from Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience to Byron’s Manfred —and beyond. The first generation Romantics and their Contemporaries of The Longman Anthology of British Literature is a comprehensive and thoughtfully arranged anthology that offers a rich selection of Blake’s commentaries and influences on the Romantic period. The text also includes Perspectives, Companion Readings, and â€Å"and Its Time† sections which show how major literary writings interrelate with and respond to various social, historical, and cultural events of Great Britain in the Romantic period. With a generous representation of fiction, drama, and poetry, the second edition includes major additions of important works and an expanded illustration program. This text is distinctive in exploring the perspective of the first generation writers and their take on individualism. *Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. * *The Norton Anthology of English Literature. * New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. Print. The eighth edition of The Norton Anthology of English Literature text comprises six volumes, sold in two sets of three. The first set includes the volumes â€Å"The Middle Ages,† â€Å"The Sixteenth Century and The Early Seventeenth Century,† and â€Å"Restoration and the Eighteenth Century;† the second set includes â€Å"The Romantic Period,† â€Å"The Victorian Age,† and â€Å"The Twentieth Century and After. † The writings are arranged by author, with each author presented chronologically by date of birth. Historical and biographical information is provided in a series of head-notes for each author and in introductions for each of the time periods. Dickinson, Kate Letitia*. *William Blake's Anticipation of the Individualistic Revolution. * Philadelphia: R. West, 1978. Print. * This text on William Blake’s Anticipation of the Individualistic Revolution describes Blake’s struggle for individualism. The author describes Blake’s perspective and full descriptive criticisms on Blake’s works. Wordsworth, William, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Richey, and Daniel Robinson. Lyrical Ballads: and Related *Writings :* Complete Text with Introduction Contexts, Reactions. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print. This collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel T. Coleridge describes a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798 and generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literature. Most of the poems in the 1798 edition were written by Wordsworth, with Coleridge contributing only four poems to the collection, including one of his most famous works, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. One of the main themes of â€Å"Lyrical Ballads† is the return to the original state of nature, in which people led a purer and more innocent existence. Wordsworth subscribed to Rousseau's belief that humanity was essentially good but was corrupted by the influence of society. This may be linked with the sentiments spreading through Europe just prior to the French Revolution. *Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, and J. C. C. Mays. **Poetical Works, II. Poems (variorum Text), Parts 1 & 2. * Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2001. Print. This text describes the three parts of Volume 16 confirm and expand the sense of the Coleridge who has emerged over the past half-century, with implications for English Romantic writing as a whole. This text is distinctive in exploring the works of Coleridge and is written with complete analysis of each poem. Shelley, Percy Bysshe*, Donald H. *Reiman*, and Neil *Fraistat*. * Shelley's Poetry and Prose: Authoritative Texts, Criticism. New York: Norton, 2002. Print. This collection of Shelley’s poetry and prose contains one of the fullest, and certainly the most accurately edited collections of Shelley's poetry and prose available. Shelley is the wild child of English poetry and his determined opposition to tyranny produced a huge variety of poetry, ranging from the rending lament of Keats in Adonais, to the defiant and taut sonnet Ozymandias. The essays in this volume are generally helpful and explain the structures of the poems where useful. They are also refreshingly short. This text distinctively contains 15 brief critical essays, which are among the best explications you'll find of Shelley's work. *Chandler, James. The Cambridge History of English Romantic Literature. * Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2009. Print. In this text it describes the Romantic period as one of the most creative, intense and turbulent periods of English literature, an age marked by revolution, reaction, and reform in politics, and by the invention of imaginative literature in its distinctively modern form. This History presents an engaging account of six decades of literary production around the turn of the nineteenth century. Reflecting the most up-to-date research, the essays are designed both to provide a narrative of Romantic literature, and to offer new and stimulating readings of the key texts. One group of essays addresses the various locations of literary activity – both in England and, as writers developed their interests in travel and foreign cultures, across the world. A second set of essays traces how texts responded to great historical and social change. With a comprehensive

The Case of Online Learning

Students go to schools to learn. Through their reading on their textbooks, the inputs from the teacher, and their interactions with other kids, learning is facilitated, even enabled in traditional schools. The public school system is also built upon the notion that there is direct interaction between and among the teacher and the students for the impartation and facilitation of learning. With the growth of the Internet, several applications have been developed to cater to the needs of people who want to study on their own pace from the comforts of their home or wherever they want to study.As such, there are now a lot of online learning programs designed to facilitate the learning in online environments. As a testimony to the growth of online learning, there are now more than 3. 5 million students who are participating in various online learning platforms (National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2000). Some of these platforms serve to reinforce the interactions of teachers and stude nts in addition to classroom interactions. There are also companies that offer complete online degrees, thus deviating from the usual method of classroom learning.Institutions of higher learning in the United States, Europe and elsewhere in the world, are now offering online classes. According to a study of several academic leaders, it appears that students are satisfied with the results of online learning as much as with the traditional learning contexts. As it stands now, most of the institutions offering online learning are those that are for-profit. This is perhaps due to the high costs associated with maintaining the systems and personnel needed for the online learning classes. Perhaps when the costs of the system decrease, more institutions may offer online classes.It cannot be denied though that online learning programs are on the rise. Post-graduate degrees, particularly, are utilizing online learning programs (Nagy, 2005, p. 80). This paper seeks to look into the online lea rning phenomenon, the different issues arising from it and the way in online learning differs from traditional schools. Given the differences in approach, it would be necessary to analyze online learning and look at the areas where it works best and at the areas where it is not very effective. In comparison with traditional schools, there are marked differences in online learning settings.In the first place, students and teachers are no longer â€Å"physically present† to conduct the learning sessions and discuss about issues and concerns regarding different topics at hand. The level of discussion has been transferred from physical presence to virtual presence. Moreover, students and teachers alike can no longer see each other. Hence, they can no longer rely on visual and body clues whether they understood each other or not. The interaction tends to be limited to online interactions, which are largely driven by text and written communication.The Basics of Online Learning Onli ne learning is a high technology variation of distance learning through correspondence, which have been used by schools and educational institutions prior to the Internet’s widespread use and popularity. With online learning, there is a number of technology being used to facilitate the learning process. There are multi-media applications and presentation available through a CD-ROM or through a secure website, emails, blogs, wiki, chat, as well as podcasts and discussion boards among others being used for this purpose.Most of the time, these tools and equipment are used together to help maximize the learning process for the student. The usual approach in online learning is the establishment of a Virtual Learning Environment, which has a particular kind of user interface so that the student can navigate through the system more easily. A number of universities are now offering online college degrees in addition to the degrees being offered through the traditional programs that t hey have. Online certificate programs are also widely available.In addition to traditional schools and online classes, a lot of universities are also using the Internet to provide advice to students, counsel them, and make books and resources available to students wherever they may be (Salmon, 2000, p. 27). There is a trend towards blended learning, in which traditional classroom instruction and online learning are blended together. Through this approach, students are able to maximize their time during the class sessions and they also make use of multimedia to address different topics in their online classes.Usually, online learning boosts the student’s learning capabilities or help them do something specific. The multimedia content may have information only or in some cases, the multimedia applications also require the student to perform some activities or tasks related to the lessons being studied (Salmon, 2000, p. 31). Pedagogical Approaches used in Online Learning Online learning is similar to traditional schools in that it still has to use the pedagogical approaches although there are differences in the way that these approaches are applied to online learning.In the first place, the instructional design for online learning is also developed by an educator based on the curriculum being followed by the online course. The social constructivist pedagogy is also applied to online learning. Through the different technological tools available, the students and the teachers can collaborate together in different online activities. Through the use of forums, and other interactive tools such as blogs, the students and the teacher alike are able to create content for themselves and for the benefit of the whole class (Lambropoulos & Zaphiris, 2007, p.106). There is also a conversational model described by Salmon (2000, p. 24), which works best in online discussion forums occurring online. Through the online conversations and collaborations, online students can also develop the cognitive aspect of learning since the senses and the brain coordinates well in doing the online learning. Their learning process though is slightly modified because of the different situation in online learning. Yet, the emotions of students are also engaged in the process of learning online (Areskog, 1995, p. 37).The difficulty, however, is that detecting these emotions are not automatic and the teacher and students may have to rely on word clues as to the emotional state of a student. After all, nobody can see a person be affected emotionally through the texts being written in chat boxes. Truly, the realm of the physical is no longer present in online learning environments. The behavior of students in online learning environments is also a little more difficult to measure and gauge as they are not able to make a presentation in front of the whole class or catch the stare of the teacher.If a student is bored during an online class, the teacher has no clue whatsoev er except perhaps the lack of paragraphs and sentences being communicated by the student. Perhaps, the teacher or facilitator may be able to detect a bored and sleepy student if he makes an irrelevant remark. The context of online learning is also very different from traditional schools. At least, in traditional schools, students may be able to enjoy the full environment of the academe—the library, the laboratories, as well as interactions with different teachers and students.This is lacking in the online learning environment. True, the student may have additional learning opportunities online but the experience of being in an academe is still different. Although this is the case, online learning should enable a student to still interact with other people and help them embark on a joint pursuit of learning and discovery of knowledge. Likewise, the pressure emanating from other students is also important in the learning process.

Union-Management Relationships in Perspective Essay

Union-Management Relationships in Perspective - Essay Example The main people involved in the labor relationships are management and the union. There are other groups of people who are affected but not to a great extent. Labor relationships in the United States involve the following three assumptions. First, there is a conflict of interest between employees and employers. Employees aim at increasing their personal wealth through higher wages and safer working environments whereas the main of a goal of the management is to increase the returns. This results in a conflict of interest between the two parties. The second assumption that is made is that employees have a right to pursue their employment interests within the parameters of the law in a free society. This is usually not the case since employees usually face some constraints which deter them from fully pursuing their rights. Finally, employees are not required to join a labor union but if the majority of the employee group wants to join a union they should be permitted but in most cases, employees belong to a union. The performance of the economy affects the bargaining item. The focus when the economy is doing well will be different from when the economy is downsizing. International forces also influence bargaining in one way or another since no single economy operates in isolation. In the past few years, union membership has decreased. There have been various labor organizations, the earliest ones dating to early 1900. Prior to World War I there were three major national labor organizations. They were the Knights of Labor (KOL), the American Federation of Labor and the Industrial Workers of the World. The KOL opposed spreading of technology in a bid to protect its members from being replaced by machines. The American Federation of Labor major goal was to improve the material conditions of its members through the existing capitalistic system.

Assignment 6 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

6 - Assignment Example Some of the differences between managers are leaders are that managers are administers while leaders are innovates and that managers are never original in their positions or even capacities but leaders are original (McCue & Jack 42-51). A manager tends to maintain status quo, focusses on control, and has a short-range view while a leader develops, focuses on people, inspires trust, and has a long-range perspective. Managers ask how and when, has eye on the bottom line while leaders ask what and why, and have eye on the horizon. A leader or a manager are two words that are used interchangeably to describe individuals holding formal authorities in organizations irrespective of their behavior in such positions. A manager does not necessarily exercise leadership in positions in which they are appointed even though leadership is just part of management. Generally, there are skills or traits that an effective leader is required to have as explained by various theories both old and contemporary theories. Some of the main traits that appear in leaders are ambition, zeal, intelligence, self-directive, and self-confidence (McCue & Jack 45-57). At times, physical characteristics, capability, and persona may be important aspects used to summarize what a leader is. There are six distinct characters that popular effective leaders have such as honesty and integrity. In addition, drive, motivation, cognitive ability, and business knowledge are also other characteristics of leaders. These traits would definitely distinguis h whether a manager will be an effective leader or not. Leaders are incredibly ambitious persons who are never afraid of taking inventiveness as well as people whom apart from willingness to lead, are especially ready to take charge. Furthermore, leaders usually have technical expertise in their businesses and are straightforward people who fulfill their promises. Leaders are individuals who

Presentation Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Presentation Skills - Essay Example Communication is the purpose of a presentation, especially the reception of the audience. The presenter must be able to transmit the required information in a manner that is understandable and interesting to the audience, whether it be one person or an entire nation. When preparing a presentation it is essential to know your audience. By having familiarity with the audience's concerns and probable opinions concerning what you are going to say, one can be more relaxed during the actual presentation and not be sidelined by unexpected questions or responses. A presentation looks easy enough to do; and it should, it indicates that the presenter is an expert communicator well versed in the subject or material at hand. This ease comes from rigorous preparation before the presentation. Next comes the planning stage; a list is made regarding information and audio/visual aids to be used. A rough draft of the presentation is made and examined; it is critical to write the draft in order to organise one's thoughts and be able to strike out any superfluous or unnecessary information (University Of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1999). At this stage, any irrelevancies will be extracted and the logical sequence of the information can be constructed. In cases of doubt concerning content, good planning will propel the presenter to either find the answers or leave the information in question unsaid. The next stage of planning is deciding which aids to use and how many. This is where equipment in good working order is critical; an overhead projector, a laptop computer with projector, slides, video and recording equipment can fail during a presentation and this can spell disaster to the untrained or unprepared presenter. It is a good idea to have a backup plan in case of an equipment failure, such as printed poster boards and an easel. Knowing that there is a 'Plan B' will put the presenter at ease and relaxation is imperative to a good presenter. Next comes rehearsal. Some might think that rehearsing in front of a mirror is silly, but it is important to take note objectively of your own presentation skills. Can you listen to yourself well Even better is to rehearse in front of a video camera and play back the presentation, taking note of hesitancies or tendencies to exhibit nervous behaviour such as adjusting the necktie or twisting the ring. These behaviours detract from the presentation significantly. In assessing yourself prior to the presentation it is essential to be objective in critiquing your own skills. There is always room for improvement, no matter how seasoned the presenter. If you rehearse in front of colleagues, listen to their feedback and make the necessary changes well before the presentation date in order for your changes to be more natural to you. One item of interest to keep in mind is the fact that most people will only remember three things from your presentation (presentationhelper.co.uk, online, 09 October 2005). It is important to know what three points you want your audience to remember in advance and plan the presentation around those. One example of this interesting phenomenon is Winston Churchill's famous 'blood,

Youth Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Youth Violence - Essay Example These crime activities can be avoided with the help of sharply recognising the fact that if they are noticed thoroughly and stopped strictly in the first place, then there are lesser chance of such crimes. Unluckily, not much study is done for the analyst of young violence. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP's) Study Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders took in accommodation about 22 researchers who researched for two years to summarise the current risk of these children to decrease the chances of getting involved in criminal activities. It has been realized by the long term studies that the predictors of childhood aggression that help in cutting down the percentage of violence with the kids. It illustrates the power as well as the time limit of the factors regarding protection in the favor of the children when it is to its peak. Avoidance and involvement are the two major factors of the predictors. The violence will not rise to its peak if we keep the protecting action and protecting factors in our mind. The quarrel that has been going on regarding globalization includes the points which are required to regulate the global financial system so that the people will get the advantages and the problems that they have been facing will be resolved. There are a few ones who are pressurising on getting out the blockade to international investment so that the capital will owe more competently and give the patrons a variety of choices to go with (http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1468-2311.2006.00403.x). Abstract: Research of "international youth justice, punishment and control" are in the beginning stages but the cases of "globalisation, trans nationalisation, policy transfer and localisation are steadily being spoken about. This report talks about how transatlantic policy transfer is connected to youth justice. Though the topic of youth justice is not very advanced or developed, but steadily it is catching attention. "From a theoretical point of view it is inspired by assessments of how far individual nation states can hang on to their own sovereignty in the face of economic and political globalisation." Looking at the youngsters of English and comparing them with the ones in European countries, the question is brought up after seeing youngsters behind bars that why are there so many children under eighteen are locked up in prison in UK and Wales, but on the other hand, the European countries have a pleasant life. This report takes in a wide summary of advancements in youth justice mostly in western cultures and gives a shot to untangle how forces of "repenalisation and adulteration confronted by the apparently opposing forces of welfare protectionism, restoration, and rights." There is an extensive supposition that the number of young people who need to be punished is increasing day by day in the whole world. With the help of several steps of "adulteration", it can be supposed that nowadays young people are not getting love and care which they should be getting, they are not getting protection nor do they need any of these things instead they are more in desire of penalty due to which they will suffer from the wrong actions of their own. Due to this, the children's rights are being decreased. One noted factor is the impact of the UN Convention in the year 1989 on the Rights of the Child, which emphasizes the significance of including proper

Managing Homeland Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing Homeland Security - Essay Example I will be working with the city planners and commission to evaluate the existing zoning laws and building codes. We will work with the local and state law enforcement agencies to analyze any potential for man made threats. As risks are encountered, I will work with the appropriate agency or department to resolve any budgetary concerns that are needed to take corrective action. As we work to reduce the risk and minimize the impact, we will also be preparing for a disaster should one strike. We will work with FEMA to draw up an appropriate response plan, and coordinate getting key people the necessary training that they may require. We will also develop a communications system and contact list so that we will be prepared to communicate with the appropriate local, state, or federal agencies and people as needed. We will be appointing numerous emergency planners in the major institutions and organizations in the community that we can coordinate our activity with in the event of an emergency. This will include the public utilities, hospitals, highway department, and public transportation. We will also work with local, state, and federal officials to assure that the city has the necessary resources needed during a disaster. This includes hospital supplies, fuel, and critical survival materials. In the event of an emergency or disaster, our department will coordinate the appropriate level of response. We will be responsible for contacting and monitoring the wide variety of agencies that may be needed. This will vary depending on the type of disaster, but may include fire and rescue, medical personnel, geologists, or the weather bureau. We will have a public information officer that will act as an information liaison between these agencies and the public in an effort to keep the people well informed. The disaster may be able to be handled locally, or may involve FEMA or specialized hazardous materials personnel. We will work with the public utilities to resolve issues with the gas and electric supply. We will also work with public transportation and the highway patrol in the event that an evacuation is needed. As the damage is assessed after the emergency, this department will begin to work to restore the city and its infrastructure. We will work with state and federal agencies in regards to funding and the availability of material resources. Some things may be able to be restored immediately, such as utilities, but other projects may be longer term, and managed by state or federal agencies. Temporary housing may be needed, as well as day-to-day supplies to maintain our daily life. While this department does not directly perform these functions, we assure the correct agency is responding appropriately. 2.) One of my first acts as the Emergency Management Coordinator would be to form an Emergency Planning Committee by selecting some key members from the police department, fire department, and the hospitals, as well as other agencies and organizations. I would then work with the committee to draw up an emergency response plan that outlined the roles of the various agencies in the event of an emergency. One of our first duties would be to create a contact list and a communications plan. I would

Marshall Fisher. What is the right supply chain for your product Assignment

Marshall Fisher. What is the right supply chain for your product - Assignment Example Fisher argues that in some instances, performance has significantly worsened as a consequence of costs rising to unprecedented levels (Fisher, 1997). Based on his ten years’ research on the topic of supply chain in different industries ranging from fashion, food and apparel to automobile, Fisher devised a framework aimed at assisting managers to settle on the best supply chain for their specific products and situations. Fisher’s article aims at assisting managers comprehend the nature of the demand of their products and services and create a supply chain, which can best suit this demand. Fisher begins by arguing that a lot of brain power and technology has been applied with the view of improving supply chains. Organizations have the capacity o acquire and retain the voices of their customers using sophisticated marketing tools. The primary aim of a successful supply is to accurately identify and respond to market demands. According to Fisher, the first and perhaps most important step in developing and effective supply chain strategy is to appreciate the nature of demand for one’s company’s products. In order to attain this objective, companies typically make use of agile manufacturing, automated warehousing and mass customization (Fisher, 1997). However, these efforts continue to prove ineffective as supply chains worsen with each passing day. A notable symptom of this problem is the notable excess of one product and the scarcity of another. This begs the questions of why firms are unable to develop the performance of their supply chains and how these problems can be tackled in an effective manner. Fisher shows that if an individual classifies products and services on the basis of their demand patterns, these products fall into two major categories: the products are either primarily innovative or functional. Each of these categories calls for a distinctly unique form of supply chain. A primary problem arises from the mismatch between the type of product category and form of supply chain utilized. Therefore, an effective supply chain must first identify the type of product through criteria such as demand unpredictability and lifecycle. Functional products fulfill basic needs and have long lifecycles and stable and predictable demand. Innovative products have short lifecycles and it is relatively difficult to predict their demand since they depend on prevailing fashion and lifestyle causing uncertain market reactions. Fisher argues that after ascertaining the type of product being supplied, a company should determine whether the company’s supply chain is responsive to the market or physically efficient before using a matrix to determine the ideal supply chain strategy (Fisher, 1997). Functional products typically need effective supply chain processes while innovative products require responsive processes. Companies dealing in functional products are presently realizing the detriments of focusing on cost re duction, which causes diminishing returns. Consequently, firms are shifting towards sustaining coordination with corporate stakeholders such as distributors and suppliers who play a pivotal role in the supply chain processes. This coordination presents growing opportunities especially in light of the development of electronic networks, which enable closer coordination. However, companies often use the cooperative and competitive strategies to their detriment since the two approaches need dramatically diverse behaviors (Fisher, 1997). On the other hand, companies dealing in innovative products seek systems that provide high levels of product availability

Commodity chain & a pair of Steve Madden shoe Assignment

Commodity chain & a pair of Steve Madden shoe - Assignment Example Mars family and there exist varieties of other Snickers goods such as the, dark chocolate, ice cream, bars that contain almonds as well as bars made out of peanut butter. The ingredients that go into the production of Snickers include milk chocolate that consists of sugar, cocoa butter, skim milk, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin as well as artificial flavor. Other ingredients are salt, peanuts, soybean oil that has been moderately hydrogenated, egg whites, corn syrup, chocolate and synthetic flavors2. The Snicker bar is actually the bestselling chocolate of all time that is manufactured by the Mars group, which is situated in New Jersey in the United States, but the ingredients that go into the final product are sourced from different places in the Americas. For instance, the paper that is used to wrap the bar after it has been manufactured is produced in Canada, sugar that goes into the Snickers Bars comes from Brazil, peanut from Argentina, corn syrup from Iowa, chocolate cocoa from Guyana, vanilla from Mexico and milk from Wisconsin. All these ingredients are sourced and brought together in the manufacturing stage to come up with the final product that is the Snickers Bar. Once all the ingredients that are needed in the manufacturing process have been collected by the company, the processes of manufacturing the Snickers bar then begins. It is usually very rare to find companies that produce chocolate buying the cocoa that is needed in the manufacture directly from the farmers, as they have to buy through the intermediaries or the sub-suppliers. The cocoa is fermented in a process that may take almost a week and after this process3, the beans are supposed to be dried as soon as possible to makes sure that it does not grow mould and also to give it the rich chocolate flavor. After the semi-sweet chocolate has been processed, it is mixed with butterscotch chips, peanut butter, milk, sugar, vanilla, marshmallow cream and butter. The mixture of these ingredients

Osmosis and Diffusion Essay Example for Free

Osmosis and Diffusion Essay The basic principles of Osmosis and Diffusion were tested and examined in this lab. We examined the percent increase of mass and molarity of different concentrations of sucrose in the dialysis bag emerged in distilled water and the potato cores emerged in concentrations of sucrose. The data reinforces the principles of Osmosis and Diffusion, and in a biological context, we can simulate how water and particles move in and out of our own cells. Introduction Objective: 1. Investigate the process of osmosis and diffusion in a model of a membrane system. 2. Investigate the effect of solute concentration on water potential as it relates to living plant tissue. Background Information: Molecules are in constant motion; they tend to move from areas of high concentration, to areas of low concentration. This broad principle is divided into two categories: diffusion and osmosis. Diffusion is the random movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. This is considered a passive form of transportation because it does not require any additional energy to transport the molecules. In the body, carbon dioxide and oxygen can diffuse across cell membranes. Osmosis is a special type of diffusion where water moves through a selectively permeable membrane from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water potential. In our body, water diffuses across cell membranes through osmosis. Water potential is the measure of free energy of water in a solution and is shown with the use of the symbol ÃŽ ¨. Water potential is affected by two factors: osmotic potential (ÃŽ ¨Ãâ‚¬) and pressure potential (ÃŽ ¨p). Osmotic potential is dependent on the solute concentration, and pressure potential which is the energy that forms from exertion of pressure either positive or negative on a solution. The equation to find the sum of water potential is: Water Potential = Pressure Potential + Osmotic Potential ÃŽ ¨w = ÃŽ ¨p + ÃŽ ¨Ãâ‚¬ The purpose of this lab is to observe the physical effects of osmosis and diffusion and to determine if it actually takes place. We hypothesize that, because molecules diffuse down a concentration gradient, the mass of the dialysis tubes will increase, and we believe that as the molarity increases, the percent of change in mass will also increase. Hypothesis: Diffusion and osmosis will occur until dynamic equilibrium is reached. As the sucrose concentration of the solution increases so will the mass. Materials Exercise 1: 1. 6 strips of dialysis tubing 2. Distilled water 15-20ml 3. 0.4 M sucrose 15-20ml 4. 0.8 M sucrose 15-20ml 5. 0.2 M sucrose 15-20ml 6. 0.6 M sucrose 15-20ml 7. 1.0 M sucrose 15-20ml 8. 6 Beakers Exercise 2: 1. 100ml of distilled water 2. 100ml of 0.4 M sucrose 3. 100ml of 0.8 M sucrose 4. 100ml of 0.2 M sucrose 5. 100ml of 0.6 M sucrose 6. 100ml of 1.0 M sucrose 7. 6 Beakers 8. Potato slices (4 for each solution) 9. Scale 10. Plastic wrap 11. Thermometer Methods Exercise 1: 1. Obtain 6 strips of dialysis tubing and tie a knot in one end of each. 2. Pour approximately 15-20ml of each of the following solutions into separate bags. 3. Remove most of the air from the bag and tie the baggie. 4. Rinse the baggie carefully in distilled water to remove any sucrose that may have spilled and carefully blot. 5. Record the mass of each baggie and record. 6. Fill six 250ml beakers 2/3 full with distilled water and place a bag in each of them. Make sure that you record which baggie is which. 7. Let the bag sit for 20-30 minutes. 8. After 20-30 minutes, remove baggies from the water, and carefully blot dry. 9. Measure the mass of each baggie and record. Exercise 2: 1. Pour 100ml of your assigned solution into a beaker. Slice a potato into 4 equal lengths about the shape of French fries or tubes. 2. Determine the mass of the 4 potato cylinders together and record. 3. Place the cylinders into the beaker with your assigned solutions and cover with plastic wrap. Leave overnight. 4. Remove the cylinders from the beakers and carefully dry them. Record the room temperature in Celsius. 5. Determine the mass of the 4 potato cylinders together and record. From these results, it can be concluded that the hypothesis is justified and correct. The data shows that the mass increased as the concentration of the sucrose solution increased. Osmosis is clearly being replicated in the physical form. Analysis Change in mass depends on the concentration of sucrose within the dialysis bags. If the concentration of sucrose is greater inside the bag than outside, then water will move into the bag. If the concentration of sucrose is lower inside the bag than outside, then water will move out of the bag. These two things are directly proportional. As the mass increases, so does the molarity. These are inversely proportional because whenever the sucrose molarity inside the bag is more concentrated, it will become more dilute and vise versa. The solutions will reach equilibrium somewhere between the two concentrations. The hypothesis is accepted based on the data that was obtained because as the sucrose concentration increased so did the final mass of the solutions. One possible source of error could be the tightness of the string that tied off the dialysis tubing. If there was a leak or a break in the dialysis tubing, all of the data would be off. Another possible source of error could be that the students did not pat dry the potato sample well enough causing drops to be left on the electronic balance, tarring it incorrectly, causing all other data to be off slightly. Simple mathematical errors always occur, so there is always room for simple algebraic mistakes in this section of the lab. Conclusion The purpose of this lab was to describe the physical mechanism of osmosis and diffusion and describe how molar concentration affects diffusion. We have  now observed how solutions diffuse in different situations, always from a high concentration to a low concentration, and how molar concentration affect diffusion, as the molarity goes up, more solution is diffused. We hypothesized that because molecules diffuse down a concentration gradient, the mass of the dialysis tubes will increase, and also that as the molarity increases, the percent of change in mass will also increase. Our data did support our conclusion. Exercise 1 proved that water moves across the selectively permeable membrane of the dialysis tubing much easier than sucrose sugar does. The water moved to reach equilibrium between the solutions. Sucrose must be too large a molecule to pass through the membrane quickly. Exercise 2 showed that the potato samples took in water when immersed in a distilled water solution. Potatoes must contain sucrose molecules due to the conclusion of this lab because the potatoes take in water in the distilled water beaker. Potatoes had a lower water potential and higher solute potential than the distilled water. It is just the opposite inside the beaker. Works Cited â€Å"PHSchool – The Biology Place.† Prentice Hall Bridge Page. Pearson Education, June 2007. Web. 12 Sept.2011. Moulton, Glen E. â€Å"Cell Theory, Form, and Function: Fluid Mosaic Model of Membrane Structure and Function — Infoplease.com.† Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research Homework Help. — Infoplease.com. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. http://www.infoplease.com/cig/biology/fluid-mosaic Bowen, R. (2000, July 2). Osmosis. Retrieved February 14, 2009, from http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/cmb/cells/pmemb/osmosis.html Sheppard, T. (2004). Diffusion and Osmosis. Retrieved February 14, 2009, from http://www.blobs.org/science/article.php?article=20 Campbell, N. A., Reece, J. B. (2005). Biology (7th ed.). New York: Pearson Education Inc.

The volume of oxygen gas produced in a certain time Essay Example for Free

The volume of oxygen gas produced in a certain time Essay I will also being doing 3 repeats of each reaction in order to get a set of more reliable and accurate results because they results will vary. The reactions will be as follows: 1) 5 cm3 of H2O2 and 5 cm3 of yeast (100% of yeast) 2) 5 cm3 of H2O2, 4 cm3 of yeast and 1 cm3 of water (80% of yeast) 3) 5 cm3 of H2O2, 3 cm3 of yeast and 2 cm3 of water (60% of yeast) 4) 5 cm3 of H2O2, 2 cm3 of yeast and 3 cm3 of water (40% of yeast) 5) 5 cm3 of H2O2, 1 cm3 of yeast and 4 cm3 of water (20% of yeast) 6) 5 cm3 of H2O2 and 5 cm3 of water (0% of yeast) (Control of experiment). This is how the experiment will be carried out after setting up the apparatus: 1) Use syringe to add y cm3 of yeast into the conical flask. 2) Use a second syringe to add the x cm3 of water depending on how much yeast is going to be used. (Look at the list above) Make sure volume of gas in syringe is still 0 cm3. 3) Use a third syringe to put 5 cm3 of H2O2 into the conical flask and use the other hand to start the timer on the stop watch at the same time as the H2O2 is added. (Leave syringe in the tube so it stays air tight). 4) Note the volume of gas given off in cm3 when the timer reaches 15 seconds. 5) Rinse conical flask and then repeat with 80%, 60%, 40%, 20%, 0% of yeast (use the list of reactions above for volumes) 6) Repeat each reaction 3 times Safety Always wear lab coats, glasses and gloves because H2O2 is a substance that very corrosive and can cause lots of damage to the skin and it can also blind if there is contact with the eyes. If there are any spillages onto the skin or it seems you have a burning sensation on your skin, rinse immediately and inform teacher. If there is any contact between eyes and H2O2 inform the teacher quickly and rinse until the teacher attends to you. Variables and Fair Test In this experiment I will have to keep certain variable the same in order to get accurate and reliable results. In total there are 7 variables in this experiment and they are the following:   pH   Temperature   Enzymes Concentration   Substrate Concentration Total volume   Time   Oxygen produced Out of all of these variables there is one Dependent Variable, this is oxygen produced variable because this is what I am measuring by altering one of the other variables. Apart from the dependent variable all of the rest are independent variables and so therefore any one of these could alter the dependent variable giving me unreliable results. Therefore I will now explain what these variables can do and what to do with them in order to keep them constant. The variable pH is important because if the pH of the solution in which the enzyme is present is too low or too high the enzyme will not function properly because the pH will damage the shape of the enzyme and the shape of the active site making it so that the substrate molecule will not be able to fit into the active site, thus not allowing the enzyme to break it down. This will mean that the rate of oxygen produced will slow down. In my experiment I will keep the pH about 7 because this is Catalases optimum pH and this maintaining of pH is not difficult because all the substance that I am going to use will be neutral pH. This damaging of the enzyme is called Denaturing and is permanent.. Enzymes as I said earlier were proteins and this is why they can be denatured very easily. Temperature is important because it is able to increase the rate of oxygen produced and also decrease the rate of oxygen produced. I know it can increase the reaction rate because if there is a higher temperature the particles would have more kinetic energy and therefore there would be a faster rate of collisions and a higher % of successful collisions because since the particles would have more energy it would be easier to reach the activation energy and so more reactions (this would be the opposite if it was a lower temperature). The rate of oxygen produced could be decreased by the fact that proteins can easily be damaged by heat so if there is a high temperature the enzyme can be denatured and if there is a low temperature they can become inactive. My experiment will be done at room temperature. Enzyme concentration is not a problem because this is the variable which I am changing to find out the effects it has on the dependent variable. Substrate concentration can alter my results in two ways. One is that it will make my results quicker than they should be, if I put a higher volume in some and lower in others because from Collision Theory I have learnt that if there is a higher concentration of a substance in a solution it will have more collision which means more reactions and therefore this will make my results quicker than if I used a lower concentration of it. I can solve this problem by using the same volume of H2O2 in all my reactions. The second way that substrate concentration can affect my results is that it can level off the rate of oxygen made, if all the substrate is catalysed within my time range. I can solve this problem by simply using excess substrate but at the same time I will still have to keep the volume the same because of the problem I discussed earlier. Total volume must also be kept the same because otherwise the experiment would be unfair due to collision theory. This is because if the numbers of particles are changed, the number of collisions would be changed and therefore this means the number of reactions would change leading to a different amount of gas produced in my experiment. I can solve this by adding water when I use a smaller amount of enzyme. Time is another one of the variable that must be kept the same because if not the reaction would have more or less time to react and so producing different volumes of gas. I can solve this by always letting the reaction go on for the same amount of time; this will be 15 seconds in my experiments.

Platinum Resistance Thermometer

Platinum Resistance Thermometer Platinum Resistance Thermometer How it works: The simplest resistance thermometer configuration uses two wires. It is only used when high accuracy is not required as the resistance of the connecting wires is always included with that of the sensor leading to errors in the signal. Using this configuration you will be able to use 100 meters of cable. This applies equally to balanced bridge and fixed bridge system. Temperature range: Operating Range -200  °C to 1200  °C Advantage: It has a wide range and is very accurate. It is best for small steady temperatures. Disadvantages: Unsuitable for rapidly changing temperature. Slow to respond. Optical Pyrometer How it works: A pyrometer has an optical system and detector. The optical system focuses thermal radiation onto the detector. The output signal of the detector (Temperature T) is related to the thermal radiation or irradiance of the target object through the Stefan-Boltzmann law, the constant of proportionality, called the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and the emissivity of the object. This output is used to infer the objects temperature. Thus, there is no need for direct contact between the pyrometer and the object, as there is with thermocouple and Resistance temperature detector (RTDs). Uses: The optical pyrometer is widely employed for accurate measurement of the temperature of furnaces, molten metals and other heated materials. It is primarily used in the range of 1000 to 50008F. Most optical pyrometers are manually operated and thereby are somewhat limited in their application. Pyrometers are suited especially to the measurement of moving objects or any surfaces that cannot be reached or cannot be touched. Temperature range: Optical Pyrometers with a range of 700C 1250C have an accuracy better than  ± 58C while those having a range of 1100 -1900 have an accuracy better than  ±108C. Temperature ranges can be measured between approximately 1,300 to 5,800oF (700 to 3,200oC), and with appropriate filters, the disappearing-filament pyrometer temperature ranges can be ex-tended to approximately 18,000oF (10,000oC). Advantages: Measures high temperatures. Thermocouple How it works: It consists of two dissimilar metals, joined together at one end, which produce a small unique voltage at a given temperature. This voltage is measured and interpreted by a thermocouple thermometer. Uses: A thermocouple is a sensor for measuring temperature. However, thermocouples have a wide temperature range (-200 to 2000  °C) and are often needed simply because alternative devices do not operate at the desired temperature. In addition, they are relatively low-cost and versatile. Temperature range: Operating Range -200  °C to 2000  °C Advantages: Wide range, robust and compact and good for rapidly changing temperatures. Disadvantage: For good quality a milli voltmeter is needed. When to use RTDs or thermocouples The two most common ways of measuring industrial temperatures are with resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) and thermocouples. But when should control engineers use a Thermocouple and when should they use an RTD? The answer is usually determined by four factors: Factors: Temperature, time, size, and overall accuracy requirements. If process temperatures fall from -328 to 932 °F (-200 to 500 °C), then an industrial RTD is the preferred option. Thermocouples have a range of -180  °C to 1300  °C (-300 to 2300  °F) so for extremely high temperatures they are the only contact temperature measurement choice. If the process requires a very fast response to temperature changes-fractions of a second as opposed to seconds (i.e. 2.5 to 10 s)-then a thermocouple is the best choice. Keep in mind that time response is measured by immersing the sensor in water moving at 1 m/s (3 ft/s) with a 63.2% step change. A standard RTD sheath is 3.175 to 6.35mm (0.125 to 0.25 in.) in diameter, while sheath diameters for thermocouples can be less than 1.6mm (0.062 in.). If the process only requires a tolerance of 2  °C or greater, then a thermocouple is appropriate. If the process needs less than 2  °C tolerance, then an RTD is sometimes the only choice. Keep in mind, unlike RTDs that can maintain stability for many years, thermocouples can drift within the first few hours of use.

William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying Essay -- As I Lay Dying 2014

â€Å"The past is never dead. It's not even past.† ― William Faulkner In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, characterization, specifically through the multitude of narrators, transforms an otherwise pedestrian plot into a complex pilgrimage to the truth. As I Lay Dying is told from the perspective of fifteen different characters in 59 chapters (Tuck 35). Nearly half (7) of the characters from whose perspective the story is narrated are members of the same family, the Bundrens. The other characters are onlookers of the Bundrens’ journey to bury their mother, Addie. Each character responds to the events that are unfolding in a unique way and his or her reactions help to characterize themselves and others. â€Å"†¦each private world manifests a fixed and distinctive way of reacting to and ordering experiences† (Vickery 50). They may choose to constrain their reaction to the realm of audible indulgence in the form of word, through the actions they take, or by reflecting upon the situation in contemplation. These responses shed light upon what kind of personality each character possesses. On a conscious level the characters make decisions based upon three criteria. They can act on sensation, they can use reason for guidance, or they can act upon their innate intuition. â€Å"Faulkner is able to indicate the particular combination of sensation, reason, and intuition possessed by each of his characters†¦ through a subtle manipulation of language and style† (Vickery 51). Faulkner portrays each character through their thought process and thus characterizes them as the product of their choices. The eight non-Bundrens, friends, neighbors, and onlookers alike, are employed by Faulkner to characterize the family members, however the credence of t... ...s against us lazily† (Faulkner 158). Works Cited Campbell, Harry Modean, and Ruel E. Foster. A Critical Appraisal. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1970 Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New York; Vintage Books, 1985 Kinney, Arthur F. Faulkner’s Narrative Poetics Style as Vision. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1978 Magill, Frank N. â€Å"William Faulkner.† Critical Survey of Long Fiction. Englewood Cliffs: American Libraries, 1985 Morris, Wesley. Reading Faulkner. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1989 Tuck, Dorothy. Crowell’s Handbook of Faulkner. New York; Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1964 Vickery, Olga W. The Novels of William Faulkner A Critical Interpretation. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959 Wadlington, Warwick. As I Lay Dying: Stories out of Stories. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992

Lit. Analysis :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most people are kind to strangers. For example, they might be willing to return a purse, or perhaps take two lost people into their home. Or, in some cases, you would keep a secret or something about the others’ lifestyle, to yourself. All this is seen in the short story â€Å"Searching for Summer† by Joan Aiken. In this paper, I intend to prove to you that the above statements are true.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the story â€Å"Searching for Summer†, two young people, Tom and Lily, are married. At this time, the sun was hidden behind large clouds from, possibly , a nuclear blast. This is not made clear to the reader in the story. For their honeymoon, Tom and Lily went off in search of the sun. they motorbike that they were driving on broke down so they stopped in the town of Molesworth. They met an elderly lady and her blind son at a bus stop. When they realized that the lady had left her purse, they decided to return it to her at her home into the woods. When they arrived, they discovered that the sun always shone at William and his mother‘s cabin. When they returned to the town to retrieve the fixed motorbike, they kept the sun secret to themselves when asked about it by the nosy innkeeper and left.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom and Lily were kind to the elderly pair when they hardly knew them. They brought the old lady’s purse to her. â€Å"She walked so slowly.....I think we ought to take it to her, don’t you Tom?† (676). To me this quote shows how Lily is willing to help a person she doesn’t even know. Another time that this trait is shown is when we find out that Lily is still wearing her wedding sandals on the walk to the old lady’s home, even though it is painful. â€Å"Lily was still wearing her wedding sandals......†(676). Not very many people would be willing to go through pain and agony to return a purse. I know that I might consider waiting until I had more comfortable shoes. But this just goes to prove that some people are just kinder than others to strangers. But they aren’t the only ones in this story who are this way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William and his mother show kindness to Tom and Lily in the story. When Tom and Lily arrive at their cabin, the old lady shows much gratitude and invites them in, even though she has just met them.

President Abraham Lincoln Essay -- American History

On the fourth of March in 1861, Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth President of the United States of America. President Lincoln was born on the twelfth of February in 1809 in a log cabin located in Hodgenville, Kentucky, and died at the age of fifty-six on the fifteenth of April in 1865 in Washington, D.C. In 1834, Abraham Lincoln was elected as a member of the Whig party into the Illinois state legislature. Being involved with politics helped form and shape his view about slavery. Lincoln then began teaching himself about law using William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. In 1837, Abraham Lincoln moved to Springfield, Illinois, and started working at the John T. Stuart Law Firm. After working as a lawyer for a few years, Lincoln had the privilege of serving a term in the United States House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849. During his term in the House of Representatives, Abraham Lincoln voiced his opposition to the Mexican-America, which made hi m unpopular and caused his decision of not running for another term. After leaving the United States House of Representatives, Lincoln returned to his lawyer profession back in Springfield, Illinois. Abraham then became more involved with politics once again when congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed individual states to choose whether they were free or slave states, in 1854. In 1856, his feelings about slavery were heightened, and he decided to join the Republican Party. During the year of 1858, Abraham Lincoln flipped politics upside down and exposed many things about the government. Doing this, Lincoln became very popular with politics. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln began campaigning for President of the United States. As previously st... ...014. . "Native American Atrocities - The Sand Creek Massacre." Last of the Independents - An Independent Web Designer. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. . "Our Documents - Home." Welcome to OurDocuments.gov. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. . "Our Documents - Home." Welcome to OurDocuments.gov. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. . "PBS - THE WEST - The Homestead Act (1862)." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. . "The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow . Jim Crow Stories . Freedmen's Bureau | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. .

Disaster and emergence management program

Disaster Management can be defined as the administration and organization of responsibilities and resources for dealing with all human centered aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, action and recovery in order to reduce the effect of disasters. A disaster can be described as an abrupt, calamitous event that severely cut off the functioning of a society or community and results in material,economic and human or environmental losses. Disaster and emergence management program.This essay focuses on the overall idea of how to manage effectively disasters and emergence cases on a national level so as to minimize losses to people and property. The main objective is to reduce the outcome of the disaster on people,the environment and property. To effectively control events,stop escalation and rehabilitate the affected persons or population in order to speed up recovery. In order for this objective to be archived several measures have to be undertaken and strictly implemented.Be ing prepared for emergencies is of paramount importance since disaster can strike quickly and without warning. Four major steps need to be followed so as to come up with a comprehensive plan that will tackle disasters and emergencies effectively. First of all is the issue of putting in place appropriate public policies and plans that either adjust the repercussions of disasters or lessen their effects on people, property, and infrastructure. This will include proper installation of a coordination,organization and command structure along with efficient competent and capable personnel.In order to reduce the effects of inescapable disasters measures such as carrying out vulnerability analyses updates, following the laid out building codes and regulations,setting up preventive health care and public education have to be set. All these measures have to be integrated in the national and regional development planning and its proficiency will rely on the accessibility of information on haza rds,sudden risks and countermeasures to be taken. These plans are put in place in anticipation of a disaster .The second step is to set up preparedness plan in order to achieve a reasonable level of readiness to counter any emergency situation through programs that reinforce the technical and managerial capacity of organizations, communities and governments. These measures can be described as logistical preparedness to deal with disasters and can be elevated by having response mechanisms and procedures, practice performances, developing long-term and short-term procedures, public education and installing early warning systems.Preparedness can also take the form of ensuring that strategical reserves of water, food, medicines, equipment, and other fundamentals are maintained in cases of national or local calamity. During the preparedness phase, organizations, individuals and governments,build up plans to save lives, reduce disaster damage, and strengthen disaster response operations. Preparedness measures include preparedness procedures; emergency exercises/training; warning tactics; emergency communications machinery; evacuations procedures and training; resource inventories; emergency personnel/contact lists; collective aid agreements; and public education.The third step is the human centered action and it normally involves the humanitarian agencies which are often called upon to deal with instant response and recovery. To be able to act effectively, these agencies must have well versed leaders, competent personnel, sufficient transport and logistical support, pertinent communications, and guidelines for carrying out emergencies. If the needed preparations have not been made, the humanitarian agencies will not be able to handle the imminent needs of the people.There is also the issue of response which aims at providing instantaneous assistance so as to maintain life,encourage the morale of the affected community and enhance health Such contribution may range f rom providing specific but limited aid, such as helping refugees with transport, impermanent shelter, and food, to establishing temporary settlement in camps and other locations. It also may involve primal repairs to damaged substructure. The main focus of this step is to meet the basic needs of the population until more lasting and sustainable solutions can be established.Ashman, John. (1995. ). The final stage of the disaster management plan is the recovery stage. As the emergency is brought under manageable levels, the affected population is notable of embarking on an increasing number of activities targeted at restoring their lives and the substructure that helps them. There is no particular point at which instant relief changes into recovery and then into long-term bearable development. There will be numerous opportunities during the recovery period to enhance anticipation and increase readiness, thus lessening vulnerability.Ideally, there should be a smooth change over from re covery to on-going development. Recovery activities go on until all systems are back to normalcy or better. Recovery plans, both long and short term, include returning crucial life-support systems to minimal operating standards; semi-permanent housing; public information; adequate health and safety education; rebuilding; counseling programs; and economic effect studies. Information resources and services include data collection and review related to reconstruction, and documentations of lessons acquired. Ashman, John.(1995. )Feinstein, R. (1989/90, 5(1) ).The capacity of human resource involved in a disaster management program especially on a national level can not be quantified. There are numerous stakeholders that are involved and must be integrated for it to be a success such as decision makers,policy makers, professionals ,administrators, (architects, engineers and others at various levels) financial institutions (banks,house financing institutions, insurance,) and NGOs and volu ntary organizations. The same applies to financial and material resources which are vast.In the case of finances professional accountants should be involved so that they can clearly evaluate th possible extent of financial damage resulted by different types of disasters including the verification of estimates and valuation of disaster affected assets. They evaluate the different options of coping with disaster from the financial perspective and advise, devise and evaluate different procedures for assuring that resources would be available for disaster mitigation at the right time and place needed.The accountants should also advise on alternative strategies for post-disaster management and rehabilitation with specific regard to assuring financial security to the affected, availability and proper use of financial resources for bringing forth new economic opportunities etc. Institute of Education, Library and Media Services,(June 1996. )

Explain to the Board of Director

Explain to the board of director how he or she could use the talent management approach to improve his or her company's performance? A talented work force is an employer's most valuable asset. The talent, skills and contributions your employees bring to the workplace can make or break your organization. Company productivity and profitability depend almost solely on your work force. Therefore, retaining talent is extremely important to executive leadership and human resources departments. Activities related to talent retention are sometimes referred to as part of the talent management process.Some employers combine recruitment, selection and talent retention to achieve talent management goals:- 1 Identify your organization's most talented workers. Employees with exceptional work skills, aptitude, interpersonal skills and desire for success are generally referred to as the most talented; however, employees who lack one of these attributes or need improvement in another area should not be ruled out. Talented employees also demonstrate traits such as high motivation, initiative and discipline.They are the ones who seek additional responsibility and have performance appraisals to prove they are dedicated to helping your company achieve success. 2 Review the performance evaluations of your most talented employees. Determine their strengths and areas for improvement; use this information to draft the outline for a discussion about the employee's career aspirations. Don't be discouraged if your meeting with the employee reveals career aspirations in another field. Taking the time to discuss this topic sends the message that the employee is a valued contributor.One of the reasons employees often cite for leaving a company is that they feel the company overlooks their contributions or doesn't acknowledge their opinions. 3 Conduct a needs assessment to determine the training and development necessary to retain employees with the most promise. Include an assessment to dete rmine training for employees who demonstrate aptitude as well. Consider conducting focus groups with supervisors, managers and executive leadership to determine the best way to keep talented employees satisfied and challenged. Review the job descriptions, duties and responsibilities of employees whom you've identified as the most talented. Re-read performance evaluations for professional goals of these employees and compare them to their current duties. If they don't match very well, consider revising job duties or assigning more challenging work to keep them motivated. Talented employees who are dissatisfied with their current responsibilities look for opportunities elsewhere.You can prevent their departure by offering opportunities that further develop their skills and prepare them for future roles within the company through human resources strategy and succession planning. 5 Recognize your talented employees with letters of commendation, tokens of appreciation or coveted roles wi thin the organization. Employers can retain talent through very simple actions that demonstrate their appreciation for hard workers. Human resources best practices suggest recognition and, in some cases, employee rewards increase motivation and improve retention of talented employees.

Dharma Punx: A Book Review

The book â€Å"Dharma Punx† was written by Noah Levine, the son of bestselling author and Buddhist teacher Stephen Levine. As a writer, he uses a natural, conversational and empathic voice to narrate his story in order to reach out to others who have gone through the same ordeal as he did.This book, which was written in a very thorough narrative serves more or less as his autobiography, focusing primarily on what would probably the most turbulent moments of this life when drifted from one â€Å"movement† to another, from punk rock to drugs and alcohol which nearly sent his life crashing down to the point of self-destruction or suicide which he attempted several times, hence the title of the first chapter is â€Å"Suicide Solution† (Levine, 2003, p. 1).The starting point of Levine's story was at the detention facility where he was confined and at the time, he was going through withdrawal symptoms as the adverse effects of drugs and alcohol were being flushed out o f his system. It was at this point that he would begin to retell his tale on how he got into that situation. Born in 1971, his parents hailed from the â€Å"hippies† generation of the 1960's where they revolted against the establishment at the height of the Vietnam War and one of their mantras was â€Å"Make Love, Not War!† as well as the overflowing freedom of expression of their generation that also indulged in free drugs and sexual promiscuity as well, thereby making the term â€Å"psychedelic† an understatement for their generation that turned to drugs as a way to escape a harsh, brutal and cynical reality they wanted to repudiate. They were trying to create their own brand of utopia but somehow, this would not be perfect as well, and this would be reflected in Levine's own family.In his childhood years in the late 1970s and early '80s, Levine loved to skateboard but partly out of curiosity and influence, he got hooked into punk rock and often watched punk-r ock concerts as well as looking the part of a punk rocker by the time he was in his teens. Punk rock was to his generation what the psychadelic â€Å"hippie† movement was to his parents. Levine said that the situation of his generation made them turn to this fad – like him, the youth of his generation had to cope with problems like broken homes, irresponsible parents who were either alcoholic or drug dependents; there was no responsible adult who could guide them.His parents had divorced by then and he would spend time with each of them, shuttling between their homes in California and New Mexico. Both his parents remarried but his mother's second marriage was fraught with trouble and the irony of that was she met her second husband in a meditation retreat while his father was able to move on and remarry a woman whom he truly loved and gave him a happier marriage (Levine, 2003, p. 5). However, without his â€Å"enlightened† father around to guide him, the younger Levine was susceptible to the temptations of the materialistic world.By the time he was six years old, he already began smoking marijuana and was also trying out other banned substances as well like cocaine. This also came hand in hand in partaking of alcohol which would stay with him for most of his youth. He was so addicted into drugs and alcohol that by the time he was in high school, he had become very violent, often getting into trouble ranging from brawls to vandalism that he was arrested several times for such behavior, something he appeared to have welcomed, owing to his punk rock influence, his own way of defying authority.He eventually dropped out of school and lived like a vagrant, often stealing to support his habit (Levine, 2003, pp. 21-24). In his recent detention in 1988, the point where he was at his very low that his road to â€Å"enlightenment† would begin. When his father visited him, he was the one who had set him on the path by encouraging him to try med itation (Levine, 2003, pp. 3-4). At first, Levine regarded Buddhist teachings as â€Å"bullshit† but the moment he made an effort to try it, he underwent a profound transformation.He began the 12-step program and started attending meditation sessions. He was eventually released and he started on a new path in life. Over the next few years, Levine worked hard on his spiritual growth, even practicing celibacy and taking a pilgrimage to the Far East in search of enlightenment and even meeting and learning from the Dalai Lama himself! He would eventually finish his studies by getting a college degree but he did not stop there.He went further and obtained a graduate degree in counseling psychology as well. He followed in his father's footsteps by also becoming a Buddhist teacher and of all the places where he would like to teach, he chose to be at the very same detention facility where he used to be remanded. Although he is a totally reformed and transformed individual, there is o ne thing from Levine's past that he has not repudiated, his passion for punk rock. He still listens to punk rock, and still acts, looks and dresses the part.He still sports tattoos but the difference now is that his tattoos are Buddhist-inspired such as the lotus flower and Sanskrit inscriptions, making Levine a look-alike of Hollywood actor Vin Diesel famous for his role as agent â€Å"XXX† where he would also sport tattoos. One of the things Levine discovered about Buddhism is that it is very open-minded into tolerating anything that would compliment it. Buddhist teachings, particularly the Zen school of thought, say that if an individual can be one with that particular subject, that is also Buddhism.Levine himself will attest that punk rock, contrary to what conservative thinkers may think, is not anathema to society at all. This is, of course, looking at it from a Buddhist perspective. Other people tend to view punk rock as wild, violent and to a certain extent, destructi ve. As Levine would also admit, he turned to punk rock as a way of defying the status quo of his generation, much like his parents were part of the â€Å"hippie† movement as an expression of defiance of the status quo of their own generation as well (Levine, 2003, p.34). The nice thing about Buddhism is that it has a way of channeling the excess energy away from the destructive path. If there was one other thing that Levine learned from his enlightenment, it is that death is not the answer to his problems when he was attempting to commit suicide. For most people, to take one's life is the way of the loser, notwithstanding the â€Å"samurai† concept of suicide where they would take their own lives to erase the stigma of the shame. It does not apply here and this can be interpreted in several ways.From the Hindu/Buddhist perspective, there is the concept of â€Å"karma† and reincarnation where one's conduct in the present life would have an influence on what will become of them in the next. While these beliefs recognize death (as a natural occurrence), it does not encourage people to commit suicide. Based on â€Å"karma,† the one who commits suicide might find himself or herself reincarnated in a much lower life form because of this and surely, no one would like to be reborn as an animal or a microscopic organism!In most beliefs, death is not the end, but rather the beginning of the next phase, provided it would be allowed to take its natural course. Committing suicide would disrupt the grand design for the individual in the universe. One notable aspect of Buddhist Dharma is the direction one's path will be, depending on the choices made. Levine's somewhat troubled past serve as the basis of his writings and teachings. â€Å"We all sort of have a different doorway to dharma or spiritual practice. Suffering is a doorway.For me it was the suffering of addiction, violence and crime which opened me at a young age, 17 years old. I was inc arcerated, looking at the rest of my life in prison and thought, ‘Maybe I will try dad's hippie meditation bullshit. ‘ Suffering opened me to the possibility of trying meditation. † (Levine, 2003, p. 246) All in all, â€Å"Dharma Punx† is not only an autobiography, it is a spiritual journey of one individual who has endured probably the worst life can throw at him, send him on the wrong direction but through corrective â€Å"enlightenment,† was able to bounce back and become spiritually whole again.And if the spirit is â€Å"whole,† the physical body will follow as well. Noah Levine went through hell and came out of it intact. If this were to be applied in international relations, one thing Buddhism can teach is violence and hatred is not the answer to the problems in the world. Buddhist teachings teach compassion and empathy and if nations would like to establish close relations with one another, they have to begin by establishing a spiritual connection which is first done by â€Å"letting go† of one's self.Buddhism teaches that the reason why there is so much suffering in this world is due to worldly desires. In international relations, the struggle for power often puts nations at odds with one another and this often leads to wars. Buddhism teaches the opposite, in letting go of these desires and to empathize. In doing do, not only are friendly relations established, but one's own interests will be met by others and one need not worry about it anymore.Finally, â€Å"Dharma Punx† is a very enlightening book which is highly recommended to anyone, not necessarily to those who went through the same ordeal as the author went. The author had been there and had done that yet he would not encourage anyone to go through it. Nevertheless, the book is very helpful for anyone who needs to be steered to the right direction of real happiness which is something no worldly goods can provide.