Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Top Causes of Lake Pollution

Top Causes of Lake Pollution In an extensive sampling effort, the Environmental Protection Agency, with the help of state and tribal agencies, coordinated water quality assessments for the country’s lakes. They evaluated 43% of the lake surface area or about 17.3 million acres of water. The study concluded that: Fifty-five percent of the study’s water acreage was judged to be of good quality. The other 45% had waters impaired for at least one type of use (for example as drinking water supply, for recreational fishing, swimming, or aquatic life support). When considering man-made lakes alone, the proportion that was impaired jumped to 59%.Water quality is sufficiently high to allow swimming in 77% of the waters assessed.Aquatic life was not supported adequately by 29% of lake waters.For 35% of the lake waters surveyed, fish consumption was not recommended. For the impaired lakes, the top types of pollution were: Nutrients (problematic in 50% of impaired waters). Nutrient pollution occurs when excess nitrogen and phosphorus make their way into a lake. These elements are then picked up by algae, allowing them to grow rapidly to the detriment of the aquatic ecosystem. Overabundant cyanobacterial algae blooms can lead to toxin build-up, oxygen level drops, fish kills, and poor conditions for recreation. Nutrient pollution and the subsequent algae blooms are to blame for Toledo’s drinking water shortage in the summer of 2014. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution comes from inefficient sewage treatment systems and from some agricultural practices.Metals (42% of impaired waters). The two main culprits here are mercury and lead. Mercury accumulates in lakes mostly from atmospheric deposition of pollution coming from coal-fired power plants. Lead pollution is often the result of accumulated fishing tackle like sinkers and jig heads, and from lead shot in shotgun shells.Sediment (21% of impaired w aters). Fine-grained particles like silt and clay may occur naturally in the environment but when they enter lakes in large quantity, they become a serious pollution problem. Sediments come from the many ways soil can be eroded on land and carried into streams then lakes: erosion can originate from road construction, deforestation, or agricultural activities. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS; 19% of impaired waters). TDS measurements can be interpreted as how salty the water is, generally due to high concentrations of dissolved calcium, phosphates, sodium, chloride, or potassium. These elements most often enter the roadways as road salt, or in synthetic fertilizers. Where do these pollutants come from? When assessing the source of pollution for the impaired lakes, the following findings were reported: Agriculture (affecting 41% of impaired waters). Many agricultural practices contribute to lake water pollution, including soil erosion, manure and synthetic fertilizer management, and the use of pesticides,Hydrologic modifications (18% of impaired waters). These include the presence of dams and other flow regulation structures and dredging activities. Dams have extensive effects on a lake’s physical and chemical characteristics, and on aquatic ecosystems.Urban runoff and storm sewers (18% of impaired waters). Streets, parking lots, and rooftops are all impervious surfaces that do not allow water to percolate through. As a result, water runoff speeds up to storm drains and picks up sediments, heavy metals, oils, and other pollutants, and carries it into lakes. What Can You Do? Use soil erosion best practices whenever you disturb soil near a lake.Project lake shorelines on your property by preserving the natural vegetation. Replant shrubs and trees if needed. Avoid fertilizing your lawn close to a lake’s edge.Encourage the use of sustainable farming methods like cover crops and no-till farming. Talk to farmers at your local farmers market to find out more about their practices.Keep septic systems in good working order, and have regular inspections conducted.Encourage local authorities to use alternatives to road salt in winter.Consider your nutrient inputs from soaps and detergents, and reduce their use whenever possible.In your yard, slow down water runoff and allow it to be filtered by plants and soil. To accomplish this, establish rain gardens, and keep drainage ditches well vegetated. Use rain barrels to harvest roof runoff.Consider using pervious pavement in your driveway. These surfaces are designed to let water percolate into the soil below, p reventing runoff. Choose alternatives to lead when selecting fishing tackle.   Sources: EPA. 2000. National Lake Assessment Report. EPA. 2009. National Lake Assessment: A Collaborative Survey of the Nation’s Lakes.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Case Study Analysis

Case Study Analysis Case Study Analysis Case Study Analysis One of the frequently assigned college assignments is writing case study. Read the following casestudy analysis tipsand learn how to write a case study analysis. Usually, case study analysis is based on specific situation. You are required to analyze the given situation, to solve the presented problems, and offer a recommendation. Sometimes, you are required to consult textbook and relevant articles to support your personal opinion. The purpose of case study writing assignment is to check your theoretical knowledge and an ability to apply gained knowledge to real-life situations. Secondary sources can be from historical documents, photographs, tape recordings and even statistical information. Many students do not understand that literary, historical, scientific or sociological sources are difference in essence and should be used with careful referencing. Case study analysis writing is easy with our help: Critical Essay Writing While citing secondary sources, you have to include in-text citation and bibliography entry. Endnotes are the most desirable referencing technique for case study analysis writing. Endnotes do not distort the flow of your ideas and make a reference to the source. Your tutor will definitely appreciate if you approach him for clarification. Placing an order at .com, you receive custom written case study analysis which meets all of the requirements set by the tutor. Critical essay writing requires deep understanding of the problem and an ability to analyze the situation, to apply critical thinking skills, and draw logical conclusion. Not all students are able to cope with critical essay writing assignment and seek professional assistance. We offer custom paper writing help to those students who struggle with their academic assignments. Writing Critical Essay What is the first step of case study analysis? The first step of critical case study analysis is reading of the case itself. You should be ready to read it more than twice. The first reading is done for acquaintance only. The second reading is done to identify the key players (people), to underline the problems, to make some notes and comments, and to get a detailed perception of the situation. Case study analysis writing is a challenge because you cannot simply express your opinion, you have to support it with examples from recent publications. Every idea you include should be supported with reliable evidence. Custom writing help is a solution for busy students. Do not hesitate to place an order and you will be very surprised with the high quality. Read more: Draft Essay Rough Pay For Essay Need a Professional Essay Essay Editing Editorial Essay Topics

Thursday, November 21, 2019

MGMT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

MGMT - Assignment Example The person sitting next to me was a strikingly attractive young woman. She raised her hand to ask a question and we were stunned when the lecturer failed to address her by her name (as he had all of the males that were asking question). Instead, he said, â€Å"What’s your question blondie?† The room immediately became uncomfortable but the lecturer seemed to have no idea that what he had said was sexist. She asked her question, received her answer and sat fuming and embarrassed for the remainder of the morning. I regret that I did nothing. I felt horrible for her but felt powerless to do anything. I didn’t want to speak up because I was a new hire and besides, this gentleman was so well regarded in the community. At the very least I think I should have said something to the offended party afterwards, but I didn’t. I think that if I had it to do all over, I would have taken a moment to say something to the lecturer at the break for lunch. I think I should have let him know that I think he offended one of the new hires by the way he addressed her. I think at the very least, I should have let him know that he made me feel uncomfortable by referring to her as â€Å"blondie†. I understand that this man was from a different generation and that such a comment might have been tolerated when he was much younger. But that isn’t an excuse. It does place the comment in context, but I can still remember that embarrassed and uncomfortable emotion I felt in the training session that

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Experiment on Prisoner and Prison Guard Psychology Movie Review

Experiment on Prisoner and Prison Guard Psychology - Movie Review Example The two works illustrate that the negative quality of the surrounding environment has a big role to play in creating violent people. There are similarities between the Experiment movie and the actual experiment that Zimbardo conducted. First, both consist of volunteers that take part in a psychological study, who act as guards and prisoners. The Experiment movie and the actual experiment involve making prison life as real as possible. In the actual exercise, the police arrested prisoners without a warning from their homes and drove them to a nearby police station. Within a short time, the guards in the actual experiment began treating them like any other criminal  (Zimbardo). They fingerprinted, photographed, and blindfolded them before driving them to prison rooms. The rooms have bare walls, small cells, barred doors, and windows. Within no time, every participant settles into his role. Secondly, both The Experiment and the actual exercise involves taunting of prisoners with insults, pointless tasks and dehumanizing actions. For example, in The Experiment movie, Barris leads a group of other guards to abduct, shave and urinate upon Travis, a hard-headed prisoner that plots a strike. In the actual Zimbardo’s experiment, prisoners were also humiliated to a point of starting to develop some mental disorders. Evidently, the two movies depict violence since participants go through emotional and psychological discomforts, stay in a poor environment, and are physically insulted. According to psychology, violence is an extreme form of aggression such as rape, murder or assault (Gerdes  142). It results from frustration, violence in homes, tendency to view other people’s behavior as hostile, and exposure to violent media. Psychologists also agree that some situations such as insults, drinking, provocations, drinking, and unsuitable environmental factors may also increase the risk of aggression. Sociologists define violence as harmful actions of people

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Transformational Leader Essay Example for Free

Transformational Leader Essay The entire world has been caught up in the events leading up to the 2008 United States Presidential election. The selection of Barack Obama as America’s first African American President, and his highly effective campaign, provides us with a prime example of the power of transformational leadership, and the means by which change occurs. The notion of transformational leadership is not just pertinent, however, to the worlds of politics and the community. It is highly relevant to the corporate world and organizations as well. While Obama’s ethnicity is obviously noteworthy and is a large part of what makes this election so significant, there is another critically important component of this moment which people have a tendency to ignore. It has to do with the transformation that has taken place in the minds of voters in the US and the hearts of people around the world. The change that has occurred is a direct result of the President-elect’s ability to inspire change. He didn’t change the people themselves, which would be impossible. What he did change was the way they see the world and their place in it. Business leaders operate under similar circumstances because they also must engage employees and inspire them to feel a part of an organization. Transformational leadership involves more than charisma and emotion. It involves more than giving good speeches and making people feel good. In his hallmark definition of the term James MacGregor Burns coined the term transformational leadership as â€Å"leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and the motivations the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations of both leaders and followers.† [Italics original] The leader is not merely wielding power, but appealing to the values of the follower. In this sense, values mean, â€Å"A principle, standard, or quality regarded as worthwhile or desirable,† (Webster’s New Riverside University Dictionary). Burns insists that for leaders to have the greatest impact on the â€Å"led,† they must motivate followers to action by appealing to shared values and by satisfying the higher order needs of the led, such as their aspirations and expectations. He said, â€Å". . . transforming leadership ultimately becomes moral in that it raises the level of human conduct and ethical aspiration of both leader and the led, and thus it has a transforming effect on both.† Change doesn’t just happen. It needs an impetus. Einstein in his Theory of Relativity applied the laws of physics to matter and we can apply this theory to universal behavior. As force is applied to an object in the direction of motion, the object gains momentum and gains energy. President-elect Obama was the force for change; he introduced a new direction that would address the needs as he saw it. In order for the notion of transformational leadership to be relevant, three elements must be present: 1) A Clearly Articulated Vision 2) Statements that Inspire People to Connect; and 3) A Detailed Plan to Execute. 1) A Clearly Articulated Vision The history of the world is replete with examples of charismatic leaders who have led their nations and a cause. The names of Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, Napoleon Bonaparte Julius Caesar, Mao Tse-tung, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt evoke tremendous feeling. The Industrial Revolution also evokes thoughts regarding the titans of industry like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell and JP Morgan who had an incontrovertible and formative impact on that era. The vision that was articulated by the individuals in these two categories, the ability to inspire people to connect and the plans that were executed to make the vision a reality is indisputable. In the present, we may not know the names of all of the transformational leaders who are making change in their sector, but it certainly is happening. Apple, Google, Tata Motors, Carrefour, and Toyota, for example, are having an undeniable global impact on our everyday behavior and interaction. Apple’s iPod, for example, has revolutionized the way we think about listening to music, the way we purchase music, the way we share music, and even the way we define our personal space. The question for business leaders within organizations such as Apple is how to achieve the multiplier effect of this leadership pattern in order to bring about continuous innovation and improvement? How do we replicate this leadership pattern at the department and team level in order to generate change in every sector of an organization? How do we grow transformational leaders so they can rise to the positions of influence to positively impact organizational change? Transformational leadership must occur throughout the organization, not just at the top, in order to bring about the full synergistic effect. For example, when a CEO articulates the vision of a company, it is up to the global presidents and department vice presidents to execute the vision. But they must also be able to communicate that vision in a way which translates into local or regional needs. People must buy into the vision and relate it to â€Å"what’s in it for me.† To the extent that they do this, the overall vision becomes more compelling. This starts the process of aligning the vision and connecting it to local needs and desires. A clearly articulated vision must have in it the elements which point to a better way for dealing with the present and the future. It must provide a context to address the most pressing issues in a manner which is innovative and compelling. Innovative because any change strategy needs to outline what will be different from the status quo. It must be compelling because it must be believable. People must feel that this vision will definitely lead to a better way of doing things. 2) Statements that Inspire People to Connect The most powerful visions also are those which have a few words that are easily understood and restated. This eases the communication process and enables everyone to embrace the vision as their own. In the 21st century a brief statement is marketing sin qua non. In others words, it is essential to excellent communications. As transformational leaders seek to communicate their vision using various venues, they begin to appreciate the marketing challenge of disseminating their message out and ensuring comprehension of their message. In 1964 Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase The medium is the message meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived, creating subtle change over time. 21st century transformational leaders ignore the medium at their peril. In order to give a vision the wings it needs to travel, it must Inspire People to Connect. This is when a vision really begins to come alive. It comes alive because people believe that the vision will take them from where they are to where they want to be. In organizations it means that employees can begin to align to a better way of doing their work; reaching their customers or constituencies; and providing the goods and services which will make them more effective, productive and profitable. When people connect on a cognitive and emotional level it begins to move them to action. This action contains the seeds for producing change. Einstein stated that â€Å"no problem can be solved with the same type of thinking that created it†. Inspiring people with a different message gives them an alternative way to approach their challenges. It is this connective element that provides the momentum to a vision and gives it longevity. It is this connective element that enables people to align with each other in a different way to meet their challenges. By connecting with the vision they are also reenergized to act. When we talk about motivation this is where it begins. People are motivated to act and engage differently because they can connect to something new, innovative and inspiring. Obama’s incredibly effective â€Å"Yes We Can† slogan is a great example of how a simple statement can encompass a lofty inspirational theme, yet still pertain to day to day action. The slogan was simple, inspirational, easy to remember, and resonated on a number of levels regardless of one’s unique personal circumstances. Furthermore, Barack Obama and his team revolutionized the way they used the internet to connect their vision to people. They provided a continuous stream of messages via mobile phone, internet, the web and countless other technological mediums in a personalized manner practically every day for two years! You always felt that the vision was on top of mind and that they were speaking directly to you. Every message had your name on it. You didn’t feel you were part of a mass communication campaign. The messages were simple, informative and compelled you to action. Corporate transformational leaders need to embrace these same innovative techniques if they are to connect with the workforce of today. This type of connection or engagement is crucial to attracting and retaining high potential workers. When workers are fully engaged, a noted Gallup study of Oct 2006 indicates, they are more motivated and more productive. Specifically engaged employees work with passion and have a profound connection to their organization. They drive innovation and move their organization forward. Unfortunately, not enough attention is paid to how people connect to a vision. They must go through a process of enrolling with the vision so that they feel it is their own. In essence, a vision connects when people internalize it and say that it is not just someone else’s vision, it is their own. This feeling of ownership is crucial to success. By implementing goal alignment processes, organizations can involve every department in the effort. Individual departments need to know tactically what their role is in contributing to the greater good. They must feel that this vision will definitely enhance their way of performing and interacting. When they have this ownership, then they are motivated to act in different ways. This engagement is directly correlated to employee retention as staff will leave an organization when they can’t get their needs met, and they feel that they don’t identify with the way things are done and with the values or vision of the organization. In short, just having a vision statement will not achieve results. 3) A Detailed Plan to Execute In order to increase the ownership process, one has to move from â€Å"what â€Å"and â€Å"why† to â€Å"how†. Transformation falls short when this is not in place. Invariably many great plans fall apart at the connect points. A critical connecting point is a detailed plan to execute the vision. This begins to complete the circle. It is no surprise that when you have a wonderfully articulated vision, people will then want to see how it works. For many, this is the litmus test of whether the vision is a good one or bad one! Consequently, transformational leaders must help people understand that their vision is just the starting point. They must articulate the complete process that individuals must go through to make true change a reality. During the transition period, it is easy for people to get discouraged because the path to a new future can be difficult to see and follow at times. There must be constant communication and education along the way to keep people focused on the goal. The vision becomes a compass leading people through the turbulent times. Conclusion Indeed change can happen in any organization when there are transformational leaders who clearly articulate the vision; inspire people to connect to the vision and detail the plans in order to achieve the vision. It is this type of leadership that will bring about true innovation, productivity and employee satisfaction as organizations strive to be relevant on a global basis. The success of the Obama campaign was not magic. It relied on a disciplined approach articulating the vision, inspiring people to connect to it, along with a plan of execution. This same pattern can be duplicated in the business world on an organization-wide level. And if done correctly, it can yield awesome results from the entry level to the corporate suites. The challenges in front of us demand no less. Turning middle managers into transformational leadersIn these turbulent times, nearly every organization is facing the need to transform to survive or thrive.The concept of Transformational Leadership (TL), which plays a direct role in creating change, establishing a vision, and giving confidence to employees to explore new directions, therefore becomes popular once again in management development.By Uwe Napiersky, Business Psychologist Learning Architect, PhD.The transformational leaders Undergoing such development empowers an organization to greatly exceed previous levels of accomplishment. The transformational leaders are able to challenge and motivate an entire organisation – top to bottom. They care about people and want people to succeed. Th e result is individual, group, and organizational achievement and morale. Many organisations consider the transformational approach of leadership as a revitalisation to increase competitiveness, sustain growth and to develop their talents further (remember the war for talent hasn’t stopped!).Instead of exercising formal authority and power over others resulting from a manager’s formal position in the hierarchy, empowering and enabling people is a key behaviour. The approach represents positive values like quality, performance, respect and fairness.To create a culture of high performance, where everyone in the  organisation is consistently working together to improve performance, not only top management needs to exercise transformational behaviour, but the middle management does as well. Leadership needs to be demonstrated at times by everyone in the organisation. How can middle Managers develop Transformational Leadership? 1. A change of mindset 2. Development of new (transformational) behaviours 3. Three fundamentals for the design of a transformation process in the organization. 1. A change of mindsetFrom organizing work and â€Å"doing things right† to motivating, inspiring and coaching Typically technical professionals, with e. g. engineering, IT, finance or scientific background are promoted to positions in middle management. Entry and middle management roles mainly consist of task oriented behaviours like planning budgets, setting priorities, controlling and solving problems etc. which are often summarized as â€Å"doing things right†; This is known as a â€Å"transactional† management mindset.This kind of management is necessary for the every day functioning of the business but does not bring about change or major innovation. To use a popular expression, it is good in â€Å"rearranging the deck chairs of the Titanic, but can’t keep the ship from sinking†.To increase personal impact, a person has to shift his/her mindset (and subsequently behaviour) towards influence oriented behaviour, relationship trust building skil ls, combined with caring to sustain a motivational environment, which inspires and empowers.The manager needs to shift his/her mindset radically, by perceiving his/her role as focusing on people, their dreams, development needs and emotions; rather than primarily managing tasks and planning. 2. Development of new (transformational) behaviour: A – Openness to feedback, via 360 degree feedback data A 360 degree feedback tool provides a structured approach to self discovery and a process of understanding yourself which creates awareness about your strengths and areas for development. B – Coaching subordinates Coaching and facilitating subordinates to develop their strengths and work on their development needs enables both the acceptance and understanding of feedback as well as the commitment and relevant action plan steps and practicing of new behaviours.Coaching can be done in one to one sessions, in teams or with peers. It is essential to work on real life/business situations and how to translate theory into manageable relevant action steps.Developing openness to feedback and coaching skills  and behaviours can build confidence, openness and ability for the participant to deal positively with the challenges to exercise new behaviours like motivating and coaching others. C – The understanding, commitment and endorsement of the top management to the objective of a transformational leadership process The implementation of TL via training programmes will not be effective unless part of its objectives and design principles are coherent with what TL is really about. The commitment of all stakeholders is necessary for the success of the training programs (trainers, participants (managers), their bosses, senior management, CEO of the firm) and is a critical success factor to make TL work!Senior management will need to facilitate and nurture a culture of transformational leadership, and to be ready to become mentors who will assist the new managers to develop their own self-confidence to lead change, their own skills set as well as develop the self-concept that allows the transformation from a manager to a leader. 3. Three fundamentals for the design of a transformation process: A – Start by stopping to work with purely cognitive models of change It’s a process and not a 2-day course! And a successful process will not be mastered only on a cognitive level; it has to be exercised on a behavioural level too. Therefore it needs a safe space for learning, reflecting and experimenting. To develop TL means that intentional effort must be made to adopt a transformational style.The process of the self transformation and a learning journey for middle managers mostly starts with understanding ones own personal visions, values and how to manage the developmental process. B – Behaviour change takes more than a good theory and good explanations It needs self awareness and behaviour change interventions. In particular, it needs self directed learning and motivation to challenge oneself in a field which is mostly new for most middle managers with a technical background.The transition for a transactional manager into a transformational leader requires time to learn a new skill set, demonstrate new behaviours and embrace a new mindset. The appropriate understanding of how to apply TL is not about some things you do with your employees, it is the positive stimulating relationship with your employee. C – Include a systematic approach of Monitoring Either include existing instruments for measuring the impact of TL or they can be developed – tailor made – to the specific needs of the organisation. The evaluation methods and  tools provide information about individual and organisational processes as well as the impact on business results. Conclusions * Create an integrated and flexible process design * Build positive dynamic for middle management

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Freedom and Virtue in John Miltons Comus and Areopagitica :: Comus and Areopagitica Essays

Freedom and Virtue  in John Milton's Comus and Areopagitica  Ã‚  Ã‚      The martyred author of Utopia, Sir Thomas More-executed for treason against the king-is credited with the final words, "If I must live in a world in which I cannot act within my conscience, I do not wish to live!" Generations later, the fiery patriotism and explicit candor of Patrick Henry led him to utter the renowned "Give me Liberty or give me death!" Along the same lines of these two men, John Milton's "Areopagitica" argues that the essence of life is freedom to choose how one lives it. In another of Milton's works, the masque play Comus, the Elder Brother's statements concerning virtue establish some of the foundations for his argument in the work he wrote "in order to deliver the press from the restraints with which it was encumbered" (716).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The root of Milton's assertions lies in his complete hope in the prevailing of virtue. In these two works, confidence in virtue and in the ability of good men to practice it is crucial. The first part of the Elder Brother's statement is, in fact, a comment on confidence, in response to his brother's question concerning the unfavorable odds stacked against the Lady, their sister. He says, "Yes, and keep [confidence] still,/ Lean on it safely . . . against the threats/ Of malice or of sorcery, or that power/ Which erring men call Chance" (584-588). The Elder Brother's remarks show that he believes in the triumph of the Spirit against all odds, including the Fates and Fortune. As he states, "this I hold firm;/ Virtue may be assail'd but never hurt,/ Surpris'd by unjust force but not enthrall'd," because it is founded upon the "will and arm of Heav'n" (588-600). Milton's argument in the "Areopagitica" holds true to these ideas also, that we must have confiden ce in virtue and its ability to triumph over all trials and temptations because-if it is truly of God-it will stand predominant over all evils. In outlining his argument, Milton reminds his audience over and over of the duty they have to trust in the virtue of their fellow men; just as God allowed Adam to have the choice to err, so must the state give men the right to choose, to try their own ideas of virtue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Spirit describes: Great Comus . . . whose pleasing poison

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

American Declaration of Independence a product of the European Enlightenment

The United States Declaration of Independence adopted in 1776 by the congress was a product of the European enlightenment as it drew it's philosophical basis from European era of reason. This declaration focusing on individual rights and as well as the right to revolt, borrows deeply the Europe philosophers recommendations having studied in details institutions of governance and incorporation of scientific knowledge to aid mankind. England being one of the most enlightened country by then, was the colonizer of the American thereby influencing the political leaders focus in America at that time (Jefferson et al, 21-23).Therefore, American revolution protest against the England authority provided the blue print in the reorganization for democratic society that was later to be emulated by many in the world. Donald et al (51-52) argues that, the foundations of the enlightenment were laid back in 17th and 16 th centuries as European expanded it's territories to Asia, Africa, America colon ization as well as the advancement of the scientific revolution.Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson formed the main anchors in the establishment of the the Great revolution in America and establishment of the declaration by drafting the initial draft and leading the later amendments. Declaration preparation Liam (331) points out that, as Jefferson prepared the declaration strongly envied great personalities in Europe that gave him the inspiration. Francis Bacon who was referred by Jefferson as the modern science father or English enlightenment godfather, advocated for applied sciences at the expense of basic science and technology.Jefferson was even more inspired by Bacon's stand on the need to advance knowledge for the sake of the people. He believed that greater things were possible with conventional knowledge through the basic realm of ethics, science and politics. According to Annenberg Foundation Trust (91), Sir Isaac Newton theories of mechanics and the consequent discovery of the gravity laws through the mathematics principles molded Jefferson's believe in divinity and its resultant harmony.As adopted in the American Declaration, Christianity and scientific deism strongly held that in total, that nature was as a result of supreme divine work but subjected to the universal laws with the divine power being fully absent (Jefferson et al, 23). John Locke who lived from 1632-1704 influenced the larger Europe and later the establishment of the American Declaration of Independence with might. Jefferson was a strong advocate for the Locke's ideas that emphasized for reasoning in all the decisions made when governing people.Jefferson also adopted in the declaration, the idea of nature and limits during governance in order to realize various objectives (Gearon, 52-53). As strongly advocated for in the declaration, Jefferson from Locke, enshrined the concept of innate knowledge and morality. As it comes out in the declaration, individuals beliefs and morality m ust be respected since they are unique and at all times, the governing institutions must protect them. In addition, the declaration calls for justice which Locke emphasized must be used to reduce the societal injustices.In his letter of Human understanding he insisted on knowledge and establishment of facts for scientific and Human understanding. Basement of human rights At the onset of eighteenth century, French and Britain thinkers laid the ground work for for observing and adopting human rights in the society. They believed that human rights must be entrenched deeply in the political governance structures of any society. Europe having undergone the great war in the mid 17th century which was sparked by religion, political and economic strife had understood importance and significance of democracy towards development.King George's letter of May 1775 requesting him to address the grievances of the people went unanswered resulting to the assumption of responsibilities by the congres s to govern the US. Governance and English colonies. America having been discovered back in 1942, the inhabitants understood that they needed the freedom just like the European countries were enjoying. As indicated earlier, Thomas Jefferson as he wrote the declaration, established the need to have free people in order to achieve development in the country. It insisted on the need for technological advancement for the full human potentials to be appreciated (Jefferson et al, 23).Under the oppression therefore it was impossible to trend the same path as the people like Isaac Newton and Locke had moved through. Government support for the people which Britain was advocating, totally lacked provoking revolts in order to achieve the expected results. Like in Europe the declaration insisted that, governments are instituted by men who directly derive their power with the consent of the governed. Therefore, whenever the administration by the people turns out to be destructive, the governed h as the right to disband it at will.Jefferson insisted that it is better ignorance than error and insisted that truth must form the basis of their liberation. England as it held the 13 united states did not fully allow them to access freedom of governance and even after the declaration it sought the help of Germans to fight back. As independent as England country was, the declaration sought to ensure happiness to the people of America (Gearon, 52-53). The king of Britain being ruthless, ruled through usurpations and injuries, inflicted tyranny over all the states that drew the anger from the people prompting their quest for freedom.As the European philosophers had discovered, there was need to go an extra mile in order for their freedom to be achieved. Major discoveries were not established without struggle as Isaac Newton indicates in his scientific discoveries. Religion spread. Europe acted as the conduit through which religion was transferred to majority of other countries and sta tes in the world. Britain hosting Independent and Presbyterian church established the nobility of the divine power which formed the basis of drafting the declaration.Strong revolutionaries and philosophers underscored the essence divinity that was evident in the later application of the statues contained in the declaration by the leaders. Freedom for all the people without discrimination either of their color or race indicated the quest for human sovereignty at all times (Liam, 331). To increase the harmony and improved cohesion, Jefferson strongly believed that there always was supreme powers that even though not actively or directly involved stood to reward the good deeds at all times.Differentiation was specially derived and the great divide experienced during the prior years in Britain and Germany was avoided. It was used to bring sanity and harmony among the people who had been long oppressed therefore ensuring a smooth transition. Later during the Americans liberation, religio n and divinity was anchored in the people's attitudes as they ensured that their quests did not result to blood shed at any moment. Martin Luther king junior called for peaceful demonstration where they could articulate their ideas without causing any harm or suffering to the people (Jefferson et al, 23).Modernization in America Due to great oppression by the colonial masters in all the states, modernization was impossible with all the economical and political structures being controlled by the King of Britain. Strong institutions of governance in the whole of Europe especially in England, Germany and France were envied by those who drafted the declaration having schooled in the European countries (Annenberg Foundation Trust, 89). Great inspiration was derived from the strong industrial revolution and economic sustenance in their countries.Due to these muscles in their own countries the political might which made England manage to fight from far and assume such powers, was highly en vied (Paul, 279-280). Conclusion. Declaration of American independence is a clear indication of the European enlightenment influence into the American development of their governing institutions. From the writers of the declaration, to the whole USA, the early philosophers and scientific discoverers propelled the quest for freedom in America (Paul, 110).Besides, the declaration was written during the time when oppression from the Britain King had reached it's peak and slave trade effects were most rampant. Setting of the European countries that helped them establish strong structures in their governance anchorage was highly emulated making America to later win the fight with Britain. Finally, religion as spread by the colonialists formed the basis for determination that the task they embarking on was noble thereby assisting them to remain together in the quest fro freedom. References Annenberg Foundation Trust. Understanding Democracy: A Hip Pocket Guide.Washington: Oxford Universit y Press, 2006. Donald, K. , Steven, O. , & Frank, M. The western heritage. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002. Gearon, L. Freedom of Expression and Human Rights: Historical, Literary and Political Contexts. Washington: Academic press. 2006. Jefferson, Thomas. , Garnet, K. , & Michael, H. The Declaration of Independence. Washington; Verso, 2007. Liam Gearon. Human Rights & Religion: A Reader guide. London: Sussex Academic Press, 2002. Paul, A. (2001). The First American Constitutions: Republican Ideology and the Making of the State Constitutions in the Revolutionary Era. London: Rowman & Littlefield.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Reading of the modernists involved such a process of disturbance Essay

‘Modernist writers disturbed their readers by adopting complex and difficult new forms and styles’. To what extent has your reading of the modernists involved such a process of disturbance? Modernist literature flaunts difficult, often aggressive or disruptive, forms and styles; it frequently challenges traditional ‘realistic’ style and is characterised by a rejection of 19th century traditions. Literary modernism focuses on breaking away from rules and conventions, searching for new perspectives and points of view, experimenting in form and style. It breaks up and disturbs the settled state of literature and emphasises a re-structuring of literature and the experience of reality it represents. Although art always attempts to ‘imitate’ or represent reality, what changed was the understanding of what constitutes reality, and how that reality could best be represented. Modernist literature is marked by a break with the sequential, developmental, cause-and-effect presentation of the ‘reality’ of realist fiction, towards a presentation of experience as layered, allusive, and discontinuous: using, to these ends, fragmentation and juxtaposition, motif, symbol, allusion. From time to time there occurs some revolution, or sudden mutation of form and content in literature. Then, some way of writing which has been practiced for a generation or more, is found by a few people to be out of date, and no longer to respond to contemporary modes of thought, feeling and speech†¦tradition has been flouted, and chaos has come.1 This process of disturbance can be seen in the experimentation in form in order to present differently the structure, the connections, and the experience of life. The tightening of form puts an emphasis on cohesion, interrelatedness and depth in the structure of the novel. This is accomplished in part through the use of various devices such as symbolism, narrative perspectives, shifts and overlays in time and place and perspective. Woolf uses these methods to explore what lies outside the specification of the real. Woolf draws on an interior and symbolic landscape: the world is moved ‘inside’, structured symbolically and metaphorically, as opposed to the realist representations of the exterior world as a physical and historical, site of experience. The painter Jacques Raverat wrote in a correspondence to Woolf: The problem with writing is that it is essentially linear; it is almost impossible, in a sequential narrative, to express the way one’s mind responds to an idea, a word or an experience, where, like a pebble being thrown in to a pond, splashes in the outer air are accompanied under the surface by waves that follow one another into dark and forgotten corners2 Woolf felt it was precisely the task of the writer to go beyond a linear representation of reality in order to show how people think and dream. Rather than take her characters from point A to point B, Woolf gives the impression of simultaneous connections: a form patterned like waves in a pond. She reveals what is important about her characters by exploring their minds and the thoughts of those surrounding them. Such explorations lead to complex connections between people, between past and present, and between interior and exterior experience. Woolf establishes these connections through metaphors and imagery, and structures the novel using alternating images of beauty and despair, exhilaration and melancholy. These juxtapositions suggest both the impulse towards life and the impulse towards death, which makes the process of reading disconcerting and recondite. Woolf dispensed with conventional beginnings and endings, and the traditional structure of events in time, for example, Mrs Dalloway tells about one day’s experiences for two characters whose lives are not connected with each other, except by the slightest coincidence at the end. Woolf uses perceived time interwoven with clock time to create a simultaneous experience of past and present. The scene is London after the war, but also Bourton thirty years ago. In this commingling of time, the past exists on its own and in its relations to the present. Time is moved into the interior as well: it becomes psychological time, time as an innerly experienced or symbolic time, or time as it accommodates a symbolic rather than a chronological reality. Examining the intersection of time and timelessness, Woolf creates a new and disturbing novelistic structure in Mrs. Dalloway wherein her prose has blurred the distinction between dream and reality, between the past and present. An authentic human being functions in this manner, simultaneously flowing from the conscious to the unconscious, from the fantastic to the real, and from memory to the moment. Throughout Mrs Dalloway the focus continually shifts from the external world to the characters consciousness and how they perceive it. This has the disquieting effect of back grounding observable reality so the details emerge more slowly than when they are presented by an omniscient narrator. However, the London setting is established immediately, the streets and landmarks are real, this verisimilitude of setting seems to give the characters a solidity which is juxtaposed with the fluidity of the depiction of the characters thought processes. Mrs Dalloway supposes that ‘somehow in the streets of London, on the ebb and flow of things, here, there, she survived’3 The fact that the narrative takes place on a specific date is disclosed more gradually than the setting is, for example, Clarissa thinks ‘For it was the middle of June. The war was over’4 and then the narrator tells us it is Wednesday on page fifteen. Later still Peter Walsh’s thoughts reveal that it is 19235. There are also references to Gold cup day at Ascot so by naming a specific year Woolf turns what could have been a fictional fact in to a real one. Woolf implies a concept of time as a series of life conjunctures rather than impersonal. These are established by the presence of sensory phenomena in different contexts such as the sound of Big Ben, the common perceptions among unrelated observers, for instance, the prime ministers car. Also, by convergences at occasions of group activities as in Clarissa’s party. Time seems relativistic in the sense it depends on systems of measurement. The clocks divide the day into quarter hours. The loud voice of Big Ben is associated with the masculine. It is described as ‘a young man, strong, indifferent, inconsiderate, were swinging dumb-bells this way and that’6. It marks the movements of the two doctors, Peter Walsh and Sir Richard as they move through their day, making pronouncements. St Margaret’s on the other hand is the feminine. It follows Big Ben’s booming ‘leaden circles’ with ‘ring after ring of sound’ that ‘glides into the heart’ like a hostess, ‘like Clarissa herself’7 thinks Peter Walsh as he hears St Margaret’s peeling sound. Furthermore, The clocks divide time into a pattern, Shredding and slicing, dividing and subdividing, the clocks of Harley Street nibbled at the June day, counselled submission, upheld authority, and pointed out in chorus the supreme advantages of a sense of proportion†¦8 The ringing of the clock bells radiates from the centre of the city. The sound creates a design in the texture of the narrative, slicing through the characters subjective experience of time and contrasting this with objective, exterior time. In To The Lighthouse many of the characters are preoccupied with time. Mr. Ramsay worries about how his philosophical work will stand the test of time, just as Lily expects her painting to be rolled up and forgotten. The very style of the novel brings time into question as Woolf infuses even a brief moment in an everyday event, such as reading a story to a child, with an infinitude of thought and memory 9 Meanwhile days, tides, and seasons keep up their rhythms regardless of human events, while historical time brings cataclysmic change in the form of war. In addition, time brings loss as well as renewal. Mrs. Ramsay dies, while the children she has left behind continue to grow. In To the Lighthouse Woolf depicts two contrasting kinds of time, the linear and regular plodding of clock or objective time, and the reiterative, non-linear time of human experience. Her depiction of subjective time, layered and complex was, critics have observed, not unlike that of the philosopher Henri Bergson, though there is no evidence of any direct influence. It is in the ‘Time Passes’ section of the novel that Woolf’s interest in the contrasting forms of temporality is most evident. The narrative style of this part is very unusual and is unlike that of Parts I and III. Its effort to narrate from what Woolf called an ‘eyeless’ point of view is strange, it is as if she is thinking of the philosophical problem, the problem with which Mr Ramsay grapples in the novel, of how to think of the world when there is no one there. This is translated into an artistic problem, of how to narrate the passage of time when there is no one there to witness it. The scale of events in ‘Time Passes’ is much grander than the scale in ‘The Window,’ thus throughout this section Woolf employs a different method and uses parenthetical asides to impart important news. Instead of focusing on the thoughts of her characters, she keeps a tight focus on the house itself. Dramatic events such as Mrs. Ramsay’s death could not have been confronted in the style of ‘The Window.’ as the subtle, everyday quality of the interactions between events and thoughts would have been disturbed by the introduction of the tumultuous news imparted here. The ‘airs’ in this section of the novel are like time’s fingers. The constant, regular beam of the Lighthouse is closely allied with time, too, like an all-seeing and immortal eye. Puffs of air ‘detached from the body of the wind’10 pull at the loose wallpaper and the things in the house, the light from the Lighthouse guiding them through the house. Natural time is seen as objective and inhuman, it is destructive and violent in the sense that it has no concern for human purposes. Woolf’s solution to this problem is to invent a poetic style that, ironically, relies heavily upon the devices of personification and animism. The shadows of the trees ‘made obeisance on the wall’, ‘loveliness and stillness clasped hands in the bedroom’, ‘light bent to its own image in adoration on the bedroom wall’ and ‘in the heat of the summer the wind sent its spies about the house again’11. It can be questioned whether these devices are successful. It is as if Woolf wishes to fill the emptiness of inhuman nature with primitive animistic entities and malign agencies. The solution can seem oddly childlike, personification and animism being, as Freud pointed out, typical of infantile thought12. The problem illustrates, perhaps, the difficulty of avoiding images of human agency even when they a re least necessary. In Mrs Dalloway during sections of ‘mind-time’, Woolf sets various time streams loose at once, either in the mind of one character, who retreats into internal soliloquy, collapsing past, present and future, or in the simultaneous perspectives given by several characters recording a single moment. The result of either technique is that plot time stands still.13 Time is not entirely subjective and elastic in this text, however. The novel does take place within a prescribed temporal context marked ominously by the booming of Big Ben: ‘First a warning, musical; then the hour, irrevocable. The leaden circles dissolved in the air.’ Throughout the novel this chronology is inescapable, cutting through the characters thoughts of the past to bring them back to the present moment Auerbach points out that To the Lighthouse marks the end of the Western tradition of realism. He argues that the novel employs a new fashion of temporality. It is the gap between the brief span of time occupied by exterior events, about two days in ‘The Window’, and the rich, dreamlike realm of consciousness. The exterior events actually lost the hegemony over subjectivity14. The novel proves the insignificance of exterior events by holding to minor, unimpressive things like stockings, while keeping in minimum the descriptions of such great events as death and marriage. To the Lighthouse is thus a disturbing turning point in literature because it discarded any claim to the organic completeness of exterior events and the chronological order. To The lighthouse employs a non-linearity and thus counteracts narrative’s usual form of depicting events in a continuous succession. Synchronicity, evident in the coexistence of multiple perspectives at the same temporal moment, disturbs the narrative’s attempt to render the story world as events in succession. And elision, evident in the stories within the story whose endings are invariably left dangling and incomplete, dissolves the narrative’s attempt to achieve completion. Together, these discordant methods undermine the conventional unfolding of narrative. Woolf’s novel employs these techniques of disruption in order to portray narrative continuity as an inescapable yet unattainable illusion. Plot is generated by the inner lives of the characters. Psychological effects are achieved through the use of imagery, symbol, and metaphor. Character unfolds by means of the ebb and flow of personal impressions, feelings, and thoughts. Thus, the inner lives of human beings and the ordinary events in their lives are made to seem extraordinary. These complex and new methods that attempt to depict the chaotic interior life appear more jumbled and perplexing than the classical realist novel and so seem disturbing. However, Woolf is attempting to create a realistic account of the inner processes of the individuals mind and an expression of the continuous flow of sense perceptions, thoughts and feelings. Woolf also employs the symbolic apprehension and comprehension of reality as a structural approach to experience. It marked a turning away from writing by observation to transforming fact into a symbol of inner experience. In her diary Woolf wrote What interests me in the last stage was the freedom and boldness with which my imagination picked up, used and tossed aside all the images, symbols which I had prepared. I am sure this is the right way of using them-not in set pieces†¦but simply as images, never making them work out; only suggest 15 To The Lighthouse assumes a structure similar to that found in the fictional scene of the painting. In a letter Woolf acknowledges the structure and its unifying symbol as enacted at the end. ‘I meant nothing by The Lighthouse. One has to have a central line down the middle of the book to hold the design together.’16 In To The Lighthouse the Lighthouse has a prominent but fluid symbolic place in the novel. It does not seem to be the key to some hidden allegory since it does not stand for just one thing, each character that contemplates the Lighthouse gives it a special meaning, its significance in the novel evolves as the sum of different parts. For the teenaged James, the Lighthouse is a stark symbol of masculinity, a phallic symbol. For Mrs. Ramsay, the Lighthouse is a watching eye sweeping through her thoughts with a regular rhythm. To Woolf, the Lighthouse seems to serve as an anchor, a unifying image that ties together the layers of time and thought she explores. Like the clock striking the hours in Mrs. Dalloway, images of the Lighthouse act as the ‘bolts of iron’17 holding the different strands of the novel together. The focus of the planned excursion is not named until page eight and from then onwards the Lighthouse always appears with a capital letter. It is conventional to capitalize words referring to abstractions, particularly in philosophical writing. This feature has the effect of elevating the significance of the place, as if ‘Lighthouse’ were an abstract concept like ‘Truth’ or ‘Death.’ The Lighthouse makes its first appearance in the text in very lyrical terms. The domestic metaphors used to describe the scene, which are perhaps Mrs. Ramsay’s associations; the island is in a ‘plateful of blue water,’ and the dunes are arranged in ‘pleats’18. The first influence of the lighthouse is the description of James’s excitement ‘The wonder to which he had looked forward, for years and years’19 The lighthouse already seems to have gained a greater significance than its mere physical existence. It is an object of desire to James. However, his reaction to Mrs Ramsey’s promise shows that there is a separation between his dream of happiness (going to the lighthouse) and his dull, everyday experience of life. Prosaically, the lighthouse is a real thing, yet James has made it into an unattainable dream, which he does not expect to come true. James seems to be in a crisis because there is a prospect that his ideal world and real world will become the same and he will go to the lighthouse. Therefore, the wondrous aura of the lighthouse is attached to mundane things. James endows a picture of a refrigerator with a ‘heavenly bliss. It was filled with joy’20 this implies that fantasies bring relief from the dullness of everyday life, as long as there is the prospect that they will come true. However, James is one of ‘that great clan’21 who live for the future but if future ideals ‘cloud’ the view of reality then there is an implicit suggestion that achieving one’s desire presents a danger in that there would be nothing left to live for. Conversely, people must have some hope of achieving their ideal, or life would become futile. Woolf’s symbol of the lighthouse expresses this paradoxical idea in that it represents both an idealised fantasy while also being a real lighthouse. It becomes a trigger, provoking the reader to think about the human tendency to live for a future fantasy, together with all the paradoxical emotions Woolf conveys as associated with that tendency. James looked at the Lighthouse. He could see the white-washed rocks; the tower, stark and straight; he could see that it was barred with black and white; he could see windows in it; he could even see washing spread on the rocks to dry. So that was the Lighthouse, was it? No, the other was also the Lighthouse. For nothing was simply one thing. The other Lighthouse was true too22 James compares the real and the ideal and decides that the Lighthouse can be both. He provides a useful key for deciphering the symbol of the Lighthouse, ‘for nothing was simply one thing’23. The Lighthouse is the object of striving, some mystical, distant entity with an all-seeing eye. At the same time it is the embodiment of isolation and sadness, linked with James’s desolate image of himself and his father as lonely and apart from other people The fact that the Lighthouse is a frequent subject for artists adds to its symbolic import. The tightening of form puts an emphasis on cohesion, interrelatedness and depth in the structure, Woolf engages both the subject of art, Lily Briscoe’s painting, for example and the aim of philosophy, in Mr. Ramsay’s work. ‘The Lighthouse was then a silvery, misty-looking tower with a yellow eye, that opened suddenly, and softly in the evening.’24 Mrs. Ramsay incorporates the Lighthouse’s regularly appearing light into the pattern of her thoughts. She recognizes that she is doing this, that she is making the things she sees part of herself, as if the Lighthouse was an eye looking at her. The light strokes also serve to highlight certain cadences in her thought, heightening their meaning by repetition The parallels developing in this section between Lily’s actions and reflections and the impending trip to the Lighthouse suggest that Lily’s revelation, her moment of clarity and ‘stability,’ is her own version of the Lighthouse, the thing toward which she has been striving 25. Woolf builds upon the same metaphors and imagery through repetition and association to give them symbolic value of their own. There are repetitions of key images: water, waves, and sea; webs, ties, and threads; and trees through the novels. In Mrs Dalloway words are used in very certain terms in relation to life. They are used repeatedly throughout the rest of the novel, and built upon as metaphors until they stand alone to symbolize life. The sense of being absorbed in the process of action is inseparable from the fear of being excluded from it and from the dread that the process is going to be interrupted. The metaphor of the ‘interrupter’ and the solemn pause, indicating a fear of being interrupted, are developed throughout the novel. Clarissa’s sewing is depicted in a rhythmic wave of building, creating, and making. These images recur throughout the novel as they gain symbolic significance. Sewing is a metaphor often used to denote women’s creative capacity and symbolizes both artistry and the creation of life. The wave provides both a sense of calm and fulfillment, yet maintains a suspenseful pause before a crash or interruption Mrs. Dalloway has an unpleasant feeling she cannot place. After taking a moment to think, she realizes this feeling is attached to ‘something Peter had said, combined with her own depression’26. She realizes it is her parties. Her unpleasant feeling is attached to the criticism she receives from both Richard and Peter about her parties. Clarissa privately defends her parties. She sees them as an offering, a term she is able to recognize as vague and goes on to define. She is offering a connection. She gives meaning to life by feeling the existence of others and offering a way to bring them together, offering them a chance of connection. While sitting on the couch, Septimus notices a shadow on the wall. ‘Fear no more the heat o’ the sun.’ This phrase, which acts as a calming device, enters his head. Suddenly, he is not afraid. He sits up and takes an interest in what Lucrezia is doing. She is making a hat. More significantly, she is creating and building Rezia’s creation of the hat, like Clarissa’s sewing, symbolizes not only the creation of life, but also more specifically, the female ability to create life ‘But this hat now. And then (it was getting late) Sir William Bradshaw’27 Woolf uses this one symbolic line as a metaphor for the transition from life, represented in the making of the hat and death, suggested by Bradshaw, the symbol of the soul’s containment and the character who ultimately provides Septimus with the impetus to kill himself. Woolf uses a great deal of imagery; her similes often begin as a straightforward comparison, which is then elaborated. This moves the ideas away from the physical reality of the narrative and towards mental events, emotions and ideas providing a bridge between the plot and the interior consciousness of the characters. The reader is shown the dilemma of how to create a meaningful sequence and the impossibility of essentially finding an explicit formal system of how to represent objects and concepts, that are assumed to exist, and the relationships between them. The cumulative effect of such repeated notions and images is to establish a systematic network of social elements, such as, human time, space, shared symbols, personal relationships, so as to arrive at a vision of modern life on a national scale. This collective existence is apprehended internally, as its participants experience it. It is both the content and the form used to portray that content which makes reading a disturbing process. The question of the reality of experience itself; the critique of the traditional values of the culture; the loss of meaning and hope in the modern world and the exploration of how this loss may be faced are all themes within Woolf’s novels. Subject matter and writing style are the two features that characterise Modernism and this applies to Mrs Dalloway. The themes of Woolf’s novels express the angst of Modernism in a precise way and Mrs Dalloway exemplifies the conflict felt in the modern society that produces this angst. The conflict is played out between two forces, one that fragments and disperses social order and causes chaos, and a more stable impulse that looks for unity. Multiple voices, fragmented narrative and stream of consciousness are the stylistic devices of Woolf that convey the themes of conflict, despair and escape in the novel. Mrs Dalloway can be seen as an attempt to critique modern life, however, the novel can seem overwhelmed by the chaos of characters struggling to find meaning in life when death is such a large presence. Another aspect of this novel that’ is Modernist and can be seen to be disturbing is its withdrawal from the epic novel, the larger historical or temporal frame found in the 19th century novel. In Mrs Dalloway, there is no organising logic from which to draw a secure and comfortable resolution to life’s struggles. The action or plot is restricted to a single day, no large epic journey is possible and while the struggle for life is apparent, there is nothing of the 19th century moral structure to contain and manage the outcomes. Death and despair overwhelm life and its purposes, the narrowness of life is suffocating, and lives are fragmented, anxious, disconnected and misrecognised. To The Lighthouse also undermines what were the conventional expectations attached to novels. Woolf speculated that she might be writing something other than a novel. ‘I have an idea that I will invent a new name for my books to supplant ‘novel’†¦But what? Elegy?’28 Her work can be seen as more poetry than fiction as it occupies itself with abstract ideas and experimentation more than with plot and character development Woolf throws into disorder readers’ expectations of how life can be represented within a novel, and she achieves this through seeking a new mode of expression. It is not that she rejects reality, but rather that she sought to develop a higher type of realism, as if more complex forms would allow for the depiction of a more complex and vivid understanding of reality.    Bibliograph. Auerbach, Erich, Mimesis: the representation of reality in Western literature / by Erich Auerbach; translated from the German by Willard Trask. New York: Doubleday/Anchor Books, 1957. Bell, Q, Virginia Woolf: A Biography. London: Hogarth Press, 1972. Eliot, T.S, American Literature and American Language in Selected Essays. London: Faber, 1951. Fleishman, Avrom, Virginia Woolf: A Critical Reading. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975. Lee, Hermione, The Novels of Virginia Woolf. New York: Holmes and Meier Publishers, 1977. Naremore, James, The World Without A Self. London: Yale University Press, 1973. Schulze, Robin. G, Varieties of Mystical Experience in the Writings of Virginia Woolf in Twentieth Century Literature Vol.44. New York: Hofstra University, 1998. Woolf, Virginia. A writer’s diary: being extracts from the diary of Virginia Woolf edited by Leonard Woolf. London, Hogarth Press, 1953. Woolf. Virginia, Mrs Dalloway. London: Penguin, 1996. Woolf, Virginia, To The Lighthouse. London: Penguin, 1992. 1 Eliot, T.S, American Literature and American Language in Selected Essays. London: Faber, 1951.p. 73. 2 Lee, Hermione, The Novels of Virginia Woolf. New York: Holmes and Meier Publishers, 1977. p.106. 3 Woof, Virginia, Mrs Dalloway. London: Penguin, 1996. p.8. 4 Ibid. p.6. 5 Ibid. p.55. 6 Ibid. p.35. 7 Ibid. p.60. 8 Ibid. p.75. 9 Auerbach, Erich, Mimesis: the representation of reality in Western literature / by Erich Auerbach; translated from the German by Willard Trask. New York: Doubleday/Anchor Books, 1957. p.529. 10 Woolf, Virginia, To The Lighthouse. London: Penguin, 1992, p.190 11 Ibid. pp.137-139. 12 Schulze, Robin. G, Varieties of Mystical Experience in the Writings of Virginia Woolf in Twentieth Century Literature Vol.44. New York: Hofstra University, 1998. p.3 13 Naremore, James, The World Without A Self. London: Yale University Press, 1973. p.71. 14 Auerbach, Erich, Mimesis: the representation of reality in Western literature / by Erich Auerbach; translated from the German by Willard Trask. New York: Doubleday/Anchor Books, 1957. pp. 351-355 15 Woolf, Virginia. A writer’s diary: being extracts from the diary of Virginia Woolf edited by Leonard Woolf. London, Hogarth Press, 1953. p.169 16 Bell, Q, Virginia Woolf: A Biography. London: Hogarth Press, 1972. p.168. 17 Woolf, Virginia, To The Lighthouse. London: Penguin, 1992. p.5. 18 Ibid. p.23. 19 Ibid. p.7. 20 Ibid. p.7. 21 Ibid. p.7. 22 Ibid. pp.276-277. 23 Ibid. p.277. 24 Ibid. p. 107. 25 Ibid. 270. 26 Woolf. Virginia, Mrs Dalloway. London: Penguin, 1996. p.183. 27 Ibid. p. 178. 28 Woolf, Virginia. A writer’s diary: being extracts from the diary of Virginia Woolf edited by Leonard Woolf. London, Hogarth Press, 1953. p.78.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Turkey Facts, Biology, and Statistics

Turkey Facts, Biology, and Statistics The turkey is a very popular bird, especially around the holiday season. Before sitting down to enjoy that holiday meal, pay tribute to this splendid bird by discovering some of these fascinating turkey facts. Wild vs Domesticated Turkeys The wild turkey is the only type of poultry native to North America and is the ancestor of the domesticated turkey. Although wild and domesticated turkeys are related, there are some differences between the two. While wild turkeys are capable of flight, domesticated turkeys cannot fly. Wild turkeys typically have dark colored feathers, while domesticated turkeys are commonly bred to have white feathers. Domesticated turkeys are also bred to have large breast muscles. The big breast muscles on these turkeys make mating too difficult, so they must be artificially inseminated. Domesticated turkeys are a good, low-fat source of protein. They have become an increasingly popular choice of poultry because of their taste and good nutritional value. Turkey Names What do you call a turkey? The scientific name for the wild and modern domesticated turkey is Meleagris gallopavo. The common names used for the number or type of turkey changes depending on the age or sex of the animal. For example, male turkeys are called toms, female turkeys are called hens, young males are called jakes,  baby turkeys are called poults, and a group of turkeys is called a flock. Turkey Biology Turkeys have some curious features that stand out upon first glance. One of the first things people notice about turkeys are the red, fleshy stretches of skin and bulbous growths located around the head and neck region. These structures are the: Caruncles:  These are fleshy bumps on the head and neck of both male and female turkeys. Sexually mature males may have large carnuncles with bright colors which are attractive to females.Snood:  Hanging over a turkeys beak is a long flap of flesh called the snood. During courtship, the snood enlarges and becomes red as it fills with blood in the male.Wattle:  These are flaps of red skin that hang from the chin. Males with large wattles are more attractive to females. Another prominent and noticeable feature of the turkey is its plumage. Voluminous feathers cover the breast, wings, back, body and tail of the bird. Wild turkeys can have over 5,000 feathers.  During courtship, males will puff up their feathers in a display to attract females. Turkeys also have what is called a beard located in the chest area. Upon sight, the beard appears to be hair, but is actually a mass of thin feathers. Beards are most commonly seen in males but may occur much less commonly in females. Male turkeys also have sharp, spike-like projections on their legs called spurs. Spurs are used for protection and defense of territory from other males. Wild turkeys can run as speed of 25 miles per hour and fly at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour. Turkey Senses Vision: A turkeys eyes are located on opposite sides of its head. The position of the eyes allows the animal to see two objects at once, but limits its depth perception. Turkeys have a wide field of vision and by moving their neck, they can gain a 360-degree field of view. Hearing: Turkeys do not have external ear structures such as tissue flaps or canals to assist with hearing. They have small holes in their head located behind the eyes. Turkeys have a keen sense of hearing and can pinpoint sounds from as far as a mile away. Touch: Turkeys are highly sensitive to touch in areas such as the beak and feet. This sensitivity is useful for obtaining and maneuvering food. Smell and Taste: Turkeys do not have a highly developed sense of smell. The region of the brain that controls olfaction is relatively small. Their sense of taste is believed to be underdeveloped as well. They have fewer taste buds than  mammals and can detect salt, sweet, acid, and bitter tastes. Turkey Facts andStats According to the National Turkey Federation, 95 percent of Americans surveyed eat turkey during Thanksgiving. They also estimate that about 45 million turkeys are consumed each Thanksgiving holiday. This translates to about 675 million pounds of turkey. With that being said, one would think that November would be National Turkey Lovers Month. However, it is the month of June that is actually dedicated to turkey lovers. Turkeys range is size from small fryers (5-10 pounds) to larger turkeys weighing over 40 pounds. Large holiday birds typically mean a fair amount of leftovers. According to the Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council, the top five most popular ways to serve turkey leftovers are: sandwiches, soups or stews, salads, casseroles, and stir-fry. Resources:Dickson, James G. The Wild Turkey: Biology and Management. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 1992. Print.â€Å"Minnesota Turkey.† Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, http://minnesotaturkey.com/turkeys/. â€Å"Turkey Facts Stats.† Nebraska Department of Agriculture, nda.nebraska.gov/promotion/poultry_egg/turkey_stats.html.â€Å"Turkey History Trivia† National Turkey Federation, eatturkey.com/why-turkey/history.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Story of Henri Charrière, Author of Papillon

Story of Henri Charrià ¨re, Author of Papillon Henri Charrià ¨re (1906 –  1973) was a French petty criminal who was incarcerated  for murder in a penal colony in French Guiana. He famously escaped the brutal prison by building a raft, and in 1970 he published the book Papillon, detailing his experiences as a prisoner. Although Charrià ¨re claimed the book was autobiographical, it is believed that many of the experiences he described were in fact those of other inmates, and so Papillon is considered a work of fiction. Key Takeaways: Henri Charrià ¨re Henri Charrià ¨re was a small-time French criminal who was convicted of murder, possibly unjustly, and sentenced to ten year of hard labor in a penal colony.Following his successful escape, Charrià ¨re settled in Venezuela and wrote the famous semi-biographical novel Papillon, detailing (and embellishing) his time in prison.After the books publication, controversy arose around whether Charrià ¨re had attributed events involving other inmates to himself. Arrest and Incarceration Charrià ¨re, who was orphaned at the age of ten, enlisted in the French Navy as a teenager and served two years. Upon returning home to Paris, he immersed himself in the French criminal underworld and soon made a career for himself as a petty thief and safecracker. By some accounts, he may have made money as a pimp as well. In 1932, a low-level gangster from Montmartre named Roland Legrand–some reports list his surname as Lepetit–was killed, and Charrià ¨re was arrested for his murder. Although Charrià ¨re maintained his innocence, he was nevertheless convicted of killing Legrand. He was sentenced to ten years of hard labor in the St. Laurent du Maroni penal colony on French Guiana, and was transported there from Caen in 1933.   The conditions at the penal colony were brutal, and Charrià ¨re struck up a tenuous friendship with two of his fellow inmates, Joanes Clousiot and Andre Maturette. In November 1933, the three men escaped from St. Laurent in a small, open boat. After sailing nearly two thousand miles over the next  five weeks, they were shipwrecked near a Colombian village. They were recaptured, but Charrià ¨re managed to slip away once more, evading his guards in a storm.   In his semi-biographical novel published later, Charrià ¨re claimed that he made his way to the Guajira Peninsula in Northern Colombia, and then spent several months living with a local indigenous tribe in the jungle. Eventually, Charrià ¨re decided it was time to leave, but once he came out of the jungle he was recaptured almost immediately, and was sentenced to two years in solitary confinement. Escape and Literary Success Over the course of the next 11 years in which Charrià ¨re was imprisoned, he made numerous escape attempts; it is believed that he tried as many as eight times to escape prison. He later said that he was sent to Devil’s Island, a prison camp known both for being completely inescapable and for having a prisoner death rate of an astonishing 25%.   In 1944, Charrià ¨re made his final attempt, escaping on a raft, and landing on the coast of Guyana. Imprisoned there for a year, he was ultimately released and granted citizenship, and eventually he made his way to Venezuela. Burton Lindheim of The New York Times wrote in 1973, â€Å"[Charrià ¨re] tried to escape seven times and succeeded on his eighth attempt- a paddle over a shark†filled sea on a raft of dried coconuts. He found refuge in Venezuela, worked as a gold digger, oil prospector and pearl merchant and did other odd jobs before settling down in Caracas, marrying, opening a restaurant and becoming a prosperous Venezuelan citizen.† In 1969, he published Papillon, which became hugely successful. The books title comes from the tattoo that Charrià ¨re had on his chest; papillon is the French word for butterfly. In 1970, the French government pardoned Charrià ¨re for Legrands murder, and Renà © Pleven, the French Minister of Justice, removed restrictions on Charrià ¨res return to Paris to promote the book. Charrià ¨re died of throat cancer in 1973, the same year that a film adaptation of his story was released. The film starred Steve McQueen as the title character and Dustin Hoffman as a forger named Louis Dega. A 2018 version features Rami Malek as Dega and stars Charlie Hunnam as Charrià ¨re. Later Controversy Georges Mà ©nager’s  Les Quatre Và ©rità ©s de Papillon  (â€Å"The Four Truths of Papillon†) and Gà ©rard de Villiers’  Papillon à ©pinglà ©Ã‚  (â€Å"Butterfly Pinned†) both went into depth about inconsistencies in Charrià ¨re’s tale. For instance, Charrià ¨re claimed he rescued a guard’s daughter from a shark attack, but the child was in fact saved by another inmate who lost both of his legs and died as a result of the incident. He also claimed that he was imprisoned on Devil’s Island, but French penal colony records do not indicate that Charrià ¨re was ever sent to this particular prison. In 2005, Charles Brunier, who was 104 years old, said that it was his story that Charrià ¨re told in Papillon. Brunier, who was imprisoned at the same penal colony as Charrià ¨re during the same time period, told a French newspaper that he inspired Charrià ¨re to write the book. Brunier even had a tattoo of a butterfly.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Hotel design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hotel design - Essay Example ading Hilton designer Larry Traxler states â€Å"we wanted guests entering the space to experience the same tranquility and freedom they feel at the beach.† (Schiowitz, 2011) In this case white recomposed stone and white oak are used to recreate the light colors of sand and pebbles. This reflects also a trend towards sustainable and low carbon solutions, in order to meet increasing concern with environmental issues. Niche hotels are also in demand, and they aspire to have the high quality standards that global travelers expect, along with the ability to reflect the particular landscape and culture that surrounds them. Hospitality designer Tony Chi remarks that the industry has become too focused on â€Å"fabricated formality† (Straczynski, 2011) and detects a trend back towards meeting the patron’s aspirations for a personal experience with human contact, rather than just appreciation of the spaces. The global financial crisis has meant that design costs are an important factor in current design trends, but inventive use of recycled and local materials, as for example in the Green Leaf Niseko Village in Hokkaido, Japan with its â€Å"rehabbed ski gondolas† and rooftop beer garden with wraparound wood benches (Alati, 2011) demonstrate that style can be achieved within tight budgetary constraints. Straczynski, S. (14 September 2011) Beyond Delivering Aesthetics: Interview with Hospitality Designer Tony Chi. Contract Magazine. Available at:

Friday, November 1, 2019

Week 7 Discussion Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 7 Discussion Questions - Assignment Example The American website offers a feel of black & white picture of the product image and the product features, while the Indian website uses the color element variously, particularly red color in sub titles of the product traits besides showing total range of all series available in black & white and color MFD models, differentiating them through the use of colored text, on the left side of the web page. The Indian webpage of the product focuses on the external features of the product, such as its design and frame but pinpointing at the same that the product is the outcome of â€Å"cutting-edge technologies.† Another mentionable difference is that the American web page of the product also includes and presents another similar product description as features of both are same. That similar product is MX-3100N. The American web page does not mention that the Open System Architecture is 3.0, unlike its Indian counterpart. Whether a gray market product available in the US market poses any risk or not, depends on the kind of product. Some gray market products can be too risky to purchase, for instance purchasing of drugs from the gray market in the US; it could be risky to the extent of life-threatening. As per the survey conducted by Premier Healthcare Alliance in 2011, a call for gray market drugs was posted in the Premier Pharmacy Weekly Update in the last week of April 2011, specifying the national drug codes (NDCs) and their retail prices for comparison with Premier base contract prices (Cherici et al. 1). Comparison of the drugs of gray market with of Premier base contract prices proved that all gray market drugs were manufacturer back-ordered or short-supply drugs. The marketing strategy used by gray vendors to sell their drugs was in the form of emails and fliers, using language tool such, â€Å"We only have 20 of this drug left and quantities are going fast.† All marketing and sale offers online were made for those drugs