A Summary Of The Color Purple Essays - The Color Purple,

A Summary Of The Color Purple The novel begins with the rape of a young black girl named Celie by her father, Fonso. Her mother gies of mental illness and Celie gives birth to 2 children. Fonso leads Celie to believe he had them killed. Then, one day in town she sees her daughter with another woman. It is at this time that her sister, Nettie gains a boyfriend named Mr.______. He seeks Nettie's hand in marriage but is refused by Fonso. Instead, Fonso offers Celie. Mr.______ acceots and she lives with him and his children miserably. He beats her. It is during this time that Celie learns of Shug Avery, a former flame of Mr.______. Celie finds strength through her picture of Shug Avery to endure her struggles. Then, Nettie runs away from Fonso and lives with Celie and Mr.______ until Mr.______ forces her to leave. Nettie promises she'll write but Celie never receives a letter. During this time, Shug becomes sick and moves in with Mr.______ and Celie. Celie nurses her back to health and they become very good friends. Then, Mr.______'s oldest son gets married to Sofia. Harpo tries to beat her to force her to be obedient but they end up separating. After this, Harpo opens a jukejoint and Shug sings there. Harpo finds a girlfriend nicknamed Squeak. Sofia returns with a husband named Henry Broadnax. It is at this time that Sofia mouths off to the mayor's wife and is thrown in jail. Squeak, Celie, and Shug hatch a scheme to get Sofia out of prison. Sofia ends up working for the mayor's wife as her maid for many years. Her spirit is broken. Shug leaves to go make money and returns later with a new husband, Grady. While Mr.______ and Grady are away, Shug and Celie find letters from Nettie that Mr.______ had been hiding. Celie is enraged and wants to kill him. She finds more letters from Nettie. Nettie writes of the family that took her in and of her trip to Africa as a missionary. After this discovery, Celie goes to live with Shug Avery in Memphis, TN. Celie continues to receive letters from Nettie and responds. Then, she receives word that Nettie has died and she is devastated. Then, Celie starts her own pant-maiking business in her hometown in Georgia. She inherits her old house when her father, Fonso (who is found to only be her stepfather), dies. Shug breaks Celie's heart when she runs off wth a 19-year-old. One day, Celie is sitting on the porch with Mr.______ and she sees her sister and children approach and she rejoices. English Essays

Population Decline in Russia

Population Decline in Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin recently directed his nations parliament to develop a plan to reduce the countrys falling birthrate. In a speech to parliament on May 10, 2006, Putin called the problem of Russias dramatically declining population, The most acute problem of contemporary Russia. The president called on parliament to provide incentives for couples to have a second child to increase the birth rate in order to stop the countrys plummeting population. Russias population peaked in the early 1990s (at the time of the end of the Soviet Union) with about 148 million people in the country. Today, Russias population is approximately 143 million. The United States Census Bureau estimates that Russias population will decline from the current 143 million to a mere 111 million by 2050, a loss of more than 30 million people and a decrease of more than 20%. The primary causes of Russias population decrease and loss of about 700,000 to 800,000 citizens each year are a high death rate, low birth rate, high rate of abortions, and a low level of immigration. High Death Rate Russia has a very high death rate of 15 deaths per 1000 people per year. This is far higher than the worlds average death rate of just under 9. The death rate in the U.S. is 8 per 1000 and for the United Kingdom its 10 per 1000. Alcohol-related deaths in Russia are very high and alcohol-related emergencies represent the bulk of emergency room visits in the country. With this high death rate, Russian life expectancy is low- the World Health Organization estimates the life expectancy of Russian men at 59 years while womens life expectancy is considerably better at 72 years. This difference is primarily a result of high rates of alcoholism among males. Low Birth Rate Understandably, due to these high rates of alcoholism and economic hardship, women feel less than encouraged to have children in Russia. Russias total fertility rate is low at 1.3 births per woman. This number represents the number of children each Russian woman has during her lifetime. A replacement total fertility rate to maintain a stable population is 2.1 births per woman. Obviously, with such a low total fertility rate Russian women are contributing to a declining population. The birth rate in the country is also quite low; the crude birth rate is 10 births per 1000 people. The world average is just over 20 per 1000 and in the U.S. the rate is 14 per 1000. Abortion Rates During the Soviet era, abortion was quite common and was utilized as a method of birth control. That technique remains common and quite popular today, keeping the countrys birth rate exceptionally low. According to a Russian news source, there are more abortions than births in Russia. The online news source mosnews.com reported that in 2004 1.6 million women had abortions in Russia while 1.5 million gave birth. In 2003, the BBC reported that Russia had, 13 terminations for every 10 live births. Immigration Additionally, immigration into Russia is low- immigrants are primarily a trickle of ethnic Russians moving out of former republics (but now independent countries) of the Soviet Union. Brain drain and emigration from Russia to Western Europe and other parts of the world is high as native Russians seek to better their economic situation. Putin himself explored the issues surrounding the low birth rate during his speech, asking What has prevented a young family, a young woman, from making this decision? The answers are obvious: low incomes, a lack of normal housing, doubts about the level of medical services and quality education. At times, there are doubts about the ability to provide enough food.

Vietnam history - Rules of Engagement as seen through the different Essay

Vietnam history - Rules of Engagement as seen through the different levels of command - Essay Example There are certain rules of engagement that the Army has to consider during its operation, and while fighting the war it has to take care not to go against any of the international laws or the conditions laid down by their commanders. They are only allowed to use force and power to win the war if they use it within the set discipline and rules. In Vietnam the individual soldiers totally understood the rules of engagement. However, the problem was with them accepting those rules. The ROE led to restrictions on the military because of which their morale went down. The reason behind this was that, metaphorically speaking, one of the hands of the military was tied back and they were fighting in such a position. This was of course difficult for them and was like asking them to waste their lives without any reason since they could not defend themselves freely just due to certain rules. It is difficult for a battalion commander to come to a conclusion as to when his side should win the battl e, and what they would lose in order for that to happen. The rules of engagement, from the point of view the battalion commanders were pretty realistic. The soldiers would totally disagree since they are fighting and anything that hinders them in defending themselves or others would be disagreeable to them. Coming back to battalion commanders, they feel that it is their right to protect the innocent civilians. And that is where the ROE come into play. These rules prevent the soldiers from attacking under certain circumstances as, although they might only be retaliating to the attack they received, they might also hurt some other people around which is just not done (Lt. Col. Douglas Smith). Same was the case with the division commanders. They also felt the same and outlined the rules of engagement that the army was supposed to follow. It is clear that it was the first priority of these commanders to prevent unnecessary casualties and destruction (Holdorf, 1975). General William West moreland was the permanent commander of MACV and all the US forces in Vietnam were under him. His foresight told him that there was going to be a rise in conflict. The plan that he approached was aggressive and can be called â€Å"search and destroy†. What Westmoreland did was make the forces of Viet Cong come out in order that his men could kill them. According to this man, defeating Viet Cong only required great use of weaponry. Westmoreland was pretty optimistic regarding the war and in his speeches he used to report about the success of the American forces in pulling down the Vietnamese Army. It was during the First World War that in Vietnam President Lyndon Johnson decided against mobilizing the National Guards as, from what he thought, doing such a thing would lead to the Soviets and Chinese getting hints which would definitely cause certain effects upon their direct involvement in the war (Doubler, 2008). Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was responsible for recomme nding to President Johnson to mobilize the National Guards as well as the reserves. This was in the July of 1965. However, according to the President the ground war was going to end soon and there was a requirement of forces to be present in case there was a war in Korea. The reason that McNamara gives for them failing was that they did not take seriously the obstacles and problems they had to face. Also, according to him they had supported the wrong government

Comparative Essay about two short story Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparative about two short story - Essay Example The first story, Prisoner on the hell plant, is based on the character Artie who has a lot to suffer in his life. Artie is a loner in this cruel and harsh world, a person who just lost his mother and considers himself to be a reason for the loss. He has a history of mental illness and when he came out of the asylum, Artie had a clear view of life in his mind. He wanted his life to improve and to be successful. Artie had been trying to improve his living standards, to get a good job and to worsk and support his mother. But, one day he receives the news of his mother committing suicide and the life he had been dreaming of shattered and the sky fell upon him as he realized what he had lost. Since the receiving of this new, Artie had been trying to figure out a way to find why his mother committed suicide. He had been making out reasons to make himself feel a little less guilty but, all he was left behind was the guilt that he made his mother commit suicide. Even though he was not, people around him were telling him that and consoling him. They were there for him and telling him that he was not at all guilty but Artie felt like he was going insane again and now that he has lost his only hope in the world, there is no chance for him to be a successful man he had dreamt of. Similar scenario is face by Marjane in ‘The Veil’. Marjane is a young girl with big dreams. Dreams of a world where all would be equal and no person would see the other with a sense of superiority. Marjane studies in the school at a time when revolutionists had called for different schools for the two sexes and wearing the veil was made necessary for the girls in school. This new law was not accepted by many and protests were going around in the country by groups both favoring and against this. Her class fellows did not like wearing the veil that much and most of them would remove it whenever they get a

Compare and Contrast Paulo Feire - William Brickman in APA style Essay

Compare and Contrast Paulo Feire - William Brickman in APA style - Essay Example In other words, he sought to answer the question of how the oppressed in society continues to remain so? If the purpose of education is to enlighten, and in consequence, liberate the individual, then why are human relationships ripe with domination of one party over the other? It is a fair question and the answer lies in the way content, structure and access to education are designed by the dominant class. In this case, Freire’s basic thrust is said to be political economy of education. (Flanagan, 2005, p.22) For this reason his theories were attacked by mainstream institutions whose vested interests it sought to undermine. On the other hand, the emphasis of Brickman’s work was on how culture plays an important role in education. This is especially true with language learning, where social customs and intellectual traditions determine how the language is used. (Silova & Brehm, 2010, p.11) Although the areas of inquiry are divergent between the two educators, they share a common feature. For example, their works are a product of their childhood and personal experiences. This is not to say that their approach is not systematic or that their inferences are biased. What it shows is that they bring valuable insight from their formative years to their research. In the case of Freire, his father’s sudden loss of wealth due to a financial market crash plunged him into poverty. This immediately affected the quality and content of education that he had no choice but to undertake. (Flanagan, 2005, p.22) In the case of Brickman, the fact of growing up in a multi-cultural environment helped shape the direction of his professional work. As a young man he assimilated different cultures through direct involvement in their milieu. For this reason, Brickman believed that the best method to understand various education systems and methods is to experience them first hand. Of course,

The Structure Of Personality Psychology Essay

The Structure Of Personality Psychology Essay Everyone is created unique and special in their own way. Everyone has a personality of their own that is developed throughout ones life. To effectively and efficiently teach and ensure that each learner grasp the concepts, the teacher needs to understand each student and their personality. Personality can be defined as the pattern of behaviour that is enduring, distinctive thoughts, emotions and behaviours that differs from every individual and is used to adapt to the world. The personality of a person is forms with nature and nurture playing an integral role. With reference to the work of Child Dennis (2007:410), posited that personality involves knowledge of the total organization of humans A classroom is not just a cognitive habitat but consist of intricate personal interactions which deeply affect the learning and teaching processes. In classroom there are so many different personalities and characters that one must understand personality so as not to discourage the students because they are different. According to Buskist William (1990:496), personality is a particular pattern of behavior and thinking prevailing across time and situations that differentiates one individual from another.  [1]  No two persons think alike, everyone is different in attitudes, interest, learning abilities as well as thoughts. The personality of each individual develops though their genetics composition as well as their interaction with the environment. Plomin et al (2002:392) stated that from a sample of 24,000 twins his evidence points to genetic factors accounting for 40 percent of the variance and environment factors the remaining 60 percent. This means that the influential environmental factors are experienced by the twins independently of each other.  [2]   The researchers intent to highlight the structure of personality, personality theories, big five factors of personality, personality and the school environment and type A behaviour of students and teachers so that the researchers can emphasis the need to promote education on personality in schools and in the society so that everyone can accept each other with their differences. THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY Personality according to Freud is made up of the Id, ego and superego. They involve in the process of shaping the individuals mind. According to Buskist William (1990:505), the unconscious mind is a perceptual battleground in which the Id, ego and superego are engaged in unending conflict. The result form the battle cause everyone to behave or react differently forming and showing a different personality. According to Freud the Id is the pleasure principal that seeks gratification and the instincts are: food, sexual pleasure and aggression.  [3]  The adolescents are often hungry and teachers would find them eating in class, fighting to get justice they think they deserve rather than complaining to the teachers. To deal with these behaviour teachers need to understand the students personalities. The ego involves cognitive thinking which allows reasoning, reality and process information about the environment. The ego links the individual and the environment and self awareness. According to Santrock (1994:31), Freud states that the Id is an absolute ruler, owed complete obedience; it is spoiled, willful, impatient and self-centered. The ego has the job of getting things done; it is tuned into reality and is responsive to societys demands. The superego is concerned with right and wrong; its role is to tell the greedy Id that nobler purposes should be pursued. The superego is the moral part of the self.  [4]   According to Santrock (1994:33)  [5]  Defense Mechanisms which are unconscious methods by which the ego distorts reality to protect itself from anxiety are: Repression is a powerful and pervasive defense mechanism since it works to push unacceptable Id impulses out of awareness and back into the unconscious mind. Rationalization is the psychoanalytic defense mechanism that occurs when the real motive for an individuals behaviour is not accepted by the ego and is replaced by a sort of convert motive. Displacement occurs when the involvement of unacceptable feelings from one object to another, more acceptable object. Sublimation occur when a useful course of action replaces and unacceptable one. Projection occurs when we attribute our own shorting, and faults to others. Reaction formation occur when we express an unacceptable impulse by transforming it into its opposite. Regression occur when we behave in a way characteristic of a previous developmental level. COMPARING PERSONALITY THEORIES INNATE VS. LEARNED FACTORS The question is; which factors affect the personality more innate or learned? Both of these factors are important in the development in an individuals personality. In the study of fraternal twin who were separated at birth proves that both twin were very different. They had the same genetic composition but their environment was different. One of the twins was in a wealthy environment with everything and the other in a poorer environment and they both turned out so different all because of the environment they were exposed to. The environment or society you belong to will influence your personality since your will be groomed and taught what that society feel is right or wrong. The richer family will provide moral, emotional support, financial security which all human beings need as stipulated by Abraham Maslow in the theory of hierarchy of needs. However, a different society or a poor society will think differently and react differently. If your change the persons environment they wil l adapt to the new environment and change their personality to adapt to their present environment. It is simply our human nature of survival. According to Santrock (1994), Skinner and social learning theorist believe personality is behaviour that is environmentally determined. However, humanistic theories believe that personality is influences by experience and can be changed and people have innate ability to self actualized.  [6]  It can be seen that both heredity and environment plays and important part in an individuals personality development. CONSCIOUS VS. UNCONSCIOUS According to Freud in Buskist William (1990:505), personalities are determined by both conscious and unconscious powers, with the unconscious exerting considerable influence on the conscious.  [7]  Therefore repressed ideas, thoughts and wished influence our conscious way of thinking and behaviour. Also repressed ideas and thoughts can surface in dreams and mistakes of speech known as Freudian Slips. The Conscious mind hold things we are fully aware of, that we can think and rationalize while the unconscious mind is the bulk of the mind. The mind suppresses the things we dont want to remember like pain, hurt, conflict, abuse and things we hid from the world that we hid it so far we ourselves do not remember. According to Freud, our deeply repressed experiences in infancy and early childhood determined what our personality will be in adulthood. While psychoanalytical theorist argues that individuals are unaware of our personality development.  [8]  Students are different and they all have different personality and to understand their needs teachers need to understand personality. Students in our classroom have pain and hurt deep within them causing them to behave reserved or misbehave and the teacher without studying the child plaster a label as indiscipline, pest, dunce without understanding or thinking about what is causing this child to behave this way. INTERNAL VS. EXTERNAL DETERMINANTS The internal dimensions of personality according to Freud are the Id, ego and superego whiles the external determinants being cognitive and social learning. People are prisoners of their past since the problem may have hurt the persons ego before when a similar problem arise the individual struggles with low self esteem and low self confidence. Also the cognitive development, social learning and moral guidance help to make decisions rather than overacting with the Id but the superego controls all the extreme actions and it helps both the internal and external determinants to harmonize. According to Freud (1933:69): The poor egoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦feels hemmed in on here sides, threatened by three kinds of danger to which, if it is hard pressed it reacts by generating anxietyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Thus the ego, driven by id, confined by the superego, repulsed by reality, struggles to master it economic talk of bringing about harmony among the forces and influences working in and upon it, and we can understand how it s that so often we cannot suppress a cry: Life is not easy!  [9]   THE BIG FIVE FACTORS OF PERSONALITY Some individual have a high level of intellect or gifted while some students are slow learners. Some students are social and interact while others are reserved and quiet, some are funny and jolly while some are sad and depress and these are all personalities of people. Everyone deal with situation differently since everyone is being guided differently by their superego. Everyone is taught different values depending on their culture. According to Child (1998), Eysencks big five are Neuroticism-Emotional Stability, Introversion-Extraversion, Openness-Convergence, Agreeableness-Antagonism and Conscientiousness-Undirectedness.  [10]   Extroversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism Openness to experience Low Scorers Loner Quiet Passive Reserved High Scorers Joiner Talkative Active Affectionate Low Scorers Suspicious Critical Ruthless Irritable High Scorers Trusting Lenient Soft hearted Good-natured Low Scorers Negligent Lazy Disorganized Late High Scorers Conscientious Hard-working Well-organized Punctual Low Scorers Calm Even-tempered Comfortable Unemotional High Scorers Worried Temperamental Self-conscious Emotional Low Scorers Down-to-earth Uncreative Conventional Uncurious High Scorers Imaginative Creative Original Curious Table 1:1 The dimensions of personality according to Eysencks (1916)  [11]   http://alleydog.com/images/eysenek-wheel.gif Figure 1.1 Eysencks Wheel of Personality http://alleydog.com/images/eysenek-wheel.gif Temperament according to Galambos and Costigan (2003) as citied by Santrock (2005:192), is an individuals behavioral style and characteristic way of responding and it is the foundation of personality. There are three types of temperament: Easy Child: this child is generally in positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines, and adapts easily to new experiences. Difficult Child: this child reacts negatively to man situation and is slow to accept new experience. Slow-to-warm-up child: this child has a low activity level, is somewhat negative and displays a low intensity of mood.  [12]   With reference to the table and the wheel the researchers have experience with students who behave in all these ways. However, it is seen that not all the time the trouble students are poor performers but sometime the more privilege students have greater pain from pressure and high expectations that they behave differently at home and in school. They can be stable at home and at school the complete opposite and need love and attention. Students when away from home they want to be themselves and live a little and teachers need to help them by showing them how to behave an help them understand life during the period of Adolescence, that they are going through. At this point, students are forming an identity and developing a personality that will define who they are as individual. It is important that teachers understand personality, their own personality so that they can tolerate others so the students will imitate them and tolerate their peers in the classroom and this knowledge about personality can help students to avoid conflict and confrontation among peer because they will understand that everyone is different and is part of our society. PERSONALITY AND SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT A classroom is not just a cognitive habitat, but consists of intricate personal interactions which deeply affect the learning and teaching process. Personality characteristics play an important role when it comes to the learning process and the attitudes and perceptions of learning. Every student views learning differently since their parents and teachers would try to convenience them that learning is beneficial to them in the future. Some students are interested in learning one way while others are not motivated by when teachers utilize multiple intelligence methods students will find what stimulates their interest and will become interests. According to Child and Smithers (1971) reviewed and cited by Child (2007:403): Variations in performance are not entirely a question of intellect, motivation or thinking skills, but may depend on the personal attributes which can enhance or inhibit the quality of that performance. In the classroom and in the teaching profession there are individuals with Type A behaviour personality and they can be difficult individual so that is why it is often a problem that some students and teachers just cannot get along because they dont understand each other personality or even realize they have a Type A behaviour. After the work of two American Heart Specialist Friedman and Rosenman 1974 was reviewed, endorsed and cited in Child (2007:403) the characteristics of Types A behaviour are: Tries to do or think of two or more things at once, (b) Cannot sit doing nothing-feels guilty when not working, (c) Develops ticks, facial movement (eyebrow raising), (d) has a thing about punctuality, (e) gets impatient watching others doing a job he or she thinks can be done better, (f) plays to win- even when playing with children, (g) drums fingers impatiently, (h) does lots of arm waving when talking, (i) hurries others along who are speaking, (j) tries to steer conversations to her or his own interests, (k) tries to pack a lot of work into little time, (l) shows no interest in aesthetic aspect of surroundings (m) gets very cross in queues, (n) has the motto if you want something done properly, do it yourself and (o) pushes other people hard at work Students with this kind of behaviour do not usually get along with their peers since they want everything perfect and bossy. If the students are aggressive and dominant then they will be fidgety and argue with the teachers and be disruptive to prove their points. Also, it is can be very alarming if teachers have that types of behaviour since they can be cold, detach and no-nonsense person with no lenience who the students will fear and this can cause students to underperform since they do not understand what is requires of them from the teacher. These persons will have a high self-esteem and confidence and will work hard and be professions. The students will be hard working striving for only A. This type of behaviour cause stress, frustration and aggression that is not good for the students or the teachers health. Summary Personality can be defined as the pattern of behaviour that is enduring, distinctive thoughts, emotions and behaviours that differs from every individual and is used to adapt to the world. A classroom is not just a cognitive habitat, but consists of intricate personal interactions which deeply affect the learning and teaching process. The unconscious mind is a perceptual battleground in which the Id, ego and superego are engaged in unending conflict. Defense Mechanisms which are unconscious methods by which the ego distorts reality to protect itself from anxiety are: Repression, Rationalization, Displacement, Sublimation, Projection, Reaction and Regression Both heredity and environment plays and important part in an individuals personality development. The cognitive development and social learning and moral guidance help to make decisions rather than overacting with the egos but the superego controls all the extreme actions and it helps both the internal and external determinants to harmonize. Eysencks big five are: Neuroticism-Emotional Stability, Introversion-Extraversion, Openness-Convergence, Agreeableness-Antagonism and Conscientiousness-Undirectedness. Three types of temperament: Easy Child, Difficult Child and Slow-to-warm-up child. Variations in performance are not entirely a question of intellect, motivation or thinking skills, but may depend on the personal attributes which can enhance or inhibit the quality of that performance Type A behaviour personality can cause a person to be difficult to deal with and understand. Conclusion The researchers can confidently conclude that this was the most informative and beneficial researcher that they have ever pursued: understanding personality From the readings the researchers believe that there is still so much yet to uncover about personality. Understanding personality opens the eyes of an individual to accept and tolerate the behaviours, attitudes and cultures of others. The researchers being teachers looked at how the concept of personality can influence their attitudes and behaviours when dealing with the adolescents. Understanding the personalities and difference will help teachers to interact better with the students and also they are better able to counsel the students into tolerating each other and to help students and teacher to better deal with situations. Personality studies will never come to an end because each person is different, complex and sophisticated in their own way.

I Learned it From the Movies :: essays papers

I Learned it From the Movies When the majority of people are asked who or what influenced them most people would likely name one person or one event. Not me. I say the movies. Ever since I was old enough to watch them I have been absorbing the information the movies provided. I was enthralled with the way Clark Gable didn’t give a damn or how Audrey Hepburn knew about the rain on the plains of Spain. The lessons the movies taught me are unforgettable and can be used forever. A big part of the movies were the actors themselves. They each had a certain charisma, a certain flare that made them each special. They all had there own personalities and I learned something from each of them. From Marilyn Monroe, I inherited her glamour, from James Dean, I adopted his poise and his confidence, and from Katherine Hepburn displayed dignity. Those are just a few of the examples, but my point is that I took things I learned from all of my favorite actors and threw them into a blender and swallowed the product. All of these actors were unique by themselves, but they were even better in the movies. The movies had messages and lessons in them that buried themselves in my mind and will stay there for a lifetime. The movies taught me things that no one else ever could. They prepared me for the future. They equipped me with the skills of honesty and perseverance. For example in the film â€Å"Gone With the Wind† Scarlet never gave up. Even when she had nothing she kept going. Lalu displayed great courage in the movie â€Å"1,000 Pieces of Gold.† From watching those films and others I mastered the skill of facing my fears and the joy of helping others, like in â€Å" To Kill a Mockingbird† Atticus stood up for an innocent man when no one else would. The movies also provided me with a window to the outside world. Traveling around the world is what the movies did best. They were filmed in everyplace possible. They journeyed from the wilds of Africa to the tame streets of Oklahoma. Not only did I get to hear about the places I wanted to go visit, but now I

Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2000, Vol 1

Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2000, Vol 1 629 PRODUCTIVITY AND INDOOR ENVIRONMENT Derek Clements-Croome1 and Li Baizhan2 University of Reading, Department of Construction Management and Engineering, UK Jukes Associates, UK ABSTRACT Surveys in several office buildings have shown that crowded work places, job dissatisfaction and physical environment are the main factors affecting productivity. the data was produced and analyzed using occupational stress indicator in conjunction with the analytical hierarchical process. hermal problems, stuffiness, sick building syndrome factors and crowded work places were most frequent complaints. the results suggest that the productivity could be improved by 4 to 10% by improving the office environmental conditions. KEYWORDS: SBS, productivity, thermal comfort, perceived air quality, stress INTRODUCTION It is much higher cost to employ people then it is to maintain and operate a building, hence spending money on improving the work environment is t he most cost effective way of improving productivity because of small percentage increase in productivity of 0. % to 2% can have dramatic effects on the profitability of the company. The current state of knowledge on this subject is described by Clements-Croome [1]. Practical applications of some of this knowledge is described by Oseland and Barlett [2] METHODS This research focuses on the relationship between productivity and the indoor environment in the offices and takes into account the fact that productivity depends on other factors by using an Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) which has been developed to include an environmental dimension [3,4].OSI is a job satisfaction scale involving question or statements, asking respondent to state what they think or feel about their job as whole or specific aspects of it. Likeret scaling using five, seven or nine point scales is usually used. The OSI has been demonstrated by Arnold [5]. The occupational stress indicator is designed to g ather information about groups as well as individuals and it attempts to measure the major sources of occupational pressure; occupational stress; coping mechanisms and individual differences which may moderate the impact of stress.An environmental dimension has been built into this indicator covering temperature, ventilation, humidity, indoor air quality, lighting, noise, crowded work space and is referred to as EPOSI which has been used to gather information about the occupants in the buildings that have been surveyed. This method of self assessment provides valuable information on individual as well as group responses. The data from the questionnaire is analyzed using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) originated by Saaty[6]. AHP uses nine point judgement scales for use with detailed questionnaires aided by semi-structured interviews.The method is based on the theory of 630 Exposure, human responses and building investigations hierarchies and is a way of structuring complex mu lti-dimensional systems, by analyzing the interaction between elements in each stratum of the hierarchy in terms of their impact on elements in the stratum immediately above. It is possible to have several levels of hierarchies, but in this case five have been selected beginning with productivity followed by human factors; system factors; health factors; environmental factors. The questionnaires were answered by occupants across various work grades and tasks and were designed to elicit: background information about the organization and the workplace †¢ how much the environment and the job cause dissatisfaction †¢ the feelings of the subject about their current working situation †¢ the principle causal factors influencing health symptoms of occupants †¢ which factors influence job satisfaction and productivity Semi-structured interviews were carried out to establish more details about attitudes and reasons behind responses. Office survey A detailed environmental s urvey was carried out at an office in Reading in 1996. he questionnaire was in five sections: Section A The Questionnaire asks the occupants to judge the physical factors in the environment covering temperature, stuffiness and draughts, dryness, indoor air quality, sunlight, lightning, noise and vibration, and crowded workplaces. Questions were also asked about personal health; job stress; job satisfaction; an overall opinion about the indoor environment; including questions about five categories of sick building syndrome covering sensory irritation; skin irritations; nervous problems; nasal and odor complaints. Section BThe questionnaire concerned subjects views on how they liked the office layout and decoration as well as questions about their job in relation to productivity. They are also asked to rate how much personal control they felt had over temperature and lighting. Four questions were asked to determine self assessed productivity covering the amount of work accomplished; q uality of work; feeling of creativity; and degree of responsibility. Section C The questionnaire was concerning information which describes the characteristics of the organization, workplace and some personal information.Occupants were then asked about human factors such as well-being; ability to perform; motivation; job satisfaction and technical competence. Finally there was a group of questions concerned with indoor environment; weather; outdoor view; organizational factors; occupational factors; facilities and service; and personal factors. Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2000, Vol 1 631 Section D The questionnaire was based on information gathered using EPOSI and five major human factors were identified which influence productivity ( well-being, ability to perform, motivation, job satisfaction, technical competence).Six system factors ( indoor environment, weather and outdoor views, organizational aspects, occupational issues, facilities and services, personal aspects) were ex amined to see how they influenced the human factors. Section E The questionnaire covered interactions between sick building sickness symptoms and an array of personal, occupational and environmental factors. RESULTS Analysis of the data shows that the level of productivity by self assessment reduces as the workspace becomes more crowded, as job dissatisfaction increases and as overall dissatisfaction of the indoor environment increases. he results lead to the overall conclusion that an average the self assessed productivity could be improved by about 10% by improving the office environmental conditions. The Spearman rank-correlation coefficient, rs, was used to assess measure of association between any two variables. The statistical analyzes of the results is given in detail by Li [7]. It was shown that a significant rank-correlation exists between self-assessed productivity and environment, job dissatisfaction and job stress, as shown in Table 1. Table 1. The association between se lf assessed productivity, environment and job factors.Factor Associated Factor Spearman RankCorrelation Coefficient Self-assessed productivity Unsatisfactory indoor -0. 49 environment Job dissatisfaction -0. 36 Job stress -0. 21 Unsatisfactory indoor Job stress +0. 31 environment Job dissatisfaction +0. 43 Job stress Job dissatisfaction +0. 36 There is unique relationship between the individual, the environment and the building they inhabit. Satisfaction with the environment. satisfaction with the environment arises from a number of issues apart from personal health (r=0. 34), sick building syndrome symptoms (r=0. 5), visual and aural problems (r=0. 36), thermal problems (r=0. 49), and crowded work space (r=0. 50). The correlation coefficients were statistically significant for p F? = 0,01 [3, 152] = 3. 92 ) (1) This indicates that subjects who suffer from physical environmental factors will suffer an increase in overall unsatisfactory environment which is positively related to ther mal problems, crowded workspace and sick building syndrome symptoms. The multiple regression equation for job satisfaction was found to be: JD = 1. 2055 + 0. 3157* JS + 0. 2572 * En + 0. 1023 * CS r = 0. 5367, F=19. 56> F? = 0,01 [3,149] = 3. 92 ) (2) This shows that high job dissatisfaction results from job stress, crowded workspace and an overall unsatisfactory environment. For self assessed productivity, the regression equation was developed using a step wise regression procedure: P=6. 8510-0. 3625*En-0. 1542*JD-0. 1329*CS (r = 0. 5083, F= 14. 86 > F? = 0,01 [3, 132] = 3. 94 (3) The principal factors which affect self assessed productivity in the offices surveyed were an overall unsatisfactory environment, crowded workspace and job dissatisfaction.A distinction was made between direct effects (i. e. those effects that do not result from any other variable in the model) and – secondary or indirect effects which arise from the interaction between one or more variables in the model. (Cohen 1983). For example an overall unsatisfactory environment has a direct effect on self assessed productivity, but there is also an indirect effect because it also affects job satisfaction which in turn also affects self assessed productivity.The total indirect effect is estimated by the product of the effects of an overall unsatisfactory environment on job satisfaction, and job satisfaction on self assessed productivity. The total effect of environment on self assessed productivity is then the result of combining the direct and indirect effects. Further analyzes showed that the most common complaints about unsatisfactory environments were those connected with high or low temperature variations; stale and stuffy air; dry or humid air. Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2000, Vol 1 633 CONCLUSIONSThe principal conclusions were: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Individual responses illustrate that the majority of respondents believed that the o ffice environment had a direct influence on their well-being and self assessed productivity. When dissatisfaction with the environment and job were high there was a low level of self assessed productivity. Results showed that there were more occupants suffering from an overall unsatisfactory environment than from job stress and job dissatisfaction. People may be wholly satisfied with their job, but could also be quite unhappy about their work environment.In general however people reporting negative attitudes towards the environment were also the people with high job stress and job dissatisfaction. Crowded workspaces, thermal problems, and sick building symptoms due to whatever cause were the principal complaints about unsatisfactory environments. Nearly two thirds of the occupants thought that a 10% or more increase in their productivity was possible by improving the office environment. Results of the analysis also indicated that self assessed productivity could be improved by about 10%.Further analysis using the AHP model illustrated that the ability to perform, and wellbeing, were the two most important human factors that influenced the productivity of occupants in the offices surveyed. These factors together with job satisfaction and indoor environment form a virtuous cluster which is highly important in designing creative workplaces. In this study there was a small effect of the outdoor environment on productivity but this was insignificant compared to the effect of the indoor environment.Indoor air quality and pollution were the most important environmental factors influencing sick building syndrome. Compared with other personal factors (e. g. gender and type A behavior) and occupational factors, job stress was the next most significant factor which gave rise to sick building syndrome symptoms.. Results showed that the primary factors influencing productivity varied between organizations, and also between buildings or offices within the same building. Thi s research has established a reliable methodology for evaluating self assessed productivity. SymbolsCS En F JD JS p P r rs SBS Th ———— Crowded working space (7 score) An overall unsatisfactory indoor environment (7 score) For statistical F-test Job dissatisfaction (7 score) Job stress (7 score) The level of statistical significance Self assessed productivity (9 score) The correlation coefficient Spearman rank-correlation coefficient Suffer from SBS symptoms (7 score) Suffer from thermal conditions (7 score) 634 Exposure, human responses and building investigations REFERENCES: 1. Clements-Croome, D. J. , 2000, Creating the Productive Workplace, Spon Routledge. 2.Oseland, N. , Bartlett, P. , 1999, Improving Office Productivity, Longman. 3. Cooper, C. L. , 1998, Occupational Stress Indicator Management Guide, NFERNelson, Windsor. 4. Clements-Croome, D. J. , Li B. , 1995, Impact of Indoor Environment on Productivity, Workplace Comfort Forum, Royal Institute o f British Architects, London. 5. Arnold, J. , Cooper, C. L. , Robertson, I. , (1998), Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace, 3ra Edition, Financial Times-Pitman Publishing. 6. Saaty, T. L. , 1972, Analytic Hierarchy Process, McGraw-Hill, New York. 7. Li, B. 1998, Assessing the Influence of Indoor Environment on Self Reported Productivity in Offices, Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, Department of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Reading. 8. Raw, G. J. , et al. , 1989, Further Findings From the Office Environment Survey, Part I: Productivity, Building Research Establishment, Note No. N79/89. 9. Anderson, D. , et al. , 1990, Statistics for Business and Economics, 4th Edition, West Publishing Company, USA. 10. Cohen, J. , Cohen, P. , 1983, Applied Multiple Regression – Correlation Analysis for Behaviourial Sciences, 2†³d Edition, Lawrence Earle Baum Associates, New Jersey/London.

Conan Doyle and Graham Greene Essay

Compare how Conan Doyle and Graham Greene use the detective fiction genre to deceive the reader in â€Å"The Man with the Twisted Lip† and â€Å"The Third Man†.  The Detective story is written to deceive the reader this is true of both â€Å"The Third Man† by Graham Greene and Conan Doyle’s â€Å"the Man with the Twisted Lip†. Both writers use your knowledge of other detective stories to ‘lure’ you into a false understanding that this is one of them. We expect that the stories are another ‘Whodunit’ murder mystery but really, it is the writer fooling us, as it is the mystery of the murdered being alive. Conan Doyle sets up expectations in the reader by setting the story around an opium den, which was greatly feared at the time of being written. The setting of an opium den would conjure up many dark images and so makes us jump to conclusions about the ‘murder’ we, the reader, assume that anyone associated with an opium den could be a murderer.  Doyle makes the main suspect a beggar who many people look down on, adding more to the assumption that he is the murderer of Neville St Clair.  Ã¢â‚¬  In fact, in the whole of that floor there was no one to be found, save a crippled wretch of hideous aspect, who, it seems, made his home there.† Doyle describes Hugh Boone, the beggar, as † the creature† and uses such descriptions as â€Å"greasy† â€Å"disfigured horrible scar† and â€Å"a bull dog chin† to build up a mental image in our heads of a rather revolting man, atypical ‘baddie’ of a detective story.  Graham Greene sets â€Å"The Third Man† in post-war Vienna, during which Austria is still occupied territory and is spilt into four zones. The breakdown in communication between the zones has resulted in poor law and order in the city. Greene mentions early on that Harry is a racketeer † A very long spell’ (in prison)’if it hadn’t been for the accident.†Ã‚  And  Ã¢â‚¬Å"He was about the worst racketeer who ever made a dirty living in this city†.  We are told what he does for a living but not how he does it until further into the book. During the time that we find out what his profession is, to what he sells the story of Harry’s death change with each person Martin questions. This makes us realise quite soon that Harry did not die in an accident but under suspicious circumstances.  Graham Greene uses a police officer to narrate the story. The figure of authority makes us belive what he is telling us and our natural response is not to doubt him. Greene throughout the story never mentions Martins current status and refers to him in the past † he always tried† instead of â€Å"he always tries† for example, this makes us wonder if Martins is still alive. Rollo Martins protested lime’s innocence until he found concrete evidence to prove otherwise. We feel sorry for him and want to belive Lime’s innocence to, this leads us further away from the truth. The romance between Martins and Anna is a side plot put in to add another aspect to the detective story, but also to distract our attention away from the reality, that Harry faked his own death leaving a devoted friend and his lover behind in order to escape police capture. However with Anna’s genuine grief over Harry’s ‘death’ is the same as Rollo protesting Harry’s innocence, we want to belive them. Conan Doyle uses Doctor Watson as the narrator, as he has in the other Sherlock homes stories. In â€Å"The Man with the Twisted Lip† Watson joins Homes after collecting a man from an opium den, setting the scene immediately in a sinister atmosphere. The problem is told to the reader at the same time as Watson. This means there is a character in the story that we can identify with, as they know just as much as we do. The mysteries leaves us with no explanation as to how a man can be seen in a room then appear to have vanished. Because we, the reader, have no idea of how the disappearance happened, we are given an explanation that, as we have no other theory, chooses to accept. Graham Greene uses the crimes of Harry Lime to distract us from any real clues that there are. There are two men at the funeral, one of which forgets to drop a wreath onto the coffin- a sign of grief of or knowing that the body being buried is not of Harry Lime.  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"There must be something phoney about a man who won’t take baldness gracefully†Ã‚  This takes suspicion away from the fake death of Harry’s and puts it on those who were with him when he ‘died’.  Over all both writers, use our expectations of a ‘typical’ detective story against us. They ‘pull the wool over our eyes’ in what are enjoyable story is to read.

3 Easy Ways to Set Ice on Fire

3 Easy Ways to Set Ice on Fire Have you ever wondered whether you could set ice on fire? These are instructions for how to make ice appear to burn and also instructions so that you can actually set it on fire. Making Ice Appear to Be on Fire Most of the photos you might see of burning ice were probably made using Photoshop, but you can get the appearance of burning ice very easily without resorting to image processing tricks. Get some glass cubes (craft stores carry them), set them on a surface that can withstand fire (metal pan, Pyrex, stoneware), pour something flammable over the ice, and set it alight. You can use 151 rum (ethanol), rubbing alcohol (try for 90% isopropyl alcohol, not the 70% alcohol stuff), or methanol (Heetâ„ ¢ fuel treatment from the automotive section of a store). These easy-to-obtain fuels burn cleanly, so they wont set off your smoke alarm (I know... I tried). If you want colored flames, you can add any of the usual flame colorants to the ethanol or rubbing alcohol. If you use methanol, try adding a little boric acid for a brilliant green flame. Use caution with methanol, since it burns very hot. One little display tip: You can give glass cubes the imperfect, crackled appearance of water ice b y setting one on fire and then tossing it (with tongs) into water after the fire goes out. The glass may shatter, but if you have the temperature just right youll just create internal fractures that look very pretty in photographs. Flaming Ice I basically told you how to set ice on fire when I explained how to make a flaming B-52 drink. High-proof ethanol (like 151 rum) or 90% isopropyl alcohol will float on the surface of water and mix with it so that as long as there is fuel, your ice will appear to burn. As the ice melts, it will extinguish the flame (methanol is highly toxic too). You can use ethanol on ice used for human consumption (or flaming ice cream drinks). Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) and methanol are toxic and should only be used for decorative purposes. Really Burning the Ice You may be thinking it is impossible to burn ice. Strictly speaking, that is not true. You can burn ice, just not water ice. If you make ice cubes from any of the alcohols I have listed, you can burn them. For pure alcohol ice cubes, youll need a way to freeze the liquid down to about -100Â °C, give or take a few degrees depending on the specific alcohol. You dont need to get quite that cold for 75% alcohol/25% water ice, which will burn if you spritz it with a little liquid alcohol to get flammable vapor over the ice. You may be able to freeze the 75% solution over dry ice. Flaming Ice Safety Just remember two things: (1) If you want to ingest the flaming ice, only use food-grade ethanol, not some other fuel. (2) Methanol burns very, very hot! You can get away with using almost any surface if you use ethanol or isopropanol. You can even touch the flame briefly. However, the risk of getting burned or of your fire getting out of control are much higher using methanol because it produces so much heat. Is It Possible to Burn Water? The reason water is used to extinguish flames is because it has such a high heat capacity. Technically, you cant burn water because combustion is an oxidation process. In a sense, water is the product of the combustion of hydrogen. However, if you pass a sufficiently strong electrical current through water, it decomposes into its elements. The hydrogen gas is flammable, while the oxygen gas supports its combustion. If you have a flame or ignition source at the point of electrolysis, water will appear to burn. So, it follows you could make real water ice appear to burn. For this to occur, the ice would need to be floating in some liquid water. Electrolysis of the water to produce hydrogen and oxygen would yield flammable gas above the ice. Igniting the gas would make the ice appear to burn. Note this is a theoretical method of burning ice, not one youd want to try in a school science lab! Its much safer to burn hydrogen from electrolysis in bubbles or balloons than in the open. Disclaimer: Please be advised that the content provided by our website is for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Fireworks and the chemicals contained within them are dangerous and should always be handled with care and used with common sense. By using this website you acknowledge that ThoughtCo., its parent About, Inc. (a/k/a Dotdash), and IAC/InterActive Corp. shall have no liability for any damages, injuries, or other legal matters caused by your use of fireworks or the knowledge or application of the information on this website. The providers of this content specifically do not condone using fireworks for disruptive, unsafe, illegal, or destructive purposes. You are responsible for following all applicable laws before using or applying the information provided on this website.

Indian Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Indian Economy - Research Paper Example Another feature of an emerging market is proper governance and India is being governed by a very rational and open-minded parliament. Some credit also goes to Indian army for that as India has never faced Military coups or any other embarrassing situation like that where power is snatched from the representative of the people and given to one sole dictator. This economics stability has earned India a title of "Largest democracy in the world". One must keep in mind is that economic stability is imperative for fast growth. The reason behind why countries around India who are blessed with the same natural characteristics as India and high populations have never been able to reach the level of India, when it comes to economic growth. Almost all countries surrounding India suffer from instable political system and periods of military coups occasionally, but the real credit goes to patriotic Indian army, which has never been temped into launching a coup against their own people. This has e arned India a escalated position not only in the Asian economics but also in the world economics, where Indian case studies adorn the history, present and future. (theindianpolitics, 2009) A land of around 1.5 billion people, India's climb in the social and economic spheres has been tremendous over the past few years. During this time, India has grown from strength to strength. Proving all its doubters wrong, India is reaching great new heights at a very fast pace. This growth of India is not confined only to their economy, but let it be any facet; India is growing rapidly in an attempt to escalate to nadir. India is leaving its mark on just economic progress and development but all sphere of life or all fields where it can grow any further. For example, social growth of India can be judged by the fact that entire Asia is intimating European culture, but Europe and Western Nations are intimating India's culture. India's film industry, "bollywood" has penetrated western market and became the second largest film industry of the world after Hollywood. This great success of bollywood and Indian culture has given India exposure to far flung areas and contributed heavily in the recognition of India all around the world. As a result of all this factors and blessed with tremendous amount of useful natural resources, such as cheap and skilled labor, tropical climate, great fertile land etc. (Vyas, 2003) India has become a business hub and all trading and business activities are diverting towards India. Owing to all these factors and great trust shown by the foreign investor towards India, Bombay Stock Market is growing around 17% annually which is comparable to the richest stock markets like New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) etc. Apart from the rise in Money markets such as stock exchange, India has also grown four-fold in its retail sectors. Almost every product whether big or small, technological or manual, mechanical or electrical is being produced in India and is being distributed through a well-developed chain of proper infrastructure and distribution channel. This organized retail sector is dominated by industrial and manufacturing giants like Tata, Pantaloons, Reliance and AirTel. These firm have made India recognizable allover the world. India's recent economic trends have forced even the most cautious of the economists to believe that India is going to be the next big economy of the world. The economy has been a star in the last few years growing from

Process essay about how to be a mind reader Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Process about how to be a mind reader - Essay Example Scientific methods or tricks are often used to understand or know another person’s thoughts. In this paper, some basic techniques of mind reading will be presented to show how mind reading can both be scientifically intriguing and mentally entertaining. For the first kind of mind reading that mainly involves scientific procedures, one needs a basic understanding of both the verbal and non-verbal cues that a person gives off. There are no materials needed to do this kind of mind reading other than knowledge of scientific theories that govern how people behave and communicate. Knowledge in the fields of communication and psychology greatly helps in this matter. Additionally, knowledge in effectively using the senses is also necessary (â€Å"Mind Reading† 1723). On the other hand, the other kind of mind reading that involves tricks might need a couple of materials before one can actually perform the mind reading process. Some of the most basic things to use are paper, penc il, scissors, ruler, and stapler. In addition, one needs an assistant to do the mind reading trick. This trick should be done in a place where the mind reader can be safely isolated from the others at certain times during the mind reading process (Clark 75-6). ... Third, the mind reader can then throw in suggestive remarks that will elicit more hints from the participant. Fourth, the mind reader will merge all these verbal and non-verbal cues and form them into an observation that the participant can believe as successful mind reading. From this, the mind reader can go on and do more mind reading from the added clues, from the participant, or end the process entirely. The mind reader should be careful enough, though, to make sure that the observations thrown at the participant are vague and general enough to stay on the safe side, yet phrased in almost a personalized way. If the process is successful, the participant will believe the mind reader can truly read his or her thoughts. For the other type of mind reading, there is not much mental calisthenics required. First, the mind reader should acquire the help of the assistant. Second, both the mind reader and the assistant will reveal to the group that the mind reader can actually read minds, and is willing to perform for them. They should explain the mechanics of the mind reading presentation, wherein the group members will choose a particular object from the table. This materials stated above --- paper, pencil, scissors, ruler, and stapler --- may be used as choices. Third, the mind reader will leave the room while the group chooses a preferred object without physically touching it. Once an object is chosen, the mind reader can go back with the group. Fourth, the mind reader will correctly identify the object that the group chose. This will be done through a previous understanding between the mind reader and the assistant. Each object will be associated with a specific phrase. For example, if the group chooses the pencil, the assistant will