Epicurus believed that death should be nothing to us. Describe and Essay

Epicurus believed that death should be nothing to us. Describe and critically assess his principle argument for this conclusion - Essay Example Unfortunately, we can become acquainted only with small parts of his works and some letters,  which reached our times. All the fine points of  Epicureanism can be learned from the works of his followers and critics. Nevertheless, the philosophy of the thinker is valuable and worth-discussing as it presents very interesting ideas about life and death, pleasure and pain, and teaches us how to avoid the fear of death that prevents people from enjoying life. Epicurus had very interesting view on philosophy. He stated that the aim of this science was to reach the pleasant, calm life, absolute harmony without fear and hurt, full-fledged life among true friends. According to the philosopher, delight and hurt define what is good and bad, while death represents the end of everything, both the body and the spirit and that is why humans should not be afraid of it (Bakalis, 2005). The philosopher did not believe that any supreme forces can control human’s life and punish humans. According to his materialistic point of view, our world is founded on the atoms’ behavior and represents eternal system (Panicha, 1967). Epicurus considered the science of philosophy to be very helpful for people in their attempts to make their life more pleasant. The philosophy can help get rid of troubles that make our life poorer. One of the troubles that prevent us from enjoying our life is the fear of death. According to Epicurus, this fear spoils our life and in order to get rid of it, it is necessary we should understand what death really is. In order not to suffer people must feel safe. Here Epicurus is talking about the value of justice. According to the philosopher, only justice can eliminate harm and suffering completely. The philosopher talks about the justice system as about an agreement we sign with each other people make with each other to guarantee our safety. Get used to believing that death is nothing to us. For all good and bad consists in sense experience,

Sarcophagus Relief Depicting Labors of Hercules Essay

Sarcophagus Relief Depicting Labors of Hercules - Essay Example Thesis statement: In the sculpture Sarcophagus Relief Depicting Labors of Hercules, the unknown artist portrays the deep relationship between Roman mythology and the growth and development of Roman sculpture during 3rd–4th century A.D. Background As pointed out, the artist behind the sculpture Sarcophagus Relief Depicting Labors of Hercules (see Appendix-1), is still unknown. But this ambiguity related to the sculpture does not reduce its scope within the scenario or art because it represents the Roman society during 3rd-4th century A.D. The sarcophagus relief sheds light into the social setting in Rome during 3rd–4th century A.D. Generally, sarcophagus relief works are used to decorate the tombs of the elite class in the society. One can see that the myth of Hercules or Heracles was popular among the people in ancient Roman Empire. So, this sculpture can be considered as a visual example for the usage of mythical characters in sculpture. This sculpture is preserved and displayed at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, which is in Hawaii. Besides, this sculpture was contributed by Anna Rice Cooke (say, the founder of the Academy of Arts/museum). So, one can see that the sculpture’s background is interconnected with the Roman society, mythology and culture. Source The unknown artist made use of the Greco-Roman myth of Hercules. To be specific, the theme of this sculpture is interconnected with the labors of Hercules. In the Greco-Roman mythology, Hercules is portrayed as a mythical figure, powerful enough to complete impossible labors. One can see that Hercules’s deeds were popular among the Romans and the artists began to make use of the same as their theme. The popularity of Hercules’s labors represents the Roman interest in hero worship and this is cunningly portrayed in the sculpture. In the sculpture, the artist portrays two of the deeds fulfilled by Hercules. For instance, the first figure in the sculpture is symbolic of Hercule s’s fight with hydra (say, a multi-headed creature). â€Å"Hercules had to kill the many-headed hydra (HYE-druh) for his second task†.1 The second figure in the sculpture is symbolic of Hercules’s battle with the Erymanthian Boar (say, a giant creature). From a different angle of view, the position of Hercules in the sculpture is symbolic of hard labor. Besides, the seriousness that can be seen in the face of Hercules is symbolic of heroism and hard labor. Origin As pointed out, origin of the work Sarcophagus Relief Depicting Labors of Hercules is related to Roman culture and its relation with mythology and hero worship. One can see that the sculpture represents the Roman interest in the immortality of art. Besides, the usage of marble as the medium of sculpture proves the development of sculpture works during 3rd-4th century A.D. On the other side, one cannot neglect the fact that the decline of Roman Empire reduced the further development of Roman art and arch itecture. Still, some of the sculptures during 3rd-4th century A.D. are preserved in different museums. So, this sculpture is historically important because it represents the rich heritage of Roman culture. Besides, this sculpture was contributed to the Honolulu Academy of Arts, by Anna Rice Cooke (say, in the year 1932). The authorities at the Honolulu Academy of Arts show utmost interest to preserve and restore this sculpture. In addition, ArtafterDark (say, a volunteer group) at the Honolulu A

Communication Essay Example for Free

Communication Essay I. Mass Media Effect on Children’s and Teens’ Body Image Outline Mass media outlets of all forms effect adolescent girls’ and young women’s body image negatively. Be it via magazine, television, movies, advertisement, or other sources, girls and young women are bombarded with mass media constantly that contain hidden messages about the â€Å"ideal† woman, and messages on ways to attain the attributes required to be socially accepted by these unspoken standards. Common attitudes acquired by children and teens from the media of what is acceptable physically, related eating disorders, media literacy’s effect on whether an individual will be easily influenced or not by subliminal mass media messages on body image will be discussed accordingly. A. Mass Media Effects on Children’s Attitudes towards overweight individuals and/or obesity 1. According to Bissell K. and Hays, H. (2011), in the article, â€Å"Understanding Anti-Fat Bias in Children: The Role of Media and Appearance Anxiety in Third to Sixth Graders’ Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Obesity† children develop attitudes about acceptable body weight from media such as television. Children view television close to 6 hours a day according to Bissell and Hays (2011). The subliminal content on acceptable body fat and physical appearance abounds. Bissell and Hays state that, â€Å"Given this amount of exposure, it seems likely children are exposed to television and images that reinforce notions about the importance of thinness and attractiveness (p. 116-7)†. Bissell and Hays also say â€Å". . . The media’s influence on the body image of children that the media perpetuate beliefs about the importance of thinness and that a negative stigma associated with being overweight i s then possibly formed (p. 117).† 2. The Social Learning Theory closely relates to the attitudes of other children towards individuals, and can be applied to this point. B. Mass media effects on eating disorders 1. In the article, â€Å"Influence of Mass Media on Body Image and Eating Disorder Attitudes and Behaviors in Females: A Review of Effects and Processes†, by Lopez, et al. (2010), direct effects of magazine and television on adolescent girls and young women. According to Lopez et al, â€Å"Undeniably, a substantial portion of media content consumed by children and adolescents is replete with unhealthy messages about the beauty ideal, body size, food, weight control, and the gender roles of women and girls, as well as use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances for managing one’s emotions and self-presentation (pg. 388).† Lopez et al goes on to discuss the way that the mass media effects adolescents without their realizing it; â€Å"People are often unaware—and mass media work hard to keep it that way—of the extent to which, and just exactly how mass media play an important role in promoting consumerism, body objectification, and internalization o f the current beauty ideal (Lopez et al., 2010). 2. According to Rieves, S. (2011) â€Å"Models weigh 23% less than the average woman, while a generation ago the gap was 8%†. This ideal sets an impractical role model for young girls. Rieves (2011) also points out the startling fact that, â€Å"At the start of puberty, 81% of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat† (p. 123). Rieves also alludes to the evidence of studies, and said â€Å"Researchers consistently ï ¬ nd a strong relationship between media exposure and the epidemiology of eating disorders at the aggregate population level† (p. 123). 3. Social Comparison Theory relates to eating disorder development and mass media influence. According to Rieves (2011), â€Å"Moreover, celebrity images contribute to unrealistic weight through social comparison (p. 124).† C. Mass Media effects regarding Media Literacy 1. In the article, â€Å"Idealism: Factors Affecting the Body Image of College Students† by Pitura A., college students participated in a study to determine the degree mass media effected body image and which media sources were more influential. Pitura says that media literacy is a crucial quality in whether or not an individual’s body image will be negatively affected by media exposure. According to Pitura (2010), â€Å"In order to become media literate one must be able to sort through the information given by the media and determine fact from fiction (p. 63). 2. According to Meng, J. and Bissell, K., (2009) â€Å"As young girls look to television and movie stars such as Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) or Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical), they see the glamorized images, to a large degree, of very thin girls (p. 7).† What viewers can distinguish between what is real and what is glamorized relates to each viewers le vel of media literacy. If a viewer has a low media literacy, the images that viewer regards as realistic and acceptable outweigh the views of viewers who hold a more realistic outlook when consuming media such as the television shows mentioned. D. Mass Media Effects Factors Contributing to Body Image 1. Several factors contribute to mass media effects on an individual. The degree of consumption of media, the media form, and peer pressure all play a role in the internalization of body image; often these ideals are excessively thin due to media images. 2. A study of girls ages 9 through 12, by Clark and Tiggerman (2006), concluded that media does in facts effects one’s body image and self-worth from adolescents and earlier; â€Å"There is no doubt, however, that the mass media are powerful transmitters of societal ideals for children, just as for adults (Clark and Tiggerman).†

The Mission Statement of British Telecommunication

The Mission Statement of British Telecommunication BT Group plc is formerly known as British Telecom. It is also the privatized UK state telecommunications operator. It is the leading fixed line telecommunications and broadband Internet provider in the United Kingdom. BT operates in more than 170 countries and almost a third of its revenue now comes from its Global Services division. BT Group is the largest communications service provider in the United Kingdom. It is also one of the largest communication companies in the world (British Telecommunication, 2007). The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange. At the present time, BT has become a multifaceted organisation offering general consumer goods and services through new sophisticated technologies but alongside this has created a commercial offering with consultancy and business solutions in order to ensure expansion and a long life secure for the company through differing markets. BT is very devoted in the acknowledgment of the primary source of its customer base within commercial outlets therefore the focus for the business falls within this function. However the domestic market retains a sizeable share of the total revenue generated thus the sector is carefully managed and invested in which enables the security of this sector. In this report we will examine the mission statements of BT, key objectives, internal and external environmental factors and information systems with the levels of management. The Mission Statement of British Telecommunication Mission statement is unique purpose that differentiates an organisation from the other companies of the same type. A mission statement needs to communicate the essence of its organisation to its stakeholders and to the public. There are two kinds of mission statements: General objectives In general it indicates how they do rather than where they would be. In other words journey rather than destination. They are always long term objectives. Usually, there are no closing stages on this kind of mission statement but it is always measured by its goals. For example: reduce output of waste or strengthen the loyalty of the constituents and so on. BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen states the general objective of BT as follows: Our central purpose is to provide world-class telecommunications and information products and services, and to develop and exploit our networks, at home and overseas, so that we can: Meet the requirements of our customers, Sustain growth in the earnings of the group on behalf of our shareholders, and Make a fitting contribution to the community in which we conduct our business. ( The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2008 ) Specific objectives They are irrefutable mission statements that contain principles and time periods in which all work should be achieved. Mission statements should be answered following Druckers four questions: (E H Edersheim, P F Drucker (2007) What is our business? Who is the customer? What is the value to the customer? What should our business be/ what will our business be? What business is the company in? BT is doing this by stating that it provides world-class telecommunications and informational products and services to its customers. This really shows the involvement that BT is not in the mobile telecommunication service by at home and overseas. But it also states that they offer landlines in abroad as well for instance in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea etc. Thus, the consumers would be the people who are using the BT landlines By developing and exploiting their network and meeting the requirements of customers, they mentioned increasing the value of the network. By telecommunication at home indicates their business where they are now and provide world-class telecommunication service in overseas indicates where their business will be. Lately mission statements are not about their customers and products and services, but shareholders. In last sentence they also mentioned what they will be doing in the future with the collaborated companies . BTs strategy and key objectives BT strategy and key objectives can be stated today as followed: the speed to the market, customer experience and cost transformation. BT has a future-proof, flexible, intelligent network to enable the company to deliver communications services that will meet their customers requirements in the coming decades. They have a very clear vision of where they want to be and they are now taking specific steps towards that goal. Their transformation program has three key objectives: to enhance the customer experience to accelerate product to market times to reduce BTs cost base And they are seeking to achieve these all at the same time. Therefore new means were set up in order to increase and improve their performances such as 21CN 21CN is designed to deliver a world class customer experience from end-to-end. It will drive a radical simplification of BTs operations, increasing efficiency and the ability to launch new services to market faster than we can today. It will empower the customer with control, choice and flexibility like never before. BT claimed that 21CN will deliver both enormous cost-savings and the most advanced network in the world for new services. They point to consolidation of equipment, the simplification resulting from the removal of numerous legacy networks, and the flexibility and degree of automation enabled by 21CN. Its new network will make it more efficient, quicker to respond to market demand and more flexible. It claims it will be much easier to launch multimedia, converged services and that customers will have more control over their account management and greater flexibility in the way they interact with BT and its network. ( Financial Times June/15/2005 08:44 ) PEST ANALYSIS OF BT With the economic globalization and the widespread application of information technology, enterprises are faced with dynamic and complex external environment which is increasingly important for survival and development of enterprises. With regard to political factor, BT was the vanguard of the reform of the telecommunication industry in Europe and the United States, and the success of the reform was owned much to the British government telecommunication policy, especial for the right choice for control policies. Economic factor refers to the macroeconomic situation, world economic situation and economic status of industries. For example, the current economic crisis leaded to the incline of BTs economic benefits. Due to the economic pressure, BT was planning layoffs which showed that BT had dropped at the companys lowest situation since the privatization in 1984. The social factor refers to the general factors which have indirect and potential impact such as population, income or purc hasing power, national culture and national education level. Ecological factor essentially means that increasing depletion of natural resources and ecological environment forced the enterprises to adapt environmental protection policy. For example, BTs goal is to reduce its carbon emission by 80 percent in 2020, at the same time, BT has also introduced a new model to measure and trace carbon emission, Carbon Disclosure Project (BT, 2008). Technological factor refers to the industry-related science and technology and the trend of development. As a veteran operator in Europe, BT had won the attracting results through introducing the 21st century network based on NGN technology, and adapting the industry-leading technologies and strategies to carry out the entire business operation SWOT ANALYSIS OF BT SWOT analysis is the analysis of organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in order to identify a strategic niche that the organization can exploit G Lancaster (2002). Strength: BT is the worlds oldest communication company which was established in 1846 and still serves over 20 million business and residential customers with more than 29 million exchange lines. It has a good reputation of being part of the European leading telecommunication service provider. For instance, it extends its market in other countries, it is a global company and Over 60% of Fortune Global 500 companies and over 65% of FTSE 100 companies are part of the BT customer database. It makes BT has a strong brand image and until now BT is still the only UK telecom operator to have a universal service obligation (USO). Its strong base of long term customers makes BT financially successful due to its innovative and flexible organization and its competitive price. Weakness: The weakness of BT is inflexible. BT is a big company, so it should work by step and step, it cannot change quickly when meat the problem. But however today, BTs reputation is going down because its internet service usually crashed for long hours and therefore takes a great deal of time to reconnect. BT Home Hub WI-FI security easy to crack (Router manufacturers use algorithm to generate WEP (wired equivalent privacy) and WPA (WI-FI protected access) default keys. BT Home Hub ships with default encryption keys to encrypt wireless network traffic using either WEP or WPA. But the algorithm is predictable and only creates a limited number of easily-hacked keys). It is also obvious that BTs own success makes it difficult to recruit and train staff quickly enough. Opportunity Experts predict great potential for future growth in next 10 years. And the current recession is favorable as people more specifically the customers and businesses are more cost-conscious. It is also important to note that lots of threat to new entries to the market which gives opportunity to grow even bigger nationally and internationally. BTs well known in Europe can bring new co-operating companies all over the world. Internet user growing quickly, it means BT have opportunity to get more market share. In 1994 only $1billion market for BT and MCI but now it grows unbelievable. Global telecommunication market is grow 20% in 2008 compared to 12% in 2003 which will have a good chance for BT to create a new record. With the technology of internet, BT also can develop new product, for example: it can increase the speed of cell phone to use internet Threat BT was established in 1846, at that time it was the only telecommunication company in Britain until 1982 Mercury communications entries this market. It means BT should competitive with Mercury communications and BT market share decreased. It leads to BT cannot make price easily; it should compare with other company price and then make a competitive price. BT also should improve their products, make it have more competitive, because BT should keep their old customers and create some new customers or take customers from Mercury communications, but it should cost more. In addition, BT starts to lose the customers trust and the introduction of mobile phones decreases the usage of landlines. The treats get worse as big brands enter the market with new technology and low prices. The internet coverage of areas that do not need landlines and new companies such as Virgin affect badly BTs expansion. Critical success factors Since the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell, new era of communication has started. In United Kingdom General Post Offices Postal Telegraph department which became BT group was providing telephone services. BT group is the largest communication service provider in United Kingdom. Throughout history BT had numerous advantages which influenced its success. BT had a monopoly in the industry till the duopoly sharer Mercury came out. These two telecommunication operators had an exclusive right to provide telecom services. This duopoly ended in 1990s, and market was open to be shared. But BT had already reached an attitude which is much stronger and unbeatable by competitors. Many of BTs customers are based in the UK. BT Global Services deliver solutions inmore than 170different countries, connecting installations, communities and value chains that are essential to organizations. Currently BT is responsible for approximately 28 million telephone lines. Furthermore the company is the only UK telecommunications operator obliged to deliver fixed telephone line to any UK address. In addition BT operates most public telephone boxes all-over the UK. With high technology BT delivers significantly good service of telephone, internet and cable TV. Current BTs most dominant product on the market is BT Home Hub which includes telephone internet broadband and cable TV. Furthermore BT has launched many more successful products throughout decades. INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR BT Operational Control The operation control is the stage that shows and determines how the performing of specific tasks that are set by strategic and middle management decision makers. Usually, most of the tasks in operational level are structured. Knowledge level This stage evaluates new ideas for products and services, the ways to communicate new knowledge in other words the interaction, and finally the ways to distribute information. Management Control-tactical level The management control tactical level monitors effective or efficient ways of resources and performance of operational units. Most of the tasks in that level are semi-structured. Strategic Decision Making It determines long-term objectives, resources and policies. In general, a good number of the tasks in strategic level are unstructured. Major types of System The major types of system we can notice today are the Executive Support System (ESS), the Decision Support System (DSS), the Management Information System (MIS), the Knowledge Work System (KWS), and the Transaction Processing System (TPS). Executive Support systems Chief Managers use executive support systems (ESS) to make strategic planning about sales forecasting, budget, profit and personal planning. ESS serves the strategic level of the organizations. They address non-routine decisions requiring judgment, evaluation, and insight because there is no agreed-on procedure for arriving at solutions. ESS create a generalised computing and communication environment rather than providing any fixed application or specific capability. Furthermore, they are designed to incorporate data about external events such as new tax laws or competitors. They employ the most advanced graphics software and can deliver graphs and data from many sources immediately to a senior executive office or to a boardroom. Unlike the other types of informational systems, ESS is not designed primarily to solve specific problems. Instead, ESS provides a generalized computing and communications capacity that can be applied to a changing array of problems. J F. Rockart (1988). At this stage such matters like the business aims and competitors influences are indeed revised carefully. Therefore, senior managers are trying to maintain a good relationship with partners and existing customers. However to gain high reputation, they must be concerned about the role of customer social responsibility and have to create a flexible strategy planning that suits to the charges of economical factors. Decision support systems The decision support systems (DSS) help managers in making decisions that are unique, rapidly changing, and not easily specified in advance. They provide both problem-solving information and a communication capability for solving semi-structured problems. DSS have more analytical power than the other systems. They are built explicitly with variety of models to analyze data, or they condense large amounts of data into a form where they can be analyzed by decision makers. DSS are also designed so that users can with them directly; these systems explicitly include user-friendly software. F Buytendijk (2008). Relating to British telecom, the DSS study generally the options of maximisation profit and determine whether prices are suitable in the marketplace. Managerial Information Systems. Management information systems (MIS) are used mostly in management level system, management need information in different sectors like sale management control, annual budgeting, about investment analysis. On average, they are oriented almost exclusively to internal, not environmental or external, events. MIS mainly serve the functions of planning, controlling, and decision making at the management level. MIS review and report on the companys basic operations. The basic transaction data from TPS are compressed and are usually presented in long reports that are produced on a regular schedule. MIS usually serve managers interested in weekly, monthly, and yearly results-not day-to-day activities. MIS generally provide answers to routine questions that have been specified an advance and have a predefined procedure for answering them. Most MIS use simple routines such as summaries and comparisons, as opposed to sophisticated mathematical models or statistical techniques. Ross Malaga, (2003). Knowledge Work and Office Systems Knowledge Work System ( KWS) is very important because BT has different workstations like engineering workstations ,graphics workstations and managerial workstations ,on the other hand Office systems do in BT different work like word processor , document imaging , design for the company , electronic calendars. This system can involve a combination of work practices, information, structures, people, and technologies organized to accomplish objectives in an organisation. BT use information system in different level of management, there are a relationship between systems. Mostly, BT uses three information systems: management system, information system, and computer system. Transaction Processing Systems Transaction processing systems are the basic business systems that monitor the operational level of companies. A transaction processing system is a computerized system that performs and records daily routine transactions necessary to the conduct of the business. For example its like special force in the army, any operation need to be check and secure for example: machine control, securities trading, material movement, and cash control management. They also study the decision to grant credit to a customer for instance, this is made by lower level supervisor according to predefined criteria. All that must be determined is whether the customer meets the criteria. The master file is composed of discrete pieces of information (such as name, address or employee number) called data elements. Data are keyed into the system, updating the data and elements. The elements on master file are combined in different ways to make a report of interest to management and government agencies and to send paychecks to employees. These TPS can generate other report combinations of existing data elements. J Gray, A Reuter (1993) REFERENCES Modern Public Information Technology Systems: Issues and Challenges by G. David Garson, 2007 BT, (2008), BT press Release, retrieved on 17th April, 2009, from: http://pr.euractiv.com/node/3269 Information Systems Technology by Ross Malaga, 2003 Executive Support Systems: The Emergence of Top Management Computer Use by John F. Rockart 1988 Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth Page 163 by Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute 2003 352 pages Annual Review of Communications: Volume 59 Page 243 by International Engineering Consortium 2007 750 pages Performance Leadership: The Next Practices to Motivate Your People, Align Page 207 by Frank Buytendijk 2008 300 pages Management of Organizational Change: Leveraging Transformation Page 63 by K. Harigopal 2006 367 pages The Guardian, Wednesday 9 April 2008 The Definitive Drucker: The Final Word from the Father of Modern Management Page 48 by Elizabeth Haas Edersheim, Peter Ferdinand Drucker 2007 289 pages Financial Times June/15/2005 08:44 Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques Page 3 by Jim Gray, Andreas Reuter 1993 1070 pages BIBLIOGRAPHY Strategic Planning for Information Systems by John. L. Ward and Joe Peppard, 2002 Ethics and Information Technology by James Anderson and Kenneth Goodman Introduction to Business Information Systems by Peter Mertens, Rolf. T. Wigand, 2003 Business Dynamics in Information Technology by Peter Gottschalk, 2007 www.bt.co.uk

Setting And Story :: essays research papers

Setting and Story   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The setting in the story, â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death†, is very important to the story as a whole. In many situations it is needed to relay important ideas. There are three main things in the plot that give the story this special touch. One example is the color of the rooms of the abbey. The next thing is the seclusion of the abbey, This gives the characters a false sense of security and a sort of dramatic irony to the reader. The third thing in the setting was the era that story took place.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The colors of the rooms play an important role in the story. Each room seems to take on a kind of theme some more obvious than others. The Black room represented the â€Å"Red Death† even though this is not stated the reader can assume this because the people avoid that room during the story. No one enters it until the â€Å"Red Death† kills the prince in it. The rooms add a lot to the story. They help convey the idea that their are two forces at work. The good and the bad, the bad being the red death, and the good being the party, full of life and excitement. They also help the reader see that the people would rather forget about the plague outside, and that helps the reader realize why the people where so opposed to the â€Å"Red Death† when he made his appearance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The seclusion of the abbey also adds to the story. The seclusion of the abbey gives the characters a sort of false sense of security. The characters believed that they would be safe from the plague by boarding up the gates and sealing themselves inside. When they where actually locking themselves into there own deaths, and by locking and welding the gates the author brings the attention of dramatic irony to the reader.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third thing in the plot that had a significant effect on the story was the time the story took place. The effect of this ordeal accruing during medieval times is the reader associates all the suspicions and mythological ideas of that time with the story, allowing the reader to more actually experience the emotions of the people of that time.

The Second World War (WWII) Essay -- World War 2 II Two

World War I has often been referred to as the â€Å"Great War.† This is a rather deceiving statement being that over 65 million men fought, and over 37 million men died in a war that lasted 4 years. World War I was, also, referred to as the â€Å"War to end all Wars.† Yet, 20 years later that statement would no longer be true as WWII erupted in 1939. When WWI ended with no real purpose served, it became apparent that a peace conference needed to occur and that someone had to pay reparations for the damage done. So, many representatives from different European and North American countries met and formed the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty was harsh and punishing towards Germany, whom the rest of Europe felt was to blame for the war. However, the question asked at that time, and still today, is who is to blame for the â€Å"Great War† that is known for its great destruction to a generation? Many historians would agree that Germany was solely to blame for World War I. They would argue that Germany brought other countries (mainly Britain) into the war by invading neutral Belgium. They would, also, argue that by invading Belgium, Germany exercised a nine year old war plan to attack France. The move was offensive by Germany and therefore France and Britain were just defending their allies. Germany was again blamed for the repercussions of World War I because of their shady past with France. In 1870, Germany and the Prussian Empire defeated a highly confident French army. From this period on un...

A Personal Practical Theory

Trends in education have grown through the years, technology advances as well as principles and theories were developed for education to cope with the changing world.There have been criticisms about the teachers’ apparent lack of understanding of what is really happening in their own territories, and that classroom researchers fail to impart the findings and results of their studies and therefore building gaps between them and the teachers.â€Å"Teachers have been represented as theory builders who continually construct, elaborate, test and refine their own practical theory.† (Busher (1998) as cited in Mangubhai 4) This must be the reason, among other reasons why teachers are encouraged to document their personal experiences in forms of practical theories to be able to share these personally proven and tested principles and thus influence the system of education.Practical theory, as defined by Sanders and McCutcheon (1986) are the conceptual structures and visions that provide teachers with reasons for acting as they do, and for choosing the teaching activities and curriculum materials they choose in order to be effective. They are the principles or propositions that undergird and guide teachers’ appreciations, decisions and actions. (pp. 54-55 as cited in Ritchie p. 2)These practical theories are most commonly tacit, and must be documented. Batten et.al. (1993) explains that it â€Å"demystifies the teaching process† (as cited in Ritchie p.4) and was supported by Cooper and McIntyre (1996) claim that â€Å"successful teaching does not depend on the application of recipes, but rather a kind of flexible responsiveness to students and other circumstances.† (as cited in Ritchie p.4)Sources of my readings are in agreements that indeed, the actual experience in teaching makes a good resource for benchmarking of better techniques and styles and more effective teaching methods, if only these are documented.This paper is my response t o this need and my contribution to the education community. Is a detailed documentation of the personal practical theory developed in the course of my teaching Public Speaking in English language. The paper, which is presented in a first person storyline, is in two (2) parts.Part A – presents my teaching profile and analysis of literature as background to the discussion on my personal practical theory. This part also includes a structural framework of the theory.Part B –   presents an evaluation or assessment of the theory, its strengths, areas of concern and possible areas for improvement.Part A. Components and StructureMy Teaching ProfileMe as a TeacherI grew up with the dream of becoming a teacher, convinced that it is the most noble and relevant profession that will fulfil. So I amply prepared myself and completed a masters degree in Education specializing in Teaching English as a Second Language. I then worked as full-time teacher in one of the local colleges in our community, teaching Public Speaking to eight graders.In the duration of my five years working experience as an English Communication Arts teacher, I was given different subject assignments, mostly in oral communication. I taught Speech and Phonetics, Drama, Oral Expression and Public Speaking. I was also assigned moderator of the different student theatre organizations and speech clubs and was frequently asked to train contestants in oratorical and extemporaneous speech contests.My interest and enthusiasm was sustained and I have grown to love my career more and more through the years. Armed with my youth, dynamism and innovative ideas, complemented with training opportunities to develop my teaching capabilities, I was able to efficiently and effectively deliver results.