Choose one from 6 topics, I attatched files Essay

Choose one from 6 topics, I attatched files - Essay Example The father has as well as left and the mother’s departure is also a reflection of the search for their father. The two sister are left with the aunt they do not know and presents a hostile environment hence validating their minority as reflected in the minor transnationalism. Their children are left long before they could realize the reason for the desertion. The girls are portrayed as scrubbing and cleaning for their aunt to fill the plastic piggy bank that will lead to their reunion with their mother. The idea of the minor transnationalism is validated, in this case, the two sisters have both engaged with as well as against the others who are the majority as they put efforts to fill the plastic piggy bank. Their engagement is in line with the provisions of the minor transnationalism as it shows a vertical framework of opposition and assimilation. Indeed, he paper also showcases how these young characters engage with both majority and other minority cultures. For example, their aunt represents the majority and their grandmother who they sympathize with depicts their engagement with other minorities. Their desertion is evident as the elder sister washes her sibling to prevent her from feeling a state of desertion. The two sisters are however sold grasshoppers to care for themselves as they await the return of their mother despite being i n a diaspora. The younger sister is in a state of withdrawal; however, her elder sister tries to make her happy as she takes the role of parenting her. The sisters must thrive to come to terms with their isolation or minority status. The sisters know the threats of the external environment they live. Jin shows affection for her sister despite desperately feeling abandoned but have little knowledge about their situation. Thus, the characters fit the minor transnationalism description as they fight creatively despite being minority to fill their piggy bank as they know that will bring their mother back. On

Seamus Heaney Mid-Term Break Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Seamus Heaney Mid-Term Break - Essay Example Having learned of what happened while away at school, Seamus spent the school day at the sick bay or clinic where he heard the school bell ring between classes. In his mind, the bell was similar to the paling of the church bells during a funeral. The last bell of the day signaling the end of class after all. Returning home, he did not have a very clear picture of what tragedy had just beset his family. So he met with the mourners with a sense of detachment. Henry was touched by the way that his father â€Å"Big Jim† Evans showed emotion at the death of his younger brother. Knowing his father to be a strong and somewhat stoic man, this was one of the few times that Seamus actually saw his father saddened by an event. Sadness is a very powerful emotion that the man seemed able to convey to his oldest son only by shaking his hand and letting him know what a â€Å"big blow† the death of the middle son was. Why did the Old Man stand for Henry when he arrived and shook his hand? In the family, he was the eldest son and as such, he was second to his father in commanding the respect of the community. By standing up to greet him, the Old Man acknowledged his presence and his authority in the family. Indeed, their situation was quite unusual and that is why Henry seemed lost and confused when the Old Man and others began to stand up to greet and speak to him upon his arrival. This is one of the saddest poems that I have ever read. From the beginning of the second line, it was already evident that this was not a poem that was going to end with a happy recollection of a time past. Using assonance and alliteration, Seamus Henry managed to emotionally involve his readers in the death of his brother. Describing the ringing of the school bell in relation to a funeral indicates that he felt heavy at the thought of time slowly passing. A lyrical poem, one

The assumptions and limitations of abnormality

The assumptions and limitations of abnormality Abnormality, as defined by Eysenck and Flanagan (2000), means deviating from what is normal or usual. This definition is straightforward; however, it is not that easy to define normality (conforming to a standard). There are four ways which we can establish standard; the first way is through statistics, which means statistical infrequency. It is the idea that certain behaviours are statistically rare in the population, an example of this is the tendency for someone to have a high level of anxiety (trait anxiety). The mean score, when studied by Spielbergers State-Trait anxiety inventory, is when statistical scores show deviation from those of the majority or normal distribution and they are regarded as abnormal. The second approach is deviation from social norms. It is the impact of an individual behaviour on others. This is when we deviate or fail to respect social norms. Social norms come from values and identify behaviours, any deviation is considered as abnormal. An example is the case study of Sarah, a case of agoraphobia. She was in her mid-thirties, and without warning and without knowing why, she suddenly felt anxious and dizzy while she was shopping in a crowded department store. This happened again when she decided to shopping a few days later. After this she avoided going to the large stores or even smaller ones. Sarah behaviour was abnormal in many ways. (Adapted from J.D. Stirling J.S.E. Hellewell, 1990, Psychopathology, London: Routledge.). A third approach is the failure to function adequately. This is when some individuals fail to cope with day to day life. It can lead to depression, inability to sleep, taking time off from work and lack of motivation. Societies have expectations of how people should behave, and those individuals who cannot meet such obligations are considered as not functioning adequately. The fourth approach is ideal mental health. It relates abnormality to lack of contended existence, and consider it as deviation from ideal mental health. Psychologist Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, see self-actualisation as realising ones potential as ideal mental health. Rogers (1959) thinks that receiving unconditional love leads to a healthy psychological development as well as to a high self-esteem and self acceptance. Model in psychopathology is referred to as an explanation of the causes of psychological disorders. First of the four models is medical model (also known as biological model). It is a view of abnormality that sees mental disorders as being caused by genetic and biochemical factors. It is seen as illness or disease. The second view is that of the psychodynamic model. It sees abnormal behaviour as being caused by underlying (hidden and significant) psychological forces of which an individual is probably unaware. The third is the behavioural model. It views abnormal behaviour as maladaptive (poorly adapted). It sees it as learned responses in the environment of which we can replace by more adaptive behaviours. The fourth and last, is the cognitive model. It is a view that stresses the role of cognitive problems, i.e. illogical (unreasonable) or irrational thought processes in abnormal functioning. There are difficulties in defining normality in relation to statistical frequency. In terms of trait anxiety, it is expected to find a normal distribution of that trait within any population. Most people cluster (statistically significant subset) around the mean score whiles just only few individuals scoring very high or very low. A high score on trait anxiety would be considered as abnormal and so equally a low score on trait anxiety would be statistically abnormal. However, a low susceptibility (tendency to be affected) to anxiety hardly indicates clinical abnormality, rather, it is quite desirable. Statistical abnormality does not permit us to identify what behaviour requires treatment. It overlooks the important issue of desirability. Some statistically abnormal behaviour is undesirable, i.e. high trait of anxiety, whereas other statistically abnormal behaviour is quite desirable, such as low anxiety or genius. There is also a problem in deciding how much behaviour must deviate from the norm in other to be considered normal, an example is height. The same standard or norms may not apply to people in different age groups or different cultures. In terms of anxiety, what is normal for adults is not normal for children. Also, what is normal in one country may not be normal behaviour in another country. The numbers of problems associated with deviating from social norms are large. First, it is related to moral standard that is subjectively (opinions or feelings) defined by a society, and it changes over time. An example is Britain, where until recently it was not acceptable to have a child out of marriage. Another example is Russia, where in the 20th century; individuals opposed to the communist government were called dissidents (somebody who disagrees with an established political or religious system or organisation). Their attitudes were considered as symptoms of mental disorder, and were locked up in mental hospitals. Szasz (1960) suggested that the concept of mental is a myth (nonexistent), used by the state as means of control. The second problem is that social deviance is defined by the context in which behaviour occurs. Hence if you see someone wearing few clothes it would be acceptable on a beach but not in the high street. Cultural context is also important. For example, the Kwakiutl Indians engage in a ceremony in which they burn valuable blankets. But if someone in our society deliberately set fire on his or her valuable possessions they would be regarded very odd or mentally ill (Gleitman, 1986). People derive much of their pleasure in life from their interactions with other people. As a result, they find it important for a contented existence to avoid behaving in socially deviant ways that upset others. The main problem of the failure to function approach is that not all people who experience mental disorder are aware of their failure to function. For example, Schizophrenics often deny that they have problem. In cases like that, the problem is distressing to others, therefore others may judge that the individual is not functioning adequately and so may seek help on their behalf. It is easy to assess dysfunctional behaviour, such as using absenteeism (frequent absence) from work or number of rows with the spouse, as measures of the level of functioning. This approach is moderately tied to the social deviancy approach because it involves decisions about what is or is not acceptable. Failure to function has the advantage of recognising the subjective experience of the individual. However, such judgements are made by others and are influenced by social and cultural beliefs and biases. The advantage of ideal mental health approach is that it focuses on positive characteristics. On health rather than illness. However, the criteria used in assessing health (self-actualisation), are hard to define. They are abstract ideals and are related to our culture. Some societies dont feel that these are the ultimate aims for psychological health. They collectively strive for the good of the community. The second problem is the difficulty in measuring them. Health concept works well with respect to physical conditions because of the signs. The medical model is positive and clearly successful in some psychological conditions. An example is the condition Phenylketonuria (PKU), which is a cause of mental retardation, and it can be easily and effectively treated by physical means. This is an individual born with an inability to process the amino acid Phenylalanine. It is preventable if it is detected early. The medical model approach has the merit of being based on well-established sciences (medicine and biochemistry). Most mental disorders are caused by genetic factors, and drug therapies have often proved effective, either in treating the illness or reducing the symptoms. On the negative side, there is only a loose comparison between physical and mental illness. It is easier to establish the causes of most physical illnesses than mental ones, and the symptoms of mental disorders are more subjective than those of physical illnesses. It tells us little about the origin of Phobias. There is difficulty knowing whether any biological difference between individuals with a mental disorder and those without such disorder is a by-product of the disorder, rather than a direct cause. It has also being criticised for focusing too much on symptoms, and not enough on the patients experiences and internal processes. The role of psychological and social factor in explaining mental disorders is ignored. The application of medical principles is inappropriate if the symptoms of mental disorders (such as anxiety and isolation) are in psychological and social terms.

A Worn Path :: essays papers

A Worn Path The story  ³A Worn Path, ² by Eudora Welty, tells the journey on foot of an elderly black women, Phoenix Jackson, from her home to the nearest town. She makes the journey to go to the doctor to get medicine for her sick grandson. On the trip, she runs into some trouble here and there with her dress getting caught in the underbrush and old age getting to her. She encounters a big dog that knocks her over, but is soon rescued by a passing hunter. As she gets to town, Phoenix asks a woman to her to help her tie her shoes then, proceeds to the doctor ¹s office. When she arrives there, her memory fails her and she forgets what her long trip was for. The light comes on and she remembers her grandson ¹s medicine. She gets the medicine and the money the nurse gives her, goes and buys a gift for her grandson and sets off for home. In this story, old age and class alienate Phoenix from society. Old age alienates Phoenix from a hunter she encounters on the trail. Age alienates Phoenix from the hunter when he assumes her age enables her to continue her trip to town. The hunter states,  ³Why, that ¹s too far! That ¹s as far as I walk when I come out myself and I get something for my trouble... Now you go home, Granny! ² (Welty, 215) By saying the trip is too far, the hunter shows he does not believe Phoenix can make it to town due her elderly age. When he says  ³... and I get something for my trouble ² (Welty, 215), the hunter infers that he feels Phoenix has no business being out there making the long trip, and there is no reason good enough for her to be venturing that far. The hunter alienates Phoenix because her age by telling her the trip is too far and calling her Granny. Class alienates Phoenix Jackson from the attendants in the doctor ¹s office. As Phoenix walks in the door one attendant says,  ³A charity case, I suppose ² (Welty, 216). Based on appearance alone, the attendant makes the assumption that she was a charity case.  ³A poignant scene at the story ¹s close confirms the reader ¹s suspicion of Phoenix ¹s extreme poverty... ² (Magill, 2432). This scene proves to the reader Phoenix is not very high class. She is automatically assumed to be a charity case and then asked what was wrong with her, implying she does not look very good. Aldridge writes,  ³[In Welty ¹s stories] [t]here are members of racial minorities, the

Describe the Influence of Two Contrasting Economic Environments

P5-Describe the influence of two contrasting economic environments on business activities within a selected organisation Within my selected organisation, Tesco, there are 2 important economic environments that have an influence on business activities. Both economic environments will have a different way on affecting Tesco. The economic environments are growth and recession. Economic growth occurs when more goods are being produced and consumed, and incomes are rising. A growth company tends to have very profitable reinvestment opportunities for its own retained earnings.Economic growth will affect Tesco as it would increase their profits due to more people wanting more products and wanting to spend their money. As people have more money to spend on luxuries instead of the essentials it means that the higher value products will be brought. For example the Andrex toilet rolls will be brought instead of Tesco value, because of this it means more money is being spent in the store which i s an advantage for Tesco. Recession occurs when people involved in business become more cautious and: * Customers cut back on spending, and start to save more Manufactures and sellers cut back on their orders, produce fewer goods and start to cut back costs in general, including by laying off workers. Because economic recessions will put Tesco’s customers under money worries they will only be purchasing from the store, instead of what they want; only what they need. Examples on what Tesco customers would want include: chocolate, ice cream, sweats, and walker’s crisps instead of Tesco value, the luxuries. Examples on what Tesco customers need include: toothpaste, milk, bread and more, just the essentials.P6-Describe how political, legal and social factors are impacting upon the business activities of the selected organisations and their stakeholders A PESTLE analysis for Tesco must consider all the important external factors impacting on the company. These factors may h ave political, economic, sociological, technological, legal or environmental dimensions. The political analysis must include the impact of local and national government, and the international situation. The Economic analysis needs to investigate the influences of the stock market and tax increases, amongst many other monetary matters.Sociological factors are difficult to suss out. We swim in the â€Å"water† of our culture without recognising it as an important determining factor. And sociological analysis is all about analysing the background culture. Technological factors are usually easier to spot, because new technologies involve change, and change is always noticed. For instance, online shopping has had a major impact on Tesco's recent success. The change created by technological advances often lead to legal problems, which is why legal analysis is always an important part of a PESTLE analysis.Tesco's operations obviously have a significant environmental impact, from fos sil fuel use to packaging issues. Reducing the demand on the planet is a challenge for any big company. A PESTLE Analysis for Tesco must look at all the six factors we have mentioned. Here they are again, with examples of each: * Political: an increase in unemployment due to a downward turn in the world economy. * Economic: impact on sales of the credit crunch. * Sociological: an increase in immigration from Eastern Europe resulting in a demand for new goods. * Technological: how can Tesco take full advantage of the World Wide Web? Legal: how can Tesco avoid legal opposition to expanding into new high streets? * Environmental: – climate change is affecting supply and transport, how can Tesco adapt? In summary, any PESTLE Analysis for Tesco must consider all external factors if it has any hope of capturing the essence of the company. Political- Marketing decisions are strongly influenced by changes in the political environment. Changes such as new legislations put forward by c ouncils and governments, not just in the UK but also in the other thirteen countries that Tesco operates in.One legislation that affects Tesco rather predominantly is planning permission; a law heavily regulated in the UK, and as Tesco has approximately 2. 75 million meters of shop space (including car parks and stock rooms). Owning so much space and with so many large superstores can make this factor a very difficult one to overcome. Legal- The economy is different worldwide and fluctuates constantly, which makes this factor so complex for large multi-nationals like Tesco to tackle.To maintain maximum profitability overall, Tesco needs to raise its prices in accordance with inflation rates. If however prices are raised higher than the rate of inflation, customers may be urged to go somewhere else or spend less, and if the prices aren't raised high enough, they may not compensate with the rate of inflation and decrease the products profit margin. As there are people on different bud gets, Tesco tries to accommodate for everyone, which is why over recent years they have introduced many different price-based ranges. Social-Social attitudes of today’s society have changed the way people live, people now are working longer hours to sustain the financial demand that is needed in-order to keep up a higher standard of living, â€Å"One quarter of working men and 11% of working women in the UK now work more than 50 hours per week† . This is a social problem because it encourages people to eat ‘fast food’ type products such as pasties, sausage rolls, pre-packaged sandwiches and microwavable take-away items such as burgers ; hot dogs etc, which all have high percentages of saturated fats, sugars and salts.These ‘fast foods’ are eaten because of their convenience and due to time shortages from working longer hours these food are the easy option. This implicates less healthy diets and obesity in the UK population. M2-Compare the chal lenges to selected business activities within a selected organisation, in two different economic environments [IE] Tesco delivered a 10% increase in profits to a mighty ? 3. 4bn and chief executive Sir Terry Leahy declared the retailer â€Å"stronger than it was before the recession†.There is no single secret to Tesco's success, but at the heart of the company is its focus on customers. Its mantra is to look after them, and everything else will look after itself. It sounds simple, but few companies are as focused. Size also matters. Selling more means better buying terms – and that equals lower prices and/or higher profit margins. Lower prices then bring in bigger sales volumes. Tesco, like so few of its high street rivals, has succeeded in making itself largely classless, with price ranges designed to cater across the board.Britain's biggest retailer Tesco has called on the Bank of England to cut interest rates on, despite the fact the supermarket giant has yet to see any impact of the slowdown in the economy after reporting an increase in like-for-like sales. Overall the business in the UK was making good progress, and that Tesco Direct and tesco. com had both delivered â€Å"very strong† growth. The international business was rapidly expanding and that Asia had performed particularly well with a 29pc increase in sales. Tesco is on track to open new stores in the international business which will provide more than 7m sq ft of new trading floor space this year.Tesco have maintained pleasing progress, overall sales growth has strengthened in the period, with International delivering a particularly strong performance, and the UK has again done well, with good growth in our core food categories. M3-Analyse how political, legal and social factors have impacted on the two contrasting organisations Tesco will experience many issues when it comes to political, legal and social factors. All businesses will experience similar problems even one tha t is in a different market, for example Apple would experience similar, however not the exact same problems as Tesco.One political factor that will impact Tesco is the Consumer Protection Act 1987. This is a set of laws and regulations that were designed to protect consumers from faulty and/or unsatisfactory goods bought. As an example – you buy a stereo from Tesco and within 2 days, the sound distorts and crackles, this is not fit for purpose as the stereo was designed to allow you (the consumer) to listen to your music, which you cannot do satisfactorily. You are therefore entitled to return the item for a replacement or refund but only within a set time i. e. 0 days, if the item became faulty after 30 days, the store you bought it from are entitled to send it for repair. This could impact Tesco because just say they had a poor supplier then they would have many a customer returning demanding refunds or repairs which therefore will cause Tesco to lose out and it could cause them to lose customers as it’ll give them bad customer satisfaction. Apple could definitely relate to this as they sell many electrical products which could go faulty at any time, an example could be if they sold an iPhone and the consumer could not make calls on it or connect it to iTunes.Although they are a huge company who promise that there will be no faultiness in their products and offer warranties, it is not one hundred per cent certain that their products will work efficiently. There will be the odd product that will be faulty. For employment legislations, the government encourages retailers to provide a mix of job opportunities from flexible, lower-paid and locally-based jobs (working in the stores) to highly-skilled, higher-paid and centrally-located jobs (working in, probably London, being a part of a department.An example would be working for the the Tesco marketing team). Also to meet the demand from population categories such as students, working parents and se nior citizens. Tesco understands that retailing has a great impact on jobs and people factors (new store developments are often seen as destroying other jobs in the retail sector as traditional stores go out of business or are forced to cut costs to compete), being an inherently local and labor-intensive sector.Tesco employs large numbers of; student, disabled and elderly workers, often paying them lower rates. In an industry with a typically high staff turnover, these workers offer a higher level of loyalty and therefore represent desirable employees. Apple D2-Evaluate how future changes in economic political, legal and social factors, may impact on the strategy of a specified organisation

Absolutism Pros And Cons Essay

The history of Absolutism began during the seventeen century during the transition from Feudalism to Capitalism in England and was known as â€Å"The Divine Right of Kings† England was experiencing a complete overthrow of their monarchy and its replacement was first by a Republic and then by a new and weakened monarchy. For England, at the end of the seventeen century they would see the erosion of the monarch’s powers in the â€Å"Glorious Revolution†. Absolutism was a form of government where the ruling monarchs were responsible for God and sovereignty was embodied in the King only. Despite the attempts by the Kings in England their idea of Absolutism didn’t hit its full power like it did when King Louis XIV of France took the throne. I believe I share the same opinion of the majority of people throughout this country and even worldwide that there are more cons and weaknesses of Absolutism than there are pros and strengths. I will start out with the cons and weaknesses. In all reality the notion that one man, a single â€Å"leader† could have all this power invested into him with a single view on the entire country’s personal choices, religious beliefs, lifestyle choices, culture and moral values is beyond insane and a form of slavery if you ask me. His views are not shared with the entire country and for a single person to be in control of them all is disturbing beyond belief. These monarchs were recognized as France’s supreme legislators, executors, judicators and ruler of the entire country. In other words, the judge, lawyers and jury! I would say that is a major â€Å"con† right there! Absolutism doesn’t take into account and even refuted any historical developments during the scientific revolution during the Enlightenment era. It also debunks science theories, new ideas on creation, morals theories, personal family values, individual lifestyles and evolutionary na ture of humanity in general. It also lacks cultural differences and many of the monarchs seemed intolerant to any cultural diversity. Another weakness is that Absolutism basically ignores the circumstances in which ethical judgments are made and in today’s world in the 20th and 21st centuries those are the very freedoms and liberties we have as Americans. It’s a nightmare looking back in history and learning about these wealthy, selfish and greedy unruly men being the kings and rulers of an entire country. Really one â€Å"mind† and â€Å"theory† for all? Thank goodness for the Enlightenment era when the intelligent, educated and morally sound men rose to the occasion to change the world in which they lived in from the dark ages into the â€Å"light† known as the Enlightenment period! The last â€Å"con† of Absolutism that is probably the most dangerous to their society was the fact that there was no Democratic legitimacy because the leader was not elected by the people he inherited the position by either a family passing away or given to them by a retiring king. So any liability and accountability is lacking when it comes to a bad ruling by an inefficient tyrant of a ruler. Some examples include religion beliefs and castration to the non-believers and followers, a rush to judgment for a crime the accused might not have committed with their â€Å"eye for an eye† outlook of cruel punishments because remember there was no trials, jurors and their â€Å"government† lacked that liberty to defend yourself and speak your mind in that era. It was a great moment in history when Absolutism hit its shelf life with the age of the Enlightenment on the rise with a more modernized way of thinking. The pros and strengths were hard to gather but taking my biased hat off for a moment I can open my mind to other people’s opinions and different views on Absolutism†¦.I guess. Absolutism can provide a fixed ethical code which gives clear moral judgments in situations where there is a need for ethical guidance. Their ideas are that morality isn’t based on individual or group preferences but rather on absolute and universal values. Some people feel it’s better to follow then to lead and it allows different societies to share common values. It could bring stability and a more civil society when everyone follows the same ruler, whether they agree with it or not, the ruler sets clear and simple rules which would any avoid conflicts, disagreements and any personal biases because options and consequences are not taken into account. This would be somewhat beneficial when it comes to decisions on war because decisions are reached and implemented quickly, as there is a no debate and bureaucracy involved. There is a sense of equality within the government because the same rules apply to everyone in every situation. In conclusion, it is common sense that having an Absolute monarchy government over a Democracy is absolutely insane. We have come a long way from the dark ages into the era of the Enlightenment, the Scientific and American revolutions, along with the end result of a strong U.S. Constitution and Bills of Rights that is now the foundation to our country’s civil liberties and freedoms we pride ourselves on and are very thankful to have.