Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat The novel breath, eyes, memory is a true manifestation of the medieval and present human society. In simpler terms, it reflects the basic elements that spun our existence. These elements are explained from the main themes of the novel. These themes form the framework of this paper because immigration, love and parenting are discussed as the main themes in the novel.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Immigration Immigration is a major theme in the novel breath, eyes, memory because it describes the foundation of the novel’s plot. Moreover, the theme of immigration is almost representative of the current and past American immigration trends. From the novel, a reader is able to see the difference in culture between Sophie and her mother. Sophie was raised in Haiti but her mother lived in New York (Danticat 3). As the novel progresses, we can see that Martine (Sophie’s mother) invites her daughter to the US to stay with her. From this understanding, the theme of immigration is profound. After shifting her residence from Haiti to New York, Sophie discovers missing pieces of her past. In addition, she is able to adjust to the new American lifestyle. Later in the narration, Sophie returns to Haiti to see her grandmother after she develops some resentment towards her mother. Her trip back to Haiti is also another manifestation of the theme of immigration, where she goes back to her native homeland to live with her grandmother and aunts. However, throughout the novel, the differences in culture (between native Haitians and Americans) are exposed, and the concept of assimilation is emphasized to synchronize the two cultures (Danticat 15). Love The theme of love is profound in the novel breath, eyes, memory. Love manifests in the Haitian ritual to check female virginity, where mothers test their daughters to ensure they are still pure. This is an act of love, which manifests in protection. Testing is therefore done to ensure mothers protect their daughters from the social evils of the world. Briefly, this ritual acts as a deterrent for young women to engage in runaway sexual adventures, which may expose them to harm (Danticat 23). Therefore, due to the practice of the ritual, young women observe chastity because they would not want to be condemned if they failed the test. Though the entire experience is traumatizing for Sophie, clearly, the procedure is done out of love.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When Sophie moves to America, she finds love with her husband. This episode in the novel’s plot is a fast forward to Sophie’s life after high school (Danticat 31). Sophie becomes obsessed with the man next door and through love; they are able to court and live together . From this love, they bore a daughter. The analysis of love within the above framework can be understood in the context of family love because Sophie and her husband lived together, bound by love. By extension, the theme of love also manifests in the bond that existed among the Caco women. Coupled by a deep sense of history, the theme of love binds the practices, beliefs and values shared by the Caco women (Danticat 31). When Sophie moves back to Haiti, she seeks counsel from these women and consequently, their advice shape her ideals as a woman. The bravery and struggles of the Haitian women are passed down to Sophie through the love they have for her. They also treat her as one of their own because of the love they all share. Parenting A major part of the novel breath, eyes, memory highlights the theme of parenting. In fact, Sophie’s entire experience is understood within the framework of parenthood (Danticat 40). Her trip from Haiti to New York, her experiences as a mothe r, and her trip back to Haiti highlight her quest and experiences in understanding parenthood. Raised without a mother, the theme of parenting manifests in Sophie’s life during the earlier chapters of the novel when Martine (a childless mother) invites Sophie (a motherless child) to live with her in the US. Parenthood is at the center of this invitation because Sophie is curious to learn the history and life of a mother that she never knew. Similarly, Martine is desperate to unite with her daughter. All along, Sophie’s grandmother raised her until she was 12. Everything that she knew before she joined her mother was because of the parental care she received from her grandmother in Haiti. Later sections of the novel revolve around Martine’s parenting skills, which eventually form a rift with her daughter. For instance, the virginity test is a form of parental skill Martine inherited from her past as a Haitian girl. She passes this practice down to her daughter bu t Sophie is not receptive to it.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is from this understanding that a rift is created between Sophie and her mother. This sentiment prompts her trip back to Haiti where she goes to seek her grandmother’s counsel. The entire narration manifests the need for good parenting. Conclusion The themes of immigration, parenting and love feature prominently in breath, eyes, memory because they are used to explain the lives of the main characters. These themes represent real-life situations affecting people in the society, and almost concisely, they summarize the fabric of our social relationships. For instance, love and parenting are core foundations of family life, while family life is the core of the society. Based on this understanding, the themes discussed above are core to the understanding of the novel breath , eyes, memory and a mirror of the society. Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory. New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Print.

Groups, We All Participate in Them †Pyschology Essay

Groups, We All Participate in Them – Pyschology Essay Free Online Research Papers Groups, We All Participate in Them Pyschology Class Essay Everyone at some point has or will be in a group of some type. Your basketball team, the cub scouts, being a college student, being an employee, and even your own family are examples of groups. Some groups are good and some are bad. An example of a being apart of a good group is being a law abiding citizen. On the contrary, an example of a bad group would be being an inmate in a penitentiary. Your family group can be both good and bad. But, is it really the group that is bad or good, or is it the actions of the group that decides? One can argue that the single most important aspect of a group is their communication. No matter how good a group and their intentions are if the communication is bad the group will overall be a bad group. Think of your job and your co-workers is vital to produce a successful business. â€Å"The widespread use of decision-making teams in American businesses suggests that organizational leaders believe that groups generally will perform better than individuals when solving problems and making decisions† (Propp, 1). If you and your co-workers are trying to solve a problem or just simple communicate with one another and you both have different views and beliefs it is very hard to make a good group if neither of you are willing to budge. The Catholic Church is the perfect example. It is seen as a good group, but as times have changed many views have changed as well. The older Catholics might not agree with a lot of the newer changes, but because the younger Catholics are able to communicate well with their elders the church is seen as a good group. Communication will make or break any group during problem solving. Bruce Tuckman and Aubrey Fisher both have their models on how a group operates in problem solving. Both Tuchman’s and Fisher’s models seemed too simple for a design of how a group operates in problem solving for one man. Marshall Scott Poole felt that there was something more to problem solving. Moving on this feeling he developed his multiple-sequence model. He believed that he had an answer to how a group works in problem solving. He believed that a group develops in problem solving on three different tracks that work together as one. So, did Poole have the right answer? What made his model different from prior models? He felt that his three tracks were much more complex than what Tuckman and Fisher had believed. TASK â€Å"The process of drawing together ideas from individual group members into one list serves important functions across many group activities, including problem solving, decision making, negotiation, planning, and innovation† (Jackson, 1). Poole believed that groups worked on ways to complete their tasks by presenting problems and create possible solutions during their initial discussions. Poole knew that there were many problems that could rise during this part of problem solving. â€Å"It is often difficult to coordinate input from several group participants especially as the group size increases† (Corbitt, 1). This problem can be simplified if every member of the group speaks only about the task at hand, does not interrupt other group members while they are speaking, and stay open minded to other group members’ ideas. If the group is able to discuss their task at hand and evaluate possible problems and solutions they will be able to work together on the same page on their task. â€Å"Hidden profiles exist when group members individually hold information favoring a low-quality decision but collectively hold information favoring a high-quality decision† (Cruz, 2). If everyone goes into the discussion pulling in different directions and having hidden agendas the task at had will not be completed. Task was the first track on Poole’s problem solving railroad. TOPIC If the group is able to come to an agreement on the task stage then the group will move forward to the topic stage. Here, groups are able to move from one topic to another and back again because they are now working together. Group members are now able to work together creating a main topic and various sub-topics. Members become very motivated towards their topics. â€Å"Motivated behaviors are the fundamental elements around which we construct a framework for thinking about group process† (Brett, 3). The motivated group members begin to rise to the top and are able to allow other members to create sub-topics, but are able to make sure that these sub-topics do not stray far from the main topic. These members help with allowing the group the ability to jump from topic to topic in the problem solving process. Poole felt that if a group is strong enough in the topic part of his problem solving model then they could move onto the next track of his problem solving railroad. RELATION As the task and topic trains are both heading towards the same destination there is a third train that is running side-by-side with them. The third track in Poole’s problem solving model (multiple-sequence model) is relation. Here, group members are concerned with relational problems and trying to solve any tensions and conflicts that are in the group. This stage requires patience and understanding. The group members put their trust in other members to the test. â€Å"A person’s trust is explained as a function of his or her tendency to trust† (Poole, 3). If a group member does not trust another group member then it creates some tension and conflict in the relation of the group. If the group is able to solve their relational problems then all three trains arrive at their destination: â€Å"The Problem Solved Station† (patient pending!). WHAT WAS POOLE THINKING!? Many researchers had previously come to the same conclusions on problem solving in groups. These researchers believed that the problem solving in a group goes in a certain sequence. There belief was that it was a sequence that worked like a set of dominos. The sequence was that one stage would follow another. They concluded that the sequence was simply 1,2,3,4,5. Poole did not think that it was that simple. Poole’s main problem with prior theories was that he believed that there were no stages, but that there were tracks that worked all together in problem solving for a group. He knew that could be set stages, but for the most part that all of the â€Å"stages† described by prior theorists were inner twined together a lot more than what was prior believed. He knew that there might be primary tensions during orientation, conflicts do arise, decisions will emerge, and good groups do end up reinforcing fellow group members like the models described by Tuckman and Fisher, but the tracks that a group take in problem solving is not always as predictable. He knew that every group was different and every group’s tracks or stages are different as well. Poole did not necessarily believe in conflict, but he saw these problems as minor break points. While Tuckman and Fisher provided different stages for each conflict that goes on during problem solving in groups, Poole believed that there would be moments that would disrupt the progress of the group and could possible cause the group to repeat earlier tracks rather than having a predetermined time and place for each conflict in problem solving in groups. â€Å"Normative, as opposed to informational influence, can have a detrimental effect on decision-making groups† (Hennignsen, 1). Poole believed that by using his tracks could create group members who influence a desire to make better decisions (informational influence) while other models would influence a group member to simple want to maintain harmony in the group or simple agree with everything the group decides because they are wanting the group members to like them (normative influence). Simple put, Poole did not believe that the pre-determined process of problem solving put forth by Tuckman and Fisher where correct. He believed that group members are affected by various social structures like group norms and peer pressure. Yet, in a some what of a contradiction to his own model, he believed that there may never be a set theory that can predict how a group will operate during their problem solving process. That is why he is very basic with having three tracks that could happen at anytime while being complex by saying that they could happen at anytime during a group’s problem solving process. Poole’s theory is very different compared to previously stated theories on problem solving in a group. CAN YOU QUESTION POOLE’S ATHORITY? 1. How does your problem solving process work in your groups? The next time that you are at work and you are presented with a problem that needs to be solved by you and your co0workers write down how you were able to work with or not work with your fellow employees at solving the problem. When put under pressure at work of an immediate deadline to solve a problem, you will be able to see that everything is not as simple and predetermined like Tuckman and Fisher believed. It may not end up exactly like Poole’s model, but it will be very close. 2. What role does communication play in problem solving in your groups? â€Å"There is less consensus, however, on the proper way to assess the role of communication† (Jarboe, 1). Many theorists have tried to determine the exact role that communication plays in problem solving. Some believe that it is the most important part, while others believe that leadership or group cohesiveness play the biggest role. Try to figure out how much communication plays into problem solving in your own groups. 3. Is it more important to have a set leader or just equally powerful group members when trying to solve a problem? A leader can provide a specific set of rules and give out specific jobs to each member. They can provide a final answer to a question. Equal power can allow every member the chance to have a voice and use their positives to help the group. Having equal power can cut down on tyrants and having members hold grudges because they feel that the leader is doing things wrong. 4. In what ways can you cut down on conflicts that arise when your group has to solve a problem with an immediate deadline? Try and think of anything that you can do to get a speedy and great answer to the problem. The key could very well be the small and simple things. If you can go into a situation where your group has an immediate deadline on solving a problem and you already have set up a couple of ways to help your group then your group and the answer it creates will be much better. Conflict is going to happen no matter what. The ones who can control and cut down on the conflict will be able to make things easier. 5. How do you judge the problems that you are presented in your groups? Which ones are hard and which ones are easy? Try to make a scale for you to help judge which problems in your groups are the hardest and will require the most time spent on them. If you are able to take on the harder problems first then it should make it easier when you transfer to the easier problems. Everyone’s scale of hardest to easiest problems is going to be different. Take into account that your easy may be someone’s hard. If you are able to understand this it will help expose each member’s strengths and weaknesses. Your group will be able to attack the problems head on with the best from each member. If you wanted to continue with your study on group problem solving there are a couple of places you could look. If you want to see how groups go about making decisions under extreme distress then you could read The Structure of Communication Behavior in Simulated and Actual Crisis Negotiations by Paul J. Taylor and Ian Donald. It explains some of the harder situations that involve group problem solving. Do you want to learn how to better control conflict in group problem solving? If so, read Do Conflict Management Styles Affect Group Decision Making? by Tim Kuhn and Marshall Scott Poole. Every wonder if it is better to have a group attack a problem or individuals? Charles Pavitt addresses the debate in Colloquy: Do Interacting Groups Perform Better Than Aggregates of Individuals? Why We Have to be Reductionists About Group Memory. The paper talks about how groups are able to help remember things that will help later on when they have to solve a problem. What is the most common group ? Family. Keith Sanford wrote Expectancies and Communication behavior in marriage: Distinguishing proximal-level effects from distal-level effects which talks about how married couple will problem solve in an entirely different way than any other group. The world is evolving as we speak. The world of tomorrow is going to involve a lot of technology. If you were wanting to know how to relate problem solving in technology Eun-Ju Lee and Clifford Nass wrote Experimental Tests of Normative Group Influence and Representation Effects in Computer-Mediate Communication When Interacting Via Computers Differs From Interacting With Computers. All of these suggested readings will aid with your quest to gain more knowledge on how problem solving in groups works. Research Papers on Groups, We All Participate in Them - Pyschology EssayThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseResearch Process Part OneWhere Wild and West MeetEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesQuebec and CanadaThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalStandardized Testing19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

Technological advances that have affected health care delivery in Essay

Technological advances that have affected health care delivery in America - Essay Example A survey that was conducted by r/j Blendon in 2001 indicated that majority of the US population is not satisfied with the healthcare systems in the country. Moreover, they are dissatisfied with the private insurances in the country. The survey is conducted every five years in order to understand the reaction of the American population on issues related to health. One of the major causes of a decrease in public confidence on the health care systems is lack of technological development (Kabene, 2010). On the other hand, some people feel that the recent technology is being used to collect data unethically. This is data that can be used against the patients. The second historical perspective is related to American capitalism. Although the healthcare system is mainly concerned with provision of high quality and affordable care to the members of the public, it is mainly run by a business model which is profit oriented. Technology advancement has enhanced the level of capitalism in the health care system (King, 2003). For instance, through the use of technology, it has become more efficient and faster to provide high-quality services to the people. This has made the healthcare organization to become more profitable. One of the major technological advancement that has affected health care delivery in United States is the evolution of Smartphone. Although Smartphone is not related to health care, it has played a significant role in enabling the doctors to access patient information. In addition, the development of different applications related to health has improved the well being of the people. In an example, a Checkup Experience application which was developed by Masimo Company has enabled people to check their pulse rates. The application comes with a specific device which can be easily placed on the finder and read the oxygen, pulse rate, and perfusion rate of the person. Such

Professional Management Skills Assesment. cASE ANALYSIS Essay

Professional Management Skills Assesment. cASE ANALYSIS - Essay Example With David Neeleman started out his career in the airline industry, he had learned and had become accustomed to the ins and outs of operating an airline. While spending time with airlines such as Southwest after his first entrepreneurial venture, Neeleman saw the immense opportunity in the industry in the form of the growing dissatisfaction in the market due to poor service and high fares. Coupled with the information that was publicly available regarding the operations related to the industry, he came to justify the dissatisfaction as an opportunity by looking at its market potential. Neeleman then saw that there was sufficient demand to back up this opportunity. The vision of an airline with high quality service and low fares was not entirely what Jet Blue was about when Neeleman conceived the idea in his mind. It was built on the Southwest model, only that with the use of technology it would aim to differentiate itself, as well as its way of doing things as a player in the airline industry. According to the founder, this new airline would â€Å"leverage technology for safety and efficiency and with a commitment to people. (Gittell & O’Reilly, 2001, p.3)† The overall market for the airlines most especially in New York City as stated in the case, experienced dissatisfaction given the current level of services at the price level in which they are offered. Due to this, an enormous opportunity for an airline that could offer lower costs for air travel with high quality service awaited as a promise and reward. This one Neeleman had observed and taken advantage of using of information technology as one of the differentiating factors. Jet Blue’s marketing was strategic in a way that it aimed to support the goal of the company to become a different sort of player in the airline industry. For one, in line with Neeleman’s vision which was to provide high quality service at affordable fares while improving the experience of

Traits That a Good Teacher Should Possess Essay Example for Free

Traits That a Good Teacher Should Possess Essay The word good can have quite a few interpretations. For the purpose of this essay, it is assumed that good here means, effective that is, a teacher can impart his knowledge and whatever other value it is his responsibility to spread to his charges. It is also assumed that the teacher under discussion is one who teaches secondary school. First of all, a teacher must know his profession thoroughly. He must know his subject beyond the point he intends to teach. He needs to be an expert. For example, if he is teaching literature, he should know all the plays of Shakespeare or at least most of them, rather than just the play he is teaching. He can then make cross references and answer all the questions that arise in the minds of his students. Knowing his subject is of no use if he does not know how, or not bother to, to teach it most effectively to his students. Though it is true that in a secondary school, student should take the responsibility for their own learning, it would be dull and boring to learn from a teacher who does not present his subject in an interesting manner. It is the teachers duty to promote love of his subject among his students. This he will do first by loving the subject himself. His enthusiasm and love for his subject will catch on with his students and if they learn to love a subject they can learn it better. A bad teacher, usually by his lack of enthusiasm and interest, will cause his subject to be hated. it is fir such reason that a teacher should adopt good teaching methods instead of resorting to easier methods like just reading out of textbook. Every teacher must be genuinely interested in his job. He must feel that it is his calling to develop young minds, and through them, to actually shape the destiny of the country and the world. He must be dedicated and caring at least to the point that it matters to him that his students learn all that they need to know. Over and above teaching his subject, a teacher has the responsibility to develop characters of the students in his life. Quite often, a teacher is a students role model. All of us who go through school, hero worship at least one teacher whom we would like to emulate. A teacher should always be aware of this responsibility. If by chance he were to show flexibility in ethics and morals, he is more or less giving a sanction to his charges that it is acceptable for them to e like that too. This applies to simple vices like smoking and more serious errors where the teacher fails to draw a clear line between good and bad behaviour. From this time immemorial, teachers have been the pillars of society. Staying in the background, at least for most of the time, they have been indirectly responsible for the advancement of the race. Often, it is their lot to go unnoticed. But time and again, all great men and women have been unsparing in their praise of teachers. this is by far their greatest responsibility: teachers are the ones who guarantee that our tomorrows will be as hood as, id not better than, our todays. By shaping characters they ensure that the world continues to be.

Ethics, Business, and the Human Genome Project :: Genetics DNA Genes Science Essays

Ethics, Business, and the Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project began in 1990, as part of a collaborative movement by the scientific community to better understand our own genetic makeup. The U.S Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health coordinate this original 15-year plan, which are parts of the National Human Genome Research Institute. The major goals cited by these institutes is as follows: Identify all the estimated 100,000 genes in the human genome. Map the three billion chemical bases that make up human DNA. Store this mapped information in databases worldwide. Develop even better tools for sequencing and analysis. Address the many ethical, legal and social issues that come with this project. The debate over the importance of a Human Genome Project can be cleared up by looking at what the human genome actually is, and why knowing its DNA sequence can be beneficial to the scientific and the human community. The human genome is made up of about three billion base pairs, which contain about 100,000 genes. The 100,000 genes in the 46 human chromosomes only account for a small total of the DNA in our genome. Approximately 10 percent of our DNA make up these genes in our genome, these genes are what is actually encoded for and used by our body to make vital proteins needed for everyday life. The remaining 90 percent of our three billion base pairs are repeated sequences between genes that do not encode for any particular product. These repeated sequences account for the reason why 99 percent of any humans DNA is identical to another human's (1). With this knowledge many people believe it is not worth the time or money to sequence the entire human genome when only a small percen t is used to encode for proteins. However, by sequencing the whole genome researchers will no longer have to do a needle in the haystack type of search for small genes, like the one found on chromosome four that is responsible for Huntington's disease (4). Also, knowing the complete human DNA sequence will allow scientists to determine the role and importance of the repeated DNA, non-protein encoding, sequences in our body. The Human Genome Project has brought to light the importance of single nucleotide polymorphism's (SNPs), which occur every 100 to 300 bases (1). A single nucleotide variation in the DNA sequence can have a major impact on how humans react to bacteria, viruses and drug therapy.

Conflict: Father

Parent child relationship has never been easy. We can easily realize it in the texts that we have been reading. I preferred â€Å"mother† by Grace Paley and â€Å"Father† by Yasushi Inouye. The conflict in the relationship between parent and children is not very clear in those texts, but it is present. What really captured my attention was how in both texts this conflict was resolved by the death of the parents. I also liked how both authors painted the caring of a parent for his child. I think that both texts have a valuable lesson: that we should not take thing for granted. The conflict in the relationship between parent and child in â€Å"mother† is the most common one we come upon in our world today. Kids often mistake their parent’s advice for annoying scolding that is not important. In â€Å"Mother† the story starts with a girl having a flashback about her mother; which is caused by a song that she heard in the radio. â€Å"Oh I long to see My Mother in the Doorway† says the song. She had many other memories with her mother of course but she particularly remembers her mom standing in the doorway, educating her. â€Å"If you come home at 4 A. M. when you’re seventeen, what time will you come home when you’re twenty? † Of course at that time she was still young and only taught about the present and the fun part of life, and felt like her mother was being annoying with all her scolding and complaints. She barely listened to what her mother had to say, still doing whatever she felt like doing. She didn’t value the lessons her mother was trying to teach her. I also feel that because her mother was always trying to educate her she attached herself to her dad who seemed more tolerant than her mother. It shows when she evokes her father in her memory of her mother urging her to go to sleep instead of staying in front of the TV. â€Å"Go to sleep for godsakes, you damn fool, you and your communist ideas. We saw them already, Papa and me, in 1905. † The conflict in â€Å"Father† on the other hand is different. Whereas I â€Å"Mother† you can deduct that the mother of the narrator is acting the way she is because she loves her child, you cannot say the same for the narrator’s father in â€Å"Father†. You can at first realize the lack of affection in the relationship between the father and his son when the father takes his son’s hands into his on his death bed. Since father had never done anything like that before, I could not understand what he wanted. † This just shows that there has never, not even once been a demonstration of affection between his father and him. The conflicts in both texts get resolved by death. In both text the nar rators realize how much their parent loved and cared about them. In â€Å"mother† the narrator wishes she could see her mother in every doorway, ready to scold her or teach her a new lesson. She now realizes that her mother her mother did everything she did because she loved her. It is only now that she understands the troubles, the worries, and sadness that she brought to her mother when she was younger. The fact that she remembers it and wishes to see her mother in the doorway â€Å"I wish I could see her in the doorway†, shows in my opinion how much she regrets acting the way she did, how much she wishes her mom could be there to see that now she is grown and is behaving well, that she heard her every time she tried to teach her a lesson. In â€Å"Father† death also resolves the conflict in the relationship between the father and the son. In the text when the author’s father took his hands into his, he never really understood what it meant. â€Å"For some time after Father’s death this incident stayed in my mind, and I speculated about it like one obsessed. † It did not occur automatically to him that his father took his hand into his because he wanted to show him that he loved him. It is only when he reached about the age his father retired that he understood fully that his father loved him and that he was acting the way he did because he loved him. As he is getting closer to death he realizes that his father was always so cynical because he knew he was dying from cancer, and wanted to protect them from death. â€Å"I also became aware that one of the roles father performed in his lifetime was to shield me from death. † I also think that just like in â€Å"mother† the narrator feels some sort of regret. He never understood his father and spent year trying to be his exact opposite: â€Å"From the time I was a student I consciously willed myself not to think like Father, not to behave like him†. Now that he understands why his father was acting the way he did he feels like he has been a little too harsh on him. One thing Liked about both texts was the love of both parents. They both died worrying about their children. The father taking his son’s hand in â€Å"Father† shows many worries: worry that he will die without his children knowing that he loves them, worry about how well they will do without him, worry about the image they will keep of him. In â€Å"Mother† the narrator’s mother shows her worry more clearly then the ather in â€Å"Father. † She keeps wondering about what her daughter will become when she is not there which makes us wonder if she has a fatal illness. â€Å"You never finish your lunch. You run around senselessly. What will become of you? Then she died† A lot of times we don’t realize the importance of what we have until we lose it. In this theory often applies to children and their parents. We teenagers o ften don’t value our parents, what we don’t realize is that we can’t live without them.

Greek Myths and English Language Essay

Abstract: Do you know â€Å"Achilles’ Heel†? It’s an allusion from Greek myths. Instances like this are not difficult to find in English language. They are terse and vivid because of Greek myths and legends behind them. Therefore, they enjoy popular use. But these words and phrases are peculiar to the native culture and language, they appear exotic to foreign learners. So let’s share some words and idioms which are relevant to Greek myths in view of knowing the ins and outs of them and understanding how to apply them. In the meanwhile, they can help you understand English history and English culture more thoroughly and deep and taste the wisdom and humor of the English people. Key words: relationship, Greek myths, English language, English idioms  Once the Republican supporter made comments on Clinton’s scandal, â€Å"A misbehaving president is regarded as a government’s Achilles heel and is expected to resign.†Ã‚  What is Achilles’ heel? If you don’t know it, you will not understand the meaning of the supporter’s comments. The idiom means the weak or vulnerable point of a person, organization and country, etc. which comes from Greek myths. The story is about Achilles, one of the Greek heroes in the Iliad. When he was a child, he was taken by his mother Thetis and dipped in the river Styx to make him invulnerable. The water washed every part of his body expect the heel in his mother’s hand. It was precisely at his vulnerable point that Achilles was later killed in Trojan battle. Greek mythology is a set of legends about the gods, heroes, natural events and universal history of Hellenic civilization. The myths of Greece mostly come from Hellenic literature such as Homer’s Iliad, Hesiod’s Theogony and Sophocles’ drama. From the Renaissance to now, Greek Myths is one of their required courses when the English people receive classical education. These stories and myths are so enjoyable that they impress themselves upon the English. Therefore the myths of Greece become the abundant supply of English language. Let’s take Europe for instance. Sometimes it is also called Europa, which originally comes from Greek Mythology. In it, Europa is a princess who is abducted and carried off by a white bull to Crete, the cradle of Hellenic civilization. And the bull is actually Zeus, king of the Gods. In the same way, Paris is a person’s name also from Greek myths. Paris is the son of the King of Troy. These two are place names. And the main characters from Greek mythology also appear in everyday speech. For instance, a huge or heroic task is said to herculean. This is in tribute to the Greek mythological hero Hercules. And when you talk about a book of maps, atlas will occur to you. It is named after Atlas, a titan who supported the heavens on his shoulders. Here’s one you are probably familiar with it. It’s the word promethean which describes a daringly creative or defiantly original act, because of the Titan Prometheus, who defied the wrath of Zeus and stole fire in order to benefit humankind. And another word you may have used before without realizing your debt to Greek mythology. The word panic comes from Pan, the God of shepherds. Pan was always considered to be the cause of the sudden fear especially in lonely places. That’s why it’s called panic. Then more attention will be paid to the relationship between Greek myths and English idioms. Idioms consist of set phrases and short sentences, which are loaded with the native cultures and ideas. Therefore, there are a great deal of idioms are relevant to the myths of Greece. And these idioms are not easy to understand from its literal meanings, for example, Greek gift. Does it mean a gift made in Greece? Of course not, it symbolizes a dangerous gift. But as they are colourful, blunt, expressive and impressive, they form an important part of the English vocabulary and are now used in different situations. So I will share some of them with you in view of giving you the background of them. As defined by famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, Oedipus complex is the unconscious desire of a young child for sexual intercourse with the parent of the opposite sex, especially between boys and their mothers. The source of this complex is from the Greek legend of King Oedipus. Oedipus was the son of King Laius of Thebes, a city in Greece. There was a Apollo’s oracle predicted that he would killed his father and marry his mother. So when he was born his father Laius bound his feet together and had exposed him on a lonely mountaintop where it must soon starve. Then the poor infant was rescued by a shepherd and raised by Polybus, King of Corinth. And he was called Oedipus. Years later, Oedipus, too, like Laius, thought to make it impossible for the oracle to come true and resolved never to see Polybus. But on his journey he unwittingly killed King Laius with whom he quarreled. He arrived at Thebes shortly thereafter and saved the city from the ravages of the Sphinx. He was proclaimed king in Laius’ stead, and he took the dead king’s widow, Jocasta, as his own wife. After several years a terrible plague struck Thebes. The Apollo declared that the plague would be stayed upon one condition: whoever had murdered King Laius must be punished. In the course of his investigation, Oedipus discovered that he himself was the killer and that Laius had been his real father. Finally he couldn’t act against the decrees of fate. In his despair at this discovery, Oedipus blinded himself. Girls have a similar sexual desire for the father which is repressed in analogous fashion and is called Electra complex. It also comes from Greek mythology. Electra is the daughter of Agamemnon, the king who led the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War. To obtain favorable winds for the Greek fleet sailing to Troy, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis and so came under a curse. After he returned home victorious, he was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover. To avenge his father’s death, Electra helped her brother kill their mother and her lover. The allusion also comes from the Greek legend of King Oedipus. The Sphinx is winged monster having the head and breasts of a woman and body of a lion. She lay in wait for the wayfarers along the roads to Thebes and whoever she seized she put a riddle to, telling him if he could answer it, she would let him go. No one could, and the horrible creature devoured man after man until the city was in a state of siege. And at that time, Oedipus heard what was happening in Thebes in his lonely wanderings. He was a homeless, friendless man to whom life meant little and he determined to seek the Sphinx out and try to solve the riddle. â€Å"What creature,† the Sphinx asked him, â€Å"goes on four feet in the morning, on two at noonday, on three in the evening?† â€Å"Man,† answered Oedipus. â€Å"In childhood he creeps on hands and feet; in manhood he walks erect; in old age he helps himself with a staff.† It was the right answer. The Sphinx, inexplicable, but most fortunately, killed herself. The Thebans were saved. It is so called Sphinx’s riddle which means difficult problems. And Sphinx is also used to describe an enigmatic person. The following are a few examples in actual uses.

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buy custom After-Action Report essay Post Event Evaluation of How the Organizations IT Staff Responded to the Attack Describe the Nature of the Incident Spoofing attack enabled the employee to pretend to be the real user of the human resource system. In this spoofing attack, the employee created a misleading context, in order to make an inappropriate security relevant decision (Khosrowpour, 2002). The employee did this by spoofing an IP address, in order to eavesdrop on the network. The spoofing attack was used by the employee to pretend that he was the legitimate user of the human resource system to change his payroll details of his salary. Khosrowpour (2002) noted that the attacker in this form of attack intercepted and deliberately identified where the data was stored and modified. As a result, the employee made changes and received two paychecks with the new amount. The prime goal of the spoofing attack was to establish a connection that allowed the employee to gain root access to the host and to create a backdoor entry path into the organizations human resource system (Paquet, 2009). Through IP spoofing, the attacker gained unauthorized access to the human resource system and sent messages to the system with an IP address that indicated the message was coming from a trusted host. Identify Who Needs to be Notified Based on the Type and Severity of the Incident The chief information officer is the right person to be notified of the incident. This is because the network security of the company had been compromised two times, and this called for the senior management to demand a risk assessment and management report. The chief information officer should write a report geared towards finding out the possible areas, which had security holes allowing the employee to enter or interfere with the companys human resource system. The chief information officer should be notified, because the network security is a dominant concern amid information technology professionals and senior management of the organization. The chief information officer and the network administrator must include a stipulation for examining the network periodically to review its vulnerabilities. Outline How the Incident Could be Contained To address challenges of the attack, Das, Kant Zhang (2012) proposed an efficient and securekey management framework (SEKM) for distributed environments. SKEM will enable the network administrator to build a public key infrastructure (PKI) by means of applying an underlying multicast server group and secret sharing scheme. In a secure and efficient key management framework, the server group creates the view of certification authority (CA) and provides the certificate update services for all nodes, including servers (Das, Kant Zhang, 2012). In order to solve the spoofing attack problem, the management should introduce the concept of public key cryptography. This will enable each person to get a pair of keys; public and private ones. Through this, need for a sender and receiver to share the secret information is eliminated. The organization can implement IEEE 802.11 which has been designed with help of extremely limited management capabilities, using up to four static, long-term, key, shared by all the stations on the LAN (Das, Kant Zhang, 2012). This design will make it difficult for the attacker to revoke access fully from previously authorized hosts. In this context, a host should be revoked when it is no longer associated with the access network point. More importantly, it should be revoked, when it can no longer decrypt and eavesdrop traffic generated by other hosts in the local area network. Discuss How the Factor that Caused the Incident Could be Removed To remove the spoofing attack, the organization should move the network security and its risk assessment from the initial functional concern to a core part of the overall business trategy of the firm. Jones Ashenden (2005) say that the companys local area network presents a substantial risk because it does not address the wider issues of protecting information in the environments through which it flows across the information network (p. 9). Among the network security threats that the organization faces, there are trapping attacks, monitoring activities, intrusions attacks, identification, authentication, access control, availability, privacy, integrity, accountability and non-repudiation. Describe How the System Could be Restored to Normal Business Practice. Human resource systems performance parameters are mainly set to an acceptable compromise between security and usability. Cole (2011) says that the post attack step is to restore the compromised system to its original state. The first step is to remove files that were used in the penetration testing process. Secondly, the administrator revert any network setting changes to their original values. Cole (2011) says that in the process, network cards in promiscuous mode or ARP poisoning from sniffing needs to be corrected. Finally, the registry setting or any other system configuration that were changed during the attack process should be fixed (Cole, 2011). Explain How the System Could be Verified as Operational After the system is restored, it is necessary to ascertain that the system is operational. Cole (2011) says that the operation of the human resource system can be verified by developing a detailed test plan that provides for complete test coverage of the system. The network management and system administrator should establish an orderly schedule of events. The team should determine the expected output and perform a test run against the anticipated outputs. Cole (2011) says that the verification process should be done against a written record of test inputs. During the process, the team must exercise system limits and abnormal inputs. Perform a Follow-up of the Post Event Evaluation Identify Areas that Were not Addressed by the IT Staffs Response to the Incident The Information technology staff has not addressed the network security threats, which include the basic implementations done by organizations, in order to achieve some level of security to their systems. Some of this network security threats include basic integrity and confidentiality attacks. Fung (2004) says that confidentiality and integrity security technologies ensure that the content of a message is not visible to persons other than the intended or authorized recipients. There are some security technologies which provide competitive advantages to the organization. Security technologies have evolved from being basic, enhanced to integrated technologies (Fung, 2004). An example of enhanced security technology which provides competitive advantage is a digital signature which is used for implementing the source non-repudiation, as digital signature is built on the top of hashing algorithms used mostly for implementing confidentiality (Fung, 2004). Integrity and confidentiality ens ures that the organization is assured that its information is safe. Other Attacks Mentioned in the Scenario That Were not Noticed by the Organization Password attack occurred, but it was not mentioned in the scenario. Paquet (2009) says that password attacks can be implemented using several methods, including brute-force attack, Trojan horse programs, key loggers and packet sniffers. The employee used password attack to gain access to the human resource system. Usually, password attacks refer to repeated attempts of identifying password, user account, or both (Paquet, 2009). It is necessary to note that, since the human resource system had sufficient privileges, the employee created a back door for the future access, without concerns for any password and status changes to the compromised user account. Through password attack, the employee was able tto lower the salaries of the president of the company and several other employees, and then to include the salary difference in his own paycheck. Describe the Nature of the Attacks not Noticed by the Organization Integrity attack occurred in the organization. Integrity violations can occur when the employee changes salaries of the president of the company and several other employees, and then include the salary difference in his own paycheck without proper authorization. Paquet (2009) says that the attacker has permission to write the sensitive data and change or delete it. In case of this organization, the HR department did not detect such changes, until it was too late, when the changes had already resulted in tangible loss. This is the most serious threat to the organization because of difficulty while detecting changes, and possible cascading results of late detection (Paquet, 2009). How these Additional Attacks Can be Prevented in the Future The organization should use authentication security technologies to counter password and integrity attacks. Authentication ensures that only users who have permission can access particular information (Fung, 2004). This type of security technology uses Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP), packet filtering techniques, and user id and password authentication methods. Fung (2004) says that message integrity technologies also provide competitive advantage, because they ensure that data from sender to the receiver is the same. A message integrity technology maintains the originality of the information on transit. Message integrity technologies encompass protocols, such as generic routing encapsulation (GRE), point-to-point tunneling protocol and Layer 2 VPNs such as FR and ATM VPNS. The recent trend is that instead of simply responding once an organizations network security has been compromised, companies should move towards the real time proactive monitoring of its operations by using tools of intrusion detection that can assist administrators in spot unusual or illegal activities on the network (Evans, 2003). This means that the firm is able to detect activities that would have gone off unnoticed, which can be easily detected when they are in progress, and be easily blocked or their actions reported to security enterprise administrators. The extranets have to ensure that security will not be compromised. In the company, the extranet security ensures that passwords and identities are encrypted, while being sent through the network. Recovery Procedure to Restore the Computer Systems Restoring the system to its original condition is the most significant step that should be taken by the organization. Restoration means removing programs the employee placed on the computer and cleaning up any altered data files. To restore the system, there are three main options which include repair during continued operation, restoration from backup tapes and reinstallation from the original installation media (Bidgoli, 2004). Bidgoli (2004) further says that the organization should reinstall the human resource system and other program files from the last clean back tape. While restoring the human resource system to its original state, it is necessary to know when the attack begins. To achieve this, the restoration of program files from backup tapes requires the system to be taken offline at least temporarily. In conclusion, the management of the company should realize that globalization brings about tremendous opportunities, and therefore, the need for competitive security technologies should be implemented, in order to counter security threats. The firms network security should start with an evaluation of the known risks, threats, and then the associated impacts. Security professionals must understand, implement and operate effectively enhanced security technologies to ensure the business continuity in the firm. Buy custom After-Action Report essay

Publishing and Crowdfunding with Publishizer

Publishing and Crowdfunding with Publishizer Crowdfunding is the perfect medium for today’s author raising funds for marketing and publishing expenses. But there is a hybrid alternative to straight crowdfunding. Instead of querying multiple publishers on their own, authors can raise funds on a platform like Publishizer that also matches authors with publishers based on pre-order milestones of their book. After doing much research, I chose  Publishizer  over  Kickstarter,  Indiegogo  and a number of hybrid crowdfunding/publishing sites such as  Inkshares  for one main reason: the idea of matching authors to publishers. I didn’t want to send multiple emails to publishers. I wanted them to come to me based on the merit of my proposal. All I needed to do was demonstrate proof of concept of the book Having gone through the experience growing my platform With Publishizer, you write a proposal outlining your book’s marketing plan for approval. You not only set a date to launch your campaign, but you also reach out to readers for pre-orders. The number of pre-orders lets Publishizer know that you are a serious writer and that there’s a following out there willing to buy the book. Then Publishizer queries publishers on your behalf based on number of pre-orders signed up Throughout the campaign, I worried whether I could even reach the 250 pre-order milestone needed to attract an indie/independent publisher, my ideal publishing goal. Acquiring 250 pre-orders takes endurance and stamina! To help me stay accountable, Guy Vincent, founder of Publishizer and his team set up weekly strategy calls (at no extra charge) via Skype and Zoom calls. They are big on helping you think outside the box in terms of getting supporters and talking about your book to sponsors to increase your marketability. Since I had an already established fan base, I reached out to those supporters first – most of whom supported this second crowdfunding campaign. I held contests, offered enticing rewards, did giveaways on social media, did several Facebook live videos, shared milestone updates – in short I built a lot of book buzz. At the end of the intense, three-month campaign, Sand and Steel: The Spiritual Journey Home was queried to 98 publishers thanks to 253 preorders that also included a very generous sponsor, growing my platform and fan base Out of the seventeen publishers who expressed interest, I ended up signing a contract with Mascot Books who, from the start, resonated very strongly with the themes and messages of my memoir about what it means to find a home in the United States as a returning American struggling with Reverse Culture Shock. It was a perfect match. Like publishing, the crowdfunding world is changing, and Publishizer is matching reputable publishers with authors like myself who otherwise, would not have known about these publishers.

Dissertation-Methodology Part Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Dissertation-Methodology Part - Essay Example Data collection methods and tools utilized for analysis are also discussed. With the positivistic paradigm, the emphasis is on using measurement to find out the relationships between facts and causes of the phenomenon. This is â€Å"an essential element of the research process under this paradigm† (Collis & Hussey, 2003, p. 57). This approach is useful when there is a need to conduct statistical analysis (Collis & Hussey, 2003, p. 56). A positivistic approach will be used and the researcher will be independent, will not be influenced by the subject of research, and will take â€Å"the role of an objective analyst† (Saunders & Lewis & Thornhill, 2000, p. 85). The major reason for this method as a choice for the study is because, quantitative researchers focus on the measurement and analysis of facts and causes. According to Denzin & Lincoln (cited in Silverman 2005), â€Å"qualitative investigators think they can get closer to the actor’s perspective through detailed interviewing and observation† (p. 10). With qualitative researchers, the emphasis is on the close relationship between the subject of research and the researcher where the value is in the social reality and the meaning of the social event or phenomenon. The qualitative approach relies on the quality and depth of data and does not focus on the â€Å"measured (if measured at all) in terms of quantity, amount, intensity, or frequency † (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 8). In addition, as Waters (2001) explains, the quantitative approach is based on â€Å"simplified representations of reality where real features are depicted by symbols† (p. 8). The main benefits of choosing a quantitative approach to this research are as discussed below. Firstly, this method allows stating of the research problem in very specific and clear terms. Also there is a clear possibility to follow the original research objectives that have been set down and to arrive at more conclusive conclusions. Also this

Crark and Cocaine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Crark and Cocaine - Essay Example The drug is commonly known as ; troop,cookies,candy,badrock,dice,hardball,devildrug,Frenchfries,tornado,sleet,rocks,paste,grit,raw,crumbs,hot cakes amongst other names in the streets. The major symptoms and signs that show that a person is actually consuming crack include intense feeling of craving for it, irritability, fatigue, agitation and strong feelings of anger (Abadinsky 19). There are two kinds of cocaine commonly referred to as hydrochloride salt and the freebase.The hydrochloride salt is a type of cocaine that is found in powder form that is dissolved in water and taken through methods such as the intravenously which passes the drug to the vein and the use of intranasal means that is passed through the nose of the users. The freebase is a type of compound that is not neutralized by any type of acid to make it a hydrochloride salt. The drug was first developed in 1970 during the cocaine boom and it continued to be experienced into the 1980s.The cultivation of cocoa leaves is believed to be the genesis of cocaine which was being grown in Peru, Columbia and Bolivia and as result it found its way into the American market. In the early 1908s, there was a lot of cocaine that was shipped and it later flooded into the United States Of America market. Much of these drugs went into Miami through Bahamas .Due to the large quantities of cocaine into the market, the drug traffickers and peddlers decided to convert the cocaine powder into crack so that it could be sold into smaller quantities. Thus, due to its cheapness, simplicity in production, readiness to use and the large economic profits that the peddlers got from crack, it became very popular in the market. The packaging of crack also attracted a very large number of users from the poor neighborhoods who could not afford to go out to the clubhouses or those who felt uncomfortable taking it in social places. People had the assumption that the drug was more pure as compared to other powders in the market thus attracting a very large number of users. For example, it is believed that on average, crack contains 55% purity on every $100 per gram of crack .As for the price, crack went for as low as $2.5 in the market for a single piece. People actually started freebasing the drug so that they could get a better feeling once they started smoking it.Freebasing involved smoking the rocks with either and a flame and this proved to be very fatal leading to the death of several users of cocaine. As a result of the many fatalities and the unsafe mode of sniffing the drug, the drug peddlers decided to come up with a more safe method of smoking cocaine known as crack (Brownstein 34). The crack business in the United States is mostly controlled by the Mexican criminal gangs whereby they have controlled the central, pacific, great lakes, southeast and the west central regions. The Dominican and Columbia groups tend to control the northeast and the Florida regions. How crack cocaine is made. Crack cocaine refers to a highly and addictive type of stimulant that is prepared using the cocaine powder. There are two forms of cocaine commonly are known as hydrochloride salt and freebase.The hydrochloride salt is a form of cocaine that is in powder form that is dissolved in water and later on taken through intravenously by the vein and intranasal through the nose.Freebase compound is not neutralized by