Generational Poverty Essay

This week in class the focus has been on generational poverty. There are a lot of key factors that lead to poverty. Poverty does not exist because people want it to. Poverty is a way of life for those who don’t know another way and feel that they don’t have a way out. Every day in society people turn their heads or frown up their nose at people who they see living in poverty because they think they are better than them and will not lift a hand to help them out. The big question is why do we do this? In most cases, the poverty line or clash of the classes are based on wealth and there is certainly a variation in the wealth among the population. But classism exists from the beginning of education to death. Schools pass out grades and establish an intelligence stratification. The better students take higher academic classes and separate themselves from students taking lower academic classes. College graduates typically achieve better incomes than non-college graduates and raise higher in wealth and stratification. Though it may seem unfair, typically those who achieve better grades are those individuals who apply themselves and try hard to get out of the situation that they are in if it is bad. Achieve is rewarded while sloth is not rewarded. Society works best this way, because it gives incentives for everyone to achieve, while not rewarding those who do not make and effort or better yet even try. Woman play a big role in the family when it comes to poverty. Most of the families are single parented. In this paper, I will be discuss what generational poverty is. Also I will discuss and identify the complex factors involved in overcoming generational poverty, explain challenges the aged face when there is a lack of access to employment and describe the uni que challenges that women face through the different life stages. Lastly it will be explained how what I have learned changed my perspective and the way in which I approach special population. Generational Poverty Generational poverty is defined as having been in poverty for at least two generations. It is important to recognize this time factor to be able to separate it from â€Å"situational poverty,† characteristically understood as a lack of resources due to particular sets of events, i.e. a death, chronic illness, divorce, etc. from the discussion of generational poverty in this chapter. These two concepts are distinguishable, which will help us put our students’ behavior in better perspective. A key indicator in defining and separating these poverty types is â€Å"attitude.† In generational poverty, the players feel that society owes them a living whereas in situational, they often allow pride to keep them from accepting needed assistance. Generational poverty has its own culture, hidden rules and belief system. The video clips deal with the role of the â€Å"momma† as central to the family structure. She is the powerful one and the ultimate caregiver and rescuer. Punishment in her mind is about forgiveness not about change and hers is the love and relationship that ties to the soul. In examining these distinguishing differences, our author gave a humorous case study of an actual court case. While the nature of the case is quite disturbing from the perspective of a middle class reader, behaviors become crystal clear and predictable. Identify the complex factors involved in overcoming generational poverty? There are four major complex factors involved in overcoming generational poverty. The first one is housing. Housing stability is critical to being successful in education, employment and parenting. If basic security needs, such as housing, cannot be met, it is unlikely, if not impossible that other achievements needed to break the cycle of poverty can be made. Housing quality can affect the cycle of poverty in many ways. For example, one who lives in substandard housing can be contributed to negative health outcomes and concentrated disadvant ages such as bad business investments. If basic housing needs are not met, a positive environment for learning cannot be established, such as encouragement of completion of homework, having family reading places, or peer interactions. The next factor is education. Education attainment is a major if not the most important key to breaking the cycle of generational poverty. Research has shown that growing up in a lower income family negatively impacts educational obtainment needed to break the cycle of poverty. Learned behavior within peer groups, families and neighborhoods can also contribute to the cycle of poverty. Those with minimal education tend to find themselves employed at low paying jobs with little or no benefits. In addition, financial literacy and training is an important educational component that is needed to break the cycle of poverty. Employment is the third factor. There has been a significant decline in manufacturing jobs, which are typically high paying with good benefits. There is a growing mismatch with the skills of these displaced workers and available jobs. The loss of these manufacturing jobs has resulted in many folks going back to generational poverty. In a lot of cases, there are a growth of new jobs but these jobs tends to come with low pay and no benefits, which can further prevent breaking out of the cycle poverty. Also, multiple income based antipoverty programs can have a negative impact of work incentives. This is due to the fact these programs have to be funded with funds that could be used to pay workers to help them overcome poverty. The fourth complex factor is single parenting. Explain challenges the aged face when there is a lack of access to employment. Some challenges the aged are faced with due to lack of access to employment are: vulnerability to risk and shocks due to irregular and unstable income. They could also be suffer from deteriorating health, declining stamina, reduced physical ability, agility and strength, as well as decreased mobility due to lack of mobility and constant movement from working. Another challenge is high out-of-pocket health expenditures or lack of health insurance. Most aged people struggle to pay for basic medicines or treatment, which is often desperately needed to manage chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure. With lack of employment, comes a high level of stress and anxiety for the elderly. This would come about due to the constant worrying about how they will earn enough to buy food and other basic essentials, especially if they are supporting grandchildren or other family members who are sick. Describe the unique challenges that women face through the different life stages. Women face a lot of different challenges that they face through the different life stages. Women only have two choices. These choices are marrying men who  will provide life time financial support so that they can prevent destitution later on in their lives. Also if a woman pursues a higher education so that they can establish a career and choose to marry and raise the family they might be able to prevent a lifetime of neediness and impoverishment. As a citizen or population, women majority of the time earn a lower income than their male counterparts. The Equal Pay Act that passed in the 1960s was supposed to narrow the earning gap between men and women, yet a gender pay gap still exists today. Even after accounting for possible explanations such as demographic characteristics, family situations, work hours, and work experience, women who work full-time year-round still are paid 77% of a man’s pay ($37,000 for a woman compared to $48,000 for a man in 2009) (U.S. Census Burea u 2012). After a woman has accumulated years in the workplace, it seems that the wage gap would shrink because of experience. This, however is not the case in this instance. Inequities start early and worsen over time. Research has shown a 5% difference one year after college graduation and a 12% difference after 10 years. The only identified explanation for the unexplained gaps was gender discrimination (Arnst 2007; Boushey, Aarons, and Smith 2010). Has what you learned changed your perspective and the way you will approach the special populations discussed? From watching the videos and doing the research I have learned that poverty can happen to anyone. Once you become a product or victim of poverty it is hard to become stirred away. Everything around you condemns you to a certain life style. There is really no one there to give you hope or guidance. As a child, you are obligated to help you parents raise income or money and if that means you leaving school then that is what you have to do. Not one single person will tell you to stay in school. The education level for those in poverty in simply does not exist. The community has their own language that if you were to go into the corporate world you would be dismissed because they don’t understand what you are saying to them. The parent don’t give the children any enthusiasm or guidance letting them know that your life can change they teach them to settle for what you have and know. As a child I was not raised to believe that you can do anything. Your way of life is set by you the individual not anybody else. You change anything you want and if you fail the first time keep trying and never give up. It only takes a single person to help someone achieve their dreams and I plan to help as people as I can. As a single parent I live pay check to paycheck and can fall into poverty at any given time and I would want someone to help me so in return I will do that for others. References Jerry V. Diller, Cultural Diversity. A Primer for the Human Services, Fourth Edition, 2011 Arnst, C. 2007. â€Å"Women and the Pay Gap.† Bloomberg Businessweek. Accessed February 2013 http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-04-26/women-and-the-pay-gap. Boushey, H., J. Aarons, and L. Smith. 2010. â€Å"Families Can’t Afford the Gender Wage Gap.† Center for American Progress. Accessed February 2013. http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2010/04/pdf/equal_pay_day.pdf.

Matilda Analysis †Belonging Essay

Despite an individual’s desire to belong to a group or community, this is not always possible. More than anything else, belonging is about finding a sense of place in the world. Belonging Matilda has a sense of belonging when with her school peers/friends and when she is with Miss Honey. When at the school and with the children, she smiled, and loved the environment/setting. When with Miss Honey, Matilda smiled and laughed. She felt had a connection with Miss honey. She had a sense of belonging when at the forest and also at the library. She had inner peace and felt happy there reading books in the silence. Not belonging She did not belong in the family, even when the father first saw her. He just made a face and walked away. The family felt there was something wrong with her. The family hated books and television, while she loved reading books. The family uses her like a tool. â€Å"Who would be there to sign the packages†. Father forces her to stop reading and to watch TV. Cynically, the father says â€Å"you’re not going to be calling us for support payments†, rather than saying good bye. Her sense of exclusion is presented in the relationship between her parents and family. film techniques Techniques Example + effect Lighting + contrast In the scene, after Matilda is dragged away from her father after asking for a book, she walks to the staircase and is clouded by darkness, while the rest of the family is lighted up. This places emphasis on how Matilda is not made to feel welcome in the family. After the consequent emotional bullying by the family, she runs to her room. She is in the presence of the light, but outside of that circle, it is all dark. This emphasizes that she feels isolated and unhappy about this place. When Matilda is sitting in Ms Honeys lap, she is surrounded and in sunshine. This, in contrast to the darkness surrounding her at the beginning of the film emphasizes she found a place to belong. It brings justice to the reader, knowing that, she will have a good future. Music At the beginning, when matilda is standing at the stairs, ponding on her family’s first treatment of her, sad and somber music is used to set the atmosphere. This makes the audience feel for her. At the scene where Matilda is setting off to the library, Diagetic sounds of the city, her foot , the trucks along with the happy, exciting music is playing. The audience knows that matilda is going on a happy trip and will have a good time. At the ending of the film, after Matildas family signed the papers and left, optimistic and joyful music is played with the montage of matilda’s happy life. The audience knows that in the future Matilda will forever be happy. Dialogue â€Å"Matilda was left alone and that was how she liked it†. It has a hopeful tone. It gives the audience a sigh of relief that she would have some relief from the neglectful family. Emphasizes that she never belonged with those people at all. At some time within the orientation, Matilda’s father argues with her, saying, â€Å"Listen you little wise-ache! I’m smart you’re dumb! And I’m big and you’re little! I’m right you’re wrong! And there’s nothing you can do about it! † Emphasizes that the father does not care for her and reinforces her alienation. Her father treats her as though he does not have a single feeling for her, creating the idea that she does not belong. During when the family was watching television, Matilda’s father asks her, â€Å"Are you in this family†¦? Hello? I said are you in this family? † The dialogue causes the audience to feel sympathy towards Matilda and hatred towards her family, thus conveying that Matilda does not belong in the family and will not feel a sense of belonging unless she leaves the family. Camera shots At many scenes where the father is intimidating or arguing with Matilda. At the beginning of the film, when Matilda is reading books on the floor, her father walks in and a low mid shot is utilized with the father filling up most of the screen. This gives the effect that the father is treating her badly, thus makes the audience feel empathy for her. This conveys that Matilda does not belong in the family. At the scenes where Matilda is bonding with Miss honey, e. g. when they are walking at the garden, a medium eye level shot is utilized revealing their emotions. Matilda smiles with not a worry on her mind, emphasizing that she feels a sense of belonging and place when with Miss Honey.

Back in Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

Back in Shakespeare Essay Romeo and Juliet (446) , Capulet (321) , Montague (266) , Tybalt (192) , Benvolio (113) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints Back in Shakespeare’s days courtly love was a fashionable tradition. What happened was the men saw the women as Goddesses but their love was more often unrequited. But the men would send them love letters in the form of sonnets in order to win the woman’s love, however it usually failed leaving the man feeling melancholic. This is the position Romeo found himself in as he was in love with a girl called Rosaline. Montague and Benvolio notice a change in Romeo’s behaviour due to this and Montague explains how he â€Å"shuts up his windows† and â€Å"locks fair daylight out† this shows that Romeo attempts to isolate himself from the outside world and really is depressed. As Romeo enters the scene the audience can see for themselves his state of mind during his conversation with Benvolio. His replies to Benvolio’s comments are short and subdued and he explains, â€Å"sad hours seem long†. We can work out from this that Romeo is not having a good time so our sympathy wins him over and we hope for his luck to change. As we move onto scene 2, we meet Paris, who is a man hoping to marry Juliet and is trying to convince Capulet to allow him to, however Capulet seems to think Juliet is too young for marriage as â€Å"She hath not seen the change of fourteen years†. The possible marriage between Paris and Juliet is exciting for the audience yet it is an obstacle between the forthcoming relationship between Romeo and Juliet. The scene then cuts back to Romeo and his problems with courtly love. Benvolio who is aware of Romeo’s problem tries to be a useful friend by giving him advice. His advice is â€Å"one fire burns out another’s burning†, this is a metaphorical way of putting; you should find someone else and forget about Rosaline. Then as ‘Clown’ from the Capulet family is struggling to read a party invitation he asks Romeo and Benvolio to read the list out for him. Romeo notices that Rosalie’s name is on this list and the pair therefore decide to find a way of going to the ‘masqued ball’ to give Romeo a chance of fore filling his dream of meeting Rosaline. The fact it’s a masqued ball means they can get in whilst in disguise and probably get away with it and this thought enters Benvolio’s head. In scene 3 we meet the Nurse. A nurse is the Elizabethan equivalent to a child minder, however in these days they were hired out commonly by wealthy upper class families and were pretty much part of the family, they would raise the children and even breast feed them when they are babies. This particular Nurse raised Juliet and the two of them are very close. She is a bubbly character who often tells sexual jokes or sexual innuendo’s and tells Juliet stories about when she was younger usually embarrassing her. From seeing the play myself I remember the nurse being an entertaining character and was an audience favourite which was most noticeable by the applause she got at the end. Her sexual humour is shown where she says, â€Å"dost thou fall upon thy face? Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit, wilt thou not, Jule?† This is a crude joke of falling onto her back for sex and most fourteen year olds would find an adult talking to them like this terribly embarrassing yet the audience find it comical and entertaining. Soon after; Juliet discovers Paris’s desire to marry her and to the nurses delight Juliet replies â€Å"It is an honour that I dream not of†. Again the audience are excited by what is now a probable marriage yet it also questions the possibility of Romeo and Juliet getting together. Whilst on their way to the Capulet masqued ball Romeo predicts the future when saying â€Å"for my mind misgreaves some consequence, yet hanging in the stars†, similarly to what it says in the prologue; Romeo is saying he fears an unfortunate accident. The audience therefore semi-expect this to ironically happen. This is meant to create tension especially when he says about an â€Å"untimely death†, which along with the prologue suggests young death. Scene 5 is set in the Capulet household as it is the location of their ‘masqued ball’. A ‘masqued ball’ was a fashionable party to have in Elizabethan times where everyone went disguised in a mask. It was the equivalent to what a fancy dress party is today and this is why the Montague’s were able to get in with little suspicion from the Capulet’s. Party’s are always a popularity and so Shakespeare made this scene a key one in the play for the entertainment of the audience. From what the audience have seen so far, Romeo is a melodramatic isolated character. He has won over our sympathy and as he is one of the main characters we all want to see things turn around for him. The reason Shakespeare presents him as a melancholic lover is to emphasise the artificial nature of his love for Rosaline in comparison to the genuine emotion he feels for Juliet. We witness the two types of love juxtaposed and recognise that his love for Juliet is positive, energising and less of a ‘pose’. But by presenting him in love with someone else initially, it creates romantic suspense for the audience. When Romeo first sees Juliet, it is described as ‘love at first sight’, this really helps to emphasise how he feels about her. From the audiences point of view, Romeo appears to be shocked by how much Juliet stands out by the way he says â€Å"O she doth teach torches to burn bright†, the reason he says ‘O’ at the start of his speech is purely to emphasise his emotion. The speech as a whole is a type of light imagery and explains how her beauty stands out so much to Romeo. He then goes on to say â€Å"†¦she hangs upon the cheek of night / As a rich jewel in an Ethiops ear†, this is a metaphorical way of saying that she is beautiful, precious and rare to him as is â€Å"Beauty too rich for use†. These are both examples of wealth imagery. The majority of his speech in this part of the scene is imagery and metaphorical to help stress his feelings for Juliet, he also claims she â€Å"Shows a snowy dove trooping with crows†. This is in the category of bird and colour imagery and helps to stand out the point that she really does stand out from the crowd. As explained by courtly love, it was a common thing for men to respect women like they are goddesses, and Romeo uses this kind of ‘holy imagery’ when he says â€Å"†¦touching hers, make blessed my rude hand†. Overall the speech shows strong romantic inte rest due to how Romeo is so intense, passionate and genuine. This is one of the most loving parts of the story; however it is interrupted as the fiery character of Tybalt notices that a Montague is present. He clearly shows his anger by referring Romeo as a â€Å"slave†, which is saying that Romeo is like his inferior. As Capulet enters the scene; Tybalt threatens to â€Å"strike him dead†, however, Capulet bears in mind what the Prince said, in that any more fighting would mean their â€Å"lives would pay the forfeit† and as he wants no violence at the party, he aggressively prevents Tybalt from making any wrong moves. The hatred is then interrupted by the love of Romeo and Juliet as they meet and talk for the first time. Their conversation is set out in the style of a sonnet as of course; these were popular in the Elizabethan and Medieval times. It is very poetic, passionate and filled with religious imagery. The language is intense, memorable and uses rhyming couplets at the end of every other line to help it to sound better and stand out. Juliet is very responsive to Romeo’s requests and appears to want Romeo to kiss her, which was a rarity in the courtly love tradition. Romeo flirtatiously refers to Juliet as a ‘Pilgrim’; this shows how he respects her like a Goddess and this is the start of a large amount of religious imagery. In addition to that, Juliet answers back with her own religious metaphors like â€Å"And palm to palm is holy palmers kiss† this also contains some alliteration due to the repetitive use of words containing ‘palm’. The speech overall is a pattern of Romeo flirting to Juliet and Juliet flirting back, this keeps the flow of the conversation going and on a couple of occasions we witness a kiss. All this comes to a sudden end as the Nurse enters the scene and they discover each others identity. The nurse calls Juliet to go to her mother and when she is gone explains to Romeo â€Å"Her mother is the lady of the house† and of course Romeo realises this is the Capulet house. Benvolio calls Romeo away from the scene explaining â€Å"The sport is at the best† which informs that he knows the best part of the night is over and their identity has been discovered. This means that the Montague’s have to make a swift exit effectively making Romeo and Juliet’s ‘moment’ short with a sudden end. This leaves the nurse and Juliet alone together. Juliet finds out from the Nurse that Romeo is in fact a Montague and is clearly devastated by this when she says â€Å"My grave is like to be my wedding bed† and â€Å"My only love sprung from my only hate. All the way throughout this scene; Shakespeare juxtaposes love and hate. The first sight of love is at Romeo’s first glimpse of Juliet and the whole ‘love at first sight’ event, this is interrupted by Tybalt noticing Romeo and wanting to cause a violent act but he is stopped by Capulet. This allows Romeo and Juliet to have their first speech in the form of the love sonnet although when the two realise each other’s identity, the hate between the two families takes over leaving the audience wondering if the power of their love is strong enough to overcome the hate. In conclusion to the opening act of the play; Shakespeare creates many ‘untied’ ends to the story. This makes the audience want to carry on watching to get an answer to their questions; questions such as will Tybalt fore fill his threat towards Romeo? Are Romeo and Juliet going to die and if so how? Will Paris marry Juliet? And will there be any more fighting? The only possible way for the audience to find an answer to these questions is to carry on watching the play. This was Shakespeare’s objective for the opening act and he has therefore successfully completed it. Back in Shakespeare. (2017, Aug 22). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Strategic Planning For Tourism and Leisure Case Study

Strategic Planning For Tourism and Leisure - Case Study Example Although these figures seem significantly smaller than for domestic tourism in the same year, the average spending per trip was 160 for domestic tourism, and 489 for overseas visitors (www.staruk.org, visited 27/06/2007). The reasons for the difference can be explained by the cost of travel (e.g. flights) and accommodation (the average length of stay was over 8 nights by overseas visitors). Recently released figures have shown a 36% increase in overseas visitors to 24.2 million in 2002, as well as a growth in spending to 11.8 billion (www.britishtouristauthority.org, released, 27/06/2007). This shows the re-growth of this part of the industry after the sharp fall in 2001 as a result of the events of September 11th. The size of these figures show how important tourism is to the UK in general, but it also seems appropriate to look at its impact on various areas within Britain. The South West Tourist Board deals with the seven counties in the area. It contains two National Parks, covering 1.6 square kilometres of land. Tourism is high not only due to these national parks but because of various other attractions, including the Jurassic Coast of Dorset/East Dorset that was given World Heritage Site status in December 2001. (Lickorish, 2002, 66-70) The attraction is proved by the 2001 figures that show the South West to attract: 14% of all domestic trips and 8% of overseas visits; 18% of all domestic night stays and 7% equivalent for overseas visitors; and the area received 16% of all the domestic tourism expenditure and took 5% of overseas visitors' money (www.westpart.wctb.co.uk, visited 27/06/2007). The final figure is of most economic significance to the area, and shows that the local economy benefits greatly from domestic tourism. In fact, total tourism to the area generated 3.275 million for the local economy. (May, 2001, 112-18) In Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley the aim is 'to increase visitors and provide quality information services'. One way of promoting the area is to use the fact that it is the home of eight of the top twenty Scottish attractions. Supply for tourists to the area is also enhanced through the two airports it holds. These provide easy access to the area for not only overseas visitors, but also those from other countries in the UK. In fact, overseas tourists totalled 400,000 visits in 2001, spending 165 million in 1998 (www.touristboard.seeglasgow.com, visited 27/06/2007). In contrast to figures shown earlier, this amount is very similar to the domestic tourism expenditure of 183 million in the same year, showing that overseas visitors contribute almost as much as UK residents. We can see by these figures that the demand for tourism is high, and therefore it is necessary that the government has organisations to advise it on key policy issues affecting the industry. (Krippendorf, 2005, 78-83 ) Nature and Scope of Government Involvement Before April 2003, the British Tourist Authority was the main governing body for tourism in the UK, and was funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The DCMS has the role within tourism of 'encouraging and helping the industry improve facilities and promote a positive image abroad'

The role of the building surveyor in the planning system today Article

The role of the building surveyor in the planning system today - Article Example They provide detailed advice on all aspects of planning, design, construction, maintenance, management or repair of a proposed or existing building project. They also look for defects in, or ways to improve all types of existing buildings and advise the feasibility of possible costs of repair or conversion and the suitability of the building for particular purposes. They also make sure that the consumer rights, standards and other building control regulations are observed both in the planning and construction stages of new buildings or extensions or conversions of existing buildings. They are also responsible to resolve any queries on the building regulations and allied legislation presented by staff or other persons hence they ensure the uniformity of approach and consistency or interpretation amongst members (Sheridan, 2007). Since every construction work, irrespective of its size and volume, has to go through a number of phases before its completion. According to modern concept of Project Management Cycle (PCM), following can be different phases of any construction or development project: Project identification and proposition Project planning and formulation, Implementation and execution Project monitoring and evolution. After the identification and proposition of a project, then comes the most important and critical phase of a project: the planning and formulation of a project. The planning and formulation of a project plays a critical role as the success of any project depends critically upon the efforts, care and skills, that will be applied in its initial planning. Good planning can only be done if one has a very clear understanding of a project objectives, its cost and duration estimation, its impact and... Surveying has always been an essential element and requirement in the planning, execution and completion of nearly every form of development and construction of the human environment since the beginning of recorded history. Building surveyors are highly trained professionals who provide professional services to commercial companies, construction clients, central and local government, private individuals and property related consultants. They are involved in areas such as projects management, their feasibility study, planning, cost estimation and as an expert witness during execution. A building surveyor plays a critical role in formulation of such documentation by providing the basis for all further planning. Either an existing or a context, if a reliable documentation is not available, and then a building surveyor presents a real alternative by providing accurate plan information, by using the available tools and techniques. He collects data about the existing physical features of p roject site and its feasibility. Planning-relevant building surveying includes not only the measuring of the building’s geometry, but also any further information relevant for planning such as qualitative information, multimedia information and structural interconnections On the basis of all information, different constraints and risk factors are determined and analyzed. The planning has been done either to eliminate or to marginalize them. Hence the project cost, its execution, monitoring and evaluation strategies have been devised and decided.

Management Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management Questions - Essay Example First question answered is how to apply what the researcher has learned in managing individual performance situations. It inputs in a person’s personality a lot of traits, the researcher answers, for example the sense of responsibility. Second question covered in this essay was about the best performance management practices, such as feedback, communication and reward to the employees. It also mentiones the basic advantages in managing of performance. This essay also deeply explained the topic of the Career Success and it's key elements and issues. Many theories and techniques have been found and established through which your career will reach a level in short term where most people don’t expect. In particular there are a few rather more important that were discussed in the essay, such as to focus more on your key expertise, try to make himself best known wherever the person stands, a person should go for it and express his leadership skills and control of his own capa bilities, display of pro-activitism and innovative thoughts, build your connections and lay your roots deep within the organization. The ways on how to conduct a Performance Management Assessment were explored, various type of strategies and steps that are followed were discussed by the researcher. Another question was about the traditional approaches that are used nowadays to performance management. The researcher explained that in the such approach the employee is solely evaluated on the output that he produced.

Future Trends Influencing Police Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Future Trends Influencing Police - Essay Example Technology has increasing become an indispensable tool in the contemporary times. The efficient use of technology within the operation of policing has greatly aided the police force to enforce law and order. Indeed, the use of technology has hugely facilitated the police to enhance its effectiveness in resolving crime and punishing the criminals with more authenticity. The advancement made in forensic science and uses of sophisticated technology to investigate complicated criminal issues have shown that trends in technology would remain the major factors of influence within the police force. To efficiently handle the increasing numbers of cyber crimes have also made technology an intrinsic part of policing in the 21st century. Hedlund and McCartt (2002) of AAA Foundation of Traffic Safety, claim in their report that ‘drunk drivers continue to plague American highways. They crash, they injure, and they kill. In 2000, 16,653 traffic fatalities — 40 percent of all highway d eaths’. The drunk driving has today become a major road menace that needs to be tackled with more innovative approach. The punishment and financial fine have not been an effective deterrent for the offenders.

Marketing Communication Based on Video Research Paper

Marketing Communication Based on Video - Research Paper Example Absolut is a business entity which was originated as a brain child of Lars Olsson Smith, the king of Vodka. The Absolut organization exists to provide the best quality vodka in the world. Today it is one of the leading brands of Vodka. The originators suggest that the main ingredient required to produce Absolut is a grain grown in Ahus, in Southern Sweden. The producers have coined a â€Å"one source concept†. It is this one source concept that the manufacturers believe causes Absolut vodka to be absolute. The Absolut website states that it is made of only natural ingredients, namely, winter wheat and water. Absolut is viewed as a perfect unit in that its bottle, its taste and its price combine to form one package. Over the years Absolut has added many flavors to its original and premium product. Flavors include Peppar, Citron, Mandarin, Rasberri, Vanilla, Kurant and Pears. Absolut on their website proposes that their Mandarin and Orange are two of the most popular flavors in the world. The brand’s origins and its background The brand Absolut was established since 1889 when Lars Olsson Smith registered the brand name and began to revolutionize the manner in which vodka was made. By 1979, it was imperative for Absolut to begin to export to countries around the world in order to survive. The genesis for Absolut was the idea of the legendary Lars Olsson Smith who revolutionized the manner in which distillation was done. He created the rectification method of distillation and to this day producers of alcoholic beverages still use this method. For Smith, rectification allowed all the impurities involved in the production of vodka to be removed. Thus, Smith called the product of his rectification Absolut rent branvin which means â€Å"Absolute pure vodka† in Swedish. For this reason, Lars Olsson Smith is known as the King of Vodka. In 1992, Absolut advertising campaign was inducted into the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Hall of Fame. Amazingly, this feat was won without the use of te levision as an advertising medium. Richard Lewis (1996) the mastermind behind Absolut’s advertising campaign claims that the major purpose of the campaign was â€Å"to build a healthy and enduring brand for Absolut.† Throughout the first hundred years of its existence Absolut was perfected in its taste, its texture and its packaging. 1.3 The brand’s popularity Although Absolut in its website views itself as the number one selling vodka in the United States, other sources such as Impact International believe that in 2010 Absolut was the fourth largest â€Å"international premium spirit in the world. Impact International noted that Absolut is available in 126 markets. Lewis (1996) notes that in 1981 at the beginning of the Absolut advertising campaign, 20,000 cases of vodka were sold to the United States each year by 1995; sales had reached to 3 million cases per year. Sarah Edmunds of Reuters in her interview with Bengt Baron posits, â€Å"In the United States †¦ Absolut has about 10-1/2 to 11 percent of the total vodka market, sales rose to 4.9 million nine-litre cases in 2006, up from 4.7 million in 2005. Also at this interview Baron observed that Absolut has â€Å"98 percent brand awareness in the (U.S.) consumer (market) and we're still growing faster than the market in general†. Nonetheless, Absolut still advertises itself on its website as the leading brand of vodka in the world. A positioning- perceptual map is an

Importance Of The Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Importance Of The Education - Essay Example Consequently, they adapt easily to their environment, hence promoting their success. Further, the liberal education grants the learners the ability to get involved in more than a single field. This follows the different skills acquired that help the students to change their careers whenever viable opportunities arise. Liberal studies also give individuals opportunities to pursue their passions in life. Involvement in one’s passion increases the motivation of the individual. Therefore, an individual strives to give the best, which contributes to success in life. Given the continued advancements in technology, students get equipped with skills that apply widely, instead of specific skills that may get outdated with time. As a result, the individuals remain relevant to the society as they draw on the universal skills to cope with the changing times in the society. In â€Å"Behind the Boom in Chinese Students at U.S. Colleges,† Naomi Rovnick argues that Chinese students who acquire an American education have a better chance of being employed by western companies in China because they acquire ‘a broader cultural perspective’, which makes it easier for them to get integrated into such companies. The fact that â€Å"multinationals tend to prefer hiring sea turtles because they come with better inter-cultural skills† explains this (Rovnick 1). Then they go to study, the students get to learn how to relate with people from different cultures, thus enlarging the perspectives they hold in life.

Understanding Primary Source Readings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Understanding Primary Source Readings - Essay Example Robert Strayer scholarly work is primarily based on world history and has also written various books on the same subject. Among them â€Å"The Ways of the World† narrated by him describes about the various aspects about the ancient world. The chapter 2 of the book â€Å"The Occupations of Old Egypt† generally reflects the various elements and aspects pertaining to the lifestyle and occupation of Egyptian people during the ancient time3. More specifically, the author, Robert W. Strayer in this chapter describes about the occupational trend of the Egyptian civilization. This document demonstrates about the division of labor and social hierarchy existed between â€Å"Paleolithic communities† and â€Å"agricultural village societies† in Egypt. The occupational system of Egyptian civilization is commonly known as â€Å"First Civilizations which is described in an Egyptian text known as â€Å"Be a Scribe†4. Robert W. Strayer describes the variation in the standard of work and various communities living during the Egyptian Civilization according to their hierarchical positions. This was the period of middle kingdom the author in his document â€Å"The Occupations of Old Egypt† of the book describes about the worst standard of living of Paleolithic people, which included washer man, potters, cobblers and merchants and crewers as well as the â€Å"agricultural village societies† which primarily included peasants and mansions. They have to struggle to have existence of life. During Egyptian civilization in Mesopotamia and Egypt, Barter System was extensively used as the system of exchange. This system was abundantly used by â€Å"Paleolithic communities† and â€Å"agricultural village societies† to exchange the materials such as food and clothing and other necessary requirements essential for every individual of the society. They used to give some material which they procured and in exchange, they take

Kant & Hume, Comparative Study Essay Example for Free

Kant Hume, Comparative Study Essay Two of the modern world’s most followed and known, yet opposing philosophers. Immanuel Kant and David Hume both assert that all knowledge comes from experience, yet disagree on whether or not experience determines all knowledge, disagree on the causality of the universe as organized or unorganized, and disagree on God’s existence (or non-existence) within the world. Despite these vast differences, however, both philosophies have managed to co-exist in the modern world. Kant proclaims that all knowledge comes from experience, and that people are intelligent and rational enough to synthesize previous experiences into predictions (or fore-knowledge) of the future. On the other hand, Hume proclaims that all knowledge comes from experience and that just because something has occurred in the past does not mean that it will occur in the future. In regard to causality of the universe, Kant puts forth the notion that the universe was created in a way so that the nature of all things lays uniform and perfect despite the passing of time. Hume, however, puts forth the notion that the universe was created in a way so that all things change over time. In Kant’s eyes God’s existence or non-existence could never be proven or disproven, and because of this doubt God therefore exists. For Hume, the idea of God can exist, but the being most know as God cannot because the idea of god is specific and unique to every individual and therefore there cannot be one God for all—rather everyone has a unique and personal God. Kant and Hume pit each other down in philosophical battle after philosophical only to realize that they never agree on compromises to their ideas, and stay forever at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. Kant and Hume both asserted that all knowledge comes from experience. Kant states that there â€Å"can be no doubt that all our knowledge begins with experience† (Pure). By this Kant asserts that all knowledge initiates from experience. However, Kant goes further by also stating that â€Å"we have no knowledge antecedent to experience† (Pure), which means that in order to understand something, one has to have experienced the happening/ occurrence at one point in time. Hume states that â€Å"causes and effects are discoverable, not by reason but by experience† (Enquiry). By this Hume asserts that all knowledge and any knowledge must come from experience and nothing else. Hume also states that real existence can come only from â€Å"either from the causes which produced it, or the effectswhich will arise from it† (Enquiry), which means that experience provides not only knowledge but the justification for existence that experiences define the essence/ being of an individual. Kant and Hume agree that all knowledge stems from experiences attained in the material world. By asserting that to have knowledge of something one has to experience that thing only once Kant sparks the disagreement between himself and Hume on whether or not the future can be known based on past experiences. Kant theorizes that although â€Å"knowledge begins with experience† it does not mean that all which follows â€Å"arises out of experience† (Pure). By this Kant states that experiences are building blocks the house of knowledge but not the house itself. Kant claims that people can know what happens in the future because reason allows for them to extend their experiences beyond what has happened to events that have not occurred yet. Kant justifies this by saying that people’s â€Å"conclusions from experience† stand enough to justify that the future will resemble the past (Pure). Hume theorizes that past experience â€Å"can be allowed to give direct and certain information† but only in relation to the â€Å"precise objects † to which past experience refers, and that â€Å"precise period of time, which fell under its cognizance† (Enquiry). Hume clearly states that the only pure knowledge people can have is knowledge of the past, which means that there can be no real knowledge of the future because it has not been experienced yet. Furthermore, Hume articulates that it is impossible to show that the â€Å"ultimate cause of any natural operation† can be found in â€Å"any single effect in the universe† (Enquiry). In this statement Hume tries to elucidate his point that just because something has existed before does not mean that it will exist again in the same form, that there is no â€Å"ultimate cause† but rather many causes that go into the producing of different effects. To capstone his point Hume says that one cannot have a golden rule that what â€Å"happens sometimes†¦ happens always†¦ with regard to some objects† for all things in existence because there is no †logic† or â€Å"process of argument† that â€Å"secures oneâ€Å" into this assumption (Enquiry). Hume explains that it stands impossible to predict the future because the future has not yet been experienced and therefore has no security of knowledge. For Kant, by a rational extension of logic, it can be determined that what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future are one in the same— yet or Hume, knowledge can come only from experience because If the future cannot be experienced then people have no bounds to determine what will happen in it. These suppositions then lead to the question of causality of the universe, to which Kant puts forth the notion that the universe was created in a way so that the nature of all things lays uniform and perfect— despite the passing of time— whereas Hume puts forth the notion that the universe was created in a way so that all things change over time. Kant presents that â€Å"nature is a being acting according to purpose† and creates a â€Å"natural purpose† that everything in the universe must adhere to (Judgment), which supports the notion that the universe was created in a way so that the nature of all things lays uniform and perfect because everything has its natural place in the universe and therefore maintains a natural purpose and a static order. Kant additionally expounds that â€Å"causality involves that of laws† and that these laws create a cause that has a specific effect that â€Å"must be produced† (Fundamentals). Due to this â€Å"law† that Kant references he insinuates that, despite time passing, what has happened will have to happen again based on the consistency of the laws of nature. To counter this, Hume presents his reasoning that â€Å"effect is totally different from the cause, and consequently can never be discovered in it† (Enquiry), which supports the notion that things change and no consistency stays in the universe because there is never a direct link between a cause, and the effect which results from it. Additionally, Hume goes on to dictate that effects fail to â€Å"be discovered in the cause† and that they â€Å"must be entirely arbitrary† (Enquiry). By this, Hume means that if an effect could be paired up with any old cause, that it would be completely random and therefore have no value in appraising cause and effect. By both these sentiments Hume conveys that a cause and effect have no solidified connection unless they are proven to be tied together, which leads to the assumption that the world shifts and changes over time because if the universe were static then everything would be the same and a golden rule for causality would exist but for Hume, it doesn’t. Kant and Hume stand at odds on whether the universe stays organized or frays at the ends because of their assertions that the universe was created perfectly, and in opposition the assertion that the universe was created imperfectly. After determining the organization of the universe, one question remains forthe philosophers: who or what, if anything, created the universe? To this Kant responds that God is unknowable and that this thought doesn’t disprove his existence or perfection while Hume responds everyone has their own unique God, and therefore one perfect and whole God cannot exist. Kant expounds that the â€Å"unavoidable problems set by pure reason itself are God, freedom, and immortality† and that for knowledge of God there is no â€Å"capacity or incapacity of reason for so great an undertaking† (Pure). Here Kant proclaims that because of reason’s inability to appraise the idea of God, that it is an unknowable topic and that everything stated about it can be marked as true because it cannot be disproven. Hume expounds that he â€Å"believe[s] [God] to be existent† and that Hume’s idea of â€Å"conception of the existence† dictates that the idea of God â€Å"lies not in the parts† or composition of the idea but in the â€Å"the manner in which we conceive it† (Treatise). Hume makes the point that he has his own idea of God, that his idea is unique to himself and the way in which he develops his idea. Hume also states that â€Å"God is existent† but only in the form in which â€Å"as he is represented to us† (Treatise). This statement definitively encompasses the idea that not everyone cannot know the same God because people can only conceive their notion of God from what they have experienced, and each person’s experience stays unique and separate. For Kant God exists by the pure reason that God can never be proven non-existent whereas for Hume, the idea of God can exist, but the being God that most people think of cannot because the idea of god is specific and unique to every individual. Kant and Hume pit each other down in philosophical battle after philosophical only to realize that they never agree on compromises to their ideas, and stay forever at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, which in a twisted way allows them to co-exist in the modern world. On philosophy itself, Kant states that one â€Å"cannot say how far the inferences from perception may extend†, which means that for as much as people can imagine, something can be real and by extension this means that there is security in being able to make up the reality that one wants (Pure). In adversion Hume states that philosophy may â€Å"prove useful† by â€Å"destroying implicit faith and security† and allowing only one answer to be proven correct and logical through skepticism (Enquiry). Kant and Hume can have no recourse from the dilemma that they face because at every turn Kant states that anything imaginable is possible and that skepticism, Hume’s philosophy, can never be reconciled with the idea that everything could be possible because they intrinsically contradict each other. Kant and Hume: two men divided by differing philosophies on the source of knowledge, the causality of the universe, and the definite existence of God who battled over answers to these question of life throughout their careers. While Kant asserted that by rational extension experience could unlock the key to all knowledge Hume countered that only experience could grant knowledge, and that anything beyond that bent the rules of the world and made all knowledge inconsequential. While Kant asserted that the universe was created in a perfect natural order that would exist forever Hume countered that the universe was created in an imperfect, unorganized fashion that would be ever changing. While Kant asserted that the existence of God could never be disproven and therefore had to exist Hume countered that it is inadequate to say that God has to exist as a result of doubt because every conception of God from every individual is different and people must therefore err on the side of skepticism and accept that God cannot exist as everyone wishes him to. While Kant and Hume tried to reconcile their differences on philosophy they never came to an agreement, and therefore co-existed in the denial that the others thoughts could possible hold any truth. Works Cited Hume, David. An enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Chapter on Cause and Effect. -. A Treatise of Human Nature. Source found @ http://www. gutenberg. org/files/4705/4705-h/4705-h. htm#2H_4_0027 Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Judgment, Source material found @ http://www. marxists. org/reference/subject/ethics/kant/judgment/teleology. htm -. Critique of Pure Reason. -. Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals. Book provided by http://www. gutenberg. org/cache/epub/5682/pg5682. html.

Employee reward

Employee reward Employee Reward Assignment The aim of this essay is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages relating to broad-banding and grading pay structures. The first part of this paper will define broad-banding and grading pay structures. It will continue including various examples of both broad-branding and grading pay structures and also discussing the benefits and drawbacks of applying both structures within an organisation. The summary of the key findings will be included at the end of this paper in conclusion. A pay structure outlines the various levels of pay for jobs or groups of job by reference to their relative internal value as recognized by job evaluation and to external relativities as recognized by market rate surveys. In Figure 1.0 is an example of a Pay-graded structure. Example of a pay graded structure is shown in fig 1.0 (Google Images) The pay structures in organisations must be suitable to the necessary characteristics and needs of the required organisation and employees to enable it to work and be successful and worthwhile. The structures should make it attainable to achieve equity, operational flexibility and continuous development, steadiness and fairness in managing employee reward. The main types of pay structures are narrow-graded, Broad banded , job family, individual job grade, pay curve, spot rate and pay spine. Broad banding is the compression of a hierarchy of pay grades or salary ranges into a small number (typically four or five) of width bands. This was first introduced in organizations in the late 1980s and early 1990s (World at work, 2002). The aim of breaking down the job clusters or levels of positions into a fewer number of width bands are to: Provide pay structures which fit flatter organisation structures, Allow processes initially created to withstand hierarchy and vertical movement to be replaced, Work upon other methods of payment that reflect a broader range of employee development and contribution, as well as increased levels of competence, skill acquisition, incessant learning, career development and flexibility, etc. Each of the bands therefore spans the pay opportunities, which beforehand were covered by several pay ranges as illustrated in figure 2.0 Figure 2.0 Example of a broad-banded structure (Armstrong, 2002). ‘Broad banding is an attractive alternative to rigid, structured, specialized and hierarchical organizations. (Aon Consultings Forum, 2002). It differs from a conventional grading system due to the greater pay range within each band and the smaller number of bands. Determining the width of the bands requires care to be taken because if a band tends to be too broad it runs the risk of giving impractical expectations to those near the bottom. In this case, some organisations have introduced bands within bands, which are known as ‘zoning, and reason being is to contain expectations and make the structure more easily to understand and manage. The way Broad banding works is that, when job evaluation has been finalized, the artificial divisions, which normally differentiate between grades, are ignored. A group of titles such as manager, supervisor, operative, clerk are gathered into one large band. This then allows all employees in the organisation to fit into a salary structure, which may have as few as 5 broad bands as illustrated and mentioned above. Also, in Figure 3.0, is an example of a broad-banded salary structure. Figure 3.0 Example of Broad-banded salary structure (Stredwick, 2005) Adopting a broad banded structure concentrates on evaluating the individual, focusing on lateral career development and on competency growth rather than upward progression through a hierarchy. In a 1994 survey by the American Compensation Association/Hewitt Associates examined why organizations had implemented broad banding, 71% of the participants reported supporting a flatter organization and nurturing a new organizational culture, 57% mentioned the promotion of a widely skilled work force and facilitation of career development, and 55% reported minimizing administrative effort and reducing job evaluations. (Peters, 1994). Reasons as to why organizations adopt such an approach are; a de-emphasis on formal job evaluation systems can free up time for senior managers and compensation professionals to focus on critical business and people management issues. In addition to this, a broadband structure can support organizations with collaborative work styles that value process and results over control and status. (Aon Consultings Forum, 2002) Pay Expert Michael Armstrong recommends 12 steps for developing and installing a broad banded pay structure in his publication ‘ Employee Reward. A couple of examples of these steps are: ‘ Reach an agreement that it is the most appropriate pay structure for progression. ‘Decide on the width of bands, the degree of overlap (if any), the anchor points and pay zones. (LGE) Broad banded are most likely to be introduced to organisations, which are flexible, who do not operate with extended hierarchies and believe in continuous development. Broad banding continues to be an approach that has a great interest to managers seeking to enhance organisational performance. During the 1990s the number of companies implementing broad banding continued to increase from 10% of firms surveyed in 1993 to 23% in 1999. (HR Focus, 2000). Broad banding started out in the USA. William Mercer carried out a study in 1997. One of the outcomes of the study was that of approx. 3000 US organisations it was found that close to 45% had either installed the broad banding approach or were considering to do so. (Armstrong, 2002) Looking at the percentage, it is quite a large amount of organisations, which make broad banding look more attractive to other organisations that may be unsure about adopting this approach. Broad banding started of slow in the UK but research carried by Watson Wyatt in 1996 showed that 20 per cent of the 346 firms surveyed had introduced the system. More than half of the remaining firms planned to introduce it in their organisations. (Armstrong, 2002) Since then, there has been a considerable increase in the number of organisations with broad bands. The CIPD 1999/2000 survey of 193 organisations (Armstrong and Brown, 2001) found that 60 per cent of them had broad banded structures with five or fewer bands. Broad banding has become the most popular approach to the design of pay structures. In broad bands, pay is managed more flexibly than in a conventional graded structure and great is paid to market relativities. There are many advantages of adopting a broad banded structure as there are fewer number of bands which makes it easier to manage and an organisation operating with a small number of bands is able to address communication issues more effectively because it grades far more employees within the same pay category, greater width of bands, greater overlap between bands which means continuous development without being upgraded. Although broad banding has come to the force, graded pay structures remain the most standard types in the private sector, however broad banded structures are replacing traditional graded structures. ‘ In a broadband structure, the range of pay in a band is significantly higher than in a conventional graded structure. The band width may be as much as 100 per cent or even more, and there may be only four or five bands in the structure (Perret, 2007) As more employees will be grouped in the same band it can be used to reduce the status consciousness that is often found in a narrow banded pay structure. This in turn might help to focus employee attention to the external environment rather than internal equity. Broad-banding has flatter organisational structures and also encourages flexibility dispensing the need for constant regarding and promotion, less competition compared to graded pay as there is competition trying to compete to the next level of the structure rather than working as a team. ‘In broad banded pay systems, employees are encouraged to pursue the development of job skills the need to achieve the next promotion. (Loma, 1999) From research that was conducted it was found that in one large organization that had introduced broad banding, senior management reported that they received more thoughtful recommendations for promotions because managers did not need to promote people to get a raise simply because they were at the band ceiling. (Tyler, 1998) There are rewards rather than attributes in broad-banding and also worker commitment is at its highest. In traditional pay grading structures theres no prospects at getting to the top. In a business environment where organisations want to respond flexibly to global developments and customer requirements, the inflexibility of a traditional scheme has far too many disadvantages. Promotions are now far fewer as organisations have de-layered, reducing greatly the number of management and supervisory positions. Employees need to be far more flexible, willing to change their roles and learn more skills to meet the needs of the quickly changing their roles and learn more skills to meet the needs of the quickly changing national and international marketplace. The stiff, hierarchical grading structure is far less likely to match the quick-moving, responsive culture required in both manufacturing and service industries. They need to be able to adapt quickly to new changes being implemented. Despite the numerous advantages of the wider use of broad banding, at the close of the 90s, a Wyatt survey of 1,300 companies found that less than one in 10 used broad bands. If one was to remove the larger companies from the survey (5000 employees or more), only 6% to 7% used this approach. (Stern Associates, 2006) A few companies find that it works for them, but most are redesigning their structures to allow pay ranges to reflect the market. Conclusions As with any compensation structure, broad banding must be suited to the strategy, culture and employee needs of the particular employer. In my opinion and after careful consideration on broad banded structures I feel a broadband structure is best adopted in a culture that is flexible and team-based or at least is moving quickly in that direction. Companies should carefully weigh broad bandings pros and cons to ensure it fits with their organizational culture and business goals. Despite all the advantages of the broad banded systems, broad bands are still viewed as a novel approach to pay, yet to be proven workable. While companies continue to move to broadband pay programs, anecdotal reports indicate that many early-adopters are returning to more traditional pay structures. Clearly it is found that managers in organizations that have implemented broad banding believe they will have greater flexibility in directing the workforce if they can move people more readily in all directions within the organization without the constraints of narrowly defined jobs and restrictive pay grades/ranges.

Should Guns Be Allowed On Campuses Criminology Essay

Should Guns Be Allowed On Campuses Criminology Essay Based on National Rifle Association, an estimated 39 percent of households have a gun and 24 percent have a handgun; there are also 65 million privately-owned handguns in the US and 127 million other firearms. Have you ever think one day handgun can be carried onto college campuses where we come to study every day? Our colleges and universities are safer sanctuaries for learning, and we believe they would be endangered by the presence of concealed handguns. claimed by Students for Gun Free Schools (SGFS) (Louise Gerdes). In contrast, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) have supposed: Current school policies and state laws against concealed carry on campus serve only to stack the odds in favor of dangerous criminals. (Louise Gerdes). SGFS and SCCC were formed after terrible shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University happened. These are two of the deadliest massacres on campus in the United States of America. For your information, on April 16, 2007, at Virgin ia Tech University, Seung-Hui Cho a formal student killed thirty-two people and then committed suicide. One year later, on February 14, graduate student Steven Kazmierczak killed five people and injured many others and then killed himself at Northern Illinois University. From that time, concealed guns are becoming a controversy in America, especially, concealed carry on campuses. Many colleges have accepted for their students and faculty to carry handguns to protect themselves such as public colleges and universities in Utah; Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Virginiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ On the other hand, almost 4314 colleges and universities prohibit their students and faculty from carrying concealed on their campuses. Each group has their own reasons for their action and belief. In my opinion, I think there are no needs to carry concealed weapons like handguns on campus. SGFS believes that Americas colleges and universities are some of the safest places and almost their campuses are gun-free zone. They claimed that homicides at American colleges and universities are unusual events. They also showed some evidences to prove their opinion, according to a study from the Department of Justice, 93% of violent crimes that victimize college students happen off campus and students on the campuses of post secondary institutions are significantly safer than both their off-campus counterparts and the nation as a whole (Louise Gerdes). They are really undeniable facts that our college campuses really have lower crime rates than the cities in which they reside (Louise Gerdes). In fact, even though, our public safety is not enough to control a whole campus but anyway they still give our students secure and safety. Also, SGFS have listed five important-results that can be recognized when concealed weapons are allowed on campuses: (1) Concealed handguns would detract from a healthy learning environment; (2) More guns on campus would create additional risk for students; (3) Shooters would not be deterred by concealed carry permit holders; (4) Concealed carry permit holders are not always law-abiding citizens, and finally (5) Concealed carry permit holders are not required to have law enforcement training. In the counterpart movement, SCCC also has given their list to cast doubt on SGFSs list: (1) Concealed handguns would not detract from a healthy learning environment; (2) More guns on campus would create little if any additional risk for students; (3) Shooters may or may not be deterred by concealed carry permit holders, but deterring shooting sprees is only one of several potential benefits; (4) Concealed carry permit holders are not always law-abiding citizens, but They are statistically more law-abiding than most SGFS unnecessarily points out and (5) Concealed carry permit holders are not required to have law enforcement training because they are not law enforcement officers. First, SGFS believe that if concealed carry were allowed on Americas campuses, there is no doubt that many students would feel uncomfortable about not knowing whether their professors and/or fellow students were carrying handguns and because campus is the place that has many discussion or debate so they afraid that the presence of handguns would inhibit this kind of dialogue by creating fear of possible retaliation (Louise Gerdes). But, SCCC claims that SGFS has ignored the fact that in the absence of metal detectors and X-ray machines at every campus entrance, students already have no way of knowing who is carrying a gun. Furthermore, in most states in the US, approximately 1% of the population is licensed to carry a concealed handgun (Louise Gerdes) so it is not true when SGFS said that the presence of handgun would affects our learning environment. I think SGFS is right at this point, the SCCCs point is also not wrong but it is not real. For example, if college allows their studen ts to carry handgun, and if some of their students have a license to carry it, how can you know that the guy that sit next to you has a gun or not and whether he is a hot-tempered guy or not. You cannot know kind of this information but it can affects your life really. So, do you want to risk your life with something you are not sure about? In addition, in one anonymous national survey, 94% of Americans answered No when asked, Do you think regular citizens should be allowed to bring their guns [onto] college campuses? (Louise Gerdes) Second, SGFS has noted that in a 2007 report by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, there are four reasons why crime gun-related would be increase if guns were allowed on campuses: (1) the prevalence of drugs and alcohol; (2) the risk of suicide and mental health issues; (3) the likelihood of gun thefts and (4) an increased risk of accidental shootings (Louise Gerdes). In order to prove this, SGFS has showed us another report that comes from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University: [N]early half of Americas 5.4 million full-time college students abuse drugs or drink alcohol on binges at least once a month. In addition, they claimed that alcohol is involved in 95% of the violent crime on campus. For the risk-of-suicide-and-mental-health-issues reason, SGFS showed us one anonymous study about this, 24% of college students had thought about attempting suicide and about 5% had actually attempted to kill themselves. And if there is presence of g uns, suicide attempts are successful more than 90% of the time, in the comparison, when the method used is drug overdose, such attempts are fatal only 3% of the time. About gun-theft reason, SGFS believe that college dorm rooms are typically small, with few places available to lock up or secure a handgun (Louise Gerdes). However, SCCC noted that SGFS forgot to mention the fact that after allowing concealed carry on campus for a combined total of one hundred semesters, none of the aforementioned US college that allow handguns have seen a single resulting incident of a student under the influence of drugs or alcohol using or brandishing a weapon on campus, a single resulting suicide, a single resulting gun theft, or a single resulting gun accidentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and allowing concealed carry on college campuses would not change the rules about who can purchase a firearms or who can obtain a con concealed handgun license. It also would not change the rules at off-campus parties and bars , the places where individuals over the age of 21 are most likely to consume alcohol. Furthermore, to cast doubt on gun-theft reason, SCCC showed that at most colleges, on-campus housing is occupied primarily by freshman and sophomores, students typically too young to obtain a concealed handgun license (Louis Gerdes). In my opinion, I think SCCC has forgot that when someone really get drunk, they can control their behavior so it is very dangerous if they have gun along with them, because you will not know what they can and will do with this kind of dangerous and fatal thing. If there are some accidents that alcohol-related, who can SCCC blame it on? The next result that SGFS showed us is shooters would not be deterred by concealed carry permit holders. SGFS said that homicides and shootings at American colleges and universities are rare events because of many reasons. They showed that there were 11920 total gun homicides but only 10 total murders on the nations college campuses in 2003. They also believe that there is no way shooters would have been deterred by the knowledge that their fellow students (or campus faculty) might be armed. They also gave some example to strengthen their opinion: on May 8, 2006, at Fairfax County Police Sully District Station in Virginia, Michael Kennedy, 18, fired more than 70 rounds and killed two officers before police were able to take him down. There is no proof that suicidal shooters would be deterred from attacks on college campuses by concealed carry permit holders. Handguns just make the situation become more and more serious because campuses are crowded always so handguns just try to creat e additional mayhem only. Thats really a good point, because students or faculty is not like trained soldiers who know clearly how to use weapons or handguns in the chaos in which everyone just run for their life, they just run and maybe cause difficulties for anyone who is aiming at the shooter. In this situation, students who has handguns maybe cannot target accurately and absolutely they can injure their fellow students. Thats really not a good thing because when our lawmakers allow our students carry handguns on campuses, they just want our students feel safe and secure (Louis Gerdes). The next opinion that SGFS think it is very persuasive to prevent our lawmakers from pass the law to allow our students carry handguns on campuses: Concealed carry permit holders are not always Law-Abiding citizens. They give an example that Alaska and Vermont are two states in the US do not require their residents to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon, thats also means individuals in these states can buy a handgun through an unregulated private sale without background check required then use it in public (Louise Gerdes). Besides that, SGFSs essay also mentioned the main requirement to get a permit in 38 states that have a shall-issue policy for concealed carry permit is to pass a background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) which just want to make sure whether the applicant is prohibited under federal law from owning and purchasing firearms (Louise Gerdes). But, NICS is also not foolproof. An anonymous study showed that the database of NICS is deeply flawed and missing millions of disqualifying records. For example, nine out of ten metal health records that would disqualify individuals from purchasing firearms are still not currently in the database and one-fourth of felony conviction records have also not been submitted to NICS by the states. SGFSs essay also claimed that Seung-Hui Cho, who takes responsibility for massacre in Virginia Tech, also passed background checks in acquiring the firearms used in his attack even though before, he had been diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorders (Wikipedia.org). You can notice that NICS is not a trusty system that our states can depend on it to judge someone in order to give them a permit or not. If we give permissions to wrong guys like Seung-Hui Cho, I believe there will be more and more Virginia Tech in the future. Finally, SGFS pointed out that concealed carry permit holders are not required to have law enforcement training. The fact is that 48 states in the US which allow their residents to carry handguns do not require them to have any formal law enforcement training. For example, in Virginia, which is famous for Virginia Tech massacre, a four-hour sit-down session in a classroom is sufficient to meet the states training requirement (Louise Gerdes). Thats not a training, thats also not that someone who will carry handgun have to have and have to do before they get a permit. Just sit down and listen is not a good idea or good method that can help our residents in the real life. Even trained law enforcement officers rarely hit their targets when firing at other human beings, so how can a formal resident, who just sit down and hear some lectures about gun can do that? When you factor in all of the other elements that are involved in shooting at an adversary, thats a high hit rate. The adrenalin e flow, the movement of the target, the movement of the shooter, the officer, the lighting conditions, the weatherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I think it is a high rate when you consider all of the variables, Ray Kelly, New York Police Commissioner said (Louise Gerdes). In 2005, there were a total of 12352 gun-related homicides in the US. In the same year, the FBI reported only 143 justifiable homicides or self-defense involving firearm. Guns are used to threaten and intimidate far more often than they are used in self-defense. Most self-reported self-defense gun uses may well be illegal and against the interests of society, a 2000 study by Harvard School of Public Health (Louise Gerdes). Nowadays, some Arizona Republican lawmakers have voiced to support SB 1467 that allow students who have concealed weapons permit to carry handguns on campuses throughout Arizona. If this bill is passed, Arizona will be a third state in the US after Utah and Texas to allow all students and professors on college campus to carry handguns. Harold Cranswick, an MCC economics teacher said: If the state of Arizona proceeds with any of the currently proposed gun legislation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is unrealistic to expect students to feel safe (Mesa Legend 10). It is time that the public stands up and says no more,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦That we want to be able to make sure our facilities are safe and allowing weapons in many of these facilities is not what the people of Arizona want, said State Senator Steve Gallardo at a protest against the bill on March 29 at state Capitol. At the same protest, Zachary Smith, the regents professor of politics and international affairs from Northern Arizona University c laimed: It is just that in an environment like a college where thins can be hot and where there can be disagreements and there can be debates, it is just not the place where people might know there would be concealed fire-arms. And Emily Connally, a graduate student from University of Arizona and a Students Against Guns in Education (SAGE) representative mentioned: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Guns are four times more likely to be used in an unintentional shooting than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense and only 1 percent of the time will a victim use a gun to protect themselves (Mesa Legend 13). Mesa Legend also conducted an online survey with the question: Would you feel safe if it were legal to carry a gun onto college campuses? And there is the feedback; 65% clicked No, it would lead to complete chaos or death, only 20% chose Yes, and I would carry, 8% for Yes, I would not carry but feel safe knowing others are, 4% for I have mixed feelings about it and 3% for I do not really care ( Mesa Legend 13). You can see that, there is really no need to carry handgun on college campuses because college is the place that all people come to expect to expand their knowledge and learn something new, it is not a place like battlefield like we come and worry whether our fellow students have a gun or not. It is not students job. However, thats not mean you do not care about your students secure, hire more public safety in order to get enough man to control the whole campus is just one wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Try to find another solution like teach our students how to be safe in dangerous situation or build the friendly learning environment to avoid some hard-to-solve disagreements on campus maybe can helps us not to use handgun in dailys conversation and relationship. The safest policy to limit potential violence is to prohibit students and faculty from keeping handguns on campus and allow trained law enforcement officers to provide for campus security (Louise Gerdes). College is where we make grades not graves. Work Cited Concealed Weapons. Gale Louis Gerdes in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Louis Gerdes In Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. College Campuses Are Safer Without Concealed Weapons. Gun Violence. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Louis Gerdes. Gale Louis Gerdes In Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. College Campuses Are Less Safe Without Concealed Weapons. Gun Violence. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Louis Gerdes. Gale Louis Gerdes In Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. Virginia Tech massacre Wikipedia encyclopedia web. 5 May 2011. Legends One Poll. Mesa Legend 13 (2011): 3. Print. Ben Garcia. Ariz. lawmakers support concealed guns on campus. Mesa Legend 10 (2011): 5. Print. Ryan McCullough. Second amendment makes its way to college campuses. Mesa Legend 13 (2011): 16. Print.

Smoking Essay -- Tobacco Cigarettes

Smoking Introduction Some governments have banned smoking in all public places. Smoking has been proven to be very dangerous to health. Nonetheless 40 % of the population smokes. Actually I am a non smoker, although I used to be a smoker. Most people try out smoking when they are young ; many youths think smoking is a good grown-up habit. Furthermore many young people begin smoking as an act of rebellion and independence. Young smokers start smoking at their age of 12 or 13 just to get a taste of , what it is like. Some of them find it disgusting and unhealthy and some of them find it cool. Fact’s and Figures Tobacco use kills about 420, 000 smokers each year. According to recent studies 53.000 nonsmokers die each year from second-hand smoking. It is not surprising. Despite having plenty of anti-tobacco commercials on Television, and on every single pack of cigarettes there being an important note, chainsmokers can’t kick their bad habit. In Hungary a packet of cigarettes costs around 2 Euros. The average smoker buys a packet a day which comes to 730 Euros per year. Could you imagine , what you could do with all that money? Government intervention in the workplace Last month while I was reading the newspaper, I came across this article: „Smoking is not allowed in any public places anymore.† I found this ministerial decree, a very good decision, due to there being many smokers in my workplace. There is no assigned smoking area for them. As a consequence I ...

Essay --

Shreya Shirodkar Ms. Lane American Literature January 17, 2014 Laurie Halse Anderson: Changing the Scope of Young Adult Fiction How do you write about the major, live-changing events of people you've never met? How do you write about sensitive issues in an engaging, but still thought-provoking way? How do you write about your own demons so that others do not follow your path? Writer Laurie Halse Anderson could provide the answers to these questions. Written at a time when difficult topics, such as sexual harassment, were just beginning to be spoken about, her stories were a combination of her struggles and the struggles of teens across the country. Through her gift of storytelling, Laurie has brought previously taboo topics, such as date rape and depression, to the attention of teenagers and adults worldwide. LIFE Shockingly, this world famous young adult novelist did not always enjoy writing. Born in Potsdam, New York in 1961, Laurie initially had trouble reading and writing, but learned and eventually excelled in both as a result of the guidance she received from supportive teachers. Laurie specifically thanks her second grade teacher, who helped her realize that writing was â€Å"cool† (Anderson) during a lesson on haikus. Despite her newfound appreciation of writing, Laurie still didn’t want to become a writer; instead, she wanted to become a doctor ("Laurie Halse Anderson")! Unfortunately for her, Laurie was not very good at either mathematics or chemistry. For her final year of high school, Laurie decided to do something different. As part of a student’s exchange program, Laurie traveled to Denmark to study, where she had to work on a pig farm. Her experiences in Denmark helped her to grow into an independent young woman. After... ... home from WWII. Late at night, Laurie would hear her father shrieking, having nightmares about the war. As her father’s condition worsened, Laurie grew increasingly detached from the man she once knew and loved. Recalling the pain of that period in her life, Laurie wrote the story The Impossible Knife of Memory. In the story, the main character Hayley is attempting to take care of her father, who has PTSD. It can be assumed that some of Hayley’s experiences were actually Laurie’s own experiences. Today, Laurie has moved on from the past and shares a good rapport with her father, who unfortunately still suffers from PTSD (Deutsch). Throughout her youth, Laurie suffered from a disease of her own: body image issues. She was made of fun by her peers and was even called â€Å"Baby Hippo† (Anderson). For years, Laurie had an â€Å"unhealthy relationship with food† (???) â€Æ'

The Wife of Bath Essay examples -- Essays Papers

THE WIFE OF BATH In the â€Å"Wife of Bath’s Prologue,† she begins her introduction by telling the other pilgrims that she has experience because she has been married five time. She believes more in experience rather than in written authority (that is , in texts written by men). The Wife of Bath argues with virginity: â€Å"Where can ye saye in any manere age that hye God defended mariage by expres word? I praye you, telleth me. Or Where comanded he virginitee?† [Norton,118] She asks where in the bible is virginity commanded? If God condemned virginity, there would be no children, and no population: â€Å"For hadde God comanded maidenhede, Thanne hadde he dampned wedding with the deede; And certes, if there were no seed ysowe, Virginitee, thanne wherof sholde it growe?† [Norton,118] She then says how she is not jealous of virgin women, and how she always has her man in her bed. The Pardoner, hearing this, interrupts her in disgust and tells her how he has been thin king about marriage but now is glad that he is a single guy. The Wife of Bath then tells the other pilgrims what has happened to her five husbands. She says, â€Å"Tho housbonds that I hadde, As three of hem were goode, and two were badde. The three men were goode, and riche, and olde†[Norton,121]. In other words, the first three husbands were good to her; they were old and had money to take care of her. The fourth husband she had no control over. He was a reveler who loved to party. The Wife of Bath has a problem with him because he has a mistress. To get even with him, she tries to make him jealous. She torments him so much in life that she prays he is now in heaven. â€Å"The fifth husband she truly loved but there was one problem; he was abusive†[Norton,128]. The Wi... ...to pursue the man as well as to divorce him. In many households, you can also see the husband cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the children. Most of the married couples now share chores around the house. They respect as well as help each other during difficulties of life. Women can now raise children, educate them and direct them to a good life without the monetary support of the husband. As we can see, times have changed for the better. I must say some things still need improvement. Some men are still old fashioned and think they can control and look down on their wife. Some men still do not think a woman should have power in court, at home or in the office. Men believe that a woman’s place is in the home. What do you think? Works Cited Abrams, M.H. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. NewYork: W.W. Norton &Company, Inc., 1993

Celta – Focus on the Learner

This case study is based on Patricia, a Spanish national in her twenties who is in her last year studying an Economics degree course. She is also a student on the Elementary course at the British Language Centre. Patricia’s started learning English at the bi-lingual school she attended. She learnt English for 3 years but did not take any official examinations, but sees this as a possibility for the future. At school she learnt English because it was obligatory. The only other language she speaks is Spanish. She started attending the British Language Centre (which she still attends) to help her find a job in an international company and to prepare her for her visit to Eastbourne, East Sussex (UK) in July. She will be staying with a house family for one month and hopes to improve her English and use all of the language she has been learning to date. Her reasons for learning English are a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic ones. The main reason she is motivated to learn English is because she believes it will help her find a good job and earn loads of money, she also reads a lot about English culture and customs and watches films in English with subtitles for her own enjoyment. This can also be related to her learning styles. The results of her â€Å"multiple intelligences† questionnaire indicates that her learning style preferences are linguistic, spatial and interpersonal. Her conversations in English refer to things that she has read or heard, she enjoys solving mazes and other visual puzzles and considers herself to be a leader. Problems and Possible solutions with Grammar The student enjoys English grammar, and generally finds it much easier than Spanish grammar. An example of this is the verb formations. She normally uses the correct tense when speaking in English but sometimes uses the infinitive form instead of the progressive. â€Å"I read† instead of â€Å"I’m reading†. Spanish often use an infinitive where English would use a progressive; this can be attributed to language interference. To resolve this problem more tasks relating to real situations could be set along with reading and listening exercises that incorporate and contrast the infinitive nd progressive forms. When asked about the aspect of English she finds most difficult, she said ‘phrasal verbs’. Her problems include understanding the meaning of phrasal verbs, especially when the meaning can vary according to context, and choosing the correct particle to accompany the verb. For example â€Å"to break up† I broke up with my girlfriend last night, the main cause is likely to be comprehension issues as a result of conflict with meanings she already knows. Solutions to such problems would be dictionary analysis and sentencing restructuring exercises. Another problem she has is with the structuring of sentences. A classic example of this would be using the adjective after the noun â€Å"shoes big† instead of â€Å"big shoes†. This can also be attributed to language interference. Solutions to this problem would include drills (oral and written); practice would include guided dialogues, language games, parallel writing, dictations etc. 3 Problems and Possible Solutions with Vocabulary A common problem can be irregular plurals. (Refer to Appendix – example 1). In Spanish irregular plurals are not formed the same as in English. The common rule is that a â€Å"s† is added to the singular i. e. hombre = hombres. A solution to this problem is getting the student to record a list of all irregular verbs as they come up (recycling the vocabulary in future classes) and correct their mistakes in reading and writing exercises. Another problem is that many words are used in different contexts but with a connection to their original meaning. (Refer to Appendix – example 2). This forms a problem for Spanish speakers as the word flood â€Å"inundar† is only used in 1 context. Solutions and practice can be given through activities where the student has to use the word in different contexts and apply the alternatives. There are several different expressions where â€Å"bother† can be used. (Refer to Appendix – example 3). The meaning changes slightly from expression to expression. In Spanish this word is not used in the same way. A solution and practice to this would be to present all of the words to the student within a real context, through a reading or writing exercise. 2 Problems and Possible Solutions with Pronunciation. Morphemes that have more than one pronunciation present a problem relating to the sound of words. (Refer to Appendix – example 4). Both problems relate to rhythm when speaking, Spanish rhythm is syllable timed, whereas, English rhythm is stressed timed. (Spanish also has a narrower pitch range than English). Both problems can be directly related to language interference. Solutions include instant and planned remedial. The best procedure in addressing these problems is to draw attention to the problematic sound or pattern. Get them to pronounce it in isolation and explain how the pattern or sound is formed, and drill the student ensuring they have a record. The learner skills strengths and weaknesses: Speaking: The student is very comfortable speaking on a one to one basis and has no qualms about making mistakes. She articulates and forms her sentences well. Her main problem in fluency speaking is hesitation, something that she is fully aware of. She takes time to work things out in her mind before speaking, and this pause is evident in class, for example, when a teacher asks her a question. The more complicated the question or response, the longer the pause. She has very few opportunities to speak English outside the classroom, and this lack of practice contributes to her hesitation. Reading: The student seems to get the general gist of reading as long as she has some guidance and visuals. She is not afraid to ask questions if necessary and hardly ever uses her dictionary in class. Areas she could improve on are her vocabulary range to help her understand texts better and additional reading outside of the class. Listening: The student understands most of the instructions given out in lass and regularly helps her peers when they do not understand something. Her main weaknesses include not being able to follow a native person’s conversation; she has already established learning habits in the classroom that will not be effective when speaking to a native person. She also has poor vocabulary, which will limit her understanding relating to words she does not know. Wri ting: Reader – When I left university I wanted to do exactly the same things as you: find a job working for an international company which would allow me to travel around the world and buy a house. Writing teacher – Overall you did a very good job, things you need to consider next time are using shorter sentences to give more impact and tenses. Language expert: A good attempt at the set task, you need to think more about the structure of sentences and using the right vocabulary. Also review definite/indefinite articles and propositions. In order to improve your language skills and learn a new language many different sub skills are required. It is a good idea to learn techniques such as skimming and scanning to abstract relevant information more quickly. Distinguishing sounds of the different vowels in English is also very important along with determining the stress and intonations in sentences. Listening and reading stimuli or input is very important in producing more effective language, and it is a good idea to put yourself in situations where you are only able to converse in English, as this will force you to use the language more and help increase your confidence levels.

Hamlet †Ghost’s Speech †Act 1 Essay

In the beginning of the play, the reader is introduced to the disorder in Denmark, a prevalent motif. The mysterious death of the king spurred the disorder, and the prospect of revenge was magnified by the supposed appearance of the late King Hamlet’s ghost. The ghost’s appearance and subsequent speech intensify the disorder by validating the reader’s suspicion of Claudius as a murderer and an incestuous, adulterous serpent. Hamlet is torn by this revelation, and responds with justified drama. Thus far Hamlet had a few reasons to hate Claudius; the ghost’s message emboldened everything he had suspected and even added to it. Previously in Act One, Hamlet had criticized Claudius for a few major grievances: for being opportunist upon the death of his father by marrying his newly widowed mother in order to seize the throne instead of Hamlet, for not properly mourning the king by waiting just a month to take his wife, and for acting like an animal by behaving in an incestuous and lustful manner. By playing on many of the same metaphors as Hamlet and bringing forth new claims too, the ghost- whose word the reader takes as truth- bolsters Hamlet’s claims. In the ghost’s rhetoric, Claudius is an unnatural, murderous â€Å"serpent†.(sc. 5 ln. 43) As a â€Å"fat weed,† his parasitic nature is apparent and matches Hamlet’s assessment of the situation as an â€Å"unweeded garden.† (sc. 5 ln. 39) (sc. 2 ln. 139) Later, the ghost goes on to describe â€Å"lewdness† courting â€Å"virtue† in Claudius’ despicable new relationship.(sc. 5 ln. 60-1) To Hamlet and the ghost, the new union is an embodiment of evil though it holds an honorable, royal position. The royal bed is now a couch for luxury and incest. (sc 5. ln.89-90) The queen has been corrupted by â€Å"wicked wit and gifts† and succumbed by what almost sounds like magic. (sc. 5 ln. 51) This too plays on the motif of unnatural existence in â€Å"Hamlet† as exemplified by the ghost. The ghost refers to public opinion as â€Å"the ear of Denmark.† (sc.5 ln.43) By misleading this one representative ear, the entire country has been misled.  The ghost then furthers the ear imagery by describing how he was personally poisoned through his ear. This deception perpetrated by the current king adds to the sense of unrest. The late Hamlet was â€Å"sleeping within (his) orchard,† an emphatically innocent action, as the juice was poured into his ear and coursed through his body like quicksilver. (sc. 5 ln. 66) The poison â€Å"tetter(ed)†¦about†¦with vile and loathsome crust.† (sc. 5 ln.78-79) This vivid and gory description adds to the sense of decay and discord. As Marcellus put it, â€Å"something is rotten in the state of Denmark.† (sc.4 ln. 100) Then the ghost talks about how that napping time was his â€Å"secure hour.† (sc.5 ln. 68) This describes the feeling of routine that once existed in the kingdom. Now time is cursed and nothing is happens in a proper time because of Claudius’ unnatural murder. The senses of touch and sight are very important in this speech. The ghost carefully describes how things looked and felt to actualize his feelings to Hamlet and the reader. When describing the queen, he uses a prickly set of descriptive words. She isn’t just part of a cursed union, she has â€Å"thorns that in her bosom lodge to prick and sting her,† by some heavenly will. (sc, 5 ln. 94-5) Additionally, the description of the poisoning is graphic to make it personal and real for Hamlet.