The Instability of Female Quixote Essay -- Don Quixote Essays

The Instability of Female Quixote  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In â€Å"The Female Quixote,† the whimsical nature of fiction is not just a barrier to social acceptance, but an absurdity. Following popular notions of the time, fiction is presented as a diversion and an indulgence that cannot be reconciled with reality and threatens the reader’s perception of actual experience. The theme is common, as is evident through the basis of this novel, Cervantes’s â€Å"Don Quixote,† and other works such as â€Å"Northanger Abbey† by Jane Austen. The story is a series of examples of what not to do, acting as both a cautionary tale and conduct guide. But there is a fundamental instability in the work resulting from the opposition of the moral and the means in which it is presented. The intention of the work is to depict the error of confusing fiction for reality, yet does this through fiction. The reader is expected to believe in the validity of the story’s moral, which is not to believe in stories. A work that denies its own foundation cannot function, and this remains true for â€Å"The Female Quixote.†Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But this contradiction can only exist if there is clearly an instructive message within it. In this novel, there is no question of the negative influence of romances, only how ridiculous it makes the main character, Arabella, seem. And just how irrational is she? For the vast majority of the plot, she believes she is living inside a classical romance novel rather than 18th century Britain. She mistakes the true intentions of almost every character she meets, transposing their equivalent in courtship stories such as Cassandra, Cleopatra, Artamenes, and Clelia onto their actual selves. Because she has no aesthetic distance from romance novels and sees the motivat... ...other level of â€Å"The Female Quixote,† contradict. When the purpose rejects the basis on which it is built, the entire structure must collapse. Therefore, as entertaining as the work may be, it essentially fails through denying its own existence.             Works Cited Lennox, Charlotte. Ed. Margaret Dalziel. â€Å"The Female Quixote or The Adventures of     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arabella.† Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1989.   Merleau-Ponty, M. Trans. Colin Smith. â€Å"Phenomenology of Perception.† Routledge & Kegan     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Paul: London, 1962.   Sawicki, Marianne. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. â€Å"Edmund Husserl (1859-1938).†Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1996. Stewart, David and Algis Mickunas. â€Å"Exploring Phenomenology: A Guide to the Field and its     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Literature.† American Library Association: Chicago, 1974.   

Punishment vs. Rehabilitation within the criminal justice system Essay

I. Why did you pick this topic? If you were bullied in school as a child, then the â€Å"best years† of your life may have felt more like an endless, living nightmare. There is no shortage of social predators trying to boost their self-esteem or status at other people’s expense. Now imagine a school of hard knocks where the concentration of bullies is much higher than their victims. That’s what life may be like for many a convict serving time in prison. How impossible is it to not become hardened and detached under the constant threat of victimization? It’s hard to imagine that reform is part of that equation when one’s very life is at stake. Yet that is one of the impressions that we on the outside have of why criminals are in prisons: so that they will get better. But do they? In effort to make society appear to function properly, we have to close our eyes to many contradictions. Ironically, many are found within the justice systems. We have all witnessed lawyers so hungry for m oney and advancement that they will protect criminals from incarceration at the cost of the next innocent victim. Another area of justice to which our eyes are closed are the prisons where convicted criminals do their reparation. Some main reasons why criminals are sent to prison are: To separate a bully from his next victim — whether it be a robber from the jewelry store, a rapist from women, or a drug dealer from his addicted customers, etc. As punishment and revenge for the crimes a bully has already committed against his victims. To reform or correct the behavior and reintegrate a bully back into our respectable society. The first reason — to separate a criminal from his/her next victim — is the proper use of social seperation for keeping the public safe from further harm. The second, using imprisonment as a form of punishment and revenge is a misguided use of justice, because revenge turns the punisher into the bully possibly even the murderer, if a death sentence is carried out. So basically we have a load of people within a free society acting out violently with the same emotions as those which are causing our prisons to fill up with offenders. As you can see, the justice system is hypocritical. My greatest concern, is how can incarcerating a criminal rehabilitate them; that being locked in a cage surrounded by other criminals can somehow lead one to become a better person. Imagine yourself trapped twenty four hours a day for a span of two  to twenty years in a prep school populated only by those who have beaten, robbed, stolen, murdered or raped others out of rage, hatred and some other psychological imbalance. To add insult to injury, the world outside fears and hates you, maybe even wants to kill you. You have to work your way through the system by serving time so that you can eventually graduate to being released among those who fear and hate you because you are not an ex-con. Are prisons truly designed for rehabilitating criminals? How can a tense, selfish, survival-based atmosphere promote a more empathetic and emotionally balanced human? Given the constant negative reinforcement, it is almost impossible. In fact prisons so more by helping educate beginners in crime to become even better criminals. That’s a poor investment for the future of our community. A huge shift must take place if the Department of Corrections actually intends to correct the troubled one. We must find methods and programs which not only heal the wounds and troubled minds, but which helps them understand that crime begins with an attitude that we take toward others. II. How has literature viewed this issue? Most people may think of prisons as nothing more than facilities where criminals are incarcerated and deprived of their freedoms while serving a sentence that has been assigned as punishment for an illegal act they committed. While this is true, the concept of imprisonment is also intended to have a rehabilitative effect on inmates. The basic idea of rehabilitation through imprisonment is that a person who has been incarcerated will never want to be sent back to prison after they have been set free. It is hoped that an inmate’s experiences while locked up will leave such a lasting impression that a former prisoner will do whatever it takes to avoid a second term. Unfortunately, research has consistently shown that time spent in prison does not serve to rehabilitate most inmates, and the majority of criminals return to a life of crime almost immediately. Many argue that most prisoners will actually learn new and better ways to commit crimes while they are locked up with their f ellow convicts. They can also make connections and become more deeply involved in the criminal world. To rehabilitate is basically to take something or someone that has gone bad and to bring them back to a useful and positive condition. In an effort to offer better rehabilitative services to the inmates, many prisons have begun  providing psychiatrists to help deal with mental disorders and serious issues held by the prisoners. They also offer classroom settings in which inmates can learn to read and discover other means of legally advancing themselves. These methods are proven to have a positive effect on the prisoners. They have helped many to overcome a background with little or no education and encouraged some to straighten out their lives. Upon their release, prisoners who have stuck with these programs are given a better opportunity to succeed and to become law abiding citizens. Rehabilitation of prisoners is an extremely difficult effort. Inmates are segregated from the general public and forced to live in a society where crime is a way of life. For many, time spent behind b ars will push them farther into a life of crime, but for others, the horrors of prison life and the lessons they learn there are enough to convince them to do anything possible to never become imprisoned again. III. Why rehabilitation through punishment doesn’t work! The media tries to portray the â€Å"new† prison as a way to rehabilitate prisoners, whether it is through education or drug rehabilitation; however, this is far from the truth for most. The first point where this fails is the prison system does not transition their prisoners back into the community. The prison system isolates offenders from their community and family. For violent offenders, yes this is what they are suppose to do but people who are needing drug rehabilitation need support from their family and community. Additionally, a person can find more drugs in prison than he or she can find out on the streets; however, at a higher price but they are still there. The second point where the rehabilitation programs fail is the prisoner has to want to change his or her life around and many have not come to that point yet. Additionally, many states offer time cuts for taking these rehabilitation programs and many prisoners take these programs just to get the time cuts. I personally have family that has told me, â€Å"Yeah, I am going to go back out on the streets get my paper up (hustling) because that is the only way I can make money.† Which did not make any sense to me because now most prisons do have vocational schools or college courses available; however, depending on a person’s offense, it does not matter the education level, sometimes it is very hard to get a decent paying job once released from prison. Maybe a good solution for this problem is for a first  time drug offender or a person who seems to suffer from a mental illness, put them in a rehabilitation center instead of a jail or prison. Prison only makes people angrier and teaches them how to be better criminals. I have seen people go into prison for white collar crimes and come out drug addicts and better criminals. The prison system is something that definitely needs to be re-worked and re-adjusted because it is definitely failing. IV. How does this affect us socially? The expectations that our society has for the criminal justice system is to punish and rehabilitate individuals who commit crime. Punishment and rehabilitation are also two of the four acknowledged objectives of the criminal justice system, with deterrence and incapacitation being the others. In the United States, punishment has always been the primary goal to achieve when dealing with individuals who commit acts of crime. Many theorists throughout history have argued which is more effective, punishment or rehabilitation. The effectiveness of punishment and rehabilitation has been analyzed to see the effects on victims and offenders and also the social and fiscal impact on our society. The Classical School of Criminology has proposed that punishment is used to create deterrence and the Positive School of Criminology uses the practice of rehabilitation to reduce recidivism. Deterrence Deterrence is one of the primary goals in the criminal justice system and it is described as special or specific deterrence and general deterrence. The purpose of special/specific deterrence is to instill fear on the offender so that they will not commit future crime. General deterrence is based on punishing offenders to instill fear in society, otherwise known as teaching society a lesson and showing the consequences of committing crime. Punishment has always been imposed based on the idea that it will deter individuals from committing crime or repeating criminal acts. Incapacitation has been the most common form of punishment, however research demonstrates that recidivism amongst convicted felons following release from prison is as high as 63% and that most prison inmates had arrest records and convictions prior to their current offense. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1989) Punishment through incarceration is a temporary fix to crime while the  offender is confined. The maximum sentence of life in prison and the death penalty has even been debated on whether they are deterrence to crime. There are so many underlying factors within the criminal justice system that may contribute to why punishment has not been as effective as anticipated such as the appeal process in death penalty cases and the length of time that an offender sits on death row. Others argue that rehabilitation is a more permanent fix in deterring crime. Rehabilitation through community supervision can have a more lasting effect on individuals and deter them from committing future crime if they learn how to adapt in society by gaining academic or trade skills. These programs can help offenders find employment and secure an important role in the community and give them a sense of being. Therapy is another form of rehabilitation needed to help deter individuals from committing future crime. Some examples of therapy include drug therapy to those offenders addicted to drugs and psychol ogical counseling to those offenders who grew up in an abusive household. Rehabilitation is based on creating a change in the criminal’s attitude or resources so that crime is neither a desired nor necessary activity. When an individual is sentenced to probation, it gives them the opportunity to remain self-supporting within the community and not using the taxpayer and states money to house them in a correctional facility. Victim Impact In many cases, victim rights tend to be overshadowed by the rights of the accused. The courts are obligated to give a defendant their Constitutional rights including the right to a speedy trial, the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and due process under the law. Up until recently, victim’s rights were never recognized as an important role in the criminal justice system. In the past, victims and their families were often treated as inconveniences, ignored throughout trial proceedings, and sometimes even forced to stay out of the courtroom as the proceedings went on. These issues have caused many victims to feel neglected and even re-victimized by the courts. On October 30th, 2004, The Crime Victims’ Rights Act was signed into law by President Bush to guarantee rights to victims of federal crime. These rights include, to be reasonably protected from the accused offender and to receive reasonable and timely notice of any public proceeding involving the cr ime or of any public proceeding.  (feinstein senate.gov/booklets, n.d) The majority of society, including victims of crime prefers swift punishment to rehabilitation through community supervision. According to the BJS Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, more than three-quarters of the public see punishment as the primary justification for sentencing. They also report that more than 70 percent believe that incapacitation is the only sure way to prevent future crimes, and more than three-quarters believe that the courts are too easy on criminals. Public opinion supports the increased use of prisons to give criminals just desserts. When a victim or the victims’ family feels that their offender does not receive the appropriate sentence, it causes emotional stress and also financial strain when restitution is not implemented. Community supervision can also benefit victims in certain ways. When an offender is sentenced to intense supervision through probation, they have the ability to pay restitution through employment. Other forms of rehabilitation through community supervision may also benefit a victim or their families such as programs such as one that was introduced in my county. The program is a group of victims called the Victim Impact Panel who talk to offenders that are convicted of drunk driving. These individuals are brought face to face with victims and their family members of drunk driving. These programs have high hopes of deterring individuals from committing such acts. Offender Impact Punishment through incarceration has many effects on convicted criminals. Incarceration has many effects on the offender psychological well-being. When an offender is separated from their family, it causes severe depression. Supporters of rehabilitation versus punishment argue that sentencing offenders to incarceration hurt the family structure by contributing to single parenting. They also argue that punishment causes social disorientation, alienation, and also increases the risk of recidivism. When an offender is released from incarceration, they face social isolation, stigmatism, economic and employment challenges. Rehabilitation through community supervision eliminates many of these issues, such as the economic & employment factor. Probation allows offenders to remain with their families, continue working or find employment under close supervision. Drug Courts There are certain crimes that would benefit from rehabilitation more so than punishment, such as non-violent drug related. Criminals who commit acts of crimes to support their drug habit need treatment more than punishment. In many states, such as New York, Drug courts have been established. Drug courts represent the coordinated efforts of the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment communities to actively and forcefully intervene and break the cycle of substance abuse, addiction, and crime. Drug courts quickly identify substance-abusing offenders and place them under strict court monitoring and community supervision, coupled with effective, long-term treatment services. The National Drug Court Institute describes the process that a participant as an intense regimen of substance abuse and mental health treatment, case management, drug testing, and probation supervision while reporting to regularly scheduled status hearings before a judge. In addition, drug courts may provide job skill training, family/group counseling, and many other life-skill enhancement services. Data consistently show that treatment, when completed is effective and loss more cost effective. Social Impact upon Society The social impact of punishment and rehabilitation varies from the increasing costs of correctional facilities to the disruption of families to the fear of criminals released into community. Society’s view plays a major role in the criminal justice system. Society’s belief’s in the â€Å"just desserts† theory has played a role in the courts. The push for mandatory sentencing has even entered political campaigns in response to the public. â€Å"Getting tough on crime† was the basis behind different mandatory sentencing practices. The increase of correctional facilities is also related to society’s impact on punishment versus rehabilitation. Fiscal Impact The fiscal impact that punishment has on our country is phenomenal. It has been reported that it costs an average of $30,000 per year to house, feed, clothe, and supervise a prisoner. This figure does not include the costs of construction and other factors. Many rehabilitation programs have been introduced to not only help deter crime, but also to reduce the rising cost  of punishment. Privatization of corrections has been also looked at as an effort to reduce the costs of punishment. Many states have also instituted alternatives to incarceration such as â€Å"boot camps† or â€Å"shock camps†. These programs are proven to be less costly than incarceration. The cost of shock incarceration in New York State has been estimated to be $10,000 less per year per prisoner than the cost of traditional incarceration (Punishment vs. rehabilitation: A Proposal for revising Sentencing Practices, September 1991) The use of intensive parole programs has been estimated to save taxpa yers an estimated ten to thirteen thousand dollars per year compared to the cost of incarceration. Overview of Punishment and Rehabilitation Punishment and rehabilitation are a major part of the criminal justice system and will be effective in controlling crime if there is a way to incorporate the two factors to work together. Punishing and following up with rehabilitation through community supervision can be the source of helping deter crime. Punishment and community supervision should be based on the type of crime. If the appropriate sentence is issued upon an offender, it can help deter them from future criminal activity. Punishment vs. Rehabilitation in the Criminal Justice System Works Cited Cadigan, Brian. â€Å"Correcting Our Flawed Criminal Justice System, One Private Prison at a Time.† The Bottom Line UCSB. N.p., 11 May 2011. Web. 09 May 2013. Dutta, Sunil. â€Å"How to Fix America’s Broken Criminal Justice System.† The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Dec. 2010. Web. 07 May 2013. Vedantam, Shankar. â€Å"When Crime Pays: Prison Can Teach Some To Be Better Criminals.† NPR. NPR, 01 Feb. 2013. Web. 07 May 2013.

Personality Is A Definition Of Personality - 1483 Words

Personality is a word that is known to come from the Latin word persona which is defined as the ‘mask’. The definition of personality is quite eclectic as there are many opinions on what a personality is and what it consists of. â€Å"†¦the most adequate conceptualisation of a person’s behaviour in all its detail† (McClelland, 1951, p.69) is a historical definition of personality. More narrowly, personality is described as the amalgamation of qualities or characteristics and the behavioural attitudes that form an individual’s distinctive character. There has been much debate as to whether one’s personality can change throughout their lifetime or if it’s ‘set in plaster’ after a specific age. Longitudinal studies were undertaken on the aspects of the five-factor model in an attempt to come to a conclusion about whether or not one’s personality can change. Changes in personality may occur due to certain life exper iences which can leave indents in one’s personality, forcing it to change negatively or positively for a temporary or permanent amount of time in order to adapt to the environment. John Bowlby suggests the attachment theory is necessary in early life in order to shape an individual’s personality. Early life experiences as well as an individual’s personality are primarily influenced by one’s parents until they’re mature enough to form their own identity. There are also opposing views on personality as numerous amounts of people believe it doesn’t change after a certain age.Show MoreRelatedThe Five Personality Traits Definitions813 Words   |  4 PagesThe five personality traits, a person’s, portray Neuroticism, Extroversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness to experience. A person does have a small genetic bias relates to personality. 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AccordingRead MoreThis paper will reflect on the definition of personality and some key definitions that define our700 Words   |  3 Pagesreflect on the definition of personality and some key definitions that define our behavior but not us as individuals. Understanding personality differences is a start of knowing how to adapt when other personalities are presented. In order to understand what personality is let start by defining personality. Personality is a combination of his or her interests, attitude behavior patterns and other traits that may continue throughout his or her life span. â€Å"The definition has two importantRead MoreGordon Allport : Personality Psychology And Trait Theory718 Words   |  3 Pagesfounder of â€Å"personality psychology† and â€Å"trait theory†. Allport, just like any other psychologist, had his own definition on what personality is. 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Achieved Status Versus Ascribed Status in Sociology

Status is a term that is used often in sociology. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of status, achieved status and ascribed status. Each can refer to ones position, or role, within a social system—child, parent, pupil, playmate, etc.—or to ones economic or social position within that status.   Individuals usually hold multiple statuses at any given time—lawyers, say, who happen to devote most of their time to pro bono work instead of rising through the ranks at a prestigious law firm. Status is important sociologically because we attach to ones position a certain set of  presumed  rights, as well as presumed obligations and expectations for certain behaviors. Achieved Status An achieved status is one that is acquired on the basis of merit; it is a position that is earned or chosen and reflects a persons skills, abilities, and efforts. Being a professional athlete, for example, is an achieved status, as is being a lawyer, college professor, or even a criminal. Ascribed Status An ascribed status, on the other hand, is beyond an individuals control. It is not earned, but rather is something people are either born with or had no control over. Examples of ascribed status include sex, race, and age. Children usually have more ascribed statuses than adults, since they do not usually have a choice in most matters. A familys social status or socioeconomic status, for instance, would be an achieved status for adults, but an ascribed status for children. Homelessness might also be another example. For adults, homelessness often comes by way of achieving, or rather not achieving, something. For children, however, homelessness is not something they have any control over. Their economic status, or lack thereof, is entirely dependent on their parents actions. Mixed-Status The line between achieved status and ascribed status is not always black and white. There are many statuses that can be considered a mixture of achievement and ascription. Parenthood, for one. According to the latest numbers gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 50 percent of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, which makes parenthood for those people an ascribed status. Then there are people who achieve a certain status because of an ascribed status. Take Kim Kardashian, for example, probably the most famous  reality television celebrity in the world. Many people might argue that she would never have achieved that status if she had not come from a wealthy family, which is her ascribed status.  Ã‚   Status Obligations Probably the greatest set of obligations are conferred upon the status of parenthood.  First, there are biological obligations: Mothers are expected to care for themselves and their unborn child (or children, in the case of twins, etc.) by abstaining for any activity that could cause either of them harm. Once a child is born, a host of legal, social, and economic obligations kick in, all with the purpose of ensuring that parents act in a responsible manner toward their children. Then there are professional status obligations, like doctors and lawyers whose vocations bind them to certain oaths governing their client relationships. And socioeconomic status obligates those who have achieved a certain high level of economic status to contribute portions of their wealth to help the less fortunate in society.

Examples Of Epic Heroes - 888 Words

Has anyone in your life made a life changing impact on you? Perhaps a hero? There are many types of heroes including old heroes, New heroes, and heroes in stories. The best of the heroes are the epic heroes. Epic heroes are people who are admired for great achievements or affect a grand event. Beowulf is one of those well known epic heros that was a well known hero to the gates. He was a warrior and showed characteristics such as loyalty, generosity, and bravery. These characteristics is which makes him a hero. He wants to help people and can always be trusted. His country and people depended on him and his actions to protect them. Just like American soldiers today protect our country. That is who I believe to be our best epic heroes†¦show more content†¦Then he would realizes what he was over there to do and that was to fulfill his promise of protecting his country. Everybody has fear only heros know how to deal with it, therefore becoming fearless. My epic hero and Beowul f would both walk into any battle risking their lives for their people. Beowulf is a very courageous man as well as an American soldier. Beowulf is a very brave and courageous person. His actions toward the monster Grendel that was terrorizing the Danes show that he is willing to help others. In an epic it is usually found that the hero often determines the fate of a nation or group of people. Beowulf has definitely helped the Danes and his own people the Geats in their triumph over evil by killing Grendel his mom and the dragon. American soldiers that is a medic on the field. They have to be full of courage. They go out saving their mens lives that have been injured with very little protection for themselves. A medic gets the call that there is a man down. He is running towards the bullets and fighting, when most normal people would be running away. There bullets flying past his head, bombs dropping everywhere, and he is trying to save a mans live. The medic finally makes it to the bunker where the man is lying. The man is screaming in pain while the me dic is calm, relaxed, and focused. How does a man do such a thing? Well only a Epic hero who is very courages can. Finally, heros such as Beowulf and American soldiers areShow MoreRelatedEssay On Selflessness In Beowulf783 Words   |  4 Pagesare no heroes and no monsters in this world. Only children should be allowed to use these words† ― Alfred de Vigny, from Stello. As opposed to Alfred de Vigny’s statement claiming that there are no heroes or monsters in the modern world, I believe that certain qualities which are extremely ubiquitous in modern society as well as in the epic poem Beowulf, align completely with the archetype of an epic hero, these qualities being selflessness, generosity, and bravery. 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However, principally due to the fact that King Arthur and his exploits are decidedly more modern th an those of the aforementioned heroes, there are certain points of variance between his characterization and deeds and those of the figures that existed in ancient times. Therefore, it is accurate to say that Arthur retained many of the qualities endemic to heroes that precededRead MoreEssay An Epic Odyssey1544 Words   |  7 PagesThe stories of epic heroes remain important to many cultures, the Greeks in particular. These tales of heroic men not only entertain, but they teach people about morals and values that most epic heroes exemplify, such as intelligence and bravery. To be an epic hero, characters are usually highly born, favored by the gods, perform great deeds, and have flaws. These tales are told in heightened style and occur in grand settings. Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, meets these traits and is considered a primeRead MoreComparing Beowulf, The Wanderer, And The 13th Warrior1731 Words   |  7 Pagesreappears is What is an epic hero? Or better yet an epic hero in Ang lo Saxon culture. I believe there is more to being a hero than just being strong or intelligent. An epic hero in my eyes is oneself who comes to portray the beliefs of the society in which the tale/story is depicted. A few great examples of the Anglo Saxon epic hero are the literary characters in Beowulf, The Wanderer, and The 13th Warrior. These are all outstanding examples of Anglo-Saxon epic heroes because they all came toRead MoreThe Ramayana As A Hero Essay1508 Words   |  7 PagesIndian heroic society takes the ideas of heroism, with specific focus on the epic poem ‘The Ramayana’. Along with the examining of the major characterstics of heroic archetypes, specifically the hero who works with a partner or companion, the hero who works alone and the figure of the hero who plays a background role in the context of the epic, there will also be a brief focus on the importance of the ability of heroes to work as a team, even when they may not necessarily be used to do ing so. OtherRead MoreThe Epic Of Epic Heroes984 Words   |  4 PagesIn terms of epic poetry, the word â€Å"epic† depicts a lengthy poem containing heroic events (Hirsch 1). For one to be classified as a hero, one must display certain qualities and experience events that prove a character’s heroic potentials. Epic heroes are somewhat similar to superheroes, yet they are also different. Like epic heroes, superheroes endeavor challenging events to protect civilians and defeat villains. While the two types of heroes are broadly alike, epic heroes are generally an evidentRead MoreOdysseus vs. Gilgamesh Essay1464 Words   |  6 PagesThe epic poems The Odyssey, written by Homer, and Gilgamesh, translated by David Ferry, feature the struggles and triumphs of two epic heroes, Odysseus and Gilgamesh. Epic heroes exemplify six common traits. They are all strong fighters, complete with physical beauty and intimidation. The epic hero is dangerous yet protects ordinary people. There is always an encounter with death and the cosmos. They are superhuman, but they are not supernatural, although they come in contact with the supernaturalRead MoreAnalysis Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Odyssey Essay1548 Words   |  7 Pagesmisogyny into stone. There are some exceptional cases in the famous epic poems, the Epic of Gilgamesh of the Sumerians and Akkadians and the Odyssey from Homer of the Greeks. We all can agree that these epic poems or at most the authors did not view women with our modern perspective – equality among gender. However, we cannot deny that female characters helped set the path of the epic heroes’ journey to their goals. In these epic poems, women are portrayed as figures and themes of knowledge, motherhoodRead MoreGilgamesh704 Words   |  3 Pages2016 Essay #1 Epic heroism usually denotes to an individual of highest social class such as great kings or leaders. Epic heroes are outstanding fighters, sometimes carrying some divine powers. To show his heroic elements, the hero must confront some supernatural enemies, quests, war, or adversity. The Epic of Gilgamesh depicts most of these characteristics of epic heroism. The description about his birth to the journey and adventures in his life meets the characteristics of an epic hero. Although

Personal Skills Development in Curriculum †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Personal Skills Development in Curriculum. Answer: Introduction: Managing the business is not an easy task and the manager needs to possess various skills which will guide him in the operations of the business. There are many business skills that a manager should possess. These skills include skills like problem solving, decision making, management of people, leadership skills and financial management skills (Raven and Le 2015 pp. 622-641). The given essay will be highlighting two relevant skills for discussion. The chosen skills are decision making skills and Financial Management skills. The importance of possessing these skills will be identified along with examples. The steps which universities can take to ensure that the students are ready to face the business environment with respect to the skills have been discussed. Decision making skills require mental abilities to focus on both cognitive and creative aspects the given business skill is a critical one where it allowed the key decision makers to analyze the various choices available to them and to make a single choice. This single choice which is to be made needs to be the one that is best (Bailey 2014). This chosen alternative must have the ability to help the organization in fulfilling its goals along with helping the customers to achieve their short term objectives. In a business, the dynamic environment is not easy to judge and this is the reason why it becomes extremely difficult to survive without testing for the current option. The problem solving skill helps an individual to make quick decisions with positive impacts. Decision making is not a department oriented aspect. It is essential to implement effective decision making in almost all departments of the organization from marketing and sales, human resource and even the top management (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). In the discussed fields, decision making can be applied in cases where the company is faced by two options and the company can only make one choice as the resources are constraint. This option may be available in cases of a marketing alternative which is to be chosen for the benefit of the firm. Universities are a storehouse of knowledge for all its students and it is their duty to see to it that, the students are efficient in decision making. For this purpose they could be provided training in the following. Firstly, they could help them in developing communication skills. The universities can arrange value oriented classes for the students that help them to improve their language skills. The brain in order to remain active, needs to be put on to charge and thus the universities can provide situations to the students in form of role plays here such skills are developed. Secondly, the pros and cons method can be applied. They need to be taught to estimate and evaluate the pros and co ns of every decision. This method serves as an easy method to evaluate the effectiveness of an option and invest in a particular venture. Lastly, The Universities can also plan accordingly and help the students to improve their experience by making them meet people from senior posts or ex students to clearly help them to focus on their need. By following these guidelines, the universities can prepare their students for the professional world. In the corporate world, the manager is faced by many situations which require decision making and this will help them in that. The second skill being discusses is the Financial skills. Knowledge of finance helps the individual to manage and assess the success and running of the business organization. Finance is often known as the bloodline of the organization and the financial statements often provide a true picture of the organization (Gammie, Gammie, and Cargill 2012 pp. 63-67). The financial skills help the individuals by providing them the performance of then firm in different fields. The financial management skills include skills like analytical problem solving and management experience. For instance, when an individual is analyzing the performance of a company, instead of going though the extended activity, the firm can simply scan the statements in various parameters like ratios, Return in Investments and others, the ratio include Liquidity Ratio, quick ratio, profitability ratio and Interest coverage ratio. Financial skills go a long way in the department of accounting and finance. Accounts and finance are primarily concerned with the management of funds in a business and this aspect is a risky one therefore, if an individual has appropriate financial facilities, then he will not be facing any difficulties in the strategic goals as well as routine work related to the accounts and the finance department (Griffin and Pustay 2012). The University can inculcate various strategies to see to it that the students obtain adequate financial skills which will be better for his personality development. Firstly, the university can organize various classes which will help the students to understand the basic concepts in finance such as the basic terms of accounting, the golden rules, asset management, financial ratios and others (Brigham and Ehrhardt2013). This will go a long way in helping the students to analyze their own venture of their organization when the need arises. Secondly, it is importan t to understand that just providing theoretical knowledge is not enough. It is necessary for the university to see to it that the university engages in activities, with the help of which the students can actually carry out financial analysis on various companies (Ferrell and Fraedrich 2015). It can conduct company visits and provide the students with the opportunity to talk to the real financial managers. This shall help the students to experience real world corporate environment. Lastly, in order to test the skills of the students, the university can conduct many tests to check whether the knowledge application of the student is adequate or not (Fischhoff 2013). One of the methods of conducting this is providing financial statements of companies to the students and testing whether they will be able to solve or analyze the statements or not. In the corporate world, this will help an individual to analyze the prospective of a project and test the viability of it and to test the finan cial capability of an opportunity. Therefore it can be stated that undertaking business operations is not an easy task and the business needs to keep in mind the skills of the owners. The two primary skills being discussed in the given section are skills related to Decision making and financial management. Both these skills are extremely critical to attain and sustain. The decision making skills help an individual to choose between the varying objectives and select the best one. The second skill chosen was related to finance whereby the skill sets help as an accountant, a manager and an investor to make a judgment about the organization and its performance. References Bailey, Janet L. "Non-technical skills for success in a technical world."International Journal of Business and Social Science5, no. 4 (2014). Brigham, Eugene F., and Michael C. Ehrhardt.Financial management: Theory practice. Cengage Learning, 2013. Ferrell, Odies C., and John Fraedrich.Business ethics: Ethical decision making cases. Nelson Education, 2015. Fischhoff, Baruch. "Judgment and decision making." InJudgment and Decision Making, pp. 19-38. Routledge, 2013. Gammie, Bob, Elizabeth Gammie, and Erica Cargill. "Personal skills development in the accounting curriculum."Accounting Education11, no. 1 (2012): 63-78. Griffin, Ricky W., and Mike W. Pustay.International business. Pearson Higher Ed, 2012. Raven, Peter, and Quan V. Le. "Teaching business skills to women: Impact of business training on womens microenterprise owners in Vietnam."International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior Research21, no. 4 (2015): 622-641. Sekaran, Uma, and Roger Bougie.Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley Sons, 2016.

What does it mean for items to be thematically linked Essay Example

What does it mean for items to be thematically linked Paper It has been suggested that people tend to use a variety of specific strategies when performing a range of cognitive tasks. Cognitive tasks may require the thinker to use a number of different types of strategies whilst performing the following types of mental activities such as thinking, reasoning, categorisation, induction, conceptual combination, metaphor and analogies. In addition to this point the thinker may depend on or select one of many different strategies in order to achieve the cognitive task at hand. Two examples of the different types of strategies used by adults when performing cognitive tasks such as categorisation might include comparison or integration. It has been suggested by some that people tend to compare for similarity amongst taxonomically related items, where as they integrate knowledge about the items when they are thematically linked (Wisniewski Bassok, 1999). Since the brain is responsible for processing both thematic and taxonomic categories then it might depend on the problem (variations in stimuli and task instructions) being faced by the thinker as to what strategy the brain selects to solve the problem. Many cognitive theorists are interested in the mental processes involved in how people organise their knowledge of concepts in order to make efficient use of them in the future. This may be why concepts have been considered by some to be the building blocks of knowledge. Furthermore concepts might become the categories into which our mind classifies perceptions (Lakoff, 1987 [], Lamberts Shanks, 1997 [1]). However concepts in order to belong to a category need to be processed according to related features of the new item (concept) as well as existing concepts within a category. We will write a custom essay sample on What does it mean for items to be thematically linked specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on What does it mean for items to be thematically linked specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on What does it mean for items to be thematically linked specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Therefore an item might be assessed according to associations with other category items. Theorists who are interested is these associations have proposed that items can be assigned to categories by way of thematic links or taxonomic links. In order to understand this view it would seem necessary to clarify the distinctions between thematic and taxonomic relations in an attempt to understand why people might tend to draw upon these different strategies whilst judging whether two or more items are related. But what are the conditions that induce such thematic links to take place? The former question is one that has remained the focus of a great deal of research within the areas of conceptual and categorical research. Until recently it was thought that children predominantly relied upon thematic relations when faced with a sorting task and that adults instead used taxonomic relations when faced with the same task. In particular two influential theorists, Inhelder and Piaget (1964 [3]) used methods like object sorting tasks to investigate conceptual development. Object sorting tasks involve the presentation of an array of objects with differing shape, size, colour and type, of which the participant must sort into coherent groups. Studies varied in the type of objects used and the instructions given to participants for example participants might be instructed to put things that go together or to put things that are alike together. Most frequently it was found that children up until the age of eight years old tended to sort items according to thematic relations. Where as beyond the age of eight similarity and taxonomic category relations tended to be the strategy used for sorting (Markman 1981, 1983 [1]). Since many past studies seemed to highlight that children heavily utilised thematic relations whilst developing categories and organising their knowledge which has also been considered as a judgement error, an important question now remains as to whether adults continue to make judgment errors through their use of thematic relations when making conceptual judgments (Lin, 1996 Markman 1989) and if so then what is the reason why this occurs? Ultimately is it an error at all? This essay intends to clarify some of the prior notions by providing evidence from a number of different studies, which have highlighted that adults do tend to make use of thematic links whilst performing cognitive tasks. To begin with contained within this essay will follow an explanation of what it means for items to be thematically linked. In particular this essay will pay attention to the cognitive task of categorisation, which involves judging whether concepts belong within the same category. Ultimately the work of Lin and Murphy in their series of ten studies will be discussed along side the work of Wisneiwski and Bassok in their series of three studies. Both studies have been chosen in order to highlight two interesting opinions regarding the nature of thematic relations used by adult thinkers. A person whilst performing a cognitive task such as categorisation could use a variety of strategies such as to distinguish an items similarity as a basis for determining whether two or more items belong within the same category. Alternatively a person (adult thinker) could utilize a strategy known as integration (Wisniewski Bassok 1999). Within the idea of integration the categoriser may concentrate on some features as well as ignoring others. For example when categorizing two objects one might pay attention to features like having different yet complementary roles within the same event or scene which is considered necessary for thematic linking whilst ignoring that they do not share a common property which is considered to be useful for linking items taxonomically. Hence a common feature that distinguishes a taxonomic category from a thematic category is that a taxonomy has a hierarchical structure, where as a thematic category does not. This structure contains groups of items of the same kind; therefore the members share a common feature or purpose. In addition to this a taxonomy may have a general subject matter such as natural kinds, artefacts or artificially constructed stimuli and this subject matter might consist of a stable structure of members ranging from specialist (super-ordinate), followed by basic to not so well known (sub-ordinate) examples. However a category might also or instead be thematically related; this knowledge usually becomes evident if a concept is taxonomically unrelated. For instance, when a person considers two or more items such as objects, people and other entities that co-occur or interact together in space and time, they could pay attention to the way in which the two items complement each other within a particular scene or event whilst ignoring whether the items share any common properties through class inclusion in other words taxonomic relations. To illustrate the former point: two items such as, chalk and board could be said to share a thematic relation, as they both tend to be used with a classroom. Where as they do not seem to share a taxonomic relation for instance they are not of the same kind nor do they share any common properties. Wisniewski and Bassok highlighted a similar idea within their paper entitled what makes a man similar to a tie. In line with the prior example it could be argued that a man is not similar to a tie (the items man and tie do not share a taxonomic relation) as a man is a human and a tie is not, a tie is made out of material and a man is not and so on. Thus if one were to consider that a man might wear a tie or that a tie signifies masculinity then based upon that thought one might consider a man similar to a tie through a thematic relation. As mentioned earlier the general assumption within the research on adults use of concepts is that they tend to use taxonomic relations as a way of distinguishing two or more items. It has since been argued that one of the reasons for this might lie within the design of the studies used to test categorisation strategies. Further to this it has also been proposed by Lin and Murphy that older children and adults might not commonly use similarity but might instead utilise thematic relations as a basis for categorisation. Therefore it might be that both adults and children do make use of thematic relations when making conceptual judgements. Could it be that the characteristics of the stimuli being considered by the thinker seem to act as a prerequisite for the process to be used regardless of age? In line with this suggestion is another view provided by Wisniewski and Bassok: Often in daily life people are not given task instructions but rather, processing is determined by properties of the stimuli around them. Therefore Wisniewski and Bassok might argue that when an adult is considering the properties of two or more stimuli they might ask themselves a number of questions like what makes an item similar to another and what sets it apart from another item? For instance a person (adult) when performing th e task of moving house might methodically sort out the things that they are going to take with them in order to make the process of unpacking easier later down the line. The logic applied to this scenario of sorting might differ from person to person depending on the strategy selected at the time by the categoriser. In this example the thinker might assess the items in terms of features like whether they look similar therefore grouping only those items that could be considered as looking the same whilst excluding items with similar uses. Where as another person might assess the items in terms of whether they are used within the same environment. For example knives despite having several uses might go in a box with many other kitchen items, as they tend to be stored within the kitchen environment. Forks might also be packed alongside knives as they too are found within the kitchen and also tend to be used with a knife during the event of eating dinner. Furthermore knives and forks are thematically linked within the event of an eating situation which usually takes place within a kitchen therefore they are not only found but also used within then kitche n. One of the few experiments conducted specifically to look at the issue of whether adults tend to prefer to choose thematically related concepts to form a category even when a taxonomic alternative exists was carried out by Lin and Murphy. In Lin and Murphys series of experiments they used a forced choice category construction tasks to investigate the prior notion. The tasks involved presenting participants with a triad of item names that referred to people, objects and events. At the top of the triangle was the target item, below that were the two other items; one of which was a thematic match and the other the taxonomic match. The participant had to choose which items goes best with the target to form a category. In one example the target item was cat with a taxonomic match of lion and a thematic alternative of litter box. Therefore the participant had to choose whether lion or litter box was the best match to form a category with cat. Lin and Murphy found contra to previous findings that almost twice as many adults within their study preferred to construct thematic categories even with the presence of taxonomic alternatives. In another series of three studies carried out by Wisniewski and Bassok (1999 [3]), the centre of attention was upon the effects of stimulus compatibility in relation to processing. These studies were designed to follow on from the Bassok and Medin (1997 [3]) study. Wisniewski and Bassok (1999 Experiments 1-3 [3]) focused on how well an item matched with another item in relation to the type of process that was selected by the thinker. In the first experiment, which looked at comparison versus integration, Wisniewski and Bassok varied items in four ways for example 1) taxonomically related and thematically related, 2) neither taxonomically nor thematically related, 3) taxonomically related but not thematically related, 4) thematically but not taxonomically related. Participants were instructed either to provide or not to provide a reason as to why they rated the pairs as being similar. They found that stimulus compatibility had an influence on the particular process selected by the thinker whilst performing a similarity judgment exercise. In addition, Wisniewski and Bassok paid particular attention to the processes of integration and comparison by suggesting that easily alignable items (taxonomic) should invoke the process of comparison where as poorly alignable items (thematic) should increase the chance of items being integrated. Furthermore they found contra to prior opinion that task instructions might not be the over-riding factor responsible for inducing the correct process for the thinker to select. The task required the participant either to provide an explanation or not to provide one whilst considering the similarity within pairs of objects. Participants were often found to integrate thematically related items even though they were instructed to compare for similarity. Where as in an additional (Wisniewski Bassok 1999, Experiment 3 [3]) study participants compared taxonomically related items whilst looking for thematic relatedness. Given that adults use of taxonomic categories has received a lot more research compared to thematic usage amongst adults it has thus been assumed that use of taxonomic categories indicates a more powerful and advanced way of thinking (Markman Callanan, 1983 [2]). A gap seems to exist since the same amount of research has not been committed to the study of adults usage of thematic relations. It may be that thematic relations amongst members within a thematic category might provide a basis for the thinker to extend knowledge to other category members. Lin and Murphy subsequently tested this notion in a series of experiments In essence the evidence discussed within this essay seems to highlight firstly that adults do indeed make use of thematic relations not only within an experimental situation but also in everyday life and secondly the need for more research to be carried out into other areas of adults use of thematic relations in particular social situations. As Markman (1981) suggested people tend to spend less time on cataloguing objects whilst trying to generate taxonomies to which objects belong and more time on organising their experiences. Therefore it might seem reasonable to assume that adults who spend time organising their experiences have an increased expertise within the field of relating experiences (scenarios and events) thematically.