Wednesday, October 30, 2019

A Streetcar Named Desire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

A Streetcar Named Desire - Essay Example In fact, she has a feeling that their god background characterized by education, lavish life and foreign language acquisition contrast that of Stanley. He is uneducated, dirty, and she considers his companionship with her only sister inappropriate and unfortunate. Additionally, the desire for companionship by Blanche stems from solitude and excruciating thoughts of being alone range in a hostile world (Page 417). In her quest to enhance her personal attraction and safety, she desperately finds herself seeking protection from the arms of strangers. Her struggle to seek companionship and love that she fondly misses after the tragic death of her husband, Blanche exposes herself to the world of men who would take advantage of her circumstances for self-gratification. Notably, in New Orleans, she finds her brother-in-law Stanley, who is cruel. According to her, there is no cure of harshness and the predatory nature of Stanley (Page 418). With this reality, she is determined to take Stella with her a means of getting a companionship and securing her from the husband that is ruthless and inhumane. Surprisingly, Stella appears happy and satisfied in her marriage, despite the conflicting background between her and the husband, she finds the companionship the best cure to life challenges irrespective of the circumstances. In addition, the director of the play demystifies the theme of loneliness using a susceptible woman, Blanche, who gets attracted to anyone she perceives to share similar or closer background. In addition, the director of the play portrays Blanches companionship desires as the driving force that would see her leave the town to seek what she desires most-companionship. Desire is closely related to solitude, as life reality dawns, Blanche desires towards inner personal conflict and an outward desire for companionship. Loneliness causes her great pains and tribulation that

Monday, October 28, 2019

Personal Mission Statement Essay Example for Free

Personal Mission Statement Essay Section I: My Role in my Education I recently finished a diploma program at Remington College for Medical Billing and Coding in October 2010. I successfully completed 9 months of being on the Dean’s list and had perfect attendance throughout the program. I also received the Distinguished Graduate Award for most outstanding student of the Medical Billing and Coding program. I recently decided to continue my education to obtain my Associate’s Degree in Health Information Technology. I will be finished with my Associate’s program in June 2012. In five years, I plan on working as a manager for a well-established organization. My ultimate goal is to continue my education until I obtain my Master’s Degree so that I can continue moving up the ladder until I am at the top where there is nothing else left to achieve. There are many obstacles in life that could get in the way of accomplishing my goals but I will just share three of the obstacles with you. The first and most important I think would have to be the lack of support. Even though I have moved back in with my parents while I am in school, I get no positive support from them. I really surprised them at graduation back in October for my diploma program when I was announced as the Distinguished Graduate. I am taking this no support from family as positive motivation to prove them all wrong when I obtain my educational goal which is finishing my Associate’s Degree. Another obstacle that could get in my way of achieving my goal would be my mindset or attitude. In the past when I younger and going to college I use to not have the right attitude for school. I was into just having fun and worrying about my grades. Now that I am older and know what I want, I think I have the right attitude to accomplish my educational goal. One of the reasons for my right attitude now is having a son that I didn’t have back in my younger and immature days. Finally, the last obstacle that I could have to face would be the lack of motivation and drive. This one goes hand and hand with the first two obstacles. In the first two obstacles, getting no positive support from my family and having a son now is giving me the motivation and drive I need to accomplish my educational goals. With this said, I think I have the motivation and drive that I need to succeed and overcome any obstacles that get in my way. Section II: Problem Solving for Success Step 1: Research and Define the Problem Using Present State and Desire State In my present state I am currently unemployed and receiving military funding for college through the Montgomery GI Bill. The money that I am receiving through the Montgomery GI Bill is what I am living off of right now. My desired state would be to be working at a job in my field of study to where I can be working my way up to management. I would also like to put more money in savings so that I can have a sizeable amount of savings in case any emergencies came about. Step 2: Determine the Causes of the problem * What- The problem is that I receive no support from my family in accomplishing my educational goals. * Why- This is a problem because when I was younger I never finished what I started except for High School. * Who- My family is the problem because even though I didn’t finish college when I was younger, they should still support me in finishing it now. * Where- The problem is occurring at home because that is where I see my family the most. * When- The problem occurs every day. This sometime causes me to not to want to be at home. I have to let the negativity go in one ear and out the other, and focus on accomplishing my ultimate goal. * How- The problem occurred because of my past non-accomplishments when I was young and immature. Step 3: Generate Solutions by Brainstorming There are several solutions that could be possible in solving the problem. 1. I could market myself in different cities in order to have more employers see my resume. 2. Once I get a job, I can move out and away from the negativity. 3. I can get a part-time job also to help out with expenses once I move back out on my own. At this time I have been only marketing myself with a 50 mile radius from where I live. I am going to start job searching in a 100 mile radius and possible farther out. Right now I will take a job anywhere, no matter where it is at. Based on all of the knowledge that I have learned in this class, I will be able to analyze the situation and use my critical thinking techniques to come up with the best possible solutions to my problem. Once I look at the problem from every angle possible, I can then apply the solutions based on my analysis of my present state and present issue.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Beckett, Brecht and Endgame Essay -- Beckett Endgame Essays

Beckett, Brecht and Endgame      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Irish playwright Samuel Beckett is often classified amongst Absurdist Theatre contemporaries Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Jean Genet, and Eugene Ionesco (Brockett 392-395). However, Endgame, Beckett's second play, relates more closely to the theatrical ideology of German playwright Bertolt Brecht, father of epic theatre and the alienation effect. Through the use of formal stage conventions, theatrical terminology, and allusions to Shakespearean texts within Endgame, Beckett employs Brecht's alienation concept, distancing the audience empathetically from players of the game and instead focusing attention upon the game itself.    Bertolt Brecht, whose final work, Galileo, was last revised three years before Beckett published Endgame, was personally and professionally influenced by Marxist theory and the political events which plagued the middle of this century. According to drama anthologist Oscar G. Brockett, Brecht asserted that theatre must do more than simply entertain the passive spectator; theatre must recognize and incite change. Brecht suggested a system of "productive participation, in which the spectator actively judges and applies what he sees on stage to conditions outside the theatre" (365-366). Brecht's alienation effect was a direct means of evoking this participation-the audience is emotionally distanced from characters to allow objective observation. "The audience should never be allowed to confuse what it sees on the stage with reality. Rather the play must always be thought of as a comment upon life- something to be watched and judged critically" (Brockett 366).    Samuel Beckett distances the audience from his comment on life throug... ...tieth Century Interpretations of Endgame: A Collection of Critical Essays.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1958. Cohn, Ruby. "Endgame." Chevigny 40-52. Easthope, Antony. "Hamm, Clov, and Dramatic Method in Endgame." Chivgny 61-70. Lell, Gordon. "Discussion of Value in Shakespeare's Hamlet" English 401X Lecture. Concordia College. 8 April   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1998. Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Longman, 1997. Shakespeare, William. "The Life of King Henry the Fifth." The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997. Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of King Richard the Third." The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997. Beckett, Brecht and Endgame Essay -- Beckett Endgame Essays Beckett, Brecht and Endgame      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Irish playwright Samuel Beckett is often classified amongst Absurdist Theatre contemporaries Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Jean Genet, and Eugene Ionesco (Brockett 392-395). However, Endgame, Beckett's second play, relates more closely to the theatrical ideology of German playwright Bertolt Brecht, father of epic theatre and the alienation effect. Through the use of formal stage conventions, theatrical terminology, and allusions to Shakespearean texts within Endgame, Beckett employs Brecht's alienation concept, distancing the audience empathetically from players of the game and instead focusing attention upon the game itself.    Bertolt Brecht, whose final work, Galileo, was last revised three years before Beckett published Endgame, was personally and professionally influenced by Marxist theory and the political events which plagued the middle of this century. According to drama anthologist Oscar G. Brockett, Brecht asserted that theatre must do more than simply entertain the passive spectator; theatre must recognize and incite change. Brecht suggested a system of "productive participation, in which the spectator actively judges and applies what he sees on stage to conditions outside the theatre" (365-366). Brecht's alienation effect was a direct means of evoking this participation-the audience is emotionally distanced from characters to allow objective observation. "The audience should never be allowed to confuse what it sees on the stage with reality. Rather the play must always be thought of as a comment upon life- something to be watched and judged critically" (Brockett 366).    Samuel Beckett distances the audience from his comment on life throug... ...tieth Century Interpretations of Endgame: A Collection of Critical Essays.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1958. Cohn, Ruby. "Endgame." Chevigny 40-52. Easthope, Antony. "Hamm, Clov, and Dramatic Method in Endgame." Chivgny 61-70. Lell, Gordon. "Discussion of Value in Shakespeare's Hamlet" English 401X Lecture. Concordia College. 8 April   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1998. Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Longman, 1997. Shakespeare, William. "The Life of King Henry the Fifth." The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997. Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of King Richard the Third." The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Starbucks Solvency Case

STARBUCK’S ASSIGNMENT Question 2 Short-term liquidity: Starbuck’s current ratio has increased from 1. 29 to 1. 83 between 2009 and 2011. At the same time its quick ratio has also increased to a healthy 1. 36 percent in 2011. It is clear that current liabilities are decreasing at a faster rate than current assets. Thus the company’s ability to meet its obligations in the short-term should not be a problem. Starbucks’ liquidity looks healthy going forward as it has a healthy receivables turnover at 33. 95 in 2011, whilst the average collection period is at 10. 75.Long-term Solvency: The debt to equity ratio dropped from 2010 levels where it was at 0. 74 to 0. 68 in 2011 which means that there has been a reduction in financial risk and an improvement in solvency. This may largely be explained by the increase in retained earnings. The interest coverage is between 4 and 5 times meaning that Starbucks is not at any high risk of default on its debt obligations. T hus the risk of insolvency is highly mitigated. Profitability: The return on equity (ROE) for Starbuck’s has improved greatly from 14. 12% in 2009 to 30. 91% in 2011.The return on assets (ROA) has followed a similar trend growing from 9. 99% in 2009 to 25. 15% in 2011. This suggests that for any potential investors Starbuck’s is a lucrative proposition at least to the extent that past performance is a reliable predictor of future performance. P-E Ratios: Given its size Starbuck’s is not likely to see any extraordinary growth and as such a P-E ratio of 23. 65 in 2011 is reasonable even though it shows a drop from 2009 levels. Of an interest is the fact that over the same period Starbucks EPS have actually grown by up to 200% from 0. 53 to 1. 66.It is clear that investors do not expect any rapid growth in the company’s net income but rather more stable growth. Question 3 With regard to short-term liquidity it is clear that Starbuck’s is doing better than the industry where the current ratio averages out at about 0. 7 and the quick ratio at about 0. 3. Insofar as solvency is concerned Starbuck’s also does better than the industry where debt-equity ratios have reached peaks of 128. 075, whilst industry interest coverage averages out at about 1 or 2 times. Thus Starbuck’s is more solvent than a lot of its peers in the industry.Starbuck’s is also more profitable than the industry where both ROE and ROA average below 20%. Starbucks’ P-E ratio of 23. 65 in 2011 shows that the market expects Starbucks to grow its net income faster than the industry average growth rate which is given by an industry P-E ratio that averages out at about 16. Question 4 Up until 2008 Starbucks registered stable growth, growing its ROE from 14. 10% in 2003 to 29. 81% in 2007. During this same period the return on sales number remained steady around 7%. However it’s ROE plummeted in 2008 to 13. 21%, only recovering in 2010 and peaking at 30. 1% in 2011. At the same time its return on sales dropped to a record 3% in 2008. The drop in 2008-2009 is partly explained by the economic downturn of 2008. Starbucks situation was certainly not helped by the fact that it had a liquidity problem that had persisted since 2005 with quick and current ratios below 1. 0. Starbucks has since seen its short-term liquidity improve with its quick and current ratios recovering in 2010 and 2011 to levels above 1. 0. Improved liquidity has also come with improved profitability with the return on sales number peaking at 10. 65% in 2011.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

America Essay

It has been taught in American schools that the war fought in order to stop slavery and that the American South did the right thing by seceding from the Union because of its support in slavery. Subsequently, the Civil war was a result of the Founding Fathers’ failure to address the institution of slavery in a republic that proclaimed in its Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal. Nonetheless, the necessity of the war has been questioned because the four-war to abolish slavery ravaged the country and destroyed nearly half of the American people. Among the countries that practiced slavery, only America and Haiti freed their slaves by war. The rest were freed peacefully. Hence, it can be concluded that the South could have gained its independence without the war. The rising alone of keeping and posting guards on the constantly escaping slaves would have resulted in the gradual decline for the demand of slaves. The absence of a fugitive slave laws in other states that would force the return of the slaves to their owners has added to the decreasing value of the slaves. As such the institution would have been unsustainable regardless of the moral and humanitarian perspectives. On the other hand, the American North would still have achieved its goals without resorting to war. Apparently, the North slaughtered a large number of American young men in the battles against the South. Nonetheless, it is evident that the South posed no military threat to the North. Its aim of preserving the Union was considered as not a compelling reason to continue the war. The North wanted to keep the Union intact solely on the basis of economy and fiscal matter. Since the principal source of tax revenue for the federal government before the Civil war was a tariff on imports, they needed to keep these tariffs in which the federal government accounted its federal budget. The North did not need to take the bait by Lincoln who dispatched southerners to forestall the supplies for Fort Sumter. Hence, its attack on the South could have been prevented had not depended on the Union being intact and the economic advantages it provided them.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Chopra essays

Chopra essays Ones background is usually associated with an individuals identity in a society. A society of individuals belonging to different cultural/ethnic backgrounds helps diversify and enrich ones community as people belonging to different faiths and beliefs come together on a common platform to share their knowledge and to apply it to make progress in various spheres of life.America coined as the land of opportunity is a typical example of one such society , where people belonging to all parts of the world come to find their piece of the pie I originally belong to India , a country diversified with numerous cultures , faiths , religions and tradition. India, although not based on such a stable economic Infrastructure as the USA , still has a lot to offer , primarily being its diversity in various cultures , numerous traditions and its society that holds together people from different religions e.g. Hindu , Muslim , Sikh , Christian. India has a rich traditional background which is respected by millions around the globe, who find this feature in ones society quite remarkable , especially in this age of high tension living where people are so caught up with their personal lives , being hard pressed on time even for their kids, that issues like culture , tradition and moral values have no space in their busy schedule. India was ruled by the British empire for nearly 200 years. The English came to India with the sole purpose of plundering its wealth. Known as the golden eagle India was robbed of many of its resources, but there are things that the British could not strip from us, things that allow us to identify ourselves as unique in this world ;...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Carthage essays

Carthage essays Carthage is an ancient city in the Mediterranean that was under Roman Rule and Christianity was spreading past; it had a vast history and many wars with Rome. It is located on the north shore of Africa at the tip of a peninsula near the city that is now known as Tunis, Tunisia. Phoenician seamen as a trade and shipping outpost founded Carthage. Its harbor location in the Mediterranean Sea gave it advantages for both defense and trade. The city, whose name means "new city," thrived on commerce and its people engaged in trade throughout the region. At the peak of its power around mid- 200 B.C., the city controlled a large commercial empire along the Mediterranean coast. Eventually, the citys conflict with Rome over control of the Mediterranean Sea led to its destruction and it was subsequently taken over by the Roman Empire. (Moulton 113) There are about 1,200 inscriptions that have been found in Northern Africa employing the Libyan language. The writing was consonantal and it reflected the dialects of the period. Many ancient classical authors, including Homer, provided information relative to the origin of the Phoenician people who founded Carthage. The writings talk of the Phoenicians maritime adventures, their contacts with other Mediterranean people, and to their economy, religion, language, writing, and arts. There is distortion in the, information, however, and it is up to the historian to use it with caution. (Khader 87-89) Carthage was founded in 814 B.C. by the Phoenicians from the city of Tyre in the Eastern Mediterranean. (Moulton 113) Dido was believed to be the legendary founder and queen of Carthage. The city was known to its Punic or Phoenician inhabitants as the "new city," probably to distinguish it from Utica, which was the "old city." (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2001) Carthage remained a Phoenician colony until the 600s B.C. when it gained its independence. When it gained its independence, ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How Is the New SAT Scored

How Is the New SAT Scored SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The scoring model on the new SAT differs significantly from the scoring model that was used on the old version of the test. It's important to be aware of these changes so that you can plan your studying and test-taking strategies accordingly. In this article, I'll go through all the scoring differences that have taken place for the new SAT and what they mean for you as a student. Main Scoring Differences The biggest change in the new SAT scoring structure is that it uses a 1600 point scale instead of a 2400 point scale.The Math section is still worth 800 points.The Reading and Writing sections together are called â€Å"Evidence-Based Reading and Writing† and account for the other 800 points.The essay is optional and scored separately from the multiple choice portions of the test (your essay scoredoesn't affectyour Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score). Another difference in the scoring methodology isthe elimination of point deductions for wrong answers.On the old SAT, you were docked a quarter of a point for every question you answered incorrectly.The SAT is now more like the ACT in that incorrect answers are treated the same as questions that were left blank (no points added or subtracted). There are alsofour answer choices for each question now rather than five. What Does This Mean for You? Since there’s no guessing penalty, you don’t have to worry about whether you should guess or leave a question blank on the test.Guessing is always the right choice! This doesn’t necessarily mean that it's easier to get a higher score since the test is curved to account for these changes. However, it does take some of the stress out of the testing process. The switch to a 1600 scale shouldn’t impact you unless you’re trying to compare your scores out of 2400 on the old SAT to scores on the new version.This may be a concern if you want to know how much you’ll need to improve to get a score on the new SAT that’s equivalent to your goal score on the old SAT. Here's a chart thatwill help you convert your current or older scores to their equivalent numbers on the new SAT. However, keep in mind that the latest scoring model gives more weight to Math score. On the old SAT, Math only made up one-third of your total score. On the new SAT, it makes up half. This could mean that students who are especially strong in Math will do better on the new SAT by 50 or so points. If you scored an 800 on Math and a 650 on both Reading and Writing on the old SAT, you would have a composite score of 2100. Assuming you continued to stay at the same level upon taking the new SAT, an 800 in Math and a 650 on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section would give you a 1450. This score is 50 points higher than the 1400 you would predict for yourself if you multiplied 2100 by two-thirds for a direct conversion to the new scale. Most colleges will accept scores from both the current SAT and the new SAT for at least a couple of years. The College Board will provide colleges with concordance tables to help them judge and compare scores across the two different tests. Also,score choiceis still an option, so you don’t have to worry about that changing with the updated test. Lock up your bad SAT score in a safe hidden behind a nondescript painting in your rich old uncle's mansion. No one will ever know about it unless he dies and you and your cousins have to spend a spooky night locked in his house (and his will stipulates that you have to disclose your deepest, darkest secrets to each other in order to get a piece of the inheritance). New SAT Subscores The new SAT also includes a complex scoring structure beyond the main section scores.There aretest scores for Math, Reading, and Writing, each on a scale of 10-40. Also, the new SAT hastwo special categories of questions, Analysis in History/Social Sciences and Analysis in Science.These are also scored on a scale of 10-40.These scores are called â€Å"cross-test scores† because each of the categories cover questions in all three sections of the test. Additionally, there areseven subscores, each on a scale of 1-15, for the following categories: Command of Evidence (Reading and Writing) Words in Context (Reading and Writing) Expression of Ideas (Writing) Standard English Conventions (Writing) Heart of Algebra (Math) Problem Solving and Data Analysis (Math) Passport to Advanced Math (Math) Here's a breakdown of the different subscores in this graphic taken from the Khan Academy website: This means that each question on the test fits into multiple subscore categories. Take, for example, this question from the Reading section of one of the new SAT practice tests: The graph following the passage offers evidence that gift-givers base their predictions of how much a gift will be appreciated on A) the appreciation level of the gift-recipients. B) the monetary value of the gift. C) their own desires for the gifts they purchase. D) their relationship with the gift-recipients. This question would naturally be included in the subscore for the Reading test.It would also be included in the Analysis in History/Social Sciences cross-test score: since it deals with the interpretation of a graph that contains data about a sociological phenomenon, it requires you to think analytically in a social sciences context. It would not be a part of the Command of Evidence or Words in Context Reading subscores because it doesn't ask you to provide evidence for your answer to a previous question or demonstrate your understanding of the meaning of a word in the passage. What a thoughtful gift! I definitely won't throw these away in the next trash can I happen to see! Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! What Does This Mean for You? The new subscores mean more information about your strengths and weaknesses on the test.These scores help highlight your specific strengths for colleges and also provide guidance on where you can improve your skills.College Board has partnered up with Khan Academy to offer afree prep program for the new SAT that personalizesyour prep plan based on your subscore distribution to help you focus on improving your specific weak areas. The subscores also point to new question types on the current SAT.Notice that â€Å"Command of Evidence† is a subscore category for Reading questions.Questions that ask you to cite evidence for your answers are now a major component of the Reading section.These questions ask which lines of the passage provide the best evidence for the answer to the previous question, pushing you to understand the reasoning behind your response.This can be a plus in that it might eliminate silly mistakes on some reading questions, but it also adds a challenging new layer of analysis. â€Å"Words in Context† is also a telling category; understanding vocabulary in context is now a bigger part of the Reading section.The elimination of sentence completion questionsmeans that there are more vocabulary in context questions.These focus less on obscure vocabulary and more on understanding nuances in the meanings of more commonly used words. The existence of â€Å"Problem Solving and Data Analysis†, along with the two cross-test analytical scores, means that there arequestions that ask you to interpret data and apply mathematical and logical reasoning to real-life scenarios. Essay Scores On the current SAT, the essay is optional, and its format has also been updated.Rather than asking you to write about your opinion on a general question, the essay prompt asks you to read a passage and analyze the argument that is presented.The College Board says that the new essay is â€Å"a lot like a typical college writing assignment in which you’re asked to analyze a text.† The essay is scored from 2-8 across three different dimensions: Reading, Analysis, and Writing.The essays are still read by two graders, but now each grader scores the essay on a scale of 1-4 in Reading, Analysis, and Writing. These scores are then added together for a score from 2-8 in each category. This means the maximum essay score is a 24, and the minimum is a 6. Here'sa rubric that explains exactly how these scores are determined.Essentially, the difference between an "advanced" essay and a merely "proficient" essay is the level of understanding of the source text that the student demonstrates. An advanced essay shows a thorough comprehension of how details in the text interrelate to support the author's argument. It goes beyond a basic summary of the author's points to give an insightful, focused analysis of the argument. You really should be able to use a magnifying glass on the essay. From what I've seen on Google images, analysis can't happen without one. What Does This Mean for You? The College Board has created a new essay format in which students must demonstrate analytical skills that are critical for success in college.On the new essay, you’re asked to explain how the author builds his or her argument in the passage and support your points with relevant evidence and details.Asking students to write an essay about another person’s argument is a better way of judging reading and writing skills than asking them to write an opinion piece. Whether or not you end up in a humanities discipline in college, you’ll probably write a research paper or at least analyze other people’s scientific or historical findings at some point.An ability to understand and synthesize key points in an argument made by someone else is crucial for intellectual discourse.The text for the prompt on the new SAT is always taken from a published work, so it is high quality, advanced material similar to what you might see in a college course. You now have 50 minutes to write the essay instead of 25, so you might not be as concerned about time pressure.Remember that you have the option of taking the SAT without the essay, which can eliminate a lot of stress from the testing process. However, many schools, especially the most selective ones, still require applicants to submit essay scores. Check the requirements for schools that interest you! Conclusion The SAT now has an updated scoring model to account for changes in question types and testing methodology.The main difference between the old scoring format and the current format isthe switch back to a 1600 point scale. You can no longer lose points for incorrect answers, and there are four answer choices for each question rather than five. The SAT has also addedsubscores that give you a more detailed picture of your strengths and weaknesses on the test along with a greater degree of personalized support and prep advice through a partnership with Khan Academy. The essay is optional. It also has a more complex scoring system that judges a student’s ability to read an advanced text effectively, analyze the author’s argument, and write coherently about the author's main points. There have been some major changes to the format the SAT, but if you start preparing now, you'll be ready to take on these new challenges in no time! What's Next? Now that you know how the new SAT is scored, you might be wondering if it's the best standardized test option for you. Read this article on whether you should take the new SAT or the ACT. Take a look at this article for some tips on how to study for the updated version of the SAT.You should also read our complete guide to the new SAT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Samantha Lindsay About the Author Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar. Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Get FREE EXCLUSIVE insider tips on how to ACE THE SAT/ACT. 100% Privacy. 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Saturday, October 19, 2019

Political-economic ideologies, the nonprofit sector, the American Essay

Political-economic ideologies, the nonprofit sector, the American welfare state in the USA, and policy prescriptions for p - Essay Example Thus, at some point, the complex battle of these political parties complicates the deliberation and implementation of certain social and economic policies on the practical grounds. In this paper, analysis of the three major political positions will be discussed; namely, the left, the right, and the centrist movements. In here, we can see how the political spectrum affects the government, the private sector, and the non-profit organizations in the society as they try to give solutions to the problems of poverty and social welfare. The Right Conservatism, liberalism, libertarianism and nationalism are the common terms associated with rightist movement. The right usually pertains to the Republicans in the United States as influenced by Nixon, Raegan, Goldwater, Gingrich, Mc Carthy and many others (Bell xii). The origin of this movement can be drawn back from the ideas of aristocracy and monarchism. In this perspective, the preservation of control in the government usually takes over the policies for economic and political strategies (Bell 56). Basically, the rightist position in economic policies gives more focus on the ‘free-market’ system (Bell 463) which consequently supported the growth of capitalism in the community.

Week 10 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Week 10 - Assignment Example Urinary tract infections are the most common illnesses among children. The condition causes distress to the child owing to the negative symptoms. If not treated, urinary tract infections can result to permanent kidney damage (Fisher et al., 2015). Normally, urinary tract infections develop when the pathogens present in the urine, and those which have colonized the periurethral region ascend into the bladder through the urethra. From the bladder, the pathogens can spread further up into the kidneys and sometimes into the bloodstream. Some of the factors that may facilitate entry of bacteria into the bladder include voiding dysfunction, catheterization, sexual intercourse and genital manipulation (Fisher et al., 2015). Poor hygiene can also predispose one to urinary tract infections. Based on the case study, the patient may be having the recurrent infections due to poor hygiene. She uses the same bedroom with her younger siblings, and hygiene may be questionable in such a situation. More information should be gathered on her sexual experiences to determine if she was molested or sexually abused. The fact that she has had three consequent infections in the past six months also raises the need to investigate the situation further. The recurrent infection may also point to mis-diagnosis by the health professionals who previously evaluated her. As a result, she will be required to present documentation on her past illness to enable the physicians determine the correct plan of action. Also, it has been shown that uropathogenic Escherichia coli is linked to recurrent and persistent urinary tract infections (Tapiainen et al., 2011). Lab tests: Urine samples will be required for lab testing to determine the pathogen causing the infection, and the appropriate choice of medication. Escherichia coli is a causative agent, accounting for a large majority of urinary tract infections in children (Albert et

Friday, October 18, 2019

Communication Satisfaction in the Virtual Workplace Coursework

Communication Satisfaction in the Virtual Workplace - Coursework Example Such innovations are capable of engaging, encouraging and supporting employees in their commitment to duty, which ultimately improves performance. By facilitating different approaches towards employees, innovations in employee benefits help the organization improve its overall competitive compensation strategy by enabling it to present itself uniquely from other organizations. Organizations can tie innovative benefits to specific jobs by primarily considering factors such as what the job description of each group of employees entails. Age is also a critical factor. This stems from the understanding that a certain innovative plan may be significant to one group and meaningless to another. For instance, fitness group membership would not be considered as a priority for field officers who traverse the width of the state while on duty as it would be for those who spend long hours behind computers. Similarly, young adults below 30 would consider mortgages and car loans or grants to be more significant than healthcare or retirement packages while in contrast, the elderly and less active would be tied to retirement benefits (Swanberg, McKechnie, & James, 2011). Critically assessing the effectiveness of equity-based versus creative-approach reward systems reveals that they both depend on an organization’s communication strategy as well as employees’ personal perceptions. Employees have a right to equity-based rewards since it is basically what they enter into a contract with employers to earn. The effectiveness of equity-based rewards is reflected in the manner in which they incorporate the interests of shareholders, organizations, and employees (Worldatwork, 2010). The key objectives of equity-based rewards include obtaining tax advantages and conserving resources while motivating optimum performance by employees.  

Territorial Disagreements between the Jewish People and the Research Paper

Territorial Disagreements between the Jewish People and the Palestinian Arabs - Research Paper Example According to this Declaration, the British government supported the Zionist movement which demanded territory in Palestine exclusively for the Jews. This territory would provide all the legal and civil rights to the Jews. With the Balfour Declaration, the British government established a national home for the Jews without violating the rights of the existing non-Jews in Palestine or the rights of the Jews in any other country (Gelvin, 2005). Both the communities asserted their legal claim on Palestine. While the Jews demanded that they have historical rights over the territory, the Arabs have claimed that they have inhabited Palestine for many centuries (Khater, 2010, p.143). It is only political stubbornness that is causing hindrance to peace between the Israelis and the Arabs. There has been already a proposal that dictates that the two sides should accept the division of the territory into two states. This proposal has been advocated globally, and even by the majority of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians. It now remains that the leaders on both sides come to a common agreement. Even though proposals from both sides are very close, still the current Israeli Prime Minister shows no sign of relent claiming that the conflict cannot be solved (Hill, 2012). As another possible solution there can be a one-state solution by which Jews and Arabs will stay together with common political and social rights. However, seeing the murderous hatred between them even this cannot be a viable solution as this can only probably cause another holocaust. The impact of World War I can be long-lasting in the Middle Eastern region.  

Thursday, October 17, 2019

'Employees cannot be motivated with money' Discuss Essay

'Employees cannot be motivated with money' Discuss - Essay Example from GE since as a company it has been focused on HR and committed to its employees in many ways which go beyond the norms of motivation as compared to other companies. It has an innovative way of rewarding employees who uphold the values considered important by GE and this has given the company the respect and admiration of many business gurus (Demos, 2006). While the rewards for working at GE are many, the reward selection process uses a ranking system that connects with both the process and content theories by punishes those employees who do perform up to the expected level. The overall effect of GE’s motivation techniques has been very positive and is well regarded by industry experts therefore it becomes a good example for matching with the theories of motivation. A theory based on content considers the idea that individuals are motivated by inner desires to fulfil their needs and such fulfilment can come from their work if the work they do is able to combine the rewards for working with their desires. The primary work in this branch of motivation comes form Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which includes five levels including the basic needs of nourishment, second order needs for safety and security, third order needs for social affiliations, fourth order needs for esteem and fifth order needs for self-actualization of the individual. Clearly while the first, second and third order needs might be fulfilled by having enough money, fourth and fifth order needs might not be obtainable just by getting a salary alone. GE is one company that recognises this and uses a peer recognition system called QuickThanks! to show appreciation of the work done by one member of the company to another. Kerr (1996) gives an inside view of what happens at GE where this program is used for increasing the level of motivation of employees. Broadly speaking, this system allows employees to nominate other employees (even across departments) with a $25 gift certificate for certain

Information system Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Information system - Article Example Procedure / Research Business Need: The labour cost control is used to control the situation of overstaffing of breakfast service, and thus can reduce the unnecessary labour expenses of the fine dining restaurant to the accepted budget range, with better using of resources for providing high-quality customer services with efficiency (James, 2003). Functionality: The functionality of the system should have is listed below: Identify the staff mix of morning shift in required number according to the occupancy of the day Defining hourly pay of staff and supervisors Budgeting the staff cost of breakfast service weekly Expected Value: We expect the project can decrease the labour cost of the fine dining restaurant which is led by the overstaffing of breakfast service, due to the ineffective way of rostering. On the other hand, improve customer satisfaction for reducing the complaints about the service inefficiency. Tangible: Reduce the annual total labour cost by 5% Reduce the yearly customer complaints calls by 10% Intangible: Improve staff efficiency Improve customer satisfaction Special Issues or Constraints: F&B manager mandates deadline for 31st May next year The system needed to be in place for the next financial year Technical feasibility Although some risks are presented, the Labour Cost Control System is considered to be technical feasible. The System's risk based on familiarity with application is medium: Microsoft Office such as Words and spreadsheets are commonly used in each department; and management staff had all trained to ensure their competency level of skills and knowledge IT department also has rich experience and knowledge in the utilisation of Microsoft Office and other relevant softwares However, many choices of... The first section is staged at gathering requirements and modelling the system in accordance to it. The design issues are handled in this stage which allows deeper penetration into the system for understanding the business process flows (Boehm, 2001). The labour cost control is used to control the situation of overstaffing of breakfast service, and thus can reduce the unnecessary labour expenses of the fine dining restaurant to the accepted budget range, with better using of resources for providing high-quality customer services with efficiency (James, 2003). We expect the project can decrease the labour cost of the fine dining restaurant which is led by the overstaffing of breakfast service, due to the ineffective way of rostering. On the other hand, improve customer satisfaction for reducing the complaints about the service inefficiency. From the organisational point of view, the project is considered to be low risk and expected to have high investment return (ROI - 182.30%). The project's objective focuses on reducing the labour expenses of the restaurant through breakfast service.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

'Employees cannot be motivated with money' Discuss Essay

'Employees cannot be motivated with money' Discuss - Essay Example from GE since as a company it has been focused on HR and committed to its employees in many ways which go beyond the norms of motivation as compared to other companies. It has an innovative way of rewarding employees who uphold the values considered important by GE and this has given the company the respect and admiration of many business gurus (Demos, 2006). While the rewards for working at GE are many, the reward selection process uses a ranking system that connects with both the process and content theories by punishes those employees who do perform up to the expected level. The overall effect of GE’s motivation techniques has been very positive and is well regarded by industry experts therefore it becomes a good example for matching with the theories of motivation. A theory based on content considers the idea that individuals are motivated by inner desires to fulfil their needs and such fulfilment can come from their work if the work they do is able to combine the rewards for working with their desires. The primary work in this branch of motivation comes form Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which includes five levels including the basic needs of nourishment, second order needs for safety and security, third order needs for social affiliations, fourth order needs for esteem and fifth order needs for self-actualization of the individual. Clearly while the first, second and third order needs might be fulfilled by having enough money, fourth and fifth order needs might not be obtainable just by getting a salary alone. GE is one company that recognises this and uses a peer recognition system called QuickThanks! to show appreciation of the work done by one member of the company to another. Kerr (1996) gives an inside view of what happens at GE where this program is used for increasing the level of motivation of employees. Broadly speaking, this system allows employees to nominate other employees (even across departments) with a $25 gift certificate for certain

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

'Descartes' account of what is necessary and what is sufficient for Essay

'Descartes' account of what is necessary and what is sufficient for knowledge does not make sense'. Explain and critically discuss - Essay Example In developing these ideas, Descartes wrote several books regarding the nature of existence and knowledge, providing us with plenty of material to study and has had tremendous influence on those who have come after him. One of his most often quoted statements is â€Å"I think, therefore I am† which was published in his book entitled â€Å"Discourse on Method,† which was first published in 1637. By studying the writings that led up to this concept as expressed in â€Å"Discourse on Method† and comparing them with further attempts to refine this idea within â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy,† one begins to conclude that Descartes’ account of what is necessary and what is sufficient for knowledge does not make sense. This simple-sounding statement of â€Å"I think, therefore I am† is the result of a discourse in which Descartes calls into question all of the assumptions he’s come to know as a result of the philosophical thought of his day. â€Å"I had long before remarked that †¦ it is sometimes necessary to adopt, as if above doubt, opinions which we discern to be highly uncertain† (Descartes, 2001). To seek a higher version of the truth, Descartes felt it was necessary to question every assumption that had even the shadow of a doubt. Through this questioning process, he demonstrates how thought, not observation is really the right foundation for knowledge. â€Å"When I considered that the very same thoughts (presentations) which we experience when awake may also be experienced when we are asleep, while there is at that time not one of them true, I supposed that all the objects (presentations) that had ever entered into my mind when awake, had in them no more truth th an the illusions of my dreams† (Descartes, 2001). His idea of discovering truths about the world was defined by whether he had a clear and distinct perception of them and that was sufficient for knowledge. However, the idea that knowledge can be defined by a â€Å"clear and

Monday, October 14, 2019

Asian Stereotypes Essay Example for Free

Asian Stereotypes Essay Stereotypes are everywhere in todays society. The media today such as television, radio, and the internet constantly remind us of the stereotypes for different races, genders, religions, and numerous other categories. Stereotypes of Asians in particular have been around for a fairly decent length of time. In the late 19th century, the term Chinky Chink was used to describe the American fear that a large number of Asians would immigrate to the United States. Americans were afraid that the Asian immigrants would invade the country and take jobs away from Americans. At this time, many anti-Asian feelings were expressed, especially on the West Coast, through headlines such as The Yellow Peril' (Los Angeles Times, 1886). In 1924, the Immigration Act was passed, limiting the number of Asians allowed into the United States because by then they were considered an undesirable race. Racism back then eventually evolved into the stereotype ingrained in todays society. One of the more common Asian stereotypes in our world specifically pertains to East Asians. East Asia as a phrase usually refers to the countries of China and Japan, as the main countries subject to stereotyping. Generally, Asians are portrayed as being smart in subjects such as math or science, hardworking, politically ignorant, and very polite and inoffensive. They are also portrayed as having no peripheral vision, which supposedly leads to bad driving. Common stereotypes are martial artists, geeks, and foreigners. Being foreigners, Asians are attributed to speaking poor English and replacing the letters -l and -r with each other. Muttering random nonsense and using words that rhyme on -ng sounds like ching, chang chong is another depiction commonly associated with Asians. Asians in America are considered to be inadaptable, inherently fixed in their own culture and unable to become truly American. A common stereotype for Asian parents is that they only care about their childrens grades and academic future. They dont allow their kids to go out with their friends, as parents of other ethnicities are wont to do. Instead, sons and daughters of Asian parents are told to stay home, study hard, get into a good prestigious college, and live life with a high-paying, high-status job. Old Chinese and Japanese people are described as being extremely wise with long beards, the image drawn from the Chinese philosopher Confucius. East Asian food is stereotyped as well, the most well-known Chinese food among Westerns being egg rolls, chow mein, and chow fun, and fortune cookies. Surprisingly enough, most of the Chinese food Westerns love to eat is almost 100% a Western adaptation of the original. The fortune cookie we know today was invented in America, not China as most ignorant people believe. Asian stereotypes based on physical appearances also exist. During World War II, efforts were made to distinguish enemy Japanese from friendly Chinese simply through physical appearance therefore leading to further stereotyping and the attribution of physical traits to each group. Such stereotypes include slanted eyes for slits. In the past, Asian men in particular have been thought to be fairly feminine. The main reason for this stereotype lies in the fact that Asians used to do what was considered womens work. These Asian workers were, as a whole, shorter than the average American man, sported long braids, and sometimes wore long silk gowns. Chinese men were seen as an economic threat to the white workforce so laws were passed that prevented the Chinese from working in many different industries. Due to those laws, Asians were forced to do what was deemed womens work by the society at the time. In the media, Asian men were often compared to white women. Two important fictional Asian characters in Americas cultural history are Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan. Both were created by white authors Sax Rohmer and Earl Biggers in the early 1900s. Fu Manchu is an intelligent, evil Chinese murderer with plots of world domination. He is the picture of Americas imagination of a supposedly mysterious and threatening Asian race. On the other hand, Charlie Chan is a submissive Chinese detective who solves cases while politely accepting or ignoring the numerous racist insults thrown at him by the white American characters. Charlie is the picture of Americas view of a good Asian. Both characters found huge popularity in many novels and views. Through these two characters invented by white Americans however, the American consciousness has been disillusioned with these stereotypes of Asians. As Asian men have stereotypes, Asian women also have stereotypes created mainly through the minds of perverted Americans. Asian women have been described as aggressive sexual beings. Western culture has promoted stereotypes of Asian women, calling them Dragon Ladies, China dolls, and Geisha girls. According to UC Berkeley Professor of Asian American Studies Elaine Kim, this stereotype of Asian women being submissive sex objects impedes their economic flexibility and has caused the increase in demand of ethnic pornography. Stereotypical portrayals of Asian women created by sexist white men continue to be a presence in movies despite their now disguised form. Researchers have theorized that the common stereotypes today could possibly be influencing the perception of Asians ability and probability of earning managerial positions. The stereotypes involving Asians as nerds, submissive, and quiet leads to the mindset that Asians are a good labor source. Therefore, this leads to the expectation that Asians are incompetent leaders. Because our society today values individuality, Asians find it extremely hard to fit in with these expectations, due to their original values of close families and groups. This stereotype has sometimes led to Asian employees being taken advantage of and lowers the likelihood for Asian professionals to be considered for a management position. Asians are supposedly highly qualified scientists and engineers, but lacking characteristics for leadership positions. Among all other racial groups, Asians have the least chance of advancing into leadership positions. A pattern has been created of education helping entry into professional fields, over-representation in technical fields, but under-representation in executive positions. The stereotype that Asian students are geniuses prevents them from accepting academic and emotional problems and asking for help. Whether they are excelling or having problems, it is imperative to acknowledge that Asian students may be experiencing school, social, and family stresses in order to uphold their model Asian image. Stereotyping Asians increases peer discrimination such as being threatened, having racist comments said to them, and being excluded from activities. By only focusing on the Asian stereotype of exceptional students and generalizing all Asians with it, this model does not take into consideration the large number of Asian American students and their families who suffer from poverty and illiteracy. WORKS CITED Chen, Tina T. Asian American Empowerment. Model Minority. May 2004. Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University. 15 Dec. 2008 . Kim, Angelea, and Christine J. Yeh. Stereotypes of Asian American Students. ERIC Digest. 15 Dec. 2008 . Stereotype: East Asian stereotypes. Wikipedia. 14 Dec. 2008 . Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians in the United States. Wikipedia. 14 Dec. 2008 . ? Response By doing this project, I have learned much about stereotypes and essentially racism against Asians. Prior to doing this project, I had already known some stereotypes, even some which were used on me. Among some of those I knew are Asians as smart students, Asian parents as very academic focused, and Asians that have poor English and driving. In reality, I had planned on writing a research paper on stereotypes in general, but there probably wouldve been too many aspects to cover. Therefore, I decided to choose a single stereotype, which was the East Asian stereotype. Through researching, I have learned many different stereotypes for Asians. For example, I now know different stereotypes pertaining to Asian men as well as Asian women. While writing my research paper, I was rather surprised at the number of stereotypes I was unaware of. On the other hand, I already knew some of the stereotypes mentioned. It was just a matter of taking some of the stereotypes in my own life to add details to the stereotypes I found online. By the time I finished researching and writing my paper, I felt like I knew tons more about Asian stereotypes than I had before. It was a bit saddening to see how many completely wrong conceptions there are today of Asians. Although I am Asian myself, I do not find any offense in any of these stereotypes for I know that they are not true. They may apply to a majority of the Asian American population, but I rest in the knowledge that I can be an exception to the stereotypes set by todays society.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Inquest :: essays research papers

Credibility and Conflict in Lem’s â€Å"The Inquest† â€Å"The year is 2029, and machines will convince us that they are conscious and that they have their own agenda worthy of our respect. They will embody human qualities; claim to be human†¦and we’ll believe them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - Ray Kurzweil Perhaps Kurzweil slipped up when he put a date in his prediction. Perhaps he intended it to be more of a challenge than a guess. Ultimately, it separates the theorists, like Kurzweil, from the storytellers, like Stanislaw Lem. Lem’s â€Å"The Inquest† takes a glimpse into the future to show readers what it may look like some day. He uses a futuristic setting to examine the possible role of machines in our daily lives. Conflict, credulity and human nature are at the forefront of this story, all of which allude to deeper meaning in today’s world. The level of robotics and AI in Lem’s â€Å"The Inquest† is not farfetched. That is to say, the story is not unconvincing, but simply exaggerated for our time. Though the events are assumed to be taking place in the future, Lem references no time period and forces the reader to blindly suspend disbelief. The premise of the story revolves around this fact, and gives the story its body as a work of science fiction. The most relevant instance of computer exaggeration is in the supporting characters we meet: the non-linear officers of the Goliath. The main character, Commander Pirx, is known to be human, and must command a mixed group of humans and robots, not knowing the true identity of each. Here we have the story’s biggest assumption about AI in the future; that robotics and AI will be indistinguishable from human abilities and intelligence. This colossal inference about computer technology is only acceptable to the reader when coupled with the lack of a given time period. Pirx is asked to command these two groups on a routine space mission, all the while making inference on their actions and interactions during a variety of real world tests. He is then to make a formal report to the creators of these machines to be used as a formal test result. The fact that Pirx cannot immediately distinguish between the humans and the robots implies that all the machines have passed the Turing test. Though this story is set in the future, this test is a standard by which we judge the intelligence of machines today, and gives us some insight on the level of AI that Lem implies.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Desire in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick Essay -- Moby Dick Essays

Desire in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick Moby-Dick describes the metamorphosis of character resulting from the archetypal night sea journey, a harrowing account of a withdrawal and a return. Thus Ishmael, the lone survivor of the Pequod disaster, requires three decades of voracious reading, spiritual meditation, and philosophical reflection before recounting his adventures aboard the ill-fated ship.1 His tale is astounding. With Lewis Mumford’s seminal study Herman Melville: A Critical Biography (1929) marking the advent of the â€Å"Melville industry,† attentive readers—amateur and professional alike—have reached consensus respecting the text’s massive and heterogeneous structure. Moby Dick, for all its undeniable heuristic treasures, remains a taxonomist’s nightmare. For Melville’s complex narrative is an embarrassment of riches variously described as a novel, a romance, and an epic, as a comedy and a tragedy. Indeed, the text is an anatomy of the adventure story i n the tradition of world classic accounts of the epic hero from Gilgamesh to the Arabian Nights, from the 0dyssey to Beowulf. Although from a formalist perspective Ishmael is clearly the sole narrator, the tale remains markedly divided in expression; that is, the tone, diction, register, and underlying psychology of the account describe two radically different modes of experience. Ishmael in his own voice is empirical, democratic, sane, philosophical, comedic; while Ahab’s discourse is transcendental, autocratic, mad, rhetorical, tragic. Still, like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (whose class, values, and mind set are separate and discrete) Ishmael, the common sailor before the mast, and Ahab, the demonic ship captain, finally emerge as disjoined fragment... ... 11 Zizek, 3. 12Zizek, ix. Works Cited Fiedler, Leslie. Love and Death in the American Novel. NYC: Criterion Books, 1960. -----------------. â€Å"Come Back to the Raft Ag’in, Huck Honey!† Partisan Review 15 (1948): 2 664-71. Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Trans. and edit. James Strachey. NYC: Norton, 1961. Girard, Rene. Deceit, Desire and the Novel: Self and Other in Literary Structure. Trans. Yvonne Freccero. Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1965. Kristeva, Julia. Black Sun: Depression and Melancholia. NYC: Columbia Univ. Press, 1989. Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick or, The Whale. NYC: Penquin Books, 1992. Said, Edward. Orientalism. NYC: Pantheon, 1978. Steiner, George. Martin Heidegger. Chicago IL: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1989. Zizek, Slavoj. Enjoy Your Symptom! NYC: Routledge, 1992.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Restaurant Business Essay

The popularity of fast food establishments came in the 1980’s, and over the last years, the industry has consistently posted double-digit growth rates. Supporting human resources include hotel and restaurant managers and assistant managers, housekeeping supervisors, security personnel, chefs, cooks, waiters, bartenders, and other related workers and professionals directly involved in hotel and restaurant services. Francis Villaluz a director for marketing of Gerry’s Grill was asked how’s the  restaurant industry  doing these days and what’s its greatest challenge? He said â€Å"It’s still doing well, we’re still getting crowds. There’s still a need for it. The restaurant industry does have seasonality like other businesses. Gerry’s Grill  has 17 branches. Growth depends on the area you are in. According to our survey, restaurants are location-driven. People who eat in a certain branch live or work a few kilometers away. † Villaluz also mentioned that in the course of business, if sales will slightly go down, it means businessman have to reinvent and repackage. Manilareview. com reported that like every other country, the food industry has flourished very well in Philippines. Filipinos love to eat and that’s the reason why you will see a lot of restaurants and fast foods restaurants scattered in the cities. These restaurants and fast foods can be local or international food chains. Filipino food and chefs are considered one of the best in the world. It is hardly surprising that Filipino food is often labeled as somewhat strange (like the â€Å"balut† for example) but in its own way, its food is a unique mixture of eastern and western cuisines and reflects the history of Philippines. The Filipino food includes dishes and cooking procedures from China, Spain, Mexico, United States, and more recently from further abroad. However, what makes them Filipino is the history and society that introduced and adapted them; the people who turned them to their tastes and accepted them into their homes and restaurants, and specially the harmonizing culture that combined them into modern Filipino fare. Some of the popular fast food chains of Philippines are Jollibee, McDonald, KFC, Chowking, etc. and popular restaurants being Abe, Chelsea, Friday’s, Chili’s and a lot more. Attracting a huge crowd to restaurants or fast foods require more than just good food. Though important, good food is only a part of the total dining experience. Equally important is believed to be the way people feel while in the restaurant. This physical and emotional response is a result of the atmosphere, the total environment to which customers are exposed. The proper atmosphere can make the food, service and whole dining experience seem better. For that reason a restaurant or a fast food must take care of the following to please its customers. This includes checking the cleanliness of the place and freshness of the food, guarded premises, parking area where people can park, ambiance and landscaping, building design, lighting, and even music. FOREIGN Even in a business based on flavor, there’s no need to sugarcoat the truth: The restaurant industry is facing hard times. In December, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) released its 2009 Restaurant Industry Forecast that predicted although 2009 restaurant industry sales will exceed $566 billion–a 2. 5 percent increase from last year–the numbers translate to an inflation-adjusted decline of at least 1 percent. And that’s putting it kindly. Right now, credit is tight and investment capital is practically nonexistent. Inevitably, the consolidation of the banking industry will have a detrimental impact on restaurants nationwide.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 11

Chapter 11 A SLUG TRAIL OF GOOD CHEER He might have been made of polished mahogany except that when he moved, he moved like liquid. The stage lights reflected green and red off his bald head as he swayed on the stool and teased the strings of a blond Stratocaster with the severed neck of a beer bottle. His name was Catfish Jefferson, and he was seventy, or eighty, or one hundred years old, and not unlike Roberto the fruit bat, he wore sunglasses indoors. Catfish was a bluesman, and on the night before the night before Christmas, he was singing up a forlorn twelve-bar blues fog in the Head of the Slug saloon. Caught my baby boning Santa, Underneath the mistletoe (Lawd have mercy). Caught my baby boning Santa, Underneath the mistletoe. Used to be my Christmas angel, Now she just a Christmas ho. â€Å"I hear dat!† shouted Gabe Fenton. â€Å"Sho-nufF, sho-nuff. True dat, my brutha.† Theophilus Crowe looked at his friend, just one in a whole line of awkward, heartbroken men at the bar, rocking almost in rhythm to the beat, and shook his head. â€Å"Could you possibly be any whiter?† Theo asked. â€Å"I gots the blues up in me,† Gabe said. â€Å"She sho-nuff did me wrong.† Gabe had been drinking. Theo, while not quite sober, had not. (He had shared a toothpick-thin spliff of Big Sur polio weed with Catfish Jefferson between sets, the two of them standing in the back parking lot of the Slug, trying to coax fire out of a disposable lighter in a forty-knot wind.) â€Å"Didn't think you muthafuckas had weather here,† Catfish croaked, having sucked the joint so far down that the ember looked like the burning eye of a demon staring out of a cave of dark finger and lip. (The calluses on the tips of his fingers were impervious to the heat.) â€Å"El Ni;o,† Theo said, letting loose a blast of smoke. â€Å"Say what?† â€Å"It's a warm ocean current in the Pacific. Comes up the coast every ten years or so. Screws up the fishing, brings torrential rains, storms. They think we might be having an El Nià ±o this year.† â€Å"When will they know?† The bluesman had put on his leather fedora and was holding it fast against the wind. â€Å"Usually after everything floods, the wine crop is ruined, and a lot of cliffside houses slide into the ocean.† â€Å"And dat because the water too warm?† â€Å"Right.† â€Å"No wonder the whole country hate your ass,† said Catfish. â€Å"Let's go inside fo' my narrow ass gets blowed back to Clarksville.† â€Å"It's not that bad,† said Theo. â€Å"I think it'll blow over.† Winter denial – Theo did it, most Californians did it – they assumed that because the weather was nice most of the time, it would be nice all of the time, and so, in the midst of a rainstorm, you'd find people outdoors without an umbrella, or when nights dipped into the thirties, you'd still see someone dip-pumping his gas in surfer shorts and a tank top. So even as the National Weather Service was telling the Central Coast to batten down the hatches, as they were about to get the storm of the decade, and even though winds were gusting to fifty knots a full day before the storm made landfall, the people of Pine Cove carried on with their holiday routine like nothing out of the ordinary could happen to them. Winter denial: therein lay the key to California Schadenfreude – the secret joy that the rest of the country feels at the misfortune of California. The country said: â€Å"Look at them, with their fitness and their tans, their beaches and their movie stars, their Silicon Valley and silicone breasts, their orange bridge and their palm trees. God, I hate those smug, sunshiny bastards!† Because if you're up to your navel in a snowdrift in Ohio, nothing warms your heart like the sight of California on fire. If you're shoveling silt out of your basement in the Fargo flood zone, nothing brightens your day like watching a Malibu mansion tumbling down a cliff into the sea. And if a tornado just peppered the land around your Oklahoma town with random trailer trash and redneck nuggets, then you can find a quantum of solace in the fact that the earth actually opened up in the San Fernando Valley and swallowed a whole caravan of commuting SUVs. Mavis Sand even indulged in a little California Schadenfreude, and she was a Californian born and raised. Secretly, she wished for and enjoyed the forest fires every year. Not so much because she liked watching the state burn down, but because for Mavis's money, there was nothing better than watching a burly man in rubber handling a hefty hose, and during the fires, there were plenty of those on the news. â€Å"Fruitcake?† Mavis said, offering a suspicious slice on a dessert plate to Gabe Fenton, who was drunkenly trying to convince Theo Crowe that he had a genetic predisposition toward the blues, using some impressively large words that no one but he understood, and periodically asking if he could get an ;amen; and â€Å"five up high,† which, as it turned out, he could not. What he could get was fruitcake. â€Å"Mercy, mercy, my momma done made a fruitcake look just like that,† Gabe howled. â€Å"Lawd rest her soul.† Gabe reached for the plate, but Theo intercepted it and held it out of the biologist's reach. â€Å"First,† Theo said, â€Å"your mother was an anthro professor and never baked a thing in her life, and second, she is not dead, and third, you are an atheist.† â€Å"Can I get an amen?!† Gabe countered. Theo raised an eyebrow of accusation toward Mavis. â€Å"I thought we talked about no fruitcake this year.† The prior Christmas, Mavis's fruitcake had put two people into detox. She'd sworn that it would be the last year. Mavis shrugged. â€Å"This cake's nearly a virgin. There's only a quart of rum and barely a handful of Vicodin.† â€Å"Let's not,† Theo said, handing the plate back. â€Å"Fine,† Mavis said. â€Å"But get your buddy off his blues jag. He's embarrassing me. And I once blew a burro in a nightclub and wasn't embarrassed, so that's saying something.† â€Å"Jeez, Mavis,† Theo said, trying to shake the picture from his mind. â€Å"What? I didn't have my glasses on. I thought he was a hirsute insurance salesman with talent.† â€Å"I'd better get him home,† Theo said, nudging Gabe, who had turned his attention to a young woman on his right who was wearing a low-cut red sweater and had been moving from stool to stool all night long, waiting for someone to talk to her. â€Å"Hi,† Gabe said to the woman's cleavage. â€Å"I'm not involved in the human experience and I have no redeeming qualities as a man.† â€Å"Me either,† said Tucker Case, from the stool on the other side of the red-sweater woman. â€Å"Do people keep telling you that you're a psychopath, too? I hate that.† Tucker Case, under several layers of glibness and guile, was actually quite broken up over his breakup with Lena Marquez. It wasn't so much that she had become a part of his life in the two days he had known her, but that she had begun to represent hope. And as the Buddha said: â€Å"Hope is merely another face of desire. And desire is a motherfucker.† He'd gone out seeking human company to help dilute the disappointment. In another time, he'd have picked up the first woman he encountered, but his man-slut days had left him lonelier than ever, and he would not tread that lubricious path again. â€Å"So,† Tuck said to Gabe, â€Å"did you just get dumped?† â€Å"She led me on,† Gabe said. â€Å"She tore my guts out. Evil, thy name is woman!† â€Å"Don't talk to him,† Theo said, taking Gabe by the shoulder and unsuccessfully trying to pull him off his bar stool. â€Å"This guy's no good.† The young woman sitting between Tuck and Gabe looked from one to the other, then to Theo, then at her breasts, then at the men, as if to say, Are you guys blind? I've been sitting here all night, with these, and you're going to ignore me. Tucker Case was ignoring her – well, except for inspecting her sweater cakes as he talked to Gabe and Theo. â€Å"Look, Constable, maybe we got off on the wrong foot –  » â€Å"Wrong foot?† Theo's voice almost broke. As upset as he appeared, he appeared to be talking to the woman in the red sweater's breasts, rather than to Tucker Case, who was only a foot beyond them. â€Å"You threatened me.† â€Å"He did?† said Gabe, angling for a better look down the red sweater. â€Å"That's harsh, buddy. Theo just got thrown out of the house.† â€Å"Can you believe guys our age can still fall so hard?† Tuck said to Theo, looking up from the cleavage to convey his sincerity. He felt bad about blackmailing Theo, but, much like helping Lena hide the body, sometimes certain unpleasantries needed to be done, and being a pilot and a man of action, he did them. â€Å"What are you talking about?† Theo asked. â€Å"Well, Lena and I have parted ways, Constable. Shortly after you and I spoke this morning.† â€Å"Really?† Now Theo looked up from the woolly mounds of intrigue. â€Å"Really,† Tuck said. â€Å"And I'm sorry things happened the way they did.† â€Å"That doesn't really change anything, does it?† â€Å"Would it make a difference if I told you that I absolutely did not harm this alleged Dale Pearson, and neither did Lena?† â€Å"I don't think he was alleged,† said Gabe, slurring at the breasts. â€Å"I'm pretty sure he was confirmed Dale Pearson.† â€Å"Whatever,† said Tuck. â€Å"Would that change anything? Would you believe that?† Theo didn't speak right away but appeared to be waiting for an answer from the decolletage oracle. When he looked up at Tuck again he said, â€Å"Yeah, I believe you.† Tuck nearly aspirated the ginger ale he was drinking. When he stopped sputtering he said, â€Å"Wow, you suck as a lawman, Theo. You can't just believe a strange guy who tells you something in a bar.† Tuck wasn't accustomed to being believed by anyone, so to have someone take him at face value†¦ â€Å"Hey, hey, hey,† said Gabe. â€Å"That's uncalled for –  » â€Å"Well, fuck you guys!† said the woman in the red sweater. She jumped up from her stool and snatched her keys off the bar. â€Å"I am a person, too, you know? And these are not speakerphones,† she said, grabbing her breasts underneath and shaking them at the offenders, her keys jingling cheerfully as she did, completely defusing the effect of her anger. â€Å"Oh – my – God,† said Gabe. â€Å"You can't just ignore a person like that! Besides, you're all too old and you're losers and I'd rather be alone on Christmas than spend five minutes with any of you horn dogs!† And with that she threw some cash on the bar, turned, and stormed out of the bar. Because they were men, Theo, Tuck, and Gabe watched her ass as she walked away. â€Å"Too old?† Tuck said. â€Å"She was what, twenty-seven, twenty-eight?† â€Å"Yeah,† Theo said. â€Å"Late twenties, maybe early thirties. I didn't think we were ignoring her.† Mavis Sand took the money off the bar and shook her head. â€Å"You were all paying her proper attention. Woman's got some issues when she's jealous of her own parts.† â€Å"I was thinking about icebergs,† said Gabe. â€Å"About how only ten percent of them show above the surface, yet below lies the really dangerous part. Oh, no, I got the blues on me again.† His head hit the bar and bounced. Tuck looked to Theo. â€Å"You want some help getting him to the car?† â€Å"He's a very smart guy,† said Theo. â€Å"He has a couple of Ph.D.s.† â€Å"Okay. Do you want some help getting the doctor to the car?† Theo was trying to get a shoulder under Gabe's arm, but given that he was nearly a foot taller than his friend, things weren't working very well. â€Å"Theo,† Mavis barked. â€Å"Don't be such a friggin' wanker. Let the man help you.† After three unsuccessful attempts at hefting the bag of sand that was Gabe Fenton, Theo nodded to Tuck. They each took an arm and walked/dragged the biologist toward the back door. â€Å"If he hurls I'm aiming him at you,† Theo said. â€Å"Lena loved these shoes,† said Tuck. â€Å"But you do what you feel like you need to.† â€Å"I have no sex appeal, a rum-pa-pa-pum,† sang Gabe Fenton, in spirit with the season. â€Å"My social skills are nil, a rum-pa-pa-pum.† â€Å"Did that actually rhyme?† asked Tuck. â€Å"He's a bright guy,† said Theo. Mavis creaked ahead of them and held the door. â€Å"So, I'll see you pathetic losers at the Lonesome Christmas party, right?† They stopped, looked at one another, felt camaraderie in their collective loserdom, and reluctantly nodded. â€Å"My lunch is coming up, a rum-pa-pa-pum,† sang Gabe. Meanwhile, the girls were running around the Santa Rosa Chapel, putting up decorations and preparing the table settings for a Lonesome Christmas. Lena Marquez was making her third circumnavigation of the room with a stepladder, some masking tape, and rolls of green and red crepe paper the size of truck tires. (Price Club in San Junipero only sold one size, evidently so you could decorate your entire ocean liner without making two trips.) The act of serial festooning had taken Lena's mind off her troubles, but now the little chapel was starting to resemble nothing more than the nest of a color-blind Ewok. If someone didn't intervene soon the Lonesome Christmas guests would be in danger of being asphyxiated in a festive dungeon of holiday bondage. Fortunately, as Lena was moving the ladder to make her fourth round, Molly Michon snaked a foot inside and pulled the chapel's double doors open; the wind from the growing storm swept in and tore the paper from the walls. â€Å"Well, fuck!† said Lena. The crepe paper swam in a vortex around the middle of the room, then settled into a great wad under one of the buffet tables Molly had set up to one side. â€Å"I told you a staple gun would work better than masking tape,† Molly said. She was holding three stainless-steel pans of lasagna and still managed to get the oak double doors closed against the wind with her feet. She was agile that way. â€Å"This is a historical landmark, Molly. You can't just go shooting staples into the walls.† â€Å"Right, like that matters after Armageddon. Take these downstairs to the fridge,† Molly said, handing the pans to Lena. â€Å"I'll get you the staple gun out of my car.† â€Å"What does that mean?† Lena asked. â€Å"Do you mean our relationships?† But Molly had bounded back out through the double doors into the wind. She'd been making more and more cryptic comments like that lately. Like she was talking to someone in the room besides Lena. It was strange. Lena shrugged and headed back to the little room behind the altar and the steps that led downstairs. Lena didn't like going into the basement of the chapel. It wasn't really a basement; it was more of a cellar: sandstone walls that smelled of damp earth, a concrete floor that had been poured without a vapor barrier fifty years after the cellar had been dug and so seeped moisture and formed a fine slime on top in the winter. Even when the stove was cranked and an electric heater turned on, it was never warm. Besides, the old, empty pews stored down there cast shadows that made her feel as if people were watching her. â€Å"Mmmm, lasagna,† said Marty in the Morning, your drive-time dead guy in the a.m. â€Å"Dudes and dudettes, the little lady has certainly outdone herself this time. Get a whiff of that?† The graveyard was abuzz with moldy anticipation of the Lonesome Christmas party. â€Å"It's highly inappropriate, that's what it is,† said Esther. â€Å"I suppose it's better than that horrible Mavis Sand woman barbecuing again. And how is it that she's still alive, anyway? She's older than I am.† â€Å"Than dirt, you mean?† said Jimmy Antalvo, whose faceprint was still embedded in a telephone pole on the Pacific Coast Highway, where he'd hit it at age nineteen. â€Å"Please, child, if you must be rude, at least be original,† said Malcolm Cowley. â€Å"Don't compound the tedium with cliche.† â€Å"My wife used to put a layer of hot Italian sausage between every layer of cheese and noodles,† said Arthur Tannbeau. â€Å"Now, that was some good eatin'.† â€Å"Sort of explains the heart attack, too, doesn't it?† said Bess Leander. Being poisoned had left a bitter taste in her mouth that seven years of death could not wash away. â€Å"I thought we agreed not to talk about COD guilt,† said Arthur. â€Å"Didn't we agree on that?† COD was shorthand of the dead for Cause of Death. â€Å"We did agree,† said Marty in the Morning. â€Å"I do hope that they sing ‘Good King Wenceslas, † said Esther. â€Å"Shut the fuck up about ‘Good King Wenceslas, would you? No one knows the words to ‘Good King Wenceslas, no one ever has.† â€Å"My, my, the new guy is cranky,† said Warren Talbot, who had once been a painter of landscapes but after liver failure at seventy was fertilizing one. â€Å"Well, it's gonna be a great party to listen to,† said Marty in the Morning. â€Å"Did you hear the constable's wife talking about Armageddon? She's definitely taking a cruise down the Big Nutty.† â€Å"I am not!† shouted Molly, who had come down to the basement to help Lena clear space in the two refrigerators for the salads and desserts that they had yet to unload. â€Å"Who are you talking to?† said Lena, a little frightened at the outburst. â€Å"I think I've made my point,† said Marty in the Morning.

Ethnocentrism Hinders Effective Cross-Cultural Dialogue and Common Understanding Essay

As human beings, we are inherently biased in our judgment of issues and others- by others I mean those who do not belong in the same socio-cultural group we ascribe to. Our inborn predilection to take a subjective view of reality leads to the common-and equally incorrect- assumption that we are right in our ways, while ‘others’ are wrong in theirs. This tendency of biased notions of cultural superiority in relation to other cultures is what political scientist William G. Sumner (1906) summed up with the coinage of the term ‘ethnocentrism. ’ By definition, ethnocentrism is the tendency by individuals to believe, unconsciously and through false assumptions, that their culture is better than that of others. Notably, there is a running thread of collective concurrence among whites that ‘we westerners’, with our western civilization and attendant lifestyles, are superior to the backward races of Africa, which we conveniently label a jungle of savagery. The negative effects of ethnocentrism are manifest in international relations, where effective intercultural communication is hampered by cultural differences and culture transitional challenges (Moran, Harris and Moran, 2007, 265). Nonetheless, to avoid collective generalizations by claiming that it is ‘we westerners’ rather than ‘I, me and myself,’ who suffers this cultural prejudice- a claim by which I unwittingly admit my ethnocentric conditioning to include fellow tribesmen in my narrow worldview corner- I hereby set out to examine how I have severally paid homage to this populist bandwagon of cultural subjectivity in judgment. Finally, I will outline the course of remedy I have chartered to liberate myself from the blinding ignorance of ethnocentrism. Was it me, really, now that I’m thinking from a relatively wider perspective? Late last year, I accompanied a close friend of mine from Saudi Arabia (whom I will not disclose for the pang of guilt that gnaws at my conscience) to pick some forms from our embassy. Well, it seems that since September 11, a kind of phobia for our Muslim brothers has eaten into our national psych. At a personal level, I always change lanes every time I meet one donning a flowing white garb and†¦. err, an unusually long beard. Anyway, the security man at the embassy just ran the metal detector over my body and patted me on the back. But when it was my friend’s turn, the security guy, perhaps seeing Osama’s ghosts, took a deep breath and started what was the most rigorous personal search I had ever witnessed. He yanked the garb from the underside and ran the detector inch by inch, grinned with relief upon finding nothing (read bombs) and then allowed him to pass through. However, the issue here is not the security man’s exaggerated fears, but the fact that I took it as normal, without bothering to question why it wasn’t. The culture I grew up in had taught me to regard some religions as being synonymous with terrorism, and to dismiss others as pagan idolatry and pure superstition. In my evaluation of world religions, I’m often tempted to associate Islam with terrorism, a belief that is largely fed by media stereotyping in relation to incidences of suicide bombings. As for most traditional African religions, customs and rituals, I always found ‘evidence’ to dismiss them as the demonic chants of a pagan charlatan. Their polygamy I considered the ways of an uncivilized society that still harbors the wild caveman’s genes. On this score, my blindness was informed by the western glorification of the nuclear family unit, which greatly contrasts with other cultures’ recognition of the unifying aspect of extended families and kinship systems (Moran, Harris and Moran, 2007, 11). In regard to religious convictions, the only true Supreme Being I believed existed is the Christian God I worship, whom I assumed held in contempt the ungodly ways of unchristian religions. For such a long time, I erroneously believed that with the exception of Christians, all other believers are doomed for hell. This ethnic and cultural belief that the religion in which one belongs is centrally important (Andersen, 2006) is one of the sub-divisions that promote ethnocentrism. Personally, it was my honest conviction until I realized that every believer thinks likewise of other religions. Remarkable is my said friend’s vehement assertion that Jesse the son of Mary (Christ) was an imposter whose legend deceived people that he was the son of God. Instead, he argues that Mohamed is the true messenger of Allah, the creator of everything. Nonetheless, it will be a self-contradiction for me to consider my system of beliefs as not being the right one and the most appropriate. It is an inconsistence and admission of its falseness, which I consider the height of ideological hypocrisy. I recognize the reality that I belong to a particular culture; and the fact that to fit in my society I must conform to its cultural beliefs and value systems. However, to reconcile my cultural beliefs with other cultural worldviews, I find insight in the principle of cultural relativism by Franz Boas, who argued that â€Å"civilization is not something absolute, but is relative, and our ideas and conceptions are true only so far as our civilization goes† (Degler, 1992 p 67). Accordingly, people’s behaviors, customs and beliefs should be understood in the context of their cultures. When we use the lens of our cultures to understand other cultures, there is always the risk of prejudice and biasness. The problem of ethnocentrism leads to failure of constructive communication and misunderstandings, which in turn causes cultural differences and conflicts (Moran, Harris and Moran, 2007, p 4). Similarly, the theory of functionalism by Bronislaw Malinowski posits that cultures are systems of structures by which different societies function. Each society, therefore, has unique needs which can only be served by its own culture. As such, we can only understand the behavior of other cultures when we take that culture’s viewpoint, to avoid the misconceptions created by our experiences within our own culture. References Andersen, M. L. (2006). Sociology: understanding a diverse society. New York: Thomson/Wadsworth. Degler, C. N. (1992). In Search of Human Nature: The Decline and Revival of Darwinism in American Social Thought. US: Oxford University Press. Moran, T. R. , Harris, P. R. , Moran, S. V. (2007). Managing cultural differences: global leadership strategies for the 21st century, 7th Edition. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann Sumner, W. G. (1906). â€Å"Folkways. † In McCann, C. R. (2004). Individualism and the social order: the social element in liberal thought. New York: Routledge.