SWOT Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

SWOT Analysis - Essay Example Sustainable business practices and strong commitment to corporate social responsibility are other major strengths of Trader Joes. â€Å"Trader Joe’s is committed to providing selective products that cannot be found in grocery stores† (â€Å"What is Trader Joe’s Strategy?†). In other words, unique products are the major strength of Trader Joes. Expanding global market, growing demand for organic foods and growing ecommerce opportunities are providing many opportunities to Trader Joes. India and China like Asian countries are developing rapidly at present provides excellent opportunities to Trader Joes like companies. Product recalls and the increased focus on some geographical areas alone are some of the weaknesses of Trader Joes. It should be noted that Trader Joe has limited presence outside California. Inability to expand business to other territories not only in America but also in other parts of the world is some of the major weaknesses of Trader Joes. Increasing manpower cost, increasing competition and the entry of substitute products are some of the major threats of Trader Joes. Manpower cost in America is extremely higher compared to that in countries such as India or China. As a result of that Indian and Chinese products are causing big threats to the products of Trader

White Castle Essay Example for Free

White Castle Essay White Castle is known as the original fast-food hamburger chain. The first White Castle opened its doors in Witchita, Kansas, in 1921. White Castle (WC) has since grown to 393 restaurants in 11 states (White Castle hamburger , 2004) and is now expanding internationally. By analysing White Castles internal strengths, internal weaknesses, external opportunities, and external threats, otherwise known as a SWOT analysis (Kerin, 2005), Learning Team B was able to exam market demographics, company needs, trends, and market forecast as they pertain to White Castle. During the SWOT analysis Learning Team B (LTB) discovered the primary strategic marketing issue is in order to remain profitable White Castle needs to promote its unique product(s) and adapt its menu items in order to continue to appeal to the changing desires of todays consumers. The same holds trues today as it did in 1998 when William J. McDonald stated White Castle needs to continually reassess its marketing strategy, particularly its pricing and promotional activities to determine what approach will be most effective into the future. Marketing strategy recommendations A major strategy in the element of marketing is generating and maintaining brand recognition. Attaining brand recognition in the target market is a critical milestone for any branding strategy. There are many cues in the brand recognition arsenal. Typically brand building begins with aesthetic cues, the design features in a graphic or logo meant to visually represent the brand. Color, shape, texture, style, typeface, and position are among the design attributes which can offer recognition cues, making a design visually distinctive. Its the reason why, when a new logo is evaluated, recognition factors and design uniqueness are taken into consideration. According to Kim Kelly-Bartley (2001), vice president of marketing and site development for the Columbus, Ohio-based chain, summarizes, In an effort to boost brand recognition, White Castle is revamping units for only the second time in its 80-year history. An earlier change occurred five years ago, when the nations oldest burger chain celebrated its 75th anniversary. Prior to that, the chain had not changed, other than to make sure the units were clean and in good repair. The first retrofit was introduced in late July, in an existing store in Queens, N. Y. The prototype is also being tested in Chicago, St. Louis and Columbus. The chains updated look features orange accents, wood laminates and chrome finishes. Orange neon lighting, for example, encircles the restaurants dining room and accents seating. White Castles enduring (and too many customers, endearing) color scheme had been limited to blue and white. We wanted to see if you can add a color and still uphold the look. (p. 1). The process of recognition is a core component of branding. If a brand strategy doesnt employ visual or auditory cues, establishing brand perceptions and evoking memories is a lot more difficult and complicated. Without cues, the brain has to rely solely on recall to remember a brand. Boosting brand recognition is always a combination of knowing the target audience, market(s), category competition, and distribution. In order to boost brand recognition, a company must know their brands visual equity and level of current brand recognition. Finally, a company must understand what sales have been doing in their target market(s), what their strategic business goals are for increased sales, and what the budget is for increasing sales. Generating brand recognition through exposing the market to the product and promoting it heavily as well as finding promotional partners may also be beneficial. In a special Valentines Day promotion, couples who love White Castle hamburgers can dine at any of 48 White Castle fast-food restaurants nationwide participating in a special Valentines Day promotion. In comparison with some of the pricier, more upscale events held for lovers, Valentines Day at White Castle cost just 49 cents per burger to enjoy. Hostesses dressed in elegant costumes instead of the usual White Castle uniforms seat couples at cloth-covered, candlelit tables while romantic music is played in the background. The promotion is not a new invention. It debuted in St. Louis and Minneapolis about 16 years ago but was so popular it was expanded to White Castles in other Midwestern cities last year. For duos on a budget, the evening cost a whopping $6. 05 for a 10-pack of the bite-sized burgers and a small order of fries, leaving just enough money in the bank for the requisite Valentines Day bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates. Growth in competition in the fast-food market The consumer is the driving force in any highly competitive market, with his power growing ever stronger and becoming ingrained. The fast-food market is being fueled by the generation x and echo-boomers running between work, soccer, dance and other family activities with little time to spare for cooking at home. Todays consumer has more choices in variety, nutrition and value than ever before. The minimum population growth currently being experienced in the United States means that there is little new business to be had so it must be taken from others (http://www. fmi. org/media/bg/FoodRetailing. pdf). In order to compete in the fast-food market White Castle will need to give the consumer what they want. Many customers today are demanding healthier choices on menues, as well as more family friendly surroundings. Consumers are looking for family dining experiences without losing the fast-food aspect of dining out. Restraunts are starting to offer more salads and other alternatives to red meat, like chicken and fish in order to attract the more health conscience consumer (http://www. entrepreneur. com/franzone/article/0,5847,308510,00. html) . Location, location, location has been suggested as one of the most important marketing and competitive strategies. White Castle should consider expansion into new markets in new areas of the country. Proposed marketing elements What specific price, distribution, promotion, and product elements would you propose and why? Conclusion References At long last, change. (2001, September). Chain Leader, 6(9). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from EBSCOhost Database. Elan, E. (2006, February). White Castle offers couples a Valentine promo with heart. Nations Restaurant News, 40(9). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from InfoTrac OneFile Database. Kerin, R. , Hartley, S. , Berkowitz, E. , Rudelius, W. (2005). Marketing (8th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill. McDonald, W. J. , (1998). Case 6 White Castle System Inc. , UOP Eresource, Retrieved April 8, 2006, from Eresource database. White Castle hamburger chain adopts DigitalPersona fingerprint authentication technology. (2004, Decemeber). Digitalpersona. Retrieved on April 9, 2006 from http://www. digitalpersona. com/company/news/releases/120804. php http://www. whitecastle. com/ Retrieved on April 9, 2006.

Spatial Rhythm and Poetic Invention in William Carlos Williams Sunday

William Carlos Williams was fascinated by the ways in which living organisms and inert matter occupy space--how they move in it, or cannot move, are cramped or allowed to roam freely--and how the space inside organisms and matter is charted, perceived, and manipulated. Williams's preoccupation with actual space in the material world is paralleled by his formal experimentations with the placement of words on the page. "Without invention nothing is well spaced" (P 50), Williams writes at the beginning of "Sunday in the Park," raising the question, what does "well spaced" mean for Williams? How can the world and how can poetry be well spaced? The aim of this paper is to look at the relationship between Williams's use of what I will call spatial rhythms and the vision of poetry that emerges in "Sunday in the Park"--a section of Paterson particularly important for thinking about Williams's late poetic style because it contains the famous section beginning "The descent beckons / as the asc ent beckoned," marking Williams's invention of the triadic stanza with "variable foot," a form he would begin to use frequently in the 1950's. My hope is to offer a new perspective on Williams's poetics by showing how it is rooted in a conception of space, both external and internal or biological, that is constantly moving in a rhythmic fashion. Although William Carlos Williams's epic poem, Paterson, is about the city of Paterson and a man, also named Paterson, who is that city, the actual physical space of that city tends to be elusive throughout the poem, becoming most concrete in the second Book, "Sunday in the Park," which, however, does not deal with the city itself, but with the park above it. The park is both a part of the city of Paterson (... ...s: A New World Naked (McGraw-Hill, 1981), 462-63 and 466-67.[Hit the "back" button on the upper left hand corner of your browser to return to the text] 4. Mariani, 462-63.[Hit the "back" button on the upper left hand corner of your browser to return to the text] 5. Kenneth Burke, "The Thinking of the Body" in Language as Symbolic Action (Berkeley: U of California P, 1966), 340-41.[Hit the "back" button on the upper left hand corner of your browser to return to the text] 6. The last two descending sequences I have quoted †¹ the first beginning with "She was married with empty words" and the second with "The descent beckons" †¹ are also reminiscent of Marcel Duchamp's "Nude Descending Staircase." On Williams's interest in cubism and in Duchamp in particular, see Reed Whittemore, William Carlos Williams: Poet from Jersey (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975), 113-124.

Benefits of strategic management Essay -- essays research papers fc

â€Å"Research has revealed that organisations that engage in strategic management generally out-perform those that do not† The connotation of the ancient Greek word â€Å"strategos†, in its various grammatical forms, implies meaning of skilful manoeuvouring leading to achieving a highly crucial position or attaining a desired end. Commonly associated with the military operations, strategies aim at methodical out-performance of adversaries. Analogically, application of deliberate strategies in the business management context suggests combination of activities directed at becoming superior to business opponents. Hence, it can be assumed that engaging in these activities will produce better business results than not doing so. This essay attempts to provide evidence to support the opening statement. It firstly reviews the purpose of managerial activities from the historic perspective. It, then discusses the impact of strategic management process components on organisational performance and finally describes benefits of strategic thinking and strategic integration. The analysis concentrates on matching the theoretical principles of strategic management with the pragmatic business examples. For the purpose of this discussion, out-performance has been defined as surviving on the existing or successful entering the new market. Although definitions of management range from very simple statements, like the one of Frederick Taylor – â€Å"knowing exactly what you want people to do and then seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way† (Taylor, 1903, p. 21) to complex postulates listing managerial activities and objectives (Davidson & Griffin, 2003, p. 5), their common denominator points to a set of deliberate actions to achieve organisational efficiency – â€Å"using resources wisely† (Davidson & Griffin, 2003, p. 7) and effectiveness – â€Å"making the right decisions† (Davidson & Griffin, 2003, p. 7). Accompanied by a large volume of the theoretical work, management practice, can therefore be broadly described as a constant search for the optimal performance methodologies. Thus, from the historical point of view, it can be proposed that strategic management is a twentieth century form of the management discipline that emerged as a result of the evolution process necessitated by the changes in the organisational internal and external environment. The environmental chang... ...siness Policy†, Prentice & Hall, New Jersey. Wooldridge, A. (1999), â€Å"The world in your pocket†, The Economist, 353, 8140, supplement 1-26. In Davidson, P. & Griffin, R. W. (2003), â€Å"Management: An Australasian Perspective†, John Wiley & Sons Australia, LTD, Milton. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bartol, K.,Martin, D., Tein, M. & Matthews, G. (1998), â€Å"Management: A Pacific Rim Focus†, The McGraw-Hill Australia, Roseville. Connor, T. (2002), â€Å"The resource-based view of strategy and its value to practising managers†, Strategic Change, Sep-Oct, pp. 307 – 316. Davidson, P. & Griffin, R. W. (2003), â€Å"Management: An Australasian Perspective†, John Wiley & Sons Australia, LTD, Milton. Graetz, F., Rimmer, M., Lawrence, A. & Smith, A. (2002), â€Å"Managing organisational change†, John Wiley & Sons, Milton. Hubbard, G. (2000), â€Å"Strategic Management: Thinking, Analysis and Action†, Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest. Powell, T. C. (2001), â€Å"Competitive Advantage: Logical and Philosophical Considerations†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 22, pp. 875 – 888. Wheelen, T. L. & Hunger, D. J. (2004), â€Å"Strategic Management and Business Policy†, Prentice & Hall, New Jersey.

Pulp Fiction: Shortcomings of a “Neo-Noir” Essay

The remarkable stylistic conventions of classical film noir have made it one of the most memorable and recognizable film genres to this day. Each film noir picture is uniquely told though it use of degrees of darkness, contrasting lighting, rain-covered city streets, isolated protagonist, and devious dames that effortlessly lure men into a cold trap of criminal deeds. Pulp Fiction, a film by Quentin Tarantino, is said to be one of film noir’s strongest roots with its setting of a dark, criminal underworld. While the film does play around the edges of traditional film noir, it cannot be accurately be claimed a â€Å"neo-noir† due to several variances it takes with some of the most fundamental elements of film noir. Many visual and narrative devices have taken a different route in such a manner that one cannot classify it as conventional film noir. One of the most obvious breaks that Pulp Fiction makes from traditional film noir is the film being shot primarily in the day time. When one thinks of film noir, they automatically think darkness because it is always the film’s visual theme. The symbolic use of heavy shadows and key lighting is what makes film noir so great and gives the overall grim mood to the picture. When the murders occur the lighting is very dark, and most of the time, only illuminates the killers face as he is firing the bullets such as in The Killers when the two assassins come and kill the Swede. This style shows how emotionless the murders are as we only focus on their face from the lighting, thus giving the audience a very cold and dark feeling. We never get this feeling or situation in Pulp Fiction as all of the killing is done in the daytime, with the room well lit. There are no murders at night; in fact there are only two night scenes shot in the entire movie. There is not as much emotion or overall visual effect that we usually see with murders in film noir. A similarity we see between classic film noir and Pulp fiction that adds to the visual detail of the film is constant smoking. Almost every character in Pulp Fiction smokes and they do it every chance they get. In classical film noir this smoking added to the effect of the darkness and lighting because the rooms where always filled with smoke which increased the feeling of uncertainty and gloom. In Pulp fiction, it has a greatly diminished symbolic effect because of the shots always being in the daytime. The only scene that compares to classic film noir is the shot of Butch in the taxicab with Esmarelda. This shot is the only one in the entire film that comes closest to a typical noir setting. This scene is shot at night in a cab traveling in the city streets of Los Angles. There is heavy contrast lighting from the streetlights and the camera angle is shot from the third-person facing the two characters in the car. From this view the audience gets a great visual picture of their face s because of the contrast of light that only illuminates both Butch and Esmarelda. Butch asks for a cigarette and Esmarelda gives him one right away, striking the match on the dash as we see in most noir films. Now the setting is dark and the car is filling with smoke, which gives a great setting for Esmarelda to ask, â€Å"what does it feel like to kill a man?† This moment is a perfect resurrection of classical film noir because we see the murderer and a questionable femme fatale having strong interest on what it is like to take a life. As Butch claims that he did not know that he killed the man until she told him, there is a pause, and then he tells her that he does not feel â€Å"a damn thing.† This is the cold moment we see from the noir style but they usually last much longer in traditional film noir. In contrast, the scene in Pulp Fiction ends abruptly as Butch leaves the taxi and goes home to Fabienne, whom he is having an intimate relationship with. The mood of the movie completely changes and all possible questions about Esmarelda being the femme fatale are erased as she is now out of the story. This scene is as close as we get to a typical noir setting with all the elements of darkness, lighting, and smoke combined to create a better feeling of how cold Butch is towards killing another man. A film noir with out a femme fatale is hardly a film noir at all. Often called â€Å"spider woman† they play the most important role in all film noir as they weave a trap to which our male antagonist always falls into creating the plot and crime of the story. â€Å"Independence is her goal but her nature is fundamentally and irredeemably sexual in film noir† (Place 6). In Pulp fiction, the audience is drawn in to believe that Mia is our femme fatale as the first time we are introduced to her all we hear is her seductive voice and then the camera flashes to a shot of just her lips, covered in fresh red lipstick. The next shot we see of her is only her feet as she tells Vincent it is time to go. This is a typical visual style we see in noir as it shows how the man begins to get seduced such as the shot of Phyllis’ legs as she goes down the staircase in Double Indemnity. With the background knowledge of Mia being the millionaires, Marsellus Wallace’s wife, we are led to think that she is a typical femme fatale who wants to escape like Kathie in Out of the Past. As they go out on their date, Vincent and Mia have some of the same back and forth flirtatious dialogue that we see in film noir such as when Mia says, â€Å"That’s when you’ve found somebody really special, when you can just shut the fuck up for a minute, and comfortably share a silence.† They have a good time, win a dance competition, and it seems as if Mia is certainly seductive enough towards Vincent to get him trapped when they get home. It is exactly at this point that the typical principles of film noir begin to fall apart. Vincent takes himself in the bathroom and has a self-debate on whether or not to sleep with the boss’s wife. In traditional film noir, rational is completely taken over by impulse and the male-lead always falls into some kind of trap. In Pulp fiction, Vincent decides that he is just going to say goodbye and rejects the advances of the femme fatale, which is completely out of line if we want to classify this film as noir. Immediately after, Mia overdoses which completely changes the entire mood of the movie. We are no longer thinking about Mia seducing Vincent, it has now turned into a climactic struggle to save Mia’s life. Although Mia has her juicy red lips, smooth voice, and powerful sexuality, her downfall proves that there is no place for a character such as a femme fatale in this movie. â€Å"Her failure as an actress and her later overdose leaves her weak, powerless and deathly pale, a far cry from the sexually potent and glamorous fatales of the classical noir period† (Em L, â€Å"Film in Focus†). A feature in Pulp fiction that related to classic film noir was the use of a non-sequential narrative structure. Although Pulp fiction did not use the exact same structure, the events were seen out of chronological order. The structure typically seen in noir is encompassed by on overall flashback that gives detail and explanation of the downfall of the male protagonist. Stories in film noir typically begin at the end or middle, and the flashback us usually narrated by the protagonist. In these fist-person voice-over narrations we learn how the protagonist got to the situation he is in now. Since the character is relating the story directly to the audience, we are able to create a connection with the character, and understand his disturbed thoughts. Pulp fiction takes a different approach, as there is no specific male protagonist in the film. Instead of one person illustrating events from past to present, we are given multiple characters experiences in various timeframes. The audience is show different points of departure from each character in the story and the story rewinds and we experience the same timeframe but from someone else’s point of view. This continues until we come full circle to the robbery scene, where now, all of the pieces of the puzzle have been put together. â€Å"Director Quentin Tarantino said he was aiming to make a trilogy taking elements of the old crime stories and mixing them together† (Blake, â€Å"Linear Narrative†). â€Å"Part of the trick is to take these movie characters, these genre characters and these genre situations and actually apply them to some of real life’s rules and see how they unravel† (Tarantino). Although this was a great style to put the movie together it is unclear if it could be used to show the downfall of the protagonist. The flashback marks the solidified fate of the noir heroes, showing how he was doomed from the start. If the audience has to relate to many characters rather than just one, the powerful connection we get in film noir is lost. The most noticeable and prominent variation from the framework of film noir in Pulp Fiction is the rejection of pessimism expected from the conclusion of the film. All noir heroes are doomed from the start. Since the flashback structure is completely different than classic film noir we do not see how any of the characters are trapped in a fate they cannot escape. In fact, almost everyone does get a happy ending. Jules decides he is done being a hit man after is â€Å"divine intervention† and says that he is not going to kill a man again but become a sheppard for the lord. Butch is free to go after he comes back for Marsellus who was getting raped by Zed. Vincent does die but with the timeline out of order he is killed in the middle in the movie rather than in the end where he walks out of the restaurant with Jules. Even Ringo and Yolanda have a happy ending as Jules teaches them a lesson and they still get away with lots of money. Noir films are supposed to leave the audience with a dark and cold feeling, which was definitely not the case here. The pessimistic tone we get from the confessional nature of the flashback creates the view of negativity that last the entirety of the film. Film noir may even be called it’s own genre because of its many visual and narrative elements that made it like no other style. It was a â€Å" world of darkness and violence, with a central figure whose motives are usually greed, lust and ambition, whose world is filled with fear (Higham 27). Although Pulp Fiction carries some of these elements it should not be classified as a â€Å"neo noir† as it lacks some of the greatest aspects that made film noir so special. If it is the roots of film noir, it greatly undermines the movement that was like no other ever scene in American cinema. Works Cited Em L. â€Å"Film in Focus: Suburban Noir & Pulp Fiction.† Film Student Central. N.p., 11 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 June 2012. . Higham, Charles, and Joel Greeburg. â€Å"Noir Cinema.† Film Noir Reader. New Jersey: Limelight Editions, 1996. 27. Print. Place, Janey. â€Å"Women in Film Noir.† N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print. Blake, CG. â€Å"Linear vs. Non-linear Narrative.† A New Fiction Writers Forum. N.p., 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 June 2012. .

Free Essays on Broadband Technologies

What is Broadband? Broadband is the latest in high speed Internet access technology, delivering access at speeds hundreds of times faster than a dial-up modem can provide. Broadband is an always-open gateway to a huge world of Internet based services delivered at high speeds to households and business. Relying on digital and fiber-optic technologies, broadband eliminates the term â€Å"world wide wait† that haunts those who use slower Internet service through standard 56K dial up modems. Broadband connection to the Internet can be as much as 100 times faster than a standard dial-up service. There are a few different types of Broadband technologies, such as ISDN, DSL, cable. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. It’s a system of digital phone connections, which has been available for over a decade. It allows data to be sent simultaneously across the world using end-to-end digital connectivity. There are two types of ISDN, Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and Primary Rate Interface (PRI). BRI consists of two 64kb/s B channels and one 16kb/s D channel for a total of 144kb/s. This service should meet most individual needs. PRI is intended for greater capacity requirements. It has 23 B channels and one 64kb/s D channel for a total of 1536kb/s. In order to use the ISDN service you need to have an ISDN modem installed in your computer and an ISDN phone line installed from your local phone company. A single ISDN line can cost you about $250 per year. If you would like dual ISDN, you can expect to play somewhere around $400 per year. In the recent days, ISDN has been replaced with services such as xDSL and Cable modem service. These particular services are faster, cheaper, and easier to set up and maintain. Even though that is the case, ISDN can still be used for the ones who are unable to get the higher speed Internet, or even as a backup. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line and is a service that offers a f... Free Essays on Broadband Technologies Free Essays on Broadband Technologies What is Broadband? Broadband is the latest in high speed Internet access technology, delivering access at speeds hundreds of times faster than a dial-up modem can provide. Broadband is an always-open gateway to a huge world of Internet based services delivered at high speeds to households and business. Relying on digital and fiber-optic technologies, broadband eliminates the term â€Å"world wide wait† that haunts those who use slower Internet service through standard 56K dial up modems. Broadband connection to the Internet can be as much as 100 times faster than a standard dial-up service. There are a few different types of Broadband technologies, such as ISDN, DSL, cable. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. It’s a system of digital phone connections, which has been available for over a decade. It allows data to be sent simultaneously across the world using end-to-end digital connectivity. There are two types of ISDN, Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and Primary Rate Interface (PRI). BRI consists of two 64kb/s B channels and one 16kb/s D channel for a total of 144kb/s. This service should meet most individual needs. PRI is intended for greater capacity requirements. It has 23 B channels and one 64kb/s D channel for a total of 1536kb/s. In order to use the ISDN service you need to have an ISDN modem installed in your computer and an ISDN phone line installed from your local phone company. A single ISDN line can cost you about $250 per year. If you would like dual ISDN, you can expect to play somewhere around $400 per year. In the recent days, ISDN has been replaced with services such as xDSL and Cable modem service. These particular services are faster, cheaper, and easier to set up and maintain. Even though that is the case, ISDN can still be used for the ones who are unable to get the higher speed Internet, or even as a backup. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line and is a service that offers a f...

Christmas Quotes From Famous Writers

Christmas Quotes From Famous Writers The Christmas Holidays are all about traditions. Families and friends sing Christmas carols, and kids listen to stories about Santa  and Rudolph. Whether you are looking for words to express in Christmas cards or letters, in social media or just for fun, here you can find famous quotations by  famous writers. Margaret Cousins Christmas, in its final essence, is for grown people who have forgotten what children know. Christmas is for whoever is old enough to have denied the unquenchable spirit of man. Dale Evans Christmas, my child, is love in action.   Joan Winmill Brown Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given - when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.   Bess Streeter Aldrich Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.   Oren Arnold Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. Lenore Hershey Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. Theyre never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal.   Peg Bracken Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.   Ray Stannard Baker I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays - let them overtake me unexpectedly - waking up some fine morning and suddenly saying to myself: Why this is Christmas Day! Charles Dickens I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. W.T Ellis It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. Isabel Currier It is the personal thoughtfulness, the warm human awareness, the reaching out of the self to ones fellow man that makes giving worthy of the Christmas spirit. Charlton Heston My first copies of Treasure Island  and Huckleberry Finn  still have some blue-spruce needles scattered in the pages. They smell of Christmas still. Charlotte Carpenter Remember, if Christmas isnt found in your heart, you wont find it under a tree. Hugh Downs Something about an old-fashioned Christmas is hard to forget. Phillips Brooks The earth has grown old with its burden of care But at Christmas it always is young, The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair And its soul full of music breaks the air, When the song of angels is sung.   Charles N. Barnard The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!   Erma Bombeck Theres nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.   Mrs. Paul M. Ell They err who think Santa Claus comes down through the chimney; he really enters through the heart.   Taylor Caldwell This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone. Calvin Coolidge To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world. Bing Crosby Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska wont make it white.   Marjorie Holmes At Christmas, all roads lead home.   Majorie Holmes It comes every year and will go on forever. And along with Christmas belong the keepsakes and the customs. Those humble, everyday things a mother clings to, and ponders, like Mary in the secret spaces of her heart. Bob Hope My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? Bob Hope When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness. Washington Irving Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. W.C. Jones The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others burdens, easing others loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas.   Garrison Keillor A lovely thing about Christmas is that its compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together. Robert Lynd Were I a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, showing that nothing else in life need to be taken  seriously  and that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions on which men become entirely alive. Hamilton Wright Mabie Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. Harlan Miller I wish we could put up some of the Christmas  spirit  in jars and open a jar of it every month. Joan Mills Christmas is the keeping-place for memories of our innocence. Garry Moore Christmas is, of course, the time to be home - in  heart  as well as  body. Agnes M. Pahro What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and  eternal,  and that every path may lead to peace. Norman Vincent Peale Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. Norman Vincent Peale I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world. Andy Rooney One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Dont clean it up too quickly. Andy Rooney The best Christmas trees come very close to exceeding nature. Augusta E. Rundell Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance - a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved. Eric Sevareid As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is. Eric Sevareid Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that were here for something else besides ourselves. Ralph Sockman Christmas renews our youth by stirring our wonder. The capacity for wonder has been called our most pregnant human faculty, for in it are born our art, our science, our religion. Margaret Thatcher Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends. Thomas Tusser At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year. Lenora Mattingly Weber Christmas is for children. But it is for grownups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts. Joanne Woodward Which Christmas is the most vivid to me? Its always the next Christmas.

America, Becoming A Country Through Invasions essays

America, Becoming A Country Through Invasions essays America, Becoming A Country Through Invasion Warpaths by Ian K. Steele, is the book I chose to read for my book report. Warpaths discusses the invasions of North America and the struggles that went on so that Europeans could gain control of the New Land. The book is broken into three main sections; Bases for Invasion, 1565-1684,Colonies and Tribes, 1687-1748, and finally Empires, Colonies, and Tribes, 1784-1765. In the course of my essay I will go through and discuss the strengths and weaknesses in each section. I will talk about the use of maps, illustrations and the references notes that are used through out the text. Ian K. Steele has the main objective in this book of creating a new image of how America was created. Steele takes an Ethno historic and military, perspective on the invasions of America. He presents a new and radical view of how things took place and the reasoning behind the events that took place. The lay out of the book is similar to that of a common textbook, which creates a strong structurally persuasive b ook. The multitude of sources used by Steele forms a feeling of security in the readers mind, as to the authenticity of his argument. Before even getting into Part 1 of the book, Steele, has a chapter on Arms in Arcadia, this chapter talks about the beginning of it all, he touches on Columbus, Cabot, and Cortezs roles in the new world. Also talking about the Countries that gave power to these mere men. Steele successfully creates and idea of what life was like for the early inhabitants of North America. Showing pictures of the distribution of tribes in and around the Florida area of America, and describing life styles, he creates an understanding for his readers. As Steele begins in Part 1, he speaks of the lifestyles that the Europeans have made for themselves in America by 1565. Clearly explaining the incorporation of natives styles o...

W8 Balanced Score cards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Information Technology Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Information Technology Governance - Essay Example The establishment of Information Technology Governance as regulatory framework focusing on the information technology infrastructure used in organizations worldwide has not supported the organizational needs in terms of information technology – at least not at the level expected. The reasons for this failure are analyzed in this paper; reference is made to the main aspects of Information Technology Governance but also to its relationship with other key organizational frameworks – especially the Corporate Governance. In order to understand the problems related with the development of Information Technology Governance it would be necessary to refer primarily to the characteristics and the role of this framework as part of organizational environment. The main role of Information Corporate Governance is to establish the criteria – or else the standards – on which the management of Information Technology Systems has to be based. In accordance with Solms et al. (p.9) Information Technology Governance can be characterized as ‘the leadership and organizational structure and processes that ensure that the organisation’s IT sustains and extends the organisation’s strategies and objectives’. In its above form, Information Technology Governance is of critical importance for the survival and the development of organizations in the context of the international community. Emphasis should be paid on the legal rules regulating the above framework but also to the challeng es/ problems that this framework may have to face. One of the priorities of rules regulating the Information Technology Governance is to ensure quality – in all its aspects; in this way, it is expected that risks and problems in all these systems’ operational aspects can be limited. Commonly, quality is the issue on which the relevant rules focus. Because organizational needs

Differences between the Articles of confederation and the new Research Paper

Differences between the Articles of confederation and the new constitution - Research Paper Example The articles created a feeble national government incapable levying taxes and regulating trade hence the quest for the new constitution that improved the stature of the government by increasing its powers (Wendel 768). The removal of the articles of confederation was due to their immense powers over the national government. The articles lacked a court system to impose the levying plus collection of taxes. The congress was incapable of making laws and therefore levying of taxes was difficult. In addition, the articles did not provide an atmosphere for enhancing trade regulation between the existing states and other countries (Young 1572). The articles could only allow only a vote per state and too many powers to states. It also performed the functions of appointing the delegates for every state, which was undesirable. It was difficult to impose changes to the articles of confederation because there were undesirable procedures. All the states had to make amicable decisions to enhance t he changes. Having all the thirteen states in agreement over changes that would affect the government was not an easy task. Nine out of thirteen states had to approve any motion put forward to enhance amendment of the articles. Another weakness evident in the articles was the lack of a specific army to guard the nation. Each state stood separately with own affairs (Wendel 760). Every state developed policies for their own governance, not even the passage of treaties was a responsibility of the central government. Since very state created their own money, there was a possibility of lack of acceptance to their currency by other states. This created an unfavorable environment for the states to participate in trade and improve their micro economies. The unicameral legislature present in the articles provided an atmosphere that there was no power separation hence the national government remained weak (Young 1570). The operation of the post offices was a responsibility of the states and n ot the central government. The articles of confederation developed immense powers to the states. In the articles there were sections supporting assertion of wars plus coining and borrowing of finances. The central government was incapable of making the states to abide by the laws. Despite the national government’s efforts to make a nationwide currency, the currency was valueless due to existing currencies from the states (Wirkner 13). The lack of effective common currency led to weak trade plus commerce that retarded the general economy of the United States. Vulnerability to attack by other countries plus pirates was evident due to the lack of a central army and army to safe gourd the entire populace. The articles were prevalent because of the fear instilled to the colonies by the colonial government. The authorities from the states with the fear instilled by the powers of the colonial government centrality of governance feared the same (Jensen 10). The articles thus provided sovereign states in terms of decision-making and freedom. The articles were an important law of the land before promulgation of the new constitution, which made a through way for changes in the government operations. The executive wanted the elimination of the articles to create room for most operations for the central government. For years, there was deprivation in the ability of the

Global Feminism in the Early 20th Century Essay

Global Feminism in the Early 20th Century - Essay Example Women’s historic omission from the political process is the result of the long-standing patriarchal social arrangement which only relatively recently has begun to soften somewhat. This discriminatory system that heavily favors men originated from both perpetual economic and rigid religious foundations that were present in the beginnings of mankind and strengthened throughout man’s development. However, with the advent of new technologies and working positions that ‘even women’ could perform in combination with shortages of necessary work forces particularly during times of war, women began to realize their true value to society on a global level. In England, Virginia Woolf became a spokeswoman for the concepts of educational and vocational opportunity for women through her writing and speaking engagements. Woolf tackles the subject of the female voice in her essay â€Å"A Room of One’s Own† (2000). The basic argument she presents here is not that women write according to a materialistic style or that women necessarily must pursue material possessions if they wish their voices to be heard. Instead, she makes a case that the only way in which women’s voices are going to be heard in literary circles is if they are freed of the daily grind of civilized living through the provision of a living income and a room in which they can work unmolested by children, maids, husbands and others who continually place demands on their time. In addition, she criticizes the female writers that have come before her for placing their own agendas in their works rather than allowing their characters to explore the various sides of the issues presented. She indicates that Charlotte Bronte, for instance, â€Å"will write of herself where she should write of her characters† (â€Å"A Room†, 2000). The written novel should reflect the ideas that are held, but should do so in keeping with the characters involved, their knowledge and their explorations as they are

PERSONAL ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE Assignment - 1

PERSONAL ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE - Assignment Example A leader in my own rights, I shall feel responsible in relieving tension in the environment I am living in. Life with its fast pace causes humankind to be continuously circulating in surroundings which are full of stressful conditions. My mind and body will be aware of this strain while communicating with my fellow humans. The daily issues which harass me and my friends will be solved with patience and togetherness. I would like to be in the role of mentor. The issues of ill health due to obesity and related illnesses ranging from diabetes mellitus to cardiac illness are snuffing out the lives of even young people in this fast- paced age. Sedentary lives are more common with the advent of computers. All this points to one main solution of exercising. I would set an example by jogging every morning and encouraging my friends to accompany me. If I have a say, I would motivate the other students and together we would formally request for a gymnasium for our college where all the staff and their families can work out. Physical well-being is extremely essential. My family of four members is very close to me. My father, a religious and strict personality has been my role model. He believes in keeping family ties intact. His instructions and exemplary behavior have kept this family cozy and happy. Mother insists on all of us sharing the breakfast and evening meals together. Sometimes we find it hard to reach in time. However when we remember that no one would eat without our presence, we manage to do so. We talk freely during our meals and family issues are discussed here as these are the few occasions when all are together. Paying attention to each other is another habit that we have thoroughly enjoyed. I would gladly pass on tips from my experience to my friends and acquaintances. Studying for engineering, I am lucky to have many bosom friends who have given me many wonderful

Global Feminism in the Early 20th Century Essay

Global Feminism in the Early 20th Century - Essay Example Women’s historic omission from the political process is the result of the long-standing patriarchal social arrangement which only relatively recently has begun to soften somewhat. This discriminatory system that heavily favors men originated from both perpetual economic and rigid religious foundations that were present in the beginnings of mankind and strengthened throughout man’s development. However, with the advent of new technologies and working positions that ‘even women’ could perform in combination with shortages of necessary work forces particularly during times of war, women began to realize their true value to society on a global level. In England, Virginia Woolf became a spokeswoman for the concepts of educational and vocational opportunity for women through her writing and speaking engagements. Woolf tackles the subject of the female voice in her essay â€Å"A Room of One’s Own† (2000). The basic argument she presents here is not that women write according to a materialistic style or that women necessarily must pursue material possessions if they wish their voices to be heard. Instead, she makes a case that the only way in which women’s voices are going to be heard in literary circles is if they are freed of the daily grind of civilized living through the provision of a living income and a room in which they can work unmolested by children, maids, husbands and others who continually place demands on their time. In addition, she criticizes the female writers that have come before her for placing their own agendas in their works rather than allowing their characters to explore the various sides of the issues presented. She indicates that Charlotte Bronte, for instance, â€Å"will write of herself where she should write of her characters† (â€Å"A Room†, 2000). The written novel should reflect the ideas that are held, but should do so in keeping with the characters involved, their knowledge and their explorations as they are

HOW IS THE U.S UNDERSTOOD AS GREAT CAPITALIST POWER Essay

HOW IS THE U.S UNDERSTOOD AS GREAT CAPITALIST POWER - Essay Example Capital accumulation, very competitive markets and wage labor feature capitalism. In such an economy, the transacting parties often and typically control market prices. The intensity of competition, the intervening role and scope at which the public owns various assets vary within various models of capitalism (Friedman 2009). Annalists have come up with diverse perspectives of capitalism; laissez-faire, welfare and state capitalism with each showing different level of dependency (Friedman 2009). It is this economic system that US thrives in and is thus regarded as a capitalist power. America is predominantly viewed as a capitalist economy. According to Karl Marx, it entails a situation in a minute group of people seize control of the economic points of prosperity in a nation and influence key economic decision (Friedman 2009). We see this America today. America after the world war emerged as the supper power together with Russia. However, it successfully reduced the dominance of Russia through the cold war and promoted its capitalist ideas in most part of the world (Phillips 2009). This is an evidence of a hungry nation fighting to be at the summit of controlling key economic decisions in the world her own gain. The history of America reveals the ideal trait of capitalism. As early as the 17th century, America had started importing slaves from Africa to work in their land (Phillips 2009). The American farmers and owners of industries hugely needed more labor to maximize their profits. Slaves were thus imported from Africa and were subjected to forced labor, meager or no wages at all and physical oppression at work so as to be productive (Phillips 2009). At the end, individual citizens who employed dearly the service of the slaves became rich and generated a lot of wealth while the slaves anguished in abject poverty and depression. Class

Cyberpunk and Science Fiction Essay Example for Free

Cyberpunk and Science Fiction Essay Cyberpunk and Science Fiction in the Information Age Cyberpunk science fiction is considered to be the â€Å"literary manifestation of postmodernism† (Elements149). According to McHale, as a sub-genre of science fiction, cyberpunk stands as the product of the convergence between â€Å"science fiction poetics and postmodernist poetics† (Elements 149). In Constructing Postmodernism, McHale states â€Å"cyberpunk†¦as science fiction derives certain of its elements from postmodern mainstream fiction which itself has†¦already been ‘science-fictionized’ to some greater or lesser degree† (229). The correlation of cyberpunk and postmodernism however is not limited to the existence of cyberpunk as a coagulation of the different factors within science fiction tales. Postmodernism, as a school of thought and as a movement in the different arts, may be characterized by its â€Å"incredulity toward metanarratives† (Lyotard xxiv). Metanarratives refer to the â€Å"‘grand narratives’ or stories that go to legitimize particular practices† (Warren and Warren 78). In the same manner that postmodernism debunks the idea of grand narratives, cyberpunk debunks such grand narratives by placing emphasis on the construction of a separate individual reality within the sphere of cyberspace. Works considered as a part of the sub-genre of cyberpunk are named as such due to their focus on â€Å"technological revolution and its social and psychological implications†¦on online publication† (Stierstorfer 109). The correlation between cyberpunk and postmodernism may thereby be traced to the existence of various worlds within cyberspace presented within cyberpunk texts. It is important to note that the importance of cyberspace is attributed to the space that it provides the individual user for the creation of fictional production. Cyberspace, within these works, stand as a space which is in continuous creation. The creation is determined by each individual and hence it provides the individual with both the freedom and the power to create and determine the worlds created by other individuals within the cyberspace. Within the aforementioned context, reality stands as an individual construction determined by a set of rules for how such a creation may occur. These rules however are not moral rules but merely substantive rules. In a sense, one may thereby state that ‘reality’ within these texts is in continuous flux since what is ‘real’ is determined by one’s point of view, one’s perspective of the world. The act of reading these texts are in a sense determined by the sequence in which these texts are presented however within the context of the assumptions of reality within the text it is possible to imagine a space wherein all acts do not merely interact or collide but occur at the same time since cyberspace is a boundless space and such is the world presented by the texts within the genre of cyberpunk fiction. In line with this, what follows is a discussion of William Gibson’s Neuromancer and Spook Country and Stanislaw Lem’s Imaginary Magnitudes. Online communication creates a space of social contact out of intertextual materials that may end up relying on the very conventional social narratives that many participants hope to escape. These hidden conventional structures within social interaction are the subject of the novel that gave us the term ‘cyberspace’ that being William Gibson’s Neuromancer. A discussion of Gibson’s novel not only provides a glimpse of the very different understanding of identity that results from this intertextuality but also suggests how best to negotiate these narratives. At the most general level Neuromancer is the story of Case’s quest to be re-integrated with cyberspace and the information that it possesses. The story opens with Case’s nervous system intentionally harmed in subtle ways by a past employer so that he is unable to access cyberspace and perform his past role as a ‘cowboy’ who infiltrates computer networks and steals information. Case is mysteriously offered surgery to repair his system if he participates in a complicated scheme to free an artificial intelligence named Wintermute from the limitations placed on it by its creator. Gibson describes Case’s experience of cyberspace in terms of the pleasure of reintegration. The experience is described in the following manner. Found the ridged face of the power stud. And in the bloodlit dark behind his eyes, silver phosphenes boiling in from the edge of space, hypnagogic images jerking past like film compiled from random frames. Symbols, figures, faces, a blurred, fragmented mandala of visual information. Please, he prayed, now†¦Expanding- And flowed, flowering for him, fluid neon origami trick, the unfolding of his distanceless home, his country, transparent 3D chessboard extending to infinity†¦And somewhere he was laughing, in a white-painted loft, distant fingers caressing the deck, tears of release streaking his face. (Neuromancer 52) In the aforementioned passage, Case’s movement into cyberspace is a kind of homecoming that brings him back into contact with a network of human information. Given the lyrical tone of this passage, it is not surprising that interpreters of Neuromancer have concluded that the connection to networks of human information that Case pursues is a uniformly positive thing. Cyberspace subculture frequently takes the disembodied integration into electronic information systems quite literally as a next stage in human evolution. Rather than asserting the value of social integration for its own sake, this story treats such connections as merely showing the protection and evolution of individuals. The links between individuals are similarly ambivalent in Neuromancer. Probably the novel’s clearest statement of the ambivalence of social connection comes late in the novel when Case reflects on his involvement with unseen ‘bosses’. Case has been hired by the mysterious Armitage, who turns out to work for Wintermute. As Case realizes the degree to which Armitage is a puppet or even a construction of Wintermute, he reflects on his involvement with larger political and social powers. It goes in the following manner, Case had always taken it for granted that the real bosses, the kingpins in a given industry, would be more and less than people†¦Hed always imagined it as a gradual and willing accommodation of the machine, the system, the parent organism. It was the root of street cool, too, the knowing posture that implied connection, invisible lines up to hidden levels of influence. (Neuromancer 203) Case’s reflections about the nature of social connection suggest both its positive and negative qualities from the perspective of the individual. Positively, these connections position the individual as a kind of parasite within the ‘parent organism’, sheltering the individual who may not share the goals of the larger system to which he or she belongs. Within this context, one might perceive individuals as pieces of a larger puzzle whose form is partially known but whose image is only available through the different vantage points available to different individuals. Such vantage points however are only accessible or can only be known to one individual unless it is penetrated and in a sense controlled by another one. Knowledge within this space is thereby continually in flux as a result of the power struggles of the entities within it. Imagining people as ‘assemblages’ whose subjectivity is constructed from sources of which they are rarely aware and whose elements do not necessarily cohere certainly seems unappealing at first glimpse since it works against traditional ideas of self-consciousness and personal coherence. However, Neuromancer also suggests that much more dangerous than this disunified subjectivity is the attempt to deny multiplicity and to hide behind some apparent unity. Precisely this tension between unity and incoherence is at issue. One might state that cyberdiscourse enables individuals to raise their consciousness about their own identity however it is also possible to state that it is nothing more than an intertextual concoction of mass media cliches and stereotypes. Gibson’s other novel Spook Country also raises these issues. Spook Country stands as a continuation of Pattern Recognition. As opposed to the futuristic setting of Neuromancer, the later novel is set within the current century. It presents the story of a former rock singer named Hollis Henry who turned into a freelancer researching about locative art for Node magazine. In the process of the research, Hollis discovers that locative art is an art form that combines virtual reality with GPRS technology. As a result of this combination, an individual is able to replicate the events occurring within a particular place thereby allowing the spectator of the artwork to participate within a different reality. This is evident in the following passage from Spook Country. As Hollis and Chombo discuss locative art, they specify the experience that one may achieve in it. They state We’re all doing VR, every time we look at a screen. We have been for decades now†¦VR was an even more specific way we had of telling us where we were going. Without scaring us too much, right? The locative, though, lots of us are already doing it. But you can’t just do the locative with your nervous system. One day, you will. We’ll have internalized the interface. It’ll have evolved to the point where we forget about it. Then you’ll just walk down the street†¦ (Spook 65). In the aforementioned excerpt, one sees the tension between unity and coherence not only in the definition and specification of reality as a result of technological innovations but also the tension that it creates in the process of determining individual identity. This tension is apparent if one considers that an individual’s conception of the ‘self’ is partially dependent upon his surrounding environment. Within the virtual space of locative art, one may thereby create and in a sense develop one’s own space separate but at the same time placed within the sphere of immediate reality. The tension brought about by the existence of the various possibilities of reality within these cyberpunk texts is also evident in Stanislaw Lem’s Imaginary Magnitude. Lem’s Imaginary Magnitude is composed of different introductions and prefaces to non-existent books. The various texts serve satirize the current trends and movements within literature and the other arts. An example of this is evident in the following passage. He states, In an extreme instance, in which there is a Propervirt of less than 0. 9%, the TEXT OF THE PRESENT PROSPECTUS may likewise undergo an ABRUPT change. If, while you are reading these sentences, the words begin to jump about, and the letters quiver and blur, please interrupt your reading for ten or twenty seconds to wipe your glasses, adjust your clothing, or the like, and then start reading AGAIN from the beginning, and NOT JUST from the place where your reading was interrupted, since such a TRANSFORMATION indicates that a correction of DEFICIENCIES is now taking place. (Lem 86) The aforementioned passage may be seen as alluding to a period in the future when it is possible for human beings to directly interact with their reading material. In another context, one might also see it as a parody of the impositions regarding the proper position and manner that individuals ought to read texts. Either way, the book in itself as well as its content of imaginary texts presents the reader with yet another conception of reality that allows the fluidity of experience. Within the aforementioned contexts, one considers how one is to understand the concept of reality, self, and knowledge within the context of cyberpunk science fiction. Within this genre, one sees reality, the self, and knowledge in itself as continuously in flux. Within a text which creates worlds determined by intertextuality, the process of reading the text becomes an act of recognizing the interrelation of its parts to the extent that one is willing to recognize that the events within it and in a sense the realities within it may all occur within the same time and space. Works Cited Gibson, William. Neuromancer. Np: Ace Books,1984. ___. Spook Country. Np: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2007. Lem, Stanislaw. Imaginary Magnitudes. Michigan: U of Michigan, 1984. Lyotard, Jean Francois. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Minnesota: U of Minnesota P, 1984. McHale, Brian. Constructing Postmodernism. London: Routledge, 1992. ___. â€Å"Elements of a Poetics of Cyberpunk. † Critique 33. 3 (Spring 1992): 149-75. Warren, William and Bill Warren. Philosophical Dimensions of Personal Construct Psychology. London: Routledge, 1998. Stierstorfer, Klaus. Beyond Postmodernism: Reassessments in Literature, Theory, and Culture. Np: Walter de Gruvter, 2003.

Themes of Madness in Hamlet

Themes of Madness in Hamlet To be or not to be begins one of the most famous soliloquies of all time by an author that has stood the test of time, William Shakespeare in his play, Hamlet. There are several different themes that are relayed within Hamlets story. These themes include death, obsession, and betrayal, all of which contribute in some manner to encourage Hamlets madness. In every theme, the audience can relate on a universal level both back in the day and in contemporary times as death, obsession and betrayal are common entities, well known today and will continue to be known and understood until the end of time. There are many overlapping themes that all relate back to Hamlets madness, specifically including death, obsession, and betrayal. Nature of Hamlet The underlying theme of madness is represented quite often in the play. In the play, Hamlet exhibits a puzzling nature. Hamlet contradicts himself throughout out the play. He endorses both of the virtues of acting a role and being true to ones self. He further supports both of these conflicting endorsements with his actions. This ambiguity is demonstrated by his alleged madness, for he does behave madly, only to become perfectly calm and rational an instant later. These inconsistencies are related with the internal dilemmas he faces. He struggles with the issue of revenging his fathers death, vowing to kill Claudius and then backing out, several times. In the first act Hamlet appears to be very straightforward in his actions and inner state. When questioned by Gertrude about his melancholy appearance Hamlet says, Seems, madam? Nay it is. I know not seems (1.2.76). This is to say I am what I appear to be. Later he makes a clear statement about his state when he commits himself to revenge. In this statement the play makes an easy to follow shift. This shift consists of Hamlet giving up the role of a student and mourning son. Hamlet says,Ill wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and observation copied there, And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain (1.5.99à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ103) Hamlet is declaring that he will be committed to nothing else but the revenge of his fathers death. Conviction When Hamlet appears again in act two, it seems that he has lost the conviction that was present earlier. He has yet to take up the part assigned to him by the ghost. He spends the act walking around, reading, talking with Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the players. It is not until the very end of the act that he even mentions vengeance. If he had any of the conviction shown earlier he would be presently working on his vengeance. So instead of playing the part of vengeful son, or dropping the issue entirely, he hangs out in the middle, pretending to be mad. This is shown when he says to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern I know notà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœlost all my mirth, foregone all custom of exercise (2.2.298à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ299). Later he tells them that he is just feigning madness when he says, I am but mad northà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœnorthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœwest, when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw (2.2.380à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ381). Admitting so blatantly that he is only feigning madness would imply that he is comfortable with it. He also seems to be generally comfortable with acting. This is evidenced when he says, there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so (2.2.251à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ252). Hamlet is saying that behavior shapes reality. Hamlet is prompted to vengeance, again, by the moving speech that is given by one of the players. About this speech he says, Whats Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, That he should weep for her? What would he do Had he motive and cue for passion, That I have? (2.2.561à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ564) In this praise of this players ability to act, Hamlet is saying that if he were such an actor he would have killed Claudius by now. This link between vengeance and acting that is present here is what Hamlet struggles with until very near the end. When Hamlet is advising the player on how his lines should be read he says, Suit the action to the word, the word to the action (3.2.17à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ18). If Hamlet would follow his own advice he would not have a conflict. This shows that he is not consistent within himself. Hamlet is saying one should not distinguish between word and actions, but he does maintain this separation. Yet when Hamlet speaks with Horatio he praises him for being objective, levelheaded, and for having a consistent character. He is praising Horatio for being true to himself, not being an actor. Hamlet says,Give me that man, That is not passions slave, and I will wear him, In my hearts core, ay, in my heart of heart, As I do thee. (3.2.69à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ72) Hamlet is saying this because he wants Horatio to watch the King at the play. He is unsure of his uncles guilt, and he wants proof. He wants it from someone who he thinks is honest throughout. It comes back to acting and vengeance or in this case he has failed in his vengeance and needs Horatio to agree with him. Hamlet says to Horatio, Observe mine uncle. If his occulted guilt, Do not itself unkernnel in one speech, It is a dammed ghost we have seen, (3.2.77à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ80) Proof, however, does not have any thing to do with the role Hamlet is supposed to play, but there is more to it than that. The interesting thing is that his uncle will be judged by how he acts during the play. If the King is a good actor, and does not show his guilt, he will most likely not be killed. However, the King is not a good actor and when he rises Hamlet responds with, What, frighten with false fire? (3.2.254). Its as if Hamlet is saying its only a play, its not real. He does say something to this e ffect a few lines before. Your majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not (3.2.229à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ230). This new proof drives Hamlet to use more words. He is again to talk of killing, and he says, Now I could drink hot blood (3.2.379). He again associates this with a role, that of Nero. The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom (3.2.383). Later Hamlet again talks himself out of character and does not kill the King. He puts it off until later and says, When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, At gaming, swearing, or about some act, That has no relish of salvation in it, Then trip him that his heels may kick at heaven, And that his soul may be dammed and black (3.3.89à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ94) Death Hamlet frequently thinks about suicide throughout the course of the play. Hamlets perspective on his life can be seen in his To be or not to be speech. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And, by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep- No more, and by a sleep to say we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocks is only the beginning of his verse (3.1.59-64). By mentioning the thoughts of suffering the slings and arrows that are naturally lifes tribulations, followed by the consideration of facing a sea of troubles by living, it is apparent that he desires to experience death. Hamlet hopes to avoid and not to be subjected to inevitable heartache that is simply part of life, and by wishing to not have to tolerate pain, exhibits his wish to die. At the end, Hamlet has apparently made the decision that he would rather die, but if, and only if he were not afraid of what would come after death . In a manner of speaking, this also reflected Hamlets depression in that he would constantly think about death. He was melancholy to say the least. The question remains as to whether or not this is madness. In truth, it is possible that because he contemplates suicide in a very real way, it could possibly be thought of as madness as it is not a thought that any normal person would ever have. Instead, a normal individual may see issues in life that need to be dealt with instead of run away from which may have been what Hamlet was doing. Madness surrounds this possibility of death because most individuals will never truly contemplate taking their own life in any normal circumstances. In any event, Hamlets uncertainty is also what drives Hamlets obsessions, which revolve around the betrayal leading to the death of his father. Obsession and Betrayal Hamlets obsession revolves around the betrayal his family has faced at the hands of his uncle. Despite the fact that Hamlet appears to have been given evidence that his uncle did, as a matter of fact, murder his father, it seems as though this so-called evidence is simply not enough for Hamlet to be absolutely certain. Where wilt though lead me? Speak; Ill go no further Hamlet begins in Scene V (Shakespeare) Although this statement may be perceived as Hamlet attempting to stand his ground in search for answers as to what is happening, the other side of this could also be that he is somewhat afraid of the specter that is standing in front of him. During Shakespeares time period, fear of ghosts was not unusual because it was believed that ghosts did indeed exist as a way of explaining sometimes what seemed to be supernatural things. The ghost of Shakespeares Hamlet first appears in Act I and reveals truths to Hamlet, one of which is admitting that he is Hamlets murdered father. A conve rsation takes place between Hamlet and the ghost of his dead father where the ghost openly accuses Claudius, Hamlets uncle, of having been the murderer by stating that The serpent that did sting thy fathers life Now wears his crown (1.5.39-40). If the ghost is indeed Hamlets father and is to be believed, theoretically, the ghosts accusation should be all of the proof that Hamlet needs, yet he continually searches for proof, all the while replacing normal joys with his obsession to know the absolute truth behind the betrayal the resulted in the death of his beloved father. Eventually, his obsession with his fathers death gets reinforced by an increase in separation from his family as well as his loved ones. Simply seeing a ghost raises questions of madness because reality says that there are no such things as ghosts, but yet, people still claim to see ghosts. In this particular case, it can be thought that Hamlet descended into madness even further as he attempted to come to terms with several factors that surrounded this particular event in the play. The first factor that really stands out is the fact that Hamlet sees a ghost period. Not too many people will see such things unless they are perhaps clinically and mentally disturbed. That is the first implication that signals Hamlets madness. It continues even as others see what Hamlet sees. Even Hamlets friends, Horatio and Marcellus, see him after Hamlet has seen his fathers ghost. Hamlet truly wants closure for the loss of his father and as such, urgently wants assurances as to what has been witnessed from his friends perspectives. While his friends fear the ghost, Hamlet feels as though he must go in order for the ghost to talk to hi m. Is it madness that drives him to go forth and attempt to communicate with the ghost? Honestly, it can be looked at from either perspective. Simply believing that an individual can even talk to a ghost is somewhat disturbing. There would have to be some sort of mental illness or blockage there to believe that he truly was talking to his fathers ghost. At the same time, maybe it was not madness as it could have been because there are many different ways that an individual learns to cope with what they are dealing with. In this case, Hamlet must learn to deal with the loss of his father and perhaps seeing something like a specter is in fact his coping mechanism. That cannot possibly be healthy, but for lack of better explanation, at least it is a way to cope. On the other hand, it can even be questioned as to whether or not he may instead be experiencing a true mental illness like schizophrenia. The only reason that can be tossed out the window as an option is because his friends al so see the ghost even if they are unaware as to who or what it is supposed to stand for. Also considering the fact that the only person that the ghost talks to is Hamlet, it would seem that perhaps this was also because Hamlet was the only one willing to see and talk to the ghost. Perhaps that is also a sign of madness as he allowed himself to communicate with someone that really should not exist in any real scientific manner. Since Hamlet seemed to be far past the idea true sanity, it would further seem that his talking to a ghost would simply add to the madness that is Hamlet. As the play progresses, Hamlet has become separate emotionally from his family and the woman he once proclaimed to love, Ophelia. He would rather push Ophelia away and encourage her to go to a nunnery because of the way he has come to view women in general. He goes on to tell her that he loved her once, only to say that Ophelia should not have believed me, for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not (3.1.119-121). How hurtful that was to the fair Ophelia and did nothing but make her wish for the Hamlet she once knew. Clinical depression exhibits withdrawal from loved ones, as Hamlet has done here with Ophelia. Hamlet even finds it necessary to be vulgar towards Ophelia as it would have been impossible for him to continue to love her while simultaneously attempting to avenge Hamlet pulled away from the woman he had once proclaimed to love and still continued to contemplate his fathers death as well as his own. The death of Hamlets father is also reflective of the types of plays that were written of the time which were morality plays. The play contains many elements that are reminiscent of the Dark Ages such as the idea of the nation being diseased like a physical being which reminds the audience of the plague that had run rampant during medieval times. It is interesting that the health of the country and the well-being of the family are so closely related in such a manner that the country actually reflects the family. This brings forth the dark ages to the audience because the people held the royal family largely responsible for the plague and felt as though the royal family could have done more for the people as opposed to simply getting away. Denmark is constantly described as a physical person that has been made ill by the moral corruption within the family. In writing Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote what was common for that time which was a morality play. Clearly, morality played a significa nt part in the entire piece as Hamlet struggled with the idea of death. After the kings death, Hamlet is obsessed with death and looks at death from several different points of view. Then again, death was a common component of life during the dark ages what with the plague having run its course through Europe. With all of the surrounding destruction, contemplating death was normal, but for Hamlet, it took a slightly different twist. Real Madness or Not? Some might argue that Hamlets madness was real or not, but in truth, it was a truly disastrous time in Hamlets life. His father had passed away and his uncle had just married his widowed mother. This was then followed by the appearance of the ghost of his dead father with instructions for revenge, and then as if that were not enough, Ophelias father had made it impossible for Hamlet to see her. It is no wonder that Hamlet had episodes of madness throughout the play and appeared to lose touch with reality a number of times. In all reality, Hamlet never fully lost touch with reality and as such did eventually stop exhibiting his insanity after his argument with Laertes in the graveyard. Even in considering the revenge that was plotted against Claudius required some sort of reality hold in order to plan something effectively for it to really work. Once Hamlet saw his ghost of a father, his sole purpose in life was to uncover the truth about the matter and avenge his father should it be deemed necessary. From that perspective, madness seemed to be the perfect vessel to manipulate the way that the people worked around him. In fact, madness allowed him to confuse Polonius into believing that Ophelia was the root of his madness so much in fact that Polonius went to the king and queen who also seem inclined to believe that Ophelia could in fact be the cause of Hamlets madness. For Hamlet to carry this on effectively, he would have had to retain some sort of connection to reality in order to manipulate those that would otherwise doubt whether or not he actually knew what he was talking about. Hamlet was a brilliant man indeed! Final Thoughts It would seem that being a good actor is paramount to survival in this play. Polonius could not stick to the role of adviser and was trying to convince the King that Hamlet was in love with his daughter. This leads him to spy on Hamlet, and because he could not do that right either, is killed. Ophelia could not handle the role of mourning for her father, goes mad and dies as a result. The King could not cover up his guilt, so Hamlet has the proof he needs to spur him on. Overall, Hamlet, who if he would have acted as the ghost instructed him to in the first place, instead of flip flopping around, would have killed Claudius outright. Had Hamlet been truly comfortable with acting, Claudius would have been the only causality. Depending on how Hamlet is examined, it would appear that there are both real and not quite so real bouts of madness. Given the time in his life, it would be more likely that Hamlet would in fact be a victim of madness while still retaining some of his ability to keep in touch with reality to some extent. This attachment is what kept Hamlet from going entirely over the edge, but ultimately, his madness is what caused the story to take the path that it did because his madness led to his obsession which bled over into several different other themes within the play.

Philosophy of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Teaching Statement

Philosophy of Education One of the most privileged professions in the world today is teaching. Teachers can influence the youth of a culture in a way no one else can. Teachers have the honorable responsibility of education. Students develop mentally, socially, and ethically within the realm of academic education. While in this critical stage of development, students are given the laboratory of the classroom to test themselves in ways that are more risky after graduation. Teachers play a crucial role in this laboratory. I believe that the most important way I can serve my students while fulfilling this role is to have positive expectations, to continually reflect on my teaching habits and performance, and to use literature as a way to empower my students to be successful personally and professionally. I believe each student should be treated as an individual, and positive expectations should guide my interaction with each individual. Students have the potential and capability to achieve the highest success, and I will treat each of them with this in mind. Students should always believe this about themselves, and they are not going to unless others believe it with them. The development of a student’s self worth is very important during the middle and high school years. I believe many students fail academically because they don’t believe they are able to succeed, or they don’t value their success academically. These students need positive reinforcement and high expectations. Some students are set up to fail before they even enter the school building; a poor home environment can have negative effects on a student’s self worth and ability to study. These students need understanding, accommodations, and positive encourage... ...o help them make their own responsible decisions. After all, in a few years, they will be completely independent and should have practiced making their own decisions. I want to encourage my students to form their opinions about the choices they want to make through sound experiences and information before they get in the specific situations, thus making more informed and thoughtful decisions "in the moment." While entertaining the issues of culture itself, I would like to equip my students with the tools needed to read, write, comprehend, and verbally articulate their well-formulated ideas. By embedding the grammar, writing, reading, and critical thinking skills within the teaching of a a relative text, I hope to stretch the minds of my students more than just academically, but even in their development as a person. Literature can reach students in ways that I cannot.

Italian Women of the Renaissance Essays -- Arts, Gentileschi, Anguisso

Across Europe, between 1400 and 1650, there were women present in all major styles of time. They worked along side of great artists and were developing new techniques and styles. Women also played a very important role in the Renaissance. Although not as well documented as their male counterparts, women worked along with the other great masters, were just as innovating, and were key in developing new techniques. Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 – 1652), daughter of a well-known Roman artist, was one of the first women to become recognized in her time for her work.. She was noted for being a genius in the world of art. But because she was displaying a talent thought to be exclusively for men, she was frowned upon. However by the time she turned seventeen she had created one of her best works. One of her more famous paintings was her stunning interpretation of Susanna and the Elders. This was all because of her father. He was an artist himself and he had trained her and introduced her to working artists of Rome, including Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. 1. In an era when women artists were limited to painting portraits, she was the first to paint major historical and religious scenes. After her death, people seemed to forget about her. Her works of art were often mistaken for those of her fathers. An art historian on Artemisia, Mary D. Garrard notes that Artemisia â€Å"has suffered a s cholarly neglect that is unthinkable for an artist of her caliber.† Renewed and long overdue interest in Artemisia recently has helped to recognize her as a talented renaissance painter and one of the world’s greatest female artists. She played a very important role in the renaissance. (http://www.artemisia-gentileschi.com/index.shtml) Another... ...n for her spontaneity which came from her passionate and stubborn temperament. In her Rime, she writes poems relating to her love of a man named Collaltino. Her poems are filled with ecstasy and sorrow, with the remembering of happy moments but also with jealousy and anxiety between the two. In 1553, her health took a turn for the worse. She caught a high fever which killed her in a few days. The same year, her sister had her Rime published. It was not very successful in her century. It had to wait two centuries before being published again. She is now hailed as one of the greatest Italian poets. Stampa’s Rime is one of the largest collection of Canzonieri in the Italian literature. There are 311 poems in all, arranged in chronological order. Gaspara freed herself from her obsessive love by transferring her pain into some of the greatest poetry in Italian history.

Primate Intelligence versus Human Intelligence Essay

Monkeys are noted to be the closest depiction of the creation of humans. Undeniably, the existence and the life- activities of the said creatures are closely related to that of the human activities as well. Through studies including both scientific and psychological studies, the said creatures portray the closest relation to the human life and behavior. How they think and how they do things had been noted to be a direct depiction of how humans react to life and are thus affected by the different events that are connected with the said existence. This issue on the relationship of monkey-behaviors with that of the humans had been subjected to several questions and assumptions that relate the situation as to how their intelligence relate to that of the human intelligence. The intelligence of monkeys is noted through studies as ‘Primate’; meaning, monkeys follow an instinct that dictates to them what should be done. As for example, when they are in need of food, they notice this because of feeling hungry thus they are motivated to do something about it. As their food is found simply around their environment, they begin to forge. However, more than simply being dictated by the situation through instinct, primate intelligence shows how a situation is dealt with by an individual creature through immediate solution to arising problems that needs to be given attention at once. Through the utilization of primate intelligence, an individual is able to account something that is needed to solve an abrupt situation that he is facing. Upon studies, it has been shown how chimpanzees in particular react to several occurrences in their environment in an immediate response. The idea is that they are able to fix the problems easily through deciding abruptly during the actual situation. Through this, the social and the personal behavior of the said creatures are then outlined to respond immediately to several situations that they may face. Humans too are faced with these particular dilemmas in life. Just the same, they are bale to come up with the necessary decisions that they need to posses to be able to solve the situations or problems that they are particularly dealing with. Undoubtedly though, the decision making procedures of humans are naturally more complex than that of the chimpanzees or the monkeys as a whole. The idea is that when a human decides, he carries on several considerations that are involved in the issue. Most likely, the situation becomes much harder to deal with, but the results are more effective and beneficial for the issue that is being solved. True, both humans and other creatures were given the ability to think and decide from themselves. However, the reason why humans were separated from all the others is that they have the capability to reason out with their own thinking. Unlike other creatures, although they do have the capability to decide more than just being dictated, humans are able to set the different pros and cons of the decision before they are able to actually release the decision for further application. Constant understanding of the major elements of intelligence shall show that humans are of different understanding compared to that of the other creatures. Most likely this is primarily because of the fact that humans have the capability to logically identify their decisions and the reasoning that comes along with it. References: Marc D. Hauser. (1998). Games Primates Play. Research Library.

Eudora Welty Research Paper

She was the oldest of three children and the only girl of a very close-knit family. Her father, Christian Webb Welt, was an Ohio native who worked for an Insurance company. Her mother, Mary Chastens Welt, had been a schoolteacher In West Flagella. Welt's mother, being a schoolteacher, loved to read and Influenced Welt to read at a young age. In her biography, Welt tells about her earliest memories of her parents reading to her and to each other at night.She was always surrounded by books and was always reading. Her love of reading led her to graduate high school and further her education, which most girls during this time did not do. Welt had potential that did not go to waste. Eduardo Welt became a well-known, skilled writer who used her own background and experiences to help shape her stories into something captivating, stressing the importance of place in each and every story (Kerosene). She began her studies at the Mississippi State College for Women. Here, she helped start a lit erary magazine.Two years later, she began studying at the university of Wisconsin and earned her bachelor's degree there. After Informing her arenas that she wanted to become a writer, her father suggested she have something else to fall back on. Upon his advice, she decided to study advertising at the Columbia university School of Business. The job industry was tough when she graduated, so Welt decided to move back to Jackson (Machismo). After moving back home to Jackson, she began working for a local radio station and wrote about the society of Jackson for the Commercial Appeal in Memphis.Five years after taking this job, she began working for the Works Progress Administration, which was a government program established during the Depression, as a publicity gent. Welt thoroughly enjoyed this Job, which enabled her to travel all over Mississippi and see things she had never seen before. The people she saw amazed her and worried her at the same time. She used a cheap camera to captu re pictures of everything she saw and documented It for the WAP. She wished for these pictures to be published, but they only went so far as to be exalted In New York.She also interviewed various people, each one intriguing her more and more (Prose). Through her experiences working with the Works Progress Administration, she got a huge feel of Southern life outside of Jackson. This was the starting point for her future in writing her stories. Location was of great importance in Welt's stories. She believed that place was what made stories seem real and complete. One of Welt's famous quotes is, â€Å"A place that ever was lived in is like a fire that never goes out. Jackson was her home all of her life, and it was what she knew best. She Incorporated this familiarity and Intimacy so flawlessly into her work and It is this that draws the reader in. It is so apparent that heart Is put Into her writings. Although most of her stories are set In the deep south, most critics Greer that he r work Is all-inclusive and not narrowed Just to southern living, language, and customs (Moloch). She Is able to detach from what she knows best and observe other aspects of the world.Neither of her parents were originally from Living in New York for a few years also broadened her horizons. She said it best when she said, â€Å"Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; it was through travel that I found my own introspective way into becoming a part of it. † With all of her experiences tied together piece by piece, story by story, Eduardo Welt became a well-known, award winning writer (Discussions). Eduardo Welt explained in her autobiographical work, One Writer's Beginnings, how her fiction stories grew from this â€Å"sheltered life† that she lived.This book was published later, in 1984, and consisted of three different lectures that she gave at Harvard University, with the sections being titled: â€Å"Listening†, â€Å"Learning to See†, and â€Å"Finding a Voice†. She used this book to give an explanation of what makes a writer become a writer and to show her natural roots. She explains how she converted this part of her life into a new and different perception, and from this, she wrote her fiction. Using a series of expressive memories, she described in detail her life as she was growing up.She used memories that she felt were â€Å"significant†, which kept the reader wanting to read more, instead of growing bored. She says it best herself in only a few sentences: â€Å"Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it's an early form of participation in what goes on. Listening children know stories are there. When their elders sit and begin, children are Just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole. (Welt) Welt's first published short story of her career was written in 1936 called â€Å"De ath of a Traveling Salesman†.She sent this story, along with a letter, to the editors of a magazine called Manuscript. The magazine published her story and her letter in their June issue. The story was very well written for it to be her first, and showed that she knew what she was doing. Two admired publications, the Atlantic and the Southern Review, allowed Welt's work to appear their magazines within Just two years Cones). Her talent in her first story was recognized by the author Katherine Anne Porter. Porter went on to write a complimentary preface for Welt's first book, A Curtain of Green, full of Welt's short stories.This introduction boosted the American awareness of Welt's work. Welt's first novel, Delta Wedding, was published in 1946 (Discussions). A few decades after Welt's career launched, around 1956, she began having troubles at home. Her brother's arthritis became more severe, disabling him and also causing heart problems. Just as this problem occurred, Welt's mo ther had a series of strokes. The strokes took a huge toll on Welt's mother, and it left her all but blind. More problems followed these already troubled times. Her other brother fell into a depression, and it wasn't his first.He was also afflicted with the same arthritis that had taken over their brother (Mars). For almost ten years, Welt fought through many battles, seeing family members and friends close to her suffer through illnesses, some less fortunate in their struggle than others. Theses hardships limited her writing, but in the long run, they only made her and her work stronger. She was finally able to finish her novel, Losing Battles, in 1970 (Vandalized). This was the one piece of work that took Welt the longest to make. In reviewing the book for the