Textual Analysis on the book of The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Research Paper - 1

Textual Analysis on the book of The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler - Research Paper Example Many critics claim that dystopian novels set in the future are not really about the author’s idea of the future, but instead are deliberately exaggerated stories about what the author thinks is wrong with the world of his or her present. With this in mind, it is easy to see that Butler was writing not about the year 2024, but about the year 1993. In The Parable of the Sower, it’s easy to see the fears and problems represented that were prevalent in American society in the early 1990s. Huge corporations exploiting increasingly powerless workers, an epidemic of crack addiction among the inner-city poor, race riots triggered by police brutality, and a new public discourse about rape dominated the news of the day. Crime—particularly violent inner-city crime and gang-related crime—had been extremely high in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The change that the main character, Lauren, preaches about is really the change that Octavia Butler wished to see in her own society. The basis for the Earthseed philosophy that Lauren tries to spread is that the only god is change, and people can create the change they want to see if they understand that they are able to do it. The people who don’t know they can create change, or those who fear change, will eventually become victims of it. In Lauren’s world, the problems of the late twentieth century United States have grown so severe that they make life essentially unlivable for impoverished people. Problems that were once thought of as only urban issues have moved out into rural areas. It’s the extreme nature of these problems that forces the change to happen. If Lauren had lived in a slightly safer or more stable situation; if she had been able to stay safely in her home, or if she’d had a loving family alive to keep her there, she would never have tried to travel north and gather followers for her new religion. Instead she might have lived quietly and never shared her ideas with

The sculpture of Kuoros Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The sculpture of Kuoros - Dissertation Example The first element which relates to the cultural implications of the sculpture is from the formalism that is used.   The physical properties are representative of Athens during this time frame and what was believed to be the perfect human body.   When examining the physical properties, it can be seen that proportion is consistent throughout the piece.   The lines are the first element of this.   For example, the abdominal area has a line that goes to the legs as well as the same shape that goes to the chest.   This is done to make the body completely proportionate.   This is followed by the shapes, which are proportionate as well.   The shapes of the shoulders, chest and legs are proportionate and equal on every side to create a mathematical look to the perfect body.   While there is one leg that is slightly set back, this only adds to the appearance of having the right proportions when in motion.   The main physical look uses space to create this specific balance.   The space is used between both legs and between the stomach and arm area.   These two spaces are also proportionate and have the same amount of space used for contrast within the two regions.   The light and dark that is added into this is then able to balance with the sculpture having the light and the spaces in between each area balancing this with the dark.   Each of the regions of the body creates a sense of balance and proportion with the figure. The iconography, or symbolism, is one which is presented in this sculpture as something that is greater than or more significant. The promotion of the sculpture can be linked directly to what others would want to achieve within their life. This is close to the symbol of sublimination, which consists of cultural development that created symbols as idols and role models. Physical activities, scientific idols, artistic and ideological concepts all links to the creation of an illusion of what one can achieve within a lifetime.

Chopsticks Only Works in Pairs Book Analysis Essay

Chopsticks Only Works in Pairs Book Analysis - Essay Example Very strange social customs like the walking marriage (In a walking marriage, the couples do not marry to live together as is the majority custom. Both of them stay in their own matrilineal family for the whole life. The male walks to the female’s house every evening and. the women open their doors to their lovers every evening. The men walk back home to work in their mothers household every morning. Neither of them is a member of each others family. ) and the graceful peacock dances seen among the Yunnan minorities are now recognized examples of cultural diversities seen among the ethnic minorities. It is in this context that Shanshan Du’s Chopsticks Only Work in Pairs, an important work on the ethnography of the Luhu gender system in China becomes pertinent. The book deeply explores the gender egalitarian society that still exists among the Lahu community, a community that lives in Southwest China; a community without a traditional written language. Chopsticks Only Wo rk in Pairs is a proverb that expresses the ideology that supports the gender equality prevalent in this community. Du begins the book with a clear theoretical introduction which states that, like rare islands there exists gender egalitarian societies, though very scarce and often imperfect. The existence of such societies has to be seen in the background of the cry for gender equality, which according to Du is â€Å" a popular dream like concept in the so called civilized world .† The strange fact is that these egalitarian societies are not recognized either by the feminists or by the anthropologists. This exposes the limitations of the utopian feminist agendas and the Western intellectual traditions, Du argues. Du in her introductory chapter thus goes critical about what she calls the anti male bias of the feminists. Even in a male dominated society there is no absolute male domination; neither is there absolute female

Patient ratio to nurse affects patients ans nurses in canadian health Essay

Patient ratio to nurse affects patients ans nurses in canadian health care - Essay Example Effects of Patient-Nurse Ratio to the Nurses, Patients, and Canadian Health Care Introduction Canada’s health care system has undergone enormous change (Forest, 2004, p. 150). One of these changes involves the Health Human Resource Planning (HHRP) and has posed challenges related to patient-nurse ratio. The HHRP drastically affect the role of the health care providers such as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, caregivers, and even patients. That is why the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada proposed that health care must be matched as closely as possible to the health needs of the population (Forest, 2004, p. 151). I had been on practicum in a care home and I noticed how nurses are responsible for 25 patients and 8 patients for each care aid. Based on observation, that nurse and care aid ratio to patients had a huge impact on patient care. Because of that number, a lot of things were missed, poorly done, rushed, and worst commission of negligence. Nur se-patient ratio is not fair especially in care homes and in hospitals. During my practicum as an LPN, I had observed that the quality of care an LPN could give was compromised due to extra load. The LPN cannot bring out the best care for patient and the nurses became task oriented. Both the nurses and LPN cannot spare an enormous amount of time to build a good relationship with the patients. In addition, care aids are given some responsibilities that should be done by a nurse. For example, range of motion (ROM) exercises was performed by LPN although these persons might not know the importance of ROM exercises. As I was talking and taking care of these patients, I noticed presence of contractures because their exercises are not being carried out even though it is written in the chart. Also, topical medications application was assigned to the care aid but it is not applied everyday committing this mistake repeatedly. The unfair patient-nurse ratio diminished the time nurses spend wi th patient. If a nurse had a little bit extra time to spend with patient, it might relieve patient’s anxiety and will ask questions about their health. But instead, patients are given sedatives and nurses no longer sit with the client to alleviate anxiety. More and more drugs are given and it just adds to the drug toxicity in the body. Most of the patients admitted to the hospital are seriously ill. They went to the hospital for cure and not to have additional serious complications on top of it. Studies found out that lower nurse-patient staffing was linked to the occurrences of increased urinary tract infections, pneumonia, thrombosis, pulmonary lung congestion, and other lung-related problems following major surgery. This nurse-patient ratio caused nurses’ burnout as they have to give medications to 25 patients including the tube patient’s medication, IV medication, and insulin injection which were time consuming. Nurses look like robot in giving care and donà ¢â‚¬â„¢t have enough patient time. In some instances, old patients take medication slowly consuming a bulk of time nurses could provide to other patients. In hospitals, nurses are given extra load of acute patients. Later on, this compromised care and adds extra stress on the part of the nurse. In general, the lower nurse

Project Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project - Literature review Example Ennis, (2005) in his journal claim that a range or approaches or theories have been developed concerning attribution, self-efficacy and self-esteem. Self-efficacy is described as the judgment of how well a course of action that is needed in dealing with the eventual situation can be executed by an individual. Kleinbeck, Quast, Thierry, Hacker, & Forschungsgemeinschaft, (2005) expound on Ennis’ definition, by describing it as the confidence of a person in his or her aptitude to the organization and execution of a particular course of action to deal with an issue or execute a job. On the theory of self-efficacy, the writers argue that the major determinant of effort, setting of objectives and persistence is efficacy. The conception suggesting that people with higher self-efficacy are inclined to be more accomplished and motivated on a particular work is supported by empirical research. In addition, self-efficacy has been linked to the application of the cognitive strategies the perceptions of self-efficacy project triumph over the real or actual levels of ability Kleinbeck, Quast, Thierry, Hacker, & Forschungsgemeinschaft, (2005). Moreover, another concept in the motivation field is about the locus of control (Denton, 2002). In this concept, people should be more motivated in a manner such that they are made to feel like they are in control and ownership of their failures as well as successes. In addition, in one formulation of the theory of control, we find that one of the three fundamental psychological requirements, together with relatedness and competence is independence. It is within this structure or context that the personal differences in the degree to which these fundamental requirements are accomplished are in compliance with the variation with the motivation levels. Nonetheless, the locus of control has a close relationship with the attributions concept. Attributions are the beliefs of a person as regards the causes of a bad or good performance. There are numerous kinds of attributions, and these include ability, lack and effort (Denton, 2002). In the ‘Motivation in the real world’ text by Gellerman (1992), we are told that the most effectual systems of motivation in flourishing and successful organization in the United States are benefit programs and good pay, selectivity in the process of hiring, as well as the encourage of employment on long term basis. Some other means are flexible policy implementation, cooperative groups or even none at all, as well as a rational policy that puts the motivation of employees above any other thing Gellerman (1992). However, in the ‘Understanding Employee Motivation’ a research by Lindner (1998), factors of motivation are put or arranged in order or importance. The first one is interesting work, followed by good pay and lastly full appreciation or recognizing of the job done. Coming next is job security or assurance, good conditions for working, growth and prom otions in the corporation. Ranking low on the list is individual loyalty to the workers, sympathetic help with individual problems and considerate disciple. Some other ways that can be used to increase the motivation of workers is promotions, enlargement of jobs, external and internal stipends, rewards and job enrichment. To make work more interesting to the workers, job enlargement is the best approach as it increases the variety and number of

Important Inventions Essay Example for Free

Important Inventions Essay You have probably heard the saying All roads lead to Rome, many times from numerous people. Of course, not all roads lead to Rome; but back in the time of ancient civilizations, most roads in eastern Europe did. Of all ancient people, the Romans were the finest road builders. At the beginning of the 4th century B. C., they built smooth, hard surfaced, and durable roads wherever they ruled. That empire extended from England to North Africa; many of the roads in England are still in use today! Since you may not realize the important role that these early roads played, I am going to give you an idea of how they were built, used, and what exciting discoveries were made as the result of these ancient road builders. You will even get to see how these discoveries were used in the construction of their roads. Most of us take the roads we use today for granted, we never think about how some of the inventions like concrete, early arch bridges, and cement were discovered. Without some of those inventions, it would have been much more difficult for the Romans to rule their vast empire. Well built roads were necessary to control and extend their empire, permit trade and travel, and move their massive armies. They were the most impressive road builders of the ancient world. Over 50,000 roads, many well paved, stretched all over the Roman Empire. Settled in 800 B. C., Rome and its citizens communicated efficiently on land using a famous road system that linked all parts of the empire. Even though the army built most roads, all people traveled on them. Official messengers and troops moved rapidly over swamps, rivers, and mountains because of good bridges, paved causeways, and tunnels. Cutting through mountains and spanning streams, roads were built in straight lines whenever possible. The Romans knew how to lay a solid base and to give a road a pavement of flat stones. They also knew to make a road slope slightly from the center and toward both sides to drain off water.

Social Networking Is Affecting Our Reputation

Social Networking Is Affecting Our Reputation Social Media plays a big role in our everyday lives. Although social media is an easier way to socialize with other people in which you can connect with distant relatives or friends who dont often see, many have become so obsessed with checking up on their Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and etc. constantly. Social media has become a huge distraction in our daily lives. Social media is made to let people express themselves but many people use it as a way to be someone they are not or even to hurt others. Social media is harmful to our society in which allows for others to access your information. Many have become so addicted to social media that they dont have time to be physically active in which causes them to become unhealthy. Kids are spending so much time on social media and less time on studying. Overall, social media is hurting our country causing more bullying, depression, laziness and more are becoming unhealthy. Social networking is affecting our reputation. People dont realize that there isnt any privacy on social networking websites. Many arent aware what they post is out to the public, even though you deleted it, it can be retrieved. Nowadays jobs and colleges check to see if you have social media, inappropriate photos or comments can hurt your self image. The internet today is making everything easier to be viewed. Social media today lets individuals put out anything and even everything about a person. The rights to ones privacy are abused and are not persuaded to withhold ones personal information. In the article Is Your Online Activity Hurting Your Chances of Getting Into College? by Linsey Davis, basically shows us that before colleges accept you by your overall average or SAT score they will also be willing to look to see if you have any social media. Rachel is beginning to apply to college and her first choice is Bentley University, she began to worry after a college tour guide warn ed her about social media. It states He basically warned us that the admissions counselors will also look at our Facebook and any social media that we have to try and get a better picture of what kind of person we really are, Rachel said. Before colleges or even a job accepting you the first thing they will do is to see if you have any social media so they can see what type of person you really are. In the article Skarlis states He took a look all the way back to when Rachel was in middle school and first started using social media.. which basically means college admissions will be looking not only what have you been doing recently on social media but also the past back when you have first register on social media websites. Even though you have everything the college requires one little thing like having social media can affect you from getting in. In the article Privacy Invasion: Social media monitoring required to attend college or to be hired? by Ms. Smith shows us that social me dia is affecting the person chances in getting in colleges or even getting hired for a job. It states According to a Microsoft survey about the negative effects of unwise social media posts, 14% of people surveyed lost out on the college they wanted, 16% lost out on getting a job and 21% were fired from a job. Some employers and colleges may insist you friend them on social media or worse they may insist on your password to Twitter, to Facebook, Google and other social media sites so they can see what you post, your photos, what you say in DMs, and what you chat about. If you post negative comment, or photos on social media it can affect your chances into what college you want to go to, can get you fired from your job and can also hold you from being hired. This shows us that colleges and even jobs are being stricter on social media, even asking for their password to invade their privacy, what you post, and your photos that you upload and even to see what you and your friends talk a bout. Whatever you put on the Internet will follow you around forever. Social networks are giving bullies an opportunity to attack individuals online by invading their privacy. Social media makes it easier to continue bullying somebody that is being bullied on at school. By posting bad thing about the person and uploading pictures of the person. Social network creates an open access towards exposing individuals personal information. Suicide is an effect that can be the result of any form of bullying. Students come home from school expecting to find a safe place away from all the threats and dangers around them. However, victims of cyber bullying have no escape. They go home and turn on their computers or laptops and are immediately greeted with the harsh reality. Cyber bullies target their victims through electronic media such as cell-phones, websites, web-cams, chat rooms, and email. A victim is no longer able to escape from their bullies by simply leaving their presence and seeking safety and quietness in their own homes. In the article Bullied to dea th: Amanda Todd didnt do anything online that most others of her generation havent done was about a fifteen year old teenager, Amada Todd who killed herself after being bullied. It states Amanda Todd made a mistake by exposing her breast on the Internet, the stranger who pressured Todd to expose herself online and who circulated a topless photo of her wasnt a fellow teen from her high school but a 32 year old man living in Vancouver. Amanda was pressured to do something she probably didnt want to, she exposed herself to a stranger who she didnt know. In the article Cyber-bullying, social media blamed after Florida teen commits suicide Jessica Laney, 16, hung herself on Sunday after being bullied on the website Ask.fm. Her friends say cyber-bullying on the website Ask.fm is what pushed the troubled teen over the edge. Posts on Laneys page range from the innocent What class do you like the most? to the shockingly cruel Why are you so ugly? and Just kill yourself. Youre worthless. Peop le are using social media to bully others like Jessica Laney by letting her believe that she is worthless, ugly and she should go kill herself. Another story was a girl whose name is Hope Witsell. She was a 13-year-old who grew up in Florida. She forwarded a nude photo of herself to a boy she liked. Another girl borrowed the boys phone, found the image and forwarded it to other students. And so, the image found its way to a lot of other students in her school and in other schools. This then has resulted in teasing and bullying from her peers at Beth Shields Middle School, with insults such as whore and slut. When she returned to school, a counselor observed cuts on Hopes legs and had her sign a no-harm contract, in which Hope agreed to tell an adult if she felt inclined to hurt herself. The next day, Hope hanged herself in her bedroom. Many are being cyber bullied; children arent able to handle the situation, leading them to commit suicide. Some may disagree by saying that social media allows people to stay connected to family and friends, and have also been a great way for people to socialize and meet individuals. These sites are very useful, since students have the opportunity to interact with others by planning and working on school assignments. Many teachers are using social media sites to stay connected with their student once they have graduated and also to update their students on assignments, tests, grades and etc. A website elementary teachers use to interact with their student and coworkers is called Edmodo which allows students and teachers to create profiles, blogs, and gives students a place to go outside of class to contact teachers, keep current on assignments, projects, and quizzes. Social networking sites give people the chance of reconnecting with friends and family members that have not been in touch with for a long period of time, allowing them to strengthen and build good relationships. Also, social networking sites, offer free messaging, photo storage, and games among others. Social media makes it easy to connect with others. It is very helpful in long distance relationship, for example Facebook. The sites have certainly made it more convenient to get in touch with people with whom we have lost contact with. Several studies show that social networking sites have helped business, especially small businesses. They can be helpful in networking for employment purposes. In the article Benefits of using Social media for Business by Harsh Agrawal states Social media allows you to get personal with your customers and form a bond of trust with them. Replying to the concerns of your customers and by asking for their opinions, you can make your customers satisfied with what you have to offer and in this way you get more traffic, which promotes your business. The social media tools are free for use for everyone, and that is why by just working on your social media tools for a few minutes a day, you can get a lot of benefit from it and increase your sales and have better relations with your customers. Overall social media is helping businesses because social networking sites have the potential for advertising, marketing to targeted and segmented customers, and being able to reach out to users with big social networks for further business. Even though there are certain social benefits to these sites, by saying many need them to keep in touch with friends. However, the benefits do not outweigh the problems they cause. Social networking causes children and adults to be lazy and overweight, less productive at school and work. The first reason that social networking is bad for society is that it makes people lazy and overweight. Back in the days when people were bored, they would go outside to do something entertaining as in play in park, ride a bike, go jogging or hit the gym and exercise. Nowadays those who are bored go on their phones, go through others profile on Facebook or even write a status on Facebook stating Like my status for a rate, to be honest, truth is and etc. since they are bored. Many people just go on their phones and tweet about how bored they are or scroll through a friends new pictures and click the like button a few times. Doing these types of things dont help you in any way. In todays society obesit y rates are very high. In the article Causes of Childhood Obesity by Jeff Barnes states that Obesity in America is becoming a huge problem, especially in children. Statistics show that almost 60% of children in America are obese or overweight, and the number is still growing. Kids are become less active, instead of playing basketball, football or any other sports in the park, nowadays they prefer watching television or playing sports on video games, which causes to become unhealthy. Being able to shop online, socialize online, and play online interactive games without moving a muscle has created inactive lifestyles. Video games allow you to play your favorite sports without actually playing them physically. With more social networking sites being created, children are using them more. Once children get home one of the first things they do is log into their social media sites and begins to chat or text with friends. This is affecting their school work, because they arent spending eno ugh time doing homework or studying. Teens are become so addicted which causes them take up to 8 hours a day on social media. They are spending too much time on social media because they are chatting with their friends and searching for unnecessary people which prevent them from studying. This is lowering their grades. Students are spending time at night online and not sleeping enough. Without the sleep required by their body, they have a harder time paying attention in class or do not complete work. Another reason why social media is hurting our society is because a majority of employers search the Internet for information before hiring them. Inappropriate photos comments and what you like is hurting your reputation. When you delete information from Facebook, it does not disappear. Also social media decreases in face-to-face communication. In the article Social networking hurts the communication skills of college students by Megan Puglisi it states Students have become reticent and intimidated in the classroom to speak directly with me. Rather, they feel more comfortable sending me an e-mail from behind a computer screen, which is impersonal and does not contain context at all, Crowley said. Kids are becoming more comfortable sending emails to teachers if they have any questions regarding assignments or grades, rather than speaking face to face. In the article it states Students prefer to participate in brief e-mail exchanges when they should be pursuing real relationships. Avoiding personal interactions harms the competency of young professionals (Its difficult for students) to speak to respected professionals during interviews because they lack the necessary nonverbal behaviors, like eye contact. Feeling comfortable behind computer screen isnt good for you because you will have trouble communicating to others face to face, it will be hard for you to speak to others if youre constantly typing and not speaking verbally. People rather text someone or meet them online rather than communicate in person. We are losing the ability to communicate face to face. For these reasons, social networking is bad for society. Overall, social media is hurting our country in various ways causing more cyber bullying, lack of face to face communication, obesity, lack of privacy and etc. Although social media is an easier way to communicate with long distant friends or family members many have become addicted causing them to go on their profiles daily for maybe 8 hours and more. People are feeling more comfortable chatting behind the screen rather than talking to a person face to face which isnt good when comes to interviews. People arent aware that what they post online can no longer be removed and will stay with you forever. Colleges and jobs are looking at your social media websites to get a better view of who you really are, this may stop you from getting the college you want to. Think twice before uploading a photo, writing a post or liking something on social media because you never know who will be the one to view your profile. Cited Page Bullied to death: Amanda Todd didnt do anything online that most others of her generation havent done. Thats whats so disturbing. http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/magazinesDetailspage 29 October 2012, Web 14.Feb 2013 Agrawal, Harsh. Benefits of Using Social Media for Business. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. Davis Linsey, Sarah Netter and Alexander Ludka How to Use Social Media to Get Into College. ABC News. ABC News Network, 19 Oct. 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. Kaye, Randi. How a Cell Phone Picture Led to Girls Suicide. CNN. Cable News Network, 07 Oct. 2010. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. Ms. Smith. Privacy Invasion: Social Media Monitoring Required to Attend College or to Be Hired? Network World. 07 Mar. 2012, Web. 14 Feb. 2013. Murray, Rheana. Cyber-bullying, Social Media Blamed after Florida Teen Commits Suicide. NY Daily News. 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. Puglisi, Megan. Social Networking Hurts the Communication Skills of College Students. 13 Oct. 2010. Web. 14 Feb. 2013.