Friday, September 6, 2019

Commedia DelArte Essay Example for Free

Commedia DelArte Essay Columbina is the perky maid of the Old Man, Pantalone. She is better dressed than the male servants as she is also a ladys maid. She usually wears a knee length dress and an apron. The colouring of her clothes can be different in different acts, depending on her relationships with the characters and the scenario. She can be in a similar scheme to Arlecchino (where she is sometimes known as Arlecchina with similar diamonds and triangles), or if she is assigned to a rival family of Arlecchinos, she can be in that scheme. In cases where she is an independent character, she can be in blacks and whites in the spirit of a French Maid. Columbina does not usually wear a mask but sometimes wears one covering only her eyes. Her signature props are a tambourine and a basket. Her physical appearance is attractive, perky and petite with a tiny waist, wide hips and lots of cleavage. She walks as if she is skipping on air with a little flick of the foot at the end of each step. All her posses are usually seductive and accentuate her cleavage. Her movement continues during speaking, shifting balance from one foot to the other and moving her head sharply as if searching for someone other than the person being addressed. Shes fast and nimble in order to escape unwanted attentions or to butt in, and can escape from a situation. She is happy and carefree, yet when assigned a task moves with speed and efficiency. This is one of her strongest traits in being a good servant. Her speech is sharp and gossipy with frequent variations of pitch. She Loves Arlecchino, but sees through him. She therefore scolds him, punishes him, deserts him, takes him back, but in the end he does not change and she has to accept him for what he is, which is still more lovable than Il Dottore, Pantalone and Il Capitano. She can be very affectionate to other characters as well, and her affections seem to flow through her physically, but she always holds something back. As a result she is pestered by other men, especially Il Capitano and Pantalone. She is always ready to help the Lovers, perhaps through natural sympathy with their plight. She is a spectator herself. She has a very strong relationship with the audience, almost confidential in the sense that she too can see what fools the rest of them are. She also often flirts with the spectators. She appears almost if not before her name is called, always being on step ahead of her master and finishes sentences for her master too, which she sometimes uses in her favour. When a situation gets out of control, she becomes the dominant voice to put everyone and everything back in its place. She even beats the male characters in strength and intelligence, sometimes even her master. ISABELLA Isabella is the daughter of Pantalone, the old man. Because of her fathers status she had the newest fashion, and usually showed off her wardrobe, wigs and shoes often. She wore stunning silk dresses, often in antique Renaissance style with necklaces of gold and pearls. She is young and attractive and modest but at times can be selfish. Isabella did not usually wear a mask but did sometimes wear a small mask that covered only her eyes. Her signature props are a handkerchief, book and a fan. She has a lack of firm contact with the earth. Her chest and heart appear heavy. They are full of breath, but then take little pants on top. Her posture is correct and tall and is always very proud. Her walk is small as her steps are little. Isabellas posses are of an innocent and happy nature; leaning to one side with one leg pointed outwards, and hands in praying position touching cheek as if sleeping. Another is the back of her hand on her forehead, tilted back as if in agony as well as her chin resting on hands laying on top of each other or fingers interlocked and the head slightly tilted. Her movements are exaggerated, especially her hands and arms, which are like  feathers flapping in the wind. She often manipulates her hankie and frequently looks in a hand mirror. Any imperfection can spell disaster. Her speech is refined, however lacking pretentiousness and is never lost for the correct phrase. The lovers are in love with themselves being in love. They love each other, but are more preoccupied with being seen as lovers. They often feign mild hatred. She is extremely aware of being watched and plays with the audience for sympathy in their plight and ccasionally flirts with spectators. She is flirtatious, headstrong, has dramatic intensity and feigned madness due to passionate love and can be prudish. She can be hot and cold. i.e. prone to mood swings and is a tease with an independent will. She is vain, petulant, spoilt, full of doubt and have very little patience. She has a masochistic enjoyment of enforced separation because it enables her to dramatize their situation, lament, moan, send messages, etc. When her and Lelio do meet they are almost always tongue-tied and need interpreters who proceed to misinterpret their statements, either through stupidity (Zanni), malicious desire for revenge (Brighella) or calculated self-interest (Columbina). Isabellas attention span is short like a young childs and her fear that she might be a nobody keeps her hyper-animated. ARLECCHINO Arlecchino has an enduring magical power, a testimony perhaps to the mystery of it origin. He is a servant and jester, usually to Pantalone, but also frequently IlCapitano, or Il Dottore. He wears a tight-fitting long jacket and trousers, sewn over with random, odd-shapen patches of green, yellow, red and brown possibly remnants of leaves The jacket is laced down the front with a thong and caught by a black belt worn very low on the hips. The shoes are flat and black. He wears a beret, or later a malleable felt hat with a narrow brim, with a feather or tail of a fox, apparently this was a sign of the wearer being a butt of ridicule. Coloured in deep earth tones with warm coloured diamond shaped patches, Arlecchino is always ready to spring into action in a clumsy yet graceful manner. He is ragged, yet sleek. His wears a mask that gives him a low forehead with a wart and has small round eyes. Arlecchinos signature props included his batocchio, meaning in Italian clapper inside the bell, which he always carries. He is continuously in a lowered position, with his hands on his hips with his thumbs in his belt. He walks in sly and comical way by taking a couple steps followed by a quick tip toe. This walk shows alacrity; he also uses it to show off in front of Columbina. His joints are often loose and floppy. When Arlecchino spots someone, the mask moves first; he then hops round and into the gesture of greeting. He is physically quick and slow mentally, in contrast with Brighella (who can, however, be fast physically when he needs to be). His gestures extend to the fingertips with each digit having a separate articulation. His speech is guttural and hoarse from street hawking and the are no pauses or silences for the sake of effect he either speaks continuously or doesnt speak at all. Arlecchino is in love with Columbina, but his sexual appetite is immediate in terms of any passing woman. He is occasionally aware the audience is there and can make asides during which he gives his full attention to the spectators before returning to complete absorption in the action. His character is a mixture of ignorance, naivete, wit, stupidity and grace. He is both a rake and an overgrown boy with occasional gleams of intelligence, and his mistakes and clumsiness often have wayward charm. His acting is patterned on the lithe, agile grace of a young cat, and he has a superficial coarseness which makes his performances all the more amusing. He plays the role of a faithful valet, always patient, credulous, and greedy. He is enternally amorous, and is constantly in difficulties either on his own or on his masters account. He is hurt and confronted in turn as easily as a child, and his grief is almost as comic as his joy. Lelio Lelio is one of the lovers (Isabellas partner) and is usually the son of Il Dottore or has no relations. He is high in stature, but is usually brought low by the hopelessness of his infatuation. He wears the latest fashion, which at that time was to be dresses as a young soldier or cadet. Sometimes he dressed in an over fashionable colour scheme that was very feminine with a great deal of flair. Lelio is young, attractive, modest, courteous and gallant. He occasionally wears a mask that covers only his eyes but often went unmasked. His signature prop is a handkerchief. His feet have a lack of firm contact with the earth, making his stance and walk air like. His chest and heart appear heavy and full of breath. His legs are usually tightly together, with only one foot firmly planted on the ground, and the other crawling upward like he has to go to the loo. He does not walk as much as tweeter, due to the instability of his base. First the head leans the other way to the body sway. Then the arms have to be used, one above the other, as a counterweight like and off balance tip toe. His pose can be anything that might look Vogue and whenever he is sitting, his legs are crossed in a feminine matter. Lelios movements are well-to-do but ridiculously exaggerated. His movement comes at the point of overbalance, leading to a sideways rush towards a new focus, with his arms left trailing behind. When stopping at the new point (usually the beloved or some token thereof) before almost touching it. The Lovers (he and Isabella) have little or no physical contact. When there is any, the minimum has maximum effect. Lelio is often holding a handkerchief or flower, etc. in his leading hand. His arms never make identical shapes and because of his vanity, he  frequently looks in a hand mirror, only to become upset by any minor imperfection that is discovered. He is always looking to see if a ribbon or sequin is out of place. A button found on the floor or a blemish in the coiffure equals disaster. His speech makes great display of courtly words and baroque metaphors, also knowing large extracts of poems by heart. He speaks softly in musical sentences which are often flamboyant, hyperbolical and full of amorous rhetoric. When it comes to women, his words are the only thing that shows that he might have any interest. His body language, actions, tone, all contradict any infatuation he may have with a female. The only reason why he would express an interest in a female is because he loves the idea of love. However he seems genuinely more in love with himself and other male characters before he is in love with a woman. He relate exclusively to himself he is in love with himself being in love. The last person he actually relates to in the course of the action is often Isabella. When he and she do meet they have great difficulty in communicating with each other (usually because of the nerves). And they relate to their servants only in terms of pleading for help. The Lovers love each other, yet are more preoccupied with being seen as lovers, undergoing all the hardships of being in such a plight, than with actual fulfilment. Consequently they frequently scorn each other and feign mild hatred; they rebut, despair, reconcile, but eventually end up marrying in the way of true love when the game is up and they know they cannot play any more. Lelio is extremely aware of being watched. He plays with the audience for sympathy in their plight and occasionally flirts with spectators. Lelio is indispensable. Without him and his inability to resolve problems with Isabella, there would be no struggle between the ineffectuality of youth and the implacability of age. The lovers are never alone on stage   they always have someone with them or spying on them.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Comparison of Cognitive Development Theories

Comparison of Cognitive Development Theories Cognitive development is defined as the areas of neuroscience and psychology studies, concentrating on adolescent development with special focusing on information processing, language learning, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, and brain development. Jean Piaget and Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky were two pioneers in the field of cognitive development. With this essay I will compare and contrast each theorists views on the nature or development of intelligence. I shall also compare their views on the stages of development from birth through adolescence. And finally I will incorporate possible classroom applications of each theorists views. Similarities in Cognitive Development Piaget believed that all children are born with a tendency to interact with and make sense of their environment and that they need little instructor intervention. He referred to the basic ways of organizing and processing information as cognitive structures. He defined the mental patterns that guide behavior as schemes, and he theorized that we use schemes to find out about and interact with the world around us. Piagets theory consisted of steps in the development of new schemes of cognitive development referred to as adaptation of adjusting schemes in response to a new object being introduced in our environment. The first step in adaptation if called assimilation, or trying to understand the new object or event in our environment from known scheme, and if the new object does not fit into an existing scheme, the individual will move into accommodation where they modify an existing scheme to fit the new situation. Finally the person will reach an understanding of the new object, this process of restoring a balance between current schemes and the integration of the new schemes is known as equilibration. Piaget theory of intellectual development is a constructivism view, where individuals build systems of understanding through their experiences and interaction with in their environment, suggesting that development came before learning, that specific cognitive structures need to be developed before certain types of learning can take place. Like Piaget, Lev Vygotsky believed that cognitive development takes place in steps that are the same for all individuals. Vygotsky theorized the first step in intellectual development is learning that action and sounds have meaning. Second, that step in cognitive development was practicing the new action or sound. And finally, using the actions and sounds to think and solve problems without the help of others, referred to by Vygotsky as self-regulation. Differences in Cognitive Development While Piaget believed that intellectual development was highly personal, and that individuals learned from experiences rather than the teaching of concepts and thought processes, Vygotsky believed that learning development was a social process directly linked to the teaching of information, and that learning proceeded development. Vygotsky theorized that language was the key to cognitive development, and learning was influenced by the culture of the individual. He believed that a child first incorporated the speech on others into their personal knowledge and practices it, known as private speech, and later they used this private speech in efforts to solve tasks. Vygotsky redefined this theory into what we now know as The Zone of Proximal Development. (ZDP) defines intellectual development as the ability to use thought to control our own actions, but first we must master cultural communication systems, and then use these to systems to regulate our thought processes. Children learning with in the (ZPD) work on tasks that they could not complete alone, but were able to finish with the help of and competent instructor. These teachable moments demonstrate Vygotsky theory that learning proceeded development, and that cooperative learning promotes advance learning. His theory defined language as a way to pass on cultural values and that teaching language was the medium needed to develop cognitive thought processes. Similarities of the Stages of Development Both Piaget and Vygotsky were stage theorist, meaning they both believe that development takes place in observable stages. Piagets theory was that development took place in four stages. -The first stage for Piagets theory was the sensorimotor stage (from birth age 2) where the child explores the world using their 5 senses and motor skills. Children are born with what is described as reflex motor skills, suck, grasp, ect. During early development, the child uses these skills to manipulate the world and develops schemes from these experiences in a progression toward goal-directed behavior nearing the end of this stage of development. -Piagets second stage is Preoperational stage (2yrs-7yrs) He believed that children in this stage of development wouldnt have mastered the ability of more complex mental operations; children do not have the ability to reason through their actions. They are considered egocentric, and assume others agree with their points of view. During this stage children lack conservation skills; they do not understand that the amount of something remains the same when the appearance has been rearranged. And they have not developed reversible thinking or taking a problem back to its starting point. -Developmental stage three is the Concrete Operational Stage (7-11) In this stage the child is beginning to achieve comprehension of abstract concepts. The child is starting to understand conservation, perspective and reverse thinking. The child is capable of systematic ordering and able to group objects accordingly. The child is starting to multitask in their thought processes. -And Finally, The Formal Operational stage Age (11 to early-adult) By this stage the person has accomplished abstract think processes. They have developed hypothetical and deductive reasoning. They have the ability to imagine situations and reason best solution principles. They are now capable of meta-cognition or able to think about thinking. Vygotskys stage theory of development was known as Scaffolding. In Scaffolding, First a mentor starts with providing the child with a high level of support, such as one-on-one instruction, allowing the child time to develop an understanding of the concepts being presented. Next the mentor starts to scale back the support allowing the child to take on more of the responsibility of the task. And finally, when the child understands the objective of the task the mentor steps aside allowing the child to perform the task on their own, demonstrating the comprehension of the knowledge set gained. Differences in Stages of Development Piagets theory of the stages of development, focus on development is necessary before learning can take place, and that interaction with ones environment is more important to development than mentored instruction. This view is very age oriented and ridged in its outline and expatiations of child development. Where Vygotsky views learning as the processor to development. That language, culture and mentoring are all important aspects of the learning process that will help the individual develop successfully. Similarities in Classroom Application Piagets and Vygotsky theories have similar applications for the classroom setting; first Piaget wants the instructor must focus on the process of child thinking trying to understand how the child can up with the answer, and not just the product or solution to the problem, deemphasize practices aimed at making children make adult like decisions, and have the instructor acknowledge the differences in individual developmental progress. Vygotskys theory in a similar fashion, places emphasis on the childs thinking process, with the instructor understanding the childrens individual developmental progress. As a teacher I can use these theories to develop class room techniques that focus on the students as individuals, and Ill try to understand their level of development so that I do not force the student to meet standards that are not reasonable given their state of understanding and cognitive development. Differences In classroom Application Piagets theory wants the instructor to encourage the students into self-initiation and active learning activities which take the emphasis off structured knowledge and encourages the student to explore and build on current levels on cognitive knowledge. This differs from Vygotsky theory, which advises the teacher to provide planned activities, and encourage students to participate in planned group activities, which encourage them to learn in structure environments which encourage high levels of mentored instruction. With an option of the two theories, I think Ill stick to a more Vygotsky form of lesson planning. I believe that students can do well with hand on actives, yet I believe that if the Instructor does not provide the student with structure the students do not develop at a rate that allow them to control themselves in a classroom setting, and that structure gives the student guidance and sets expectations for the students, that give the students goals to strive for.

Fibromyalgia True Disease Or Make Believe One Philosophy Essay

Fibromyalgia True Disease Or Make Believe One Philosophy Essay The Fibromyalgia syndrome also known af FMS is a rheumatic condition which is often misunderstood or not diagnosed. Some doctors say Fibromyalgia isnt a true disease, and that the pain fibromyalgia patients have is not real. The disease did not have a name upto 1990, but since more people appear to have the symptoms of this disease in question some doctors started to research it. Since some of them claimed to have biochemical evidence to support the patients their pains a controversy formed Is fibromyalgia a true disease or a make-believe disease? What is Fibromyalgia? First of all, what is Fibromyalgia? As far as doctors know, fibromyalgia is a chronic condition which cannot be cured. People with FMS undergo daily pains in their tenderness muscles, stiffness, tenderness joints (between muscles), sleepless nights, depressions and anxiety. Those pains are often located around the neck, shoulder, back, knees and hips of the patient. As already mentioned FMS is often seen as a rheumatic condition, which often have the same symptoms. The only difference is that FMS does not cause damage to the internal organs, and other rheumas do (such as arthritis). The cause of FMS is still not known. Fibromyalgia is a make-believe disease The first side of the controversy says that fibromyalgia is not a true disease. So says Frederick Wolfe, who is a one of the most cited fibromyalgia researchers. In 2009 he wrote: the tendency to respond with distress to physical and mental stressors is part of the human condition. labeling fibromyalgia as a disease simply legitimizes patients sickness behavior, slowing their recovery and harming them. (Dr. Frederick Wolfe and fellow researchers, 2009) . With this he the former writer of the American College of Rheumatology outlines for the diagnosis Fibromyalgia claims that FMS is a reaction to economic and social stress. With which he says that the symptoms are part of every humans normal life. Other scientists clame that Fibromyalgia is an invented disease. Invented by psychiatrists to sell sleeping pills, and other psychiatric drugs. Doctors also say that vague complaints of a disease do not add up to a disease. Since the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia can not be proved by blood test s, or other biological tests and there are no biological or environmental causes for the disease, some doctors say it basically cant be a disease. Fibromyalgia is a true disease Since this is a controversy, there are also doctors who say that fibromyalgia is a true disease. As mentioned in the introduction of this essay, doctors went to reasearch the disease. So did Dr. E. Guedj, he took brainscans of 20 women with Fibromyalgia and 10 without. He concluded out of his results that the brains of women with Fibromyalgia all showed abnormalities in bloodflow through the brain. In some parts of the brain the blood flow was below normal, and in some parts of the brain it was far above normal. The women without fibromyalgia did not show abnormalities in the brain. He also let all the participiants answer questions to assess measures of pain, anxiety, depression and disability. Those answers were for all fibromyalgia patients almost the same, but did not differed that much with the results of the women without the condition. Therefore anxiety, depression and disbility could not be linked to the abnormalities in blood flow. Those results most likely point to fibromya lgia being a true disease.(Dr. E. Guedj, Nov. 3 2008, Research to abnormalities of blood flow in brain). Many doctors also say that Fibromyalgia is a disease because the World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized the disease for many years. Other doctors, one of them is Dr. I. Jon Russels, claim that there is a biochemical evidence to support patients their clames of what they feel (Dr. I. Jon Russels, March 3, 2001, interview with Janice Billingsley). Since a few years the diagnosis fibromyalgia can be given by a doctor when all the patients symptoms satisfy the outlines written by the ACR (American College of Rheumatology). When is a disease a disease, and who decides that it is? This controversy also carries huge ethical aspects. First of all, who decides that a series of symptoms form an actual disease? And who decides whether different conditions are not diseases but conditions? What is the difference between those conditions and diseases? It cant be that conditions are chronic and diseases will eventually leave the body since we know chronic diseases and temporary conditions as well. Who decides that a disease or condition is mental and not physical? What if scientific limits block fellow research to a disease, which means nothing physical can be found, but might be present, does this automatically mean that the patient has a mental ailment? How does the controversy influence patients social lives? Since the Fibromyalgia controversy got more publicity and interest of doctors, many people within the social environment of the patient follow the controversy. This means that they might form conclusions such as She exaggerates. It is all in her head. This might make other people, also within the social environment of the patient, think that the patient does not really feel the pains he or she claims to experience and feel. This might cause that the patients contacts might find her implausible, and do not trust her or take her seriously. This is emotionally a heavy thing to deal with. Therefore many doctors, but also patients, think it is important that there is more intelligibility and understandability around the syndrom/disease/condition. Conclusion Fibromyalgia is a pain condition from which more and more people suffer. The patients of fibromyalgia experience pains in their joints, muscle(s) stiffness and undergo depressions, sleepless nights and anxiety. But since it got its name doctors have been hesistating about the disease its existence. Some doctors clame that FMS is a mental reaction on social and economical stress and social anxiety. And probably is a physical reaction on what many people experience on daily basis. Some doctors also say that the by the WHO (world Health organization) recognized disease cant be a disease since it does not have any environmental or biological causes, and cannot be proved by biological tests. Others say that fibromyalgia is a disease. Since some researchers have found brain abnormalities in the brains of fibromyalgia patients they claim that it is most likely a disease in combination with the other symptoms of fibromyalgia. Also, other doctors claim to have found biochemical evidence to th e existence of fibromyalgia. There is also the fact that it is very difficult to decide when a series of symptoms, or a physical pain condition can be called a disease. Who is allowed to do so? And there might be another problem based on the development of our science. There might be a physical prove of the existence of fibromyalgia, but we might not have the equipment yet to see it. Which means that scientific limitations block the research to the condition. It is important that more intelligibility and understandibility forms around the syndrom. Since it might affect the social lives of the patients adding a huge emotional deal to the pains they already have to deal with. Out of this essay I can conclude that we need a scientific prove to solve this controversy and to say whether the disease exists or not. But to make this prove approachible more complex scientific appratus have to be invented and more observations of the patients pains need to be researched.

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Slavery and Freedom in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest Essay

Slavery and Freedom in William Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Tempest† The subtly comedic interactions and juxtapositions between masters and slaves in William Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Tempest† generate a question which has been the source of much controversy throughout history: are the hierarchical classifications â€Å"slave† and â€Å"free† reflections of a person’s fundamental nature, or are they social constructions based on bias and self-interest which have nothing to do with absolute truth? This question is crucial because the way that we answer it has the potential to either justify or condemn the widespread practice of enslaving certain individuals. A close look at Shakespeare’s portrayal of masters and slaves in this play suggests that although those who enslave others would like to believe that slave and free are natural categories, they seem to be socially constructed. In his essay â€Å"The Ancient Comic Tradition†, Bernard Knox states that â€Å"Slave and free were not so much separate classes as separate worlds: Aristotle could go so far as to claim that they were separate natures† (131). While the concept that slave and free are separate worlds is defensible given the vast differences in lifestyle between the two, the idea that they are separate natures is not a logical extension of this fact, but rather a separate idea altogether. Fundamental nature has nothing to do with one’s political or social situation, but rather one’s innate capabilities, motivations, and morality. Our task, then, is to determine the degree of similarity (or lack thereof) in the innate capabilities, motivations, and morality of the masters and slaves in this play. Through close examination of Prospero and Caliban, it becomes apparent that although Caliban ... ...hich those who have insight into the situation may affect change, one of the most powerful of which is through fiction. Skilled writers can convey the flaws in the system through their narrative without explicitly stating them, thus engaging the reader to think through the implications of the narrative on their own. This way, any conclusion arrived at feels like the reader’s own insight, making it more plausible than if the conclusion is thrust upon the reader by an overtly didactic text. In â€Å"The Tempest†, Shakespeare never explicitly states that enslavement is not logically justified, but instead subtly implies it through his narrative. I believe that it is in part because of writers such as Shakespeare who have—whether intentionally or not—used the medium of fiction to expose the problems in their society that our world is gradually moving towards social justice.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

What Will Calixta do? Oh, What Will She Do? :: essays research papers

In the story â€Å"The Storm†, Calixta is the mother of a young boy and the wife of man who seems to be a wonderful husband. Bobinot, the husband, and Bibi, the child, go to the store and become stranded there as a storm passes through. What Calixta didn’t know was that she was going to get a visit from a friend, whom she hasn’t seen for a long period of time, while her family is at the store. As the storm begins, Alcee, the friend, approaches Calixta’s home and asks permission to wait on the gallery as the storm passes. As he waits for the storm to pass, the history between Calixta and Alcee is revealed when he mentions the time during Assumption where he kissed and kissed Calixta, but that was all that happened. During the storm, emotions are running wild and the attraction between Calixta and Alcee is so magnetic that it seems to intertwine their desires. Needless to say, they made love, and after the storm Alcee left and Bobinot and Bibi came back hom e shortly. The question that needs to be asked is will Calixta invite Alcee back into her home on occasions, knowing what she did with him in her family’s home, and also, will Calixta tell Bobinot or act as if nothing ever happened?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Calixta is a woman who seems to be searching for pleasure; men aren’t the only humans that deserve pleasure. She loves her husband but seeks to explore pleasure elsewhere. Alcee was an old flame who seemed to still be in love with Calixta, and she probably still felt an attraction towards him. There are many assumptions that can be made about her future actions. She could feel guilty and realize what she did was wrong and disgraceful towards Bobinot and confess her actions to him. Calixta could completely ignore Alcee, never invite him back into her home, and never tell Bobinot, because she doesn’t want to cause trouble in her home. Telling Bobinot what happened could cause a separation, but not telling him is morally wrong. Calixta may keep her actions a secret and only invite Alcee into her home when her husband and child are gone. I feel that Calixta will continually invite Alcee into her home, whether her husband and son are home or not home, and not tell Bobinot what happened. She will probably keep him close, as a friend and as a secret lover, so she will have someone to confide in other than her husband and have a lover to give her pleasure whenever she desires.

Monday, September 2, 2019

Leadership: An argument for advances in its development

Civilization and its achievements, like the wheel, hinge on the hub of leadership. The ebb and tide of world empires point to the reins handled or pulled by individuals who exert power and influence. In this country, and even in the rest of the world, the assertions and importance of leadership is re-emphasized in many ways because of the rapidly evolving paradigms that assume a more pervasive role in the society.   This is the era of organizational revolution.The time is marked with rapid shifts in the demography of our workforce, changing corporate culture, and changing organizations. Organizational forms have become more complex and new forms have been developed (Block, 1981). The management or leadership of people has never been as important and crucial than ever before. Today, it is considered a central figure and the key to productivity and quality especially in a very competitive society. In the light of the rapid shift in today’s organization, the skills required of human resource managers, beginners in the profession and even aspiring students in the discipline, rest on the foundation of knowledge on the whole gamut of human resources management, specifically management theories applied in the setting (Kline & Saunders, 1993).The need for a more efficient, economical and equitable management of the people in the industry or organization has never been as pronounced as it is today. This need has never been brought about by factors which inevitably affect not only the established structures and ways of doing things within the personnel area but also by the more meaningful and substantial task of managing the organization’s most important asset – the human capital. Among these factors are: stiffer competition in business; rapid changes in technological, competitive and economic environments; the explosion of technical and managerial knowledge; spiraling wage and benefits cost and so many others. These factors have no doubt been resp onsible for the emergence of the personnel function as a vital area in the implementation of corporate strategy (Bruffee, 1993).The arguments set forth in this paper spins around the theme of leadership: there have been continued major advancements in the developments of basic leadership theories in the past 200 years.   One of the evidences simply is the theory put forth by Dr. Elliot Jacques, the great Canadian psychologist. Theories abound regarding perspectives of leadership. When Elliot Jacques developed the concept of requisite organization; it served as a unified whole system model for what he deemed effective managerial leadership.Some of the core beliefs in Jacques system, for instance, imply that people are supposed to be compensated on the basis of their individual aptitude or skills and foresight and how long it was before their judgment could be verified. Jacques also thought that where leadership gurus or external consultant like the ODs are concerned, these are only evaluated and equated with alchemy: as such these do not involve real concepts or precise or thorough definitions but rather are considered as rubbish and inauthentic to say the least. Jacques persuasion centers on much of what he calls as â€Å"maximum amount of personal responsibility† and encourages on every part of the organization, or team for that matter, to be stakeholders and thus have a say in the problems at hand.In organizational behavior which is basic to the management of human resource, it points to the inquiry and application of learning about how people, individuals, and groups perform, operate, and work in organizations. It accomplishes this by means of adopting a system approach (Demick & Miller, 1993). Explicitly, it infers people-organization affairs in terms of the entire person, group totality, complete organization, and total social structure. Its intention is to put up enhance relations by attaining human goals, organizational purposes, and social goa ls (Kanter, 1999). In such a milieu, the goals to effect change are influenced by several significant factors which are crucial to the overall results. Hence, there are expected leadership behaviors that maintain momentum during the change process (Demick & Miller, 1993).This strategic system model put forth by Jacques is a methodical approach to managing the human capital.   Those who study and make use of that data in exclusive contexts are rightly described as professionals; in them lies the heart and soul of the profession. Industrial-age institutions look for routine and habit accomplished through standardized measures. Complex responsibilities are split into simple steps that are assigned to organizational positions to guarantee that employees are both interchangeable and effortlessly replaced. Bureaucratic hierarchies are likely to esteem proven evaluation of specific aspects of complex managerial tasks. In view of this, the picture of leadership is in reality changing as t he image of organizations changes. Analysis ascertains those who require training and what skills or performance improvements are designated. Aims and goals set the restriction for the instructional outline and help attain the appropriate learning outcomes (Kincheloe, 1991).Peter Northouse, author of Leadership: Theory and Practice observed the revival of an all-encompassing skills-based model of leadership distinguished by a map for how to reach efficient leadership in organizations (Northouse, 2004). He recommended that the classification of specific skills which can be improved by training has an intuitive appeal: â€Å"When leadership is framed as a set of skills, it becomes a process that people can study and practice to become better at their jobs† (Northouse, 2004).He also suggests that although the skills-based approach claims not to be a trait model, it includes individual attributes that look a great deal like traits. The act of leadership is also an exercise of mor al reasoning. In their book Unmasking Administrative Evil, Guy Adams and Danny Balfour caution against elevating the scientific-analytical mindset higher than all other forms of rationality. Even as the rise of â€Å"technical rationality led inevitably to specialized, expert knowledge, the very life blood of the professional,† it also â€Å"spawned unintended consequences in the areas of morals and ethics as the science-based technical rationality undermined normative judgments and relegated ethical considerations to afterthoughts† (Adams & Balfour, 2004).Distinguished scholar Ronald Heifetz on the other hand, developed a definition of leadership that takes values into account. He maintains that we should look at leadership as more than a means to organizational effectiveness. Efficiency means getting achievable decisions that execute the goals of the organization. â€Å"This definition has the benefit of being generally applicable, but it provides no real guide to d etermine the nature or formation of those goals.† (Heifetz, 1994).   Heifetz went on to say that values such as â€Å"liberty, equality, human welfare, justice, and community† are inculcated with first-rate leaders (Heifetz, 1994). It is a necessity then, the infusion of these principles into the leader and from the leader into the organization.Reference:1. Adams, Guy B. & Danny L. Balfour, 2004.   Unmasking Administrative Evil (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, pp. 31-36.Beckhard, R. 1969. Organization Development: Strategies and Models, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Permissions Department, 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ07030 USA. Block, Peter, Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used, University   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Associates, San Diego, CA 1981. Bruffee, Kenneth A. Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and   Ã‚   the Authority of Knowledge. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1993. Demick, J. an d Miller, P., Development in the Workplace, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,   Ã‚  Ã‚   Publishers, New Jersey, 1993. Heifetz, Ronald A., 1994. Leadership Without Easy Answers (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, pp. 21-22. Northouse, Peter G. 2004. Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, pp. 35-52.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Life lessons

3 Life Lessons Although there are many reasons that our souls come to earth, one of the main reasons I believe we come here is to learn a valuable lesson. If we did not learn this lesson through out a life time, our souls would come back to repeat the process. I believe I have learned a few lessons from my time here on earth. One lesson I have learned is to never take things or people for granted. At some point in our lives, we realize that we take things for granted, we take each other for granted.Meaning we get so comfortable in having certain things in our lives and ertain people around us. It is when we no longer have those things or people that we come to the realization that we have taken things for granted. It's natural to get comfortable. It's human nature. We can't help ourselves. It is wise to stop and think about the things we do have, instead of complaining about what we don't because one day, what you once had, how you once lived, who you once had in your life; will no l onger be there.People habituate affection and cripple the finest part of life. So appreciate everything while it is here. Be grateful, give thanks to God and above all, let those in your life today know that you care about them and that you are grateful they are in your life. Another life lesson I have learned is to not be afraid to make mistakes. Whenever we try anything new, we might make some mistakes. We can't possibly know everything that's going to happen when we try something new. Sometimes we Just have to try something before we can learn about it.Mistakes are a part of life. As Einstein said, the only people who don't make mistakes are those who don't try nything new. If there's something you have a burning desire to do, don't let the fear of making mistakes hold you back. We are not perfect. We are a mere blip on the timeline of existence. Life existed long before we came here and it will continue long after we're gone. You were only given one life to live and only you can make the most of it. No one else can make you take advantage of opportunity; it's up to you to muster the courage to embrace it.As my dad once taught me â€Å"If you want something ouVe never had, you must do something youVe never done. † The final lesson I've learned is to live life with no regrets. I learned this lesson through a song called â€Å"My Way† by Frank Sinatra. As we get older we learn and grow. But that doesn't mean we have to regret what we did before we learned how to do things differently. If we didn't go through those experiences we might not have grown into the strong and knowledgeable people we are today. Many people have heard of the saying â€Å"live today as it were your last.This saying holds true for everyone. When we get older we tend to reflect on what we have done through life and Judge ourselfs. No one wants to lie on their death bed and think about their past mistakes and wish their life had taken a different turn. Wouldn't we want to h ave a positive outlook on life? Those who lived life with no regrets live happier lives and obtain a higher level of wisdom. something it. The few lessons I have learned will never be forgotten. There are still many valuable lessons for me to learn and ill strive to find them.