Wednesday, November 27, 2019

teleeducation essays

teleeducation essays Tele-education has a long history beginning with systems like that for teaching children in Australian Outback, the British Open University and other such organizations. These built on the idea of correspondence courses where course materials are sent periodically by post and augmented the experience with broadcasts either on radio or on TV. The problem of student isolation was addressed partially through techniques such as telephone access or two-way radio links with teachers. At the end of 1980s, the vest majority of distance education throughout the worlds was still primarily print-based. Technologies used for distance education are evolving from primarily one-way technologies and applications such as computer aided learning, computer based training and computer aided instruction, to more two-way technologies and applications such as computer mediated communications and computer conferencing systems for education. The significance of two-way technologies is that they allow foe interaction between participant and tutors, and perhaps even more significantly amongst participant themselves. This development has allowed and in some senses force researches to look more closely at the impact of educational environment, on the students learning experience. In the future, it is expected that the telecommunications-based technologies to become the primary means of delivery of distance teaching. The reasons for this are as follows: a much wider range of technologies are becoming more accessible to potential distance education participants the costs of technological delivery are dropping dramatically the technology is becoming easier to use for both tutors and learners the technology is becoming more powerful pedagogically education centers will find it increasingly difficult to resist the political and social pressures of the technological ...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

What Would You Do Professor Ramos Blog

What Would You Do â€Å"When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dawn of the Dead 2004). Dawn of the Dead (2004) I chose the modern zombie for my evaluation because of the sheer intensity of which is displayed in films such as 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead. Their insatiable appetite, hording, endless athleticism, in most cases having their only weakness being great trauma to the head, and need to spread their disease to the population; zombies are the most volatile and frightening monster that I can think of. With the modern versions of zombies appearing in Dawn of the Dead, I would easily rate this monster a 4.5 (out of 5) overall. With inspiration from the ‘Godfather of the Dead’, who was George A. Romero, Zack Snyder directed the 2004 horror film, Dawn of the Dead. Romero’s 1978 version truly set the standard for what the zombie apocalypse would become in film, and the few years following the 2004 version, it further raised the bar on how truly frightening the genre would become. While the movies would lack in a lot of the ‘jump-scares’ and unpredictable elements, the zombie horror genre had become an interactive one, giving it horror in its own way, leaving long-lasting images of ‘what if?’. Zombies running, Dawn of the Dead (2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It’s 2004, and you’re in the sixth grade. Your dad comes home from one of those fabled video rental stores, and upon his arrival, you look at an ominous, yet subtle cover of a DVD, bearing the silhouettes of a large group of people walking with the sun in the background, obscuring the faces, and large words plastered Dawn of the Dead. At the time, I only figured that zombies were the ‘pet rocks’ of the horror genre, disregarding them as slow-walking and boring monsters whose purpose was to fulfill an insatiable appetite that could easily be ended by a protagonist’s strike that took little effort and calculation. The DVD my parents played on our boxy and classical JVC-brand television left me arrogantly expecting calm walks in the park, believing that a protagonist with a gun could easily mow down the seemingly countless, slow undead. The Man Comes Around, by Johnny Cash plays with an intro. With the subtle music playing with a series of shocking news clips within the movie, the legendary country singer utters biblical and apocalyptic references within the lyrics. The calmness of the music is paired with images of pandemonium and the unknown, bringing me to a rude awakening. My arrogance towards the classic versions of the undead quickly turned into fear, as the final lyrics were sung for the intro: And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts. And I looked, and behold a pale horse. And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him. (The Man Comes Around, Johnny Cash, 2002) Dawn of the Dead (2004). Actors left to right: Ving Rhames, Sarah Polley, Inna Korobkina, and Mekhi Phifer. My arrogance towards zombies truly preceded me when I was a kid, but this movie left me with nightmares. However, as frightening as they were to me after understanding Zack Snyder’s vision of the 1978 same-named classic by George A. Romero, the same fear piqued the curiosity of personal storytelling, leaving me to spend hours at home and in class, writing about hypothetical apocalyptic events with myself and my friends as the protagonists of a zombie apocalypse. The movie itself revolves around a diverse group of survivors, seeking refuge in an empty mall. While their resources are plenty, they also understand that there are only finite provisions that would only prolong a seemingly inevitable death, realizing also that they also die and reanimate after being bitten by one of the infected. They have to find a way to defend themselves and figure how to escape the hell that has suddenly invaded their lives. â€Å"Fear of the Monster is Really a Kind of Desire† (Monster Culture (Seven Theses), J Cohen) is one I found to be relatable with the idea of embarking on challenges regarding a hypothetical apocalypse where the undead has conquered humanity. I believe the fascination is similar to the feeling of gambling, where you’re given a series of possibilities, where every choice leads to survival or inevitable death, and where the survivors inherit the Earth, where you’re only restricted to your own wit and strategies of survival. The movie felt claustrophobic, but not in the same way that I felt watching other iconic horror films, such as Friday the 13th or Halloween, where there was truly no running from masked monsters, such as Jason, Freddy, or Michael. Although they are equally deserving of respect, the reason that Dawn of the Dead has such a strong impact is because the scenarios give a fighting chance for the individual watching the movie, and brings an interacti ve imagination, where the world is the playground, rather than just Elm Street or Camp Crystal Lake. Instead of remaining a linear story, we realize that it becomes a long series of ‘what would you do?’ scenarios. Art by: Jean-noel Lafargue. Photo representing a zombie within Haitian Voodoo. Folklore involving the undead have been a massive part of most cultures since the beginning of documented civilization. Burial sites of some Greeks were found to have had large rocks pinning their bodies down, with the intent of preventing the dead from rising. Practitioners of Voodoo have also been known for creating toxic concoctions that would give a patient the appearance of being undead, though they do not resemble how we would see zombies in modern popular culture, nor would they be decomposing. (History, 2017). For a long time, we’ve endured the fear of the undead, also being mentioned within Biblical texts, but none of those mentioned in history have been shown to be what modern culture represents zombies as. Many also believe The Bible to have been a source for the imagination of the modern undead we see in movies in the 1900s. With the surge of zombie enthusiasts appearing in the wake of 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, Dawn of the Dead, and many other modern zombie h orror films, many have taken to fan fictions, video games, and Halloween YouTube mob pranks. The craze is understandably one of the most mischievous, but the psychological horror that comes from the idea, not just the movies, have been one that has created much fear of the undead from many. Though the craze has died in the 2010s, I still believe that the most frightening monster this world would ever witness would be the modern zombie we see in the aforementioned movies. The intensity and profane levels of mindless cannibalism and violence, coupled with a pathogen that infects others, as well as their unsuspecting and never-ending athleticism makes them one of the most formidable monsters in the history of entertainment. The only reason I gave modernized zombies a rating of 4.5 out of 5 was simply because zombie movies themselves are not all that frightening to me. Although these films are not scary at first, they leave a sense of despair and hopelessness. If the dead were to walk t he Earth, it would be easy to say that we’d all be doomed, and while it would be the end of civilization, the survivors would be the fortunate who inherit the Earth, if the undead eventually die. What would you do if you woke up to this chaos? Annotated Bibliography Cohen J. Monster Culture (Seven Theses). Print. 1996. Jeffrey Cohen goes in-depth with how ‘monsters’ are in human society, explaining the different ways monsters are integrated with us in culture. How it plays on modern fears, desires, and perception are some few examples he explains in regards to how we’re affected, and how we see ‘monsters’. History of Zombies. National Geographic. YouTube. 2015. https://youtu.be/i12Hdo1q0I8. Since civilization has existed, zombies have played a role in history, referenced biblically, as well as in modern culture. The way we view zombies in modern society is far grimmer than what we viewed in earlier history. This video gives us a good look at the history of zombies, and what life we’ve given them in popular culture. Snyder Z. Dawn of the Dead. Movie. 2004. George A. Romero’s remake of the 1978 horror brings a modern perspective on the zombie apocalypse, maximizing the fear and pandemonium with a heightened intensity, with zombies that are far more violent and explosive in their actions than we’ve ever seen. Zombies that can run, have unheard-of strength, and a dead-end story that leaves the ending up for grim interpretation. This is the zombie apocalypse we fear the most. Vervaeke J, Mastropietro C. Zombies in Western Culture: A Twenty-First Century Crisis. Cambridge Open Book Publishers. eBook. 2017. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=nlebkAN=1548737site=ehost-live Modern film-making has spawning countless kids to write stories, creating the award-winning series The Walking Dead, and leaving us almost romanticizing the apocalypse, despite how awful it would be. Why is the zombie apocalypse so appealing? Drezner D. Metaphor of the Living Dead. Social Research. Vol 81, Issue 4. 2014. web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0sid=a8c1f534-28e3-4791-b4e9df28c87a9113%40sessionmgr103bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9hAN=102354689 Zombies have become huge in modern society, again spawning popular works, and bringing work back from the vaults of George A. Romero, â€Å"The Father of Zombie Film†. With this academic research, we look into the similar aspects of the zombie apocalypse, and how similar it is from how we might look at modern politics, culture, and society as a whole. Khan S. Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse. CDC Public Health Matters Blog. 2011. Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse As just a parody, the CDC is one of the many government organizations that have created a hypothetical guide on what to do in the event of a zombie apocalypse. They cover a lot of the history and methods on how to maximize your survival with basic supplies and tactics.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Adult Education Theory and Practice at the College Level Assignment

Adult Education Theory and Practice at the College Level - Assignment Example The rationale for these stereotypes is fully embedded. Nevertheless, to the extent that they have a major justification, it appears to fall roughly along the subsequent assumptions: adult learners do not have up to date formal education; as a result, they may lack the necessary study or learning skills. Consequently, they will have a tendency to use less useful techniques of learning in college. In addition, they may show heightened learning difficulties and deficits as an outcome of age-specific weaknesses in intellectual capacities. This paper aims to challenge all of these stereotypes about adult learners and come up with an appropriate approach to adult education at the college level. Adult Development: Cognitive and Intellectual Factors It is possible to develop a unifying model of intelligence that takes into consideration the factors of traditional process, but a broader range of cognitive factors, alongside areas of interest and personality. The below diagram illustrates one paradigm, referred to as PPIK- for ‘intelligence-as-process, personality, interest, and intelligence-as-knowledge’ (Smith & Pourchot, 1998, 151). According to Ackerman (1996), this paradigm merges these four roots of individual-differences variation to produce individual differences in stages of work-related and academic knowledge. This paradigm not merely describes a transition from process to knowledge, but describes as well the possible interconnection between knowledge acquisition and interests and personality. Figure 1. Ackerman’s PPIK diagram (Smith & Pourchot, 1998, 152) For adults, however, this paradigm presents a way for connecting traditional intelligence measures with correct intellectual skills and knowledge measures. Specifically, even though measures of traditional intelligence may somewhat explain adult learning, an appropriate evaluation of adult knowledge necessitates evaluation of adult intellect (Rubenson, 2011). Several knowledge components c an be sufficiently assessed using current rankings of occupational competence and college-level proficiency, yet these rankings only start to recognize adult intelligence (Ackerman, 1996). Nevertheless, by employing an integrated assessment method that allows for traditionally evaluated interests, personality, and intellect, a more inclusive assessment of adult intelligence could be achievable. Furthermore, one can also integrate features of motivational abilities into the developmental paradigm (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007) since they affect the relationship between knowledge acquisition and interest. There are three particular uses of intellectual evaluation for the purposes of adult education, that is, selection, categorization, and teaching. The PPIK model proposes a number of capable uses all over these three application domains. Selection. The PPIK model of adult intelligence, to begin with, indicates that assessment of adult academic achievement will be enhanced when evaluations are performed on individual differences in important knowledge components, instead of the conventional college admission tests. Because of knowledge acquisition’s developmental evolution, according to Smith and Pourchot (1998), older adults may be predicted to score higher than younger adults on intelligence exams, an outcome that is in agreement with the findings that older adults are predisposed to achieve higher in postsecondary classes than younger adults with the same scores on usual college admission exams, like the American College Testing (ACT). Categorization. The mission of locating the most favorable area of interest for adults going back to school

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Challenges expected and Most Surprising things in The Martian Essay

Challenges expected and Most Surprising things in The Martian - Essay Example In the novel, Weir did not depict the details of futuristic equipment that astronauts take with them on Mars. There is no absolute idea that surprises the readers. However, Mark is the last person left in chain of command who is most qualified person. Challenge is not in the strands of protagonist standing on the Mars; challenge is to make the strands more exciting and funny to read it (Scalzi). Death is expected after the departure, Red Mars and reading the back cover of book The Martin. The Martian novel sounds in parts as like the movie Armageddon. John McLane has scarified himself to ensure that asteroid does not like to turn the Earth into trivial putty; where every thing has broken down at the rate of one Gogol in a femtosecond. Nobody dies instead of it counting the potatoes and bacteria. Thanks to Jackie, who was a wonderful lady as she said â€Å"never leave me for anything ever†? Character of Mark Watney is more than I dream off for ever. Removing the vulgarity from it makes the ‘The Martian’ book better reading than any other books that reveals the living on the Mars under the non-ideal circumstances. I cannot have many expectations from reading of The Martian, because of my little interest in the space. Plot of the novel is sounded very similar like other space movies and novels, which have come out. Therefore, no difference is expected by reading it to other space narrations. It is much glad to say that one is pleasantly surprised and find difficulty in leaving the book on table.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

A Portfolio Reflection of Three Teaching Strategies and There Usage Essay Example for Free

A Portfolio Reflection of Three Teaching Strategies and There Usage Essay This writer has been teaching for the past twelve years; the introduction came at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus after graduating with a BSc. in Sociology and Politics where I first started tutoring in Introduction to Caribbean Politics and Sociology in the undergraduate programme. After three year of working in administration full-time and tutoring part-time, I decided that desk work was not for me as I felt as though I would go out of mind (literally, as the job held no challenges for me and there was no prospects of promotion to anything else but more ‘paper pushing’. To that end I applied to a number of universities in the United Kingdom and was successful. While studying in the United Kingdom for my Masters of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice, I taught English as a Foreign Language to French and Italian students that summer in 1999. On return from the United Kingdom n September 1999, I started teaching in the Division of General/Continuing Education where I taught Caribbean Politics Society, Ethics and Citizenship (Cores) and Introduction to Sociology (Elective) to the general college student population; and resume tutoring in the Department of Government, Sociology and Social Work in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Cave Hill Campus. In April 2000 I started teaching in the Division of Commerce in the Department of Government and Political Studies and have since become the Head of the Department with responsibility for the Politics programme. During the summer of that year I lectured Introduction to Sociology in the Summer School Programme. I was asked to design a course for the Regional Police Training Centre to replace a previous course; this was called The Sociology of Crime and I was asked to teach the same. My interest in teaching also led me to create a number of courses at the college and one such course, The Sociology of Crime (Corrections Aspect) was adopted by the Training Division for an accelerated training course 2 for Prison Officers at Her Majesty’s Prisons; this I was also co-opted to teach as well. To date I remain the Head of Department, Government and Political Studies and I am a part-time lecturer/tutor in FOUN 1301 – Law, Governance, Economy and Caribbean Society at the Cave Hill Campus, a part-time lecturer in Drugs and Society (Summer School Programme), a part-time Tutor at the Regional Police Training Centre and Her Majesty’s Prisons Dodds. The portfolio has been defined as a systematic and organised collection of evidence used by the teacher and student to monitor growth of the students knowledge, skills, and attitudes in a specific subject area (Blake et al. 1995). Others (DeBruin-Parecki, et al. , 1997) have provided a more contemporary view which envisions the portfolio as â€Å"a purposeful, collaborative, self-reflective collection of student work generated during the process of instruction†. This paper is intended to help the writer to systematically gauge her progress toward the teaching profession by developing a portfolio. More importantly, it is intended to help other teacher candidates think reflectively on their decisions and experiences. Institutions of higher learning across the nation are responding to political, economic, social and technological pressures to be more responsive to students needs and more concerned about how well students are prepared to assume future societal roles. Faculty are already feeling the pressure to lecture less, to make learning environments more interactive, to integrate technology into the learning experience, and to use collaborative learning strategies when appropriate. The emphasis of learning to learn in curriculum reform has signaled to teachers to adopt student-centred strategies of teaching and different modes of assessment. The basis for the foregoing can be found in the Ministry of Education White Paper on Education Reform (1995). During the researcher’s years of teaching she has observed some unfavourable social skills being displayed by students in the classroom. Simple courtesies such as sharing or 3 saying â€Å"good-morning† appear to be disappearing from the habits of some students. This is symptomatic of the serious underlying problems in our society that need to be addressed urgently. The regularity with which some reference is made to the conduct of our youth, whether it is by teachers, parents, the media or society as a whole is disconcerting. If not curbed, these children take negative behaviours into their adult lives and this can be detrimental to the society as a whole. Cooperative/collaborative learning, portfolio assessment and problem solving/critical thinking, as an alternative assessment, are increasingly being used in higher education facilities around the world and here at the Barbados Community College, specifically in the Department of Government and Political Studies. Before embarking on this course of study, much of the knowledge this writer operated with and under was done based on what was never wanted as a student, the old way of mere â€Å"pallaring†. Notably, the change from listening to teachers teach and answering examination questions to taking the initiative to learn and demonstrating competence with self-selected evidence is a great challenge to the students. This paper first discusses the various constraints and difficulties of using, cooperative/collaborative learning, portfolio and problem solving/critical thinking as assessment and instructional strategies. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for successful use of these three strategies as a useful form of teaching and assessment can be measured at the same time. Included in this paper will be examples of artefacts of each teaching strategy along with a rationale and description of teaching strategy. It can be asserted that many students find the transition into Higher Education quite difficult, particularly if they have not studied for some length of time; also coming from the high school environment the same is obtained as many of these students have been ‘spoon fed’ and find it hard to adopt the new mode of teaching. It is against this backdrop that the writer layout this paper reflecting on various teaching strategies, namely Cooperative/ Collaborating Learning, Portfolios, and Problem Solving/Critical Thinking. Teaching strategies can be defined therefore as ways in which instructional material and activities are presented and conducted in an effort to meet the needs of every student. Notably, teaching strategies will vary from tutor to tutor and is usually based upon which method/strategy (ies) a particular tutor is most at ease in using and its effectiveness. On the other hand a teaching method is a way of presenting instructional materials or conducting instructional activities. The use of this portfolio is designed as an educational tool to present knowledge gain through thorough reading and based on the information presented by the various groups in the course. This teaching strategy can be used to improve the attitudes and performance of Tutors and Teachers within the classroom. It consists of reflections, artefacts and projections on each teaching strategy i. e. ooperative/collaborative learning, portfolios, and problem solving/critical thinking. Notably, establishing clear, practical classroom rules at the start of the school year can help you keep students on track to learning while promoting good behaviour and responsibility. Strategies focused on increasing student participation and learning were developed and implemented in three statics sections of varying sizes over the last two years. Overall student perception of these strategies and their impact on learning in three sections of different size is very favorable. In addition, analysis of student ratings grouped by cumulative GPA indicates different strategies are perceived as helpful by different groups of students. However, implementing a combination of strategies seems to help all groups. Many of these strategies work across all class sizes and do not require significant investment in technology or hardware. However, more work needs to be done to determine the effect of these strategies on actual student learning or performance. 5 A word of caution is appropriate. This paper describes different strategies but it is important to note that strategies by themselves may not improve student learning. How strategies are implemented by the instructor and the instructor’s attitude plays a significant role in student learning. An appropriate quote comes from Louis Schmier: â€Å"Education without caring, without a soul, without a spirit, without purpose beyond subject matter is as viable as a person with a brain but without heart. Pedagogy, technology, and techniques are no substitute for love and caring†. A Reflective Paper on the use of Cooperative/Collaborative Learning as a Teaching Strategy Cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals. Within cooperative activities individuals seek outcomes that are beneficial to themselves and beneficial to all other group members. Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximise their own and each others learning. The idea is simple. Class members are organised into small groups after receiving instruction from the teacher.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Essay --

Butler’s Bodies that Matter Judith Butlers book entitled ‘Bodies that Matter’ examines and questions the belief that certain male-female behaviors are natural within our society. The behaviors that Dr. Butler has distinguished between in this book are femininity and masculinity. She believes that through our learned perception of these gendered behaviors this is an act or performance. She implies that this is brought to us by normative heterosexuality depicted in our timeline. In which, takes on the role of our language and accustomed normalization of society. Butler offers many ideas to prove some of her more radical idea’s such as examples from other philosophers, performativity, and worldwide examples on gender/sex. Some philosophers that seem to be of relevance to her fighting cause are Michel Foucault, Edmund Husserl, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and George Herbert Mead. Her use of the doctrine of constitution takes ‘the social agent as an object rather than the subject of constitutive acts† (Performative). In other words, Dr. Butler will question the extent to which we as a human race assume the given individualism between one another. She has said that â€Å"this will constitute him-or herself† (Butler 13). She also wonders to what extent our acts are reputable for us, rather, by our place within dialect and convention. Dr. Butlers followings being of a postmodernist and poststructuralist practice, decides to use the term â€Å"subject† rather than â€Å"individual† or â€Å"person† in order to underline the linguistic nature of her position. This approach should be of credit to philosopher Jacques Lacan because symbolic order gives the system and signs of convention that determines our perception of what we see as reality. With the exception of ... ...Bodies 10). The very act of saying something about sex ends up imposing cultural or ideological norms, according to Butler. As she puts it, "'sex' becomes something like a fiction, perhaps a fantasy, retroactively installed at a prelinguistic site to which there is no direct access" (Bodies 5). Nonetheless, that fiction is central to the establishment of subjectivity and human society, which is to say that, even so, it has material effects: "the 'I' neither precedes nor follows the process of this gendering, but emerges only within and as the matrix of gender relations themselves" (Bodies 7). Overall, I really liked butlers voice and articulation of certain dilemmas and her theme and reiteration of important facts. I leave you with a quote in which i like from her because you can interpret it in so many ways. It read â€Å"more lives are grievable than others† (Butler).

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Forgivenesses of sins Essay

Pardoners were supposed to issue papal indulgences (forgivenesses of sins) in exchange for alms money, which was to be given to the sick, poor, or another worthy cause. But many pardoners were out-and-out frauds, selling worthless pieces of paper, and even legitimate ones often kept more than their share of the proceeds. This Pardoner is from Rouncivalle, a London hospital well known for the number of illegal pardons connected with it. Most pardoners, like this one, claimed to have come â€Å"straight from the court of Rome,† with a bagful of pardons â€Å"al hoot† off the presses, though of course our Pardoner hasn’t set foot outside England. NOTE: Fake pardoners claimed they could do almost anything for the right sum of money, even remove an excommunication. Despite widespread abuses, though, there still were plenty of people gullible enough to believe in a pardoner’s â€Å"powers. † There’s something suspect in the fact that the Pardoner sings â€Å"Come hither, love, to me,† to the Summoner, who accompanies him in a strong bass voice. Some see more than a hint of sexual perversion in this young man who has thin locks of yellow hair that he wears without a hood because he thinks it’s the latest style. His small voice and the fact that he has no beard, â€Å"ne never sholde [would] have,† leads Chaucer to suspect â€Å"he were a gelding or a mare†Ã¢â‚¬â€œa eunuch or effeminate man. NOTE: Scientific opinion of the day believed that thin hair represented poor blood, effeminacy, and deception, while glaring eyes like the Pardoner’s indicated folly, gluttony, and drunkenness. Chaucer’s audience would catch the references just as we would instantly see the significance of a villain in a black cape and with a black moustache. As if the description weren’t bad enough, the Pardoner tricks people into buying phony relics of saints, such as a pillowcase that he says was â€Å"Our Lady’s veil,† or a piece of sail allegedly belonging to St. Peter. No wonder he makes more money in a day than the poor Parson does in two months. Ironically, Chaucer calls him â€Å"a noble eccesiaste,† since he can sing a church lesson beautifully–for money, of course. His tale is right in character: he tells what the pilgrims say they want to hear. He says he bases his sermons on money being the root of all evil (he ought to know). But he admits he’s not a moral man, although he can tell a moral tale. In his tale about three rowdies, he ironically delivers a sermon against gluttony and other sins. Afterwards, the Host lights into the Pardoner’s hypocrisy with such force that the Pardoner is speechless with anger. Chaucer is probably the earliest English poet you’re likely to read. A first glance at the original Middle English of the Canterbury Tales, with all those strange-looking words, might be enough to tempt you to slam the book shut, either in disgust or in terror at having to learn it all. But take a closer look and examine some of the words. You’ll see that many aren’t any harder to understand than when some people, trying to be â€Å"olde†-fashioned, write shoppe instead of shop. (Chaucer’s English is in fact where this idea originated. ) Try to get a dual-language edition of the Canterbury Tales, in which the Middle English original is printed on one side of the page and modern English on the other. When you’ve gotten some practice reading the original words and checking against the modern English, you’ll find that the rhythm of Chaucer’s poetry gets easier to understand. Why is it called â€Å"Middle English†? Simply because it’s at the midpoint between the ancient language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons of England and the English we speak today. In fact, you might feel grateful that you’re reading Chaucer instead of the poetry of some of his fellow fourteenth-century poets, because Chaucer’s dialect–the Middle English spoken in London–is the language that evolved into our English, while the dialects the other poets used died out. Imagine trying to read something written in a hillbilly drawl or in a Scottish brogue; standard English, even if it’s not what we speak all the time, is easier to read. Even if Chaucer had never written a word, it makes sense that the speech of London, the hub of English society, should develop into the standard English that eventually came over on the Mayflower. But Chaucer gave a great boost to the prestige of English, as Shakespeare did later on. It’s partly because of Chaucer’s terrific (though unintentional) public relations job that the poet John Dryden, three hundred years later, called him â€Å"the father of English literature. † There is a robust flavor to Chaucer’s language that we can’t get in a translation, no matter how good it is. You won’t be able to get the nuances of all the old words. But after a while you’ll almost be able to hear the pilgrims chatting away. The opening of the General Prologue bursts with spring, with new life, and shows that Chaucer is both similar to and different from his poetic predecessors. He uses many images of spring that would be familiar to a medievel audience: the April showers (familiar to us too) â€Å"piercing† March’s dryness, the â€Å"licour† in each plant’s â€Å"vein,† the breezes â€Å"inspiring† the crops. It’s short, but enough of a description to give us a sense of waking up to new and exciting events. Even the birds sleep with â€Å"open eyes† because of the rising sap. Then, instead of moving from the conventional spring setting to a description of courtly romantic or heroic deeds, as his audience might expect, he draws us into a very down-to-earth world. Spring isn’t romance; it’s the time of year â€Å"when people long to go on pilgrimages. † We can all identify with the feeling of â€Å"spring fever,† when we want to travel and shake off the winter doldrums. What’s more, in case we or Chaucer’s listeners are expecting a conventional medieval description of moral allegorical types–Greed, Love, Fortune, etc. –or battles, we’re in for a shock. Other poets presented characters for moral purposes or to embody ideals such as courtly love. But Chaucer doesn’t deal in types, whether religious or courtly, but in portraits of real people. He even ignores the unwritten rule of the time that, if you’re describing someone, you start at the top, very orderly, and work down. Chaucer will start with someone’s beard, then hat, boots, tone of voice, and finally his political opinions! (That’s just a partial description of the Merchant. ) He’s not reporting for a moral purpose, but out of love of life and the people around him. Imagine that you’re minding your own business in a wayside tavern and in burst 29 people representing every facet of society. For Chaucer, that meant the nobility, embodied in the Knight and Squire; the church, in the form of the Prioress, Monk, and others; agriculture (the Plowman); and the emerging middle class (the Merchant, Franklin and tradesmen). Rather than shy away from this motley crew, Chaucer the narrator (who is not the same, remember, as Chaucer the poet) befriends and describes them, inserting his own opinions freely.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Othello as a Tragic Hero Essay

One of the most obvious focal point of disagreement about Othello is whether Othello was a tragic hero or not according to the classic conception of a tragic hero; whether his characterization, personal attributes make him fall into the domain of Aristotelian concept of tragic hero; Whether or not he possessed a tragic flaw. To Swinburne, Othello was â€Å"the noblest man of man’s making†. (Swinburne)But T. S. Eliot, on the other hand spoke unfavorably of his â€Å"cheering himself up†, (153) and came out with a celebrated critical term â€Å"Bovarysme†. Robert H.  Heilman (1956) comes very close to restating the Eliot position when he says; â€Å"Othello is the least heroic of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes. † (p. 166) The identification of Othello’s hamartia differs from reader to reader and from critic to critic. Some critics are of the view that excessive Egotism and self-confidence of Othello remain the main cause of his tragedy. He harbors unjustified suspicions against Desdemona. He had a trustful nature and he is thorough in his trust of Iago. (Bradley, 1965. p. 213. Jealousy overpowers him and he lacks self-control. It is hardly likely that even a combination of all these would be equal to what Aristotle considered to be a serious hamartia, and he exhibited any of the failing mentioned above. It would hardly be logical to say that the Othello was punished for crime in the yes of the divine. Another view is that the present failings of Othello may be taken to means that he was he was always like that, and his tragedy comes due some inherent or innate unsoundness in his character. However we get no indication of this in the play. The conception of the tragic hero that we gather from Aristotle’s Poetics is that he is a highly esteemed and prosperous man who falls into misfortune because of some serious hamartia i. e. tragic flaw. Aristotle gives the example of Oedipus and Thyestes, which means that according to him, it was Oedipus’ hamartia that was directly responsible for his fall. Although the meaning of hamartia is far from certain, its most frequent applications is in the sense of false moral judgment, or even purely intellectual errors. Among Greeks no sharp distinction between the two existed. It is generally believed that according to Aristotle the hamartia off Oedipus consists in some moral faults and it has been tried to identify various moral faults in Oedipus. Othello also possessed these moral flaw and his tragedy only comes due to these moral flaws, So according to Aristotelian conception, Othello is a tragic hero as he is a larger than life character and has tragic flaws that bring his destruction. Distinguished Professor Butcher has identified four possible range of meaning of Aristotle‘s Hamartia i. . tragic flaw. The foremost of these connotations is an error due to unavoidable ignorance of circumstances whereas an error caused by unawareness of conditions that might have been identified and for that reason to some extent morally blameworthy is another manifestation of the sense in which the term hamartia was used by Aristotle. The third sense is â€Å"A fault or error where the act is conscious and intentional, but not deliberate. Such acts are committed in anger or passion. Where as fourth one is â€Å"A fault of character distinct, on the one hand, from an isolated error, and, on the other, from the vice which has its seat in the depraved will†¦a flaw of character that is not tainted with a vicious purpose. † This essay will try to analyze all these manifestation of tragic flaws present in the character of Othello to manifest that he was a tragic hero. The character of Othello possesses an aura of personality that makes him distinguished as well naive and unrefined as compared with other characters in the play and other Shakespearean protagonists. That is the sole reason that why he fell a prey to Iago’s plot. Iago told Roderigo, â€Å"O, sir, content you. I follow him [Othello] to serve my turn upon him â€Å"(I, i lines 38-9). Iago explains that only follow Othello to certain extent. A rudimentary supposition is that as the murder of Othello’s wife Desdemona is the result of deceitfulness of Iago, so himself remained a victim to the evil genius of Iago. Othello’s wrath was a product of his impulsiveness, the inherent flaw in his character, but that was utilized and triggered by the machination of Iago. The offense of Iago – to conspire the demise of the Moor – is worse since it is embedded in a shrewd mind with organized attempt whereas the wrongdoing of Othello was the result of his naivete. He was blindfolded by a thorn in the heart and mind. But his sin can not be justified only on this ground as there were various methods to check the blameworthiness. However, it can be illustrated that Othello permitted himself to be influenced by Iago’s proposition of the unfaithfulness of Desdemona. Iago only provides a justification that was needed by Othello. Some critics are of the view that Desdemona’s murder is an outcome of Othello’s excessive arrogance and his impulsiveness to decision-making. A. C. Bradley ponders over the dispositions and nature of Othello and says in this regard; â€Å"The sources of danger in this character are revealed but too clearly by the story. In the first place, Othello’s mind, for all its poetry, is very simple. He is not observant. His nature tends outward. He is quite free from introspection, and is not given to reflection. Emotion excites his imagination, but it confuses and dulls his intellect. On this side he is the very opposite of Hamlet, with whom, however, he shares a great openness and trustfulness of nature. In addition, he has little experience of the corrupt products of civilised life, and is ignorant of European women. † (p. 217) Despite this major flaw, he possessed some distinct personality traits. His has the capacity to build positive and reciprocal relationships and to take a number of steps to persuade. He possesses the capability to tailor an approach to appeal to the needs of a particular audience and an example of this relationship building is his genuine companionship with Iago. But again this trait of Othello is used against him as Iago takes advantage of his trust and design more evil plots against him. Although Othello possesses some evil propensities but he is capable of preventing these base and evil instincts to dominate him. In order to locate the degree and gravity of his sins, his motives fro his evil actions must be taken into consideration. It can be argued that his sins are product of weak mental faculties and some inherent flaws in his character. It was further enhanced by the manipulation of Iago instead of his pride. His action of murdering Desdemona was also not due to deficiency of confidence as he was a strong leader as manifested by his ability to command military and various other states affairs. But his leadership does not mean that he was forfeited against personal fantasies and whims of imagination. Othello’s basic dilemma was that he was in a totally new socio-cultural milieu. He was in a new city with a new bride who was graceful and young. Furthermore, Othello was in deep love with her does not know her well. He was uncertain about Desdemona decision to select him as her husband, and can only comprehend one clarification, â€Å"She lov’d me for the dangers I had pass’d. † (I,iii,167) He is aware of the prevailing environment of prejudice and bias in Venice and without doubt must inquire why Desdemona would against her own norms and values and associate white Venetians by marrying an outsider. All these added suspicion in his minds before Iago begins his conniving plot. Although Desdemona was an epitome of love and care for her, but his preconceived notions cannot enable him to believe in her love unreservedly. His response to his skeptic mind is to put Desdemona on a pedestal, making her an â€Å"emblem of purity and trustworthiness† ‘Tis not to make me jealous/ To say my wife Is fair, feeds well, loves company, Is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances well. / Where virtue Is, these are more virtuous. Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw/ The smallest fear or doubt of her revolt, For she had eyes, and chose me. (3. 3. 180) Othello arrived at the conclusion that Desdemona’s consideration and virtue only capacitated her to feel affection for the unlovable — an unstable culmination originating from his low self-worth. When Iago cast away this fictitious idealism with his evil designs, he is merely strengthening what Othello considers profoundly to be thoroughly possible i. e. that Desdemona could love another man. Iago is on hand to verify Othello’s primary doubts: Ay, there’s the point! as (to be bold with you)/ Not to affect many proposed matches/ Of her own clime, complexion, and degree, / Whereto we see in all things nature tends †¦ Her will, recoiling to her better judgement,/ May fall to match you with her country forms, / And happily repent. (3. 3. 228) So all these facts, arguments and supported evidence clearly manifest that Othello was a lager than life character and his tragic flaw contributes toward his tragedy. It is both an amalgam of self-infliction and circumstances beyond his control. He is a noble character but when things go wrong and pressures builds up, Othello’s inadequacies are revealed like the cracks in the dam. This makes him a tragic hero according to very conception of Aristotle. A. C. Bradley refutes the point of view that Othello was not noble and has no characteristics of a tragic hero. He is of the view; This character is so noble, Othello’s feelings and actions follow so inevitably from it and from the forces brought to bear on it, and his sufferings are so heart-rending, that he stirs, I believe, in most readers a passion of mingled love and pity which they feel for no other hero in Shakespeare, and to which not even Mr Swinburne can do more than justice. Yet there are some critics and not a few readers who cherish a grudge against him. They do not merely think that in the later stages of his temptation he showed a certain obtuseness, and that, to speak pedantically, he acted with unjustifiable precipitance and violence; no one, I suppose, denies that. (p. 221)

Friday, November 8, 2019

Political Theory # 2 Essays

Political Theory # 2 Essays Political Theory # 2 Essay Political Theory # 2 Essay In John Locke’s work entitled, â€Å"Second Treatise†, he articulated that, â€Å"The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges everyone; and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that, being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions† (Colie, 1968). The aforementioned statement is where the problem came from. Actually, the alteration of John Locke’s term â€Å"possessions or property† into â€Å"pursuit of happiness† by Jefferson has strong ground/basis (Colie, 1968). Explaining further, this is because due to the fact that, when John Locke utilizes the term â€Å"possession or property†, he does not only refer to the tangible objects that individuals own, for instance, house and lot, cars, Xbox, laptops etc, instead he also took into consideration a much broader application, which now actually incl udes â€Å"life and liberty† (Curtis, 1981). Since John Locke did not only refer to concrete or physical objects like life and liberty, then Jefferson translated in into the term â€Å"happiness† (Curtis, 1981). Jefferson articulated it that way to be able to convey the message that he and John Locke were not only speaking about material things, they were also referring to those â€Å"essential things† which may bring about happiness in the long run (Curtis, 1981). For individuals to have a clearer and better understanding of the aforementioned, it should be mentioned where this is actually rooted from. John Locke was actually talking about the state of nature here in his magnificent work known as the â€Å"Second Treatise† (Curtis, 1981). He was saying that the state of nature is where men are after the â€Å"state of perfect freedom, state of equality, state governed by rationality, as well as a, state of liberty† which further explained and made simple by Jefferson by saying â€Å"pursuit of happiness† (Curtis, 1981). Health In addition to that, the word, â€Å"health† has been removed by Jefferson simply because when he stated, â€Å"to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness† (Curtis, 1981). It is very clear that the term life already entails health since it is a smaller topic or aspect which is covered by life (Curtis, 1981). It is done to avoid redundancy and eventually confusion (Curtis, 1981).

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island for Study

Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island for Study Not only is Robert Louis Stevensons ​Treasure Island  one of the most popular childrens books in history, its had a major influence on popular culture portrayals of 19th-century pirates. It tells the story of young Jim Hawkins, cabin boy on a ship bound for an island where the treasure is believed buried. He encounters pirates who seek to overthrow the ships officers in a mutiny. Published as a series in the magazine Young Folks between 1881 and 1882, Treasure Island is notable as a childrens book because of the moral ambiguity of many of its main characters; the good guys are sometimes not so good, and its most memorable character, Long John Silver, is a classic anti-hero. The story has captured imaginations for more than a hundred years and has been adapted for film and television more than 50 times.​​ Questions for Study and Discussion Why do you think Jim goes on the journey as a cabin boy?How does Robert Louis Stevenson reveal the characters motivations in Treasure Island?Knowing that this was a serialized story when it was first published, do you have a sense of whether Stevenson plotted out the entire story before writing, or do you think he changed elements of the plot as he wrote each individual section?What are some symbols in Treasure Island?Is Jim Hawkins consistent in his actions? Is he a fully developed character?What about ​Long John Silverare his actions consistent?How easily can you identify with Jims feelings? Do you think this portrayal of a young boy seems dated, or does it stand the test of time?If this novel were written in present day, what details would have to change?Discuss how Long John Silver is or is not a father figure to Jim.Which of the characters surprises you the most?Does the story end the way you expected?How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken p lace anywhere else? Besides Jim Hawkins mother, there are very few women in Treasure Island. Do you think this is important to the plot?What would a sequel to this novel have looked like? Would it be possible to continue the story?

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Marketing assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Marketing assignment - Essay Example In my case, I relate value proposition to Starbucks coffee. Starbucks is the largest coffee house company in the world and has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington D.C and many outlets all over the world. Starbucks sells among other drinks, coffee. My critical selection process of Starbucks coffee is dependent on its mode of preparation, the energy content of the Starbucks coffee drink, the chemical content, the taste, colour, environment, standard of quality, smell, availability of the drink, and the refreshing nature of the Starbucks coffee. Apart from other external factors that may affect my choice for Starbucks coffee like climate, my selection of Starbucks coffee relies on its mode of preparation. Indeed, the preparation of Starbucks coffee takes place in real time and I can actually from the preparation process on how I can prepare my own cup of coffee at home. The mode of preparation is fast and clean thus enticing me to buy. In addition, Starbucks coffee is highly nutritious for my health and thus relevant to my use. More so, although Starbucks coffee has some elements of caffeine, the levels are quite low and suitable for my consumption. Indeed, the caffeine in Starbucks coffee serves my alertness and relaxation thus motivating to buy. Furthermore, Starbucks coffee has a sweet taste that is unique in all its outlets. Actually, all Starbucks outlets sells universal brand of coffee and hence its originality that drives me to purchase. At the same time, the colour of Starbucks coffee is also unique and there are no chances of fake products. Moreover, the price of Starbucks coffee is also a motivator since it is affordable to me and hence my cause to buy. I take Starbucks coffee in the most relaxing and quite environment. All Starbucks outlets situate at quite environments that equally plays some cool music in the background. With such an offer, I find myself buying it most frequently. It is worth noting that

Friday, November 1, 2019

New Turkish Cinema Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7750 words

New Turkish Cinema - Dissertation Example This dissertation discusses the New Turkish Cinema, that is much more than a resurrection of the Turkish film industry after a long dark period. The New Turkish Cinema is also an era of greater creative freedom as a result of the relaxation of Turkey’s censorship laws. The long dark period also provided the New Turkish Cinema filmmakers with a dearth of political and social material from which to work with once the film renaissance begun in the 1990s. As demonstrated throughout this dissertation, the New Turkish Cinema did not hesitate to exploit these experiences of the Turks once film production escalated again in the 1990s. The New Turkish Cinema offers a rare and instructive inspection of the experiences of Turkey’s ordinary and traditionally oppressed citizens in both contemporary Turkey and during the politically and socially turbulent times of the dark ages of Turkey’s film industry. Thus as Turkey itself breaks from tradition in terms of political and dis course, so does Turkey’s film industry. For the most part, the political explorations of the New Turkish Cinema are reproducing the experiences of the politically oppressed. As demonstrated in this dissertation, audiences have seen first-hand the realities of the objectification of women in a largely patriarchal society. Audiences have also seen first-hand the experiences of the official discriminatory policies against the Armenians, the Greeks and other non-Muslim identities. In the final analysis, the New Turkish Cinema can be described as a new Turkish reality.