Why is education important in order to achieve the MDGs

The Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) are eight international development ends that were established after the 2000 Millennium Summit in which United Nations Member States and International Organisations consented to accomplish by the twelvemonth 2015 ( United Nations Millennium Development Goals, 2010 ) . The MDGs set clip edge marks in bettering societal and economic conditions in the universe ‘s hapless states, which advancement towards cut downing income poorness, hungriness, disease, deficiency of equal shelter and exclusion, while advancing gender equality, wellness, instruction and environmental sustainability. They besides embody basic human rights so that each individual on the planet has the right to wellness, instruction, shelter and security ( Ki-Moon, 2010 ) . Three major countries of Humanity are focused in the MDGs: First, reenforcing human capital by bettering substructure, and increasing societal, economic and political rights, specifically concentrating on increasing the basic criterions of life ( United Nations, 2006 ) ; Second, bettering substructure through increasing entree to safe imbibing H2O, energy and modern information communications engineering, magnifying farm end products through sustainable patterns, bettering transit substructure, and continuing the environment ; and eventually the societal, economic and political rights, including authorising adult females, cut downing force, increasing political voice, guaranting equal entree to public services, and increasing security of belongings rights. The ends are intended to increase an person ‘s human capablenesss and progress the agencies to a productive life ( United Nations, 2006 ) . As persons moving together we have the power to take action and influence the procedure of making the MDGs by 2015 ( End Poverty Millennium Campaign, 2010 ) . Education is of import in accomplishing these ends. A basic instruction of a good quality is necessary for developing an apprehension of the universe and the possibilities it provides, and for being able to work efficaciously within it. Without the cognition and assorted accomplishments developed through schooling and basic instruction plans, the chances for persons and the ability to move independently are greatly reduced ( UNESCO, 2010 ) . Escalating the motion towards instruction MDGs will take straight to an acceleration of many of the other MDGs ( 2010 MDG SUMMIT, 2010 ) . In this essay I will explicate why instruction is of import in order to accomplish each of the eight millenary development ends. The first end of the millenary development ends is to eliminate utmost poorness and hungriness. Poverty forces kids out of school displacing their instruction driving them into the low paid work force because parents can non afford to educate them. Haines & A ; Cassels ( 2004 ) explain that one twelvemonth of schooling can increase a individual ‘s net incomes by 10 % with each extra twelvemonth of schooling raising the mean one-year GDP by 0.37 % . Accessible instruction can assist feed an faultless rhythm of enhanced growing and an elevated decrease in poorness, helping the hapless and profiting society as a whole. Education provides people with the accomplishments and cognition they require in order to increase income and develop employment chances. By educating the hapless, adult females and vulnerable groups it opens doors to occupations and recognition and has the potency for economic growing. With rigorous Torahs on compulsory instruction the millenary development end to eliminate utmost poorness and hungriness should be accomplishable in the hereafter. The 2nd MDG is to accomplish cosmopolitan primary instruction. Every kid regardless of where they live deserve the right to an instruction. The Development Education online Depository ( 2010 ) province that cosmopolitan primary instruction involves come ining school at an appropriate age, come oning through the system and finishing a full rhythm of primary instruction. By eliminating primary school fees 1000000s of kids worldwide have the opportunity to derive literacy and numeracy accomplishments increasing the per centum of educated people in the universe, increases the chances for employment and a stable hereafter for many kids which in manus will assist in accomplishing the MDG of accomplishing cosmopolitan primary instruction. The 3rd MDG focuses on advancing gender equality and authorising adult females. Attaran ( 2005 ) province that there are 759 million people in the universe that can non read or compose, and of those people two-thirds are female. Females face many barriers to education in several states around the universe, runing from negative attitudes to the load of family work and distance to school. In order to right the balance instruction needs to be made a precedence, particular attempts such as using female instructors, back uping hapless households and doing the instruction system girl-friendly could assist in advancing gender equality and in authorising adult females. Severine & A ; Shahani ( 2009 ) claim that there is a strong correlativity between educating females and an addition in adult females ‘s net incomes, improved kid and household wellness and nutrition, an addition in school registration, protection against HIV infection, higher maternal and child life anticipation, reduced birthrate rates and delayed matrimony. Equal schooling for both male childs and misss is the foundation for development in accomplishing the MDG of advancing gender equality and authorising adult females. The 4th MDG purposes to cut down child mortality. Supplying instruction to girls provides a great opportunity of endurance to her kids in the hereafter. Severine & A ; Shahani ( 2009 ) claim that a female parent with secondary or higher instruction more than halves the hazard of kid mortality compared to a female parent with small or no instruction. As mentioned above there is a strong connexion between educating females and higher maternal and child life anticipation every bit good as betterments in kid and household wellness and nutrition, they are besides more likely to immunise their kids. Educating adult females, with at least primary instruction, the MDG of cut downing child mortality is more likely to be achieved. The 5th end purposes to better maternal wellness. Maternal instruction is one of the strongest counterpoisons to childbearing-related hazards ( United Nations, 2010 ) . By educating females it enables them to do improved wellness associated determinations, fewer female parents would decease and the MDG of bettering maternal wellness would hold a greater opportunity of being achieved. The 6th MDG intends to battle HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Education is the key to battling HIV/AIDS, malaria and many other diseases. Education establishments take a cardinal function in the bar of HIV and other catching diseases as they can make out to a big figure of people, promoting positive attitudes and behaviors supplying them with the cognition and accomplishments to cut down their opportunity of undertaking HIV. School wellness plans are besides ideal in supplying consciousness and hygiene patterns to assist contend malaria and other diseases. Haines & A ; Cassels ( 2004 ) province that adult females with an instruction higher than primary degree are five times more likely than literate adult females to be cognizant of and cognize about HIV/AIDS. Education offers an of import step of protection against HIV and other diseases. The MDG for cosmopolitan primary instruction is estimated to forestall 700, 000 new HIV infections each twelvemonth ( MDG Monitor, 2007 ) . It is claimed that instruction reduces the exposure of misss, and each twelvemonth of schooling offers greater protective benefits. Education is the best vaccinum against HIV and Aids and other diseases it is besides the most cost effectual manner to accomplish the MDG of battling HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. The 7th MDG is directed at guaranting environmental sustainability. Education for sustainable development ( ESD ) can assist us to populate sustainably. ESD is defined by UNESCO as the purposes to assist people to develop the attitudes, accomplishments and cognition to do informed determinations for the benefit of themselves and others, now and in the hereafter, and to move upon these determinations. By supplying instruction for environmental sustainability it besides educates pupils on cardinal issues including poorness decrease, sustainable supports, planetary heating and clime alteration, gender equality, corporate societal duty and the protection of autochthonal civilizations ( TeachMDGs, 2010 ) ESD will let persons to do determinations that meet the demands of the present without compromising those of future coevalss. Education is indispensable for guaranting environmental sustainability. The 8th and concluding millenary development end is directed at developing planetary partnerships for development. Developing states financially can non supply cosmopolitan primary instruction for free to their people. Therefore a planetary partnership is needed to make full the fiscal spread for instruction so that globally the education-related development ends can be achieved. And if underdeveloped states make instruction a precedence they can so in bend hike their economic system, which can assist to accomplish all of the millenary development ends. Teaching and larning in schools should take to heighten accomplishments, cognition and behavior related to the millenary development ends. Schools should be after their course of study so that content covered increases the impact that instruction has on the MDGs. Such as, in order to battle child mortality and to change female authorization, course of study on cleanliness, sanitation, and steps to minimise contagious diseases. In the instance of environmental sustainability the school should include plans such as the demand to conserve H2O and trees. To better the nutritionary position of the pupils the school can present meal plans to guarantee the pupils have atleast one nutritionary repast each twenty-four hours. Schools can besides advance gender equality by the different functions that school leaders take. Positive behavior aimed at accomplishing the MDGs can be learned and reinforced throughout instruction. By presenting grownup instruction and literacy plans for both work forces and adult females can supply chances for employment, bettering labour productiveness and presenting plans such as H2O and sanitation. The impact of grownup instruction for adult females can ensue in lower kid mortality rates and higher degrees of maternal wellness. With the completion of secondary instruction adult females are more likely to seek out prenatal attention and better medical intervention, are more likely to direct their kids to school, and have greater economic chances that will relieve poorness and hungriness. All in all grownup instruction in occupational and life accomplishments will positively impact the millenary development ends. 2010 should non be the beginning of the ‘new and unsure ‘ journey towards the millenary development ends, instead it should be the ‘refueling ‘ point on this ocean trip that has been traveling on for the past 10 old ages. The following five old ages complete the journey in accomplishing the MDGs by 2015. With the execution of the millenary development ends in school course of studies globally the program to make the finish should be accomplishable.ResourcesAttaran, A. ( 2005 ) . An Immeasurable Crisis? A Criticism of the Millenium Development Goals and Why they can non be Measured. PLoS Medicine 2 ( 10 ) 318. Development Education on-line Depository. ( 2010 ) . Making Global Connections through Education. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.developmenteducation.info// Haines, A. & A ; Cassels, A. ( 2004 ) . Can the Millennium Development Goals Be Attained? British Medical Journal, 329 ( 7462 ) 394-397. MDG Monitor. ( 2007 ) . Quick Facts. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.mdgmonitor.org/country_progress.cfm? c=BEN & A ; cadmium Moon, K. ( 2010 ) . Millennium Goals. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.un.org/millenniumgoals/bkgd.shtml Severine, D. , & A ; Shahani, L. ( 2009 ) . An Introduction to the Human Development and Capability Approach: Freedom and Agency. Sterling, VA: Earthscan. TeachMDGs. ( 2010 ) . The Millennium Development Goals. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //teachmdgs.net/// United Nations. ( 2006 ) . The Millenium Development Goals Report: United Nations Development Program. Retrieved from www.undp.org/publications/MDGReport2006.pdf United Nations Millennium Development Goals. ( 2010 ) . Acme on the Millenium Development Goals. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.un.org/milleniumgoals/

Different Departmentalization in Malaysia Essay

Introduction The search for competitive advantage, write management consultants and educators David Nadler and Michael Tushman, is â€Å"the defining goal of modern-day business. † Competing by Design: The Power of Organizational Architecture, is their guide to reaching that goal through total integration of corporate structure, workplace culture, and employee motivation. Bringing all such processes together into one unified organization, they contend, is as important to a company’s future as the architectural unity of the building that houses it. Organizational Design is gaining more importance in human resource management as organizations are rethinking their role in the marketplace, their position vis a vis competitors, and their long term strategy. A key strategy in aligning the workforce with business goals, Organizational Design seeks to maximize workforce effectiveness while minimizing or maintaining costs. Five basic organizational structures are used in Organizational Design and adapted to an organization’s needs Basic Organizational Designs Have Six Structure Elements. . Specialization-a process in which different individuals and units perform different task. 2. Chain Of Command-is the unbroken line of authority that extend from the top of the organizations to the lowest echelon and clarifies who reports whom.

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 21

I had no boyfriend. Despite all the uncertainties in my world, that at least was one thing I could feel confident about. Unfortunately, this nephilim apparently had a more optimistic view of my love life. â€Å"I don't know who you're talking about,† I shouted to my empty office. â€Å"Do you hear me, you son of a bitch? I don't know who you're fucking talking about!† No one responded. Paige, passing by a moment later, stuck her head inside. â€Å"Did you call me?† â€Å"No,† I grumbled. She wore a dress that clung distinctly to her swelling belly. It didn't help my mood any. â€Å"Just talking to myself.† I closed the door after she left. My immediate impulse was to run for help. Carter. Jerome. Somebody. Anybody. I couldn't deal with this alone. Fail – or involve any of your immortal contacts – and no amount of â€Å"safekeeping† will do him any good. Damn it. I didn't even know who â€Å"he† was. Frantically, I tried to figure out who among my mortal acquaintances could have been mistaken by the nephilim as something more. As if it wasn't hard enough being my friend already. Surprisingly – or perhaps not – my thoughts promptly strayed to Seth. I thought about our recent rapport. Censored and proper certainly, but still warm. Still right and natural. Still occasionally making me catch my breath when we touched. No, that was stupid. My fascination with him was shallow. His books made me suffer from hero worship, and our friendship had become a sort of rebound from Roman. Whatever crush or minor attraction he'd had for me had to be fading fast. He'd shown no other indications of more-than-friends feelings, and my distancing had to be having an effect. Besides, he still kept disappearing for mysterious meetings, probably for some girl he was too shy to tell me about. It was presumptuous of me to even consider him in a boyfriend category. Yet†¦ would the nephilim know any of that? Who knew what the bastard was thinking? If it had observed Seth and me having our coffee chats, it might assume anything. Fear clenched me, making me want to immediately run upstairs and check on Seth. But no. That would be a waste, for now at least. He was writing, in public, surrounded by people. The nephilim would not attack him in such a setting. Who else then? Warren perhaps? That voyeur nephilim had watched us have sex. If that didn't count as some sort of relationship, I didn't know what did. Of course, the nephilim would have also observed that Warren and I almost never interacted in any other intimate way. Poor Warren. Sex with me had already wiped him out; it would be beyond cruel if he became a target for the nephilim's bizarrely misplaced humor. Fortunately, I had already seen Warren come in today. He was busy in his office, but perhaps that still counted as safe. Alone he might be, but any screams from a nephilim attack would immediately draw attention. Doug? He and I had always had a perky flirtation. Certainly one might consider his sporadic pursuit of me indicative of something more than friendship. Yet, in the last few weeks, he and I hadn't talked very much. I'd been too distracted by the nephilim attacks. Those, and Roman. Ah, Roman. There it was, the possibility that had been hovering in the back of my mind. The reality I'd been avoiding because it meant contacting him, breaking the silence I'd tried so hard to maintain. I didn't know what was between us, other than a scorching attraction and the occasional tug of solidarity. I didn't know if it was love or the start of love or whatever. But I knew I cared about him. A lot. I missed him. Cutting myself off completely had been the safest way to recover, to get over my longing and move on. I feared what reinitiating contact could do. And yet†¦ because I cared about him, I could not let this nephilim prey upon him. I could not risk Roman's life in this because, really, he probably was the most likely candidate. Half the bookstore staff still considered us an item; why not the nephilim ? Especially in light of how touchy-feely we'd been on a number of outings. Any stalking nephilim would be well justified in reading that as romantic attachment I picked up my cell phone and called him with bated breath. No answer. â€Å"Shit,† I swore, listening to his voice mail. â€Å"Hi Roman, it's me. I know I wasn't, uh, going to call you anymore, but something's come up†¦ and I really need to talk to you. As soon as possible. It's really weird, but it's really important too. Please call me.† I left him both my cell and the bookstore numbers. I disconnected, then sat and pondered. Now what did I do? On impulse, I glanced at the staff directory and dialed Doug's home number. He had the day off. No answer, just like Roman. Where was everybody? Shifting my attention back to Roman, I tried to figure out where he would be. Work, most likely. Unfortunately, I didn't know where that was. What a negligent pseudo-girlfriend I was. He'd said he taught at a community college. He referred to it all the time, but it was always â€Å"at school† or â€Å"at the college.† He'd never mentioned the name. I turned to my computer and did a search for local community colleges. When the search returned several hits for Seattle alone, I swore again. More existed outside of the city too, in the suburbs and neighboring sister cities. Any of them could be possibilities. I printed out a list of all of them, with phone numbers, and stuffed the paper in my purse. I needed to get out of here, needed to take this search to the field. I opened my office door to leave and flinched. Another identically written note hung on my door. I peered around in the offices' hallway, half hoping to see something. Nothing. I pulled the note down and opened it. You're losing time and men. You've already lost the writer. You'd best get a move-on with this scavenger hunt. â€Å"Scavenger hunt indeed,† I muttered, crumpling the note. â€Å"You're such an asshole.† But†¦ what did he mean about losing the writer? Seth? My pulse quickened, and I raced up to the cafe, earning a few startled looks along the way. No Seth. His corner was empty. â€Å"Where's Seth?† I demanded of Bruce. â€Å"He was just here.† â€Å"He was,† concurred the barista. â€Å"Then he suddenly packed up and left.† â€Å"Thanks.† I definitely needed to get out of here. I found Paige in New Books. â€Å"I think I need to go home,† I told her. â€Å"I'm getting a migraine. â€Å" She looked startled. I had the best track record for attendance of any employee. I never called in sick. Yet, for that very reason, she could hardly refuse me. I was not a worker who abused the system. After she'd assured me I should go, I added, â€Å"Maybe you can get Doug to come in.† That would kill two birds with one stone. â€Å"Maybe,† she said. â€Å"I'm sure we'll manage, though. Warren and I are here all day.† â€Å"He's here all day?† When she reiterated that he would indeed be there, I felt somewhat relieved. Okay. He was off the list. As I walked home to my apartment, I called Seth's cell phone. â€Å"Where are you?† I asked. â€Å"Home. I forgot some notes I needed.† Home? Alone? â€Å"Do you want to get breakfast with me?† I asked suddenly, needing to get him out. â€Å"It's almost one.† â€Å"Brunch? Lunch?† â€Å"Aren't you at work?† â€Å"I went home sick.† â€Å"Are you sick?† â€Å"No. Just meet me.† I gave him an address and hung up. As I drove to the rendezvous, I tried Roman's cell again. Voice mail. I pulled out the community college phone numbers and started with the first one on the list. What a pain. First, I had to start with campus information and try to get to the right department. Most community colleges didn't even have linguistics departments, though almost all had at least one introductory class taught through some other related area – like anthropology or humanities. I made it through three colleges by the time I reached Capitol Hill. I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Seth waiting outside the place I'd indicated. After I parked and paid the meter, I walked up to him, trying to smile in some semblance of normality. It apparently didn't work. â€Å"What's wrong?† â€Å"Nothing, nothing,† I proclaimed cheerfully. Too cheerfully. His look implied disbelief, but he let the matter drop. â€Å"Are we eating here?† â€Å"Yup. But first we have to go see Doug.† â€Å"Doug?† Seth's confusion deepened. I led him to an apartment building next door and climbed to Doug's floor. Music blared from inside his apartment, which I took as a good sign. I had to beat on the door three times before anyone answered. It wasn't Doug. It was his roommate. He looked stoned. â€Å"Is Doug here?† He blinked at me and scratched his long, unkempt hair. â€Å"Doug?† he asked. â€Å"Yeah, Doug Sato.† â€Å"Oh, Doug. Yeah.† â€Å"Yeah, he's here?† â€Å"No, man. He's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The guy squinted. Lord, who got high this early in the day? I hadn't even done that back in the 1960s. â€Å"He's practicing.† â€Å"Where? Where do they practice?† The guy stared at me. â€Å"Where do they practice?† I repeated. â€Å"Dude, did you know you have, like, the most perfect tits I've ever seen? They're like†¦ poetry. Are they real?† I clenched my teeth. â€Å"Where. Does. Doug. Practice?† He dragged his eyes from my chest. â€Å"West Seattle. Over by Alki.† â€Å"Do you have an address?† â€Å"It's by†¦ California and Alaska.† He blinked again. â€Å"Whoa. California and Alaska. Get it?† â€Å"An address?† â€Å"It's green. You can't miss it.† When no other information came, Seth and I left. We went to the restaurant I had indicated. â€Å"Poetry,† he reflected along the way, amused. â€Å"Like an ee cummings poem, I'd say.† I was too preoccupied to process what he was saying, my mind racing. Even waffles with strawberries couldn't keep me from worrying about this idiotic scavenger hunt. Seth attempted conversation, but my answers were vague and distracted, my mind clearly not with him through the meal. When we finished, I unsuccessfully tried Roman again, then turned to Seth. â€Å"Are you going back to the bookstore?† He shook his head. â€Å"No. I'm going home. I realized I need too much of my research to write this scene. Easier to stay in my own office.† Panic blazed through me. â€Å"Home? But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What could I say? Tell him that if he stayed at home, he might be in danger of attack by a sociopathic, supernatural creature? â€Å"Stay with me,† I blurted out. â€Å"Run errands with me.† His polite complacency finally broke. â€Å"Georgina, what in the world is going on? You go home sick when you're not. You're clearly agitated about something, desperately so. Tell me what this is about. Is something wrong with Doug?† I closed my eyes for a second, wishing this was all over. Wishing I was somewhere else. Or someone else. Seth must think I was out of my mind. â€Å"I can't tell you what's wrong, only that something is. You have to leave it at that.† Then, hesitantly, I reached out and squeezed his hand, turning my eyes pleadingly toward his. â€Å"Please. Stay with me.† He tightened his grip on my hand and took a step forward, face concerned and compassionate. For a moment, I forgot about the nephilim. What did other men matter when Seth looked at me like that? I had the urge to embrace him and feel his arms enclose me. I almost laughed. Who was I kidding? I didn't need to worry about leading him on. I was the one getting hooked here. I was the one in danger of escalating this relationship. I needed to stop procrastinating on my â€Å"clean break† with him. I hastily broke apart and lowered my eyes. â€Å"Thank you.† He offered to drive to West Seattle, freeing me up to keep calling colleges. I had nearly finished by the time we reached the intersection of Alaska and California. He slowed slightly, and we both peered around, searching for a green house. You can't miss it.It was a stupid piece of advice. What constituted green anyway? I saw a sage house, a forest green house, and a color that could have been green or blue. Some houses had green trim, green doors, or – â€Å"Whoa,† said Seth. A small, run-down house painted a glaring shade of mintish lime stood there, nearly obscured by two much nicer houses. â€Å"You can't miss it,† I muttered. We parked and walked toward it. As we did, the sounds of Doug's band clearly emanated from the garage. When we reached the open door, I saw Nocturnal Admission in full glory, Doug belting out lyrics in that amazing voice of his. He cut off abruptly when he saw me. â€Å"Kincaid?† His fellow band members looked on quizzically as he jumped down and sprinted over to me. Seth discretely took a few steps away, studying some nearby hydrangea bushes. â€Å"What are you doing here?† asked Doug, not offended so much as astounded. â€Å"I called in sick,† I said stupidly. What did I do now? â€Å"Are you sick?† â€Å"No. I – I had something to do. Still do. But I'm†¦ I'm worried about leaving the store. How long will you be here? Can you fill in for me after this?† â€Å"You came here to ask me to cover for you? Why'd you call in sick? Are you finally running away with Mortensen?† â€Å"I – no. I can't explain it. Just promise me, after this, you'll swing by the store and see if they need help.† He was staring at me with a look Seth had been shooting me all afternoon. One that sort of implied I needed a tranquilizer. â€Å"Kincaid†¦ you're freaking me out here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I looked up at him with the same baleful expression I'd used on Seth. Succubus charisma in action. â€Å"Please? You still owe me, remember?† His dark eyes frowned in understandable consternation. At last he said, â€Å"Okay. But it'll be a few hours before I can go.† â€Å"That's all right. Just go there straight afterward. No stops. And don't†¦ don't tell them you saw me. I'm supposed to be sick. Make up some reason to go there.† He shook his head in exasperation, and I thanked him with a quick hug. As Seth and I departed, I saw Doug glance at Seth questioningly. Seth shrugged, answering the other man's silent inquiry with shared confusion. I made more phone calls as we drove away, finishing my college list and leaving yet another desperate message for Roman. â€Å"What now?† asked Seth when I lapsed into silence. Hard to say what he thought of my harassment of both Roman and Doug. â€Å"I†¦I don't know.† I had reached the end of my options. Everyone was accounted for except Roman, and I had no way to reach him. The clock was ticking. I didn't know where he lived. I thought he'd mentioned Madrona once, but that was a big area. I could hardly start knocking on all those doors. The nephilim had said I had until the end of my shift. Despite bailing on work, I assumed that still meant nine o'clock. I had almost three hours left. â€Å"I guess I'll pick up my car and go back home.† Seth dropped me off at the restaurant and followed me back to Queen Anne. A traffic light stopped him, so I made it to my apartment about a minute before he did. On my door was another note. Nice job. You'll probably end up alienating all of these men with your erratic behavior, but I admire your pluck. One left to go. I wonder how fast on his feet your dancer truly is. I was crumpling this note up when Seth reached me. I pulled my key out of my purse and feebly attempted to put it in my lock. My hands shook so badly, I couldn't do it. He took the key from me and opened the door. We entered, and I collapsed on to the couch. Aubrey slithered out from behind it and jumped on my lap. Seth sat nearby, taking in my apartment – including my prominently displayed collection of his books on the new shelf – then returned his worried gaze to me. â€Å"Georgina†¦ what can I do?† I shook my head, feeling helpless and defeated. â€Å"Nothing. I'm just glad you're here.† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He hesitated. â€Å"I hate to tell you this, but I've got to leave in a little while. I'm meeting someone.† I looked up sharply. Another of those mysterious meetings. Curiosity temporarily replaced my fear, but I couldn't question him. Couldn't ask if he was meeting some woman. At least he said he was meeting someone. He wouldn't be alone. â€Å"You'll be with†¦ them†¦ for a while then?† He nodded. â€Å"I could come back late tonight, if you wanted. Or†¦ maybe I could cancel.† â€Å"No, no, don't worry about it.† By then, it would all be over. He stayed awhile longer, again attempting conversation I couldn't participate in. When he finally stood up to leave, I could see anxiety written all over him and felt terrible I'd involved him in this. â€Å"This will all be resolved tomorrow,† I told him. â€Å"So don't worry. I'll be back to normal then. I promise.† â€Å"Okay. If you need anything, let me know. Call me, no matter what. Otherwise†¦ well, I'll see you at work.† â€Å"No. I have tomorrow off.† â€Å"Oh. Well. Do you mind if I stop by?† â€Å"Sure. Go ahead.† I would have agreed to anything. I was too tired to hold to my earlier notion of distancing. I'd worry about that later. Honestly. One thing at a time. He left reluctantly, no doubt baffled when I told him to spend a lot of time with whoever he was meeting. As for me, I paced all over my apartment, not knowing what to do. Maybe I couldn't get ahold of Roman because the nephilim had already found him. That would hardly be fair since I'd never even had a chance to genuinely warn him, but this nephilim didn't really seem like the type to care about right or wrong. Struck by inspiration, I called Information, realizing I'd missed the obvious way to find him. It didn't matter. Unlisted. Two hours before my shift would have ended, I left Roman another message. â€Å"Please, please, please call me,† I begged. â€Å"Even if you're really mad at me for what happened. Just tell me you're out there and okay.† No return call came. Eight o'clock rolled around. With one hour remaining, I left him another message. I could feel hysteria creeping in. God, what was I going to do? All I did do was continue pacing, pondering how soon would be too soon to call Roman one more time. Five minutes before nine, utterly frantic, I grabbed my purse, desperate to leave my apartment and do something. Anything. Time was almost up. What would happen? How would I know if I'd successfully jumped through the nephilim's hoops? When I saw Roman's murder plastered across the paper tomorrow? Would there be another note? Or maybe some gruesome token? What if the nephilim hadn't even meant any of the people I'd considered? What if it was someone completely out of the realm of – I opened my door to leave and gasped. â€Å"Roman!† He stood there, mid-knock, as surprised to see me as I was him. I dropped my purse and ran to him, flinging myself at him in a fierce embrace that nearly toppled him. â€Å"Oh God,† I breathed into his shoulder, â€Å"I'm so glad to see you.† â€Å"I guess,† he replied, pulling slightly away to look down at me, his turquoise eyes concerned. â€Å"Lord, Georgina, what's wrong? I've got like eighty messages from you – â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know,† I told him, still not letting go. Seeing him stirred up all the old, queasy feelings I had thought were buried. He looked so good. He smelled so good. â€Å"I'm sorry – it's just, I thought something had happened to you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hugged him again, catching sight of my watch as I did so. Nine o'clock. My shift was over, as was the nephilim's ridiculous game. â€Å"Okay, it's all right.† He patted me awkwardly on the back. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"I can't tell you.† My voice shook. His mouth opened to protest, but he reconsidered. â€Å"Okay. Let's take this slow. You're pale. Let's go get something to eat. You can explain all this then.† Yeah, that would be a fun conversation. â€Å"No. We can't do that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come on. There's no way you can leave me all those desperate messages and then start playing the ‘we need space' game. Seriously, Georgina. You're a wreck. You're shaking. I wouldn't want you to be by yourself anyway if I'd found you like this, let alone after those calls.† â€Å"No. No. No going out.† I sat down on the couch, needing to let him go, reluctant to do so. â€Å"Let's stay here.† Still looking distressed, Roman fetched me a glass of water, then sat down by me, holding my hand. As time passed, I calmed down, listening as Roman talked about inconsequential things in an effort to make me feel better. For his part, he was quite nice about my psycho phone calls. He continued trying to tease out an explanation, but when I remained evasive, only saying I had cause to worry about him, he stopped pushing – for now. He continued cheering me up, telling me funny things as well as his usual political soliloquies, complaining about the irrational rules and hypocrisy of the powers that be. By late in the evening, I was relaxed again, left only with embarrassment for the way I'd behaved. Damn, I hated that nephilim. â€Å"It's getting late. You going to be okay if I go?† he asked, standing with me near my living room window, overlooking Queen Anne Avenue. â€Å"Probably better than if you stay.† â€Å"Well, that's a matter of opinion,† he chuckled, running a hand over my hair. â€Å"Thanks for coming by. I know†¦ I know†¦ it seems crazy, but you've just got to trust me on this one.† He shrugged. â€Å"I don't really have a choice. Besides†¦ it's kind of nice to know you were worried about me.† â€Å"Of course I was. How could I not be?† â€Å"I don't know. You aren't easy to read. I couldn't figure out if you really liked me†¦ or if I was just something to pass the time. A diversion.† Something in his words rang a bell in my head, something I should have paid attention to. Instead I was more caught up in how close he suddenly stood to me, how his hand ran down my cheek to my neck and to my shoulder. He had long, sensuous fingers. Fingers that could do a lot of good in a lot of good places. â€Å"I do like you, Roman. If you don't believe anything else I tell you, believe that.† He smiled then, a smile so full and beautiful, it made my heart melt. God, I had missed that smile and his funny, breezy charm. Moving his hand back up to my neck, he pulled me toward him, and I realized he was going to kiss me again. â€Å"No†¦ no†¦ don't,† I murmured, squirming out of his grasp. He backed off from the kiss, still holding on to me as he exhaled, disappointment all over his face. â€Å"Still worried about that?† â€Å"You can't understand. I'm sorry. I just can't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Georgina, nothing traumatic happened the last time we kissed. Short of your reaction, I mean.† â€Å"I know, but it's not that simple.† â€Å"Nothing happened,† he repeated, an unfamiliar hardness in his voice. â€Å"I know, but – â€Å" My mouth hung there mid-sentence as I replayed his words. Nothing happened. No, something had happened that night at the concert, kissing in the back hallway. I'd seen Roman stagger from the kiss. But me†¦ what had happened to me? What had I felt? Nothing. A kiss that intense, a kiss with someone strong, a kiss with someone I wanted so badly should have triggered something. Even with a low energy yield like Warren, a deep kiss would wake up my succubus instinct, start to connect us, even if no significant transfer took place. Kissing Roman like that – especially when he ostensibly had a reaction – should have resulted in some kind of feeling on my end. Some sensation. Yet, there had been nothing. Nothing at all. I had written it off to too much alcohol at the time. But that was ridiculous. I drank all the time before getting a fix. Alcohol could muddle my senses – as it obviously had that night – but no amount of intoxication could completely negate the sensation of anima transfer. Nothing could. I had been too trashed to realize the truth. Alcohol or no, I would always feel something from sexual or intimate physical contact unless†¦ Unless I was with another immortal. I jerked away from Roman, breaking his hold on me. His expression registered surprise, immediately replaced by sudden understanding. Those beautiful eyes sparkling dangerously, he laughed. â€Å"Took you long enough.†

Individuals in Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Individuals in Organizations - Essay Example The degree of employees' commitment in FMC Aberdeen is much higher than in other FMC facilities, including Green River. The ways for the managers to ensure personnel's commitment are encouraging their creativity, training staff, and regarding failures as a way to learn new things and succeed in future (Sonnenberg 1993) The facility seems to be a "family" for every worker, and the approach used by the managers makes people believe they are truly valued. Team work is of particular importance for FMC Aberdeen, and this also makes the staff more committed. Important factors are also bonuses and rewards introduced by the companies. Yet, the challenges both locations are likely to face are worth considering, and as far as commitment of people to their organisation goes, it is vital to pay attention to the problem of loss of motivation even by the most committed employees. In order to retain staff, its motivation should be constantly maintained and enhanced.

Plagiarism Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Plagiarism - Article Example In the article â€Å"A Debate About Plagiarism as The Times Investigates a Case† Margaret Sullivan sheds light on the issue of plagiarism and the way it is being widely spread nowadays. She provides a vivid example, pointing on the story of The Times reporter, Carol Vogel, who had written a short passage about arts, which is almost similar to the one in Wikipedia (Sullivan, 2014). She is ashamed that modern reporters may simply copy and paste, and that would be enough for the journalists seemingly. Sullivan also shows the example of Ben Johnson, editor in BuzzFeed, who was fired due to plagiarism. Sullivan shares that â€Å"At least one prominent writer doesn’t think what happened at BuzzFeed is such a big deal,† (Sullivan, 2014). Gene Weingarten form Washington Post stresses that plagiarism is a theft. I agree that a person has to write own ‘stuff,’ as Sullivan named it, otherwise it is compulsory to provide links and references. There is an intelle ctual property, thus, withdrawing it is a theft. Everyone who writes has to be capable of combining, mixing and synthesizing of information taken from different sources. In case nothing new is brought up, what is the deal? Such writing has no value. Even though there are things to be shared, own prism of the writer has to be present anyway. I cannot say that using information provided by others is bad; I suppose it is useful as there were many bright thoughts by the thinkers of the past and present. Anyway, it is essential to refer to an actual author of the idea.

Earned Value Management (EVM) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Earned Value Management (EVM) - Term Paper Example The business organisations engaged in competition strives to take an upper hand position in the market by achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. In this regard, they aim to utilize effective management tools and techniques to strengthen their position in terms of finance, market share, operational efficiency etc (Huggins and Izushi, 2011, p.227). To achieve a sustainable growth and development, managements must strive to manage their assigned projects in a systematic way for optimum outcomes. Efficient and effective Project management is a challenging task which includes multiple activities, and management generally uses certain specific techniques, tools and systems for handling a project. Earned Value Management (EVM), an approach for project management is the most popular and widely used technique for project management (Dinsmore and Cabanis-Brewin, 2010, p.107). This report will attempt to present importance and use of EVM for analysing and assessing planning, scheduling, costing, budgeting, evaluating and performance monitoring of a project. 2. Management of a Project An organisation including profit making or non-profit making performs a number of tasks. Each group of tasks have a certain specific goal and this group of tasks can be termed as ‘project’. Organisations get themselves engaged in the multiple projects to achieve the common and overall goals and objectives. Therefore, successful completion of project is very vital for the organisational success and project management has evolved as key process in business related activities. With increasing pressure of the workloads, project management is gaining recognition in all types of organisation including SMEs and multinational enterprises. In simple terms, project management can be defined as â€Å"the task of managing work† (Cooke and Tate, 2005, p.1). In case of business management, a project can involves any types of tasks e.g. product development; implementing new machi nes or system in operation for increasing efficiency; or marketing promotions and advertisement. Generally, the project management can be completed through a set five sequential processes. These five processes are initiation, planning, execution, controlling and closure (Choudhuri, n.d. p.3). However, in each process there are various tasks that strive to support each of the aspects and criterions in the course of project management. Cost management, risk and quality management, budgeting, operational management, scheduling etc are the example of these tasks. The above sated tasks can also be termed as project management knowledge that includes nine areas and each of them are crucial of the effective project management. These nine areas also include certain tasks and these areas are explained in the following chart. Figure 1: Project Management Knowledge Areas (Source: Choudhuri, n.d. p.4) 3. Background of Earned Value Management (EVM) In the previous section, the tasks involved in a project management have been discussed, and each of these tasks is critical having direct influence on the profitability and organisational growth. If the project management team is able to complete these tasks efficiently, they are able to meet the goal of a project. In the course of these tasks, maintenance of efficient, accuracy, and reliability are key factors for the success.

Definition paper on Patriotism Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Definition on Patriotism - Research Paper Example The eagle is strong, ferocious and majestic. This is how patriotic citizens of the United States view themselves and their nation. Finally, patriotism invariably is connected with support of the armed forces. These are the men and women that serve their nation every day. They are willing to put themselves in harm’s way for the defense of the country that they love. A good workable definition of patriotism then would simply be a love of one’s homeland (Bennett, 2008). While all of these symbols of patriotism are powerful in their own way, they do not capture the true meaning of patriotism. There are three key activities that define true patriotism. Patriotism is defined by education that teaches you about your rights, engagement that brings your rights as a citizen to life, and courage to stand and speak for what is truly in the best interest of the nation. The first key to being a patriotic citizen is education. Often, we only think of education as something that happen s in schools. This type of formal education is vital for patriotic citizenship. Learning about the structure of the American government as outlined in the Constitution is an important first step. A basic understanding of the history of the documents that lead to the establishment of the United States of America and the current Constitution is essential if a citizen is to really be patriotic. Anyone can get misty-eyed at the sight of a bald eagle soaring through an azure sky superimposed over the image of the flag waving in the breeze. This is not true patriotism. A real patriot must know why the government works the way it does (Haynes, 2009). Patriotic citizens must know what their rights are or they may find themselves in a situation that they are loosing rights that they never even knew they had. Understanding important concepts found in the Constitution such as checks and balances, representative democracy and due process are essential for patriotism to exist because these ideas are the foundation that underlies the symbols of patriotism. All citizens need to know the content of the Bill of Rights and other Amendments to the Constitution. Without this academic knowledge, patriotism is nothing more than emotions generated by familiar symbols of the nation. Once an academic understanding of the rights of citizens has been obtained, it is then necessary for the patriot to transfer that knowledge to his or her daily life. It is important for the citizens of the United States to know what due process looks like in the real world so they can know if their rights have been taken away. They need to understand how Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assemble allow them to do the things they do and say the things they say so that these privileges will not ever be lost due to apathy. An understanding of what Constitutional rights look like in real life allows people to participate in the next element of patriotism. Acquiring the education necessary for patriotism is not a passive process. In a formal setting such as school textbooks must be studied, homework must be completed and tests must be passed. This requires effort. Informal learning about rights and responsibilities of patriotic citizens requires effort as well. Much of this learning occurs while actually living life. That is why the act of engagement is so vital for patriotism. There are many different ways a person can engage in the political process. Patriotism requires citizens to engage on each of these levels. The first level is to meet legal

Western Civ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Western Civ - Essay Example Firstly, at the end of the British feudalism, after the 17th Century English Civil war, scientific knowledge and entrepreneurial skills quickly started growing in Britain creating an onset of the industrial revolution. Many people wanted things to change for the better. They wanted to improve efficiency and quality of activities they were doing. According to Pearson Education (2010), these people wanted improved transport; manufactured cloth to match with growing demographic needs; maximize agricultural production; agricultural produce to be preserved in the best way; trade to expand beyond the frontiers and others. As such, many people with scientific and entrepreneur skills engaged in heavy technological advancement. Scientists started inventing various technologies such as improved textile machines and the steam engine whilst entrepreneurial capitalists supported the inventions with funding. Such technologies later improved transportation, cloth manufacturing and agricultural prod uction. While this was happening in Britain, other countries had not yet started. Secondly, Britain had a very big advantage over the other countries on natural resources. She had a very big base of natural resources such as iron, copper, coal, lead, tin, limestone and water power. Such minerals were abundant in places such as the English Midlands, South Wales and Scottish Lowlands. Pearson Education (2010) agrees that advancement in technology, agriculture and abundant labor made it easy for Britain to extract the natural resources and use them to expand manufacturing. On the other hand, other countries had limited natural resources; and it was difficult to extract them because of several reasons such as insufficient capital, poor political systems and lack of labor. Such a situation gave Britain an opportunity to lead in industrial revolution. Thirdly, it should also be noted that aristocracy in continental Europe helped to

Economics Essay, applying Porter's Diamond to the construction Essay

Economics , applying Porter's Diamond to the construction industry - Essay Example The work includes building of roads, bridges and other major infrastructures. The real estate business is also urban based; so the constructions companies need to base all their business activity in urban areas in order to compliment the real estate industry. The repair and maintenance of existing buildings and other infrastructures also falls under the domain of construction industry and its major business comes from the densely populated urban areas. This is due to the fact that the more usage of infrastructure in densely populated urban areas results in higher damages and hence is subject to repair. There are mainly three categories in which the construction industry is divided. First, being the heavy constructions that require high civil engineering; in this category we have the construction of roads, bridges and other big infrastructures. In this category the big guns of construction industry come into function for all major commitments. The second category is the general constr uction of buildings of real estate; in this category the construction companies operate in housing development works. The small construction companies mainly operate in this category, as it requires small budgetary involvements. The third and final category comprise of special constructive work, which is done in small scale. Specialized areas of construction fall in this category like the construction work on wood, electric related works, etc. In this category very specific construction companies operate as it require specialization in specific field of work. (Economy watch, n.d). It is seen that the contractor may be an individual or any organization; contractors definitely fall in any of the above categories in construction business. A construction firm, of any size can fall under these three categories of the construction business. The scope of growth of construction industry is favorable in the developing countries where the trend of

Planning for Long Term Wealth Creation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Planning for Long Term Wealth Creation - Essay Example Before borrowing to invest in the stock market, Albert and Nancy should first build an investment plan that clearly documents their retirement goals of savings and income. After identifying the level of income and savings that they require for their retirement goals, the couple can then develop several investment strategies that are potentially adequate in achieving these goals over time, using the principles of risk management to differentiate the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy. In summary, the couple should schedule meetings with a number of financial professionals and discuss the investment options available for achieving their retirement goals to compare advice and strategies in different stocks, bonds, and commodity investments. Once this information has been gathered, they should study each recommendation given by the financial advisors and make a final decision on an investment plan they are comfortable with dedicating their income to over the next 20 years. One serious concern that the couple must consider when contemplating taking a home equity loan for investment in a retirement fund is the rate of interest that they will pay on the initial sum and how that rate compares to expected stock market returns. For example, HSBC and UBank are both offering home equity loans at a 6.79% interest rate in Australia currently. (InfoChoice, 2011) The consumer inflation rate has average between 3.33% and 3.6% in Australia in 2011. (RateInflation, 2011) Therefore, Albert and Nancy would have to average over 10% returns in the stock market every year just to cover the costs of the loan repayment plus inflation. While $125,000 is a strong deposit into an initial self-managed superfund account, the couple will need to understand that upon investment in a single company or diversified portfolio of stock holdings, there is no guarantee that future returns will match or exceed the rate of interest plus inflation. Nevertheless, the home equity investment can be seen as beneficial for the couple if they can easily afford the home payment over time without significant stress in the household budget. Since the couple is paying a higher rate of interest on the car, personal loan, and credit cards than on the home equity loan, at a comparison of 15.5% to 17% vs. 6.79%, the best initial use of the home equity loan would be to clear the personal debt. Then, the income that was previously being dedicated to loan and credit card payments can be set aside for investment each month in equities, bonds, and precious metals. Thus, the couple would do best by first retiring the personal debt at a sum of $32,000, and then keeping the credit card purchases at a minimal level. In this manner, the couple should be able to free up $900 to $1000 each month to invest into their self-managed super-annuity fund. In dedicating $32,000 of the $125,000 home equity loan to clearing the personal debt, the couple established a means to dedicate an extra $900 to $10 00 every month to their retirement fund. However, when compared to their retirement goals of achieving self-sufficient income in old age, even an initial investment of $93,000 in the self-managed super-annuity fund plus the monthly contributions at the rate of $900 to $1000 per month would not be sufficient to meet their goals. Part of the reason for this is inflation, which operates in the manner of compounded interest. Considering the couple has a $100,000

Robotic Mission vs Manned Mission Essay Example for Free

Robotic Mission vs Manned Mission Essay It is my opinion that if given a choice between a robotic and a manned space based exploration, it is better to execute a robotic mission. It is not worth the cost and risk for humans to simply explore space, except when the goal is specifically colonization. First, a manned mission would be much more technically complicated than a robotic one outweighing any incremental benefit resulting from a human presence. Second, the financial cost of manned missions to overcome the complications is not worth the projected costs. Third, funding robotic missions are indirect investments in aiding the current human condition. That is, the cost saving from robot missions could help relieve current issues here on earth. Lastly, pushing the boundaries of the unknown will always be fascinating to humans, but we would be pushing current human boundaries to explore much further past the moon, with our current technology. Advancements in robot technology can allow us to take the next step in advanced space missions. Some would argue the opposite; some would say that manned missions are essential to quench our curiosity and thirst for uncovering the unknown, our desperate search for answers about the universe, and to find life beyond our planet. There are specific advantages to robotic exploration over human space missions. Space is a dangerous place for humans in many ways; there are many factors working against long term human space travel. There is harsh radiation, zero gravity and the element of time to consider. Radiation, in form of cosmic rays (high energy particles) and other high-energy radiation emitted from our sun, breaks down DNA in our bodies (0), leads to major complications, and poses the largest threat to human space travel. Extended zero gravity exposure leads to bone destiny loss and weakened organs because our physiology evolved having gravity. Time is also a factor against human space travel; we simply cannot go fast enough and live long enough to make it. If we went 123,000 mph with current plasma engines (1) to the closest star, Proxima Centauri – 4. 22 light years away (2), it would take 23 thousands years (2. 1). We cant live that long but robots could possibly go faster and need no protection from anything except sensitive equipment. Robots don’t need to come back, they have no families and we can build new ones. As questions are asked about the cosmos we develop new detectors, telescopes, and probes to answer those questions safely, quickly, and with accuracy. Human space missions are extremely expensive, unsafe, and inefficient(3) compared to robotic ones. A manned mission would most likely involve advanced life support systems, ample social interaction that means more people, food, oxygen, radiation protection, constant exercise, etc. with all systems being mostly self-sustaining or replenishing. This is all equals to weight, cost, time, and research. Also, the effects of zero-gravity and cosmic radiation have not been studied in depth and the long term exposure, could be detrimental(4). Also, the effects on the mind, in the long term, we know little about. (5) Constant isolation and confinement could drive any crew mad. (5. 1) We currently don’t even have spacesuits that protect against radiation. (6) Dennis Bushnell, NASA Langley’s chief scientist said, â€Å"What’s affordable is not safe; what’s safe is not affordable. †(7). A robotic mission would not encounter any of these problems and risks. The space shuttle had a price tag of about $450 million per mission and today unmanned payload cost about $12,000 per pound. (8) Most of this cost is associated with the fuel it takes to escape Earth’s orbit which is burned upon take off. The less weight expended the less fuel is required for takeoff, thus saving money to make it worth these endeavors. Assuming we do not colonize the location we plan on exploring, we would want our fellow space explorers to return home to their families safely. This would require a mission plan home, this is more than one mission, an increase in cost and preparation, making a returning virtually impossible. (8. 1) Robotic space missions could directly address and change human conditions on Earth. The possibilities of immediate results on Earth are enticing, new technologies found through the research of problems encountered could lead to advanced propulsion technologies that could give us more efficient methods of travel here on Earth and possibly end our use of fossil fuels. Reaching and exploring asteroids could lead the way to learning how to divert one here on Earth(9). Possible colonization of new worlds can first be explored by robots, giving us an understanding of our true environment and helps us expand, as the human race; not any specific nation or country but for humankind as a whole. Finding new resources from asteroids, moons, and worlds in our solar system could give us a new era of economic stimulus, growth, and hopefully peace. By 2030 we human on Earth will be consuming the resources of two planets annually (10), this is a scary thought and we must prepare for the possibility of expanding our horizons to the new frontier, united as one people for the common good. Some opposing cases have been argued that it is essential for manned missions to be funded. It is very possible for us to reach Mars in one month (11) with a proposed 123,000 MPH plasma engine. This makes it imperative to do so immediately. With less and less standing in our way to colonizing our solar system, we must see these new frontiers with our eyes. New technologies researched for the survival of colonies in space, could bring many positive effects on Earth, such as closed-loop sustainable habitats would give the poor around the world, enough food. 12) This would not be possible, if we sent robots, since they don’t eat. The necessity for manned missions could inadvertently allow us to discover new technologies that will, assuredly help us on Earth. There even is the possibility of a one-way journey for a single candidate to colonize Mars. (13) This would reduce risk, cost, and the lives of other potential settlers. Since, there is no longer the competition of nations to reach space, like the space-race between USA and Russia, but today we work together, â€Å"Like a club of developers. (14) In conclusion, I feel that a robotic mission is the way to explore space. The cost, risk, and benefits gained from a manned mission are just not worth it, when compared to a robotic one. Although, the possibility of many technologies arising from the research aimed toward at solving current hurdles of successful manned missions, we should not to bear the risks associated with them since, robots are extension of ourselves. Endnotes 0: http://schoolworkhelper. net/2011/02/nasa-mission-to-mars-probes-design-dangers/ 1,11,14.

Human Nature in Macbeth Essay Example for Free

Human Nature in Macbeth Essay Macbeth is a play that examines human nature. During the play there is a significant amount of emphasis on the different attributes and sides of human nature. The play demonstrates that everyone has the ability to do good or evil by what choices they make and what the ramifications of these actions are, decisions are made that affect the outcome of a person’s future. Macbeth is a prime example of the human nature in its very worst form. Throughout the play, Macbeth experience somewhat of a fall from grace. Macbeth’s greed and poor decision making caused him to lose everything he had worked so hard for. He became engulfed in greed and would stop at nothing to gain what he believed was rightly his. He went from somebody who was a strong courageous and well respected man who was an honourable warrior for Scotland. To someone who was so blinded by his hunger for power it drove him to incredible lengths such as killing his own cousin and best friend, to receive what was promised him by the witches. Macbeth’s disloyalty is a huge flaw in his character and part of his human nature. He murdered his long-time friend and king, Duncan. He had no remorse for his actions, he was only concerned for his own safety that he wouldn’t get caught. â€Å"The bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or hell. † (act 2, scene 1) Shakespeare uses the character of Macbeth to demonstrate to his audience that the decisions we make and the actions we take can easily be affected by simple aspects of human nature such as greed, this hunger for power that some people seem to possess and that we can so easily be manipulated by others to do wrong. Lady Macbeth is very manipulative towards her husband, by questioning his manhood, emotionally blackmailing him she brings out his pride to do as she desires. â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man; And, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man. † (act 1, scene 7) She plays on the weakest parts of Macbeth’s character to manipulate him. â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business. † (act 1, scene 7) This shows that Macbeth was set to not kill Duncan but Lady Macbeth manipulated him to change this mindset. So if were not for Lady Macbeth’s toying and manipulation of Macbeth he would still be the honourable man he once was. Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare uses his main Characters, particularly Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to show the very worst of human nature and tried to show his audience and anyone to read the play in the years to come that our choices and actions can be easily influenced by others and that everything we do, particularly bad things have serious ramifications, in Macbeths case, The total destruction of himself, his wife and his country.

Writing Culture: the Poetics and Politics of Ethnography

Writing Culture: the Poetics and Politics of Ethnography Introduction During the 25 years since the publication of Writing Culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography, a great deal of discussion has accompanied it. In this essay I place this book in the context of the literary turn in anthropology, and concern with the postcolonial encounter as well. Throughout the analysis of the main themes in the book, attention is paid to the construction of ethnographic authority and two relationships of ethnographer/reader and ethnographer/informant centered in Writing Culture. The essay also provides a perspective of the influential power of the book by presenting some ethnographies conducted by Chinese anthropologists. Finally, I will argue the risks of the textualism trend and different patterns in Writing Culture approach. Background of the Book: In and Beyond Anthropology More than ten years after the publication of Writing Culture, in a review article, George Marcus (1998:5) quoted Schneiders words referring to the book: I dont think Jim Clifford is famous for his monograph on Leenhardt. I dont think that George Marcus has achieved some notoriety because he worked on Tonga. Indeed, I dont know anybody whos read the ethnography he wrote. In fact, Ive often talked to people and asked them, Hay, have you read George Marcuss ethnography? No!-but I read that other damn book. It is a very typical and interesting comment. As an anthropologist, George Marcus is best remembered for editing the collection of essays rather than his own ethnographic work; and similarly, James Clifford, a historian, is frequently regarded as an anthropologist by force of being the editor of the same book. The comment also reveals that the book is controversial, and it has witnessed harshly criticism after its appearance. However, there is no denying that Writing Culture is one of the most important books throughout the history of anthropology-the milestone of the post-modern era and the cornerstone of the experimental ethnography (Gao 2007, Scholte 1987). 1. The literary turn There is nothing outside the text. (Derrida) The book, with eleven essays in it (including the introduction and afterword), is based on a series of seminars at the School of American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the United States of America in April 1984(Clifford and Marcus 1985). By taking the making of ethnographic text (Clifford and Marcus 1986:vii) as the focal point of their seminars, the participants not only viewed WRITING as a elementary method, but also the central issue of social cultural anthropology. Ethnographic writing is then critically examined in aspects of social context, the use of rhetoric devises, the limitations of disciplinary traditions, the definition of its genre, the political engagement, and historical transformations.[1] Why is writing becoming a principle thing in anthropology? In order to answer this question, inevitably, we take into consideration the literary turn, or say textualism trend in anthropology in the 1980s. The literary turn, just as its name implies, by taking text, writing and literary devices as key concepts and employing textual and literary analyses, is a radical shift which provides strikingly different epistemological and methodological approaches in the discipline of anthropology (Scholte 1987). Although it is difficult to figure out whether Writing Culture is more a cause or a result of the literary turn, the book is definitely a key ingredient of it. I would further suggest that Levi-Strauss, Geertz and Writing Culture should be considered as a sequence in the context of the literary turn. What the Writing Culture authors claim, such as the diversity of representations, possibilities of interpretations, at a glance, are totally different from Levi-Strausss pure unity, reduced models and deep culture grammar. At the same time, Levi-Strausss strong sense of symbol and meaning within a symbolic language system and his linguistic analogy approach (Barrett 1996) are valuable legacies to Geertz and Writing Culture. Furthermore, his research on mythology threw fresh light on the interdisciplinary studies across anthropology and literature. Then, Geertz, who is profoundly influenced by Levi-Strauss and Weber, has a more important and complex influence on Writing Culture. Firstly, his concern of anthropological interpretations and thick descriptions, fieldwork and post fieldwork, (Geertz 19751983) provided the basis for Writing Culture explorations. Secondly, Geertzs local knowledge, natives point of view (Geertz 19751983) and assertion of an amiable and intelligible style insp ired Writing Culture authors to portray fieldwork as a dialogical approach, and consequently take the interactions of ethnographers/the indigenous people (Barrett 1996) and ethnographers/readers in to account. Thirdly, Geertzs ethnographies became important materials of Writing Culture 2. Postcolonial encounter and Cultural Representation I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning I sweep alone Sweep the streets I used to own One minute I held the key Next the walls were closed on me And I discovered that my castles stand Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand Lyrics of Viva la Vida (Coldplay 2009) The birth of this book is not narrowly concerned with the inheritance and development of theory and methodology within the discipline, but rather deeply rooted in the historical background and the reconstruction among the entire academic community. As an academic discipline, anthropology is developed in the context of imperialism and colonialism. The long-time contact between European conquerors and the colonists shaped forms of power and knowledge, and anthropologists at that time entered into non-European aboriginal communities as observers and describers (Asad 2002). Anthropology narrated power relations; at the same time it was also potentially counter-hegemonic (Clifford 1986:9). In 1980s, which was the postcolonial and postwar era without the umbrella of the colonial power, anthropology started to face a more complex nexus of power relations. The postcolonial situation affected the main interests of anthropology and challenged the authority of ethnography. Moreover, anthropology from then on, was not only carried out by Europeans and Americans, but also by those from the so-called Third World who were studying their own cultures; and neither Western culture nor the non-Western cultures remained the same in the ever-changi ng world (Clifford 1986, Layton 1997). In Writing Culture, the analyses of ethnographic discourses- asking who speaks? who writes? when and where? with or to whom? under what institutional and historical constrains?(Clifford 1986)-is a repercussion of the postcolonial encounter. Another important feature of the 1980s is the increasing flow of so-called postmodernism in academia-grand narrative was abandoned and details of everyday life took their place. Accordingly, singular culture was replaced by the plural one, and cultures were understood as representations and knowledge; and man with a small m took place of Man with variability. More importantly, the process of rethinking cultural representation again called into question the authenticity of representation itself and Writing Culture elegantly captured the main themes in this discussion. Three Main Themes of the Book In general, Writing Culture is an introspection, which attempts to examine anthropology traditions (especially the traditional ethnography) as well as anthropologists themselves. I will explore three main themes in the reflections. 1. Partial truth Knowledge is power,and that one must never reveal all of what one knows. Saramaka folktale, in Price (1983:14) cited in Clifford (1986:7) The most essential and fundamental point in Writing Culture is the questioning of ethnographic authenticity. In the 1920s, ethnography was defined and established not only as a genre of cultural description depending on intensive participant observation (Clifford 1983), but also a main research method internalised as a academic criterion in the field of anthropology (Gao 2006). This new style of ethnography-scientific ethnography, built by Malinowski, investigated the totality of culture with a holistic view and documented different layers of ethnographic reality(Kuper 1996). About 50 years later, the theorizing of ethnographic realism sprung up. In 1977, Paul Rabinow, who is a contributor of Writing Culture, published his book Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco. His provocative descriptions of the fieldwork itself and his own feelings in the field reveal that fieldwork is a process of intersubjective construction of liminal modes of communication (1977:155) which constantly involve s valuation, and the ethnographer is not a objective observer but a real person with self-consciousness and certain cultural background who makes and remakes facts. Unlike the revelations of Malinowskis fieldwork dairy and the Mead-Freeman controversy, anthropologists started to look at themselves consciously and pondered-what is the ethnographic truth. This issue has been argued throughout the book. Take for example Vincent Crapanzanos Hermess Dilemma: The Masking of Subversion in Ethnographic Description (1986); he analyses three ethnographic texts by George Catlin, Wolfgang von Goethe and Clifford Geertz to probe how does the ethnographer make his/her work convincing. The three authors use distinctive figures, namely hypotyposis, external theatrical narrativity and interpretive virtuosity, to convince the readers of the descriptions in their texts. He argues that, as a matter of fact, their rhetoric tools make the described events devoiced from the original settings, and finally, it is the ethnographers authority which covers the subversion up. However, the ethnographers authority-his/her presence, perceptual ability, disinterested perspective, objectivity and sincerity (1986:53), is questionable. Does being there mean witnessing everything? Is the perceptual ability trained in a certain culture adequate and reliable? Is disinter ested perspective or objectivity even possible? If not, how can one reach the whole truth by selected fragmentary information? The underlying institutional system and power relations work through all these issues and enmesh in the anthropological knowledge, not to mention the cultural filtering, the information is not completed at the source. Crapanzanos essay reminds us that the ethnographer, like Hermes who decodes and interprets messages, promised to tell no lies but did not promise to tell the whole truth (1986:76). From this perspective, ethnographic truth no longer pursues the true view of the whole world, as Clifford and Rabinow point out in the book, ethnographic truths are partial, committed and incomplete (Clifford 1986:7) and in bondage to cultural settings. 2. Literary devices All constructed truths are made possible by powerful lies of exclusion and rhetoric. As I have mentioned before, Writing Culture is related to the literary turn of anthropology with the foundation of seeing ethnographies as texts. It is easy to point out that another major theme of the book is the literary devices employed in ethnographies, and in which the rhetoric issue has been mostly discussed. For instance, Renato Rosaldos From the Door of His Tent: The Fieldworker and the Inquisitor (1986), by comparing The Nure written by Evens Pritchard with Montaillou written by French social historian Ladurie, demonstrates how ethnographic rhetoric could assist in building authority and objectivity. Needless to repeat, The Nure is a ethnographic masterpiece, and for Montaillou, it is famous for providing an ethnographic analysis of a French community in fourteenth century by using inquisition record. Rosaldo states that, in the first place, in the introductory section, by frankly acknowledging the inequality between the inquisitor / his subjects, the fieldworker/ the Nuer, the authors both indicate the calm presence of mind(1986:89); then, they style themselves as honest men through complaining about the difficulties in gaining information in uneasy tensions between investigators and informants. After that, they claim their information is gradually collected in particles in order to construct the reliability; meanwhile, distanced normalizing mode of discourse, rhetorical absences[2], correspondences[3], etc. are used to enhance the sense of objectivity. In sum, the rhetorical work in introductory parts of the two books by means of separating the context of colonial domination from the production of ethnographic knowledge (1986:93)establish the authors innocence and the ethnographic authority as well. Furthermore, in both authors, the pastoral mode is invoked. The literary mode of pastoral is, firstly a symbol of the spiritual liberty, secondly a mobile position of speaking, and thirdly a label of courtesy and respect. Rosaldos essay interestingly illustrates that, although the power and knowledge relations have not been completely kicked off, to a great extent, they are concealed by the rhetoric tools. Ethnographic rhetoric has a strong impact on the understandings of the ethnographic texts (Scholte 1987). 3. Writing of Self Continued from the preceding paragraph, the mobility in ethnographers positions is demonstrated cumulatively in other chapters of Writing Culture as well. Fieldwork in Common Places by Mary Louis Pratt (1986) provides an illustration. Her essay focuses on the significant history of the relationship between personal narrative and impersonal description (1986:27) in ethnographies and travel writings. Pratt starts with a controversy that anthropology graduate Florinda Donners work Shabobo: A True Adventure in the Remote and Magical Heart of the South American Jungle is facing accusations of plagiarism, because there are some events in her book which are the same as others. Here, Pratt asks a very inspiring question: as ethnography demands accurate descriptions, for describing the same events at the same place, how could Donners work not resemble others? Pratt argues that the authority of ethnography, in some sense, is based on the unique and original personal experience in the field not the factual accuracy (1986:29) of a certain ethnography. From this perspective, personal narratives cannot be eliminated from ethnography, and it also explains why the subgenre of formal ethnography, such as Malinowskis diaries, has not been killed by science (1986:31), but turned into a prolonged tradition of anthropology. Even in formal ethnographies, personal narrative is an integral part. It marks the relationship among the fieldworker, indigenous people, and the audience. It also serves as a regulator, reconciling the inconsistency between the subjective engagement in fieldwork, and the detachment; the self-effacement in formal ethnographic writing. Moreover, her analysis shows that, even in the time of so-called scientific ethnography, ethnographers were writing from multiple, constantly shifting positions, and self is never a scientist-observer (1986:39). To consider further from this point, we could identity a difference between classical ethnography and experimental ethnography. For Malinowski, and his students Firth and Evens-Prichard, the writing of self is a strategy serving for building the authority of scientific ethnography; however, for Rabinow and his contemporary anthropologists, the consciously self-realization in ethnographic writing successfully opens up a dimension for reflective thinking. The self, thus, is public, and mediates in different cultures. The appearance of the new kind of self writing is very provocative: epistemologically, in view of the production and explanation of the knowledge,it penetrates into the relationship between knowledge of self and knowledge of the Other and how knowledge is hermeneutically represented(Rapport, and Overing 2000); methodologically, it seeks for the diversity of ethnographic writing, more specifically, the expression of the subjectivity, the utilization of rhetoric, or, I would say, the writing style. 4. A summary of the three themes: one centre and two basic relationships Throughout all three themes-ethnographic truth, rhetoric in ethnography, and the writing of self, there is a central point-the construction of ethnographic authority, which cannot be comprehended without reference to the power relations. The power relations derive from the Foucaultian intertwining of knowledge and power in the academic discipline as well as the fluctuant historical and political affiliation. Here, I will not repeat these issues which I have argued in the first part, rather, I would suggest two relationships existing in the main themes of Writing Culture: a) ethnographers and the natives they studied, and b) anthropologists and their readers. Having inherited the tradition of Geertzs interpretive anthropology, Writing Culture highlights the reconstruction of the ethnographer/informant relations (Wang Gao). Indigenous people and their culture are no longer viewed as silent and uniform objects. Ethnographic knowledge, as suggested by Rabinow (1977), is built on a bilateral understanding in certain cultural contexts. At the same time, more importantly, the book pays close attention to the relationship between anthropologists and the readers. Same as the literary outputs, ethnographies shape the relations with the audiences through texts (Xu 2001). Both the completed texts and reading activities are certainly influenced by the literary processes (Clifford 1986). By scanning how ethnographies communicate with their readers, the reflexive essays[4] portray ethnography as a kind of dialogue, and the conversational readership allows, or I could say, encourages the readers to take part in the investigation of ethnographic writing. In addition, the discussions regarding the ethnographers distinguished positions in describing others and expressing Self, permit the readers to obtain the different perspectives which the ethnographers have themselves. As Spencer indicated (1989), the correspondence to multiple positions provided by a master hand is a feature of a good ethnography. Why is it important to tak e the readership of ethnography into consideration? I think it depends largely on the unique and versatile character of this readership. Marcus and Cushman (1982) present six categories of readerships of ethnography. The categories differ in purpose, positions, and some of them may merge with another (the first and second one in particular) or others: (1) the specialist readership, (2) the general anthropological readership, (3) readerships from the other social sciences (4) the student readership, (5) the action oriented readership,(6)the popular readership(1982:51-52). Ethnography, firstly, as a genre and a method as well, interposes itself between humanities (relating to category 1 and 2) and social sciences (relating to category 3); secondly, serves as a puberty rite for professional anthropologists (relating to category 4); thirdly, emerges into social and political decision-making for certain historical and institutional reasons (relating to category 5); and finally, attracts common readers thanks to its literary feature and exotic nature (relating to category 6). It is obvious that the readerships of ethnography are extremely complicated and should be carefully identified. Both ethnographers and readers must be self-conscious (Rapport 2000). Hence, the ethnographer/reader relation issue raised by Writing Culture writers, from this angle, is stimulating from the 1980s till today. The ethnographer/reader relation, together with the ethnographer/informant relation, is located in the power discourse and knowledge discourse. Once again, the two relationships echo the central idea of Writing Culture-the authority and power. In a word, although the three themes I proposed are not a very complete summary of the book, the one centre and two basic relationships they conveyed, in my opinion, have demonstrated the most insight and innovation of Writing Culture. Writing Culture: the Chinese Experience In the preliminary report of the Writing Culture seminar and papers, Clifford and Marcus state that Writing Culture is lacking the feminist point of view as well as Third World or non-European approach (Clifford and Marcus 1985). For the former omission, I agree with Schotle (1987) that, some feminist perspectives is inconspicuously harbored in Pratts essay. However, for sure, there is not a so-called Third World standpoint in Writing Culture, which I think is a significant irony for its analysis of power play in the post-colonial time. In Third World countries, anthropology is in a very different context. Their people and cultures have for a long time been discovered, observed, described, and represented by Westerners. Non-Western anthropologists and their ethnographic works are the symbols of the reconfiguration within the discipline, and most of them naturally locate their fieldwork sites in their own cultures to study their own people. Generally speaking, anthropology[5] of the Third World witnesses a fruitful period in the postwar era, which is also the golden age of experimental ethnography, and to some extent, it could be taken as anthropology at home which employs the self-reflexive approach mentioned in Writing Culture. I will then, taking China as an example, look at some ethnographic cases conducted by Chinese anthropologists relating to Writing Culture. I assume it a good perspective to explore the influential power of Writing Culture and its echoes. The first case is Huang Shumins ethnography The Spiral Road:Change In A Chinese Village Through The Eyes Of A Communist Party Leader(1998). Depending on his one-year fieldwork (first ten chapters) and a revisit (chapter 1112) in a village in Fujian province, China, Huang provides a picture of the huge political and economic change and development in a Chinese village from the founding of Peoples Republic of China to the 1990s as well as the impact on the personal and pubic life of a peasant, who is the a political leader in the community. The political struggles, the hardship of raising a family, and the peasants life wisdom are vividly described through a first-person narrative life history approach. Although his novel-like ethnography is first published in English, Huang is regarded as one of the best Chinese anthropologists for his proficient writing skills and great success in narrating the complexity of historical events in rural China in a lighter tone. The second case is drawn from Li Chunxias PhD dissertation Television and the Life of Yi People in China (2005)[6]. As a Yi[7] anthropologist, her ethnography explores how television profoundly incorporated into the fabric (2005: 5) of local peoples daily life. In the text, Lis fieldwork notes collected during her three-year fieldwork at her own village give expression to her close emotional ties with native people, and deliver her concerns and worries of the ethnic minorities living circumstances in contemporary China. Meanwhile, as a scholar, she keenly captures the metaphorical meaning of modernization, development and prosperity by television. Her analysis penetrates into the relations of Yi people/Han people, and pre-modern/modern. The reflexivity about the periphery/centre relations is a main steam in contemporary anthropology of China. The third case is Zhuang Kongshaos ethnographic research on a hot topic in Chinese culture and society: the family education (Zhuang and Feng 2006). He describes the communications and conflicts between a mother and her seven years old daughter and the relations among school education, family education and social education. Zhuang is a pioneer in anthropology of China, not only because he introduces a new approach called educational anthropology, most importantly, the final production of Zhuangs fieldwork is an ethnographic film named My Wife, My Daughter. It is actually beyond the scope of Writing Culture, because it is no longer about the writing and the text. I adopt this case here, trying to argue that, Writing Culture highlights the diversity of ethnography, and now, facing the radical form of ethnography, can the arguments in Writing Culture on ethnographic texts fit in ethnographic films? What is the same and the difference between the grammars of ethnographic writing and seei ng? Are pictures more worthy than words in constructing ethnographic authority? Can texts and films be combined in ethnographic enterprise? Why and how? The book it self is an open ended text, and constantly simulates new questions for anthropologists in the post Writing Culture era, and that also explains why Writing Culture, after more than twenty years, is still being quoted and debated all over the world. It is true, as Schotle harshly points out (1987), that lots of questions in this book remains unclear and unsettled. However, I appreciate the original questions it raised and the appeal to dialogue. Rethinking Writing Culture Following the reflexive direction, I have three points to make on rethinking the book. Before that, I present a brief schema of the three-stage ethnographic research as follows. There is nothing new, however, my questions are based on it. First, with the text-orientation, has the importance of writing been stressed over that of doing ethnography in the book? The potential risk in the textualism emphasized in Writing Culture is that fieldwork retires from the leading position, it has provided a context for substituting the empirical research. As we can see from the schema, fieldwork is the centre of ethnographic research in time and space, and it is also the foundation of anthropology. In this experimental moment, we should not only look at the outcome of fieldwork, but also reflect upon the limitations and new characteristics in fieldwork processes in this Writing Culture or post Writing Culture era. Second, going back to the very first stage, I would argue, different backgrounds of Western and non-Western ethnographers shape two distinguished patterns of reflexive thinking. First, the Western pattern could be called coming home, after studying the Other, from outside in, anthropologists return to the Self, their reflexive thinking is about their own tradition in their own cultural institutions. Second, the non-Western pattern could be named as being home, they do not have a return perspective, their reflexive thinking is still deeply in relation to the West. I fear, in reflexive anthropology, which is greatly established by Writing Culture, anthropologists in the Third World would be more marginalized through their resistance in this centre-periphery discourse. My final thought is on rhetoric issue, which is still an incomprehensible question to me. If rhetoric is an integral component of ethnographic writing, as Rosaldo (1986) argued, there are using and abusing of descriptive rhetoric, then, the next obvious question is: what is the boundary between use and abuse of rhetoric? It seems to me that, use, is a kind of abuse in itself, if so, how can one control it? Epilogue In the final part of my essay, I would like to do an experiment. I will write about my reading experience instead of the conclusion of the whole passage. I originally read this book in Chinese in my junior year at college. As a literature student, I found the book interesting and inspiring, and it positively influenced me in the choosing of anthropology for graduate study. Later, I reread the book both in English and Chinese, and accessed some related articles written by Writing Culture writers. Surprisingly, I found several articles written in collaboration with Clifford and Marcus. Other than this landmark book, Marcus, together with Cushman, wrote Ethnographies as Texts (1982), which is a harbinger of Writing Culture; and he, later, with Fischer, produced the companion volume of Writing Culture-Anthropology as Cultural Critique (1986). Behind these collaborations, I can imagine the interactions of sparkling thoughts as well as understandings and communications. They are spirits of academic research, and also the anthropological endeavor. References Archetti, E.P. (ed.) (1994) Exploring the written: anthropology and the multiplicity of writing. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press. Asad, T. (1986) The concept of cultural translation in British social anthropology, in Clifford, J. and Marcus, G.E. (eds.) Writing culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press. Asad, T. (2002) From the history of colonial anthropology to the anthropology of Western hegemony, in Vincent, J. (ed.) InThe Anthropology of Politics: A Reader in Ethnography, Theory and Critique, Oxford: Blackwell. Barrett, S.R. (1996) Anthropology: a students guide to theory and method. Toronto. Buffalo: University of Toronto Press. Clifford, J. (1983) On ethnographic authority, Representations, 2, pp. 118-146. JSTOR[Online]. Available at:http://www.jstor.org/stable/2928386 (Accessed: 13 March 2010) Clifford, J. and Marcus, G.E. (1985) The making of ethnographic texts: a preliminary report, Current Anthropology, 26(2), pp. 267-271. JSTOR[Online].Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2743141 (Accessed: 13 March 2010) Clifford, J. (1986) Introduction: partial truth, in Clifford, J. and Marcus, G.E. (eds.) Writing culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press. Clifford, J. and Marcus (1986) Preface, in Clifford, J. and Marcus, G.E. (eds.) Writing culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press. Crapanzano, V. (1986) Hermess Dilemma: The Masking of Subversion in Ethnographic Description, in Clifford, J. and Marcus, G.E. (eds.) Writing culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press. Fabian, J. (1990) Presence and representation: the Other and anthropological writing, Critical Inquiry, 16(4), pp. 753-772, SAGE[Online].Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343766 (Accessed: 13 December 2009) Gao, BZ. (2006) The three periods in the development of ethnography-translators preface to Writing Culture, Journal of Guangxi University for Nationalities (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 28(3), pp 58-63. CNKI[Online]. DOI: cnki:ISSN:1002-3887.0.2006-03-012 (Accessed: 10 November 2009) Gao, BZ. et al.(2007) On Writing Culture, Reading, 2007(4), CNKI[Online]. DOI: CNKI:ISSN:0257-0270.0.2007-04-026 (Accessed: 10 November 2009) Geertz, G. (1975) The interpretation of cultures. London: Hutchinson. Geertz, G. (1983) Local knowledge: further essays in interpretive anthropology. New York: Basic Books. Geertz, G. (1988) Worksandlives: the anthropologist as author. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Harrell, S. (2001) The anthropology of reform and the reform of anthropology: anthropological narratives of recovery and progress in China, Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, pp. 139-161. JSTOR[Online]. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069212 (Accessed: 03 March 2010) Huang, JB. (2004) The contending of Writing Culture-Post-modern discourse in anthropology and the change in the sudies, Thinking, 30 (4), pp. 39-43. CNKI[Online]. Available at: cnki:ISSN:1001-778X.0.2004-04-009 (Accessed: 10 November 2009) Huang, SM. (1998) The Spiral Road: Change in a Chinese Village Through theEyes of a Communist Party Leader. 2nd edn. Boulder: Westview Press. James, A. Hockey, J. and Dawson, A. (eds.) (1997) After writing culture: epistemology and praxis in contemporary anthropolog

Chistopher Reeves Essay -- essays research papers

What it means to be a Superman Born on September 25, 1952, native New Yorker Christopher Reeve has lead a life of stardom, coupled with a life of tragedy. Leading a very successful film career, Reeves was on top of the world, until the fifth day of May of nineteen ninety-five. On this day, Reeves life would change forever. However, no tragedy could stop a true Superman. Attending Princeton day academy Reeves was a success from the beginning. His natural talent and charisma made him a shoe-in for the lead in many school plays. Says Reeves "I never once asked my self, who am I, or what am I doing here...right from the beginning the theater was like a home to me." At the age of 16, Reeves already had an agent. While touring the country, Chris decided to pursue a college education. And, thanks to an understanding agent was able to continue his work as a professional actor. "Scheduling gigs around my classes." By nineteen-seventy-six he was starring with Katherine Hepurn on Broadway, and had become in such demand that he gave up his last year at Julliard. After screen testing for the nineteen seventy-eight movie Superman, he was given the lead role as Clark Kent/Superman. Reeve was an outstanding Superman both on and off the screen. He made Clark Kent/Superman a believable character, says Reeves "somebody you can take home and introduce to your parents". This part was just like Reeve, A d...