Educational Institutions and ProcessesMarginality Essay

Educational Institutions and ProcessesMarginality - Essay Example The societal structure is more concerned with such human elements as religion, demography, social structure and culture. In addition, the structure is also concerned with the connection between politics and economics with regard to group or individual access to resources. As such, the societal framework tends to stress on the consideration of those fundamental causes of inequality, exclusion, social injustice, as well as the spatial isolation of the populace (Brodwin, 2003). On the other hand, the spatial element of marginality is chiefly based on physical setting and space from centre of development, lying at the periphery of a poorly incorporated society (Larsen, 2002). With this notion, it is anticipated that an insight into the physical locations and space on individuals and groups livelihoods shall be gained.From these meanings, one can undoubtedly observe that marginality is a progression that emerges and evolves gradually in a variety of scales and types under geo-political and socio-economical settings. As such, marginality supports and replicates that state of marginalization to a large extent. It is worth noting that the interpretation of societal marginality stems from social conditions. The apparent disparities in a social institution such as a school will often be as a result of exclusion from the 'mainstream'. At this point, the state and scale of economic, social, and political inequalities linking the mainstream and the marginalized ought to be assessed from the perspective of legitimate and equitable access to decision making procedures and resources. By and large, educational marginality is often revealed by the underlying state of people. The state could as well be represented by such poor living options as a lack of opportunities, resources, and skills. Further, such a state can also be reflected by either a limited or reduced contribution in the making of public decisions, and low self esteem (Brodwin, 2003). In the educational institutions, marginalized students are normally stigmatized, singled out, ignored and mostly repressed on age, gender, culture, race, ethnicity, religion, occupation, economy, and education basis by the mainstream (Larsen, 2002). Marginalized groups in existing schools situations McCready (2004) has suggested a multidimensional structure that considers the multiple forms and differences of oppression , with a view to understanding and suggesting possible options for gay as well as for the gender non-conforming African American male students attending urban schools. The author has indicated that such students experience a certain kind of marginalization, and which is almost recognized by almost everybody who knows about the sexual orientation of this group. In addition, the author has also indicated that in a majority of the cases, such gay students have feelings that they are usually being marginalized by the mainstream society in school. The sad situation that this book brings out is that in certain instances, such students will normally experience marginalization, yet they fail to admit it. It has often been argued that from a school perspective, marginalization tends to be a multifaceted and complex process. For this reason, it is important that the

Family Assessment Essay Example for Free

Family Assessment Essay As a nurse practicing in today’s health care environment it is always important to be very attentive for the needs of the patient and the patient’s family. In order to realize the needs of the patient and the patients loved ones it is often helpful to conduct a family assessment. This assessment was carried out on an urban family which is in the middle income group. Some of the factors which were inferred from the assessment were as follows. In terms of values, health and nutrition, it was found that the members paid much emphasis to this. As s matter of fact, the initial family expenditure was on these three. Health is taken as a vital requirement and all the individuals need to have it. This is the same case with rest. Since most of the members are quite busy all through the day, the family spends some time together in the evening before retiring to bed. Most of the free time is spent having the family together in a relaxed atmosphere (Ritchie, 2012). The family is very concerned for the patient’s needs and overall well-being. They are so concerned about elimination, though the need for exercise and activity is highly acknowledged. The members appreciate and know the need for physical fitness. As such, they try to make sure that they attain it. Nevertheless, they have such tight schedules that they do not get enough time to be engaged in these. This is quite unfortunate. On the cognitive factors, the family is highly receptive. The level attained in the family is based on the importance it attaches to the cognitive development. The children have gone through learning institutions and are still in pursuit of knowledge and education. This is the same case with the parents. They work with the notion that information is power. As it pertains to health care sometimes simple common sense comes into play. Sensory perception is taken as a defining factor of the common sense. However, there is a saying that common sense is not common to all. Nevertheless, this family has greatly attained this sensory perception. Everyone is aware of their surroundings and they are willing to work towards making the family even better. Their self-esteem is also quiet high. Based on the findings from the interview, they have high regard of each other due to the accomplishments they have seen in their lives. Their high esteem is based on the fact that they do not compare themselves with others. Rather, they believe in who they are. This also helps to streamline their roles relationship since everyone understands his/her position in the family and does as is appropriate to their role (IFNA, 2012). Sexuality is a very touchy issue for many people but it is something that often needs to be addressed. The issue of sexuality is a major concern for many, since people tend to have different sexual orientations. This family remains open to the issue of sexuality and everyone has the freedom to choose or decide the path he wants to follow. However, this has to fall in line with the family values which they hold dearly. Lastly, there is the aspect of coping. This family, just like many others, encounters daily challenges. However, it has managed to come through all of them. The reason cited by the members is because they believe in the harmony and unity of a family. Therefore, the problem of one is a problem for all. The family works with the philosophy of one for all and all for one. This is what has made the family stand all along besides the challenges they face (Ritchie, 2012). As it pertains to diagnosis assessment can be very helpful. In diagnosing this family, there are two main nursing diagnoses that can be reached at. These are in line with the International Family Nursing Organization (2012). These two are emotional readiness as well as the status and function. These two seem to be very consistent in this family. They are as indicated in the paragraphs below. The emotional well-being of a person goes a long way in terms of having good physical health. On the emotional status, IFNA (2012) talks of the emotional readiness where the people are ready to change or take up traits that can help the family to function normally. The emotional status has it that a family is ready to take up the health options available. On this aspect, the family proved to be ready for the changes that would benefit it. Most of the members agreed that they were ready to adopt healthier practices that could improve their health. For instance, they acknowledged that they needed to be more vigilant in exercising and physical activity. This was a good status of mind. Sometimes if a person displays destructive behavior there needs to be a willingness to improve and change. Despite the willingness to change, a challenge that faces this family is the status and function. According to the IFNA (2012), this diagnoses has it that a family or individual should have the will to change. However, the circumstances are not favorable. This is the same case that applies with the family. All the members are ready and willing to change and adopt the healthy options. However, they do not have the time in which they can undertake these activities. All they have is the willingness to change but the factors around them do not allow them to. In conclusion, this essay has looked at the family health assessment. It has defined how a family diagnosis can be done and the factors affecting it. This has been followed up by a case study looking at a real family and performing a health analysis on it. From the discussion, it has come out quiet clearly that family assessment should be based on the health and functionality of the family as a unit. For this reason, the family health model comes in handy as an assessment method. This was as seen in the case study which reveals the need for a comprehensive family assessment. It leads to the realization of all factors affecting a family’s health and functionality; hence coming up with proper intervention strategies.

Windows Xp :: Information Technology Operating Systems

Windows XP In 2001, Microsoft introduced Windows XP (codenamed "Whistler"). The merging of the Windows NT/2000 and Windows 95/98/Me lines was achieved with Windows XP. Windows XP uses the Windows NT 5.1 kernel, marking the entrance of the Windows NT core to the consumer market, to replace the aging 16/32-bit branch. Windows XP is the longest version of Windows ever released between upgrades, from 2001 all the way to 2007 when Windows Vista was released to consumers. The Windows XP line of operating systems were surpassed by Windows Vista on January 30, 2007. Windows XP is available in a number of versions: †¢ "Windows XP Home Edition", for home desktops and laptops (notebooks) †¢ "Windows XP Home Edition N", as above, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by a European Union ruling †¢ "Windows XP Professional", for business and power users †¢ "Windows XP Professional N", as above, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by a European Union ruling †¢ Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE), released in November 2002 for desktops and notebooks with an emphasis on home entertainment o Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003 o Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 o Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, released on October 12, 2004. †¢ "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition", for tablet PCs (PCs with touch screens) o Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 †¢ Windows XP Embedded, for embedded systems †¢ "Windows XP Starter Edition", for new computer users in developing countries †¢ Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, released on April 25, 2005 for home and workstation systems utilizing 64-bit processors based on the x86-64 instruction set (AMD calls this AMD64, Intel calls it Intel 64) †¢ Windows XP 64-bit Edition, is a version for Intel's Itanium line of processors; maintains 32-bit compatibility solely through a software emulator. It is roughly analogous to Windows XP Professional in features. It was discontinued in September 2005 when the last vendor of Itanium workstations stopped shipping Itanium systems marketed as "Workstations". o Windows XP 64-bit Edition 2003, based on the Windows NT 5.2 codebase. Windows XP has many features not found in previous versions of Windows. Windows XP provides new and/or improved drivers and user interfaces for devices compared to Windows Me and 98. On old versions of Windows, when users upgrade a device driver, there is a chance the new driver is less efficient or functional than the original. Reinstalling the old driver can be a major hassle and to avoid this quandary, Windows XP keeps a copy of an old driver when a new version is installed.

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson opens on a warm June day in a town of about three hundred people, and describes an annual event in the town, a tradition that is apparently widespread among surrounding villages as well. While the townspeople, more than 300, await the arrival of Mr. Summers, and the black wooden box from which everyone is to draw a folded slip of paper, adults chat while children play a game in which they gather stones. The event for which they gather is a lottery conducted by Mr. Summers, a neatly dressed, jovial business man with a wife, but no children. Although many traditional customs associated with the lottery seemed to have been lost over time, Mr. Summers still has †a great deal of fussing to be done† before he declares the lottery open. He has created lists of households, including the heads of households in each family, and members of each household in each family. Just as Mr. Summers turned to the assembled villagers, Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson, a house wife, arrives late just then, telling Mrs. Delacroix that she â€Å"Clean forgot what day it was† until she noticed that her children had left her house, and remembered it was the day of the lottery. Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson than makes her way through the crowd to her husband, while the villagers comment on her arrival. Mr. Summers begins the necessity of confirming everyone’s attendance, and clarifying whom will represent the family. When everything is finalized , each representative is called up one after another, and nervously draws a folded slip of paper from the black box. While people are called up, one of the villagers presents the idea of other towns giving up the lottery. Old Man Warner snorts in reply, â€Å"Pack of crazy fools, Listening to young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore, live that way for awhile. Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery.† This statement sets the importance of this annual event, and the strong beliefs of the town. When the big moment arrives, everyone is silent until the name of Bill Hutchinson rapidly spreads throughout the crowd. Tessie Hutchinson, Bill’s wife, shouts out to Mr. Summers that he didn’t give Bill enough time, and that its not fair. Tessie is silenced, and Mr. summers recons for the family of Bill Hutchinson to come forward. Bill, Tessie, and their three children than proceed as every family of the lottery ever has, and draws a new folded piece of paper from the black box. One by one the family unfolds their piece of paper to determine the sacrificed. Tessie Hutchinson , the declared winner, was led to the center of a cleared space, and with her hands desperately held out in front of her she was hit with the first stone. Everyone then closed in on her, picked up the rocks, the â€Å"proceeds† of the lottery, and stones her to death. â€Å"Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual, and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.à ¢â‚¬  The Lottery by Shirley Jackson There are many characters that are named in Shirley Jackson’s short story, â€Å"The Lottery†. Mr. Summers, a kindly man who runs a coal business, Mr. Martin and his sons, Baxter and Bobby. There is Mr. Graves, the man who helped Mr. Summers prepare the lottery, and Old Man Warner. There is Mr. Hutchinson, Mrs. Hutchinson, and their daughter Eva and son-in-law, Don—just to name a few. And although Jackson’s story has many characters, she is most interested in the social phenomenon of the lottery than she is in the characters, themselves. Instead, the characters serve as a means to depict â€Å"a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in people’s lives† (213). From the start of the story, throughout, and in the end, Jackson defines her view of society’s insouciant attitude toward violence with the villagers’ apathetic way of life. Every year on June 27th, the families of the village (and of other towns, too) gather in the center of town and participate in a lottery which culminates with the stoning death of a member of one of the families. This heinous tale takes place amid a pleasant setting, â€Å"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green† (213). She writes of the children playing and little boys gathering stones that are stockpiled and guarded and ready for the kill. Jackson stupefies the reader as she describes how the lottery is meticulously prepared by Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves, with such pomp and circumstance: â€Å"There was a great deal of fussing to be done before Mr. Summers declared the lottery open† (214). Then there’s poor Mrs. Hutchinson, who, in her ominous late arrival, is greeted by Mr. Summers, â€Å"Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie†, and she jokingly replies, â€Å"Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now would you, Joe? † (215). It is this kind of small-talk among the villagers that makes this incredulous social phenomenon more significant than the characters. As fate would have it, Mr. Hutchinson draws the slip of paper with the black dot on it. â€Å"You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair! † (217). Fair? Because her husband draws the paper with the black dot on it, it is inevitable that someone from her family or even herself, will be stoned to death. â€Å"Be a good sport, Tessie. All of us took the same chance† (217). Even the innocent children are included in the lottery. Do these people have any sense of right or wrong? Tessie Hutchinson draws the paper with the black dot on it. Her neighbors, her friends, â€Å"and someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles† (218), with which to hurl upon his mother. This sick ritual spares no one. The mere thought of this annual lottery is mind-boggling. The matter-of-fact way in which the villagers carried themselves throughout the event as though they are conducting an election of some sort is unconscionable. Jackson’s writing is brimming with obdurate expressions. As the stoning begins, â€Å"All right, folks, let’s finish quickly†, (218). They want to â€Å"be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner† (213). Unbelievable. Hello Lisa, I really enjoyed the insight you offered in your journal. You make very good use of the book by including a great number of citations in your essay and your vocabulary definitely adds to the reader’s understanding of your journal and the passage overall. While you have ample evidence to support your claims throughout your entry, I found a few grammatical and technical errors that I would like to point out: 1. ) â€Å"And although Jackson’s story has many characters, she is most interested in the social phenomenon of the lottery than she is in the characters, themselves. – You do not need a comma before â€Å"themselves†, as a comma separates the thoughts and almost prepares the reader for a new thought. 2. ) â€Å"She writes of the children playing and little boys gathering stones that are stockpiled and guarded and ready for the kill. † – A better way of writing this could be: â€Å"She writes of children playing and gathering stones to be stockpiled, guarded, and readied for the kill. † 3. ) â€Å"Jackson stupefies the reader as she describes how the lottery is meticulously prepared by Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves, with such pomp and circumstance†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – Again, you do not need a comma before â€Å"with such pomp and circumstance†, as you are not introducing a new thought. 4. ) Putting â€Å"unbelievable† at the end of your journal weakens it a little bit as you do not further the claim and give it some evidence. Overall, I think you did a really great job answering the question and giving solid evidence to your claims. From your journal essay, I was able to see that the social phenomenon that the writer is talking about is the desensitizing of our culture as a whole! Good work and good luck for the rest of the semester!

Reflection on Diversity Essay

I used to have a colleague in college who happens to be born into a royal family but was very humble and down to earth. She never wanted to be treated like the princess that she was and did everything possible to fit in and be like every normal student. Most people couldn’t stand her because they felt she was misusing her opportunity and others were jealous of her and as a result of this most people started to avoid her and criticize everything she did and tried to make her life miserable by playing pranks on her and calling her names but she never retaliated because she was different from the rest of us. Instead she treated everyone nicely even when they treated her bad. This made me sympathize with her because I couldn’t understand how some people can afford to dislike somebody else so much just because she was different in a good way. It made me realize that no matter how good we are and treat others well, we shouldn’t expect to be treated nicely by everyone e lse because at the end of the day, what really matters is that we have a clear conscience. From the article â€Å"To Be Asian in America†, when the Asians arrive America they began to realize that they are different. â€Å"Identities get challenged and they have to deal with what it means to be American or resident Alien†, says John Kuo Wei Tchen, the founding director of the A/P/A Studies Program and Institute at New York University. Some Asian Americans relied on assimilation (a process where some of the majority group’s cultural aspects are absorbed in such a manner that the home cultural aspects get lost or mitigated) as a means of blending in with American society as an attempt to escape anti-Asian sentiments that heightened during World War 11. â€Å"The question about how much they wanted to or did assimilate is a question of how much they were permitted to assimilate†, says Gary Okihiro, director of the center for the study of Ethnicity and Race and a professor of International and public affairs at Columbia University. Today, ties to home remain strong for new Asian immigrants; however , many families  experience acculturation- the process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structure – with U.S.- born generations. â€Å"Parents would like to think their children are going to be very embracive and very welcoming of their of the parents’ own culture†, says Franklin Ng, a professor in the anthropology department of California state University – Fresno. â€Å"Parents may have these kinds of supportive mechanisms, encouraging them to go to a temple, or ethnic church, so their children will become familiar with their ethnic culture but the youth are having their own trajectory. Looking at Social Class: The fiction of Meritocracy, The most popular measures of class are income and wealth. It is also measured by educational achievement and occupational prestige. Classism results from prejudices based on false assumptions. Despite widely held perceptions, social class mobility in the United States is far from fluid. Those born with few resources face serious obstacles in their efforts to achieve higher economic and social status. Those born into privilege are given a head start in life with many extra boosts along the way. Once it is recognized that merit has only a small role in determining one’s place on the social ladder, the foundation of classroom crumbles. References Harvey, C. P., & Allard, M. J. (2012). Understanding and managing diversity: Readings, cases, and exercises (5th ed.). Upper saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Devry University (2014). Week 3 Lecture: Identity and Difference SOCS-350N. Retrieved from www.devry.net

How to Write an Amazon Book Description That SELLS

How to Write an Amazon Book Description That SELLS How to Write an Amazon Book Description That Sells Selling books is a result of two factors: traffic and conversion. While the Amazon book description won't affect traffic (i.e., discoverability), it's one of the most important conversion factors (along with the cover, the reviews, and the "look-inside").For example, author Alessandra Torre self-published her first book on Amazon in 2012, and for the first three months of the release, she sold between five and fifteen copies a day. Then, on a whim, she changed the blurb on her Amazon page and saw her daily sales jump to 300 overnight. Her sales kept doubling to the point where she was selling 2,000 copies a day!What does this tell us? That optimizing your book description for online retailers is critical if you want to actually move copies. In this post on how to write a book description, we’ve condensed the process - for both fiction and non-fiction authors - into three steps:1. The Headline: Hook readers inAmazon only displays the first few lines of your product description, meaning you have very limited space to capture a reader’s attention enough to click on your book and find out more. That’s the role of the headline: if a reader’s attention isn’t grabbed straight off the bat, then you’ve already lost them.Having an effusive and descriptive pull quote for your first line is really effective, and you’ll see the technique used time and again by bestsellers and newcomers alike. Whether your reviews are editorial or reader reviews from Amazon or Goodreads, add them into your description. Word-of-mouth recommendations are great conversion tools.However, if you don’t have any suitable reviews or sales stats to speak of (yet), make sure that your first sentence fea tures a snappy, irresistible hook. The key to a good headline is to include keywords that people on the hunt for their next read will immediately recognize. This could be:GenreMajor themesA series nameAwardsBrands or celebrities involvedTIPS FOR FICTION†¦Here’s an example of a self-publishing author using social validation to hook readers in. â€Å"The million-selling series starts here,† it says, letting readers know that these books are really popular.Sincero’s description uses slightly more formal language for the previous sections of the Amazon page, while she’s still laying the groundwork for acquiring reader trust. She closes the deal by speaking more directly and causally to the reader, and appealing to emotion. They reiterate what readers will get out of the book and invite you to dive in.Tip for optimizing your wrap-up for Amazon: Don’t wait for people to leave reviews on your Amazon page - put them right in the book description your self. The wrap-up is a great place to include them, and if you already have a relationship with some of your reviewers, you can always ask them if you can amend their review slightly to include any keywords you haven’t hit yet. The three steps for writing an Amazon book description that sells. #pubtips And there you have it! Work on your attention-grabbing headline, your enticing blurb, your final selling points and you’ve got yourself an ace book description in the making. It might take a few tries to get it right, but it's more than worth the investment.Of course, if you find that your book is still underperforming even after revising your description, consider working with a professional who specializes in blurb and metadata optimization. These experts understand all the trends and techniques that go into a perfect description and can really help maximize your book's potential! When it comes to Amazon, your blurb and metadata are so important that you don't want to take a chance - so when in doubt, go pro.Have you picked up any of your own tricks for an effective Amazon book description? Leave any questions or thoughts in the comments below!

An Overview of the Top Awards and Honors for Economists

An Overview of the Top Awards and Honors for Economists Not surprisingly, the most prestigious award that a living economist can get is the Nobel Prize in Economics, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The Nobel Prize is, in a lot of ways, a lifetime achievement award, despite the fact that its often awarded to economists well before they retire. Since 2001, the prize itself has been 10 million Swedish kronor, which is equivalent to between $1 million and $2 million, depending on the exchange rate. The Nobel Prize can be split among multiple individuals, and prizes in economics have been shared by up to three people in a given year. (When a prize is shared, it is generally the case that the winners fields of study share a common theme.) Winners of the Nobel Prize are called Nobel Laureates, since in ancient Greece laurel wreaths were used as a sign of victory and honor. Technically speaking, the Nobel Prize in Economics is not a true Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prizes were established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel (upon his death) in the categories of physics, chemistry, literature, medicine and peace. The economics prize is actually named the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel and was established and endowed by Sveriges Riksbank, Swedens central bank, in 1968 on the banks 300th anniversary. This distinction is mostly irrelevant from a practical perspective, since the prize amounts and the nomination and selection processes are the same for the Economics prize as for the original Nobel Prizes. The first Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded in 1969 to the Dutch and Norwegian economists Jan Tinbergen and Ragnar Frisch. Many economists have been awarded since then. Only one woman, Elinor Ostrom in 2009, has won a Nobel Prize in Economics. The most prestigious prize awarded specifically to an American economist (or a least an economist working in the United States at the time) is the John Bates Clark Medal. The John Bates Clark Medal is awarded by the American Economic Association to whom it considers to be the most accomplished and/or promising economist under the age of forty. The first John Bates Clark Medal was awarded in 1947 to Paul Samuelson, and, whereas the medal used to be awarded every other year, it has been awarded in April of every year since 2009. Because of the age restriction and the prestigious nature of the award, its only natural that many economists who win the John Bates Clark Medal later go on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. In fact, about 40 percent of John Bates Clark Medal winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, despite the fact that the first Nobel Prize in Economics wasnt awarded until 1969. (Paul Samuelson, the first John Bates Clark Medal recipient, won just the second Nobel Prize in Economics, awarded in 1970.) One other award that carries a lot of weight in the economics world is the MacArthur Fellowship, better known as a genius grant. This award is granted by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which announces generally between 20 and 30 recipients each year. 850 winners have been chosen between June 1981 and September 2011, and each winner receives a no-strings-attached fellowship of $500,000, paid out quarterly over a five-year period. The MacArthur Fellowship is unique in a number of ways. First, the nominating committee seeks out people in a wide variety of fields rather than focusing on a particular area of study or expertise. Second, the fellowship is awarded to individuals who exhibit a capacity to do creative and meaningful work and is thus an investment in future results rather than simply a reward for past achievement. Third, the nominating process is very secretive and winners are unaware that they are even under consideration until they receive a phone call telling them that theyve won. According to the foundation, over a dozen economists (or economics-related social scientists) have won MacArthur Fellowships, beginning with Michael Woodford in the inaugural year. Interestingly, six MacArthur Fellows (as of 2015) - Esther Duflo, Kevin Murphy, Matthew Rabin, Emmanuel Saez, Raj Chetty, and Roland Fryer- have also won the John Bates Clark Medal. Despite there being significant overlap among the recipients of these three awards, no economist has achieved the triple crown of economics yet.

Teaching the Teacher Using the Train the Trainer Model

Teaching the Teacher Using the Train the Trainer Model Too often, the last thing any teacher wants after a day of teaching in the classroom is to attend professional development (PD). But, just like their students, teachers at every grade-level need ongoing education to keep up with educational trends, district initiatives, or curriculum changes. Therefore, the designers of teacher PD must consider how to engage and motivate teachers using a model that is meaningful and effective. One model that has demonstrated its effectiveness in PD is known as the Train the Trainer model. What Is the Train the Trainer Model? According to the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, Train the Trainer means: initially training a person or people who, in turn, train other people at their home agency. For example, in a Train the Trainer model, a school or district may determine that question and answer techniques need to be improved. The PD designers would select a teacher,  or group of teachers,  to receive extensive training in question and answering techniques. This teacher, or group of teachers, would, in turn, train their fellow teachers in effective use of question and answering techniques.   The Train the Trainer model is similar to peer-to-peer instruction, which is widely recognized as an effective strategy for all learners in all subject areas. Selecting teachers to act as trainers for other teachers has many advantages including reducing costs, increasing communication, and improving school culture. Advantages to Train the Trainer One major advantage to the Train the Trainer model is how it can assure fidelity to a particular program or strategy for  teaching. Each trainer disseminates prepared materials in exactly the same way. During the PD, the trainer in this model is similar to a clone and will stick to a script without making any changes. This makes the Train the Trainer model for PD ideal for large school districts who need continuity in training order to measure the effectiveness of a curriculum between schools. The use of the Train the Trainer model can also help districts to provide a consistent professional learning process for compliance with mandated local, state, or federal requirements. A trainer in this model may be expected to use the methods and materials provided in the training in their own classrooms and perhaps to model for fellow teachers. A trainer may also provide interdisciplinary or cross-curricular professional development for other content-area teachers.   The use of the Train the Trainer model in PD is cost effective. It is less costly to send one teacher or a small team of teachers out for expensive training so that they can return with the knowledge to teach many others. It can also more cost effective to use the trainers as experts who are provided time to revisit teacher classrooms to measure the effectiveness of the training or to model the training throughout the school year. The Train the Trainer model can shorten the timetable for new initiatives. Instead of the lengthy process of training of one teacher at a time, a team can be trained at once. Once the team is ready, the coordinated PD sessions can be offered for teachers simultaneously and initiatives put in place in a timely manner. Finally, teachers are more likely to seek advice from other teachers than from an outside specialist. Using teachers who are already familiar with the school culture and the school setting is an advantage, especially during presentations.  Most teachers know each other, personally or by reputation within a school or district. The development of teachers as trainers within a school or district can set up new pathways of communication or networking. Training teachers as experts can also increase leadership capacity in a school or district. Research on Train the Trainer There are several studies that illustrate the effectiveness on Train the Trainer method. One study (2011) focused on special education teachers who delivered such training that was a â€Å"cost-effective and sustainable method for improving the access to and accuracy of teacher-implemented [training].† Other studies have shown the effectiveness of the train the trainer model including: (2012) food safety initiative and  (2014) science literacy, as well as for social issues as seen in the Report on Bullying Prevention and Intervention Professional Development by the Massachusetts Department of  Elementary and Secondary Education (2010). The practice of Train the Trainer has been used nationally for many years. Initiatives from the National Literacy and National Numeracy Centers have provided leadership and training for educational institutions and consultants, who â€Å"train school heads, lead math teachers and expert literacy teachers, who in turn train other teachers​.† One drawback to the Train the Trainer model is that the PD is usually scripted in order to serve a specific purpose or to address a specific need. In larger districts, however, the needs of a school, classroom or teacher may differ and the PD delivered according to a script may not be as relevant. The Train the Trainer model is not flexible and may not include opportunities for differentiation unless the trainers are provided materials that can be tailored for a school or classroom. Choosing the Trainer(s) The selection of a teacher is the most critical part in developing the train the trainer model. The teacher selected as a trainer must be well-respected and able to lead teacher discussions as well as listen to his or her peers. The teacher selected should be prepared to help teachers to link the training to instruction and to demonstrate how to measure success. The teacher selected must be able to share results (data) on student growth that is based on training. Most important, the teacher selected must be reflective, be able to accept teacher feedback, and above all, maintain a positive attitude.   Designing Professional Development Before implementing the Train the Trainer model, the designers of professional development in any school district should consider the four principles that American educator Malcolm Knowles theorized about adult education or andragogy.  Andragogy refers to â€Å"man led† rather than pedagogy which uses â€Å"ped† meaning â€Å"child† at its root. Knowles proposed (1980) principles he believed were critical for adult learning. Designers of PD and trainers should have some familiarity with these principles as they prepare the trainers for their adult learners.  An explanation for application in education follows each principle: Adult learners have a need to be self-directing. This means instruction is effective when teachers have been involved in the planning and in the evaluation of their professional development. Train the trainer models are effective when they respond to teacher needs or requests.Readiness for learning increases when there is a specific need to know. This means that teachers learn best, like their students, when the professional development is central to their performance.  Life’s reservoir of experience is a primary learning resource; the life experiences of others add enrichment to the learning process. This means that what teachers experience, including their mistakes, is critical because teachers attach more meaning to experience rather than knowledge that they acquire passively.Adult learners have an inherent need for immediacy of application.  A teacher’s interest in learning is increased when professional development has immediate relevance and impact to teacherà ¢â‚¬â„¢s job or personal life. Trainers should know that Knowles also suggested that adult learning is more successful when it is problem-centered rather than content-oriented.   Final Thoughts Just as the teacher does in the classroom, the trainer’s role during PD  is to create and maintain a supportive climate so that the instruction designed for teachers can take place. Some good practices for the trainer include: Be respectful of fellow teachers.Show enthusiasm about the training topic.Be clear and direct in order to avoid miscommunication.Ask questions in order to receive feedback.Use â€Å"Wait Time† to encourage questions and allow time to think about an answer or response. Teachers understand firsthand how mind-numbing an afternoon of PD could be, so using teachers in the Train the Trainer model has the benefit of adding  elements of camaraderie, appreciation, or empathy to professional development. Trainers will work hard to meet the challenge of keeping their peers engaged while teachers who are learning may be more motivated to listen to their peers rather than a consultant out of the district. Ultimately, using the Train the Trainer model may mean highly effective and less  boring professional development simply because it is peer-led professional development.

Home Schooling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Home Schooling - Essay Example Looking at the nature of homeschooling it can be noticed that it seriously needs regulation. The regulation comes with challenges. The regulation of homeschooling has over the years had various critics criticizing its necessity. As much as there are various points that successfully explain the lack of necessity for homeschooling, there are arguments with bigger intensity explaining the need for regulating homeschooling. The arguments mainly proves the necessity of regulation of homeschooling to ensure its productivity. Discussion One reason why home schooling should be regulated is because of the high rate at which its rising and the high possibility of it being abused. Some parents might take advantage of homeschooling to serve their own interests. This is a possibility in cases where parents are trying to hide some aspects of their current or past lives. For instance, violent parents might take advantage of homeschooling to hide the inhuman things that they do to their children. Th is way they will be able to hide the bruises that result from the mistreatment that they subject their children to. This will create a scenario where the children will be having their basic rights violated, but no one will come to their rescue because no one knows. This can also be used by parents with criminal records to serve their own interest (Kunzman, 2009). However, it is clearly evident that this can have very minimal effect on the overall effectiveness of the productivity of homeschooling. Homeschooling should also be regulated because of the quality of education that all individuals are entitled to. Researches have it that, without proper regulation, the quality of education given to homeschooling students can easily be compromised. As much as there is always a fixed curriculum to be followed by both homeschool and public school teachers, it is hard to tell whether the homeschool teachers effectively cover the curriculum. This will mean that, in the end, the students would not have attained the intellectual maturity that is expected of a student that has gone through the United States of America’s education system (McMullen, 2002). The ultimate result of this sub quality education is that the students will not be able to keep up with the students going through the standard type of education both at higher levels of education and in various professions. Students who have gone through homeschooling through their high school years are less expected to major in the natural sciences than the non-homeschooled students, and that more attention has to go to this because of the growing number of homeschooled students in the United States of America. Homeschooled students are not exposed to professional science teachers and labs and so do not have as many options, with their growing number this could be a threat the education system (Phillips, 2010). This will definitely call for regulation because the increase in the number of people being homeschooled will, therefore, mean that there is a significant decrease in the number of professionals in natural science, a factor that might affect the country economically, politically and socially. Taking a look at the motives that parents usually have when

STEEPLE Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

STEEPLE Analysis - Research Paper Example The UK supermarket sector has been controlled by â€Å"Big Four’’ grocery companies like Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s (Sanderson, 2007). These companies collectively control 75.4% of the market share as of the year 2012 (Butler, 2012). Tesco has occupied 30.5% in terms of grocery retail in the market, whereas Morrisons has 11.7% followed by Asda with 17.1% and Sainsbury’s with 16.1% (Butler, 2012). As UK supermarket sector is based on both grocery and retail outlets, the rate of sales for both the products base have made certain impacts on the growth of the market scenario. The rate of sales in retails had enlarged by 5.4% in September 2011 as compared to September 2010 (Office for National Statistics, 2011). Non-retailing counters and automotive fuels selling capacities have improved to 15.5 and 2.8 percent respectively from 2010 in the year 2011. The paper intends to discuss on STEEPLE Analysis of the UK supermarket sector and evaluate the fac tors in the market which would impact in the organizations operating in the market. Moreover, the discussion also focuses on the assessment of the HR practices of one of the leading companies in the UK retail market, Tesco. Description of STEEPLE Analysis STEEPLE analysis is an instrumental analysis through which changes in the environment can be determined in correlation to the operations in the business sector. The analysis is based on different factors such as social, technological, political, economic, ethical, legal and environmental which have an impact on the operations of business in the UK supermarket sector. Social Factors In relation to the social factors, it is observed that there is a change in the buying pattern of different materials by the customers which significantly relates to the dimensions of lifestyle changes, alteration in income distribution and changes in living conditions. With the influence of these factors customers in the UK are favouring one-stop shoppi ng of products (Randall & Seth, 2011). A crucial issue in context is that there is a noticeable certain change in terms of social wants with the change in time because increasing number of customers nowadays are desiring to keep themselves abreast with the latest fashion and style statements. Consequently, the retailers functioning in the UK supermarket are concentrating rapidly on products which provide them value for money. The option of finding a variety of products within one-roof in a supermarket has also been a major draw for the consumers which in turn facilitate them meet their needs and desires (Defra, 2006). Moreover, certain pertinent social factors such as birth rates, household income, gender and religion among others have affected the retail giants like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons in the UK supermarket. In relation to augmented birth rates, it can be ascertained that retailers like Tesco have started to increasingly focus on keeping an assortment of c hildren toys related products to open up a new target market for the company. Moreover, in the global operations companies such as Tesco need to operate keeping in consideration the religious contexts while offering products and preparing their advertisements so that the sentiments of the people in a foreign country do not get hurt. It can in turn affect their sales and profitability. Similarly, social factors such as gender and household income have also been taken into consideration by the retail companies while preparing their product assortment as products in varied price range have been a key consideration to attract consumers’ of different income range. (Tesco Plc, 2012). Sainsbury’

Domestic Poverty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Domestic Poverty - Research Paper Example All these are to assist in understanding domestic poverty and how it occurs as well as the possible ways in which it can be resolved. Various scholars have studied the issue of domestic poverty both in the context of the United States and in the context of other countries. One of such scholars are Danziger & Haveman (2001), who studies and tried to understand various parameters of domestic poverty in the United States as well as how it has been growing since the times of the World War II. Collier & Dollar (2002) discovered that strengthening domestic institutions and policies regarding national wealth could be a useful tool in dealing with domestic poverty. Imig (1996) brought out some of the issues that make anti-poverty groups unable to effectively deal with poverty. However, there are very few attempts made to explain possible solutions to the issue of domestic poverty and this is what makes this research very important. In this research paper, I mainly rely on the information fro m the internet as my major source of information. In this paper, papers written on previous research about domestic poverty are used. To make the information derived from this research more accurate, I have relied mainly on most up-to-date books and research journals written about poverty. This is what we call use of secondary data in a research finding and it is widely used by researchers in their research due to its advantages. One of the major advantages of this kind of research method that has made me to choose it in my research is that it is inexpensive to undertake since it does not require data collection procedures. In my research, I was able to obtain different factors thought to have played a major part in contributing to domestic poverty. According to CQ Researcher (2007), one of the factors, that fuel poverty in the United States is Katrina devastation. Hurricane Katrina coused major destructions in the United States (Brunsma, Overfelt & Picou, 2007). Another factor is c oming in of foreigners especially from poor developing countries and the education inconsistencies among the American citizens. Another factor that has played a very great part in causing domestic poverty is the increasing gap between the rich people and the poor people. This has actually made most of the American to continue suffering in poverty despite their hard work in attempt to earn a living. In my research I also found out that, most poor people are women and among these women a greater percentage are single parents. I also found out that majority of the poor people are not educated beyond high school levels. Moreover, according to 2006 national census, majority of people living in poverty are the children and the old people (CQ Research, 2007). We also discovered that majority of the areas are most affect by domestic poverty are the southern regions of the country. In these regions, the cash allocated to antipoverty programs is very little in comparison to the poverty levels in those regions. The possible solutions to the problem of domestic poverty are actually any activity that can eliminate a cause of the domestic poverty or activities that empower the affected people. Since the majority of people affected by poverty are women, we can have gender empowerment of these women as one of the possible solutions to the problem of domestic poverty. The reason why I have identified this as a possible

Historical Development of Modern Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Historical Development of Modern Nursing - Essay Example This means that they have the right to actively participate and collaborate with the healthcare provider. In order to achieve a maximum level of wellness, a nurse should be mindful of the consumer’s rights for the need for care. The environment, being a major determinant, ranges from the individual’s home to hospital agencies and the society. An individual’s environment is very important in determining one's health. Environmental factors can be psychological, spiritual, legal, political, and economical, among others. Other temporal aspects that may determine individual’s health are the family, community, the general health care system and the individuals themselves. An individual’s genetic characteristics and life experiences determine the health factors. A philosophy has to understand that an individual’s life is a continuum which extends from a high level of wellness to cessation. Individuals have adaptive and recuperative abilities which d etermine the extent of altering ones health status depending on the movement of the individual on the continuum, either towards the positive or the negative as a response to the health care system intervention. Wellness is a dynamic state of physical, psychological, spiritual and social well being. ... This is because people performed it as a compassionate wish of helping others without the recognition of it as nursing. Mainly, it naturally belonged to women as a nurturing job, with an expectation of looking after the sick, the young and the elderly. At this age, there was no training in regards to care giving. In the majority of cases, it was based on experience and observation. They believed that illness came as a result of invasion by evil spirits to individual’s body. Using magic, charms, hypnosis among others, people believed that medicine men and witchdoctors had power over the evil. The final option to send away evil spirits from a person involved trephining where a hole was drilled into the individual’s skull without anesthesia. Middle Aged Nursing During this period, crusaders, prisoners and religious orders provided care. There was no formal education or people under the direction of experienced nursing or any job training. Religious orders from Christian ch urches had basic nursing experience and provided guidance and direction. At this period, there was Protestantism with followers confiscating hospital and school properties connected to Roman Catholicism. This made nursing go to the lowest level, with nurses fleeing for their lives. This created a shortage of nurses and many hospitals closed, leading to no provision for the sick and no care at all. This rendered nursing the work of less enviable women, drunks, prostitutes and prisoners. Because of the situation, cleric Theodore Fliedner and Frederika, his wife, set up the Kaiserswerth institution to train Deaconesses, which was the first formal training school for nurses in Germany. At this school, Florence Nightingale

Mini case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mini case study - Assignment Example to as â€Å"essential and enduring tenets† that help define the company and are â€Å"not to be compromised for financial gain or short term expediency,† (DesJardins, 2006, p. 5). It is evident from the definition given above that it is unethical to exploit women in promoting beauty products for financial gain. For instance, the aspect of stereotyping beauty has caused severe pressure on women who try hard to change their appearance in order to suit the ideal model of a beautiful woman. Claiming that certain beauty products would make women look more beautiful unethical since it causes more negative impacts than positive gains especially on the consumers. This leads to social unrest where some women would end up looking down upon themselves and try to imitate the beauty stereotypes. Enlightened firms should encourage their managers to be socially responsible and seek ways to protect the long-run interests of their consumers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). In other words, presenting other beauty products as ideal for women causes unnecessary social unrest among the targeted audiences and this practice in business is unethical. 2. In my opinion, I think there should be no standardized approach to defining beauty within the international advertising and fashion industry. First and foremost, beauty is natural and there can be no universal yardstick that can be used to measure it. Each individual human being has his or her own expectations of what constitute beauty and this cannot be contested. The issue of beauty mainly emanates from opinionated views of different individuals which cannot be standardised. The other reason is that we all come from different backgrounds and there are different races across the globe. For instance, there are whites, Indians, Chinese, black as well as Arabic races women from these groups significantly differ. By virtue of the fact that we come from different races, it can be seen that it is impossible to have a universally agreed standard

Why does 'Capturing the Friedmans' divide audiences so often Is this Essay

Why does 'Capturing the Friedmans' divide audiences so often Is this the result of its subject matter or how the film presents its material - Essay Example It is a fact to state that the material of the movie is the major cause for the division of the audience. There may be slight connection to the subject matter but if the documentary had revealed the facts in accord with truth without tempering with it than the audience may have not been divided themselves in to two different perspectives (Leadership Council, 2002). However, before the paper matures in to an argument it is essential to be familiar with all details of the case. The following paper is weaved using authentic websites, documents, books, and journal articles in order to present an argument which is solid in its essence and is impressionable. However, the use of websites is in excess in order to gain insight into the minds of its audience, who holds a conflicting view either with the documentary or a conflict of view among themselves. The conflict in my opinion after extensive research, occurs due to the material of the documentary, otherwise the case stands clear (Richard Webster, 2004). From today, 25 years ago the police officials came to the doorstep of the Friedmans to arrest Arnold Friedman for sexually abusing children. Arnold was soon exposed to the charges that were levied on him due to rapping dozens of boys inside his house form his computer class that he conducted at home. Although, the police was able to find the pornographic magazines there were no other such as physical evidence, found that would stand as a solid proof of the crimes that Arnold was convicted. Moreover, the movie did not show that there were any complaints before Arnold was convicted with the crime (Leadership Council, 2002). Before the giving a verdict it is imperative to take in to consideration the way the truth was moulded and fashioned and also to consider the arguments presented by the director in order to provide a statement to the critics. It is

Mini case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mini case study - Assignment Example to as â€Å"essential and enduring tenets† that help define the company and are â€Å"not to be compromised for financial gain or short term expediency,† (DesJardins, 2006, p. 5). It is evident from the definition given above that it is unethical to exploit women in promoting beauty products for financial gain. For instance, the aspect of stereotyping beauty has caused severe pressure on women who try hard to change their appearance in order to suit the ideal model of a beautiful woman. Claiming that certain beauty products would make women look more beautiful unethical since it causes more negative impacts than positive gains especially on the consumers. This leads to social unrest where some women would end up looking down upon themselves and try to imitate the beauty stereotypes. Enlightened firms should encourage their managers to be socially responsible and seek ways to protect the long-run interests of their consumers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). In other words, presenting other beauty products as ideal for women causes unnecessary social unrest among the targeted audiences and this practice in business is unethical. 2. In my opinion, I think there should be no standardized approach to defining beauty within the international advertising and fashion industry. First and foremost, beauty is natural and there can be no universal yardstick that can be used to measure it. Each individual human being has his or her own expectations of what constitute beauty and this cannot be contested. The issue of beauty mainly emanates from opinionated views of different individuals which cannot be standardised. The other reason is that we all come from different backgrounds and there are different races across the globe. For instance, there are whites, Indians, Chinese, black as well as Arabic races women from these groups significantly differ. By virtue of the fact that we come from different races, it can be seen that it is impossible to have a universally agreed standard

Technical trading analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Technical trading analysis - Essay Example s assumed that the fund would definitely be interested in riding a wave but not to the peak but obtain gains much before the peak and go short somewhere between the bottom and the peak. Similarly the fund would not wait for the market to bottom out before taking a decision on going long and that it would go long once market moves down somewhere between the peak and the bottom. Either strategies would imply that the fund is not looking for excessive and speculative gains; nevertheless it does maintain inherent profit booking targets. The trading system explained below is based on trading rules that were tested for profits results based on this risk philosophy. Financial theory, taught in finance textbooks the globe over, normally exposes a student of finance to the concepts like the efficient market hypothesis and the economically rational individual. Bubbles and crashes seem to defy these two seminal concepts with an awkwardness equivalent to the awkwardness one would attach to those things on earth that defy gravity. Nevertheless such extreme stock market movements are a reality. Bubbles make investing decisions arduous as stock prices tend to deviate by substantial margins from their fundamental valuations. Investors relying on past company results and technical analysis are equally defeated in such situations as is the EMH.In fact, investors always act on the basis that they have an applicable construct to explain stock price movements and tend to input all available information collected under such constructs in their investment decisions (Poole 2000). Finance research has also held varying opinions on this issue. For instance, Bierm ann (1995) supports the idea that market prices are determined from backward looking investors than by those that indulge in predictions of all sorts. Others have, for example elaborated on the use of price to earnings ratios to determine excess market valuations. Some technical work has set to rest in a convincing manner the

Peter Paul Rubens Essay Example for Free

Peter Paul Rubens Essay The most sought-after painter in northern Europe during the seventeenth century, Peter Paul Rubens, was also a diplomat, linguist, and scholar. His dramatic artistic style of the seventeenth century is now called baroque, a term apparently derived at a later time from ornate jewelry set with irregular pearls. At its most exuberant, the baroque involves restless motion, startling color contrasts, and vivid clashes of light and shadow. Rubens was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to Jan Rubens and Maria Pypelincks. Born the son of a lawyer and educated at a Jesuit school in Antwerp, Flanders, Rubens learned classical and modern languages. He spent the years 1600 to 1608 studying and working in Italy. Returning to Antwerp, he continued to travel as both courtier and painter. His repeated visits to Madrid, Paris, and London allowed him to negotiate treaties while accepting royal commissions for art. One of Rubens major innovations in procedure, which many later artists have followed, was his use of small oil studies as compositional sketches for his large pictures and tapestry designs. Rather than merely drawing, Rubens painted his modelli, or models, thereby establishing the color and lighting schemes and the distributions of shapes simultaneously. Rubens managed a very large studio in Antwerp, training many apprentices and employing independent colleagues to help execute specific projects. Among his mature collaborators whose baroque works are on view in the National Gallery of Art are Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, Jan Brueghel, and Frans Snyders. Rubens style tremendously influenced baroque painters throughout Europe, even those such as the German-born Johann Liss who had no documented contact with the master. Liss The Satyr and the Peasant, for instance, is Rubensian in its lively gestures and telling expressions. Painted during the 1620s in Italy, it illustrates a tale from Aesops Fables in which an immortal satyr helped a peasant find his way through a winter storm. The goat-legged creature was astonished when the man put his chilled hands to his mouth to warm them. In thanks for the satyrs guidance, the peasant invited him home to eat. The satyr was further perplexed when the man blew on his spoon to cool the hot soup. The satyr jumped up in disgust at human hypocrisy, proclaiming, I will have nothing to do with someone who blows hot and cold with the same breath! The Fall of Man Rubens copied many of Titians paintings. Part of Rubens greatness was due to his eager study of earlier masters and his ability to combine their techniques with his own style. The Fall of Man is an interesting example of a work after Titian, that is very close to the original but in which Rubens has changed some details. The red parrot in the tree is not in Titians painting. The colors in Rubens painting are more yellowish and Rubens has actually improved Titians painting by giving Adam a more natural pose. In fact, Adam looks a lot like Rubens himself. When Rubens made this painting, he had just met his second wife-to-be, Helene Fourment. She was only 15 years old at the time. Adoration of the Magi Religious paintings were fashionable during the time of Peter Paul Rubens and were nearly always reverential. Adoration of the Magi is a good example of how Jesus was expected to be venerated in art. A painting of 99 inches by 133 inches, Adoration of the Magi is an oil on canvas painting that features a group of figures, who are waiting in turn to pay homage to the newly born Jesus. It is painting that was created by Rubens in 1616 and 1617. The Power of Christ The Virgin Mary is depicted holding up Jesus as an elderly magus kisses the babys feet. Rubens clearly shows that Jesus is no normal child, as quite apart from the large group of people who have come to see Christ, the infant Jesus is seen touching the head of the elderly magus as a sign of acknowledgment of the old mans devotion. Rubens also adds power to the image and of Jesus himself, with the ethnic mix of the visitors. This suggests that the men have traveled from many different parts of the world to witness seeing the baby Jesus and are not all, in fact, magi. The age of the men and the way they are dressed indicates men of power, and, consequently, their humble adoration of Christ gives the work an added weight. Though the expression of the figures in the painting are almost universally serious, there is one man who appears to be smiling and acts in a way many adults would normally act on seeing a baby. The Virgin Mary, however, looks very serious, almost severe, but she is concentrating on Jesus not coming to any harm, as he is standing upright to receive the line of visitors. The Propaganda Element As with most religious paintings of the early 17th Century there could be said to be an element of propaganda in Adoration of the Magi, as it is really showing the power of the Church. It is painting that is saying that however powerful leaders may be, the Church is more powerful than any earthly empire. The fact that there is little light in the painting gives it an air of mystery, as one wonders if some figures are deliberately hidden. Some of the visitors to the stable are also partly hidden by other visitors. The horse to the left of the painting infers that animals are also part of the kingdom of God. Adoration of the Magi currently hangs in the Musee des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France. VENUS IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR Peter Paul Rubens presented his Venus in Front of the Mirror as the ultimate symbol of beauty. She is aware of the viewer in a mirror that frames her face like a portrait. Great play is made of the sensual reproduction of her skin and silky hair, which is further enlivened by the contrast with the dark-skinned maidservant. The few costly accessories, otherwise decorative additions to elaborate clothing, emphasize the figure’s nakedness. The sensual qualities of the painting are created by Rubens’s subtle painterly approach. He alternates sketchy brushstrokes, drawn over the ground like a transparent veil, with compact areas, painted in great detail. One particularly attractive feature of the picture is the contrast between the goddess’s encounter with the viewer, which seems to occur almost by chance, and the representation of her beauty, as if conceived for a spectator. The mirror that Cupid holds up for the goddess reveals an additional level of meaning: the reflection of Venus, which reveals her beauty to the viewer, becomes a symbol of painting that competes with nature to produce an image that is as real as possible.

Spirit Of Enquiry Is Vital To Human Fulfilment Philosophy Essay

Spirit Of Enquiry Is Vital To Human Fulfilment Philosophy Essay The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed. Albert Einstein Humans are by nature curious and enquiring beings. We are also rarely able to be content in the state in which we find ourselves, as there is always something not possessed or obtainable, something we are not fully aware of that we still desire. As we go about our daily lives we experience and actively seek the unknown. Indeed it is generally accepted that enquiry and curiosity generally leads to overwhelmingly positive experiences as opposed to continuing blindly with the mundane nature of everyday life. There is indeed much to be said for searching out new and exciting experiences, giving us a fuller perspective and a greater insight into the world around us. Scientists identify the spirit of enquiry as being synonymous to scientific temper most scientific discoveries, after all, were conceived in the spirit of enquiry. However, is this mental attitude crucial for human satisfaction and fulfilment? The quest for human fulfilment is one which to this day remains largely unsolved; there is of course no correct way to live ones life, otherwise we would all be satisfied. Human fulfilment is difficult to define but for me it represents, at its core, a basic feeling of happiness and satisfaction. Three things which I believe are absolutely paramount to this feeling of fulfilment are: successful relationships, achieving ones aims, and discovery self-discovery or otherwise. These are all inter-linked without venturing into some realm of the unknown, how can we ever have new experiences, achieve ones desires or meet other like-minded people? Enquiry is absolutely essential in leading us to the most fulfilling experiences of our lives, whether it is discovering and reading a book which inspires you to change your life, visiting an entirely new country and immersing yourself in its cultures and traditions or making an important scientific discovery. Whilst some scientific advances have been achieved purely by chance (e.g. the discovery of Penicillin) most require a questioning, seeking mind and perseverance at the highest level. Today science does not tend to advance by chance humans are at such a level of understanding (through our continuation of efforts) that we must in general use a trial and error basis for research, which is where intelligence and our basic feelings of curiosity are hugely important. In a similar way, it is generally accepted that in todays economic climate, a good education is of paramount importance. In a world where places for further education and where jobs are scarce, universities and prospective employers are increasingly looking for individuals who demonstrate this very spirit of enquiry. People who throw themselves into lots of different things are far more appealing than those who do not take advantage of their situation and do not actively seek new experiences; this is because an active and enquiring mind is present in an adaptable, versatile and intelligent individual. Thus, it is conducive to human fulfilment in the sense that it facilitates transition into the working world. Equally vital however is the ability to focus the mind, and not fall into the trap of becoming a jack of all trades, as leaving quests or pursuits unfinished can be the least fulfilling and most tragic thing of all. As well as its rather superficial economic benefits (ease of finding a job etc), an enquiring and curious mind is in my opinion a lot more content than an intellectually apathetic one however, according to various polls, only a small proportion of Americans own passports (the Guardian estimates the number at 22%). Although this is not a definitive sign that they are not mentally inquisitive, it does suggest some of them have little interest in leaving the safety and comfort of their country. However this does not apparently adversely affect their happiness according to a survey from gallup.com, 84% of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in their personal life at this time, while 14% are dissatisfied. In this case, those surveyed feel fulfilled without having to take the leap of leaving their country. There is obviously a significant defence to the argument that only through intellectual curiosity we can be truly fulfilled. However I believe that the more basic intelligence one has, the more one will naturally feel the instinct to explore and to enquire. Those who do will often become enriched by the wealth of knowledge and personal experience gained, and those who dont will either continue unaware of what the world holds and not mind while the rest will undoubtedly feel unfulfilled. There is of course an argument that in some cases, ignorance is bliss. I strongly believe that todays current state of general hysteria (particularly with regard to health and crime) is in some part caused the media whether its claims be misinformed or otherwise, I believe that (warnings about genuine and formidable dangers aside) some things are better left unsaid. Scaremongering the public about the possible carcinogenic properties of everyday foods or the pervasiveness of violent crime is not particularly constructive; it is hard to focus on the things which really matter in life and seek fulfilment in an atmosphere of chronic paranoia in some ways, a more relaxed approach to daily life would be more beneficial to the human spirit. However, I strongly believe that on a more basic level, humans must continue to search spiritually, scientifically and personally if there is any hope for happiness and fulfilment. There is a danger that if we let the important aspects of our lives be pushed aside by apathy and ignorance, we run the risk of losing sight of these things entirely, which would be a tragedy as friendship, love and discovery are the sole paths to human fulfilment and being happy, which in the end is arguably the most important thing we can ever hope to be.

The Colors of Life :: Example Personal Narratives

The Colors of Life I was sixteen when I found out. The year was 1968. My father and I were in the kitchen, he, in his usual talk-spot by the pantry door, my sixteen year-old self in a chair by the window. The two of us were reminiscing about the time I was a little girl, learning to write the letters of the alphabet. We remembered that, under his guidance, I'd learned to write all of the letters very quickly except for the letter 'R'. "Until one day," I said to my father, "I realized that to make an 'R' all I had to do was first write a 'P' and then draw a line down from its loop. And I was so surprised that I could turn a yellow letter into an orange letter just by adding a line." "Yellow letter? Orange Letter?" my father said. "What do you mean?" "Well, you know," I said. "'P' is a yellow letter, but 'R' is an orange letter. You know - the colors of the letters." "The colors of the letters?" my father said. It had never come up in any conversation before. I had never thought to mention it to anyone. For as long as I could remember, each letter of the alphabet had a different color. Each word had a different color too (generally, the same color as the first letter) and so did each number. The colors of letters, words and numbers were as intrinsic a part of them as their shapes, and like the shapes, the colors never changed. They appeared automatically whenever I saw or thought about letters or words, and I couldn't alter them. I had taken it for granted that the whole world shared these perceptions with me, so my father's perplexed reaction was totally unexpected. From my point of view, I felt as if I'd made a statement as ordinary as "apples are red" and "leaves are green" and had elicited a thoroughly bewildered response. I didn't know then that seeing such things as yellow P's and orange R's, or green B's, purple 5's, brown Mondays and turquoise Thursdays was unique to the one in two thousand persons like myself who were hosts to a quirky neurological phenomenon called synesthesia. Later in my life, I would read about neuroscientists at NIH and Yale University working to understand the phenomenon.

Compare and Contrast the 2 Brothers in Sonnys Blues

The story, Sonny’s Blues, describes the lives of two brothers growing up in Harlem in the early 1960’s. Sonny and his brother are different in the way the go about life in general. They were both raised in the same household, yet they grew up to be totally different people. As the story progresses we see that both brothers have troubles in their lives and we get to see how each thinks and acts when facing such ordeals. While the brothers differ in the way they internalize and cope with their problems, they both show selfish characteristics, but ultimately feel remorseful for not being in each others’ lives.The narrator though an educator, is not very good at verbalizing his emotions. He tends to be the person who keeps everything inside and lets all his emotions turn to resentment. When he found out his brother had been arrested he still couldn’t verbalize how he felt knowing his brother was a junkie, â€Å"I couldn't believe it: but what I mean by that i s that I couldn't find any room for it anywhere inside me. I had kept it outside me for a long time. I hadn't wanted to know.I had had suspicions, but I didn't name them, I kept putting them away† (Baldwin). For many years, the narrator has been stuffing his emotions down, ultimately resulting in complete disassociation from situations for example his mothers and daughters death Also after finding out that Sonny was arrested, he sees a kid that was friends with Sonny and automatically has anger for him even though realistically he had nothing to do with Sonny’s arrest, â€Å"But now, abruptly, I hated him. I couldn't stand the way he looked at me† (Baldwin).That narrator is unable to cope and deal with problems as they come, instead he acts like a child, sort of folding his arms and giving the silent treatment or automatically jumping to conclusions to put himself on a pedestal. Sonny runs away from his problems, both mentally and physically. Even though he is fa cing his problems head on as opposed to the brother who sweeps things under the rug, he does it in a destructive manner. Physically he ran away from Harlem to get away the stereotype of that area. At first he turns to music to fix his problems, and then heroin.Sonny left school, and joined the navy to get as far away from Harlem as he possibly could. When Sonny returns from prison, he tried explaining to his brother what music does for him, â€Å"†It's not so much to play. It's to stand it, to be able to make it at all. On any level†(Baldwin). He frowned and smiled: â€Å"In order to keep from shaking to pieces. â€Å"† He didn’t want to be a prisoner of Harlem anymore, but became a prisoner to heroin. At first Sonny did not feel that heroin was necessarily a bad thing, â€Å"†It makes you feel-in control.Sometimes you've got to have that feeling† (Baldwin). Sonny feels that even while all doped up on heroin, he feels in control of his life a nd his circumstances. Even though Sonny takes on different approaches in finding sense in his life; whether through the army, music, or heroin, they do not realistically solve any of his problems they just mask his confusion and indecision temporarily. In my opinion the narrator, is a very selfish man, he only cares about his feelings and not those around him.The narrator broke his promise to his mother to take care of Sonny, â€Å"Two days later I was married, and then I was gone. And I had a lot of things on my mind and I pretty well forgot my promise to Mama until I got shipped home on a special furlough for her funeral† (Baldwin). The narrator’s mother wanted the boys to be close, because they will only have each other when their parents pass away. Also, the narrator has a very judgmental outlook on people, he does not let anyone state their opinion and even if he does he isn’t truly listening.In an argument with Sonny, â€Å"’I hear you. But you nev er hear anything I say. ’†Sonny is obviously upset that his brother doesn’t respect his wishes to pursue a music career, along with wanting to go to the navy. Both brothers leave home, the narrator when he gets married, and Sonny when he decides to pursue his life as a musician. Neither of them take into account their mother, or each other for that matter when they go on living their lives. They both feel guilty for not being as close to each other as they could have been.Sonny makes that clear in a letter he writes the narrator, â€Å"’Dear brother, You don't know how much I needed to hear from you. I wanted to write you many a time but I dug how much I must have hurt you and so I didn't write†¦and I swear if I'd known what I was doing I would never have hurt you so’† (Baldwin). Sonny feels bad for abandoning the family, and turning to drugs and even though he does it after sometime, he has the courage to say that he’s sorry for his actions.Towards the end of the story, when the brothers are conversing in the apartment, the narrator realizes how his silent treatment and cold demeanor has affected his brother. â€Å"I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time or forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence-so long! -when he had needed human speech to help him† (Baldwin). Just from a look that Sonny gives him, he understands that Sonny needed his guidance and support through all these years. In conclusion, both brothers are on a pretty harmful way of solving their problems.The narrator lets things fester inside until he explodes. Then there is Sonny while yes, he is trying new ways to manage, at the end of the day is running away from his problems. Both brother’s only worried about themselves and their needs, neither take in to account their families the people that need them the most. Luckily towards the end of the story they both sort of come to a mutual understanding of each other. I think they both realize neither of them will really change how they are, and they both just need to be understanding of each other.

Hays Views on Gatsby Essay

Hays, Peter L. â€Å"Oxymoron in The Great Gatsby.† Papers on Language & Literature 47.3 (2011): 318+. General OneFile. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. There are significant paradoxes throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s (life and) work frequently represented by oxymorons, of which Wolfsheim’s eating with â€Å"ferocious delicacy† (75) is only one of the most apparent and, as such, very possibly a clue to the paradoxes in the novel. Kirk Curnutt in a review of Fitzgerald’s short stories remarks that the titles Flappers and Philosophers and Taps at Reveille â€Å"are clever conceits whose effectiveness depends upon one’s fondness for oxymoron† (157). Keith Gandal, in a recent book, writes of â€Å"Gatsby’s famous doubleness †¦ as chivalrous lover and cold-blooded killer.† Gandal continues, though I am using his words for a different purpose than his: â€Å"His doubleness may have a mainstream enough historical correlative† (119 ).(1) One prominent instance of doubleness is evident in his approach to Daisy in the novel. Could a man who â€Å"knew women early†Ã¢â‚¬â€œI presume knew them in the Biblical sense–â€Å"and since they spoiled him he became contemptuous of them† (104), be so intimidated by Daisy, especially since he’s already slept with her (156)? Could someone so ruthless in both the army and business be so timid in dating? Gatsby is plainly not a sexual innocent afraid of sex, another nearly 40-year-old virgin. Far from it. He has had five years of tutelage under Dan Cody, sailing three times around the continent, having women rub champagne in his hair, and visiting the Barbary Coast (106-07), which Matthew J. Bruccoli glosses in his notes to the novel as San Francisco’s â€Å"honky tonk district† (213), plainly a euphemism. We don’t know what Gatsby did for the next five years (from Cody’s death in 1912 until America’s entrance into the war in 1917 [106]), but thereafter he rose through officer ranks to become a major in the army during World War I and then briefly attended Oxford. Are we to expect that he led a celibate life all those years except for his one brief affair with Daisy? There is, of course, a social gap between him and Daisy, and this causes him insecurity in approaching her and proposing that they start their life over. But he did date her before and successfully seduced her. And at Oxford he must have met women of a social status comparable to Daisy’s. In addition, he now foolishly believes that the money he has earned erases much of that social gap so that no one will think, as he tells Nick, that â€Å"I was just some nobody† (71), â€Å"some kind of cheap sharper† (145). He also believes, erroneously, that in social situations, as opposed to business ones, he must not do â€Å"anything out of the way† (84). That being the case, one has to wonder what he and Daisy do on their afternoons together at his house. Nevertheless, Fitzgerald has established him both as â€Å"a regular tough† (84), someone who looked like he had killed a man, and a very proper and timid individual on social and sexual matters, or as Fitzgerald himself phrases it, â€Å"an elegant †¦ roughneck† (53), another oxymoron. What constrains Gatsby is his extreme romanticism, his beli ef in the American myth that one, through hard work, can achieve anything, whether reliving the past or marrying Daisy in proper social splendor in Louisville so as to confirm his rise in American society (see the paraphrase of Poor Richard’s Almanac and Horatio Alger at the end of the novel). He wants nothing to tarnish his ideal of marrying Daisy in society, the perfect couple on top of the wedding cake, and he wants the social acceptance and respect denied him at St. Olaf College (105) and by the Sloanes and Buchanans of the world. What has happened, of course, is that following his seduction of Daisy and one special kiss, he â€Å"wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath †¦ and the incarnation was complete (117). The religious language, particularly for one raised as a Catholic, as Fitzgerald was, is telling. Daisy embodies the idea of perfection for Gatsby, an almost unapproachable ideal of social success and self-realization. Thus his Grail is â€Å"the unreality of reality† (105), another paradox, and as Tom attacks him in the suite of the Plaza Hotel, â€Å"only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away† (142). But there are other contradictions as well, such as the characterization of Wolfsheim as a sentimental crook (7 7), and Gatsby’s facial expression, â€Å"definitely unfamiliar and vaguely recognizable† (127). Throughout there is Gatsby’s real criminal corruption fronting his romantic â€Å"incorruptible dream† (162). Nick, too, has his doublenesses. Initially Nick’s father tells him that â€Å"all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had† (5), presumably material advantages. But Nick interprets the statement to mean â€Å"a sense of fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth†(6), something very different, and a belief that qualifies Nick very much as a snob. Nick praises himself for honesty after writing the woman others believe him engaged to, because of his affair with Jordan Baker (63), but he doesn’t bother writing her two pages earlier while he’s conducting a relationship with a girl from the accounting division of his bank, incongruously named Probity Trust; the reason is obvious: the girl from accounting is clearly not from his social station and thus not marriageable, as Jordan is, and thus the putative fiancee need not be bothered by a mere summer romance while Nick takes his pleasure with the girl from New Jersey. Nick also assures Daisy and Jordan that the telephone call Tom receives from Wilson, after Wilson has discovered Myrtle’s infidelity, is â€Å"a bona fide deal† (122); the deal Tom has offered Wilson, however, is anything but in good faith: he has used the potential sale of the car as a way to approach Wilson’s garage to talk with Myrtle. His actions, car for woman, are repeated when he takes Gatsby’s car to drive to New York City in exchange for Daisy. And Nick describes Tom oxymoronically as a priggish libertine (137). We also have Fitzgerald’s assault through Tom Buchanan and Jordan Baker on the remnants of muscular Christianity and the Frank Merriwell novels he grew up with. The 20s were the era of Babe Ruth’s carousings and infidelities, missing games due to what sports writers reported euphemistically as stomach aches, due to the Babe’s prodigious eating, which they may have been, in conjunction with massive hangovers, or possibl y alcohol poisoning or even venereal disease.(2) His two daughters were born out of wedlock, not reported by the papers. Nor was Ty Cobb’s racism, not that most Americans at the time would have cared. Sports writers protected athletes to preserve the image of them as role models. The book jacket from a Frank Merriwell reprint says Frank’s â€Å"deeds will appeal to every boy and girl who strives for fair play and seeks to improve or to excel.† The inside copy calls the series of novels â€Å"Fascinating stories of athletics. †¦ They are extremely high in moral tone and cannot fail to be of immense benefit to every boy who reads them† (251).(3) Merriwell was an All-American football player at Yale, linking him to Tom Buchanan, who was a â€Å"national figure† at Yale (10), and who is not of high moral tone, cheating on his wife during their stay at Santa Barbara (82), in Chicago (139), and again on Long Island. But unlike the Merriwell book copy that calls the book beneficial only to boys, Fitzgerald is an equal-opportunity employer, allowing Jordan Baker to be bo th a sportswoman and an incorrigible liar and cheat at golf (62). Why write about national figures in sport only to tear them down? Why pepper the novel with paradoxes and oxymorons? Fitzgerald saw contradictions in the national psyche. Malcolm Cowley’s image of Fitzgerald as the man at a dance and also the poor boy outside with his nose pressed to the glass admiring and wondering how much everything cost is apropos (xv): Fitzgerald saw both sides and recorded both. His statement in The Crack Up that â€Å"the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at once, and still retain the ability to function† (69) speaks to his awareness of doublenesses and contradictions in America, and he strove to record them, even as one reality denied another dream. His awareness of his own self-contradictions–realistic romantic, spoiled priest–created a style incorporating contradictions. The country was changing in many ways. It was still ostensibly a Puritan nation, yet sex was everywhere. A production-mode economy was shifting to a consumer economy. The automobile had changed living, travel, dating, and business in the United States (subject of other books, not this paper), and Fitzgerald emphasizes this change with his frequent mention of cars–Nick’s, Tom’s, Gatsby’s several, Wilson’s–and â€Å"wayside garages [with] new red gas-pumps† (25). The middle classes were rising on the post-war prosperity that, until 1929, seemed as if it could not end. Nick is a bond salesman, and â€Å"Young Englishmen †¦ were all selling something: bonds or insurance or automobiles. They were †¦ agonizingly aware of the easy money in the vicinity and convinced it was theirs for a few words in the right key† (46). Myrtle dreams of marrying Tom and improving her station, and Mr. McKee needs only an introduction to Tom’s East Egg friends to move up the social and financial ladder, figured by that Jacob’s ladder, the blocks of the sidewalk that â€Å"mounted to a secret place above the trees† (117). Fitzgerald’s allusion to Lothrop Stoddard by way of Tom points to the fervent eugenics movement of the day (208), and Tom fear’s that his aristocratic position is challenged by non-Nordic races and by nobodies from nowhere (137) is seconded by Mr. Sloane from East Egg who is â€Å"haughtily† determined that Gatsby should not attend his dinner party (109). And their fears have some justification, as the guest list from Gatsby’s party reveals, with its intermingling of old money and nouveaux riches, of elegant and coarse: Homeric Ulysses linked to common Swett, Southern nobility Stonewall Jackson married to Jewish Abrams, a menagerie of Civets, Hornbeams, Blackbucks, and Leeches together with such obvious immigrants as Mulready, Cohen, Da Fontano, and Rot-Gut Ferret, along with Belchers, Smirkes, and a Hip (66-67). The old established order, figured by Daisy’s and Jordan’s privileged white girlhood in segregated Louisville, is under assault, as indicated by the incursion into society of recent immigrants and by the Negroes driven by a white chauffeur (73). Gandal states that Gatsby’s officership was another such sign of change, promotion by meritocracy rather than by family or education alone. But these changes in reality were not accompanied by corresponding changes in the national myths. Athletes were heroes, reality be damned. African-Americans could hire white chauffeurs, but their opportunities, even in the non-segregated North, were limited, and they were still subject to prejudice, as Nick’s reaction to them makes clear. Despite our myth of a classless society, classes were still very distinct in 1925, as Fitzgerald knew all too well from his experience as a poor boy at Princeton and in his courtship of Ginevra King, (4) and as Nick points out in his distinction between West Egg and East Egg (9). Mr. Sloan and Tom Buchanan insist on their own social superiority to Gatsby, just as Nick does to Wolfsheim and to the girl from the accounting department of his bank. Even Daisy finally realizes the safety of staying â€Å"with her own kind,† those of her social class, however repellent her husband is. Despite our national myth of equal opportunity, it does not exist, as we know but Gatsby doesn’t. He thinks that he can do anything, even repeat the past (116). Not being a sports hero, like the aforementioned Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb (who retired wealthy with Coca Cola and GE stock), Gatsby’s opportunities for the quick cash to win Daisy are limited, so he turns to crime, as did many during Prohibition. Corruption was pandemic, from Al Capone to Teapot Dome, the sale of national oil reserves by the Secretary of the Interior. Fitzgerald mentions two so-called robber barons, men who built huge industries through monopolization, John D. Rockefeller (31) and James J. Hill (176) (whose mansion was up the street from the Fitzgeralds’ St. Paul home), men who â€Å"saw the opportunity† (78), just as Wolfsheim did in fixing th e World Series. The line between sharp business practice and criminal activity was thin and almost invisible then (and recently as well), as Fitzgerald has Gatsby imply when talking to Tom about Walter Chase (141), a friend of Tom’s who came to Gatsby looking for money. One day selling alcohol was legal; the next it wasn’t. One day monopolies were good business; then they were declared illegal. Getting a card from the pplice commissioner to fix traffic violations is simply a courtesy; fixing the World Series is criminal. Tom, Myrtle, Jay, and Daisy all commit adultery. Some students may think Tom and Myrtle’s affair is cheap and disgusting, Jay’s and Daisy’s romantic, but both are the same morally and legally, yet we still have the myth of family values preached to us, despite the behavior of our legislators. Nick feels himself morally superior to Tom’s infidelities, Jordan’s lies, to Wolfsheim’s and Gatsby’s criminal acts, yet he’s an accessory after the fact of murder, concealing vital evidence from the police. Myrtle’s sister Katherine lies at her sister’s inquest, a loyal act of perjury that Nick praises as showing a â€Å"surprising amount of character† (171). Lovely Daisy is a hit-and-run killer. Appearances are deceiving. The America that Fitzgerald portrays is riddled with corruption, yet we still maintain the myth of the city on the hill, â€Å"the green breast of the new world† (189), the beacon to the world for democracy and opportunity. I have difficulty crediting Gatsby as a coherent human being, but as a symbol of the elusive American dream, I find him perfect. He consummately embodies the contradictory qualities of this country, our saying one thing while doing another, our clinging to myths that have little basis in reality. As a well-behaved, socially conscious crook, he is a paradox, an oxymoron, and an exemplary American.