Pride and Prejudice Essay

Mr Collins proposes to both Elizabeth and Charlotte, but their reactions are very different. What does the behaviour of all three characters, during chapters 19, 20 & 22 tell us about the different attitudes to marriage in the early nineteenth century? In the 19th century, men were rated higher than women in society therefore when it came to marriage, once women were married all of their belongings, earnings and wealth were passed onto their husbands and in return their husbands would take care of them. Men and women back then would very rarely marry for love and happiness but otherwise mainly for money, security and to be higher up in society in some cases. Jane Austin wrote the story ‘Pride and Prejudice’ which deals with some of the most important aspects of adult life in the 19th century and explores the different views of marriage thoroughly throughout the book. Elizabeth Bennet is the second eldest of the five Bennet sisters and plays a vital part in the novel where she believes that marriage should be about love, equality and respect. Her view is that marriage is to be an equal partnership and a meeting of minds. She is a girl of high principles and her marriage would have been one of equality as she quotes â€Å"And if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it† (volume 1 chapter 6 page 15) which shows her determination that she would not marry for money, but only for true love. Marriage today is seen upon by society as a way to be connected to your ‘other half’ forever due to your undying love for each other. Many people get married by choice of the heart which is similar to the way Elizabeth saw matrimony back in the 19th century. When Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth she try’s to be nice and reject him in a nice way by saying ‘†Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me. I am very sensible of the honour of your proposals, but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline them† (volume 1 chapter 19 page 89) though he does not believe that her means what she says when she refuses him. Therefore Elizabeth ends up saying â€Å"I am perfectly serious in my refusal. – You could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who would make you do† (volume 1 chapter 19 page 90) and by saying this she is sticking to her principals of only marrying for love. Even though he can save her and her family financially, she is still prepared to sacrifice financial security for personal feelings and freedom. I do admire Elizabeth for this decision because she told him what she honestly thinks/believes. I believe you should only marry someone if you are deeply in love with them and feel that you want to share your life with them. Also, Elizabeth does not want to make the same mistakes others have made in past marriage; advised by her father as he does not have true feelings for Mrs. Bennet which makes their marriage very unhappy and uncomfortable. This has probably influenced her decision a lot to decline Mr. Collins because she does not want to end up in the same position as her parents. After many attempts of trying to change Elizabeth’s mind, Mrs. Bennett resorts to saying â€Å"You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr Collins, for se vows she will not have him, and if you do not make haste he will change his mind and not have her† (volume 1 chapter 20 page 93) to Mr. Bennet because she desperately is trying to marry all off Elizabeth so that she isn’t her responsibility any more. Elizabeth is also getting older and at that time when they got to a certain age and were not married, they would be seen as not eligible for marriage, i.e. a spinster. On the other hand, Mr. Bennet reduced the situation to a joke by contrasting his opinions of the proposal with that of his wife. He ended the situation by saying â€Å"An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. – Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr Collins, and I will never see you again if you do† (volume 1 chapter 20 page 93) because he understands why Elizabeth does not want to marry Mr. Collins, cares more about his daughters happiness than their wealth and does not want to see her end up regretting her married life like he is. When Mr. Collins is rejected he refuses to abandon his decision to marry. Instead of Elizabeth, he decides to set his sights on Charlotte Lucas and asks her to marry him instead. As soon as Elizabeth found out that her best friend Charlotte was engaged to Mr. Collins, she expressed her surprise by exclaiming â€Å"Engaged to Mr Collins! My dear Charlotte, – impossible!† (volume 1 chapter 22 page 104) because she could not come to terms that Charlotte would be marrying this arrogant man. ‘But Elizabeth had now recollected herself, and making a strong effort for it, was able to assure her with tolerable firmness that the prospect of their relationship was highly grateful to her, and that she wished her all imaginable happiness’ which shows us she was pleased for the couple and shows her support for Charlotte by wishing her well. By doing this Elizabeth demonstrates that she will support others if they believe they will be happy despite not wanting to marry for any other reason than love and happiness herself. The character Mr Collins is a Church of England rector, who inherits Mr Bennet’s estate and his patron is Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Darcy’s aunt). His attitude towards marriage is different to Elizabeth’s as he wants to marry for economical reasons which is clearly shown when he says â€Å"Having now a good house and very sufficient income, he intended to marry; and in seeking a reconciliation with the Longbourn family he had a wife in view, as he meant to choose one of the daughters, if he found them as handsome and amiable as they were represented by common report† (volume 1 chapter 15 page 57). Mr Collins himself is silly, pompous and self-satisfied, though he seems to have a significant role as a potential marriage partner, which is unfortunately let down by his lack of care for anyone but himself. He only wants to secure his place in society by marrying as Lady Catherine will promote him which will then move him into a higher class of people. Mr Collins reasons for wanting to marry one of the Bennet sisters is ‘This was his plan of amends – of atonement – for inheriting their father’s estate; and he though it an excellent one, full of eligibly and suitableness, and excessively generous and disinterested on his own part’ (volume 1 chapter 15 page 57-58) which means as he is inheriting their fathers land, he thinks he can make things better by marrying on of them however despite him thinking this is a very good idea, he is not in love with any of them. Whilst Mr. Collins is in search of a wife; his first choice is Jane, but learning of her likely engagement to Mr. Bingley, he switched his attention to Elizabeth. I believe that this sudden change is consistent with everything we have learnt about Mr. Collins. Although whilst on one had his intentions appeared honourable i.e. he wants to marry one of the sisters in order to re pay them for inheriting their fathers land , the fact that he is willing to marry any of them without loving them, demonstrates his ultimate lack of regard and respect. It also highlights his underlying reason to marry in order to accumulate more wealth and social status. Next, the way Mr. Collins proposed to Elizabeth was excessively formal and consisted entirely of reasons why he should marry. His starts off with mentioning â€Å"Almost as soon as I entered the house I singles you out as the companion of my future life† (volume 1 chapter 19 page 88) which is a complete lie as we all know his first choice was Jane. The order in which he gives his reasons for marrying is interesting too as he mentions he wants to set a good example, how it will make him happy and the fact that Lady Catherine had told him to get; all before he even mentions love! His proposal shows only concern for himself and his standing with Lady Catherine who seems to be the only woman he does care for. Apart from being incredibly long-winded, his speech sounds like a business deal without any suggestion of romance which probably turns Elizabeth off him even more. When Mr. Collins says â€Å"I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long† (volume 1 chapter 19 page 89) means he is then dismissive when Elizabeth turns down his proposal assuming that she really means yes, when she is saying no and thinks that all young women react in this way initially when asked for their hand in marriage. Again, this shows us that he is pretty arrogant, doesn’t take Elizabeth seriously – or any other women for that matter and thinks that he will marry Elizabeth in the end despite what she is saying. Amazingly, Mr. Collins is very fast to change mind from Elizabeth to Charlotte which tells us he has no intention of stopping until he is married and he would happily marry a woman who does not love or even like him. He barley knows Charlotte, yet he is willing to spend the rest of his life with her and he will not be grateful that she is his wife but grateful they are married because then he is seen higher in society. Although he may have said he had feelings for Elizabeth, they way he was able to move onto Charlotte so quickly also enhances our thoughts of him being selfish. By doing all of this, he is quickly showing that he only has a heart for himself therefore he will never love any woman or find true love and no woman will ever be able to love him back.

P1 web architecture and components ver2

Web architecture: Web architecture is a way of designing and planning of websites that include different areas like WWW, ISP etc. Such web architectures are discussed below. Internet Service provider: Internet Service Provider (ISP) is the organizations which provide internet services to the people and other organizations. ISP provides different software packages which includes surname, password, and access to the phones and sometimes to the TV channels. For this service their customer pays certain amount to their package.There are different organizations which provide internet service and have different features like different speed of connection to the internet. The speed of the internet connection affects the performance of the websites such as the download speed of a video clip. Web Hosting Service: Web hosting service is an internet hosting service which allows the individual and larger organizations to host their website. The website can be accessed and viewed using World Wide Web.The client pays a certain amount of money monthly to their web hosting service and these hosts provide storage capacity and different management facilities and technical support and service. These host company charges the organization or the individual by looking the static of how many users use the website per month and other various features on the web. Domain Structure: Domain name is the address of the website in the World Wide Web called IP address. This can be accessed through the internet. Such addresses are difficult to remember and might not have meaning with regards to the web page.So the owner of the website has to purchase a domain name to link to the IP address so that their website can be accessed to the internet. The domain names are kept easier so that the user can understand and remember it. A easier example of a domain name is www. Google. Com† which also owns other domain name â€Å"www. Google. Co. UK†. â€Å"WWW is the prefix and â€Å". Comâ €  is the suffix whereas the character between them is the domain name. Domain Name Registrars: Domain Name registrars are the organizations that have authority to the domain names.They provide the domain name and manage the reservation of the internet domain names. The domain name registrars on the I-J are Goddard. Com and 123-erg. Co. UK. When they offer the domain name to the weapon owner, they also claim some amount of money. The registrars have a package of certain amount of certain amount of time. Thus, the longer the mount of the time, the higher the amount of money the weapon owner has to pay to their registrars. World Wide Web: World Wide Web (WWW) is a way of accessing the information stored on the internet.It uses different types of computer languages like http to transmit information. WWW contains text, images, videos, audio and many other multimedia which can be viewed by using browser. Hardware: We can use different types of hardware which help provide internet serv ice. Such hardware includes web server, mail server, proxy server, routers etc. Web Server: Web servers stores web pages and delivers those web pages to the user by using be language http to the web browser. Web server can both be hardware and software. Any individual can turn their computer to the web server by installing the server software.Each server has limited capacity so the website which is hugely us all over the world has multiple web servers. Mail Server: Mail server is a computer server which consists of storage area where email for local users is stored. This server sends and receives emails. This type of server only controls the email traffic on the internet. Proxy Server: Proxy server is a server which shares the internet connection and other services. It is like a web browser which is in between the user and the web server. It can sometimes improve the performance for the users and filters the requests by the user.It is mostly used on the business organizations and co lleges. It is to prevent the students and the staffs' access from specific web sites during the official hour. Router: A router is a device that is connected to two or more networks. Router forwards the data packets along to the different networks. Once the packet is sent from the computer to the router it forwards to the different router till the packet is received by the final device. Router maintains the movement of the packet in the internet while transferring the packet between the user and the server.Software: There are various types of software which links the computer to the internet and other networks. Browser is one of them which locates and displays the content on the World Wide Web. There are various kinds of browser such as Google chrome, Safari, Firebox, Internet Explorer used to surf the internet and web pages. These are the famous and leading browser in the world. Some browsers are preinstall on the new computers while the other browsers can be downloaded from the in ternet on ere of cost. Email is the other software which is used to receive and send the emails from the email server.The user has their own activated account through which they can send various messages like text, video and pictures. Protocols: Transport and addressing egg TCP/IP Application layer HTTP, HTTPS, ESMTP Web Functionality Web 2. 0: Web 2. 0 is the second generation of the www. It is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. It keeps static web pages that don't change. It has richer content/broadband. Went 2. 0 refers to the transition from tactic HTML web pages to more dynamic web that is more organized and is based on serving web application to the users.Dynamic website contains web pages that are generated dynamically. Each time the user access to the web page, the HTML is generated in real time and is sent to the user's browser. For example: Amazon is a dynamic website. When the user gets access to it, the page displays the types of products which might make interest the user by analyzing the users' purchase history. The site generates the weapon differently to the different users. Blobs: Blob is a personal web page on which the user records and posts their thoughts and pinions, their research and hypothesis principal etc. N a regular basis. The other users can reply to their comments. The blobs are used to share information on the internet. Nowadays the user can use more features and function as compared to the start days of the blob. The blobs are kept up to date so that the information shared is accurate and reliable. Online Application: Online application has changed in recent years. Microsoft office used for home and office purpose now is being used as an online version of word office 365. People can access to the online version and use the word.It is cheaper than to buy the whole software package and easy to access via internet. When there is no internet connection the online version cannot be used. Ad ditionally, online versions don't have many features than the Microsoft Home office. Other examples include games hosting online accessing via internet (online games) and emails. Cloud Computing: Cloud computing is an internet based computing in which different service like servers and storage and application are transferred to an organizations' computer system via internet. It has an ability to run an application on many connected at the same time.

Business Communication Experience Research Paper

Business Communication Experience - Research Paper Example With this strategy, the organization does not attempt to prohibit any information from reaching those who are involved. Needless to say, this approach requires the manager has complete trust in their subordinates as they rely on them to ensure that there is no leakage of their activities to their rivals. This Strategy has its advantages as the employees who know what is going on are in a position to make proper decisions in reference to the ultimate goal of the company. Top – Down Approach This approach is definitely different from the horizontal approach as the manager here only provides information to their employees on a need to know basis. In other words, employees who are lower ranking within the organization do not have the complete information on the company’s intentions and all they are provided with is the information that they need to get their part of their work done. The need to know basis may prove to be effective in terms of keeping important information f rom the company’s rivals but it also breeds a feeling of distrust among the employees as they feel that the company does not trust them enough to divulge the full information to them (Jones, 2008). However, it should be noted that this communication approach can also be successful in the fact that an employee is able to concentrate on what is required of them without having other influences affecting them. For example, an employee whose job is to ensure that the products of the company are produced in a certain time has nothing else to worry about as their job has been clearly stated by the company and they have no other concern (Rai, 2008).   This report stresses that it should be noted that this communication approach can also be successful in the fact that an employee is able to concentrate on what is required of them without having other influences affecting them. For example, an employee whose job is to ensure that the products of the company are produced in a certain time has nothing else to worry about as their job has been clearly stated by the company and they have no other concern. This means that they will not be bothered by any other factors that they would have been forced to consider had they known they known the end game of the organization. As a result, the employees are able to focus on their duties thus they are able to give their all in the activities that they do. This paper makes a conclusion that the horizontal approach would be the more preferable of the two as despite the fact that there is a risk of having the activities of the company exposed to those who may be considered rivals to the organization, the fact that they know what is going on motivates them to do their best in order to achieve what the company is aiming for. The factor of trust is also essential to the motivation of the employees as they are bound to work harder if they feel that the company has trust in them. As a result, the employee will feel the urge to make sure that they do not disappoint the people that have put their faith in them.

Abbey Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Abbey Bank - Essay Example Abbey is one of the UK’s leading personal financial services company. It offers a full range of personal financial services including mortgages and savings, bank accounts, loans and credit cards, long term investments policies, critical illness and unemployment cover, and household finance. The company operates in the UK, Europe, and the US. It is headquartered in London, UK and employs about 25,000 people. Abbey is one of the leading providers of mortgages, savings, protection and self- invested personal pensions in the United Kingdom and is one among the largest bank in UK.The Group's principal activity is the provision of major financial services and residential mortgage lending. The Group's financial services includes Banking and Savings which provides residential mortgages, savings and banking & consumer credit; Investment Protection consists of three principal segments: protection, investment and savings & pensions; General Insurance includes non-life insurance products and residential home insurance; Treasury Services was structured into three business areas: Asset and Liability Management, Financial Products and Short Term Markets; Group Infrastructure comprises Central Services, Financial Holdings and the results of certain small non-core businesses and Portfolio Business Unit which includes Wholesale Banking (Roy, 2005).

Marketing Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing Planning - Assignment Example Some dangled the benefit, some the direct offer, some contained a pricing cut, some concentrated on branding and gave away free items such as T-shirts. The goal was to determine the best motivation for customers that would make them purchase the car or, at the very least, show some interest on the product. They determined that the price discount is the best motivation. The $0 down offer resulted to 71 percent more direct responses than all of the other marketing offers they’ve launched in the past. He also went further by getting looking at where the customers came from, what they do, and their gender (Clifford, 2009). Mr. Herman used the data to convince Vespa that the $0 down is the most effective marketing offer and it is what should carried by the advertising agency. From the glory days of the glamorous Madison avenue, marketing has always been about creative images and catchy taglines but the current utilities available to businesses are allowing the collection of data to predict behaviour, determine climate of marketing environment and discover the most effective business strategy that to increase branding and revenues (Brennan, 2008). Such innovation could readily allow Starbucks to change its marketing strategy as dictated by the market. It is a true market – led strategic change. ... The Social assessment is a critical aspect because it examines the mainstream culture and how society will react to a product. Technology also affects the business. As new equipment and processes are developed, creating new products and producing the existing line becomes easier and more efficient. All these factors play a part in the marketing and affect the profitability of the company. b) Apply organisational and environmental auditing techniques to Starbucks. Starbucks is one of the very few companies who have the opportunity to establish an intimate relationship with its consumers (See figure 2 to see how Starbucks uses its IT) because of the different government policies that allowed it foster. It was able to advance its products, exercise freedom on designing marketing problems, advertising materials, and design its retail stores to reflect the image of freedom it projects. It is necessary to determine exactly how the US government was able to support this growth through the p olicies it set up such as business laws, taxes, employee rights, and others. For example, Starbucks enjoy big tax breaks on its environmental efforts. It has long supported recycling and the use of sustainable materials. It also provides incentives to customers who use their own cup when they go to Starbucks. Such efforts earn Starbucks as much $5,000 tax incentives for every $100,000 investment. The rate changes from state to state but nearly every State in America provides incentives. It can also enjoy tax incentives provided to big corporations. It is possible for Starbucks to measure the effects of these policies further by setting up a data-centered

European business practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

European business practice - Essay Example Moreover, its enlargement throughout the European region has facilitated the region’s growth. In this article, functions of the EU will be analyzed so as to comprehend the implications of EU operations to its member states. The European Union is currently the world’s largest market. This political-economic union currently boasts of 28 member states, majority of which are European States. Since its establishment after the aftermath of World War II, the union has been successful in its expansion and success in the political and economic scene (Gilbert 2012).The EU is driven to achieve its five main objectives for the overall benefit of its member state. First, the EU strives to establish freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers among member states, secondly, the EU is determined to promote an internal market where competition is free and undistorted. Third, the Union strives to promote innovative technologies among member states and lastly, the union strives to promote economic, social and territorial cohesion and solidarity among member states (Europa 2014). Since its genesis, the union has significantly achieved its purpose of market integration and cohesion 28 among member state s. The genesis of EU dates back from 1945 to 1993. However, its integration had been proposed as early as the 14th century (Artis & Nikson 2007). The Second World War had led to detrimental effects in the economy of European states. Consequentially, 20 million lives were lost during the war in Europe alone. Moreover, the region had incurred numerous capital losses. Inevitably, the political and military reconstruction of World War II facilitated the need for an economic integration (Artis & Nikson 2007). The cold war of 1950 also worsened the economic situation of the region. The dream of an integrated EU was strongly influenced by the historical experiences of its founding fathers (Artis & Nikson 2007). The pioneers

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

Essay Example Being rooted in the child’s experience, drama as a learning medium involves thinking, questioning, taking responsibility for actions, and use of space. Since there is active participation of children in drama, learning takes place spontaneously, which leads to later learning of higher order. The theories of educationists like Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner contribute to the use of drama as a learning medium. According to Jean Piaget, the child goes through several stages of development, one of which is the Preoperational stage from ages 2 to 7. At this stage, the child is acquiring motor skills. Magical thinking is foremost at this stage. He appreciates drama and relates to it. A child at this stage learns quickly from the dramatized version of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ or â€Å"The Lion King†, elements of vocabulary, arithmetic and a little geography. Since at this stage of the child’s development his egocentricism has begun, he can relate to the central character of the drama. But, according to Piaget, he cannot conserve or use logical thinking yet, which he starts using in the next stage of his development. The next stage of development in children is the ‘concrete operational stage’ which spans the ages from 7 to 11. At this stage of their development, children have started thinking logically, and concretely, but they need aids for conserving and thinking logically. Higher order thinking is beginning and they are helped by drama at this stage of learning. After the age of 11, children start to think and conserve abstractly. Here, they appreciate and learn from drama based on detective stories such as Sherlock Holmes. Piaget explains that the child ‘s perceptions of notions of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ , and ‘valid’ , ‘proper’, and ‘necessary’ develop during these stages. He constructs his theory of actions which are correct and effective, by the process of objectification, reflection and and

Letter of Intent for Masters of Public Health Essay

Letter of Intent for Masters of Public Health - Essay Example Therefore, I believe that pursuing a masters in public health will enable me to play a crucial role in creating a healthy community, which has been my long term goal. My background education in various educational backgrounds in related fields will be a plus in my effort to achieve my goals. I have a bachelor degree in psychology and I am also a doctor’s assistant in a medical clinic. In my work environment, I have faced various medical situations in my line of work and because of the need to ensure that I progress career wise and also attain my goals of ensuring a healthy lifestyle for everyone in the community, pursuing a masters in public health will enable me to be a step forward in attaining my goals. I have various qualities that make me an eligible candidate for the MPH program. I am passionate about public health and I always take the initiative to research new trends in the area and this has always kept me in a position to have ready solutions in various situations that my arise in my line of work and also in case of any emergency or situation requiring my expertise. My motivation comes from the need to have a healthy community an d this has made me creative in various areas. The passion for my work as a public health officer has put in me the willingness to look for solutions to problems without giving up as this plays a crucial role in solving various medical issues that may arise. With a MPH I aim at playing a central role in improving the health of people around the world and I will achieve this by developing various strategies aimed at coming up with solutions for health problems. I envision myself collaborating with other professionals in the public health sector with the same goal of promoting wellness in communities all over the world. This program will give me the chance to advance my research skills which are paramount for coming up with real solutions to health related problems. My experience in psychology

Negative effect of video games on children Essay Example for Free

Negative effect of video games on children Essay The Negtive Effects of Video Gaming on Children Children don’t have to buy an expensive gaming system to play video games anymore, than can simply log onto the internet through their home computer or their handheld devices and they have an array of videogames to choose from. Every time a child pops a role playing videogame into their gaming console or logs onto the internet to play so called interactive video games, they enter a virtual world where there are no real consequences for their actions. While playing violent video games children can choose to play the violent roles of either car thieves or killers. The more time a child spends playing video games the less time they spend engaged in normal social activities with their friends. When a child is allowed to spend hours a day playing video games, especially violent role playing games, they can cause them to become violent, socially isolated, and depressed. First person role playing games allow children to identify with their character (Harding). The more time children spend as killing machines in the false reality of the video gaming world, the more desensitized they become to death and killing in the real world. Studies have shown the more time children spend playing violent video games, the more likely they are to respond to real world situations with aggression and violence (Gordon). A 2004 study published in the Journal of Adolescence found children, particularly teens, who played violent video games are more likely to become aggressive, confrontational, and see a decline in their academic performance (Harding). Allowing children to play violent video games is not worth the risk they pose! Children are exposed to enough violence through television without the help of violent games offered to them over the internet and through popular video gaming systems. Video games do not only expose children to violence they allow them to engage in it through the violent roles they allow them to play. Many of the roles children play over the internet or through their game consoles simulate real world situations where they can steal and murder with no consequences. Parents should not need to read the results of a study for them to realize that allowing their child to play violent roles in video games, where they kill and steal, will encourage violent behavior from them in the real world. During September 2009 in Ohio a sixteen year old boy named Daniel Petric was forbidden by his father from buying the new version of the violent video game Halo that he was obsessed with. After being forbidden from buying the new version of the violent game Daniel snuck out of his house and bought it anyway. When Daniel’s father discovered he had disobeyed him, and bought the game, he took it away from him and locked it in his lockbox where he kept his gun. Later that same night, sixteen year old Daniel unlocked his father’s lockbox to retrieve his game and found his father’s gun. After finding the gun Daniel went into his parent’s bedroom and shot both his father and mother in the killing them (Gordon). No one can say with absolute certainty that the video game Halo caused the boy to shoot his parents. One thing is obvious, if the boy’s account of events are to be believed, the game played a huge factor in his descion to murder his parents that evening. Violent behavior unfortunately is not the only negative effect from children playing video games to often. A recent study by Douglas A Gentile, an associate professor of psychology at Iowa State University found that children who spend several hours a day playing video games are at risk to become addicted to them. Once a child becomes addicted to their video game, their addiction can cause them to become depressed, anxious, and have social problems including social isolation (Gilmore). If a child is spending several hours a day gaming they can very easily become depressed. When a child spends most of their day playing video games they do not engage in normal healthy physical activity with their friends. It makes sense that the more time a child spends isolated playing video games the more likely they are to become depressed. Children need to spend time interacting with their friends in order to develop normal social skills. When children isolate themselves playing videogames alone all day, they begin to lose their friends and social skills. Studies show that the depression caused from children pathologically playing video games can be easily lifted when they simply stop playing them (Frontelera). Douglas Gentile said, â€Å"We found in children who started playing pathologically anxiety and depression got worse. And, when they stopped gaming the depression lifted† (qtd. in Gilmore). The idea that allowing a child to play his or her favorite video game for a couple hours a day can lead them to social isolation may sound farfetched, unfortunately it is not. The more time a child spends playing video games the less desire they have for one on one human contact. Although, children have the ability to interact with other players including their friends through the internet, their friends become part of the game itself and there is no real contact. Children need to spend time in social environments with their peers in order to learn and maintain the social skills they need to navigate through life. When a child loses his or her social skills they quickly become isolated and depressed. Their isolation and depression can lead them to identify themselves more with the character they are playing in their videogame than their own real life. First person role playing games allow children to identify with their character. Studies have shown the more time teenagers spend playing violent videogames at home the more likely they are to respond to real world situations with aggression and violence. A child’s imagination is amazing and sometimes limitless, unfortunately it can become dangerous when they begin to imagine themselves stealing cars and murdering people while playing first person role playing Videogames allow children to become kings and queens, or car thieves and murderers. Children can become so entranced by the different roles they play in the virtual worlds created for them through videogames that the line between the real world and the virtual one depicted in the video games they are playing becomes blurred. . Violent video games rewarded children for things like stealing cars and killing people.

Investigating motion using video processing software Essay Example for Free

Investigating motion using video processing software Essay We switched on the laptop and connected the web cam into the USB. Once this was done we made sure that the web cam was working correctly and as soon as this watched checked we began to set up the practical part of the experiment. We then pressed record on the web cam using the software VISILOG and recorded the ball being thrown in the air next to a vertical ruler (one metre). Once this had been done we stopped the recording and the replayed the video and once we were happy, using the software, we recorded the position of the ball frame by frame. Below are the results for the first part of the experiment: Results: Time (s) Height (m) Speed (m/s) Acceleration (m/s2)  We can then draw a graph using the results and the first graph I have drawn (graph one) is of height of squash ball against time taken. Therefore, as we can see from the graph if a tangent is drawn we can calculate the gradient. The gradient of both sides of the parabola graph is shown on graph one. From the graph we can that as the squash ball is thrown the height of it increases as time increases and as it reaches its peak the ball speed is expected to decrease due to forces acting on (gravity) and therefore the ball drops down again. The gradient of the graph also calculates the speed (which can be seen of the graph) of the ball because of the formula: Distance = Speed   Time therefore Speed = Distance / Time From these results a second graph of speed against time can also be made, which is graph two. Again from this graph we can draw tangents and then work out the gradient. Using the gradient we can also work out the acceleration due to the formula: Acceleration = change in speed / change in time Therefore acceleration = gradient. Part Two Method: We used the same equipment for the second stage of the experiment but instead of recording the ball thrown in the air we recorded it as a projectile. To measure the displacement we used metre rules to measure horizontally as well as vertically. Below are the results from the experiment: Results: See next page! From this table we can draw out a lot of information and from this I have produced a graph of horizontal displacement and vertical displacement (graph three). From the graph we can see that as horizontal displacement increases so does vertical displacement until its peak of 0. 34 m. once the squash ball reaches this height it begins to fall back down due forces acting on it. After the vertical height reaches its peak it starts to decrease but the horizontal displacement continues to increase. From the graph we can also calculate the gradient, which I have done and this can be seen on the graph. Part Three Method: We got a step ladder and to the top of it we attached a wooden beam to it using clamps. Then we got three springs and attached them together and once this was done we attached the springs to the wooden beam using string. We then added a mass to the springs and recorded the oscillations it did using the camera. Below are the results for this: Results: See next page! From the results (which is a rather long set of data) we can produce a graph and this graph is a sine wave. Within the wave, it can be seen that just about 4 oscillations have been made by the spring. The time taken for 1 oscillation is called the period T. In this case the period T for 1 oscillation is about 1. 31 seconds as shown on the graph. The number of oscillations per unit time is the frequency, f = 1 / T. Therefore, using the formula we can calculate the frequency of one oscillation, which is: f = 1 / T f = 1 / 1. 31 f = 0. 763358778 f = 0. 76 Hz Furthermore as the weights on the spring move about on a fixed point it means that the wave can be described as a single harmonic motion and the acceleration is proportional to its displacement (see graph four for more details) Conclusion: Therefore, in conclusion I have shown many things in this three part experiment. For each part, I have produced graphs and shown the results table that I have analysed as well. For the first part of the experiment we can see that from the graphs the squash balls speed increases as it let go from the hand and then as it reaches its peak it begins to lose its speed and comes down, which is also due to forces acting upon the graph. Part two of the experiment is similar in respects and the difference is that it was a projectile instead. And the third part shows the spring oscillating from a ladder when a weight is attached to it. For more on these look at the graphs I have produced and the analysis beneath each part of the experiment.

Organisational Change Management Effects On Employees Management Essay

Organisational Change Management Effects On Employees Management Essay This research is on the study of the effects of organisational change management on its employees. The importance of this research is to help management in different organisations to see the effect of organisational change management on their employees, how employees view management in handling organisational change and how management can be more effective in achieving their goals and objectives. The methodology applied in this research is carrying out a survey on employees views on organisational change management with the use of questionnaires. At the end of this research, I have been able to make management to see the effects of organisational change management on its employees and how to manage it effectively. Also employees have the opportunity to change some of their set minds about management for organisational goals and objectives to be achieved irrespective of the rapid organisational change in todays business environment. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In todays dynamic business world, change remains a constant factor in every organisation irrespective of their sizes or years of existence. Change means the alteration of status quo or making things different. The constant pace of change in the 21st century business environment is accelerating extremely very fast. It is easier for machines to easily adapt to change in command but human composition does not find the adjustment such easy that is why it becomes a very sensitive issue in the organization. Change can then be said to be a single important factor in the organization. Since change is a constant and sensitive factor in every organisation therefore it becomes imperative to understand what an organisational change is, what provokes an organisational change, reaction to organisational changes and how best it can be managed to achieve organisational goals and objectives efficiently. ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE Organisational change was referred to by Van de Ven Poole, 1995, as an empirical observation of difference in form, quality of state over time in an organizational entity, (Van de Ven Poole, 1995, p. 512). An organizational entity can be an individuals job, a work group, a strategy for the organization, a product or service, or the overall organization. The Organisational entity goes through different processes in response to a strategic reorientation, restructure, change in management, merger or acquisition or the development of new goals and objectives of the organisation. Organisational change can also be referred to as the modification of the structure or process of a system within an organisation. Organisational change comes in place when aligning resources and employees to an organizational goals and objectives. These employees are human and they have their needs in hierarchy as described by Abraham Maslow. In satisfying their needs employees tends to influence organisational change. Organisational change influence by the employees is relative to the structure of the organisation. An organisational structure that is informal in nature will be more affected by employees influence than the organisation that has a strong formal structure. Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs showed in figure 1.1 shows that people needs differ. Irrespective of their of the organization goals and objectives employees like every other man in the society has hierarchal needs. They want their needs to be met by the organisation so they tend to influence change that will favour the satisfaction of their needs. Sometimes employees influence this change not considering the organisation limited resources and this lead to a reaction from the organisation either positively or negatively depending on the management view of the influence. This reaction by the organisation in response to the employee actions is also an organisational change. MORALITY, CREATIVITY, SPONTANEITY PROBLEM SOLVING LACK OF PREJUDICE SELF-ACTUALISATION ACCEPTANCE OF FACTS SELF-ESTEEM, CONFIDENCE, ACHIEVEMENT, ESTEEM RESPECT FOR OTHERS, RESPECT BY OTHERS LOVE/ BELONGING FRIENDSHIP, FAMILY, SEXUAL INTIMACY SECURITY OF BODY, OF EMPLOYMENT, OF RESOURCES SAFETY OF MORALITY, OF THE FAMILY, OF HEALTH, OF PROPERTY PHYSIOLOGY BREATHING, FOOD, WATER, SEX, SLEEP,. FIG1.1 Organisational change tends to occur when an organizational system is disturbed by some internal or external force. The result of this disturbance may be good or bad, which may affect the organization as a whole, or in parts. The degree or rate of disturbance varies based on the organisational structure of the organisation, which may affect people, structure, technology, and other elements of an organization. The changes caused by external forces on the organisation are known as reactive changes, these changes may take place in order to respond to new opportunities or to avoid threats to the organisation while those changes initiated by the management of an organisation in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the organisation are known as proactive change. Every business organisation has three major stages of development which are survival, profitability and lastly growth and expansion. In each of this stages organisation tends to manage their available resources in such a way that it can survive each stage and move to the next stage. Every organisation desires to move from their present state to a desired state and this desired state is continual. The desired state becomes continual because every organisation needs to respond to the changing customer preferences and technologies. These factors make change to be a critical aspect of effective management. 1.2 ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT Organisational change is a constant critical factor in business environment. Both the employees and the employers in organisations go through this phase of change at one time or the other. Since organisational change is inevitable, then management in organisations need to constantly monitor and respond effectively to both the internal (owner, management and employees) and external( Investors, supplier, customers, pressure groups, government, media and the general public etc.) environments of their organisations in relation to their goals and objectives. This process is described as organisational change management. Five major factors should be understood by management in monitoring and responding to organisational change. People react to change differently based their fundamental needs People resist change based on uncertainty of results People will embrace change when proposed outcomes are favourable Proposed outcome should be well defined objectively Change may need to be enforced The more management can anticipate change and either control or manage it the better for the organisation in achieving their goals and objectives. Organisational change can influence the rate of performance of organisation; this makes it important for management to have effective knowledge about it. It is found out that in todays competitive business environment, some organisations have experienced fast development while other have experience downsizing or total collapse. These results are products of organisation change management. Organisations Change agents which are the factors that influence change should not be out of management control at every instance despite the competitive pressure on management. Since organisational change is constant and dynamic, then management needs to be proactive on change management for effective development of the organisation. Although every stakeholder within and outside the organisation feels the effect of organisational change management in different degrees, this study is concentrating on organisational change management and its effects employees. The effects of organisational change management on employees are considered very important in this research because it will show the reaction of employees to management during organisational change. Employees reaction to organisational change management either consciously or unconsciously influences their rate of performance in their jobs. Their level of confidence in management handling organisational change becomes a notable factor in their rate of performance. Management needs to know how to strike the balance between employees views and achieving their organisational goals and objective during on-going organisational change. Management cannot always attend to employees need but they should provide strategic means in reacting to their needs and not necessa rily manipulating them. Management should not only see employees just as their working tools in achieving their goals and objectives but they should see them as the most vital and delicate resources of their organisation. Definitely employees rate of performance have greater influence on the rate at which organisations achieve their goals and objectives. Improving their performance level during organisational change becomes a test of effective management. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Coetsee (1999) states managements ability to achieve maximum benefits from change depends in part on how effectively they create and maintain a climate that minimizes resistant behaviour and encourages acceptance and support (p. 205). In todays dynamic and competitive business environment, organisations are required to respond effectively to continuous change or collapse if not careful. That was why Coetsee 1999 was interested in describing management ability in achieving maximum benefit from change. Inability for management to effectively maximise benefits from changing market place as led many organisations that were listed among the fortune 500 in the 1980s and 1990s no longer in business (Beer Nohria, 2000). There are different reasons that generate organisational change; examples are government policy, technology, merger and acquisition, strategic refocusing and market volatility etc. Employees are aware that they mostly recipient of the effect of change when it goes wrong. This wrong feeling initiates fear, frustration, lack of concentration and resistance to any form of change. Therefore the effects of organisational change on employees need to be assessed objectively before initiating it. Literature reveals that, change is a source of feeling of threats, uncertainty, frustration, alienation and anxiety (Ashford 1998).Based on this, it is clearly seen that an organisation will be underperforming with such feelings from their employees. Employees best can never be achieved, they will be underproductive and it will negatively affect the organisation overall performance. How long will employees continue to work in this feeling of insecurity due to organisational change becomes a major question in this fast dynamic business environment we live in? They concentrate more on their own job security rather than the organisation goals and objectives. Meeting self needs becomes employees higher priority rather than organisational needs because they cannot be guaranteed by the organisation how long their individual needs can be met. Job security becomes a threat to them. In todays business environment, more organisations are involved in mergers while some go through the acquisition process. Greater numbers of employees become more insecure and uncertain about their jobs. This poses a serious threat to employees reliability to the organisation in achieving their goals and objectives. It is a natural response from the employee as defined by Abraham Maslow on mans hierarchy of needs. Security is a mans need not just a want, so employees job security is a vital need to them. That is the reason why permanent staffs are far more likely to be dedicated to their job than temporary staffs who feel their contribution to the organisation may be stopped at any time and with little or no pay off by the organisation. Effectiveness and efficiency of employees, becomes a challenge to the management in order to achieve their goals and objectives. Although job performance is not strongly linked with job satisfaction but there could be resistance and unwillingness from the employees when their working condition are poor and unattended to by the management of the organisation they work for. According to Gateway Information Services, a New York consulting firm, 70% of all change programs fail due to employee resistance. Employees seem to form an organisational culture that creates a serious resistance to change because of high level of uncertainty in their job. Zaltman and Duncan, 1974 define resistance to change as any conduct that serves to maintain the status quo in the face of pressure to alter the status quo. The act of resistance to change described by Zaltman and Duncan, 1974 now becomes vivid the more, as long as level of uncertainties increases for the employee before and during organisational change. (Dent Goldberg, 1999) also define resistance to change as employees are not wholeheartedly embracing a change that management wants to implement. The effect and counter effect of organisational change management on employees can be a test of effectiveness and efficiency of management. Management needs to effectively manage organisational change. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS 3.1 INTRODUCTION In previous chapters, it is described that organisational change remains constant in every organisation and the rate of this change in todays business environment is very rapid. Many factors have been attached to the rapid occurrence of organisational change ranging from customers needs, technology, government policy, market flexibility, acquisition and mergers etc. Every stake holder in the organisation is affected one way or the other by the effect of this change. This prompts for an effective organisational change management. Effective organisational change management can then be assessed by degree at which management maximise the benefits and minimise the demerits of organisational change in achieving the goals and objectives of the organisation. Understanding that employees are active part of any organisation stakeholders, this research in this chapter takes a critical analysis on the effect of organisational change management on its employees. 3.2 RESEARCH METHOD In carrying out this project on the effect of organisational change management on its employees, the descriptive research method is used. This method is used because descriptive method collates, test and validate data. Description emerges following creative exploration, and serves to organize the findings in order to fit them with explanations, and then test or validate those explanations (Krathwohl, 1993). Types of research that can be categorized as descriptive are Surveys (questionnaires, Delphi method, interviews, normative), case studies, job analyses, documentary analysis and developmental studies. The questionnaire was the type of descriptive method use in this project. It is used because of its response objectivity which base on the order of the systematised format of the questionnaire. It is also use because it gives opportunity to access information from people, who are free to express themselves and not time bound like interview or experiment. In guarding against sources error the four major potential errors were considered. These are sampling error, non-coverage error, non-response error, and measurement error Any one of these sources of error may make the survey results unacceptable (Groves, 1989; Salant and Dillman, 1994; Dillman, 1991, 1999).   Sampling error was defined as the degree to which the results from the sample deviate from those that would be obtained from the entire population, because of random error in the selection of respondent and the corresponding reduction in reliability (Alreck, 454). This was guarded against by making sure that the respondents are carefully chosen base on location which is their offices and dealing with the human resources department foe support. Respondents were given a good time before collection to guard against bias. Non-response error occurs when the survey fails to get a response to one, or possibly all, of the questions, (http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=1835).  This error was prevented by making the survey questions short and non confrontational. Respondents privacy was also assured to allow their views to be expressed freely without any restrictions or fear of personal details. Non coverage error which occurs from exclusion of some units or entire section from the survey was prevented by giving equal chance to both new and old employees, although employees years of experience were considered in the survey in range forms. Measurement error is the real variation from the true score, and includes both random error and systematic error, (http://changingminds.org/explanations/research/measurement/measurement_error.htm). This was prevented by proper collection and collation process to eliminate data loss. Computations of response were repeated at different times to reduce any error in the measurement process. For easy calibration likert scale was introduced with numerical value. 3.2.1 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN The questionnaire is designed to meet the aim of this research. Different standardised questionnaire in relation to employees view to organisational change and employee satisfaction were used. The questionnaire was also designed considering factors that influence the acceptance or resistance of organisational change by employees discussed in earlier chapters. The questionnaire is designed not concentrating on the sex of employees, either female or male, since the objective of the research was not concentrating on the effects of organisational change management on a particular gender. This was also done in the design to eliminate every form of bias perception from the respondents. The questionnaire is designed with equal representation for employees irrespective of their years of employment. The questionnaire consists of questions that directly address the aim of the research. That makes it short and prà ©cised in designed. It is designed in order to increase the response rate. The questions in the questionnaire are closed ended questions in likert scale Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, and Strongly Agree. The proposed answers were also graded with Strongly Disagree 5, Disagree 4, Neither Agree nor Disagree 3, Agree 2, and Strongly Agree 1. This was done for easy computation of data results from respondents. The closed ended questionnaire was used because it is easy to answer, easy to decode and timely. The questions began with comfortable non-threatening questions in order to make them welcoming for the respondents. It is designed to be interesting to the respondents and still goal oriented. The printouts are clear enough for easy reading and questions were written in lower case and instructions in upper case. The questionnaires were pilot with colleagues at work, and project coordinator to assess its effectiveness in checking how long it takes to complete the questions, clarity of instructions, elimination of excessive vocabulary for easy understanding and elimination of non goal oriented questions. The average time to complete the questionnaire was five minutes. It specifically designed with such a little time frame because the respondents are suppose busy people and the value of their time if high importance to them and their employers. The questionnaire was divided into three parts, though not specified on it. The three parts are employees view about change, employees readiness towards change and lastly employees view about management effectiveness on organisational change management. The purpose of the first part is to understand better in employees accept not necessarily welcome change. The purpose of the second part is to have understanding about the extent employees may react to change and their readiness towards it. The purpose of the third part is to see if employees have confidence in the management of their organisations in making effective decision in respect to their welfare and organisational change management. The design of the questionnaire includes cover letters which gives concise details about the dissertation, its importance and effective guide in filling the questionnaire. The cover letter was written in simple vocabulary for easy reading purpose. On the cover letter, privacy of respondent was guaranteed and my contact address was also inclusive in case of any further question. Respondents were also informed that filling the questionnaire was optional and I would still be glad to share the result with them either they respond to the questionnaire or not if they are interested. 3.2.2 QUESTIONNAIRE DISTRIBUTION The distribution of the questionnaire was done systematically to achieve a good timely result. The distribution process was divided into two parts, individual contacts and cooperate contact. The distribution process considered employees busy hours so as not to disturb them at work therefore lunch hour was considered as a more convenient period for the distribution. Some were considered on individual bases at locations like train stations while waiting for their train, though the major distribution was during the lunch hour. The distribution to offices was done with the support of their human resources department. The employees were assured of their privacy despite the permission from their human resources department. All distribution was carried out with date of collection to facilitate the analysis of the questionnaire. Considering that response rates may be much lower than expected, follow up on the respondents was done through their contact or the human resources management department. The follow up were done by telephone calls and sending e-mails for reminder on the collection date of the distributed questionnaires. 3.2.3 QUESTIONNAIRE COLLECTION Collection of the questionnaire is an important process in this research in order to have a good result. Questionnaires were collected at specified collection date as it was noted on the covering letter from the day of distribution. The answered survey by the respondents was arranged for data input into the computer. Microsoft excel application worksheet was use for the computation of the result. QUESTIONNAIRE Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree, Disagree Strongly Disgree. Change is constant in every environment Rate of change is faster in todays business environment organisation adapts to changes quickly Employees are always comfortable for retraining Employees welcome organisational change Employees are victims of organisational change Employees concentrates more on their job than the security of their job Employees understand the organisational goals and objectives Management decisions on organisational change are effective Management respects employee view in making decision Management consider employees as co-partner in achieving organisational goals and objectives. Management communicate effectively with staff Management gives necessary training and support to enable staff to do their job more effectively Management consider employees welfare during organisational change TABLE 1.0 3.3 ANALYSIS After a successful collection of the survey from the respondents, examination of the survey was then carried out to check if the questions were answered as requested on the covering letter of the questionnaire. Two thousand five hundred and seventy five questionnaires were answered as requested out of three thousand copies that were distributed. Twenty five were answered partly so they were not considered for the analysis, they were discarded. At the end of data input, the result is shown in the table below Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree Strongly Agree. TOTAL Change is constant in every environment 0 0 40 80 2455 2575 Rate of change is faster in todays business environment 0 6 12 32 2525 2575 Organisation adapts to changes quickly 100 132 792 700 851 2575 Employees do welcome organisational change 632 1000 300 248 395 2575 Employees are always comfortable for retraining 233 355 638 549 800 2575 Employees are victims of organisational change 25 50 100 525 1875 2575 Employees concentrates more on their job than the security of their job 1235 800 320 200 20 2575 Employees understand the organisational goals and objectives 541 177 1000 325 532 2575 Management decisions on organisational change are effective 1239 800 500 30 6 2575 Management respects employee view in making decision 1555 600 325 50 45 2575 Management consider employees as co-partner in achieving organisational goals and objectives. 1234 800 400 100 41 2575 Management communicate effectively with staff 700 1235 200 600 340 2575 Management gives necessary training and support to enable staff to do their job more Effectively 532 600 500 600 343 2575 Management consider employees welfare during organisational change 1320 800 300 153 4 2575 TABLE 2.0 The analysis was divided into three parts based on the design of the questionnaire which are employees view about change, employees readiness to change and thirdly, employees view about management effectiveness on organisational change management. Percentages of response by respondents are shown below. 3.3.1 EMPLOYEES VIEW ABOUT CHANGE In the table 2.0 above, employees view on change were asked in different ways. The result collated in percentage are shown below QUESTION 1: CHANGE IS CONSTANT IN EVERY ENVIRONMENT Strongly agree = 2455/2575 *100 = 95.34% Agree = 80/2575*100 =3.11% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 40/2575 *100 = 1.55% Disagree = 0 = 0% Strongly Disagree = 0 % QUESTION 2: RATE OF CHANGE IS FASTER IN TODAYS BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Strongly agree = 2525/2575 *100 = 98.06% Agree =32/2575*100 =1.24% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 12/2575 *100 = 0.47% Disagree = 6 = 6/2575 * 100 = 0.23% Strongly Disagree = 0 % QUESTION 3: ORGANISATIONS ADAPTS TO CHANGES QUICKLY Strongly agree = 851/2575 *100 = 33.05% Agree =792/2575*100 =30.76% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 700/2575 *100 = 27.18% Disagree = 132/2575 * 100 = 5.13% Strongly Disagree = 100 /2575*100 = 3.88% 3.3.2 EMPLOYEES READINESS TOWARDS CHANGE Analysis of employees readiness to change was accessed based on their response to the survey question that dealt with it. Their result is displayed in percentages below QUESTION 1: EMPLOYEES DO WELCOME ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE Strongly agree = 395/2575 *100 = 15.34% Agree =248/2575*100 =9.63% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 300/2575 *100 = 11.65% Disagree = 1000/2575 * 100 = 38.83% Strongly Disagree = 632/2575*100 = 24.54% QUESTION 2: EMPLOYEES ARE ALWAYS COMFORTABLE FOR RETRAINING Strongly agree = 800/2575 *100 = 31.07% Agree =549/2575*100 =21.32% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 638/2575 *100 = 24.78% Disagree = 355/2575 * 100 = 13.79% Strongly Disagree = 233/2575*100 = 9.05 QUESTION 3 EMPLOYEES ARE VICTIMS OF ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE Strongly agree = 1875/2575 *100 = 72.82% Agree =525/2575*100 =20.39% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 100/2575 *100 = 3.83% Disagree = 50/2575 * 100 = 1.94% Strongly Disagree = 25/2575*100 = 0.97 QUESTION 4: EMPLOYEES CONCENTRATES MORE ON THEIR JOB THAN THE SECURITY OF THEIR JOB Strongly agree = 20/2575 *100 = 0.78% Agree =200/2575*100 =7.77% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 320/2575 *100 = 12.43% Disagree = 800/2575 * 100 = 31.07% Strongly Disagree = 1235/2575*100 = 47.96% QUESTION 5: EMPLOYEES UNDERSTAND THE ORGANISATIONAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Strongly agree = 532/2575 *100 = 20.66% Agree =325/2575*100 =12.62% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 1000/2575 *100 = 38.83% Disagree = 177/2575 * 100 = 6.87% Strongly Disagree = 541/2575*100 = 21.01% 3.3.3 EMPLOYEES VIEW ABOUT MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS ON ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE QUESTION 1: MANAGEMENT DECISIONS ON ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE ARE EFFECTIVE Strongly agree = 6/2575 *100 = 0.23% Agree =30/2575*100 =1.17% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 500/2575 *100 = 19.42% Disagree = 800/2575 * 100 = 31.07% Strongly Disagree = 1239/2575*100 = 48.12% QUESTION 2: MANAGEMENT RESPECTS EMPLOYEE VIEW IN MAKING DECISION Strongly agree = 45/2575 *100 = 1.75% Agree =50/2575*100 =1.94% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 325/2575 *100 = 12.62% Disagree = 600/2575 * 100 = 23.30% Strongly Disagree = 1555/2575*100 = 48.12% QUESTION 3: MANAGEMENT CONSIDER EMPLOYEES AS CO-PARTNER IN ACHIEVING ORGANISATIONAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. Strongly agree = 41/2575 *100 = 1.59% Agree =100/2575*100 =3.88% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 400/2575 *100 = 15.53% Disagree = 800/2575 * 100 = 31.07% Strongly Disagree = 1234/2575*100 = 47.92% QUESTION 4: MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY WITH STAFF Strongly agree = 340/2575 *100 = 13.20% Agree =600/2575*100 =23.30% Neither Agree nor Disagree = 200/2575 *100 = 7.77% Disagree = 1235/2575 * 100 = 47.96% Strongly Disagree = 700/2575*100 = 27.18% QUESTION 5: MANAGEMENT GIVES NECESSARY TRAINING AND SUPPORT TO ENABLE STAFF TO DO THEIR JOB MORE EFFECTIVELY Strongly agree = 343/2575 *100 = 13.32%

Death Of A Salesman Essay example -- essays research papers

Tragedy was a very controversial issue in literature until recent years. Recent figures in literature have set a clear definition for tragedy. Author Miller is one of these figures. Plays and novels have distinguished the definition of tragedy. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary tragedy is a serious piece of literature typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror. Miller’s explains that a tragic hero does not always have to be a monarch or a man of a higher status. A tragic hero can be a common person. A tragedy does not always have to end pessimistically; it could have an optimistic ending. The play Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, is a tragedy because it’s hero, Willy Loman, is a tragic figure that faces a superior source, being the American dream and the struggle for success. Loman also excites pity in the reader because of his defeat and his in ability to become a success or teach his children how to make their lives successful. Miller defines a flaw as â€Å"an inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the face of what one conceives to be a challenge to one’s dignity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Loman fulfills many of the requirements of being a tragic hero. Willy is not â€Å"flawless† in his actions, which by Miller’s standards make him a tragic hero. It is not wrong for Willy to have flaws and it does not make him a weaker man but a tragic figure. Miller designed the play so that Willy could be a tragic hero and for this he needs to have a flaw. Willy’s flaw is that he is unable to see things in a more realistic perspective. Charley says something in the play that sums up Willy’s whole life. He asks him, "When the hell are you going to grow up?" Willy’s spends his entire life in an illusion. He sees himself as a great man that is popular and successful. Willy exhibits many childlike qualities. Many of these qualities have an impact on his family. His two sons Biff and Happy pick up this behavior from their father. He is idealistic, stubborn, and he has a false sense of his importance in the world. The extreme to which he followed the dream brought him to disillusionment and a loose sense of reality. Willy created a reality for himself where he "knocked 'em cold in Providence," and "slaughtered 'em in Boston."(p.33) â€Å"Five hundred gr... ...nderstands. Willy could have still been successful if he was able to see the flaws in his ways and teach Biff the right way to be a success, which is in hard work. If Willy had not killed himself and taught Biff that working hard at anything would make his successful then Biff may have reached success for himself and make Willy a successful father as well. The reader must look at Willy’s suicide through Willy’s eyes. He killed himself in order to give Biff a better shot at being a success. Willy doesn’t understand that killing himself is wrong and he is not looking for any pity. Willy has sacrificed his own life so that Biff could have a better life. This truly does make him a tragic hero. Willy Loman is a tragic figure in the play Death of a Salesman. Willy faces a superior source in the play and puts his life on the line for his beliefs and the beliefs of others. He meets the requirements of Miller’s article for a tragic hero. Death of a Salesman also meets Miller’s requirements for a tragic play because of Willy’s role in the novel along with the other standards that Miller sets for a tragedy. The exploration of tragedy by people such as Miller helps to define it more clearly.

Michael Jordan is an American Icon :: essays research papers

To begin with, I would like to tell how Michael Jordan is the most well known athlete throughout the U.S. First off, mike has many endorsements that are popular in American society like Nike and Mc Donald?s. ?According to the bureau of food and drugs?, one and four Americans eat at a fast food restaurant each day. That shows how much Mc Donald?s has an affect on U.S. With Michael Jordan, advertising and supporting McDonalds then everyone will notice him and realize who he is. Nike is a footwear company, which thousands of Americans purchase there shoes each day. When Jordan came to the NBA, he signs a contract with Nike worth $30mil (Jordan Michael Bio). He created the shoes called ?Air Jordan?s? and created a line of shoes called ?Jordan?s? which made him very famous. Nike?s profits upped 20% through 1984-1986 helping them to be the dominate shoe company in America (?The Best Frequent Flyer?). Still in 2007 His brand of shoes are still making money in stores everywhere around the U.S. Nike sold more Air Jordan?s than any basketball shoe ever made (?Sports Illustrated For Kids?). The other reason why everyone should know mike is that he was the highest paid player in the world basketball in the 80?s and 90?s (?Breaking Sports News?). His contract is worth 30mil sign with the Chicago Bulls in 1984. This breaking news during the 1984-1985 season was all over the sports world excited to see what he can accomplish in this great sport of basketball. According to Time magazine, ?Jordan was the best to ever player to the game?. He changed the way basketball was played.

Breaking Family Ties

Thai Ngo Barbara Estermann English 96 February 25, 2013 â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† Norman Rockwell’s â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† gives us a look into the change of the post Great Depression and World War II generation. How America itself had changed so much in the passed 25 years from the greatest economic depression to being the greatest country on earth. It also shows the heartbreaking moment of a boy preparing to leave his father and dog and be on his own for the first time.The father, tired from a life of hard works, sacrificed everything so that his son can go to college; the young man, representing the post Great Depression and World War II generation, is making a better life than what his father had by getting higher education. In Norman Rockwell’s painting â€Å"Breaking Family Ties†, a boy sits with his father and dog preparing to leave for college. The young man and his father sit on a board of the family farm truck. At the bottom corner of the painting, shows a single rail. Suggesting that they are waiting for a train. On the ground is the son’s suitcase with a â€Å"State U† sticker.Books are stacked on top of the suitcase. The young man has his tie and socks perfectly matched, and is wearing white trouser and matching jacket. Sitting with his hand folded, the young man looked eagerly toward the train track, ready for the next chapter in his life. His father; however, sits slumped with his and his son’s hats in his hand as if he didn’t want the son to leave. The father looked at the opposite direction of the rail; as if he didn’t want to see the train come and take his son away. Although the father and son are looking in opposite direction, the sense of family bond is still strong.The father, probably in his late fifty, has been through the Great Depression and World War II; values his family more. The generation coming out of the Depression and World War II has been through some of the greatest challenges this country had ever faced. They worked hard their whole life, and now all they want is for their children to have a better life than they. Norman Rockwell perfectly describe the generation shift in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† as the father, old beyond his years, sacrificed everything so that his son can go to college.He does not want to see his son leave, because he is everything to him. Still, he knows that his son must leave to grow up and be independent. The son, treated like royalty by the father, is ready to move on to the next chapter in his life and be away from the protection of his father. The painting gives mix emotion because of the two different emotions of the main characters. Norman Rockwell shows the differences between the two-generation through the father and son. The experience of leaving you’re parents and being on your own is universal to everyone.The universal message in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† is being inde pendent for the first time. I was seventeen when I left home by myself to go to college. Preparing to leave home, I was like the boy in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† eager to move on to the next chapter in my life and to be independent. I was only thinking of myself, and not how leaving would affect my parents. My parents were sad to see me leave, but they knew that I was making a better life for myself by going to college. Just like the Father in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties†. Leaving home for me was the beginning of a new chapter in my life.While for my parents, it was seeing me grow up too fast. Norman Rockwell’s perfectly showed the heartbreaking moment and a son leaving to be on his own for the first time. He also reminded America of how much our country had changed with the two generations. Like all of Norman Rockwell’s works, everything in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† has a meaning behind it. Which is I can relate to it even if it was painted yea rs before I was born. Norman Rockwell is one of America greatest artist because of the universal meanings behind his works.

Race and Gender Schemas Essay

A person’s gender schema affects how they treat all other people regardless of age, race, or social position; because we assume that everyone fits into one of two categories: male or female. There are other cultures that do not have a binary gender schema, and allow people to occupy a â€Å"third position† combining traits that Americans would see as male or female. It is unfortunate that gender schemas are so restrictive and create expectations and judgments about people’s authentic selves that can damage the psyche (Valian, 208). As a way to navigate the social world, gender schemas can be important, but like schemas for race and social class, they can reinforce hierarchies that restrict a large part of the population. Below, I will talk about my own gender schema, how I view the gender schema of my society, and how it could be changed to better As media becomes an ever more powerful force in shaping the world’s perception of itself, an individual’s struggle to maintain a unique identity and self-understanding apart from media influence becomes increasingly difficult. Damaging to the idea of the self are the racial, gendered, and class-based stereotypes (always artificial and frequently physically, fiscally, and emotionally unattainable), which are broadly perpetuated and, because of their persistence, are apparently not broadly questioned. The prevalence and power of gender (especially female) stereotypes in the media are addressed in this p My own gender schema has changed radically from when I was younger. I can remember asking my mother â€Å"is that a boy or a girl? about a person whom my mother identified as a woman, but who had a very square, angular face with large eyes. Later, I learned to incorporate larger scale features (curvy hips or breasts; large shoulder-to-waist ratio) into my schema. Although I was raised as a girl and have always looked female (if not always perfectly feminine), I don’t always â€Å"act like a girl† – I am somewhat aggressive when playing sports, I’m not shy about asking questions, and I’m sometimes stoic about my emotions. This reflects my gender schema for males: â€Å"typical men† are aggressive in sports, readily ask questions, and do not express emotions. By contrast, â€Å"typical females† in my gender schema are concerned with their appearance, are not aggressive on the playing field, tend to be shy if they ask questions, usually assume that they are not in a position of authority, and express their emotions freely. My schematic representation of male and female physical features has relaxed slightly since childhood; plenty of the women I was with in high school were more angular than curvy. Even though I grew up in a fairly enlightened part of the world, men and women still used nonconformity to gender stereotypes/schemas to insult each other across group lines (women insulting men for being too female-like; men insulting women for being too male-like). Also, I was more cautious of people who did not fit my gender schema, because these schemas predict behavioral and cognitive tendencies, however unreliably. Although our society has changed significantly even in the past 30 years, gender schemas themselves are still very restrictive. It may be the case that fathers have increased their contribution to childrearing time so little because the gender schema for males still dictates that a man spend the best hours of his day at his job (TenenbaumLeaper, 616). Women are expected to conform to people’s gender schemas by liking children and being caring, sympathetic people – all qualities of good mothers. However, it is never clear that every woman you meet wants to be, or is even capable of being, a mother. Many people still retain a gender schema that does not allow for women in positions of power in the workplace. The industrialized nations’ gender schemas â€Å"support a sexist society by propagating an ideology of an innate and entirely pervasive, sex determined social structure† (Devor, 147). This is as bad for men as it is for women. For every woman passed over for promotion at work because their boss’s gender schema classifies them as a â€Å"mothering type,† unsuited for the fast-paced world of their chosen industry, there is probably a man in a high-pressure job that would like to ask for paternity leave, but doesn’t want to be belittled by â€Å"the guys. From my perspective as a woman, and as someone who has felt pressure to conform to a feminine gender schema, it seems like women get a worse deal if everyone uses the male/female gender schema in which typically-feminine behavior includes letting other people have their way, assuming you are not in a position of authority, and paying more attention to your appearance than your skill set. For gender schemas to change in society at large, gender schemas must change for children. The best way to do this is by exposing children to gender-atypical men and women in an accepting way, expanding children’s gender schemas and symbolically making it acceptable for men and women to be as â€Å"masculine† or â€Å"feminine† as they feel like. Another way to take the claws out of the American gender schema would be to legitimize between-gender roles, either by working towards acceptance of transgendered and transsexual populations or by studying the gender schemas of other cultures as a way to shift our own prejudices about what constitutes â€Å"maleness† and â€Å"femaleness. Shifting our gender schemas will allow people’s inherent strengths and weaknesses, rather than their adherence to stereotypes, to be the most important determinant of how we treat others. Heightened public awareness of both the existence of and potential damage caused by these stereotypes is essential if they are to be eliminated. Frequently, though, they are d ifficult to combat and even to identify because of the ways in which they are presented. Overwhelming amounts of time and energy are devoted to uplifting a small, specially selected portion of the population as models of physical perfection. These individuals are, predominantly, television and movie celebrities, fashion models, and sports figures. The glamorous ways in which these occupations are portrayed by the media are seemingly impossible to separate from the physical appearance of the people who hold them. The glamour that surrounds the media presentation of the lives and careers of these individuals extends, not surprisingly, to the clothes that they wear and the way that they look. In fact, so much attention is given to celebrity appearances that entire television programs are devoted to little else but visual exploitation of celebrity clothing and their tangible products of their latest fad workouts. The media presentation of the celebrity body has a single unifying thread, regardless of the specific job title of a given celebrity. Celebrity bodies are desired, both subjectively and objectively. The media, without question, shapes this public response. It can be argued (and has been, on many occasions) that, because the media portrays celebrities’ bodies as attractive, desirable, and â€Å"good,† they become national symbols of these characteristics. Conversely, bodies that do not meet this lofty goal frequently are, consciously or unconsciously, regarded as â€Å"bad† or ugly. Consider the most recent (and extremely popular) advertising tack used by Subway, the national fast food sandwich chain. Jared,† the protagonist of the recent slew of television commercials, allegedly lost hundreds of pounds while on a diet consisting primarily of the chain’s fare. Jared’s â€Å"before† pictures show him considerably larger than his current size, but they also show him alone, with no friends or family. In stark contrast, however, his â€Å"after† action shots consistently show him not only thinner, but also constantly in the presence of a beautiful woman, presumably his significant other. The advertising message is clear: fat=bad, ugly, unhappy and alone, thin=happy and with attractive partner. Through these commercials, Jared has assumed celebrity status, solely on the basis that his body has changed to approximate more closely the current standard of attractiveness. Sadly, though, there is a severe disconnect between the male and female body types lauded in the media and those of the public at large. A shockingly small minority of the population has the genetic dispensation to match with what the media purports to be attractive. For women, â€Å"desirable† physical characteristics (as they are portrayed in the media) include being thin, long-legged, slim-hipped, and large-breasted. The media-portrayed â€Å"desirable† physical characteristics for men include being muscular and possessing a full head of hair. Some characteristics are portrayed as desirable in both sexes, such as being tall, fit, athletic, young, and light-skinned. In the gap between what is implicitly beautiful in the eyes of the media and the physical reality of the popular majority flourishes a market of â€Å"self-improvement† products and services, ranging from hair dye and makeup to tanning salons, dieting, and plastic surgery. It seems as though nearly everyone, at some point in his or her life attempts to alter him- or herself in a physical way, in order to conform more closely to the marketed â€Å"norm† of attractiveness and desirability. Television, magazines, and newspapers are filled with advertisements promoting self-loathing, while offering â€Å"miracle,† body-altering â€Å"cures. † The body that does not conform to a sexy, sleek stereotype becomes a thing to be hated, improved upon, and generally tortured into submission. A portion of the damage caused by such a mentality is quantifiable, though observation of the huge profits accumulated yearly by various diet programs and plastic surgeons. The harm of this presentation of the human body can also be seen in our current societal epidemic of disordered eating, including anorexia, bulimia, over-exercising, excessive dieting, and over-anxiety over food. While the population subset living with and recovering from disordered eating is still predominately composed of women, the number of men with disordered and dangerous eating habits is on the rise. In addition to physical damage, intangible psychological harm results from body image problems to which the media contributes daily. When men and women are faced with the implication that their bodies, if they fail to conform to an impossibly stringent set of standards, are unattractive, unhealthy, and unlovable, they begin to lose confidence in themselves. The perception that a single, narrow range of body types is acceptable and healthy for men and women is not only in error, but contributes to widespread social discontent. Instead of celebrating the diversity and beauty of the human form, the media stifles our desire to feel comfortable with ourselves in an attempt to fool us into supporting a billion dollar self improvement market, from which the media garners tremendous financial benefits. In addition to (and perhaps more devastating than) the physical and emotional damage caused by the current media-driven obsession with achieving an arbitrary physical â€Å"perfection,† our society faces losing serious social perspective. As it is currently used in the media, the body is stripped of its uniqueness and forced into frustratingly narrow constraints: good/bad and attractive/unattractive. Little or no public attention is given to the countless other factors around which a person’s identity is structured: kindness, generosity, honesty, friendliness, work ethics, personal motivation, intelligence, and spirituality. By focusing too intensely on the physical, our society risks losing sight of the fuller sense of what people are, and what makes us truly beautiful. My LAP is going to talk about a personal experience that I have encountered with a family member. I have a brother who fits the schemas that we have spoke about in class. I feel that my brother has been dealing with identity issues for a long time since his childhood. How do you deal with being something that you don’t feel you are? Being in this class has me see that everything is not black and white. Schemas are just a stereo type and everyone that may be something does not always seem to be the case. Sometimes there are many reasons that people feel that they are a part of a schema it can be caught up in how people act. Many things on TV make people want to try things like being attracted to the same sex. But sometimes it can be what is going on in your environment. Sometimes I feel that I am a part of a schema I am one of the only black females at my job that is around wide variety of Reform Jews and to me I feel sometimes that I am not suppose to be there but I hold my head up high and keep my enthusiasm very high. So schemas are every day and it just does not have to be about sexuality.

How Far Does ‘The Fall of The House of Usher’ Meet With The Conventions Of Gothic Fiction? Essay

The Gothic novel dominated English literature from 1764 when ‘The Castle of Ortranto’ by Horace Warpole was published, until the early to mid 19th century. The Gothic novel is characterised by darkness, dense forests, old castles, dreary rooms and melancholy characters. Although Gothicism began to relinquish its dominance around 1815, it influenced many emerging genres and can still be seen in some of today’s popular styles. Stephen King, a famous horror writer, draws on suspense, the fear of loneliness and the fear of the unknown whilst Anne Rice, the current ‘queen’ of gothic fiction draws on much the same themes as ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. Her latest novel ‘Blackwood Farm’ is set in a huge house in the middle of nowhere and tells the story of a young man trapped in a neither living nor dead world where he is haunted by a spirit which prevents him from belonging anywhere. The Fall of the House of Usher is set on a ‘dark, soundless day in the autumn’, an ideal setting for a Gothic tale. Autumn, with its cold dreary months following the warmth of summer and nothing to look forward to apart from the hardships of winter, gives an immediately depressing feel to the story. The clouds are said to be â€Å"low in the heavens† making the reader aware of a grey oppressive sky, again referring to darkness and shortage of sunlight. As the narrator approaches of the house he describes it as having â€Å"bleak walls† and â€Å"eye like windows†. The latter of these gives the reader a feeling of the house watching him like a person. The reader can sense the narrator’s apprehension. Poe uses descriptions such as â€Å"rank†, meaning a strong rancid odour, a certain indication that something in some way has gone bad. And then he describes the â€Å"white trunks of decayed trees† thus highlighting the ghostly, â₠¬Å"death like† setting. The narrator seems very unnerved by the setting and this is portrayed when he says â€Å"nor could I grapple with the shadowy fancies the crowded upon me as I pondered†, as if he is scared or wary of the objects around him. The plot fits perfectly into the Gothic genre. It contains a strange man with an unknown illness, a house which in some way has a powerful negative effect on the family and a person who either returns from the dead or was entombed alive. All this is set in a vast and ancient decaying house surrounded by a bleak forest. The background to the story is that the narrator has been asked to visit by the owner of the house who was a boyhood companion of his. The narrator hasn’t seen or even given much thought to this man for many years. We are made aware of the loneliness of the life Roderick Usher, the owner, when the narrator speaks of not really knowing his friend very well. As a child Roderick was excessively reserved. It seems strange that the only person he feels able to call on in his time of need is someone who doesn’t feel he knows him very well. We are also told that there are no other branches of the Usher family. The story starts with the narrator approaching the h ouse alone through the bleak setting. The reader is aware of his vulnerability and starts to feel concerned about what lies ahead. The narrator approaches the house nervously and trying to calm his anxiety, looks into a lake. The image reflected, however, is even more horrific and chaotic than what he was imagining previously and this throws the narrators mind into a state of temporary disarray. This is a theme prevalent throughout the story but is usually displayed by Roderick Usher not the narrator. Nearing the house the narrator notices a fissure running from the roof of the house to the ground, this is not dwelt on at the time but is very relevant to the ending of the story. Once inside the house the narrator is led through many â€Å"dark and intricate passages† to meet Roderick Usher. He finds him much changed and describes him as â€Å"terribly altered†. Not only does Usher look physically ill but he also seems to been in a very agitated state of mind â€Å"alternately vivacious and sullen†. There are moments when Usher seems hopeful that his guest will be able to help him and talks o f â€Å"the solace he expected me (the narrator) to afford him†. At one point he describes his illness as a â€Å"constitutional and a family evil, and one for which he despaired to find a remedy† but then immediately says that it is a â€Å"mere nervous affection† which will soon pass. He seems almost haunted by the things he is afraid of and confides in the narrator as to what he feels will be the death of him. It is fear, a most crucial component of Gothic literature. Our introduction to Lady Madeline, Usher’s twin sister, is brief, no more than a sighting but we are told of her mysterious illness and later her death. The narrator assists Usher, who is anxious to prevent doctors from interfering with his sisters body, to entomb Madeline in a vault. After this Usher’s mental health goes into rapid decline. On the â€Å"seventh or eighth night† after her entombment the narrator retires to his room but feels troubled and cannot sleep. Usher knocks at his door, also troubled and demanding in a rather hysterical manner â€Å"And you have not seen it?† In an effort to calm him the narrator grabs a book and starts reading to Usher. As he reads, noises described in the book seem to be mirrored within the house. Even after this has happened twice the narrator tries to remain calm so as not to further excite the unstable Usher. However when it happens a third time the narrator can no longer contain his alarm and rushes over to Usher who seems to be having a complete breakdown. Usher declares that the noises were Madeline breaking free from her tomb were they had placed her still living. Terrified he feels her presence outside the door † I tell you that she now stands without the door†. The door flies open and there is Madeline who falls heavily upon her brother who dies of fright just as he predicted. The narrator flees from the house and looking back from a safe distance sees the fissure which he had noticed on his arrival widening and then the walls of the house collapsing until the whole building disappears into the tarn. Poe plays with the readers emotions by alternating the dramatic and sinister with the relatively normal. The typically gothic setting at the beginning of the story and the narrators reaction to it â€Å"a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit† draw the reader in and create an unsettling mood. Poe depicts the house and its surroundings in detail so we are thoroughly immersed in it. In the opening paragraph Poe describes the setting and the narrators feelings in great detail. In this part of the piece Poe is unrestrained by having to follow the details of the storyline. He is free to show off his talents at description of both setting and human emotions whilst creating a powerfully gothic atmosphere. â€Å"I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down – but with a shudder even more thrilling than before – upon the remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows† Once settled into the house the narrator appears to develop some sort of routine to his days with Usher. Whilst the narrators life is not exactly normal in the strict sense of the word as Ushers grip on sanity is fragile and some of his behaviour very peculiar, the reader is reassured by the calm and sensible voice of the narrator. Though even within this period of relative calm Poe often inserts accounts of some of Usher’s bizarre behaviour such as his improvisations on guitar. The apparent death of lady Madeline signals the start of the build in tension to the climax of the story. The narrator has to help Usher deposit her coffin in a small, damp, copper lined vault which lies â€Å"at great depth, immediately beneath that portion of the building in which was my own sleeping apartment†. The vault is sealed with a massive iron door after the coffin lid has been screwed down. On the final night of the story the narrator is anxious, too anxious to sleep. The reader is not used to this so feels anxious too. We are told of the tattered draperies which â€Å"swayed fitfully to and fro upon the walls† it creates unease. When Usher comes into the narrators room he is in a very agitated state. He throws open the window to the storm and to the â€Å"unnatural light of a faintly luminous and distinctly visible gaseous exhalation † which enshrouds the mansion. The ghostly sight makes the narrator shudder and he tells Usher that the air is â€Å"chilling and dangerous to his frame†. The suggestion of cold chilling air makes goose bumps rise on the readers skin, the same effect that fear would have. Then the narrator reads to Usher taking the reader away from the unnerving atmosphere in the room only to be brought back suddenly when noises in the house mirror the noises described in the story. This becomes increasingly alarming as it happens not twice but three times. The reader identifies strongly with the narrator and so feels the fear that he feels. By the time Madeline appears at the door the reader is at his most anxious and it would probably be very anticlimactic if the story didn’t climax with the violence that it does. Poe’s use of intricate language is extensive and well structured. In the first paragraph he uses a large number of adjectives as this is the most descriptive part of the story. He refers to the â€Å"melancholy House of Usher†. Here he uses personification to assign a human emotion to the house. This could refer back to the narrators own emotions but I think it probably reflects the atmosphere of the house, also described as â€Å"dull† and â€Å"dark†. Poe also compares the narrators feelings to the â€Å"after dream of the reveller upon opium†. The experience of opium taking would have been well known to his readers as it was readily available and frequently taken among the middle and upper classes. The effect of opium taking that he is referring to is not the ‘high’ but the terrible low as one plunges back into reality after the ‘high’. Poe tends to use words that sound old-fashioned (archaic nouns) and also words that g ive his descriptions more atmosphere. When he writes â€Å"no goading of the imagination could torture into the aught of the sublime†, we are given perfect examples of both of these devices. He could have used ‘shape’ or ‘create’ instead of ‘torture’ but to add to the sinister feeling of the first paragraph he uses the later word which carries much more painful connotations. He also uses the word ‘aught’ an archaic noun meaning ‘anything’. Again he could have used a much simpler word but ‘aught’ gives his writing weight. The use of archaic nouns would make his writing seem old fashioned which would be beneficial to Poe, firstly because readers of his work at that time would consider him a greater writer, and secondly because the use of archaic nouns give his writing a stronger link with the medieval foundations of Gothicism. Poe also strengthens the gothic feel of his story by commenting on the architecture. In the sixth paragraph he refers to a â€Å"†Gothic archway†. The archway is symbolic of entering so he is reminding the reader that they are entering a Gothic world, one where anything could happen. In the same paragraph he also has the narrator led through â€Å"many dark and intricate passages† by a silent valet, these things are commonplace in Gothic novels. The valets silence is menacing and the dark, intricate passages give a claustrophobic feel to the house, much the same as the windows which are said to be â€Å"so vast a distance from the black oaken floor as to be altogether inaccessible from within†. This is most certainly symbolic Poe is giving the reader a sense of the difficulty of escape and of being trapped. Poe uses symbolism a lot to reflect the sate of mind of the characters. He writes â€Å"musical instruments scattered about†, we know that music is an important part of Ushers heritage and something which he is fond of . One would expect these instruments to be treated with care and the fact that they are scattered about mirrors Ushers disordered state of mind. Poe also uses complex adjectives such as â€Å"phantasmagoric†, in this case to describe the armorial trophies. Phantasmagoric means an effect where objects appear to rush towards the observer with increasing size. This makes the trophies very threatening and creates a feeling of paranoia. Later in the story, when Madeline is taken to the vault Poe mentions a â€Å"donjon-keep† used in feudal times. Another archaic word (meaning dungeon) but also alluding to a more sinister background behind the ancient family and its mansion than the art, music and charity that the narrator has spoken about. A dark and sinister past is very typical in Gothic novels. In the dramatic final speech that Usher makes Poe uses repetition to great effect. â€Å"Not hear it? – yes I hear it, and have heard it. Long – long – long â⠂¬â€œ many minutes, many hours, many days, have I heard it†¦.† This draws attention to Ushers agitated state of mind. He cannot speak without repeating himself. We are given the impression that he is hurrying his words mumbling them intensely like a madman. To give us this impression Poe, for the first time in the story uses a lot of short simple words. He builds up the pace of the speech until just before the end using â€Å"the horrible beating of her heart† to pre climax the words â€Å"MADMAN! I TELL YOU SHE NOW STANDS WITHOUT THE DOOR!† The first part of the speech is very effective at building tension so that when her beating heart is mentioned the readers heart is racing. The climax line is delivered with the opening word â€Å"MADMAN†. Usher seems to be addressing everyone, not just the narrator but himself and the reader as well because if we believe she is alive then we are ‘mad’ too. There was not enough air in the vault to keep her alive for so long. ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ meets the conventions of Gothic fiction well. The Gothic novel was characterised by intense images of vast dark forest landscapes, large castles with dreary interiors and forlorn characters. All of these are portrayed to full effect and the use of adjectives which may have seemed a little excessive, tied in with the atmosphere of the story and actually played off the excessive madness of Usher. The house provides a supernatural mystic background, it is very old with many dark and sinister secrets and the â€Å"donjon-keep† provides a direct connection to the medieval roots of the Gothic. Poe creates for the reader a feeling of apprehension and unease which leads to fear and then to terror. All are essential elements for the Gothic novel. This novel still has an appeal to readers in 2002 as a classical book but at the time it was originally published its genre was fairly common and that’s why when he could, Poe had to use is talent of manipulating the readers mind to full effect. Although his style seems old fashioned to us, I feel that this style of writing has greater impact on the reader than a modern gothic author such as Ann Rice because the language ties in more closely with the roots of the gothic.