The Toil of Good and Evil Multi-Faceted Kindness in The Book Thief - Literature Essay Samples

Humanity is always engaged in an eternal power struggle between good and evil, and the well being of society often hangs in the balance when such forces collide. This presence of good and evil of humanity is a central theme in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. Liesel Meminger is a young girl in Nazi Germany during World War II; she lives with a foster family in a poor area of Munich. Throughout the novel, Liesel sees the great horrors of life in Germany during World War II, but she also finds herself among very empathetic and kind people, as demonstrated by three incidents in the book that illustrate good persevering over evil. First, Liesel and Max’s bond over the trauma they have experienced exemplifies good in the face of tremendous evil they have experienced. Second, Han’s relentless goodwill towards the Jews of Germany shows kindness in spite of the evils of Nazi Germany. Last, Rudy’s extraordinary efforts to aid and comfort those in need further exempli fies good over evil. The relationship between Liesel and Max demonstrates true friendship whilst in hardship. Furthermore, Liesel and Max bond in an incredible fashion while being extremely different personalities and under a great deal of stress. Max gave Liesel a handmade book as a belated birthday gift, which Liesel was very pleased with as she loves books. Liesel read the book and then went to the basement to thank Max. â€Å"The first part of him she saw was his shoulder, and through the slender gap she slowly, painfully, inched her hand in until it rested there. His clothing was cool. He did not wake. She could feel his breathing and his shoulder moving up and down ever so slightly. For a while, she watched him. Then she sat and leaned back. Sleepy air seemed to have followed her. The scrawled words of practice stood magnificently on the wall by the stairs, jagged and childlike sweet. They looked on as both the hidden Jew and the girl slept, hand to shoulder. They breathed. German and Jewish lungs . Next to the wall the The Standover Man sat, numb and gratified, like a beautiful itch at Liesel Memingers feet† (Zusak 238). Liesel shows her growing bond with this gesture towards Max. Despite being polar opposites within their shared society, their bond through literature circumvents the oppression thrust upon them by Nazism. The Standover Man, the book that Max made for Liesel, is a metaphor for what is going on within Germany during World War II. The book was made out of pages from Mein Kampf painted over in white paint, and then filled with the story of Max’s struggle. The creation of this book symbolizes the changing of something evil into something good. Moreover, Max and Liesel also bond over the trauma that has been inflicted upon them by the society they inhabit. Liesel witnessed the death of her brother on a cold winter night at a train yard and constantly experiences nightmares due to this. Similarly Max has nightmares about fighting Adolf Hitler. On a night shortly after the arrival of Max at Liesel’s house, this dialogue occurs: â€Å"The girl: ‘Tell me. What do you see when you dream like that?’ The Jew: † I see myself turning around, and waving goodbye.: The girl: † I also have nightmares. †The Jew: †What do you see?† The girl: â€Å"A train, and my dead brother.† The Jew: Your brother?† The girl: â€Å"He died on when I moved here on the way.† The girl and the Jew, together: â€Å"Ja yes.†Ã¢â‚¬ (Zusak 220). Both Liesel and Max have had an immense amount of emotional trauma inflicted upon them by others. The trauma that has been inflicted upon Max and Liesel hangs over them throughout the book, and has a very negative effect on their lives. Due to Max and Liesel discussing what haunts them during the night, Liesel became able to get through nightmares without the aid of her foster father. At this point, the nightmares start to have a lesser effect on Liesel and she begins to sleep for longer periods. Liesels bond with Max over their trauma turns a horrible experience into a deep personal bond. Although many unfortunate events fall upon Liesel and Max, together they are able to use the evil around them to create a lasting friendship. Secondly, on multiple occasions Hans Hubermann has shown a great deal of empathy and kindness to Jewish people within the harsh societal climate of Nazi Germany. One of these occasions was when Jews were marched through Hans’s neighbourhood in Munich. Despite facing harsh punishment if caught, Hans gave bread to an old, weakly Jewish man as they marched by. â€Å"The Jew stood before him, expecting another handful of derision, but he watched with everyone else as Hans Hubermann held his hand out and presented a piece of bread, like magic.† (Zusak 394). This simple act from Hans shows a great deal of empathy for his fellow man despite later facing intense punishment and scrutiny for this action. Hans takes the evil of the holocaust and makes an example of how fellow humans should be treated. Hans also shows empathy and kindness towards Jews by taking Max Vandenburg into his home. Max is the son of a Jewish man who sacrificed himself to save Hans in World War I. Due to this history, Hans takes it upon himself to hide Max in his home for the duration of the war. â€Å"He was not a well-educated man or political, but if nothing else, he was a man who appreciated fairness. A Jew had once saved his life and he couldn’t forget that. He couldn’t join a party that antagonized people in such a way. Also, much like Alex Steiner, some of his most loyal customers were Jewish. Like many of the Jews believed, he didn’t think the hatred could last, and it was a conscious decision not to follow Hitler. On many levels, it was a disastrous one†(Zusak 180). Hans felt indebted to Max because his father saved Hans’s life. Hans is able to see past the religion of people and judges them on their strength of character and morals rather than labeling them. Due to this, Hans takes it upon himself to help Max in his time of need despite the hardship of hiding him, and the great punishment if Hans is found to be assisting Max in any way. Han’s actions in risking his life to save Max exemplifies the rise of good over evil in Nazi Germany. Similarly, Rudy Steiner also treats people below him with the utmost respect and dignity they deserve in the face of the horrors of war and human cruelty. After a bombing of Munich, Rudy and Liesel discover a crashed plane with an english speaking pilot still inside. Rudy rushed to comfort the dying man, and placed his teddy bear on the pilots shoulder. â€Å"Carefully, he climbed to the dying man. He placed the smiling teddy bear cautiously onto the pilot’s shoulder. The tip of its ear touched his throat. The dying man breathed it in. He spoke. In english, he said, â€Å"Thank you†Ã¢â‚¬ (Zusak 490-491). Despite the pilot being from the enemy forces and terrorizing Munich, Rudy treats the dying pilot with respect in his final moments in the face of the horrors of war. Another example of treating people with respect and dignity in the face of unimaginable evil arises when Rudy shows dignity to Tommy Mà ¼ller in Hitler’s Youth. Tommy has a hearing impairment and is constantly berated by the officers in Hitler’s Youth. Rudy routinely attempts to help Tommy as well as stand up for him. â€Å"That was when Rudy stepped forward. He faced Franz Deutscher looking up at him. â€Å"He’s got a problem sir† â€Å"I can see that!† â€Å"With his ears,† Rudy finished. â€Å"He can’t† â€Å"Right that’s it.† Deutscher rubbed his hands together. â€Å"Both of you six laps of the grounds.† They obeyed but not fast enough. â€Å"Schnell!† His voice chased them† (Zusak 259). Rudy could not stand the inhuman manner in which Tommy was being treated, so Rudy did something about it by speaking out in defense of Tommy. There was no motive beyond helping someone, to aid Tommy and put himself at risk of punishment to defend a helpless person. Rudy constantly demonstrates his will to aid and ease people despite his surroundings. The great evils of humanity are ever present in war time Nazi Germany, but human kindness and empathy still manage to shine through. Hans’s continued goodwill towards the Jews in the helpless environment of Nazi Germany, Liesel’s bond with Max over the trauma they both were put through and Rudys will to help Tommy Mà ¼ller with his disability as well as comforting the dying pilot in his final hour exemplifies the good that humanity is capable of. The Book Thief teaches a very important lesson of being true to yourself and your values in the face of harsh opposition, for it is better to stand alone for what you believe in then to fall in line with what you do not.

Descriptive Essay About Women In Entertainment - 1738 Words

Women in Entertainment Essay I’m Paulina Villalobos, I’m Hispanic and I love new experiences. Both my parents were born in Mexico and immigrated here when they were young adults. I have an older sister and a younger brother, leaving me to be the middle child. I like reading, going out with friends, and spending time at home watching TV or movies. I started reading at a very young age and haven’t put a book down since. I just love how people can create completely different worlds and share it with others, who then in turn make those worlds their own. Also, I like how you can lose yourself in a book and put yourself in different situations that are exciting and new, almost refreshing your mind and taking a breather from whatever you’re†¦show more content†¦My family doesn’t have a lot of experience with college so I don’t really know all of my options and how I can get more. My career goals are to be somewhat involved in the entertainment industry but behind the scenes. I want to have a job in the entertainment industry as a director of photography or a screenwriter, something that lets me be behind the camera and lets me share my ideas. I think I can make more of an impact in the entertainment industry being behind the scenes than I can if I was front and center of the camera. Being a screenwriter would allow me to create stories that empower women, humanize men, and give children people they can look up to and change their lives in a positive way. While being a DP wouldn’t give me the same control over those things, it still has an impact on the audience. The audience could see a man crying and the lighting on him would make him appear powerful rather than weak, and the same could be done for a woman choosing to leave an unhealthy situation. Some conflicts that may get in the way of my commitment to this program would be my film class’ shooting schedule, and missing school. I don’t have a problem missing Thursdays since I can always ask my teachers the day before what I would be missing and what I can do to make up the work we’ll do in class the next day, so that won’t be a big problem. Although, I’m curious to see if my absences will be excused or not, and ifShow MoreRelatedThe Poem Stripper by Mervyn Morris Essays797 Words   |  4 Pageshimself to wine and music at a club but, unfortunately had to part-take in the performance of a female exotic entertainer which was not a part of his plan. Though, the poet had no intention in watching the entertainment, at the end of the poem it shows how much of an inspiration the entertainment and the ambiance had on him. The poem also speaks of the discomfort the performer had as if she had no voice as to what goes on but, merely have to accept it and do her job. Morris uses pun as his main deviceRead MoreThe Harlem Globetrotters, An Exhibition Basketball Team1490 Words   |  6 PagesSearching for the perfect topic in any essay is always tough. So when I began to think about a research topic, I had no idea what to write about. I started to think about all the things that I love doing and have a passion for such as, hunting, fishing, and sports. Although with this research paper I wanted to pick something that is intriguing to me, but I don’t know a whole lot about. When it comes to hunting and fishing, I’m pretty well informed. Although in sports, there are endless opportunitiesRead MoreThe Effects Of Hip Hop Music On Adolescents862 Words   |  4 Pages(a Research Professor of Psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts), who explained, women are used as props for the illusive life the music video is portraying the artist to have. The concern that hip-hop culture, as seen in music vid eos, has become heavily influential on young people’s views of sexuality. The concern about mainstream hip-hop music and music videos sexualizing women, in particular, is so omnipresent, many can even be referenced as â€Å"rape culture† by embedded sexualRead MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeares Play Julius Caesar By William Shakespeare1667 Words   |  7 PagesWith the rise and fall of certain genres in theatre, the ever-changing dramatical theories put to action and the common view of entertainment and fashion over the years, a lot has changed in theatre practise since Shakespeare’s time. This essay will consider how William Shakespeare’s play ‘Julius Caesar’ may have been performed during the Elizabethan era and how the differences in process, scriptwriting, space and more may vary from today’s recreations of his work. This should help to better understandRead MoreCultural Awareness. In This Paper, The Socio – Cultural1256 Words   |  6 Pagesto that specific group or society or nation. On the other hand, Sivakumar and Nakata (2001, p. 559) indicate that â€Å"within any nation-state there is a modal set of values. Other values may co-exist, but one set is more common and thus broadly descriptive of the society as whole. This value set constitutes a country’s national culture.† Hence, despite the heterogeneous nature of individuals in a group, there is a common set of traits and values that influence their behavior as a group. HoweverRead MoreLove In A Maze1658 Words   |  7 Pagesfemale author who wrote in the eighteenth century. She is best known for her novella called Fantomina: Or, Love in a Maze in 1724. In the Enlightenment era, â€Å"the number of women writers grew as they became increasingly important in publishing domestic novels, Gothic fiction, literary translations, and essays on the rights of women to education† and Haywood was one of them (Bird). Fantomina: Or, Love in a Maze, is a story of girl who is filled with desire and is given a little too much freedom and moneyRead MoreFavorite Room Essay1463 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Andrea Cropp Descriptive essay Do you have a favorite room in your house? Mine just so happens to be my bedroom. My bedroom is a place where I can go to relax, or to have some alone time. I like my room because the design, layout, and dà ©cor were all chosen by me to suit my needs. A person walking into my favorite room is able to learn about my likes and dislikes very easily. The room describes my personality. If you were asked to describe your favorite room in your home what would you say?Read MoreNotes On Reading : Https1593 Words   |  7 Pagesabsurd. His persona exhibits one of a lunatic, yet it changes once during the passage. Preceding the speaker’s joyous rant about how infant s flesh will be in season throughout the year, he discussed abortion and how sacrificing poor innocent babies was inconceivable in paragraph 5 which is something a normal human would say. Then he returns to detailing his argument about the pros of eating the underprivileged children. The speaker s image seems quite apathet ic, yet in fact he is quite ironicRead MoreThe Representation Of Muslim Women2033 Words   |  9 PagesThis research will demonstrate the concept of Quebec majority versus the ones that are considered other or minority, specifically Muslim women. The methodologies and surrounding utilized by the print media along with the specific scope of specific issues created polarization amongst minority and greater part gathers. This research will summon an Orientalist focal point to show how racializing talks are portrayed in a monitored subtext over and the news print to support the protection of QuebecRead MoreEssay on The Use of Laughter in Poetry by Langston Hughes2140 Words   |  9 PagesThe Use of Laughter in Poetry by Langston Hughes Jessie Fauset explains in her essay The Gift of Laughter that black comedy developed not as a method for blacks to make people laugh, but as a necessary emotional outlet for black people to express their struggles and hardships. The funny man took on a much more serious emotion than appeared on the surface level. Comedy was one of the few means black people had available to them to express themselves. The paradoxical definition of

Information Technology System and Management Computer Shares

Question: Discuss about theInformation Technology System and Managementfor Computer Shares. Answer: Roles of CIO in Computer Shares The CIO or the chief information officer helps in managing the information technology system and the computer system that are used in the organization. The chief information officer is one of the most effective and efficient members of any organization and they focuses on the technical projects for formulating various goals of the organization (Caplinskas, Dzemyda Lupeikiene 2013). The management of Computer Shares decides their goals and objectives with respect to the organizational demands and all of this aspect will improvise the system architecture of the organization. The role of the CIO will be changing according to the demands of the organization. The CIO is responsible for monitoring various types of IT activities of the organization, which helps in communicating with the specialist team for managing various IT areas. The CIO works very closely with the CEO and the staffs of the information technology for outperforming its main competitors (Aiken Gorman 2013). The CIO has c lose relationship with the various CEO, chief financial officer, CSCO and many more. Impact of CIO over Many Years The CIO of the Computershare has different roles and responsibilities as compared to other organizations. After proper analysis, it is found that the management of the information technology and the information system for supporting the various goals and objectives of the organization (Avery 2012). The CIO of Computershare is also responsible for innovating, balancing the various IT strategies, data management skills, collaboration and motivation of the other employees in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. Expectation of Top Management from IT/IS Following are the various expectations regarding the IT/IS system within the Computer Shares: Meeting of goals objectives of the any organization Review of suggestions and recognition of organizational needs (Caplinskas, Dzemyd Lupeikiene 2013). Time management of the decided project tasks (Fue Sanga 2015). Feedback management regarding the project management and work progress Influence of CIO in Computer Shares Presently, the competition in the IT world is increasing rapidly and it forces the organization to adopt new strategies for surviving in the market of competition. The CIO of the organization has the responsibility to manage the information system of Computershare. The CIO of the Computershare is facing huge problems in aligning the digital system with the current system of business (Computershare 2016).This is mainly because the budgets of IT are shrinking and the technologies are moving towards the digital world. The challenges that are arising in the organization help in reducing the effectiveness of the CIO in order to achieve various goals of the organization. The former CIO of the Computershare has divided the IT system into parts. One part focuses on the customers of the organization and the second part on the IT transformation. The CIO of the organization is very influential and contains the most significant capability with with they can respond very quickly regarding the cha nge in technology in the world of digital business (Fue Sanga 2015). It is very much important that the CIO of Computershare must follow some of the key trends for further implementing the business strategy for evolution of the business. They influence the IT members of the organization to spend more time on the development of business strategy. The risks that are raised in the world of business must be avoided and the costs that are related with the infrastructure of the management must be reduced. The main aim of the Computershare is to develop various technical and soft skills requirements and therefore the CIO helps in influencing the IT leaders for developing their skills (Jose 2012). The CIO of Computershare have good quality of interaction and it helps in communicating properly with the various members of the IT team for managing the business processes very efficiently. Performance of IS/IT in Computer Shares The CIO have sought IT/IS strategy in a very close proximity however for providing the goals of the organization, a direct chain of reporting is created. Different types of information system are used by the Computershare, which includes Customer Relationship Management system, Transaction processing system and business intelligence system. The performance is mainly dependent on the processing as well as functionality of the system (Laptop Computers, Desktops, Printers and more | HP United Kingdom2016). The transaction processing system is mainly used for collecting the user data and the output is generated on the input provided. The transaction processing is mainly dependent on the batch processing which helps in managing the staffs without getting proper help from the staff of the organization. The different activities of the organization include trend of purchasing, various demands of the product and the enquiry of the customers. The business intelligence system is mainly used for proper analysis of complex data and for extracting various data in order to perform various operations and for taking proper decisions (Lu 2013). The implementation of different types of information system helps in automating the management process for reducing the involvement of staffs and therefore the management team focuses on various innovative technologies that are helpful in growing the business of the organization. Missing Functionalities of IT/IS in Computer Shares The missing of various knowledge in the management of the business organization have led slow development of the organization. This also decreases the performance of the organizations. The response time, which is calculated, is very much slow due to the lack of KMS and therefore it is not possible for maintaining the consistency all the time (Mason Ramsey 2012). The Computershare faces challenges during the procedure of integration of new strategies and thus it is quite important for the organization to implement various knowledge management system of the organization in order to improve the working function. Weakness of IT/IS in Computer Shares The lack of knowledge management schemes within Computer Shares is affecting the development aspects of the organization and because of this aspect; the organization is not having appropriate growth in the technological field (Materials science and information technology II2012). Improving Steps taken by CIO in Computer Shares The steps that is required to be taken by the CIO can be improved by applying 80/20 rule in the company. It is the principle of Pareto that helps in stating that 80 percent of the outcome is the result of 20 percent of the cause (McCormack 2014). The CIO mitigates the issues for applying it in the information system of the company. The entire world of technology is dependent on the technological advancements by using the information technology. In the perspective of business, there are some specific needs for the development of the organization (Jose 2012). The perspective includes business growth, enhanced productivity, reduction in cost margin and many more (Mendona Sousa 2012). All the aspects include strategic business, which will have great impact on the success of business perspectives of the company. There are many IT solutions present in the company that helps in unlocking the new business opportunities. The innovative as well as competitive nature helps in making the organi zational architecture of the company better. Challenges Involved in Improving Stages The main challenges include: The aim of the organization must be developed Roles and responsibilities of the organization must be assigned In order to make proper strategies, proper members of the team must be selected. Team members conflict must be handled in a professional way (Meghanathan, Chaki Nagamalai 2012). It is quite important to build a good trust level between the various members of the organization (Peters 2012). Open communication between the top level managers and the employees of the company is very much helpful in developing the configuration of the organization. Effective Communication helps in resolving various types of challenges that the members of the organization generally faces (Park 2012). The stakeholders of the organization must be informed about the various innovative strategies that are very much effective for proper development of the organization. Computershare storage optimizer must be used which is helpful in reducing the total volume of data storage (McCormack 2014).The shrinkage as well as complexity cost is reduced. Control panel is one of the software solutions that is helpful in analyzing the information of the enterprise and it assists in automatically migrating the data. Mitigation Challenges The challenges can be mitigated with the implementation of different techniques for the issues found in the organization. The aim statement of the organization can be developed with the involvement of the team and developing a draft from the team members. The CIO should monitor the activities of the team members and consider the members who have the willingness and ability to perform the operations (Tina 2012). The information system can be used for the analysis of the stakeholders and a continual analysis is required to be made for finding the missing stakeholders. Several meetings should be conducted with the staffs and the stakeholders for finding the needs to implement new strategies and develop the new strategy (Peters 2012). The roles and responsibility should be divided to the different team members such that everyone understands their roles and their upper level staffs should monitor them (Lu 2013).The team leader with good communication capability must be chosen to avoid the friction arising between the employees and handle the team in an efficient way. Proposed IT/IS Strategy for the Organization The criterion that is required for creating the proposition of IT/IS strategy in Computershare includes: For establishing the foundation of belief and mission, strategic planning must focus on the future of the organization (Jose 2012). It is very much necessary that the strategic planning must define the gaps that exist between the present status and the desired future position of the organization. The planning must be stretched for achieving a new level in the organization and it focuses on the critical issues of the company (Mason Ramsey 2012). It should be a thinking process, which helps in bringing a change in the practices of the organization. Proposal for the IT/IS Strategies of Computershare Include: Confirming readiness and Commitment: It is important for the governing board and management to understand the purpose of the strategic planning. Preparing Planning Session: The managers of the organization must communicate about the processes and expectations of strategic planning (Park 2012). Communication helps in resolving problems more easily than instructing the employees of the organization. First Planning process: In the first planning process, following points needs to cover: The purpose of the processes must be defined clearly. It is necessary to establish faith between the team members. Mission, vision and strategic goals of the organization are developed. Drafting plan: Stakeholders must be aware of the results of the planning session, and they must understand the commitment of the strategic planning processes. Action Teams: The members of the organization must be groped in teams for providing training as preferred by the organization (Peters 2012). Second Planning Sessions: The original strategic planning team must meet all the purposes of the reviewing that is created by the action planning teams. The members of team must be charged with long and short a planning document that helps in addressing the strategic goals of the organization in order to measure the development of the organization. Formal Approval from the board: this provides the official approval and commitment of the governing Body for approving the Strategic Plan (Mason Ramsey 2012). Technology Roadmap The key esteem recommendation for the proposition of road map technology includes: A valuable key system is present n the CIO that acts as a driver for arranging and organizing various goals and objectives in the vital arrangement (Jose 2012). The roadmap makes it very much simple for the CIO to impart vital arrangement from various constituents from whom CIO should procure purchase (Lu 2013). This is considered as a reason for building up the roadmap in order to propel a complex activity inside the organization. The promotion of the alignment between various business goals and programs is mainly influenced by the CIO. References Aiken, P Gorman, M 2013, The case for the Chief Data Officer, Morgan Kaufmann, Waltham, MA. Avery, J 2012,Information theory and evolution, World Scientific, Hackensack, N.J. Caplinskas, A, Dzemyda, G Lupeikiene, A 2013,Databases and Information Systems VII, IOS Press, Amsterdam. Computershare, 2016.Welcome to Computershare. [online] Computershare.com. Available at:https://www.computershare.com/au[Accessed 27 Oct. 2016]. Fue, K Sanga, C 2015, "Remote Scheduling System for Drip Irrigation System Using Geographic Information System", in ,JGIS, vol. 07, no. 05, pp. 551-563. Jose, D 2012, Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Secrets To Acing The Exam and Successful Finding And Landing Your Next Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Certified Job, Emereo Pub., Dayboro. Laptop Computers, Desktops, Printers and more | HP United Kingdom2016, viewed 26 October 2016, https://www8.hp.com/uk/en/home.html. Lu, W 2013,Proceedings of the 2012 International Conference on Information Technology and Software Engineering, Springer, Berlin. Mason, B Ramsey, G 2012,Microsoft System Center 2012 configuration manager, Packt Pub., Birmingham, UK. Materials science and information technology II2012, Trans Tech, Durnten-Zurich, Switzerland. McCormack, A 2014, "The Role of the CIO", in , ITNOW, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 22-23. Meghanathan, N, Chaki, N Nagamalai, D 2012,Advances in computer science and information technology, Springer, Berlin. Mendona, C Sousa Neto, M 2012, "O perfil do Chief Information Officer (CIO) e a sua percepo com relao aos arranjos de governana de TI", in , Revista de Economia e Administrao, vol. 11, no. 2. Park, J 2012,Future information technology, application, and service, Springer, Dordrecht. Peters, A 2012, "From the Chief Executive Officer", in , Australasian Psychiatry, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 170-170.

Technological Frontier Essays - Digital Media, Technology, Computing

Technological Frontier Technological Frontier America has been a country full of optimism, perseverance, and freedom of ideas and beliefs. The frontier- a mental or physical area where much remains to be done- is a belief that has and still propels and influences America today. The technological frontier is probably the most influenced by the frontier belief. There is always room for better in technology. The technological advancements in the past 50 years outnumber the amount advancements from the beginning of time up to 50 years ago. Technological advancements have made it easier to for humans to live and adapt to their universe. Technology has expanded exponentially from the beginning of time until the 90's. In the 90's technological advancements have taken off at a higher exponential rate. For every frontier that appears to be complete, a new frontier has opened up and is unsolved. The frontier consists of branches that have branches themselves, resembling a tree. The frontier is far from ending, if there is an ending. During this rapid technological advancement period where we are trying to fulfill that long-term, near perfect technology, there have been short-term constraints in technology that have and will continue to open new branches in technology. Engineers have been trained to discover new technologies that enhance human life by designing new products and things that make life easier and safer for everyone. Engineers are obligated to use their skills, intelligence and apply their knowledge to promote human welfare. An example of this has been the advancement of communications. Instead of sending a letter to a family member or loved one by pony express, now one can send mail in just seconds through e-mail. This technological advancement makes it easier and better to communicate that is satisfying to humans. These advancements in the long term will have small constraints, but in the short term there're broader constraints and limits. Email about five years ago could only be accessed through internet service providers such as: AOL, Prodigy, CompuServe, TexasNet, and institution accounts. Now email can be retrieved and sent over the internet without having these big name internet service providers. There are now services like Yahoo, Hotmail, Rocketmail, and Juno that offer free email accounts over the web for any one. Within the past few years, technology has allowed email users to send voice and video emails, which was impossible before. Email still has delays ranging from a few seconds to a few minutes when you send your email over the internet. Ideally, these delays still represents a very fast relay suitable for all practical purposes in email. Email can have more of a real time relay in the future. There is also the possibility of your email not reaching its destination, which we all have experienced at one time. Now we see less and less of our email not reaching our destination with the improvements of transmission lines. Higher bandwidths in these transmission lines allow for higher memory capabilities in our email. Email in the long run will be near a more real time instantaneous speed with the capability of higher memory. The frontier myth can be seen from the beginning technological advancement of communications. In 1837, while working independently from one another Samuel F. B. Morse and the two British engineers Sir William Cook and Sir Charles Wheatstone developed a method of sending an electronic message over a distance of several miles almost instantaneously. The implications of this development were enormous. For the first time in history, human beings had the means to overcome the obstacles imposed upon communications by vast distances. A "Virtual world" of human communications had just been born that was much smaller and could potentially be much more closely knit together than the "real" world. Though the concept of virtual place and time would not become part of the terminology of human thinking for almost another 150 years, the foundations were laid with this invention. It is significant that during this same period we were making rapid progress in conquering distance and time in the real world with advances in the steam engines, which powered ships and railroad locomotives. America's telegraph network grew up with and was often found alongside the rapidly developing network of railroad lines that began to tie the various corners of our nation together. The frontier myth influenced the expansion of communications into another frontier, telecommunications. While working on a device to enable hearing impaired individuals to hear sound in 1877, Alexander Bell developed a communications device that was to eventually be introduced into almost every American home and become available to nearly everyone worldwide. The

Working for the Youth Essays

Working for the Youth Essays Working for the Youth Essay Working for the Youth Essay Establishing a social group to help the out-of-school-youth is one way to help the youth attain their dreams and be productive members of the society. While this would take a lot of effort and determination from volunteer groups, doing this would bring about some changes in the lives of the beneficiaries and their families. In this paper, we elaborate on the ten considerations posted by Author in establishing and facilitating a group. We apply each consideration to the establishing or a group committed to serve the out-of-school-youth. Working for the Youth Establishing a community group to help out-of-school youth will be one great contribution to the improvement of our nation. However, establishing a group is not an easy task. One needs relevant knowledge, skills, and determination to ensure the success of the group. Author (year) offers ten considerations every group should take when establishing and facilitating a group. Taking a look at these could help a lot to make the group carry out its tasks properly. First, Author suggests anticipating the positives and negatives of working together as a group. In establishing a group for out-of-school youth, the group should anticipate that not all the members have the same motive for joining, and not all are equally committed. Ideally, the members should have a common passion (World Vision Canada Web site, 2008). But since this is not possible, the members should be prepared for negative consequences to come about. For instance, the founder of the group may simply want to help the youth, while others want to serve their own purpose. In the case of establishing a group for the out-of-school youth, some could expect to benefit from the activities by having the right to do referrals of their relatives and friends. Also, some could think of using the group to earn societal influence and power especially when they are running for elections. To avoid this, the group should clarify with the member the purpose for joining, and make sure each understand s the goals of the group. In addition, the group members cannot expect the leader to be all-knowing and always be available. Leaders have other activities to attend to aside from the concerns of the group. Therefore, it will help if members could share in the responsibilities as they may be assigned. The positive things that the group can expect is the fulfillment each one can feel when they are able to accomplish their goals. If the group works hard, they could expect to help out-of-school youth by making them finish schooling and work at the same time. Next, the group should consider undergoing different phases or cycles. Author claims that just like the life cycle, each group will go through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age, and retirement. The out-of-school youth group to be established will initially go through difficulties of finding members, encouraging the youth to take part, finding resources to finance the activities, and making the youth achieve their goals. When it is already fully established, it will need to sustain support to its members by finding additional resources and recruits. Later on, it might also need to add services or people. In each stage, assessing performance against the goals is needed to document the difficulties and success in each cycle. The third consideration is to keep focused on the goals. Each member needs to know why the group for out-of-school youth is founded. As a social and recreational group, its main goal is to respond to the needs of the out-of-school youth to obtain education and guidance. Secondary to it are the desire to keep them away from drugs by providing recreational activities, and helping them earn a living. The fourth consideration is to identify activities of the group. These activities include maintenance activities and program activities. The first includes the work of the staff, such as setting up the place of work, collaborating, finding sponsors, making a newsletter or other forms of communication. Program activities are those from which the out-of-school youth would benefit. These may include educating them and designing programs to sustain their interest in the group. It is important to ensure they have the basic necessities in life, and make them feel accepted and loved. Being out-of-school, some of them may already be working at a young age. Therefore, aside from food, shelter and clothing, some may need time to play and express themselves through art. In this consideration, it might help to provide art classes and games where they would enjoy and find other means of self-fulfillment. The fifth consideration is to identify who may take part in the group. Definitely, there should be a leader to hold the group and guide it towards its goals. In the group to be created, there should be at least five members of the staff to initialize the planning and design stage. Being the beneficiaries, the out-of-school youth also play a key part. As such, there should be a target from the start of who will receive the benefits. Coordinating with community officials will help identify the youth needing intervention, and the support group willing to help in the project. The fifth consideration is the structure by which the group will accomplish its goals. Without a planned structure, achieving the goals of the group will be unclear. As such, the group should set the structure during the first phase, in order to identify roles and responsibilities of the key persons.   Structures can be easily defined according to the purpose they serve. In the group to be created, two structures are very clear: one is the education structure, and the other is the recreational structure. Those with relevant skills in education should be assigned in the first structure, while those who have experience holding recreational activities for the youth should be assigned of the second. This way, the goal of providing education and guidance to the beneficiaries will be sustained. The sixth consideration concerns the leader of the group. Importantly, the role of the designated leader should be identified. Doing this would also determine the kind of leadership role the group needs. In the group for out-of-school youth, the task-centered leader is needed to attain success. The leader of the group should have pertinent knowledge and skills to identify the needs of the group, gain resources, designate roles accordingly, arrive at the best communication system, and maximize participation from all stakeholders. Although the leader may be very knowledgeable and skilled, the help of the members should be equally valued. As such, the leader must maintain rapport with the members and two shall support each other in every undertaking. Finding a good working environment is the next consideration. As the group focuses on out-of-school youth, the meeting place or office should be near the dwelling of the beneficiaries. It should be free from any obstructions, and must provide room for recreational activities in the future. In addition, it should be free from hazards as taking care of the youth involves other safety requirements not found in adult environments. The way the leader would communicate with the members is also another important consideration. Open line communication is ideal for every social and recreational group. Importantly, the leader should serve as the model to the members in setting up an ideal environment where people can express their ideas and feelings in relation to the affairs of the group. To do this, the leader should employ ways to make each member express oneself. For example, in meetings, the members should be given a chance to raise their suggestions. This way, not all decisions would come from the leader but from the members as well. Moreover, in assessing the performance of the group, appreciation should be give to the relevant person, making all feel the importance of hard work and productivity. Mehra (2006) points out that the leader’s external communication skill is also necessary. This means that aside from communicating internally, the leader should also establish communication from outside networks especially those that can help in the organization. Freeman (2005) confirms the advantage of establishing social networks not just of the leader but also the members. Furthermore, members of the group should support each other verbally and nonverbally. Since the group to be created composes of two apparent structures, the members of each should have bonding with their group as well as with the others. The structures should not be a way to divide the members, instead it should serve as opportunity for support and appreciation. The assessment part where the group considers how well they perform is the last but not the least in Author’s suggestions. Assessment can sometimes create factions or conflicts in groups. To avoid this, respect should be exercised, especially in verbal language. The author points out that members should carefully construct statements when addressing others. For example, instead of saying, â€Å"You ignored me† one can say, â€Å"I felt ignored.† Notice that the change in the initial word from â€Å"you† to â€Å"I† could make a big difference. With these considerations come hard work and fun. In every situation, the group to be established should always make it a point to enjoy what they are doing so the work does not seem like work but a way to have fun. ASSIGNMENT 2 One of the groups that I joined was a religious group where I had a chance to teach people in the streets. The group did not actually intend to teach the Bible. Instead, we had basic math, language, art, and science. I was assigned of teaching language to kids in the street. I gained a lot from this experience and until now I still value the learning that I had. Just like any group, our group went through four stages as Tuckman (year) suggests. First, I saw it â€Å"forming.† During this stage, the leader of the group went about recruiting people who can commit some of their time during the weekends to teach street folks. Everyone joined in the planning where we had some â€Å"storming† or ideas. We tried to identify what needs to be taught in the subjects mentioned. The leader set up meetings for us to express our ideas and together come up with a standard. Each one was heard, regardless of the time we joined the team. During â€Å"norming† stage, we got more acquainted with each other. By this time we were very already very comfortable to express ourselves, and confide in each other. Also, the people we were already well acquainted with us, and they expected us to come at a certain time in the designated area. Next stage was the â€Å"performing† stage. When everything has been planned accordingly, we were ready - schedule, materials, target students, etc., we were prepared to teach. We bought our materials and taught the street people the basic lessons that we designed. For my part, I taught the people some words, then gave them exercises on sentence construction, then guided them to write a paragraph to express themselves. The people were very happy for what we did for them. One of the men even expressed that they benefited a lot from the activities. Also, the efforts we made allowed them to express themselves. As for us, we learned important insights about life in the streets, and the problem of lack of education. During assessments, we were happy to report our accomplishments, and recognized each other’s hard work and patience.† The lessons I learned from the organization I joined are truly valuable. However, just like some groups, ours reached its â€Å"adjourning.† As the members of group got married and later had kids to take care of, we soon had to give up the community service but we vowed to still be of service to those we will meet in the future.

Health Care in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Care in the USA - Essay Example Authorities to transmit overt health messages, such as those for AIDS prevention, immunization, or family planning, may use the electronic media. Perhaps more significant are advertisements (for insecticide, beer, soft drinks, automobiles, powdered milk, cosmetics, and other items of commerce) and programmatic content depicting supposedly admirable people and their lives and activities. Emulation of such models may have rapid and profound health consequences, both good and bad. Moreover, decades ago, the medium is often the message, and the mere presence of the radio or television receiver may lead to significant changes in personal or group behavior, independent of the nature or content of the broadcast messages. Most commentators ascribe the great decline in mortality in countries like US that were developing during the 18th and 19th centuries to improved nutrition, water supply, excreta disposal, and housing; legislation to control employment of women and children; and public health services in the broad sense. There seems to be a common misconception in the world that Health Care Services in US have monolithic socialized medicine systems under which a person need only appear on a hospital doorstep to be showered with free services. Perhaps equally widespread is the idea, promoted by television pictures of starving hordes, "such is not the case in the United States, where not all Americans are covered by health insurance" (Shi, L. & Singh, D., 2004, p. 2). Neither of these extreme images is accurate. While often useful, comparative studies have their limitations. On a superficial level, comparative health services research can uncover statistics on the numbers of facilities, physicians, hospital beds, and so on; on money and other resources put into the system; and on the number of patient visits or immunizations given over a certain period of time. It can also illustrate certain structural relationships within systems, such as the organization of divisions of a health department or the regionalization of hospitals, health centers, clinics, and dispensaries. Pages of tables and charts can be prepared in such studies, but skill and care are needed to draw correct conclusions from these data. There are two basic problems: (1) what the data show and (2) what they do not show. "Health care is a continuously evolving process impossible to describe adequately in an instantaneous snapshot, any more than a single frame can exemplify a long and complex motion picture" (Frick, K., Jensen, P.L., Quinlan, M. and Wilthagen, T, 2000, p. 86). The fact that a system for health care exists does not necessarily mean that it functions according to design or that it is used, or used appropriately, by the people whom it is intended to serve. The official health care system is not necessarily the health care system, because it has several parallel systems. Persons may by necessity (= lack of access) or by intent (= distrust) circumvent the official system. Indeed, in some parts of the US only a minority of the population may make use of official health services, preferring to consult pharmacists, healers, or others whose services are not recorded on government charts and tables. Whereas the elements of a system, and the resources put into it, can be counted and described, t he output or product of the system, in terms of improved health, is impossible to measure and may even defy estimation. Attitudes, motivations, and policies cannot be indicated on an organizational

EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED HOW SWAT OFFICERS AND FILM CREWS HANDLE Assignment

EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED HOW SWAT OFFICERS AND FILM CREWS HANDLE SURPRISES - Assignment Example 2005 pp. 336). Bricolage is dependent on sociocognitive resources developed by group members, this is done through work draft agreements, reinforcement and involvement of task operations while enabling the development of cross-member expertise. Researchers have started to pay attention to surprise as a crucial element within business operations. (Lampel & Shapira, 2001; Weick, 1995; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). Surprise is defined as a split from the normal expected outcome that the participants did not anticipate. Surprises include components within organizations that are unforeseen and pull away participant’s concentration away from progressing on the work. Surprises are fascinating as they demonstrate the extraordinary methods in which various firms come across uncertainties and adjust, while at the same time offer openings for further analysis for future robust action. (McDaniel, Jordan, & Fleeman, 2003; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). they happen. This research is interested in the determination of the frequency and success in how police Swat and film crews react to surprise and their preparation to change. This research paper is also interested in how the organizations redirect operations as circumstances change and development of collective resources. Analysis not only requires the investigation of group members’ responses to surprise, but also studying the process that facilitate rapid response. The study made comparisons on organizational practices on both categories of organizations and their mode of expecting, anticipating, and sometimes embracing, the unexpected. The title of the article is plain and clear to the content and the rationale of the research. It concisely explains all the facets of the research in the interested article, which is how swat officers and film crews handle surprises. Hence the title of the article is a reflection of the the