A Personal Narrative Essay Samples Help!

A Personal Narrative Essay Samples Help! a Personal Narrative Essay Samples at a Glance Some individuals have the capacity of fantastic writing but find it problematic to work on confusing topics so it's far better to request assistance from a specialist. Give a concise introduction of all of the men and women you write about including yourself. Remember that personal narratives will allow you to grow as an individual and help different folks will be able to learn lessons from you. You should have your reasons, and our principal concern is that you find yourself getting a great grade. What a Personal Narrative Essay Samples Is - and What it Is Not There's, obviously, a limit on the variety of pages even our very best writers can produce with a pressing deadline, but generally, we can satisfy all the clients seeking urgent assistance. Since you may see, the demand for essay writing appears not just during your academic life but in the practice of entering a university togethe r with applying for work. It is a good idea to look for the one which has a superior reputation and offers high-quality papers at economical prices. If you have some concerns about school or college essay submission, check out some on-line websites and see for the best yet reasonably priced providers and receive the best essays written on any topics and score best. Whatever They Told You About a Personal Narrative Essay Samples Is Dead Wrong...And Here's Why A personal narrative essay is just one of the greatest tools to stop social issues which are often disregarded. You can also get in touch with your writer to supply some excess recommendations or request information regarding the order's progress. What's more, you must be somewhat distinct with the information that you use. The subject of the narrative essay usually indicates the writer's experience and there's absolutely no need to use any data from the outside sources. a Personal Narrative Essay Samples - the Story Hum or and irony will ensure it is much easier for your reader to process the info, giving a chance to have a quick break for the brain and relax somewhat. Keep in mind that the story that you're going to write about isn't plainly a story to be told, it has to get a meaning and have to provide details clearly as to support, explain and boost the story. All the details relate to the major point the writer is trying to make. Essentially, a plot is all the significant events of a story working with each other to give it a point. The War Against a Personal Narrative Essay Samples You might also see short essay. The essay defines a particular viewpoint. In order to produce your essay samples it is possible to acquire absolutely free personal narrative essay and surprise. You can also see informative essay. Essays are available in many forms. Benefits of Online essay Writing Services Essay writing is a trying task for the majority of the students today. A brief story, nevertheless, is different from a narrative essay in that it doesn't revolve around a pre-set motif, and that it doesn't have a particular format. The ideal way to learn to compose a narrative essay is to observe a good example. Nowadays it is quite difficult to locate a trustworthy essay writing service. You can receive free personal narrative essay and the way to express your own story. Dating writing, you may use the stories of the examples. So, it turned into a pure shock to hear Daniela speak so earnestly for the very first time since I'd known her. The writer should find because many similarities and differences as possible so he'll want to do a little bit of research. Telling a story isn't always simple and telling a wonderful story is even harder. The writer is religious and her very best friend died. For example, your professor will observe you've carried out good research. Along with the phonetic rhythm, it is critical to produce your essay dynamic by its sense. Your essay has to be free from errors like spelling mistakes and wrong grammar. If you haven't written any narration essays before, you ought to read works of different students to fully grasp how to develop a structure, the way to use your private narrative ideas, and what topics you're able to utilize. Persuasive essays should have logical and very clear reasoning supported by facts and arguments. The narrative is extremely personal, which means you should underline the importance of the ongoing events for your identity. Your narrative should have an excellent presentation. You might also see balanced sentences. You can also seeA declarative sentences.

Causes of Macbeths Downfall - 1445 Words

Causes of Macbeths Downfall – Essay By Jordan Koorey Shakespeare’s Macbeth, based on a play written in 1605 explores the life journey of Macbeth as he climbs the ladder of the social hierarchy. Determined to become King, Macbeth will kill any and all that get in his way. Driven by ambition, Macbeth puts his faith in the words and prophecies of three witches after a prediction that Macbeth would gain the new title of Thane of Cawdor. Alongside with ambition, Lady Macbeth, is a key instrument to Macbeths’ ambition to become king, continuously pressuring him, when he fears he has gone too in his schemes for greatness. We can definitely see a well – regarded and loyal soldier of the Scottish army change to a murderous tyrant. His downfall†¦show more content†¦As the lead up to the event of King Duncan’s murder Lady Macbeth tricks Macbeth into killing Duncan by using her cunning and complicated words. She makes Macbeth think that he has to kill Duncan for his benefit. Lady Macbeth deceives him into think ing that only he would gain more power, and it wouldn t benefit her. Lady Macbeth counters Macbeths’ arguments by saying that he needs to muster up all of his courage, and just follow here directions. Lady Macbeth plans the murder strategies, and influences Macbeth to go along with her strategy. Macbeth doesn t want to kill a good king for his own ambitions, but is persuaded to do it. From Lady Macbeth persuading him to kill Duncan, the first evil act he commits, he is drawn into believing the witches’ prophecies, and takes action to make them come true. Through various quotes by Lady Macbeth, it is evident to say that with each other by their sides, was a negative influence to the lead up of Macbeths’ downfall. Lady Macbeth blames her husband for lacking the courage to do the deed, and because Macbeth is a warrior above everything else, her comments manipulate him a good deal. Indeed, manliness is an idea the play interrogates in various ways, such as when Macb eth says I dare do all that may become a man who dares do more is none (1.7.46-47). This is the belief that his wife use against him: When you durst doShow MoreRelatedMacbeth- Text Responce918 Words   |  4 PagesPrompt: â€Å"Macbeth is totally responsible for his own downfall† Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ is about the leading male protagonist succumbing to his ambition and need for power. Though Macbeth is liable for his own actions, he is not solely responsible for the events that eventually result in his downfall. Macbeth is corrupted by his wife, Lady Macbeth, as well as the three weird sisters. Macbeth’s contribution towards his downfall is his strong ambitious nature. Lady Macbeth is the person who inducesRead MoreGerald Deocariza Iii. Mrs. Jardine. English 3, Period 4.1161 Words   |  5 Pagesbecome tragic heroes, who destine for a serious downfall and set as the protagonists of a dramatic tragedy. A tragic hero gets For example, William Shakespeare wrote a play called The Tragedy of Macbeth to show Macbeth’s uprisings and downfalls. Macbeth’s downfall results to wrong judgements that combines fate and external forces. If his downfalls does not kill him, his downfalls can cause the tragic hero to suffer for the rest of his life. Macbeth gains the utmost respect from other people; on theRead More The Character Flaws of Macbeth Essay845 Words   |  4 PagesThe Character Flaws of Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   Since The Tragedy of Macbeth was written there has been speculation about the cause of Macbeths downfall.   Readers ponder whether Macbeths fall was caused by a flaw in his character, Lady Macbeth, or an outside force of evil.   Although the witches set a certain mood and Lady Macbeth exerts a certain influence on him, Macbeths downfall is caused by his own character.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Macbeths tragic flaw in character was the paradoxical pairing of his ambitionRead MoreCause Of Macbeths Downfall955 Words   |  4 PagesThe Causes of Macbeths Downfall Essay (English Yearly) INTRODUCTION {DON’T HAVE TOO MANY FACTS IN INTRODUCTION ANAYLISE MORE USING THE FIRST SECTIONS OF EACH PARAGRAPH} Macbeth is a powerful and emotionally intense play. As an audience, we see how a well-regarded and loyal soldier change to a murderous tyrant. Lady Macbeth continuously pressures Macbeth, when he fears he has gone too far, playing a major role in his downfall. It is his ambition, along with the influence of his wife and the strainRead More Aristotles Tragic Hero in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay examples1044 Words   |  5 PagesAristotles Tragic Hero in Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   Aristotle and Shakespeare lived ages apart, but Aristotle had a great affect on Shakespeares plays. In Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth, the character of Macbeth is consistent with Aristotles definition of the tragic hero.    Aristotles tragic hero is a man who is characterized by good and evil. He is a mixture of good characteristics and bad characteristics. For example, Macbeth was an honorable Thane of Glamis. He was a valiant fighterRead MoreMacbeths Downfall1691 Words   |  7 PagesMacbeths Downfall In the beginning of the play Macbeth, Macbeth is a successful and noble Thane of Glamis. The witches tell Macbeth prophecies that guide him to his downfall, but in the end it was his own selfish decisions that caused his demise. The other person that is blamed for Macbeth’s destruction was his wife Lady Macbeth because she was able to manipulate and control his self-esteem by playing with his courage and bravery. However, Macbeth was only guided by his wife; he chose to play outRead MoreMacbeth As A Good Man Led Astray1208 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Macbeth is basically a good man led astray. † Discuss - Trevin Wadugodapitiya, 10D (WET) BB5 In the tragedy Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s downfall was one of much significance, showing the renaissance audience what happens when you go against the Great Chain of Being, and strive for more than what you are given. Even though Macbeth was the one who put himself in that position through greed and paranoia in his actions, his downfall was of sharedRead MoreThe Ambition of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth by William Shakespeare894 Words   |  4 PagesThe Ambition of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth by William Shakespeare Timothy Leary once said, Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition (Peters 175). But is this true in the case of the classic play Macbeth? In Macbeth it seems to be, that Macbeth the protagonist of the play is influence by Lady Macbeths ambition. Could this be an exception or was Lady Macbeth lying when she ask to be equal to a man so she could commit the murder (1.5.33.45-61). To understand one must look deeply into theRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Macbeth - The Five Tragedies1293 Words   |  6 Pagesof, Macbeth, is the utterly sheer shift in Macbeth s personality throughout the piece. It is commonly debated that the rapidly altering deposition of Macbeth had since served as the underlying facets and influences behind his ultimate collapse. However, Arthur Kirsch, Writer of â€Å"Macbeth’s Suicide,† insists that perhaps Macbeth did not develop a sense of insanity, but he was murdering out of confidence in his future. On the other hand, In Miguel Bernad Arti cle, â€Å"The Five Tragedies in Macbeth†, BernardRead MoreThe Downside of Ambition Explored in Macbeth 1245 Words   |  5 Pages Macbeth is a play written by Shakespeare that is set in eleventh century Scotland. It details the life of the Macbeth, a brave and noble man who is described as ‘Bellona’s bridegroom’ (1.3.54), specifically the events after he meets three supernatural creatures who tell him about his fate. The reader should see Macbeth as a great man whose ambition for security leads to his downfall. Ambitions and manipulation from his wife cause him to commit Duncan’s murder, but this particular murder does not

Criminal Thinking Patterns free essay sample

Loyalty means respect and competence pertaining o a certain degree of trust and allegiance to an organization or personal lifestyles one might be involved in. Emotions and stereotypical thoughts have a major role in the play called loyalty. Loyalty and emotions have similarities just because of the fact an individual has to have some form of feeling towards a person or they will never be able to be loyal. What is the meaning of being loyal? Loyalty is defined by the person giving the meaning of its definition. Google definition of loyalty is true to a certain extent, but there is still something missing. The quality of being loyal should exist in everyone. Everyone or a particular breed has the quality of being loyal. Definitions seem to captivate everyones minds into believing the term or definition is true just because it has a reliable source. Sources are undoubtedly opinions from scholars; opinions arouse from persons experience to inform people about such terms. We will write a custom essay sample on Criminal Thinking Patterns or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If the term loyalty is true as it is supposed to be it might as well be self-explanatory.Loyalty s a word that consists of trust, faith, allegiance, and love. Without those four terms loyalty doesnt exists. The quality of being loyal all depends on the people that may think of these terms. Imagine two couples that have undeniable trust for each other with stipulations which are to be loyal forever, one runs off to meet another Individual she might have attractions for, the other partner finds out about It so the partner feels like she is not being loyal.The reason for that Is because he feels like he Is only supposed to be attracted to him, but she feels differently because she feels that she hasnt cheated on him. These are two couples with two deferent definitions pertaining to loyalty. Emotions and stereotypical thought has everything to do with loyalty. Emotions give an Individual trust and fear which are needed so one can attain the ability to be loyal. Without trust for an Individual, people will never be able to give their complete trust and loyalty especially when the Individual wants the same respect.Stereotypical thoughts pertaining to the term loyalty will give an individual a lesser understanding of the term loyalty mainly because stereotypical people tend to have their own opinions about everything which isnt wrong but it justifies the statement. Everyone has their own definition of loyalty. Furthermore, themselves? Loyalties are moreover something genuine and sacred people or an organization tends to have. Loyalty consists of trust, love, and respect. Everyone has the ability to be loyal as long as it has true meaning.

To What Extent Did the Plo Represent a Shift in Terrorist Activity free essay sample

Firstly, it was the first hijacking where its purpose was not to divert the plane but to make a bold political statement. El Al was Israel’s national airline and was a symbol of the Israeli state. The hijacking also the forced the state to directly deal with the terrorists. Second, the hijacking influenced people on an international scale. The fact that the terrorists were intending to trade hostages for imprisoned Palestinian terrorists in Israel was shocking to the wider audience watching this. In addition, it was the first time a terrorist organization began operating regularly at the international level, leaving its home turf to attack citizens of a foreign country who, in many cases, had nothing to do with their struggle in order to promote their political cause before an international audience. Finally though the combination of dramatic political statement, symbolic targeting and crisis induced de facto recognition, the terrorists recognized they had the power to create major media events. We will write a custom essay sample on To What Extent Did the Plo Represent a Shift in Terrorist Activity? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This was significant in that they realized media attention meant power. This was the first time they were being heard by the world and that their cause was being sympathized with, which was a great stepping stone for resolving their problems. â€Å"When we hijack a plane it has more it has more effect than if we killed a hundred Israelis in battle,†. This encouraged other terrorist groups such as the ASALA, the JCAG and left-wing groups such as the German Red Army Faction to â€Å"internationalize† their political struggles. This showed the shift in terrorism from older previous terrorist groups. Terrorist groups such as the People’s will acted on â€Å"propaganda by deed† and thought committing acts of tyrannacide would attract public attention and ultimately weaken the state giving them a chance to attack. This was not so much different from the PLO’s actions in that they also wanted attention to their cause showing the process of a slow evolution of terrorism. By killing the head of state the media would attract people and spread propaganda, similar to the objectives of the PLO. However, the difference between the two terrorist groups was the PLO realized involving random innocent parties would infringe more terror upon the people thus causing a psychological effect where the individual has his own safety on mind as well as the terrorist group. The first several hijackings accomplished more for our cause than twenty years of pleading at the UN. This illustrated that involving innocent people had caused the world to awake and this turning point gave terrorism an international stage. Terrorism had evolved such that modern day terror was influenced by the likes of the IRA and FLN. The Irish nationalist cause through many years of violence against their British colonizers was finally recognized and they were given their independence through acts of destruction as well as political recognition later on something the PLO also followed which suggests a process of evolution was happening. The primary tactics used by the FLN, IRA and PLO were similar in that they involved hijackings, kidnappings, and embassy raids with the intention to obtaining publicity. Although the PLO used slightly different tactics in that they gained ransoms and imprisoned political figures of power exchanged for hostages; which is a prime example of the evolution of terrorism. Such terrorists blackmail forced governments to respond accordingly. While acts of terrorism at this time killed relatively few people, such publicity stunts put tremendous pressure on governments to respond responsibly since a wrong decision during a hostage crisis could have disastrous consequences and the blame was likely to land on the government. An example of this was the German response to the attack on Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich on September 5, 1972: eleven Israeli athletes (and eight members of the Palestinian Black September) were killed after a hostage standoff that ended in a shootout. While the West German government was not the primary target of the attack, the scene of crime was on German soil and the government was forced to act. This was an eye-opener as not only Germany but many other governments realized how insufficient their response capabilities were. . This clearly shows that terrorism was a process of evolution because previously groups such as the People’s will and the IRA were less likely to involve innocent citizens, whereas more recent terrorist groups were more willing. They saw the deaths of innocent civilians as martyrs in their cause. Although terrorism was a process of evolution there were differences that showed a shift in terrorism an example would be the IRA was given weapons and money to assist in their struggle. Independently wealthy individuals could also provide them with support. With the terrorists need for support, terrorism became a completely political effort and therefore it became a tool for political means. In this case media coverage may have been helpful in their success, but it was not needed as much as the raw resources required for warfare. The media would instead have its uses in recruitment and was more essential for groups like the PLO which suggests a radical shift in terrorism. It is clear from past events the year 1968 was in fact a watershed year but we cannot dismiss the fact that there are many similarities between previous terrorist groups and the PLO which shows evidently there is an evolution of terrorism. The PLO was influenced by groups like the FLN and IRA in that they shared similar tactics but the process of evolution had transformed the speed and ease of publicity. An example would be technological advances which made it easier for people to be aware of major terrorist activity. It is clear that the hijacking of 1968 enlightened many terrorist groups of pivotal factors in succeeding in objectives; such as creating major media events, symbolic targeting and international attention. This in turn influenced groups such as JACG and ASLA, which shows the importance of 1968 and the shift it caused in terrorist activity.

Narrative essay Essay Example

Narrative essay Essay Example Narrative essay Essay Narrative essay Essay The pounding of the door awakened me in the dead of the night. Distinctive voices were calling through the door. I lay in my bed quietly as I heard the footsteps of my mother in the hallway. Lights went a blazing, lighting her way, some spilling into our room. Then I heard a door open and more feet shuffling into our quiet home. Police, said an unknown voice, so loud and so clear. Put your hands up in the air and get down on the floor. My mother moved to obey the order. More feet were moving about. Voices were talking above voices. Someone asked my mother a question. As I listened, I heard the fear in her response and the frustrations in the other. Doors were opened, and then shut closed. Footsteps trekked throughout the house, as if they were looking for something or someone. I heard voices talking, but I didnt understand what was being said, all I knew was that I was scared and curious. My curiosity got the better of me and I moved to get up. My older sister, Chile, grabbed my hand. Dont move, she whispered. I asked her, what was going on. She responded, I dont know. Go back to sleep. I lay back onto our bed, but I didnt sleep. Instead, I thought about my mom. What must she be going through? Who were these people? Minutes seemed to pass by with nothing happening in the other room, but talking amongst them. I couldnt Just lay here and not do anything, I thought to myself. I have to do something. They might hurt her. With wild imaginations churning into my mind, I decided I needed to face them and my imaginations. I untangled my hand from my sister and slowly got up. With the little light spilled underneath our door, I turned my head towards my sister. Her eyes were opened and tears streamed down. Im scare, she whispered. I plied, I was too, but I wanted to know what was going on. Ill go with you, she said, moving quietly about the bed into the next one where my two oldest sisters were sleeping. She shook them, but they were awake and listening to the noises in the other room. They both got up and sat on the bed. Whats going on? I asked the Jessica. Being the oldest, she had a better understanding of the situation. Theyre looking for Jeff and Johnny, she said, referring to my two oldest brothers. Why? Chile asked. They did something stupid, she responded. What did they do this time? my other sister, Amber, asked. I dont know, Jessica said, but lets go back to sleep. What about mom? Chile asked. They wont hurt her, Amber answered. They Just want Jeff and Johnny. Deciding that was the end, Jessica and Amber laid back down onto their bed. Chile and I looked at each other. She shrugged her shoulders, and then went back to bed. Being indecisive, I sat on the bed. What seemed like hours, only took seconds, as I got up. Three heads turned my way. l need to use the bathroom, I told them. Me too, Chile said. Jessica and Amber reluctantly got up. Well go together, they said. They were as curious as I was. And not one of us needed the bathroom. With a racing heart, I hallway and saw figures walking around. They were all dressed in black; black beanies, black shirts, black pants, black shoes. Most wore vests with SWAT written across in bold letters. Some wore their uniforms and others wore street clothes. Opening the door bigger, I bravely stepped out into the light, with my sisters taking the rear. Hearing our entrance, three figures with SWAT on their vests, drew their gun. Police, the one in the middle yelled. Put your hands up in the air and get down on the floor. Those same words they had echoed to my mom. Getting down on the floor, with my hands on my head, I heard footsteps going into our room. Watching through the corner of my right eye, I saw four legs go inside. Lights were being turned on, beds were overturned, and windows were opened. Someone raised their right leg to kick the closet door opened, while another one, with his gun drawn, looked inside. Clear, they shouted from the room. Upon leaving our destroyed room, they told us to get up and walk into the living room in a single formed line. Sitting down and across from my mom, I looked about our home. There were about fifteen to went people inside and outside. I watched them talking amongst themselves. Some were in the kitchen, discussing who knew what, and others were outside. But they were all alert, ready for anything and everything. One of the officers walked up to us. He asked my mom where my dad is. Sleeping, she replied. Point to the room, he said. My mom pointed to the last room on the right. My mom then told Jessica to tell him there were kids sleeping in the room. My mom said there are kids sleeping in the room, she translated. He nodded then left. Seconds later, my dad came out of the room with his hand behind his back. He was awake, the officer said to another. Seating my dad next to my mom, he went outside, while another talked to my dad. Tuning them out, I watched my surrounding again. A couple of officers opened kitchen drawers and cabinets to see whats inside. Someone went into the bathroom to check it out again. Another looked in the garage. Most of the ones outside looked about the yard and kept the neighbors at bay, while some pretended to be busy. I looked at the clock. In a bright red color, it changed from three twenty-five to three twenty-six and my brothers walked through the front door with their hands behind heir back Just as a cry wailed into the night. My strong and prideful mother wept in despair. My father, stoic and unbending, sat defeated. My sisters turned their head away in shame. I looked at my brothers and felt disappointment in them. They slipped into their room with the officers behind them. Minutes later, they came back out. My mom got up and started to ask my brothers what had happened, where had they been, and who had they been with, but was deterred when the officer blocked her. As my brothers left, my mother collapsed onto the floor and cried. We tried to comfort her as best however we knew we couldnt. Before the last of the officers left, one came up to us to tell us what had happened. We all sat in shock as we listened to what was being explained. My oldest brother was being charged with voluntary manslaughter and my other brother to be taken in as witness. Done with delivering his news, he left, quietly closing the door. Locking up the house, my sisters and I surround our parents and cried. We cried for loss of innocence, for our now broken home, and for our brothers. We knew we could never get back those days of happiness. We could only move on from this point and learn that with every action

Amy Beach (Mrs. H. H. A. Beach)

Amy Beach (Mrs. H. H. A. Beach) Amy Beach Facts Known for: classical composer, whose success was unusual for her sex, one of few American composers recognized internationally at the timeOccupation: pianist, composerDates: September 5, 1867 - December 27, 1944Also known as: Amy Marcy Cheney, Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, Amy Cheney Beach, Mrs. H. H. A. Beach Amy Beach Biography: Amy Cheney began to sing at the age of two and play piano at the age of four. She began her formal study of piano at age six, taught first by her mother. When she performed in her first public recital at age seven, she included some pieces of her own composition. Her parents had her study music in Boston, although it was more common for musicians of her talent to study in Europe. She attended a private school in Boston and studied with musical teachers and coaches Ernst Perabo, Junius Hill and Carl Baermann. At the age of sixteen, Amy Cheney had her professional debut, and in March, 1885, appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performing Chopins F minor concerto. In December of 1885, when she was eighteen, Amy married a much-older man. Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach was a surgeon in Boston who was also an amateur musician. Amy Beach used the professional name Mrs. H. H. A. Beach from that time on, though more recently, she has been credited as Amy Beach or Amy Cheney Beach. Dr. Beach encouraged his wife to compose and publish her compositions, rather than perform publicly, after their marriage, bowing to a Victorian custom of wives avoiding the public sphere. Her Mass was performed by the Boston Symphony in 1892. She had achieved enough recognition to be asked to compose a choral piece for the 1893 Worlds Fair in Chicago. Her Gaelic Symphony, based on folk tunes of Ireland, by that same orchestra in 1896. She composed a piano concerto, and in a rare public appearance, soloed with the Boston Symphony in April of 1900 to debut that piece. A 1904 work, Variations on Balkan Themes, also used folk tunes as inspiration. In 1910, Dr. Beach died; the marriage had been happy but childless. Amy Beach continued composing and returned to performing. She toured Europe, playing her own compositions. Europeans were not used to either American composers or female composers meeting their high standards for classical music, and she gained considerable attention for her work there. Amy Beach began using that name when in Europe, but returned to using Mrs. H. H. A. Beach when she discovered that she already had some recognition for her compositions published under that name. She was once asked in Europe, when still using the name Amy Beach, whether she was the daughter of Mrs. H. H. A. Beach. When Amy Beach returned to America in 1914, she lived in New York and continued composing and performing. She played at two other Worlds Fairs: in 1915 in San Francisco and in 1939 in New York. She performed at the White House for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. The womens suffrage movement used her career as an example of a womans success. That it was unusual for a woman to achieve her level of recognition is reflected in the comment by George Witefield Chadwick, another Boston composer, who called her one of the boys for her excellence. Her style, influenced by the New England composers and romantics, and influenced by the American Transcendentalists, was considered during her own lifetime to be somewhat out of date. In the 1970s, with the rise of feminism and attention to womens history, Amy Beachs music was rediscovered and performed more often than it had been. No known recordings of her own performances exist. Key Works Amy Beach wrote more than 150 works, and published almost all of those. These are some of the best-known: 1889: Valse-Caprice1892: Fireflies1892: Mass in E-flat major1892: aria Eilende Wolken1893: Festival Jubilate1893: Ecstasy1894: Ballad1896: Gaelic Symphony1900: Three Browning Songs1903: June1904: Shena Van1907: The Chambered Nautilus1915: Panama Hymn1922: The Hermit Thrush at Eve and The Hermit Thrush at Morn1928: The Canticle of the Sun

Edgar Degas' Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Edgar Degas' Biography - Essay Example According to the research "Edgar Degas' Biography" findings at the young age of twenty, he decided that art was the field for him and urged his father to let him try. Before entering the famous Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he took lessons from an unknown artist of his time Louis Lamothe, who himself had learned from Ingres. This association was more than enough for Degas who had nourished a lifelong fascination with Ingres’ work and admired the artist immensely. Luckily for him, he also managed to meet Ingres himself whom he considered a master in Arts. Ingres gave him a good piece of advice that Degas fondly recalled many years later. He told him to: "Draw lines, young man, and still more lines, both from the life and from memory." Degas never forgot this advice and kept it close to his hear throughout his career. In 1856 Degas went to Italy to reconnect with his Italian relatives and stayed for extended the time in both Rome and Florence. At that time, it was considered important for every serious student of art to visit Italy at least once. For Degas, there was more than one reason to see Italy since it is where his relatives lived and this is where art is present in all its historical glory. Once he returned to Paris, he made Paris his home for the rest of his life with an occasional trip here and there. Upon Degas’ return to Paris in 1960, the artist was still very young and had been deeply under the influence of the Old Masters. This classical training was the norm in his time and he drew many copies of the paintings by the Masters.

Regional and land planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Regional and land planning - Essay Example Specifically, the problem of accommodating the skateboarders of LOVE Plaza has been contentious. A partial plan has been underway to provide solution for the perceived planning problem. And it cannot be determined whether the problem should be focused on community cohesion, aesthetic, practicality and economy, heritage, safety, or even inclusion. It should be noted that the problem about inclusion of perceived community â€Å"nuisance† in the planning scheme has been a challenge not only for planners but also for policy-makers and the residents. However, their part in the history and narrative of places cannot be easily dismissed. The author has noted the importance attached by skateboarders in LOVE Plaza within the discussed area and will argue the need to reconsider their petition to provide them a fair space within the public realm. You are to prepare an article for a town planning journal to test your capacity for research and original thinking. The topic of your article s hould be a fairly recent or current town planning issue facing a local government authority and/or a local community, preferably be one that is being debated in the community and in the media. It has to be an issue to do with a type of development that falls under the jurisdiction of a local government authority (i.e. is assessed by a LGA). The article should achieve the following: Define the town planning issue. The town planning issue is the renovation of the Dilworth, JFK, and Municipal Services Plazas in Philadelphia focused on the re-accommodation of skateboarders at LOVE Plaza. The area has been for quite a while an issue when the original structures started to be seen as failed spaces. It had too many of the same thing in one place, and previously a â€Å"grand scheme to create a downtown of the future, with offices and retail integrated into the underground transit system,† (Saffron, 2011, P 7). It was conceived by planner Edmund Bacon who was described as legendary, and executed by Vincent Kling's firm based on Rome's Piazza Navona (Saffron, 2011). Renovation is a contentious word for planners and designers not only due to sentimental or heritage and aesthetic reasons but also economic (Needleham, 1968; Sigsworth and Wilkinson, 1969). There are a lot of various considerations for renovation, regenerations or redesign foremost of which is its financial and economic implication not only to the governing body but also to the rest of the stakeholders that include residents, and even non-residents for that matter. Certain balance is needed to be achieved in all processes of renovation so that there is double if not triple care taken by planners, designers and authorities in order to meet all criteria and expectations that the changes would achieve. The plazas were arranged to set off views of new towers, viewed as timely in the 1960s, complementing the modernist campanile Kling that housed the city services. It was envisioned as a â€Å"great place s for downtown workers to lunch alfresco,† (Saffron, 2011, P7) but had claustrophobic high walls, inaccessible and yet had multiple staircases. The area also became a turn-off because maintenance had been neglected and due to lack of public interest, it was claimed by the skateboarders in the 1990s (Saffron, 2011). The area had been evaluated to be

Dubois and Washington Essay Example for Free

Dubois and Washington Essay In assessing the suitability of W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington approaches towards the black development goals in the South of Jim Crow laws era we need to have a little ides of what the Jim Crow laws were designed to achieve. Permitting African Americans to develop while those laws were in place and peaceful struggle to work against the discriminatory laws would be my standard of suitability of the measures used by the two Race Leaders. I believe that Washingtons approach was too meek and would have damaged the black cause. On the other hand Duboiss approach seems arrogant for the time. Both Race Leaders being in the same period must have had a positive effect on the black rights as each approach considered separately was likely to be harmful to the black cause. Jim Crow Laws During the period of slavery, the relationship between white masters and black slaves was clearly defined as that of a master and slave, with all the rights belonging to the master and none to the slave. Once the blacks were declared as free, the need for keeping the ex-slaves in their place became important and the states and local communities began to pass laws to segregate blacks in social and public life. Blacks were, as to say segregated from cradle to grave (from hospitals, schools, trains, restrooms, water, fountains, parks, dance halls, barbershops, penitentiaries, restaurants, theaters, asylums, and institutions for the blind and deaf, cemeteries [Mercer Beckett, 2003]). Initially blacks were intimidated to keep away from politics and using their votes but gradually a variety of bureaucratic and extra legal methods were used to disenfranchise the blacks. The legal and extra legal methods such as violence and intimidation to disenfranchise the African Americans was to ensure that blacks are not in a position to use their political strength to oppose the second class status assigned to them in the South [Mercer Beckett, 2003]. These discriminatory laws were called Jim Crow laws after a character in the then popular song and dance minstrel show. Dubois and Washingtons Approach to Black Rights Jim Crow laws were designed to destine the black Americans to a second class citizen status. Booker T Washington was faced with living and operating in the southern United States which had still not come to term with the equality of races. Washington realized that in order to improve the lot of his black countrymen he would need the support of white majority He knew that he would have to allay their fears regarding all claims of equality to seek their help to provide education and support for the black causes. W. E. B. Du Bois was settled in the much relaxed and liberal North. Du Bois wanted to see an America with social equality where individuals would be rewarded according to their merits [Bauerlein, 2004]. Washingtons Atlantas Compromise was effectively a surrender to the wishes of White racist America and Jim Crow laws and made Washington the favorite black leader of the white America who were happy to see him advocate their vision of blacks role in America. Conservative blacks who wanted to consolidate their position before demanding their rights found Washingtons approach pragmatic and supported him whole heartedly too. Du Bois on the other hand insisted that the black Americans had every right to be treated as equals, the right to vote and opportunities for the talented blacks (what he called Talented Tenth). He warned that if the blacks were not given their rights the white America will suffer too . DuBois Critiques Booker T. Washington Du Bois acknowledges Washingtons success as being the result of different interpretation of his Atlanta compromise, The radicals received it as a complete surrender of the demand for civil and political equality; the conservatives, as a generously conceived working basis for mutual understanding. So both approved it, and today its author is certainly the most distinguished Southerner since Jefferson Davis, and the one with the largest personal following [Dubois, 1903]. He recognizes Washingtons success and acknowledges that Washington has to work in difficult southern setting, In the South especially has he had to walk warily to avoid the harshest judgments, and naturally so, for he is dealing with the one subject of deepest sensitiveness to that section [Dubois, 1903]. Dubois criticizes Booker Washington for his approach and asking Black Americans to give up claims for political power, their insistence on civil rights and higher education for black youths. He argues that Washingtons advocacy of these critical matters resulted in black disenfranchisement, legal creation of civil inferiority of Black Americans and withdrawal of financial support from institutions of higher education for blacks [Dubois, 1903]. DuBois accuses Booker Washington of encouraging evil, It is wrong to encourage a man or a people in evil doing; it is wrong to aid and abet a national crime simply because it is unpopular not to do so[Dubois, 1903]. On one hand Booker Washington follows a eek approach and hopes that blacks will eventually prove themselves to be worthy of being treated as equals, On the other hand Duboiss arrogant attitude could only be expected to create additional obstacles in the obviously racist South of that period. Discussion and Conclusions I find that both leaders approaches were unsuitable to handle the Jim Crow laws. Washingtons approach was that of a pathetic submission to second class status for black Americans. Duboiss approach went to the other extreme alienating even the sympathetic whites from the cause of helping blacks achieve their rights. While, Washingtons submissive approach won him huge funds for his projects and a leadership role that was acknowledged right up to the White house. Dubois insistence on equality now and legal course to winning the black rights did restore the pride of black America. Thus the counterbalance of the two approaches reduced the possible harm that the two approaches would have done the cause of black America if they were applied without the influence of the other. Bibliography Bauerlein, M. , (2004), Washington, Du Bois, and the Black Future, the Wilson Quarterly, Volume: 28. Issue: 4, Page Number: 74+, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Du Bois, W. E. B. , (1903), The Souls of Black Folk, Chicago Mercer, D. and Beckett E. , (2003), New Jersey AAH Curriculum Guide _ Unit 8: The Rise of Jim Crow and the Nadir, 1878-1915, New Jersey State Library. [Online] retrieved from Internet on May 06, 2007, http://www. njstatelib. org/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/AAHCG/unit8. html Olson, J. , (2005), W. E. B. Du Bois and the Race Concept, Northern Arizona University, USA, http://www. yale. edu/polisci/info/conferences/W. E. B. %20DuBois/Papers/Olson-DuBoisRace-III. pdf Tell, B. , (1996). Separate yet One, Library of Congress Information Bulletin, [Online] retrieved from Internet on May 06, 2007, http://www. loc. gov/loc/lcib/9603/booker. html

Critical Book Review of No Shame in My Game by Katherine Newman Essay

Critical Book Review of No Shame in My Game by Katherine Newman When someone thinks of the poor they instantly imagine a homeless man sleeping in a cardboard box or the nearest garbage can, but the working poor especially in the inner-city is commonly overlooked by society. However the working poor, in this case the working poor in the inner-city, are people advancing to try and make their lives better. They are taking minimum wage jobs so that they can barely afford a roof over their heads. Within Katherine Newman?s novel No Shame In My Game, she studies the working poor in the inner-city to draw conclusions about how to help them and dispute common stereotypes and the images people commonly view. Newman?s conclusions along with the way she had conducted her case study will be evaluated for her positive and negative points while searching for any biases she may have portrayed within her novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even before I started reading Katherine Newman?s novel No Shame In My Game I had learned a little about Newman?s background, which may cause her to have a bias towards her case study. Newman is clearly within the middle class even perhaps towards the upper end. She is a Harvard anthropologist that would seem to have never experienced such situations as her subjects. Like most of the middle class she could simply have thought that the poor were only the few men in cardboard boxes in rough neighborhoods and not truly consider the working poor in the inner-city until the case study was started and her thesis written. This could greatly affect her procedures in observing data with her hundreds of subjects over the span of a few years. The thinking of someone who is not within the working class may flaw the order and process at which the case study was conducted. There may be variables that Newman did not consider and did not research that could change her data and con clusions. Using the social scientific method to collect data and revise her hypothesis involves knowing all the angles and variables that are applied, but if an extra variable were to present itself it would call for a change in the hypothesis. This one change could alter all of Newman?s conclusions and data she presents. Newman presents her supporting evidence largely with statistics although I do not believe many of her statistics are real world numbers for her exact case study but her observ... ... values as the middle class does. The working class has to first follow the same cultural values as the middle class if they hope to one day become part of the middle class. This thinking is not entirely flawed but unfortunately it is not enough to raise ones ranking in society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Newman had set out to answer a question: ?What might be done to reverse this scenario [the working poor being subjected to a worse lifestyle than the unemployed on welfare] (and what can be done) to build upon the advantages that a life on the job offers? (Newman, xv). I believe she had answered her question in a manner that proves useful and insightful. The conclusions that Newman had drawn where evaluated to being positive on some aspects while neutral on others. However I do not agree with some methods she used and data she used within her case study but nonetheless it still grants the audience a clear view of the working poor in the inner-city. Her slight bias could have caused her to conduct the research and study in a less accurate manner but she has proceeded to explain her train of thought well through the novel. As a whole Newman?s case study grants a view into the ?true? poor of America.

To What Extent Was Slavery the Cause of the American Civil War?

In the context of the period 1763-1865, how far was the American Civil War caused by long term divisions over the issue of slavery? In his second inaugural address in March 1865, Abraham Lincoln looked back at the beginning of the Civil War four years earlier â€Å"all knew,† he said, that slavery â€Å"was somehow the cause of the war. † This essay will endeavour to discuss the role of long term divisions caused by the slavery debate in the eventual outbreak of the Civil War.In doing so this analysis will encompass the period between the birth of the nation beginning with the start of the American Revolution in 1763 and the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865. This being a period in which the newly independent nation struggled with its state system, with each of the former colonies possessing the rights to a significant level of self-governance that inevitably led to disagreements and conflicts of interest.One such conflict was the disagreement over slavery which James Ford, like Lincoln, believes was crucial in creating a clear North-South divide that would eventually lead to the Civil War. Whilst recognising slavery’s overwhelming contribution to the outbreak of the American civil war in 1861, one must acknowledge alternative factors beyond slavery, which contributed to the nations descent towards armed conflict. Revisionists such as William Gienapp and William Freehling emphasise the political contribution to the outbreak of the war and the influence of sectional ideology on ante bellum politics.It was this differing ideology that created the tensions between Southern and Northern parties creating political chaos during the 1850s, the North believing they were attempting to save democracy whilst the South campaigned for increased States’ rights, all of which provoked the outbreak of war. As well as the long-term divisions over slavery and the short term political contributions to the outbreak of war, historians such as Charles an d Mary Beard placed emphasis on the fundamental differences between the North and South economic systems, disregarding the moral and political contributions.This analysis will argue that ultimately the issue of slavery was the main reason for the outbreak of war in 1861; however the short term political blunders and failure of the political system created a chaos that made war inevitable. Had the American political system thrived, the divisions over slavery could have been resolved without war being waged. Slavery is the moral dimension that lies at the heart of the historiographical debate. James Ford Rhodes identified slavery as the central and virtually only cause of the war. If the Negro had not been brought to America,† he wrote, â€Å"the Civil War could not have occurred. † Introducing slavery to America created differences of opinion between the North and the South, on the morality of slavery. It was these differences that created tensions between the regions an d ultimately fuelled the outbreak of war in 1861. The Northern climate was not suited to plantation agriculture which resulted in Congress passing an Ordinance in 1787, keeping slavery out of the North West Territory.The Northern belief insisted that the South was ruled by a ruthless ‘Slave Power’ which, conspiratorial in its methods, consisted of slaveholding planters and political leaders who were determined to convert the whole United States in to a nation of masters and slaves. The aggressive attitude of Southerners arising from the decision by Chief Justice Taney in the Dred Scott case of 1857 that all blacks, slave as well as free, were not and could not be citizens of the United States increased rather than allayed Northern suspicions.This conspiracy, as the Northerners believed it to be, was fundamentally an aristocracy founded upon these principles; that slavery was not morally wrong, it is a right possessed by the slaveholder, and that it is constitutional. Ad mitting Missouri as a slave state and introducing the Fugitive Slave Act in the Compromise of 1850, only exacerbated Northern suspicions which is illustrated through what John Rankin believed, â€Å"The Slave Power has already seized upon the General Government, and has overthrown the rights of Free States†¦the struggle between the slave and free institutions is for existence.They are antagonistic principles and cannot exist long together – one or the other must fall. † ‘Slave power’ heightened through media influences such as the non-abolitionist Cincinnati Daily Commercial claiming â€Å"There is such a thing as THE SLAVE POWER† encouraged the Northern populace that action needed to be taken against the South in order to preserve the existence of their personal liberty. On the other hand, many Southerners like historian Ulrich Bonner Phillips, viewed slavery as a hierarchic order thus making it wholesome practice.Phillips recalls setting off to school as a young child and burdened by the prospect that his â€Å"sable companion† was able to play all day long. According to Hugh Tulloch, the Southerners had evolved a unique form of social relations based on slavery; whereby the master’s role was essentially paternal, â€Å"without slavery the black would either lapse into African savagery. † It is this view and that of Edward Channing’s, â€Å"the slaves were often happier than their masters† that appears so distorted in comparison to the Northern interpretation on slavery.It was this that became an important factor in consolidating antislavery sentiment in the North, thus widening the sectional rift between the North and South. â€Å"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I cannot remember when I did not so think and feel. † Lincoln’s view on the peculiar institution further heightened the issue as Southern states regarded his election as a threat to their power, and pr ovoked the secession of South Carolina from the Union, shadowed by a further 10 states.Modern fundamentalists such as James McPherson and Eric Foner similarly describe the two sections as â€Å"different and deeply antagonistic societies† agreeing that slavery was the root of that antagonism. The North's commitment to capitalism and modernisation, these scholars explained, was the context for abolitionism and for the free labour ideology of Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party. The South's commitment to agriculture and slave labor was reflected in the region's distinctive cult of honour, its preoccupation with localism and states' rights, and its defense of social inequality.Had African slave trade been declared illegal long before 1808, the million plus slaves that were in the USA in the early 19th century would not have existed, therefore would have had no effect on population influxes which stimulated an industrial and economic change, nor the geographical expansion which ca used the conflict within the different states. Although Rhodes placed his greatest emphasis on the moral conflict over slavery, he suggested that the struggle also reflected fundamental differences between the Northern and Southern economic systems.In the 1920s, the idea of the war as an irrepressible economic rather than moral conflict received fuller expression from Charles and Mary Beard, insisting there were â€Å"inherent antagonisms† between Northern Industrialists and Southern planters. Undoubtedly, the issue of slavery itself would not have created divisions and differences within the nation had someone, or a group of people spoke up and shared their desire to â€Å"fight the gross evil of slavery† thus the influence and the rise of abolitionists need to be taken in to account when assessing the causation of the war.Abolitionists were committed to the doctrine of ‘moral suasion’; the idea that Southern slaveholders could be persuaded that slavery w as morally wrong. Arguably, it was the abolitionist’s actions that publicised and brought slavery in to the political arena and through their anti-slavery postal campaign in 1835, the Democratic administration could not avoid the issue. By building these campaigns, abolitionists turned themselves into an organised movement, urging the national government to debate slavery and heightening the nation’s opinion on the institution.The Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, became one of the most powerful weapons in the hands of the Abolitionist Movement. The Constitution introduced a clause stating that fugitives from slave labour must be sent back to the South if captured in the North. It forced citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitives and denied fugitives who claimed to be freemen the right to a fair jury trial. This caused outrage among the Northern black community who were no longer able to legally prove that they were free. Foner stated the act gave slavery what is called â€Å"extra-territoriality†, thus making slavery a national institution.Even though the Northern States could abolish slavery, they still could not avoid their Constitutional obligation to enforce the slave laws of the Southern States. The Act drew more attention to the inhumanity of slavery and caused increased tension between the North and the South. Northern whites resented having to be forced into hunting slaves against their will by the officials enforcing the Act. It was also significant because it helped to create legendary abolitionists and anti-slavery orators such as Frederick Douglas and Henry Highland Garnet and generated the release of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ in 1852 by Harriet Beecher.Beecher’s book expanded support and contributed to the outbreak of the war by personalising the political and economic arguments of slavery whilst providing depiction of the horrors of slavery. Installments were published weekly from June 1951 in an abolitio nist newspaper. In November 1862, President Lincoln famously said, â€Å"so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this Great War. † More importantly, the Act allowed Northerners who had always thought slavery was so far away to see it personally for the first time.This display of cruelty convinced more people of the evils of slavery and made them opposed to the Southern institution of slavery and the Act as it had now cemented slavery within the law. This increased support for the abolitionists' cause would infuriate the South and increased sectional tensions. Despite slavery existing in America since the 1600s, economic and social paths taken by the North and the South increasingly began to change towards the 1800s and as a result created significant sectional differences between the states.Southerners did not necessarily go to war to defend slavery, nor did northerners go to war to end it. It is often suggested that we have ignored the well-known facts th at most southerners did not own slaves and that most northerners shared the era’s racist attitudes. After all, only about 25% of southern white families owned slaves and 50% of these owned less than 5 slaves. Consequently, one must consider the basic differences between the economies and the practical issues that divided the sectional leaders.Charles and Mary Beard came to the conclusion that there had existed an â€Å"irrepressible conflict between a static, agrarian South and the expanding, industrialising North. † The Beards insisted that â€Å"inherent antagonisms† between Northern industrialists and Southern planters contributed to the outbreak of war. Massive changes in transport help to explain the agricultural and industrial changes. The development of steamboats revolutionised travel on the great rivers; by 1850 over 700 steamships were operating on the Mississippi and its tributaries and the North were able to boast more than two-thirds of the railroad tracks in the country.Less than one in ten Americans lived in towns in 1820; one in five did so by 1860, but it was this urbanisation that was more prevalent in the North as opposed to the South with the percentage of population living in towns of 2500 or more being 26% in 1859 on Northern states, compared to only 10% in the Southern states. Unlike the South, the North had a growing number of immigrants; between 1830 and 1860 most of the five million immigrants to the USA settled in the North. Slave labour was the foundation of a prosperous economic system in the South.In 1793 the invention of the cotton ‘gin’ revolutionised the region; it is significant to recognise the relationship between the invention of the cotton gin and when cotton became America’s leading crop with the number of slaves in the South. In 1790 America produced 1,500 pounds of cotton. By 1815 production had reached over 100,000 pounds and in 1848, production exceeded an astonishing 1,000,000 pounds. Simultaneously, slavery spread across the Deep South as the cotton engine fuelled slave labour, pushing the North and South’s industrial methods even further apart.By itself, the South's economic investment in slavery could easily explain the willingness of Southerners to risk war when faced with what they viewed as a serious threat to their â€Å"peculiar institution† after the electoral victories of the Republican Party and President Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Economically, the taxes on imported and exported goods contributed greatly to the North- South divide. From the time of the first Congress in 1789 to the outbreak of the Civil War there was dissension between the Northern and the Southern states over the matter of protective tariffs, or import duties on manufactured goods.Northern industries wanted high tariffs in order to protect their factories and labourers from cheaper European products. Demanding that â€Å"American labourers shall be protected aga inst the pauper labour of Europe,† tariff proponents argued that the taxes gave â€Å"employment to thousands of mechanics, artisans and labourers. † The vast majority of American industry was located in the Northern states, whereas the economies of the agricultural Southern states were based on the export of raw materials and the importation of manufactured goods.The South held few manufacturing concerns, and southerners had to pay higher prices for goods in order to subsidise Northern profits. The collected tariffs were used to fund public projects in the North such as improvements to roads, harbours and rivers. From 1789 to 1845, the North received five times the amount of money that was spent on southern projects, â€Å"Sectional legislation, such as subsidies to ship-owners and manufacturers, took money from the pockets of the planters and farmers and transferred it to the pocket of Northern capitalists. This economic policy heightened tensions and exacerbated the sectional disagreements over the best type of government. The stark differences in their economies resulted in supporting either the Democrats or Whigs which brings in to play the revisionist interpretation that political blunders and the breakdown of the system ultimately divided the sections, increasing their hostility to one another. The structure of American politics and the antebellum party realignment provides a way to assess the relationship between the American political system and the origins of the war.Modern revisionists like Stampp attempt to recapture the eventualities of antebellum politics, placing emphasis on the shared values of the North and South and the failure of political leaders to reach compromises which could have averted war. Erin Foner argued the coming of the Civil war constituted the greatest failure of American democracy; â€Å"the intrusion of sectional ideology into the political system brought about the war. The fundamental issues can be traced bac k to the standoff over sovereignty during the American Revolution, and from this founding era the disagreement over how much authority the national government should have on the one hand and how much sovereignty and independence the individual states should retain on the other began. An unworkable arrangement followed, whereby states tried to coordinate a national war effort, a national economy, and a national government without sacrificing their individual sovereignty.However, continental currency became worthless and states became free to do their own thing. Shays' Rebellion in 1786-87, occurred as a protest to rising debt and economic chaos and due to the failure of the national government was unable to gather a combined military force amongst the states to help put down the rebellion. This was a catalyst for the Founding Fathers to scrap the Articles of Confederation and devise a new Constitution. However, the Constitution contained a number of provisions that strengthened the f orces of sectional division within the nation.It was the American political system that was particularly vulnerable to sectional strains and tensions and thus the Civil War was able to occur within a particular political framework. William Gienapp believes it was â€Å"the Constitution’s provision for amendment that significantly contributed to the outbreak of war. † The constitution’s ambiguity on whether Congress could impose conditions on a new state or refuse to admit a new state to the Union became a source of controversy which stimulated the growing conflict between the sections.More important, believed Gienapp, was the ambiguity of whether a state had the right to leave the Union. It was this silence that contributed to the debate over secession as it allowed Southerners to plausibly maintain that secession was a legal right of each state, and thus fuelled Southern extremism. Political blunders from the 1820s widened sectional differences, according to Ga bor Boritt; â€Å"the crystallisation of rival sectional ideologies orientated towards protecting white equality and opportunity. Each section began to see the other as a threat to its vital social, political and economic interests. A view had been produced that one section or the other has to be dominant. The Missouri Compromise, so Rodger Ramson believed, allowed in the long term, â€Å"the right of Congress to pass legislation allowing or prohibiting slavery in the western territories. † However in 1854 the Kansas Nebraska Act nullified the Missouri Compromise and is claimed to be a political miscalculation of massive proportions. Alan Nevins labelled the entire episode as a â€Å"disaster†.The political effects of this Act were enormous, irrevocably splitting the Whig Party. Every northern Whig had opposed the bill; almost every southern Whig voted for it and due to the competition of the Know-Nothing party and their failure to respond to nativist concerns, the pa rty was effectively killed off. With the emotional issue of slavery involved, there was no common ground to be found and Northern Whigs reorganised themselves to become the Republican Party committed to blocking westward expansion of slavery. Animosity between the North and South was again on the rise.The North felt that if the Compromise of 1820 was ignored, the Compromise of 1850 could be ignored as well. The Dred Scott case in 1957 brought the Missouri Compromise in conflict with the Fifth Amendment that upheld that no one be deprived of his or her right to life, liberty, and property. Political historian, Michael Holt notes, â€Å"The issue that drove the deepest wedge between North and South in the two decades before the Civil War was not the institution of slavery itself, but the question of whether slavery should be allowed to expand westwards beyond the boundaries of the slave states. Without the discipline of a strong party system, more outspoken views on slavery and seces sion began to be heard. Holt declares that the breakdown of the party system, no longer operating on economic issues, allowed demagogues to arise who accentuated the differences between North and South. Politicians in both sections â€Å"kept the country in constant turmoil and whipped up popular emotions for the selfish purpose of winning elections† thereby bringing about the Civil War. Lincoln declared before his unanimous nomination, â€Å"A house divided against itself cannot stand.I believe this Government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved- I don’t expect the house to fall- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. † Despite Holt placing emphasis on the breakdown of the second party system, Stampp focuses on Lincoln’s actions as president, ‘inviting’ by his proposition a war of sections; â€Å"Thus Mr Lincoln invites a war between the free States and the slave States, a war between North and the South, for the purpose of either exterminating slavery in every Southern state, or planting it in every Northern State. The existence of national political parties became increasingly focused on the contest for Presidency. The coming of the war In April 1861 was seen as both sides waging war in an attempt to save democracy as they understood it. For southern secessionists, at stake was the right of self-government and the fundamental right of southern whites to control their own destiny. For the North, the war was a struggle to uphold the democratic principles of law and order and majority rule, as well as preserving the Union, which they believed was inseparably linked to democracy.Boritt noted, â€Å"few northerners failed to appreciate the fundamental irony that they were ready to kill their fellow Americans in order to prove democracy was a workable form of government†. Due to this rivalry of sectional ideologies, each came to think that one section or the other had to be dominant. Residents of each section feared the other, and before the physical fighting the sectional conflict represented a struggle for control of the nation’s future. On December 20, 1860, in response to Lincoln's victory, South Carolina seceded from the Union.By the time of his inauguration on March 4, 1861, six more states had also seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. Ramson states, â€Å"the attempt by the southern states to create a Confederacy separate from the American Union failed because the slave society of the South was unable to sustain an effort in the face of a determined foe. The promise of eliminating slavery eventually provided a unifying force behind the North’s efforts to hold the union together. † In conjunction with the fight for democracy, revisionists like Holt, Gienapp and William W.Freehling have focused on those political debates within each section that do not fit into the a direct narrative of the slavery controversy. Political historians have shown Northern voters were preoccupied with and motivated by issues such as nativism; slavery was not their overriding concern and did not explain their voting behaviour. The Southern electorate, too, was deeply divided on the basis of class, economic setting, and sub-region. The differences between the Upper South and the Deep South in particular make it dangerous to generalise broadly about the â€Å"fundamental† nature of Southern Society.When historians assert that slavery caused the Civil War, most are saying that only the presence of the â€Å"peculiar institution† made it impossible to resolve peacefully the constitutional, political, and economic issues that had long animated sectional tensions. Conversely, Historians like Jefferson Davis have been keen to refute the argument that the war was caused by the long term divisions of slavery and support the political argument that it was the Republican Party that e ngineered the war by furthering Northern political and economic aggrandisement against the South.As soon as the question of slavery expansion in to western territories entered the political agenda, voters were unwilling to drop the issue without protest but when waging war, the North and the South were fighting for what they believed to be a democracy and were motivated by nativism to defeat the opposition; which posed threat and disunion to their democracy. To conclude, the divisions over slavery in America ultimately contributed to the outbreak of war in 1861. This long term factor influenced the economic and social paths taken by both Northern and Southern States during the 1800s and as a result widened sectional differences.This greatly impacted the American political system resulting in the breakdown of the two-party system through blunders made by politicians in the 1850s in an attempt to win elections and save their democracy. This breakdown heightened tensions between the tw o sections and was exacerbated by the increasing influence of the abolitionist movement from 1830s onwards. It would be a limited assumption to deem the breakout of the Civil War purely on the divisions of slavery, as many fought in an attempt to save their own democracy.However, had slavery never been introduced in to American civilization the nation would never have been divided over the institution, the economic paths taken by both North and South wouldn’t have been so diverse, thus eliminating political differences and an abolitionist movement would never have been formed. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Hugh Tulloch, ‘The debate on the American Civil War era’, p. 110. [ 2 ]. James Ford Rhodes, ‘History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850’, p. [ 3 ].Kenneth M. Stampp, ‘The Causes of the Civil War’, p. 21. [ 4 ]. Ibid. , p. 23. [ 5 ]. Hugh Tulloch, ‘The debate on the American Civil War Era’, p. 37. [ 6 ]. Ibid. ,p. 35 [ 7 ]. Ibid. , p. 38 [ 8 ]. Ibid. , p. 37 [ 9 ]. Eric Foner, ‘Politics and Ideology in the age of the Civil War’, p. 35. [ 10 ]. Charles and Mary Beard, ‘The rise of American Civilization’, p. [ 11 ]. Hugh Tulloch, ‘The debate on the American Civil War Era’, p. [ 12 ]. Eric Foner, ‘Politics and Ideology in the age of the Civil War’, p. 61. [ 13 ].Kenneth M. Stampp, ‘The causes of the Civil War’ p 93 [ 14 ]. Ibid. , p. 86. [ 15 ]. Eric Foner, ‘ [ 17 ]. Gabor S. Boritt, ‘Why the Civil War Came’, p. [ 18 ]. Roger L. Ransom, ‘Conflict and Compromise: The Political Economy of Slavery, Emancipation, and the American Civil War’, p. [ 19 ]. Michael F. Holt, Political Parties and American Political Development from the Age of Jackson to the Age of Lincoln (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univers ity Press, 1992), p. 4. [ 20 ]. Kenneth Stampp, ‘The causes of the Civil War’ p

ITStrategy and Positioning for Volkswagen Financial Services (UK)

Introduction This assignment is constructed to consider a case study of an existing business and analyse its IT strategy and positioning for competitive advantage. A few hours were spent researching ideals into companies of interest to which I had to make sure it fitted in line with the assignment objective. The organisation that sparked my interest was Volkswagen Financial Services (UK). This was because they are a large organisation which is vastly growing year by year and have a major influence in them motor industry. I also got the privilege of working within their customer experience department as a customer service advisor. Background Volkswagen Financial Services is a financial services provider in the Volkswagen Group. The company deals in a broad spectrum of automotive products including financing dealers and customers through leasing, corporate financing, vehicle fleet management to banking and insurance products. According to the 2013 report, the company has experienced a rise in the number of contracts in their portfolio from just under-8 million to over 8.8 million, a 10.9 percent rise. The Management Board Chairman Frank Witter attributes this growth to a 5 percent increase in number of vehicles delivered to more than 9.7 million. The company was also able to attract more customers with their financial services. As a leading financial provider for all things automotive sales within the umbrella of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, the company has developed key strategies to ensure they achieve their mission, which is â€Å"to support the sales of all Volkswagen Group brands worldwide and increase customer loyalty in a sustainable manner along the entire automotive value chain† (VW FS Annual Report, 2013). Volkswagen strategy statement is based on â€Å"customer-focus†, â€Å"pioneering† and â€Å"getting things done†. To ensure sustainable growth, the company pursues its strategy in three fronts: brands, markets and products. That is, developing new brands for Volkswagen Group, establishing new markets, and developing new products in existing markets. Volkswagen Financial Services continue to adopt a consistent customer relationship management (CRM) strategy in its customer care. As such, structures of the company and its processes have been aligned with customer groups and their unique requirements (VW FS Annual Report, 2013). Johnson et al (2013, p.69) describes strategy as the â€Å"long-term direction of an organisation.† A leading strategy theorist Michael Porter would refer to this as a competitive strategy that seeks to be different from comp etition, by â€Å"deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value† to the intended consumers (Porter, 1996, p.31). The Volkswagen Financial Services strategy can be considered to be based on what Porter (1996) describes as variety-based and needs-based positioning. However, Volkswagen Financial Services continual pursuance of consistent CRM strategy in customer care led the company to rethink its organisation structure and customer groups as aligned by the customer requirements. In attempt to support this organisational restructuring, the organisation required an IT structure to allow the company have a standard of customer data, standard and continuous process support right from customer support to subsequent processing and transaction execution, integrating existing transaction-related banking system without any additional extensive conversions. In order to meet these requirements, a product and division-oriented IT environment was imple mented. Core applications and systems related to transaction-related banking systems where clients’ accounts and contracts could be managed were implemented. The implementations of these applications and systems isolated the various specific client data from each other making an integral view much more complicated and cumbersome. But the company solved this problem when they installed customer-oriented IT architecture in SAP CRM for a standard customer care and SAP NetWeaverTM as a system integration platform. Although Volkswagen Financial Services may have considered this a triumph in its efforts to strengthen their CRM-oriented strategy in customer service, it’s not a unique strategy that can strengthen their competitive advantage given its ease of adoption by competitors or new entrants. Le Pest C for Volkswagen Financials Services In order to comprehensively understand Volkswagen Financial Services strategic capabilities, it is significant to use the Le Pest C model (Brooks and Weatherston, 2002): LePestC Possible Issues at VW FS (UK) Legal Data security and privacy legislations and legal challenges Economic Low profitability due to decreased consumer spending power and inability to expand to emerging markets Political VW Financial Services AG, which inevitable controls its strategic decisions making process Environment/Ecologic Environmental pressure from regulatory authorities Social Change of consumer preferences, e.g. study shows that more consumers in Europe prefer to travel via train rather than personal cars Technological New technology that are likely to render the current ones obsolete and requires upgrade regularly Competitiveness Competition from financial companies and other auto dealers Legal: Data security and privacy have become serious challenges to many businesses, raising concerns with rise in big data and cloud computing initiatives. Auto suppliers like Volkswagen Financial Services Company collect and store highly confidential and sensitive customer data that may be at risk from data breaches. It must be noted that the company is networked not only internally but also externally through internet or other telecommunication connectivity. As such, the company needs to have a robust information security practices not only well documented in the form of information security policies but also ensure strict adherence to ethical standards to avoid legal suits. Moreover, the company needs to develop internal ethical standards in line with their business principles and treat it as part and parcel of the CRM strategies (Barreto, 2010). In case the company wants to use big data, it must strive to develop policy that informs the clients in advance to agree or disagree wit h such plans. Failure to develop such policies may attract legal suits from clients disputing the use of their personal data. The outcome of legal suits may be extremely costly to the company in terms of legal fees, unfavourable strict government regulations and reputation damage. Economic: Volkswagen Financial Services Company has experience the challenges associated with the economic financial crisis that started at the onset of 2008. Although the company considers rise in sales and number of client subscribed in the latest reports, the reduced disposable income is likely to affect the company negatively in the long run, given financial challenges affecting its major European market. Environmental/ Ecological: Auto suppliers like Volkswagen Financial Services face various challenges in maintaining extra-regulatory compliance with contractual clauses. Some of these clauses often require them to certify that the car parts of sale are free of asbestos, lead paint, chromium, and blood minerals among other banned elements (Mintzberg, et al., 2002). These regulatory compliance requirements are meant to ensure sustainability and protection of environment. Issues such as greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and waste management increases cost of production. Socio-cultural: Studies have shown that public transport in Europe is becoming more popular than passenger cars (Tyrinopoulos and Antoniou, 2013). This kind of finding may suggest that the change in trend is more associated with change in social preference. More significantly, the company has not managed to break into Chinese among other emerging markets with its financial services considering that Chinese consumers are cash-buyers rather than credit buyers, as noted by the company’s 2013 Annual Report. This cultural barrier has affected the company’s financial front in terms of sales return. Technological: there are technological challenges associated with auto and financial industries. The challenge with technology is that it changes every day, with new ideas propping up that may provide fast-moving competitors with better competitive advantage (Maritan and Brush, 2003). VW FS (UK) is one of the companies in this sector that suffers from the technological challenges. Competitive: competition from other auto suppliers is real. Although the company has gained competitive advantage with multi-brand CRM, there is likelihood that their major competitors will do the same. Strategic Capabilities of Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Strategic capabilities of a firm are those capabilities that lead to a competitive advantage. Mintzberg, et al. (2002) defines strategic Resources and competencies as the two components that define resource capability. Further, resources are those assets that an organisation own or can call upon to aid their progress. Competencies are the ability to deploy those resources effectively or to make use of the available resources to achieve a certain goal (Teece, 2007). In others words, resources are what is available and competencies are the ability to use these resources. Table: Representation of strategic capability of Volkswagen Financial Services Resources Competencies Machines, raw materials, products, patents, database, computer systems Physical The company has the means to achieve utilisation of plant, efficiency, productivity, flexibility, marketing Balance sheet, cash flow, revenue Financial That company has the means to raise funds and manage cash flow, debtors, creditors, etc. Managers, employees, partners, suppliers, customers Human The company has experience, skills, knowledge, and ability to build relationships, motivate others and innovate. However, it’s yet to exploit this ability to the maximum. (Brooks and Weatherston, 2002). If fully used, the above representation would lead to long term survival of VW FS, and subsequently strengthen their competitive advantage. Although the strategic capabilities should be dynamic enough, there is a clear indication that Volkswagen Financial Services’ is not as dynamic as required. The company should be able to recreate and renew its strategic capabilities according to the changing business environment. For example, while tangible assets, cost control, and quality maintenance are important capabilities that the company has embraced, there are more long term capabilities such as sensing, seizing and reconfiguring that are significant Using innovation to spur entrepreneurship Innovation and entrepreneurship is about creating the new- both new products and services and new business models and organisations (Johnson, et al., 2013). Creating value for firms and customers, innovation and entrepreneurship are fundamental to today’s highly competitive economies. But the decision to innovate and pursue new market leads through innovation can be a hard choice for organisations as has been demonstrated by Volkswagen Financial Services’ attempts to enter Chinese market. The company ought to have asked various fundamental questions such as: Will it be appropriate if they too pioneer in new technologies or rather be a fast follower (timing and relationship)innovation dilemma How should they react to radical innovations that threaten to destroy its existing revenues? In such a highly competitive industry, entrepreneurship is a significant aspect of any business. In other words, entrepreneurship is fundamental aspect of any business that wants to keep up with the changing business environment. It’s entrepreneurship that drives innovation. Innovation dilemma However there are innovation dilemmas that may affect a firm’s decision-making process. Many corporations face strategic dilemma on whether to innovate or note. Johnson et al. (2013,p. 239) describes innovation as the process of converting new knowledge into a new product, process or service and the putting of this new product, process or service into actual use. Another aspect of innovation dilemma facing VW FS is whether to adopt open or closed innovation. Porter (1996) describes open innovation as the process of deliberate importation and exportation of knowledge by a firm in their attempt to speed up and intensify innovation. Open innovation advocates for open exchange of ideas for quick better products to keep ahead of competition. Closed innovation is based on a firms insistence on making every innovative ideas internal, keeping everything secret from outside people. Volkswagen Financial Services Company seems to focus on closed innovation, which inevitably limits their ability to source for ideas. There is likelihood that this limits their ability to attract external skills or innovative ideas. Technological or business model innovation Most successful and progressive innovative activities do not necessarily rely on the latest or new science or technology, but involve reorganizing into new business by combining every aspect of a business (Johnson et al., 2013). A business model describes how an organisation manages incomes and costs through the structural arrangements of its activities. For example, when Ryanair decided to adopt the ultra cheap airline tickets, its business model innovation involved the generation of revenues via direct sales through the internet, thereby cutting out intermediary travel agents, while also using cheap secondary airports. Cheap airports and internet sales proved more significant than technological innovation. There are various ways of analysing a business model innovation, including the use of value chain, value net or activity network frameworks (Johnson et al., 2013). Typically, these frameworks are meant to direct managers and entrepreneurs to two primary frameworks for potential i nnovations: The product – a new business model may redefine what the product or service is and how it is produced. This concerns technology in relation to the value chain. The selling – a new business model may change how an organisation generates its revenue, with implications for selling and distribution. In the perspective of Volkswagen FS, the company’s value chain in terms of emerging markets has not picked up as anticipated. The emerging markets, unlike the developed markets are generally cash buyers. The company may consider using instalments payment model to establish its value chain within the emerging markets like China and India, with attractive product packages targeting the growing middle class consumers in these countries. Innovators and followers There are those who choose to lead innovations and those who follow. Barreto (2010) argue that first-movers often start from a positive note where because they get easy and quick sales early, experience f ast growth and have the ability to establish the dominant positions. Examples of first-movers who have succeeded in this line are Coca Cola in soft drinks and Hoover in vacuum cleaners. However, there are many first-movers that have failed such as the powerful Microsoft which failed with its tablet computer launch in 2001. Nine years later, Apple swept the market with its iPad tablet computer. First-mover advantages and disadvantages First-movers are generally temporary monopolies. Their advantage exists where they appear better off than their competitors as a result of being first to market with a new product, process or service (Teece, 2009; Teece, 2007). There are five potentially more robust first-movers advantage: They can build on experience in a market and benefit from the accrued market knowledge and skills; They can scale faster and enjoy the early benefits; They have the opportunity for pre-emption of scarce resources; They can build early reputation, particularly because consumers have little ‘mind-space’ to recognise new brands that follows; They can exploit the buyer switching costs, by ensuring that their customers are locked with privileged or sticky relationships that later challengers may find too costly to adopt (Teece, 2009) However, Mintzberg (2002) observe that there are disadvantages for being first-movers as seen with Microsoft’s earlier failure with tablets. First is th e free-riding factor. Late movers may find it easy to imitate first mover’s technology and other innovations at less expense than originally incurred by pioneers. Research indicates that the costs of imitation are only 65% of the cost of innovation (Teece, 2009). In addition, late-movers have the ability to learn from the errors made by first-movers, picking on what worked well and avoiding what did not work for their pioneer competitor. In other words, they may not make so many mistakes and be able to get it right first time unlike their pioneer competitor. Should Volkswagen Financial Services be a first or second? Managers and entrepreneurs often find it hard to choose either to be a first-mover or a follower. However, London Business School’s Costas Markides and Paul Geroski argue that the most appropriate response to innovation, especially radical innovation, is often not to be a first mover but to be a ‘fast second’ (Mintzberg, 2002). A first second strategy involves being one of the first to imitate the original innovator. According to Porter (1996) there are three contextual factors to consider in choosing between innovating and imitating: Capacity for profit capture. If a follower can imitate faster and efficiently, it can capture good profits. It’s more effective where the pioneer is not able to define the boundaries for intellectual property; Complementary assets. An organisation in possession of the assets or resources have the ability to scale up the production and marketing of the innovation; Fast-moving arenas. In situations where markets or technologies are moving very fast, and especially where both are highly dynamic, first-movers are unlikely to establish a durable advantage. The incumbent can respond to new entrants into the market by adopting disruptive innovation. As has been shown earlier, disruptive innovation can create substantial growth by offering a new performance trajectory that, even if â€Å"initially inferior to the performance of existing technologies, has the potential to become markedly superior† Winter, 2003). Incumbents can follow two policies to help keep them responsive to potentially disruptive innovation: Develop a portfolio of real options and new venture units. References Barreto, I. (2010). Dynamic capabilities: a review of past research and an agenda for the future. Journal of Management, 36 (1): 256-80. Brooks, I. and Weatherston, J. (2002). The Business Environment: Challenges and Changes. NJ: Prentice Hall. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D., and Regner, P. (2013). Exploring Strategy Text & Cases. NJ: Pearson Education. Maritan, C.A and Brush, T.H. (2003). Heterogeneity and transferring practices: implementing flow practices in multiple plants. Strategic Management Journal, 24 (10): 945-60. Mintzberg, H., Ghoshal, S., Lampel, J., and Quinn, J.B. (2002) â€Å"The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases†,4th Edition, Prentice Hall. Porter, M. (1996) â€Å"What is Strategy?†, Harvard Business Review, November- December: 61-78. Tyrinopoulos, Y. and Antoniou, C. (2013) Factors affecting modal choice in urban mobility. European Transport Research Review. 5 (1). pp. 27-39. Teece, D.J. (2009). Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic management- organising for innovation and growth, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Teece, D.J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of sustainable enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28 (1): 1319-50. VW FS Annual Report (2013). Volkswagen Financial Services AG: The key to mobility. Winter, S.G. (2003). Understanding dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 24 (10): 991-5.

DEMENTIA

DEMENTIA DEMENTIADementia diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), have a large impact on the everyday life of persons affected, their spouses, and the staff involved in their daily living (Borell, 1992). For example, the cognitive dysfunctions resulting from dementia diseases interfere largely with the performance of most activities of daily living (ADL) (BÂ ¤ckman, 1992). Consequently, an urgent need exists to develop programs supporting everyday occupation for persons with dementia. Occupational therapy can help persons with a dementia disease to regain and retain meaningful life skills (Rogers, 1986). Yet few such programs are documented; and few attempts have been made to evaluate the effects of such programs on the performance of ADL among individuals exhibiting dementia. Furthermore, it is unclear what the focus of such programs should be. Should the intervention seek to improve the cognitive constituents underlying performance of ADL (e.g., memory), or should it focus on environme ntal and social conditions supporting task performance (Fisher, 1992)?Several attempts have been made to enhance cognitive functions, like memory, in persons with dementia diseases (BÂ ¤ckman, 1990).English: Histopathogic image of senile plaques see...Throughout these stages a specific sequence of cognitive deterioration is observed (Lezak, 1993). The mild stage begins with memory, attention, speed dependent activities, and abstract reasoning dysfunction. Also mild language impairments begin to surface. In the moderate stage, language deficits such as aphasia and apraxia become prominent. Dysfluency, paraphasias, and bizzare word combinations are common midstage speech defects. In the severe stage the patient is gradually reduced to a vegetative state. Speech becomes nonfluent, repetitive, and largely non-communicative. Auditory comprehension is exceedingly limited, with many patients displaying partial or complete mutism. Late in the course of the disease many neuropsychological f unctions can no longer be measured. Also primitive reflexes such as grasp and suck emerge. Death usually results from a disease such as pneumonia which overwhelms the limited vegetative functions of the patient.Dementia is commonly differentiated along two dimensions: age and cortical level. The first dimension,

3 Things You Can Like About Your Job, Even if You Hate Your Job

3 Things You Can Like About Your Job, Even if You Hate Your Job Most people just don’t like their jobs. You may think you’re in the minority, but some studies even go so far as to suggest that a measly 13% of people worldwide actually enjoy going to work. The trouble with most jobs is that we tend to look at them as instrumental. Like necessary evils. A means to a paycheck, food, clothes, eventual vacations and†¦retirement? Someday?If you’re not lucky enough to love what you do, there are still ways of deriving meaning from what it is you’re doing in a way that can help you at least love your life. Here are three things you can get from most any job and fend off  the negative vibes:1. How well you do itIt’s always possible to excel. Even when you don’t particularly feel like doing something, it is always possible to do that thing well- extremely well. Push yourself to see just how far you can go. Striving for personal excellence can be its own reward, regardless of the task. Even if you don’ t love your job, it is possible to take great pride in how well you do it. Your colleagues and supervisors will notice this and you’ll be surprised at how easily you’ll command respect for displaying this kind of integrity.2. How much you makeIt’s all well and good to talk about meaning and value and excellence and loving what we do, but for some of us, money is the motivating factor. And that’s okay! Turn your dull job into a game. See how quickly you can work your way up the ladder if you put your mind to it. How many bonuses or commissions can you rack up? How quickly can you boost your bank account and your salary demands? You might not be curing cancer, but you might be able to put a kid through college with this kind of dedication. No one else needs to know your motivation for doing such good work- as long as it’s getting done.3. How many people you helpIt doesn’t matter how small your job is, or how insignificant you feel. Maybe youâ €™re not a CEO, but you can still make the world- and the workplace- a better place. Try to do your job well and help others do the same. Mentor a well-meaning newbie or recommend a colleague for a high-profile project or promotion. Spreading the love around will make life better for more people than just you, but it can also benefit you. Kindness has a way of multiplying.These may seem like strange and radical suggestions, but any one of them can change your relationship to your job, and your day-to-day life, for the better.