Chinese and Greek Mythology

The Diverging Commonalities of Creation Myth’s Long ago, people wanted to acquire a better understanding of the beginning of the universe which ultimately resulted in the establishment of religions, beliefs and most pertinent, creation myths. Mythology provides explanations for the worlds mysteries especially in regards to the creation of Earth, Humans and the environment.This comparative paragraph analyzes the similarities and differences between a Greek myth entitled, The Beginning of Things, and a Chinese myth named, Heaven and Earth and Man, contrasted in the aspects of conflict, solutions, heroic action, and the education of the first humans. Conflicts arise for different concerns but after the battles cease, peace is restored because of supernatural intervention, the world advances and progresses to prevent future misfortune. Firstly, if peace is kept in the heavens of Greece then there will be less despair on Earth.The battle of authority results in a punishment system being enforced to confine cruel people and prevent rebellions. In ancient Greece there was a constant power struggle for the gods because of the underlying fear that their children would replace them in the chain of command. The text supports the argument of development and enhancement after unreasonable decisions are made by the deities; If any of them breaks the oath, for one year he lies breathless, and cannot partake of sweet nectar and ambrosia; after that year he is cut off from the meeting of the gods for nine years more, and then only may he come back and join their company. Rouse, 3) During the destruction of the battles, evil is unleashed and causes chaos in the land. The justice system, which is created in response to Cronuses’ rebellion, is essential for any society to continue successfully. There is heroic involvement in both myths, with Zeus in particular in Ancient Greece. Zeus defeated his father and saved his brothers and sisters after being swallowed and tra pped in his stomach. Cronuses’ awful deed deserves punishment which results in Zeus creating the Underworld and a standard of the amount of time spent punished.In fact, the Chinese story also includes a quarrel, different in rationale but improvement after the disagreement is a prevalent theme in both. Subsequently, in respect to the Chinese myth, after the war between fire and water, the pillar was destroyed; Nu-Kua repaired the gaps in the sky by supporting the sky with additional blocks. The literature provides evidence to confirm this line of reasoning; Block by block, she patched the holes in the sky. Lastly, she killed a giant turtle, and cut off its powerful legs to make pillars between which the sky is firmly held over the Earth, never again to fall. Birch, 7) After chaos returns for the second time, when the elements fight against each other, involvement from spirits resolves the crisis and mitigates harm from humans. The irrational and aggressive clash between fire and water causes destruction but also provides reasoning for the position of the oceans and world geography. Apart from the similarities, there are many discrepancies circulating around the topic of conflict. In the Greek myth, conflicts originate from the desire to establish power and authority by rebelling. First, Cronus rebelled against his father Uranus and Zeus against Cronus followed.The competition is caused because children inherit their parents’ position and both gods prevent this from happening by swallowing or imprisoning them. On the contrary, the Chinese dispute is against the elements fire and water. In Chinese mythology, fire is masculine and symbolizes strength, aggression, impulsiveness. Water is considered feminine and symbolizes fluidity, downward energy but has the potential to be noisy. The conflict is probably caused because the elements are opposites and naturally enemies. This clash of the elements is a result of senseless hostility and not a fight for control.The difference in culture is what causes the significant differences in myths. Evidently, in Greek mythology acquiring status and supremacy is valued whereas there isn’t a sense of hierarchy but instead teamwork in China. According to the Asian myth, the spirits all work together towards a common goal which is to enhance and protect the Earth. Another obvious commonality in relation to either conflict is the presence of a supreme being which triggers and assists the chain of events which form the World. The Greek mythology had many different supreme beings which were responsible for various forces on Earth.The Chinese version, only included two main beings, one which was the result of the environment and the other was the creator of the human race. Comparative mythology also requires examining the distinction between the ideas of how both cultures though the Earth was created. An indication of how diverse the culture and beliefs of people is demonstrated in the topic of the formation of Human beings and the surrounding eco-system. The creation of humans, wildlife and geographic landscapes varies with the idea of the Greek Gods sculpting most organisms hemselves whereas the Chinese believe Pan’Ku’s body transforms into the environment. The aspect of creation and the environment is portrayed very differently in both legends. The number of dissimilarities outweighs the number corresponding ideas surrounding the mystery of the beginning of the Universe and our existence. In ancient Greece, after a period of chaos and disagreement between the deities a clever titian named Prometheus establishes the first human and provides luminosity and warmth in a world, swallowed by darkness after the sun sets.Prometheus sculpts animals and accidentally, the first human out of clay and began to teach them how to survive including hunting and making fire; Prometheus was very much pleased with his new pet. He used to watch men hunting for food and liv ing in caves and holes, like ants or badgers. He determined to educate men as well as he could. (Rouse, 2) After rebelling by taking responsibility for the Earth underneath the heavens, Prometheus entertains himself by making models out of clay. Accidently, he creates humans and spent most of his time teaching humans how to continue to exist.Prometheus sculpts humans by accident whereas Nu’Kua from the Chinese myth wants to produce beings that will aid to cure her solitary state. To contrast, in the Chinese myth, the weather conditions, mountains, rivers and vegetation are all created by Pan’Ku’s body. Additionally, after humans are created by Nu’Kua, they are taught many vital skills in addition to simply the ability to survive; â€Å"Who in his life [Pan’Ku] had brought shape to the universe, by his death gave his body to make it rich and beautiful†¦ to the Earth he gave his body† (Birch, 6).In the Chinese story, the environment is no t created by a specific spirit but instead transforms from a god into the surrounding nature and landscape. A further comparison against the Greek tale is the little explanation about how the land and plants are created except for the separation of sky and ground which reveals an already existing ecosystem. Moreover, the humans in the Chinese myth are taught how to communicate, reproduce and to live in peace. The humans in ancient Greece are never taught skills beyond survival. Finally, there is an evident variation for the reasons to assemble humans.Nu’Kua intends to create a creature that will provide her relief from isolation meanwhile Prometheus is only amusing himself and the first human emerges entirely unintentionally. Nevertheless, both fairy-tales have a couple of resembling principles. To begin with, humans are formed and educated by the deities. The first humans were taught to hunt, gather food, and construct shelter to avoid perishing as a species. The principal o bjective is to aid humans to continue to populate and the justification in both fables was that supernatural intervention maintained the evolution of such a powerful species.Magical clay was used in both myths as the main material in the production of creatures and human beings. The motive for why these two parables are so similar is to emphasize how there is an external influence which assisted the formation of humans because it is difficult to believe that simple resources could have conceived such complex living, breathing creatures. Additionally, as a society in the present day, education is a requirement and essential for the genetic continuity of the human race, peace and maintenance of the Earth’s resources.By the means of education can one’s potential be used to maximum extent. It is natural for the authors of these short fictitious stories to assume the hero’s and goddesses teach humans because then there will be no foundation to carry on the sharing of lessons and information. In conclusion, it is in the nature of humans to wonder about the unknown and search for answers. At the foundation of nearly every culture is a creation myth which explains how the wonderful mysteries of the Earth came to be.Despite geographical barriers, many cultures have developed creation myths with the same basic elements and structure. However, there are many cultural and societal influences which cause variations in the beliefs and alter the overall creation myth from region to region. Apart from the fundamental similarities, the Greek and Chinese ideologies deviated in certain aspects of the myth because their values and morals as separate countries have impacted, adapted and evolved differently in response to world events.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham Chapter Seventeen

Five days later, at sea This was not the first time Jack had crossed the Irish Sea. It was not even the second or the third. He wondered if the unease would ever leave him, if he would someday be able to look down at the dark, swirling waters below and not think of his father slipping beneath the surface, meeting his death. Even before he had met the Cavendishes, when his father was just a wispy figment in his mind, he'd disliked this crossing. And yet here he stood. At the railing. He could not seem to help himself. He could not be on the water and not look out. Out, and then down. It was a gentle voyage this time, although that did little to comfort him. It was not that he feared for his own safety. It was just that it all felt so morbid, skimming atop his father's grave. He wanted it done. He wanted to be back on land. Even, he supposed, if that land was Ireland. The last time he'd been home†¦ Jack pinched his lips together, and then he pinched his eyes shut. The last time he had been home was to bring back Arthur's body. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done. Not just because his heart had broken anew with every mile, and not even because he'd dreaded his arrival at home. How could he face his aunt and uncle, delivering to them their dead son? As if all that hadn't been enough, it was damned hard to move a body from France to England to Ireland. He'd had to find a coffin, which was surprisingly difficult in the middle of a war. â€Å"Supply and demand,† one of his friends told him after their first unsuccessful attempt to obtain a coffin. There were a lot of dead bodies strewn about. Coffins were the ultimate luxury on a battlefield. But he had persisted, and he'd followed to the letter the directions he'd been given by the undertaker, filling the wooden coffin with sawdust and sealing it with tar. Even then the smell eventually seeped through, and by the time he reached Ireland, no driver would take the cargo. He'd had to buy his own wagon to get his cousin home. The journey had disrupted his own life, too. The army refused his request to be allowed to move the body, and he was forced to sell off his commission. It was a small price to pay, to be able to do this one last service for his family. But it had meant that he'd had to leave a position for which he was – finally – a perfect fit. School had been a misery, failure after failure. He'd muddled through, mostly with help from Arthur, who, seeing his struggles, had come quietly to his aid. But university – good God, he still could not believe he'd been encouraged to go. He had known it would be a disaster, but Portora Royal boys went on to university. It was as simple as that. But Arthur was a year behind, and without him, Jack didn't have a prayer. Failure would have been too mortifying, so he got himself booted out. Not that it took much imagination to find ways to behave in a manner unbecoming of a Trinity College student. He had returned home, supposedly in disgrace, and it was decided that he might do well in the army. So off he went. It had been a perfect fit. Finally, a place he could succeed and thrive without books and papers and quills. It wasn't that he was unintelligent. It was just that he hated books and papers and quills. They gave him a headache. But that was all over, and now here he was, on his way back to Ireland for the first time since Arthur's funeral service, and he might be the Duke of Wyndham, which would ensure him a bloody lifetime of books and papers and quills. And headaches. He glanced off to his left and saw Thomas standing by the bow with Amelia. He was pointing toward something – probably a bird, since Jack could not see anything else of interest. Amelia was smiling, perhaps not broadly, but enough at least to ease some of the guilt Jack was feeling about the scene back at Belgrave when he had refused to marry her. It wasn't as if he could have done anything else. Did they really think he would roll over and say, Oh, yes, give me anyone! I'll just show up at the church and be grateful. Not that there was anything wrong with Lady Amelia. In fact, one could (and probably would) do much worse, if one were to be forced into marriage. And if he hadn't met Grace†¦ He might have been willing to do it. He heard someone approaching, and when he turned, there she was, as if summoned by his thoughts. She'd left off her bonnet, and her dark hair was ruffling in the breeze. â€Å"It's very pleasant out here,† she said, leaning against the railing next to him. He nodded. He had not seen much of her on the voyage. The dowager had elected to remain in her cabin, and Grace was required to attend to her. She did not complain, of course. She never complained, and in truth, he supposed she did not have reason to do so. It was her job, after all, to remain by the dowager's side. Still, he could not imagine a less palatable position. And he knew he could never have lasted in the post. Soon, he thought. Soon she would be free. They would be married, and Grace would never have to even see the dowager again if that was her desire. Jack did not care if the old bat was his grandmother. She was unkind, selfish, and he had no intention of exchanging another word with her once this was all through. If he turned out to be the duke, he would damn well buy that farm in the Outer Hebrides and send her packing. And if he wasn't, he planned to take Grace by the hand, lead her from Belgrave and never look back. It was a rather happy dream, to tell the truth. Grace looked down, watching the water. â€Å"Isn't it strange,† she mused, â€Å"how quickly it seems to move by.† Jack glanced up at the sail. â€Å"It is a good wind.† â€Å"I know. It makes perfect sense, of course.† She looked up and smiled. â€Å"It is just that I have never been on a boat before.† â€Å"Never?† It did seem difficult to imagine. She shook her head. â€Å"Not like this. My parents took me out rowing on a lake once, but that was just for merry.† She looked back down. â€Å"I have never seen water rushing by like this. It makes me wish I could lean down and dip my fingers in.† â€Å"It's cold,† Jack said. â€Å"Well, yes, of course.† She leaned out, her throat arching as she seemed to catch the wind on her face. â€Å"But I'd still like to touch it.† He shrugged. He ought to be more voluble, especially with her, but he thought he could see the first hint of land on the horizon, and his belly was clenching and twisting. â€Å"Are you all right?† Grace asked. â€Å"I'm fine.† â€Å"You look a bit green. Are you seasick?† He wished. He never got seasick. He was landsick. He didn't want to go back. He'd woken up in the middle of the night, stuck down in his small berth, clammy with sweat. He had to go back. He knew he did. But that didn't mean a very large part of him didn't want to turn coward and flee. He heard Grace's breath catch, and when he looked at her, she was pointing out, her face alight with excitement. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. â€Å"Is that Dublin?† she asked. â€Å"Over there?† He nodded. â€Å"The port. The town proper is a bit farther in.† She craned her neck, which would have been amusing had he not been in such a wretched mood. There was no way she could have seen anything from this distance. â€Å"I've heard it is a charming city,† she said. â€Å"There is much to entertain.† â€Å"It's a pity. I don't expect we shall be spending much time there.† â€Å"No. The dowager is eager to be on her way.† â€Å"Aren't you?† she asked. At that, he took a breath and rubbed his eyes. He was tired, and he was nervous, and it felt as if he was being delivered to his downfall. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"To be honest, I'd be quite happy to stay right here, on this boat, at this railing, for the rest of my life.† Grace turned to him with somber eyes. â€Å"With you,† he said softly. â€Å"Here at this railing, with you.† He looked back out. The port of Dublin was more than a speck on the horizon now. Soon he would be able to make out buildings and ships. Off to his left he could hear Thomas and Amelia chatting. They were pointing out over the water, too, watching the port as it seemed to grow before their eyes. Jack swallowed. The knot in his stomach was growing as well. Good God, it was almost funny. Here he was, back in Ireland, forced to face his family, whom he'd failed so many years before. And if that weren't bad enough, he could very well find himself named the Duke of Wyndham, a position for which he was uniquely unqualified. And then, because no injury should ever be without insult, he had to do it all in the company of the dowager. He wanted to laugh. It was funny. It had to be funny. If it wasn't funny, then he'd have to bloody well go and cry. But he couldn't seem to laugh. He looked out at Dublin, looming larger in the distance. It was too late for laughter. Several hours later, at the Queen's Arms, Dublin â€Å"It is not too late!† â€Å"Ma'am,† Grace said, trying to be as calm and soothing as she could, â€Å"it is past seven. We are all tired and hungry, and the roads are dark and unknown to us.† â€Å"Not to him,† the dowager snapped, jerking her head toward Jack. â€Å"I am tired and hungry,† Jack snapped right back, â€Å"and thanks to you, I no longer travel the roads by moonlight.† Grace bit her lip. They had been traveling over three days now, and one could almost chart the progress of their journey by the shortness of his temper. Every mile that brought them closer to Ireland had taken a notch out of his patience. He'd grown silent and withdrawn, so wholly unlike the man she knew. The man she'd fallen in love with. They had reached the port of Dublin in the late afternoon, but by the time they collected their belongings and made their way into town, it was nearly time for supper. Grace had not eaten much on the sea journey, and now that she was back to standing on surfaces that did not pitch and roll beneath her, she was famished. The last thing she wanted was to press on toward Butlersbridge, the small village in County Cavan where Jack had grown up. But the dowager was being her argumentative self, so they were standing in the front room of the inn, all six of them, while she attempted to dictate the speed and direction of their journey. â€Å"Don't you wish to have this matter settled, once and for all?† the dowager demanded of Jack. â€Å"Not really,† was his insolent response. â€Å"Certainly not as much as I want a slice of shepherd's pie and a tankard of ale.† Jack turned to the rest of them, and Grace ached at the expression in his eyes. He was haunted. But by what, she could not guess. What demons awaited him here? Why had he gone so long between visits? He'd told her he had a lovely childhood, that he adored his adoptive family and would not have traded them for the world. Didn't everyone wish for that? Didn't he want to go home? Didn't he understand how lucky he was to have a home to return to? Grace would have given anything for that. â€Å"Miss Eversleigh,† Jack said, with a courteous nod. â€Å"Lady Amelia.† The two ladies bobbed their curtsies as he departed. â€Å"I do believe he has the right idea of it,† Thomas murmured. â€Å"Supper sounds infinitely more appealing than a night on the roads.† The dowager whipped her head toward him and glared. â€Å"Not,† he said with an extremely dry look, â€Å"that I am attempting to delay the inevitable. Even soon-to-be-dispossessed dukes get hungry.† Lord Crowland laughed aloud at that. â€Å"He has you there, Augusta,† he said jovially, and wandered off to the taproom. â€Å"I shall take my supper in my room,† the dowager announced. Her tone was defiant, as if she expected someone to protest, but of course, no one did. â€Å"Miss Eversleigh,† she barked, â€Å"you may attend to me.† Grace sighed wearily and started to follow. â€Å"No,† Thomas said. The dowager froze. â€Å"No?† she echoed, all ice. Grace turned and looked at Thomas. What could he mean? There had been nothing unusual about the dowager's order. Grace was her companion. This was exactly the sort of thing she had been hired to do. But Thomas stared down his grandmother, a tiny, subversive smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. â€Å"Grace will dine with us. In the dining room.† â€Å"She is my companion,† the dowager hissed. â€Å"Not anymore.† Grace held her breath as she watched the exchange. Matters between Thomas and his grandmother were never cordial, but this seemed to go quite beyond the usual. Thomas almost appeared to be enjoying himself. â€Å"As I have not yet been removed from my position,† he said, speaking slowly, clearly savoring each word, â€Å"I took the liberty of making a few last minute provisions.† â€Å"What the devil are you talking about?† the dowager demanded. â€Å"Grace,† Thomas said, turning to her with friendship and memories in his eyes, â€Å"you are officially relieved of your duties to my grandmother. When you return home, you will find a cottage deeded in your name, along with funds enough to provide an income for the rest of your life.† â€Å"Are you mad?† the dowager sputtered. Grace just stared at him in shock. â€Å"I should have done it long ago,† he said. â€Å"I was too selfish. I couldn't bear the thought of living with her† – he jerked his head toward his grandmother – â€Å"without you there to act as a buffer.† â€Å"I don't know what to say,† she whispered. â€Å"Normally, I'd advise ‘thank you,' but as I am the one thanking you, a mere ‘You are a prince among men' would suffice.† Grace managed a wobbly smile and whispered, â€Å"You are a prince among men.† â€Å"It is always lovely to hear it,† Thomas said. â€Å"Now, would you care to join the rest of us for supper?† Grace turned toward the dowager, who was red-faced with rage. â€Å"You grasping little whore,† she spat. â€Å"Do you think I don't know what you are? Do you think I would allow you in my home again?† Grace stared at her in calm shock, then said, â€Å"I was about to say that I would offer you my assistance for the rest of the journey, since I would never dream of leaving a post without giving proper and courteous notice, but I believe I have reconsidered.† She turned to Amelia, holding her hands carefully at her sides. She was shaking. She was not sure if it was from shock or delight, but she was shaking. â€Å"May I share your room this evening?† she asked Amelia. Because certainly she was not going to remain with the dowager. â€Å"Of course,† Amelia replied promptly. She linked her arm through Grace's. â€Å"Let us have some supper.† It was, Grace later decided, the finest shepherd's pie she'd ever tasted. Several hours later, Grace was up in her room staring out the window while Amelia slept. Grace had tried to go to sleep, but her mind was still all abuzz over Thomas's astounding act of generosity. Plus, she wondered where Jack had gone off to – he'd not been in the dining room when she and Thomas and Amelia arrived, and no one seemed to know what had happened to him. Plus plus, Amelia snored. Grace rather enjoyed the view of Dublin below. They were not in the city center, but the street was busy enough, with local folk going about their business, and plenty of travelers on their way into or out of the port. It was strange, this newfound sense of freedom. She still could not believe that she was here, sharing a bed with Amelia and not curled up on an uncomfortable chair at the dowager's bedside. Supper had been a merry affair. Thomas was in remarkably good spirits, all things considered. He had not said anything more of his generous gift, but Grace knew why he'd done it. If Jack was found to be the true duke – and Thomas was convinced this would be the case – then she could not remain at Belgrave. To have her heart broken anew, every day for the rest of her life – that, she could not bear. Thomas knew that she'd fallen in love with Jack. She had not said so, not expressly, but he knew her well. He had to know. For him to act with such generosity, when she'd gone and fallen in love with the man who might very well be the cause of his downfall – It brought tears to her eyes every time she thought of it. And so now she was independent. An independent woman! She liked the sound of that. She would sleep until noon every day. She would read books. She would wallow in the sheer laziness of it all, at least for a few months, and then find something constructive to do with her time. A charity, perhaps. Or maybe she would learn to paint watercolors. It sounded decadent. It sounded perfect. And lonely. No, she decided firmly, she would find friends. She had many friends in the district. She was glad she would not be leaving Lincolnshire, even if it did mean that she might occasionally cross paths with Jack. Lincolnshire was home. She knew everyone, and they knew her, and her reputation would not be questioned, even if she did set up her own home. She would be able to live in peace and respectability. It would be a good thing. But lonely. No. Not lonely. She would have funds. She could go visit Elizabeth, who would be married to her earl in the South. She could join one of those women's clubs her mother had so adored. They'd met every Tuesday afternoon, claiming they were there to discuss art and literature and the news of the day, but when the meetings were held at Sillsby, Grace had heard far too much laughter for those topics. She would not be lonely. She refused to be lonely. She looked back at Amelia, snoring away on the bed. Poor thing. Grace had often envied the Willoughby girls their secure places in society. They were daughters of an earl, with impeccable bloodlines and generous dowries. It was odd, really, that her future should now be so well-defined while Amelia's was so murky. But she had come to realize that Amelia was no more in control of her own fate than she herself had been. Her father had chosen her husband before she could even speak, before he knew who she was, what she was like. How could he know, looking upon an infant of less than one year, whether she would be suited for life as a duchess? All of her life, Amelia had been stuck, waiting for Thomas to get around to marrying her. And even if she did not end up marrying either of the two Dukes of Wyndham, she'd still find herself obliged to follow her father's dictates. Grace was turning back toward the window when she heard a noise in the hall. Footsteps, she decided. Male. And because she could not help herself, she hurried to her door, opened it a crack, and peered out. Jack. He looked rumpled and tired and achingly heartsick. He was squinting in the dark, trying to figure out which room was his. Grace-the-companion might have retreated back into her room, but Grace-the-woman-of-independent-means was somewhat more daring, and she stepped out, whispering his name. He looked up. His eyes flared, and Grace belatedly remembered that she was still in her nightgown. It was nothing remotely risque; in fact, she was far more covered than she would have been in an evening dress. Still, she hugged her arms to her body as she moved forward. â€Å"Where have you been?† she whispered. He shrugged. â€Å"Out and about. Visiting old haunts.† Something about his voice was unsettling. â€Å"Really?† she asked. â€Å"No.† He looked at her, then rubbed his eyes. â€Å"I was across the street. Having my shepherd's pie.† She smiled. â€Å"And your pint of ale?† â€Å"Two, actually.† He smiled then, a sheepish, boyish thing that tried to banish the exhaustion from his face. â€Å"I missed it.† â€Å"Irish ale?† â€Å"The English stuff is pig swill by comparison.† Grace felt herself warming inside. There was humor in his eyes, the first she'd seen in days. And it was strange – she'd thought it would be torture to be near him, to be with him and hear his voice and see his smile. But all she felt now was happiness. And relief. She could not bear it when he was so unhappy. She needed for him to be him. Even if he could not be hers. â€Å"You should not be out here like this,† he said. â€Å"No.† She shook her head but did not move. He grimaced and looked down at his key. â€Å"I cannot find my room.† Grace took the key from him and peered at it. â€Å"Fourteen,† she said. She looked up. â€Å"The light is dim.† He nodded. â€Å"It is that way,† she told him, pointing down the hall. â€Å"I passed it on the way in.† â€Å"Is your room acceptable?† he asked. â€Å"Large enough for both you and the dowager?† Grace gasped. He did not know. She'd completely forgotten. He had already left when Thomas gave her the cottage. â€Å"I'm not with the dowager,† she said, unable to conceal all of her excitement. â€Å"I – â€Å" â€Å"Someone's coming,† he whispered harshly, and indeed, she heard voices and footsteps on the stairs. He started to steer her back to her room. â€Å"No, I can't.† She dug in her heels. â€Å"Amelia is there.† â€Å"Amelia? Why would she – † He muttered something under his breath and then yanked her along with him down the hall. Into Room 14.

Personal Values And Ethics Of An Italian Essay

Values are defined as â€Å"the deepest beliefs and we sentiments we subscribe to†. Every person has values that they put into practice in their lives whether they realize this or not in other words we all apply values in our day-to-day lives both consciously and unconsciously. An individuals’ set of personal values guides him or her on how to live his or her life. Once these values have been implemented, they enable the implementer to achieve great things in life that they would otherwise not have been able to accomplish. Once an individual has implemented his or her personal values in his or her life, these values then energizes the individual and enables him or her to tackle issues that were previously seen as impossible in other words personal values allow an individual achieve what they dream of. Once a person has identified the values that are important to them they go further and develop strategies to be used in implementation of these values. Upon implementation, these values are said to be able to work wonders in a person’s life in that the person now has a direction in life that guides them in making decisions that are in line with their overall aim. When one identifies a mission philosophy or belief that is meaningful to them in their lives, then that becomes their value. There many categories of values whereby they are ranked as either commonplace or those that is special and psychological. An individual day-to-day life including relations with others and how they approach their work is determined by their personal values. These values are the ones that determine the success of an individual in whether action they dedicate themselves to. Once they are applied it becomes very easy for the person to excel in the workplace and personal life. They are said to have the ability to multiply the impact of an action and in turn the consequences of the act. Italians are very religious people and the biggest percentages of them are Catholics. They follow the tenets of the Catholic Church very strictly. They are very emphatic on the importance of the family and especially the mothers. They come together as families as often as possible and even conduct their businesses as a family. The men are always seen as the bread winners in the house and the women are to take care of the family in all ways. Being brought up in such a setting has shaped my values in to confirming with a lot of the traditional that I found when I was born and grew up in. In 1884, the Italian Republic made an agreement with the Vatican regarding religious education in schools. There was then a provision made that ensured that there would be religious teachings offered in all schools that are below the university level (http://www. beginningwithi. com). Since Italy is a catholic state, it therefore means that these teachings are mostly catholic in nature. This therefore ensures that all Italians who are born and bred in Italy have an option of getting religious teachings in school. It was however noted that not everyone is a catholic or even a Christian. This then led to need to make these teachings optional to those who wanted to learn. Those whose parents did not want them to learn had an option of refusing to allow their children not to learn. Since my family was and still is a very strict catholic follower, I never had the option to even refuse to attend these lessons. In fact this was seen as an added advantage since I would be able to learn more about Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary alongside the various teachings found in the bible. This would in the long run make me a better Christian and it actually did. Having grown up in a catholic family and also an extended one made my personal values to develop in a way that enables me cope with then. My personal values include success commitment fairness faith family feeling hard work and tolerance. The church I have grown up in has taught me to have faith in what I do and in god and hop that all will end well. This has sustained me all through my life especially at times when I feel emotional and psychologically unstable. At these moments I prefer to go to church and say prayers to calm me down. It has also taught me to be committed and this is what has enabled me to hold one position for 15 years in the same store. In Italian culture, one tends to live with the extended family and this is expected of all people. It is customary for the grandparents to care for their grandchildren which they d thus one has to cope with having a house full of relatives and this makes one tolerant. This has gone a long way in enabling me work with other employees without losing my temper. In under standing their weaknesses I am able to correct them without causing the formation of negative altitude towards me and weakness I am able to correct them without causing the formation of negative altitudes towards the job and me. When correcting their mistakes, I do so just as I would if it were my family member and this makes them feel appreciated and thus workers are motivated. I am currently studying for my B. S in criminal justice. The desire to study this course was prompted by my belief in fairness. I have a very strong conviction that everybody of what his or her previous life has been like. As a Christian I believe that any person can change given the chance. It is also true that there are quite a number of people who are wrongfully accused and convicted and it is necessary to correct such wrongs. By learning the different theories propounded in the course study. I can be able to use them in my workplace and in my day-to-day life to blame where it his not due I avoid unnecessary confrontations with other people. In my 15 years of working at the Vons Grocery store, I have met a number of personalities made a positive impact in my life. Michelle Valverda and Shielha Mosley. These people have taught me how to deal with other employees in order to maximize their output. They have taught me the value of success. It has been clarified in my mind what success really means and not just in monetary terms but also in emotional, psychological and physical well-being. These two people have reminded me the importance of leading a round life without neglecting any part of my life since all are important and are required in measuring the success of an individual. When I joined college to study for the criminal justice course, I met other people who added to my list of personal values. One of them is Ian Barrimond who is a fellow student. He has strengthened my value of tolerance because he is becoming more enjoyable when I do not keep getting angry with people for minor mistakes. Furthermore Ian is really committed to his studies and thus has introduced a new value to my life that is commitments. Apart from attending college he has a very demanding job that does not leave him with much time for himself yet he still manages to find time to dedicate his studies. My teacher is also a major influence to my list of values since he is always insisting on the necessary of hard work. Steven Fraitas insists that only by hard work can one be able to achieve what they want from life. The other major influences in my life are my parents who have always insisted on the family unity. They have never allowed my siblings and I to be on bad terms with each other for long and they have always ensured that any problem that crops up among us is quickly resolved before it goes too far. Also they have used the many family gatherings that we hold to invite all of us including the members of the extended family to make sure that we all remain close. None of us feels like a stranger or outsider because we have never been allowed to have time to drift apart to a point of becoming strangers to each other emotionally. This has made me become even more committed to my own family in the hope that it will be as unified as the family that I grew up in. I work hard so as to provide for my family and make sure that they live as comfortably as I can make them. This is encompassed in the value of family feeling. In Italian culture, one tends to live with their parents long after they have reached the age of maturity (Giannotti E. & Rocchi R. 2004). It has been argued by some people that this makes them vulnerable to emotional and mental instability. I beg to differ with this conclusion because instead of destabilizing me this has made me a stronger person in aspects in life. There is an assumption that we should all be married at a certain age but by waiting until the right moment allows one to be able to choose the right partner in life. This is important because in the catholic church one is not allowed to divorce and thus it is necessary to choose someone who one will be able to stay with for the rest of their lives. I am among those people who lived with their parents long after the time that is set as standard for people to move out of their parent’s house. I can testify to the benefits that I reaped from this. Since almost all my brothers and sisters were also living with my parents, we were able to develop our relationship into our adulthood. Not only have we remained close with my brothers and sisters but also with my parents. Since I did not start my family until I was old enough to appreciate what I needed in a spouse, I am then able to treat my spouse the way it has always been in the Italian culture. I was also able to learn a lot from my parents on how to live in peace and harmony in the same house with your spouse.

Politics and the English Language Research Paper

Politics and the English Language - Research Paper Example In order to clear the point the writer Orwell has given five examples of passages. Prof Harold Laski in his Freedom of Expression has written: â€Å"I am not, indeed, sure whether it is not true to say that the Milton who once seemed not unlike a seventeenth-century Shelley had not become, out of an experience ever more bitter in each year, more alien [sic] to the founder of that Jesuit sect which nothing could induce him to tolerate.† (Orwell, 1946, p.1) Orwell observed that in the cited passage there is having five negatives in fifty three words. The superfluous words are used in the passage that has made the write up non-sense and vagueness could have been avoided. It appears that the observations of Orwell are correct and significant. The second example is from Professor Lancelot Hog Ben’s† Interglossa† which reads as: â€Å"Above all, we cannot play ducks and drakes with a native battery of idioms which prescribes egregious collocations of vocables as the Basic put up with for tolerate, or put at a loss for bewilder.† (Orwell, 1946, p.1) Orwell is not convinced in using the phrase ‘ducks and drakes’ and he does not accept the word like ‘put up’ and ‘egregious’. The third instance cited by him referred to an Essay on psychology in Politics (New York): â€Å"on the one side we have the free personality: by definition it is not neurotic, for it has neither conflict nor dream. Its desires, such as they are, are transparent, for they are just what institutional approval keeps in the forefront of consciousness;† (Orwell, 1946, p.2). Orwell finds it to be meaningless but a reader can find out the meaning what it is intended in the article. The expressions by the writer  could have been made easier and imagery had the words been replaced appropriately. The fourth one is from a communist pamphlet: ‘All the "best

Marketing and sale Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Marketing and sale - Assignment Example Specifically, the current focus group will concentrate on; The first step of a focus group project is to determine various components and project partners. The current focus group project is on a newly developed ‘all natural granola style cereal.’ So, project partners for this focus group will be participants such as, housewives, young consumers of the age group 21-30, young executives and middle-aged professionals. Project partner will also include a moderator, a auditing expert, a technical and a assistant. The total number of participants included in the group will be 10. The focus group is expected to be diverse providing feedback and ideas from different perspectives. As such, the selected focus group will be a mix of male, female and young participants, who are consumers of cereals (NCBI, 2013). Sampling of Cereal Brands: During first stage of the focus group project, a sample survey test will be included and the attendees will be given three cereal brands, where only one brand will be of the company. They will be asked to differentiate on the basis of taste, appearance and likeness. Some of the model questions that can be asked to participants in the sampling survey are: Focus group interview: In the second stage, questions will be asked separately to the focus group regarding quality, taste and other features of the product. Some of the questions that can be asked during the cereal sampling are; Focus Group discussion: The next stage will include an open discussion forum, where the participants will express their views and opinions regarding product, usage and avenues for further improvements. Analysis: After successful conduction of a focus group, the next important stage will be dissemination of data and information gathered during the process. Analysis of the data will help in evaluating alternatives and deciding appropriate actions

The IMF and the World Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The IMF and the World Bank - Essay Example It is main goal was to help in reconstructing the international payment system of the world after World War II to address problems of the Great depression. As global economic institution, members of IMF could draw fund to improve or maintain economic activity in crises periods. IMF was to make sure that the borrowing countries could repay the debts on time. The financial operation of IMF started in 1947 and May the same year France borrowed fund as the first country (Felix. 2010). Over the years, many countries have joined IMF especially after attaining political independence to improve international trade and economic stability. These countries have greatly benefited from IMF especially on economic matters. The system of Bretton woods prevailed until when the government of US suspended the convertibility of the dollar and its reserve in other states into gold in 1971. In 2010 and 2011, IMF participated in the Greek bailout amounting to â‚ ¬110 billion and â‚ ¬100 billion respectively. The purposes of IMF and World Bank are closely related. The IMF focuses to foster the growth and stability of its members’ economy by lending fund. It offers policy advice and finances the economic difficulties of its members. It also works together with developing nations to assist them accomplish macroeconomic stability as well as reduce poverty. Further, the IMF helps the member states to achieve the external balance of payments. It also oversees the fixed exchange rates of its members and advises them accordingly to prioritise economic growth. The IMF gives emergency assistance to its members that face urgent needs of balance of payment in accordance to the Rapid Financing Instrument lately introduced. The World Bank gives loan at low interest rate and grants to developing countries to invest in health, education and infrastructure. Its major goal is to bridge the economic gap between rich and poor countries. It aims at reducing poverty in poor countries at the

The Public Sees the World not as It Is,but through the Filters of the Essay

The Public Sees the World not as It Is,but through the Filters of the Media - Essay Example The question, then, becomes—manufactured by whom? Also relevant is the question of what is being manufactured. Reality, as some thinkers would say, is what is being manufactured and is being done so by the media, which developed countries are increasingly reliant upon for information about the world. The purpose of this paper is to find examples and principles regarding how media constructs reality, with particular emphasis on the construction and imposition of gender, and how this construction interferes with the notion of a real reality. First, however, it is important to start with definitions of important terms; the first of these terms is â€Å"culture.† In saying that a culture is responsible for manufacturing truth, one is suggesting that shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices of a group are creating an integrated pattern of symbols to represent its beliefs, knowledge, and ideas. In other words, a culture is a set of shared attributes of a group, which ha s the capability of creating a symbolic system that represents those shared attributes. Language is the keystone example of how groups transcribe concepts and abstract ideas into symbols and signs representing its shared reality. A culture is a tool toward this social symbolic thought. Another important definition to clarify is that of media. To say that media assists in the construction of reality, one is suggesting that the tools or instruments that store and deliver information are actually responsible for giving meaning to the information they communicate. McLuhan (1964) coined the phrase â€Å"the medium is the message,† meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a mutual relationship in which the medium influences how the message is perceived. As applied to gender, a message delivered by a scantily clad woman on a television about the best tasting beer is likely to have a different meaning than the same message delivered by an old woman tal king on the radio about the same topic. Media, then, is any medium by which information is stored and delivered to the public. This is a very wide-ranging definition of media that captures the essential point that media is a broader instrument to communication than simply speaking or acting in a certain way. Media is also goal-directed, whether that goal consists of inspiring action in its recipients, making a profit, or informing certain people of events happening in the world. Lastly, a third relevant definition to be considered is for gender. The idea of â€Å"gender† is conceptually distinct from sex, which is tied more fundamentally to the biology of an individual’s body. What is relevant here, then, is not the identification the individual can make of himself or herself with regard to what is anatomically true about his or her body, but rather the kind of individual he or she identifies with as a person. To the extent that cultures are capable of creating their o wn systems of symbols to represent their own beliefs and attitudes, so too can individuals form beliefs and attitudes about personally relevant issues such as which groups in society he or she identifies with. According to the sex and gender description, one social identifier open to individual choice is

Capstone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 8

Capstone - Essay Example This paper also provides information concerning the ethical values of the company, and how it affects the organizations bottom line. Northrop Grumman is an American Multi-national company, specializing in the production of defense and aerospace facilities/ products. The company began its operations in 1994, through an acquisition of Northrop by Grumman. As of the year 2010, this company was voted as the fourth largest defense contractor in the world, and it employs more than 68,000 employees all over the world. The mission of the company is to be a leader in the production of defense and aeronautical technology. The mission of the company is also to satisfy the various needs of its customers through delivery and innovating high quality technological products, which are affordable (Hayden, Campbell and Cummins, 2010). The vision of the company on the other hand is to be a trusted and reliable supplier and producer of technologies and systems capable of protecting the country. To achieve this objective, the company aims to observe ethical values that guide defense contracting, promote innovation and collaboration a mongst its employees and key stakeholders. The key stakeholders of Northrop Grumman are share holders, suppliers, employees, and the company’s customers, which are always security institutions of America, and American allies. These people have an impact on the general performance of the company; this is because the company aims at achieving profitability for purposes of satisfying its shareholders and customers (Hayden, Campbell and Cummins, 2010). The company also seeks to produce high quality defense technologies, for purposes of protecting the country and satisfying the needs of its customers. Production of high quality defense technology is part and parcel of the organization’s mission and vision, and hence the employees of the

Evaluate the implications for the maritime component of the likely Essay

Evaluate the implications for the maritime component of the likely characteristics of future conflict - Essay Example The Cold War was precipitated by the bipolarity that prevailed during the rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union for influence and power. In studying the causes for these major conflicts, one will see their marked differences. Chester Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson and Pamela Aall have argued that any theories about war must reject that it is constant or at least must be modified to include many variables that explain observed variation.1 In talking about future war, it is, hence, difficult to predict. But history, after numerous wars, and the current military, political and economic trends have equipped us with enough knowledge to understand what will characterize the future conflicts and how they will affect the their components today onwards. The significance of this kind of analysis and discourse is that, as we sufficiently understand the political, economic and social circumstances that lie behind the decisions for violent actions, we are in a better position not just to be ready but also to utilize the knowledge for use in conflict prevention. More importantly, it underscores the reality that war remains primarily a tool of politics in the hands of willful leaders. For this paper, I will explore several variables of future conflict that is affecting and will affect the maritime forces including: the actors in conflict both state and non-state entities; the nature of future war; inter-state warfare; the changing nature of future threat; the changing roles and missions that future conflict may require of maritime forces; the effect of the new roles and responsibilities that are required by future conflict on maritime forces; and, how the asymmetric warfare looks like at sea. The numerous wars that the world has seen have different characteristics in regard to scale, period, casualties, among other characteristics. It varies in form (interstate, intrastate), regional concentration, frequency, intensity, and other

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Research Paper

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - Research Paper Example Salinger paid a great attention to the factors of personality formation. The novel â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye† is considered to be Bible for many generations. Nowadays this work can seem even to be naive but at the previous century it was sensation which caused a great wave of different emotions and was officially censored. Very often reading a book the readers try to guess the content from the very beginning judging from the title. Some authors give the mysterious titles to their works in order do some kind of riddle. Into the title of his novel Salinger placed the whole philosophy, symbolism which was an integral part of the novel. This gives an excellent opportunity to the reader to interpret the novel in their own manner and discourse. The main point of this novel is that everyone can see themselves in this work. The features of the main character are sincere and impress with their honest depicting. Though it should be mentioned that this novel is not about a lazy young man who is so simple and easy from the first sight but the author calls the reader o look deep inside the complicated mechanism if Holden’s soul. The character is opening step by step, every page of the novel helps to understand the character. Salinger wants to tell everything about his hero. The psychological portrait of Salinger’s hero is contradictory and complex. The behavior of Holden often makes an impression of a painful start. He is not just shy, touchy, and sometimes not polite, like almost everyone is prone to introspection, teenager of so-called introverted type. As it is evident from the confessions of the hero of the novel, and from the details Holden is childish for his age â€Å"unwillingness to resemble the adults in Holden's first emotionally more than consciously, feeling ahead of his mind and he's ready to be finished in one fell swoop with their offenders among which not everyone deserve a severe sentence†. However, on the other hand the youn g minimalism of Holden Caulfield is understandable thirst for justice and transparency in human relations. The fact that most depresses Holden and what he judges is quite "grown-up" is the feeling of hopelessness, impending doom of all his attempts to arrange his life in this world. Peering into the future, he sees nothing, except the gray routine that has become the lot of the vast majority of his countrymen. Salinger's hero fails to interest Sally enough, however, who does not really believe in life in the hut by the stream (Slawenski, 2011). Formulaic Hollywood movies with the triumph of virtue and indispensable quirks in the final scenes cause attack of revulsion in Holden’s mind. Holden lives in the cruel soulless world, which like a machine tends either to break their victim, or reshape them into their own image. Holden is endowed with "absolute moral hearing" - he immediately discerns hypocrisy, and his hypersensitivity is a special kind of radar that catches it, and t hen quietly passes by other history of American literature. This is his youthful impatience and attracts the readers' hearts. Not surprisingly, Holden eagerly looking for at least some outlet craves human warmth, involvement and understanding. So the question arises, what he wants, as he thinks in about the future, the question is even more important because we know very well

Reports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Reports - Essay Example The case study is supposed to help managers make working strategies that go beyond forecasting. According to the authors, managers have to do more than forecasting when coming up with new strategies (Kaplan & Orlikowski, 2014). After eight months of studying the strategy making process in CommCorp, the authors argue that strategy is more than just forecasting. The authors argue that is important for managers consider the past, present and the future of the company when coming up with strategies. By interpreting and reinterpreting the past, future and the present of the company managers can be able to come up with new workable strategy narratives that can steer their companies from uncertainty. The authors argue that strategy making does not revolve around making accurate forecasting. This is due to the fact the future is unpredictable. Secondly, it is imporant to consider the past when coming up with new strategies. The past can help predict the future and ensure that there is continuity from the past. Thirdly, managers should focus on coming up with a strategy narratives that will help the company in times of uncertainty. This means that the narrative should not be perfect but rather be good enough for no w. Lastly, breakdowns in the strategy making process should not be considered as a failure but rather a way of provoking thinking that will produce workable narratives (Kaplan & Orlikowski, 2014). The backbone of any company revolves around making workable strategies whenever when faced with uncertainty (Hill, & Jones, 2012). Managers have to know and understand how to come up with workable strategies during these crucial moments. The article offers priceless information on how managers can come up with strategy narratives. Backed with evidence from a case study of CommCorp, the author lays a foundation on which managers can use to come up with workable

Facilities And Rational Essay Example for Free

Facilities And Rational Essay For a multinational hotel chain, there is need to maintain quality standards for organization to live- up to their brand equity and customers expectations. However, as hotel proposed to be a 3- star hotel, we need to take care of the costs and need not go overboard in promising amenities and services. Moreover, as per recent report (1), occupancy in London hotels has come down form 80% to 75% with respect to other European cities in 2001 to 2002 period. East end of London is right place to open a new hotel as next four- five years going to have lots of business activities prior to 2012 Olympics. During Olympics spectators load going to create havoc on cities infrastructure and demand from visitors would result is substantial shortfall of rooms. As costing and other business case related evaluations are done separately, below is the detailing of key elements of hotel facilities, infrastructure and amenities for a three- star hotel for business clientele Features of rooms: In a 200- room hotel, there is need for gradation of quality of rooms to cater to spectrum of customer profile. Rooms need to be premier and ordinary quality, however, allocation in the categories to follow pyramid structure of the target segment. Plan for maximum number of ordinary room, with 80% (160 units) coverage, 15% (30 units) of executive suites and 5% (10 units) of presidential suites. Suites can be on higher floor which can give better view of the city/ upcoming stadium/ river. Hotel room is most critical interface of the hotel with the customer in building impression and to ensure ‘recall’ and ‘re- visit’. Below are the key aspects of the room amenities. †¢ Decent size (6 ft* 7ft) bed with access from both sides, ample number of cushions/ pillows (hypo allergic), reading lamp attached from behind wall. †¢ Study table made of good quality wood. Chair with arm rest and robust cushioned back support for prolonged working. Table to have lamp and stationery. A detailed road map of London and transportation network would be great help to travelers. †¢ Comfortable couch to stretch legs after days work, centre table to place office bags etc, soothing paintings on the wall, cupboard with ample hangers, shoe- shine etc. †¢ LCD Interactive TV/ Entertainment system with access to business channels, individually controlled AC, internet connectivity, business papers and magazines, phone facility, safe deposits box, tea/ coffee making unit and complimentary mini bar. †¢ Bathroom: 24 hour hot/ cold running water, fitted with overhead shower, bath tub, WC. Along with other toiletries, shaving kit for business traveler, dryer, magnifying mirror, bathrobes, in- room slippers, 24- hr laundry service. Fire alarm: Each room required to be equipped with fire alarm, which is moral responsibility of hotel owner, moreover, it is statutory requirement. Alarm need be quite sensitive to smoke, and alarm must be audible to authorities and residents to take up proper cover. ‘Water sprinkler’ is option worth trying depending on the budget. Sprinkler would help in containing fire before it grows. All room to have instructions at bedside outlining what to do in case of fire. Exit signs must be visible from all corners of the corridor. As proposed hotel is to cater to business clientele, there would be large gathering of delegates to conduct meetings and conferences. Location of such facilities is important. Conference rooms neither should be at basement and nor at the top floor. All exits, pathways should be unobstructed for emergency evacuations. Air conditioning: Central air cooling and heating is hygiene level need for a 3- star hotel. To take care of customers/ guests during extreme temperatures in summers and winter effective air conditioning is required. Each room would have louver/ air- vent to release hot/ cool air draft. From each room, air duct to be connected with the central air compressor. Air conditioning systems are the greatest guzzler of electrical energy in hotels. A detailed assessment of energy efficiency is required to optimize costs. It is always preferred for each room to have individual control panel to regulate the temperature. Health facilities: †¢ To unwind after hectic day of work, business travelers look forward to Spa/ Swimming Pool (covered, temperature controlled) / Gym with treadmill, weights and trainer support. †¢ Doctor must be available on call, 24/ 7. For emergency a reference book with important telephone number s and contact person names to be provided in each room. Utilities: †¢ 24 hr water supply, with purification plant, captive to the hotel. East- End being not very advanced in life standards, it would be important to give comfort to customers on hygiene issues like pure water, unpolluted air and cleanliness. †¢ Uninterrupted power supply at steady voltage with no fluctuations. Any volatility in current would affect laptop kinds of gadgets of customers. Hotel must be equipped with power back- up in form of generator in event of electricity failure. †¢ Currency exchange facility, with tie up with international bank. Single window facility to take care of financial needs of customer would reduce unwanted hassles for the customers, avoiding unnecessary trip to the city. †¢ Fleet of cars for airport pick up/ drop. Or tie with car rental for availability of cars during peak hours. Economics to be seen. Under London congestion charging scheme, use of car in the city is becoming expensive, so for group transfers, use of coach would be time saving and cost effective. †¢ Speed elevators with proper signage and space. Separate service elevator for staff and service. Restaurant: †¢ Restaurant to offer complimentary buffet breakfast. Continental breakfast is recommended for all days. A variety of spread (boiled vegetables to cakes) would help in charging the customer for the big day ahead. †¢ 24- hour coffee shop for executives reaching at odd hours from office/ airports. This facility must have laptop/ mobile charging electrical points for executive to carry out work along with the much needed coffee break. †¢ Multi-cuisine restaurant to take care of varying taste buds of plethora of businessman travelling in and out of London. †¢ Bar cum live music: To tap business and tourist traveler both, a bar with live music is important differentiator. Features characteristics of the building a) Facade: For 200- rooms, and assuming space to be constrained in east- end, hotel need to be 12- 15 storey structure, with parking in basement. Reception, business centre, conference halls and restaurants at first and second floor level. Most of the room must be front facing. Room windows/ balconies to be of uniform size, glass and light fixtures, to give consistent view of the hotel. Two- lane space in front of main gate smooth flow of cars. b) Branding: Signage of hotel brand/ name to be positioned for it to be visible from the approach roads. Hoarding on the roads emerging out of airport, with toll- free number would help in generating enquiries from prospective customers. c) Business centre: Fax facility, desktops with high speed internet, small meeting room (for 4- 6 person), small library with latest business books/ journals. d) Conference rooms: Equipped with good quality overhead projector, 50- 100 chairs, round tables, chord less mikes, quality speakers with proper acoustics and white board etc. These halls must be suited for seminars, conventions, conferences, training programs etc. Important element for better ROI (return on investment) from conference rooms is to have partition arrangement. In event of small group size (20- 40), same hall can be partitioned into two for couple of parallel small sessions. e) Shopping arcade: If local artifacts, business and ethic garments and books on exotic topics etc is provided within hotel, customers may have another reason to avoid congested city markets. Moreover, this bazaar/ series of shops can be another string of revenues for the hotel. f) Car parking: Parking space must be available for 80- 100 cars, with valet parking facility. PA (public announcement) system to facilitate quick access to cars and faster movement from the main porch. 2012 Olympics: For summer Olympics just four years away, economic activities would start building up from now (2008). There would be pick- up in lots of construction and infrastructure work for facilities for Olympic stadium, athletes’ complex and spectators. Various suppliers of machineries, services and equipments would visit often the city and the area. During Olympics spectators from around the world would result is substantial shortfall of hotel facilities. As East End going to see lots of business activities and media focus in next few years, it is most opportune time for hotel industry to capitalize on top line and bottom line growth. From Olympics perspective, this multinational hotel chain must toy with the idea of taking a quality hotel property on lease for 5 years. Logistics: It is important to have proper connectivity with key points of London city like Airport at Newham. As per Regional Planning Guidance3 (RPG3) hotels are encouraged to develop facilities in underdeveloped boroughs (1) to overcome traffic snarls and make stay of customer comfortable. A proper commuting network is required to be developed, using coaches and cars for the customers who would be staying in the hotel. Conclusion: A well equipped hotel by a well known brand in a demand- supply gap scenario is a favorable business proposition. To have first- mover advantage, and to gear up to tap the potential in a 3- star hotel with aforementioned facilities is a compelling business case to be taken forward by the organization. Reference: (1) PriceWaterhouseCooper’s 2002 report to Greater London Authority on ‘Demand and capacity for Hotels and Conference centre in London’

Teaching Writing Skills To Vietnamese Students Education Essay

Teaching Writing Skills To Vietnamese Students Education Essay Background of the problem Writing skill which includes language, private knowledge and skill, emotion and the interaction of personal opinion is difficult and challenging to learn and develop for many students in EFL contexts in general and in Vietnam in particular. In Vietnam, there are many teachers of English who even believe that teaching writing skill to EFL learners is more complex than teaching other communicative skills (Mazdayasna Tahririan, 2001). Although language learners have to learn hard to have good compositions, they still have made a variety of errors or mistakes when writing. In other words, EFL learners often feel stressful and anxious when writing in a foreign language (Spratt Leung, 2000). Consequently, language teachers and researchers have made an effort to know how they can do to help students be able to minimize their mistakes in their writing. However, they also admit that it is impossible for them or any teacher to read and correct all the students compositions on writing lessons because correcting written work is time-consuming (Ur, 1999, p.74), especially for large classes. Peer feedback (also peer correction, peer response or peer review) with its advantages can be a promising way which can be used to encourage students to read and give comments and suggestions together for enrichment of their peers writings before the final versions of their products are submitted to their teachers. Peer correction works as a vital part in the process approach to teaching writing because it helps learners realize their learning level as well as their demands for enhancement of writing ability. Brown (1994) and Gipps (1994) have the same opinion that feed back is one of the main factors in the process of English learning and teaching. Many other researchers, for example, Paulus (1999), Min (2006) promote the idea that verbal and written feedback should be applied to foster writing skills. This strategy, thus, has been used popularly on the writing lessons of many English classes in Vietnam consisting of those at centre of Informatics and Foreign Language, Thai Nguyen College of Education, Thai Nguyen Uni. Ur (1999, p.74) states that peer correction can help us not only save time, but also develop the critical reading skill for content, organization, style and language accuracy. Additionally, peer feedback can receive an efficient method to make students to have critical thinking of writing and assessment skills than teacher feedback. In other words, peer feedback helps learners make good use of their own effort to make their writings expressive and effective. However, in spite of its roles and impact on the process of writing, peer feedback has not been paid much attention in Vietnam. Some researchers such as Tran (2007), Phan (2007) who are interested in peer response in writing introduce their point of view, knowledge and experience about this topic in their researches which show the present state of employing peer feedback learners attitude and especially offer some suggestions to better the current response training. Purpose of the study As mentioned above, it is not difficult to find out studies which research the role of peer feedback in writing skill on the way to foster it. However, the writer of this study with to do the research to know about the fact of peer feedback in Vietnam in general and the Centre of Informatics and Foreign Language, TNCE, TNU more clearly. This study also investigates whether peer feedback can have positive impact on ESL writing process among pre-intermediate non major students at this Centre or not; they can revise their own writing works to develop their writing skill or not and how this process really happens. Bearing in mind, the writer decides the research with title Using peer correction in teaching writing skill to help Vietnamese college non-major students at CIF, CE, TNU reduce errors in their written compositions Research question(s) or statement of hypothesis This study aims at finding answer to the following research question: How can peer correction helps EFL learners reduce mistakes in their written compositions? The question is addressed to one of the writing classes that I am teaching this term in Centre of Informatics and Foreign Language, College of Education, Thai Nguyen University with the aim to examine how peer correction affects the process of revising and writing a complete composition of my students here. Organization of the study This study can be divided into five chapters. In this chapter, background of the EFL writing in local context is given and the aim of this study is also identified. Chapter 2 mentions some reviews of the literature which go through related literature and researches, in which, general of writing teaching and a brief idea of peer feedback in writing skill will be focused. In chapter 3, the writer describes the methodology and processes of the research. Chapter 4 presents data analysis and findings. Chapter 5 gives some implications of the study, summarizes main point discussed in the study, indicates some limitations and proposes some suggestions for the further researches. Lastly, the final parts of the study are appendixes and references. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Overview of writing process Lannon (1989) claims that writing is a process delivering meaningful messages and including its own specific goal. This process requires students to work hard instead of regarding it as an uncomplicated act (Byrne, 1988). However, in language teaching and learning process, Tribble (1996, p.3) defines writing as a language skill that involves not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way. This means writers need to arrange their ideas logically and systematically. There have been different approaches to teaching writing EFL classes but two most popular ones are product approach and process one. Product approach can be the traditional method of writing which stresses the final outcome of the writing process as well as grammar, usage, form and mechanics of the composition. Students are often asked to write a similar paragraph basing on the model and using new taught structures, vocabularies or any aspects of language. A fter that, the teacher will correct students writings or feedback in the class commonly means the correction of the students language errors (Mazdayasna Tahririan, 2001, p.56). Therefore, students find difficult to know why and how they made errors to avoid repeating them on the next tasks. Though thanks to this method students can sometimes reject errors (Tribble, 1996), it does not encourage students create in writing at all, the use of language is manipulate of fixed patterns; the patterns are learned by imitation (Pincas, 1962, p.185). Over the last forty years, there has been remarkable interest in writing process. There are many researchers and educators suggesting language teachers that they should pay attention to students writing process instead of only their final writing version (Paige Way, Joiner and Seaman, 2000). Process writing can contain stages such as rewriting, writing, revising and rewriting or editing. However, Reid (1993) supplement this process with three more stages, namely, responding, evaluating and post-writing, in which peer feedback is focused more in responding. Prewriting: something done before drafting such as choosing a topic, brainstorming, collecting data, organizing. Composing / drafting: actually writing. Revising: selecting organization, structures, edition or collection word. Rewriting: completing stage step by step. Responding: getting the teacher and peers responses, discussing with them about papers to improve the content. Evaluating: receiving marks or scores from the teachers. Post-writing: any activities happened after completing rewriting and getting assessment (role-play) Cresswell claims that to as students to exchange their writing draft is an effective way to foster their learning autonomy and help them become alert reader when proofreading their partners written tasks (2000). As the result, they also have critical thinking when they read their own paper to find and correct themselves their mistakes in those, i.e. their writing ability can be develop (Markino, 1993). It is necessary to allow students to have more time to write and get feedback from their teachers and classmates, and then rewrite the drafts so that they can let reader be abele to understand their idea expressed on the paper better (Frankenberg-Garcia, 1999). Definition and some types of errors Different researchers have different ways to categorize errors. In this study, the writer only wishes to refer one of classification strategies based on the relation to comprehensibility given by Burt and Kiparsky (1972) because of its close concern with the notion of mistakes mentioned in this study. These researchers divided error into two main types: global errors and local ones. Henclrikson (1978) notes that we will be able to realize which error is global or local, because error can be regard as communicative or non-communicative ones. According to Ellis (1997), while global errors such as over generalization or simplification have an effect on explanation of the whole structure of sentence, local error just affect a single factor in sentences, i.e. word, phrases, closures or grammatical morphemes. Burt and Kiparsky (1974) also claim that global error have higher hierarchy than local errors. Thus the global ones seem to be care about and be corrected more than local ones Norish (1983). However, those local errors can be considered as minor ones, error in tense and aspect, they are popular mistakes of English writing learners. Peer feedback and its impact on reducing mistakes and developing writing skill Knowledge is best acquired through negotiated interaction (Grabe Kaplan, 1996, p.380). There are many approaches to error correction and also definitions of peer feedback from many linguists and experts. According to Richards, et al, Peer feedback is an activity in the revising stage of writing in which students receive feedback about their writing from other students-their peers. Typically students work in pairs or small groups, read each others compositions and ask questions or give comments or suggestions (1992, p.268). Some other researchers of EFL writing state that feedback play an essential role in the process of writing. Keh (1990) claims that giving feedback means giving comments and suggestions, which helps the writer edit his or her composition. Through teachers or classmates feedback, students can know what kinds of mistakes they made and how to cope with those mistakes. Therefore, if students can get a productive feedback, they can correct their own errors and avoiding making the similar mistakes in the later writing tasks. It is wise for teachers to require learners responsibilities for their own writing performance and their peers ones because of the strong effect of peer feedback on students review as well as their writing skill. Zamel (1987) supposes that peers are actual and direct readers or reviewers. In the fact that, there are a number of methods teachers utilize to assist students check their mistakes but indeed teachers seem to not be able to resolve the problem individually. Students play the parts of both writers and readers or givers and receivers. Hefernick (1983) regards peer editing as learning and teaching instrument for teachers and learners because students can give helpful feedback each other. Peer writers can edit their own written compositions basing on the readers remarks and comments (Mendonca and John, 1994; Rollison, 1998), so the writers can be better at learning writing. Students can also have superior performance by the student-to-student activities because these activities are often more detailed than teacher feedback (Caulk, 1994). Also, Mangelsdorfin thinks that peer review can help many students to have diverse perception about their topics as well as foster the ideas and make them more clearly in the EFL writings. Therefore, researchers believe that peer feedback can have a positive effect on classroom dynamics and can help to train learners in skills they need to become autonomous (Spratt et al, 2005, p.157). Joyce (1997) employs a research to explore main strategies so as to respond to the EFL students composition writings. After the twelve-week period, by comparing the initial writing sample and the third one after using peer editing, he shows that writing competency of students grows strongly and concludes this strategy is efficient and necessary. In the research conducted by Wong (1999), peer correction was carried out and discovered by qualitative data to ease the process of EFL writing in four factors: grammar, rules and concepts, meaning and emotional elements. In addition, it helps students improve awareness of writing skill. Quantitative findings of this study introduce 97% students admit that they want to apply peer correction in the future. It is important to stress that the writer of this study learns a lot from Wong research, and longs to use some his methods in this research to examine whether it is suitable for the writer teaching fact. Kurt and Atay (2007) also experimented with 86 Turkish Prospective Teachers of English. Those participants are divided into 2 groups: Experimental group (writing an essay and receiving peer feedback) and control group (writing an essay and receiving teacher feedback only). This study concluded that peer feedback helps Turkish PTs reduce writing anxiety and it is really considered as a complementary factor of the teacher feedback. Despite its advantages, peer response has its own weakness. Its procedure requests the training and organization from the teacher as well as it depends on students ability of collaboration with peers. Many students give their partners too general and ambiguous reviews. They make their peers find it difficult to understand and catch messages or information. The writing ability, thus, seems to not improve (Tsui Ng, 2000). CHAPTER 3: METHODS AND PROCEDURES Methods of the study The research is done qualitatively in the context of a 30-student English class. They are non-major students; their level of English proficiency is pre-intermediate and their writing ability is average. In this report, the writer uses two research tools to collect and analyze the needed data, i.e. recording and interview. Recording is used to record the process of peer correction. Chosen subjects were invited to record their discussions and then they were transcribed (Appendix C) for analyzing. Voice recorder is chosen instead of video recorder to prevent their discussions from the presence of another people, which may interrupt their current process of peer correction. The writer also hopes that through recordings she can derive how students check and correct their writings each other and what types of mistakes are corrected most. The second tool used in this study is interviews with students at the end of the research to study whether this strategy is really suitable for them or not, that is, expose students attitude toward peer correction strategy as well as their opinions and get their suggestions to make this process better. According to Herbert and Irene (1995), in interviews students need to know the way of actual listening. Because they are pre-intermediate non-major students, they can only use English during the interviews, so they can speak in Vietnamese and then the writer record and translate them into English. Procedure As a matter of ethics, the whole procedure of teaching and learning is implemented similarly to all students of the class after all of them give consent to be part of the research. However, due to the limit of the study, I only focus to record and interview the learning engagement of two students (who I call anonymously in this report as A1 and A2 as a matter of ethics) during this process as the data for analysis. The writer after considering carefully decide to make peer correcting tasks in class. Before the real peer correction, the writer design some exercises to introduce the way to check a composition. They were guided to focus on some discrete mistake. Items are subject-verb agreement, spells, tense, verb form, number, part of speech. The structure of sentence, content, and organization of the composition/essay is also asked to be commented. Firstly, the students were asked to check sentence by sentence and then, they worked in pairs to check the paragraph (Appendix B) This research lasted for 8 weeks, and the writer chose 3 topics to ask students to write, discus and correct and then rewrite before submitting to give the teacher. These topics are informal letter to a pen friend; a descriptive passage about a close relative in your family; a biography passage of a famous person. During this process, the writer asks students to give them tape-recorder to record their own discussions. In this paper, interviews are well-prepared. After recording them, the writer will transcribe and translate them (Appendix ?) ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS Data analysis Analysis of data from the recordings The writer, in this part, wish to learn about the process of peer correction through discussions taken recordings of subjects and interviews between the writers and them. After that, the writer would assess the result of the recorded discussions and interviews. It is undeniable that peer correction help students improve EFL writing a lot, although the level of subjects is not high, they can give comments on a variety of types of mistakes language such as article, preposition, S-V agreement, infinitive or gerund an sometimes even whole structure of the composition or word choice. When correcting mistakes, they also give some suggestions and explain the reasons for those mistakes. Below are some examples in collected data. Extract 1(topic 1, A1s composition) Before correction: She and I are very different but we got on well together. She is short and Im tall. She likes stay at home and watch television with my parentss. A2: Ok. Sentence 1 is ok. In sentence 2, you should use get, not got, simple present. Next sentences let me see, here, like add v-ing not bare verb. My parentss, I dont know my parentss here mean, without possessive mark is correct. Do you agree? A1: Yeah of course After correction: She and I are very different but we get on well togetherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. She is shorter than meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. She likes staying at home and watching television with my parents Extract 2 (topic 1, A2s composition) Before correction: My young brother is a 15 year old and I am 20 year old. My brother learn at Song Cong town and I learn at TN college of education. A1: My young brother is a 15 year old. You dont need an article here, it is not a noun and years, not year. Its plural. My brother learn at Song Cong town and I learn at TN college of education, wrong form of the verb the third singular person. A2: Okie. Learns not learn After correction: My young brother is 15 years old and I am 20 years old. He learns at Song Cong town and I learn at TN college of education. Extract 3 (topic 2, A1s composition) Before correction: I was born in a family of farmer. My parents are workers in a company and my brother is married and works for the post office. A2: I dont understand the next sentences. I was born in a family of farmer. My parents are workers in a company. Why? A1: Oh, so so sorry, I mean classes in society. But I cant express this idea. A2: Working class, you mean? Or you will not ? sentence. Are you clear? Now, next, any brother is married, was, not is and works for the post office. After correction: My parents are workers in a company and my brother is married and works for the post office. Extract 4 (topic 2, A2s composition) Before correction: Its verry wonderful. A1: Verry? Wrong spelling. Its Very. Can you find out the sentence? A2: Yes. Thats right. After correction: Its very wonderful! Through recordings, the writer also realizes that apart from getting knowledge to improve their writing skill, students are very interested in their discussions. They seem to feel confident and have responsibilities with their task. Analysis of data from the interviews The information from the interviewed reveals students thoughts, feelings and ideas toward this process. Although A1 has not tried peer correction before, she is convinced of this strategy after this study. She feels that she can realize her mistakes clearly and correct them. She is also able to avoid repeating on the next task. She wants to work in group of 3 or 4 to get more feedback from her peers. That means she admit the role of the peer feedback in developing her writing skill. Extract 6 (interview between the writer and A1) W: Will you use this strategy again? A1: Yes, of course. W: Can you give some suggestions to make the process better? A1: I like working in group of three or four. Thats all. W: Thank you very much! Unlike A1, A2 has used this strategy many times. Therefore she has a lot of experiences. Her ideas express her deep understanding of peer correction. She also likes it and she knows how it assists her in her writing process. However, she stresses the role of the teacher in the process of revising. Extract 7 (interview between the writer and A2) A2: I like it. But I still want teachers correct it finally. W: Why do you think so? A2: Because I myself sometimes find out my own mistakes. My partner can help me that. Moreover, when reading the text of my partner, I can learn something from it. However, there are some mistakes we cant correct we need teacher. ! Findings According to the data analysis from the two lessons, it can be personally concluded that the most important feature that makes my students to engage more in the lesson is the kind of assessment which forces them to learn although the meaningfulness of tasks also more or less affect the level of engagement the most meaningful tasks to my students are tasks that can help them to pass the tests at the end of the semester not tasks that give them reasons to communicate as I expected REFLECTIONS This study has given me a chance to know more about my students, about what goes wrong with them when they are not engaged in my reading class. In the study, I also have chance to access a number of researches of many experienced language educators and teachers, from which I obtain new knowledge of language teaching and learning in general and knowledge of meaningful tasks in teaching extensive reading in particular. During the research, I also learn more about the methods of doing research in a scientific way. Firstly, I learn to look at the situation of my English teaching and learning critically and make research questions with the hope of improving it. I also learn to arrange and organize my ideas and my work systematically to fit the timetable of the research procedure. But the most important thing is that I learn how to put my background knowledge into the knowledge repertoire of related previous studies to have a broader view of the situation and to make my research skills (such summarizing and synthesizing) useful by activating them creatively and critically. However, the research still has some drawbacks regarding the methods of data collection and analysis that I might change in my next research if I have more time. Firstly, instead of just doing the research on 2 lessons, I intend to do research from the beginning of the semester so that my students not only have chances to choose the texts themselves but also have chances to choose the topics they are interested in. Moreover, when I observe them in the whole semester, the effect of other aspects like the pressure of testing, the emotion of learners, etc. can be avoided and thus, the data I collect may become more reliable. Secondly, instead of interviewing my students after the research, I will interview them during the research, which may give me more chances to adjust my lessons to be more suitable and meaningful to them. CONCLUSION To sum up, the research has brought to me some important lessons of English teaching and learning in general and of working with my students in particular. Firstly, the research affirms for me that extensive reading activities are good activities that students want to do. It is not because in the activities, students have opportunities to choose the texts of their own interest and at their own level of proficiency but also because extensive reading activities give them another environment of reading in which they are not in pressure to read. Thus, they can comfortably improve their English fluency. It is also proved by the research that students are more engaged in the extensive reading activities when the tasks are more meaningful to them. More specifically, in my case that means the tasks that give my students a more meaningful reason to complete engage them more. However, it is also noted that the purpose of learning for mark (i.e. learning to prepare for final-term tests) should also be taken into considerations as a factor that affects the engagement of students. 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