Saturday, March 21, 2020

The importance of being an individual in Educating Rita and Pygmalion Essay Example

The importance of being an individual in Educating Rita and Pygmalion Essay Individuality is definitely an important part in both Rita, and Elizas characters. They both come from a defined social group or class. Rita comes from the common Liverpudlian working class; she lives (at the start of the play) in a small house with her husband Denny. Eliza is more of a street dweller. She is dirty, and lousy, and lives in a tiny flat with no heating or electricity she cant afford it. Both of the girls seem quite ordinary for their era, but they both seem a little different from there peers. Rita begins to ask questions to herself, like who am I she thinks about the future and in doing so she acts on her ideas, breaking away from what she knows. Eliza does not seem to be thinking about this, her life is too hard. But when she does get to think about her chance, she grabs it, any thing to escape her current status. Early Eliza and early Rita are both quite insecure, Eliza is very low class, and quite insecure, she is struggling to stay above prostitution, she still has her self respect. Rita is in a better state, although she is insecure, she is very naive, so she decides to join Open University. She is motivated by curiosity, and the questions she was asking herself, like is this all there is in life? In 1971 there where about a million unemployed people in Liverpool, Rita was luckily not one of them, but she certainly did not want to become a percentage. We will write a custom essay sample on The importance of being an individual in Educating Rita and Pygmalion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The importance of being an individual in Educating Rita and Pygmalion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The importance of being an individual in Educating Rita and Pygmalion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer She was not happy as a hairdresser, she wanted more. Compared with Eliza she was quite happy, although they where both in a situation where any chance to break free from there circle would be snapped up. Eliza was like many others in her time, selling flowers, but there where many more selling themselves. As a flower girl in Totenham court road Eliza sold flowers. As a lady she is threatened with the prospect of having nothing to sell but herself (Gibbs) The day when Higgins throws his small change to Eliza, she thinks she can afford to pay for lessons with Higgins, so she can loose her cockney accent. At first all she wants to do is work in a flower shop to get out of her current position. But her ideas about herself change rapidly. Elizas escape from her hopeless life as a flower girl could be described as a discovery, a ray of light that gives her a chance. We must remember that woman did not have many rights in the time when the play was set, and even in Ritas time, woman had little independence, and they normally lived under the ways of their husbands. Elizas turning point was when she had a choice, she did not have many choices in her life, she had a routine, and if she did not stick to it then she would have starved, or died. Higgins explains that by creating a new speech for her he is filling up the deepest gulf that separates class from class, and soul form soul (Ganz). You can compare both Elizas and Ritas experiences as they both get choices, a privilege to both of them, particularly Eliza. There are also comparable motives for each of the characters to try and get an education. The ending of both plays are very significant to the story lines. The relationship between student and teacher in both of the plays are in some ways similar. In Pygmalion, the relationship is a not very close between Eliza and Higgins, and although Higgins does not treat her very well they do have a certain bond. Suggestions of a Frankenstein relation between creator and creature are also present in Pygmalion (Gibbs) the relationship between Frank and Rita is much closer and friendlier then in Pygmalion. They do get on well and there are often hints of romance. Rita has found someone with the knowledge that she longs for, and she tries to learn very hard, despite her natural instincts to argue etc. The relationship is hard as they come from such different backgrounds, as we experience in Pygmalion. The ending of educating Rita is not a final ending, Rita comes back to see frank after an exam, and he is leaving to go to Australia. He goes as far as asking Rita to come with him, but she declines, and leaves the reader with a certain feeling of what happens next. Pygmalion is drawn to more of a conclusion, Eliza and most of the other characters go off to Doolittles wedding, leaving Higgins alone. It is not a happy ending, as Eliza also turns down an invitation, this time to live with Higgins. The end is not a happy one, as depicted in My fair lady Shaw did this to prove wrong what people thought would happen. Individuality also applies to the teachers. Both of them are very strong about their ideas, and their lives are very routine. They are both used to a life like this, and the arrival of new pupils into their lives seems to change their lifestyle dramatically. Because the teachers and pupils have such strong personalities, they can clash and therefore result in conflict. Frank is a middle aged man, who has been teaching for a long time. He loves to drink, and does so as much as he can. Higgins is a very rich man, he loves his work, and so does not have very much time for romance. He is a difficult character to analyze, as he is quite quiet and a deep character. His relationship with Eliza is refined, and they use Pickering as a sort of go between. Higgins somewhat relies on her in the end, and is a bit sad to see her go. Shirley Valentine could be described as the Rita that never did carry on with her education. The plot involves a sad woman, who has brought up her children and wants to escape for a while. She goes on a holiday to Greece with her friend, and meets Costas; a Greek man and they have a romance. She decides to stay in Greece at the last minute, and runs off from the airport. The love affair with being free is what Rita craves, and she shows this in the story. Shirley asks herself questions in the play, as does Rita. What if I somehow if for some reason I didnt go back home The ideas start to pop up in her mind, and she starts to think, what would happen if I didnt go home? It is clearly shown in Pygmalion that woman did not have many rights in the early 1900s. The fact that you never see any woman with real wealth of their own shows this. Shaw though, was a great feminist. He wanted woman to have the vote. He used the impression of Galatea, (by the artist Pygmalion) to voice a pioneering discussion, and voiced questions like who is she? and what is her relationship? The idea of building a person is like in the play, where Higgins builds Eliza, into what he wants. The same idea is also used in educating Rita. Frank becomes worried when Rita starts learning from others and herself, because he can not shape and guide her anymore. Russell tries to put forward that he wants to try and establish individuality through knowledge, rather than Shaws rather more deep morals. The end of the play should be similar in each book, but the characters really stand out, faced with the prospect of never seeing Eliza again, Higgins just states to buy some cheese and ham, and some gloves, This shows Higgins character well, and really explains how he tries to ignore the hard things, and how he deals with problems. The character of frank becomes quite sentimental at the end of the play, inviting her to Australia. This quote does not explain the character Frank so well, as he never seems to latch on to anything much during the play. These continuing themes really make the two plays come together, and the more that you analyze them, the more bonds and patterns you see appear. The links between creator and creature, which you pick up in Frankenstein, follow along some of the paths Shaw and Russell experimented with. Unfeeling, heartless creator! You had endowed me with the perceptions and passions, and then cast me abroad an object for the scorn and horror of mankind. This quote really applies to Pygmalion; you can imagine Eliza saying something like this to Higgins, and she does say some things that amount to nearly as much, towards the end of the play. Perhaps Rita is luckier, and she and Frank leave on a better note at the end of the pay. All these bonds are important, and they show the similarities, and difference between the plays, and show that individuality is important.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Who Should Get a Graduation Announcement

Who Should Get a Graduation Announcement Different degrees take different amounts of time to complete, which means it can be hard for your friends and family to keep track of just when youll be receiving your diploma. Sending graduation announcements can be a fun and exciting way to let everyone know you finally reached your goal and will soon be an official college graduate. But who exactly is everyone? After all, there are only so many announcements you can buy, address, and stamp.   While family and friends are a good place to start, remember that there is no official right or wrong list: only the right or wrong list for your particular situation. Immediate Family Members For some students, parents and siblings are their primary support network during their time in school. And even though parents and siblings may know the date and time of your graduation ceremony, make sure they receive an official announcement so that they have something tangible to mark and commemorate this important occasion. Extended Family Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins whom you may not see every day, but who are a part of your life, will be excited to receive your graduation announcement. Even if they are too far away to attend the actual ceremony, theyll want to know the details and see the official announcement. If there are people beyond blood relatives you consider family, you might want to add those important people to your graduation announcement list as well. Childhood Friends Clearly, you dont need to send announcements to your friends on campus, but close friends from your pre-college days or those who live far away might want to see your announcement and send you a congratulatory text message. Important Teachers, Religious Leaders, and Mentors Did you have a high school teacher who really made a difference in your life? A pastor or spiritual leader who helped encourage you along the way? Or perhaps a family friend who mentored you and helped you to get to where you are today? Sending an announcement to these important people is a great way to acknowledge all they did as well as show them how much their influence really made a difference in your life. Graduation Announcements vs. Invitations A graduation invitation is an invite to the ceremony held by your school. On the other hand, a graduation announcement provides details about your degree and achievement, without inviting recipients to the ceremony. Most colleges limit the number of people students can bring to the ceremony, so graduation announcements serve the purpose of keeping your extended family informed without extending a specific invitation. If you are hosting your own graduation party separate from the ceremony, you can include party details in your graduation announcement. While many students receive gifts from friends and relatives for their graduation, the proper etiquette is to include a line in your announcement stating that presents are not required.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Business Process Management in Hospitality Case Study

Business Process Management in Hospitality - Case Study Example Configuration is defined as "making choices about what a company will do and how it will do it, andensuring that the things a company does reinforce each other". They argue that the lack of a focused competitive strategy is one of the key causes of poor organisational configuration. However, the problem of organisational configuration is not just restricted to understanding markets, with poor configuration being found in a number of key areas, including hospitality SMEs' relationships with their customers, which are fraught with uncertainty. There is an acknowledged advantage in that small firms are closer to the customer, enabling more personal relationships to develop (Crook , 2003). However, this is tempered by the danger that having a limited customer base (Gray, 2005) facilitates the development of deferential supplier-customer relationships. Research by Harrison (2003) concludes that, apart from those firms which operate only in very low profit or niche markets, hospitality SMEs are consistently found to be subservient to their larger counterparts. This view is supported by Wong (2005) who suggest that hospitality SMEs have a lack of control over their futures because of demands made by stronger customers throughout the supply chain. An additional burden is a lack of power to leverage payment of debts from these customers, as noted by (Okumus, 2003), who point out that many smaller firms are "afraid to press customers too hard for payment for fear of loss of future business". It is this scenario which most severely affects hospitality SMEs as their limited resources cannot cope with the fluctuations in cash flow that late payment inevitably brings. The overall effect of the fiercely competitive environment in which hospitality SMEs operate is that, very often, strategic planning becomes a seemingly pointless exercise, again lowering competitive advantage through poor organisational configuration. Tangen (2004) points out that unless the internal structures and the external competitive environment of the hospitality SME are effectively aligned with its strategy, it is unlikely that it will ever be implemented successfully. The difficulties associated with aligning strategy to the external competitive environment led ( Harrison, 2003) to conclude that the majority of hospitality SMEs in the automotive sector are not concerned about future strategic developments, as survival in the supply chain requires them only to maintain a reactive strategy. In addition, McAdam (2004) found that it is not unusual for firms to retain the original strategy developed by the founder, thereby leading to a "strategic hangover", which, if the competi tive environment or the company structure has changed, may actually be detrimental to future business success. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that many established hospitality SMEs rely solely on internal or financial planning as their main approach to preparing for the future (Crook, 2003). This might be due to the fact that accountancy information has been shown to be the most important factor in determining survival or

Monday, February 3, 2020

Describe & evaluate the effects of 2 drugs on the functioning of Essay

Describe & evaluate the effects of 2 drugs on the functioning of neurotransmitters - Essay Example It is four times stronger, than morphine. But the feeling, to which drug addicts strive, is just a side effect for medicine. This ‘side effect’ is displayed through better mood – euphoria, accompanied by the feeling of indifference to the environment, drowsiness, feeling of warmth, heaviness and relaxation in body and extremities. ‘Heroin – is the warmth, sweet warmth, which seems to be growing out of your body. At first it seems you are pregnant with this warmth, it is like a tender life under your skin, and this ‘live warmth’ fills your body with heaviness, the wish to move disappears together with all other wishes, the only wish is to lay and listen to this warmth†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Carnwath 2002, p. 23) Fast and powerful effect of heroin on the nervous system is connected with the fact that it penetrates to it easier, than other drugs do. The thing is, that nature has created a special barrier for the protection of the main human organ – brain, and this barrier allows far not all substances to reach the nervous cells (in medicine this barrier is called ‘blood-brain barrier’). The structure of heroin’s molecule allows it to easily penetrate though this blood-brain barrier and quickly accumulate in brain. As soon as heroin appears in the brain, it as if ‘throws down’ its capsule and turns into morphine. It appears that the main difference of heroin from morphine is in its transport capsule, which allows it to instantly penetrate into the nervous system, causing the abundance of electromagnetic impulses. (Carnwath 2002, p. 49) The thing is that some parts of heroin’s molecules are similar to those of natural substances, produced by the nervous system – the so-called endorphins. In the normally working brain such substances work as delicate regulators of emotional and intellectual human activity. The content of these substances in the drug is much higher, than the nervous system needs for normal activity. And the main thing is that it is

Sunday, January 26, 2020

The Definition Of Gonzo Journalism

The Definition Of Gonzo Journalism Gonzo journalism continues to be one of the most popular styles of writing that has ever been crafted in journalism. The interest that surrounds the published works of gonzo seems to be that it will always contort the general structure of normal journalism. In a large majority of news stories today, there is the pyramid of information where by the news worthy information will be at the top with less interesting details going further down. In gonzo the balance went missing and an article was defined by what the author experienced more than what the actual story was trying to report. The gonzo journalism style has always been widely accepted as being associated with the unusual and quirky writing of Dr Hunter S Thompson. (Wenner Seymour, 2007) Thompson became one of the most popular journalists ever thanks to writing in a simplistic style that consisted of telling a news story through the eyes of the author. Despite having many differences, gonzo has long been shoved in the same pigeon-hole as the new journalism revolution. (Weingarten, 2005) Although the form of journalism has slipped out of the public eye since the death of Thompson, Gonzo still plays a vital part in making news interesting. This is proven by how popular the works of Hunter S Thompson are today in comparison to when they were written and this shows the skill involved in creating this intricate art. All areas of the media have, at some point, incorporated gonzo into their style because it keeps well reported subjects fresh and allows new angles to be examined. While the style has remained popular, Thompson has concreted himself as the inventor and perfectionist of the gonzo craft a writer to be imitated but never bettered. Gonzo journalism is one of the most entertaining forms of writing and its continuation and development is extremely important for the future of journalism. 1.2 Aims and Objectives The primary aim for this dissertation is to examine the origins and definition of gonzo journalism and to understand the implications of this style of writing on journalism and finally composing recommendations and conclusions. The authors own aim is to use multiple research techniques to achieve an improved understanding of gonzo journalism and the implications for the use of this style. The following objectives have been structured in order for the author to be able to achieve the aims set out above: Thoroughly research all material which is related to gonzo journalism and/or Hunter S Thompson Investigate the origins and definition of gonzo journalism Review multiple forms of literature relating to and including the works of Hunter S Thompson Understand the implications that gonzo created within the practice of journalism Examine relevant sources on gonzo to find whether the style has been productive to journalism Explore what will be beneficial for gonzo journalism to continue being implicated in the future practice of journalism 1.3 Methodology 1.3.1 Selected method of research This dissertation is derived from research that has come from primary or secondary sources, or in some instances both of these sources. Primary research has many advantages over secondary sources as the researcher can modify the research question to focus on a tiny subject matter. Surveys and questionnaires are a great way of achieving relevant answers to a question that has not been asked before by a secondary source. The results from the surveys and questionnaires provide the author with up-to-date findings and results that help to meet the aims of the dissertation. Secondary sources are readily available and take less time and energy to produce results that will help to meet the objectives. The majority of books and journals can be accessed through online academic databases such as Athens and this makes the reliability of the sources much higher. The search functions can track down relevant sources quickly and accurately to make sure that the sources used match all the objectives. To complete the objectives set out above, primary research and secondary research were both adopted. The primary research would take the form of interviews and surveys as these were the most simplistic ways to achieve the dissertation aims. Secondary sources were gained through endless searches of the Edinburgh Napier University libraries and the online databases available to the University through Athens. Background readings and definitions on gonzo were also obtained from online resources such as newspapers, magazines and blogs. The reason for including secondary sources was to add extra reliability to the results as primary sources can often have limitations. 1.3.2 Limitations of research method Limitations for this dissertation have surrounded the decision to include primary sources as often these have more disadvantages than advantages. Secondary sources were essential but, while the death of Hunter S Thompson is highly documented, there are very few sources that discuss gonzo journalism and the history behind it. This limitation meant that more primary sources such as interviews would need to be used to gain reliable research on the true definition of gonzo. Surveys and questionnaires can be invaluable sources but are time consuming and provide many issues regarding the validity. There is a question over the knowledge of the respondents answers and even a small chance that the respondent is unaware of the subject and are guess answering. The limitations of secondary sources are mainly concerned with the unavailability of enough relevant sources and those sources that are found being non-academic and some even inaccurate. Many online sources have to be double checked for validity as blogs, newspapers and magazines can sometimes be written by inexperienced writers who are not knowledgeable about the subject. 1.4 Structure The dissertation shall begin with a literature review of gonzo (This dissertation will start out with a literature review on Enterprise Resource Planning in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 is then dedicated to a literature review on Organisational Culture. The two topics will be combined in Chapter 4, first in a literature review and then in an analysis of the discussed literature. The conclusions and recommendations out of this analysis follow in Chapter 5.) 2. Literature Review 2.1 Literature review: Gonzo: a definition One reason Thompson hasnt shown up in journals much is his association with New Journalism. In a 1989 survey of critical literature about New Journalism, James Stull1 found only sixteen scholarly works that address the genre. Since then, little has been added. New Journalisms general omission from critical consideration in literary journals may exist simply because the genre is only forty years old, a baby in the eyes of academia. It is also regarded as something of a bastard child, somewhere between fiction and journalism. New Journalists are notorious for blending fact and fiction, writing through overt subjectivity, and even instigating events they report on. These factors make it difficult to point out exactly where journalism ends 1 Stull, James N. New Journalism: Surveying the Critical Literature. North Dakota Quarterly 57 (1989), 164-74. 2 and fiction begins. While gonzo might the best genre to file Thompson under, and the most commonly employed to do so, it seems a shame to do so. Gonzo, while an almost onomatopoetic hint at what to expect, is something of an Other category. Well, hes not quite this one, not quite that oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦oh, lets just toss him over there. The term also carries an implied inferiority. Gonzo sounds unprepared, strung together, and madcap. Thompson himself has expressed an uneasiness with the term. I never really was entirely comfortable with the word gonzo,' he says in an interview50. It was not mine originally. Thompsons term was outlaw journalism. This is much more appealing than gonzo. Gonzo might as well be replaced with wacky. The realists (the safer group, headed by Wolfe) are concerned with intense observation and the accurate reportage of what was observed. They assume there exists a conventional, shared context between the writer and reader. On the other hand, the modernists, such as Norman Mailer and Thompson, believe there can be no single frame of reference and focus on breaking down that notion, which they see as a false assumption (192). 2.2 Literature review: the works of Hunter S. Thompson 2.3 Literature review Gonzo: the implications for practice Four years after his death, Dr Hunter S. Thompson remains one of journalisms greatest cult figures. His work created a whole new genre of journalism entitled Gonzo and his legacy still remains just as strong today as it did when he started his unique style in the 1970s. The term gonzo has more often than not been related back to Hunter S Thompson and his unique style of reporting news. The term has become increasingly popular since the creation of gonzo journalism and was even accepted into the dictionary in 2003. The Oxford Dictionary states that gonzo is 1 of or associated with journalism of an exaggerated, subjective, and fictionalized style. 2 bizarre or crazy. The first reported case of Thompson using this style was during the time he wrote the article The Kentucky Derby which was published in June 1970. The article was originally meant to be a straight sports story that told the outcome of a race but Thompson was disgusted by the decadent and depraved way in which the crowd behaved. According to his book The Great Shark Hunt, Thompson explained that he had scribbled down notes of everything he had witnessed that day and then faxed them through in a random order to his editor. The outcome was an incoherent, first-person rambling about society a s a whole rather than anything to do with the Kentucky Derby. Another journalist at the newspaper read over the article and told Thompson that his style was totally gonzo.  [1]  Although Hunter later confessed he had no idea what the saying meant, he kept it as his own. In interviews with numerous magazines since then, he has given a literary meaning of the word by saying that it followed William Faulkners dictum that the best fiction is more true than any kind of journalism.  [2]   In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Thompson described stumbling upon gonzo journalism as like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool of mermaids.  [3]   While gonzo journalism is a popular subject in society, it is not often talked about in academic literature other than to be referenced when discussing larger movements, such as The New Journalism. (Hoover, 2009) Thompson continually broke the rules throughout his career and for a long time was rejected by many publications because of his erratic style and behaviour. In the 2007 book by Jann Wenner and Corey Seymour entitled Gonzo: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson, the people closest to Thompson give interviews surrounding his controversial life. It is a biography with a difference as it gives a detailed analysis of Hunters entire life by the people who knew him best the ones he grew up with and worked alongside. A different side to Thompson is found in this book because not all the people who are interviewed particularly like him. Ex-editors and his ex-wife tell tales of his erratic drink and drug fuelled trips that ended in him not contacting anyone for days. Editors talk brutally about Hunter being unpredictable and never on time which made him virtually unemployable. The reader gets a sense of why Thompson always freelanced and even when he was doing okay; why he would get up and find work elsewhere. It sums up why Hunter remains as idolised as he still is today, the man lived his life exactly how he wanted to and did things his own way. In his own right he managed to become as famous as any rock icon of his era and all the while by using a pen and typewriter. Outlaw Journalist: The life of Hunter S. Thompson by William McKeen is another book that underlies the reason that people are still entranced by Thompsons life and personal style. This book looks closely at the relationship between Hunter as a writer and his rise to becoming a cult icon. The brutal truth that Hunter would write about offended most but at the same time encapsulated a large majority of readers. McKeen analyses Thompsons bad boy image and reputation and ties in the facts that people felt like they could trust Thompson because he spoke his mind and unveiled the darker side of a world people know exists. However, the author is quick to point out the irony of a man out of his mind on drugs talking about how much of a liar Nixon is and how the American dream was all a farce. The book delves into Thompsons dark and violent past with interviews from his ex-wife explaining that his temper was the reason why they were divorced. Like all the people Hunter met in life, there are always good stories and bad stories about him and Mckeen balances the two to create a book that shows both sides of Thompson. The work-aholic journalist who would give his all and even risk his own wellbeing to get a better story and the violent, drugged-up man who was shouting his head off while holding a shotgun. McKeens conclusions are that Hunter gave the writing world a stand-alone figure who would dare to break all the rules and take risks just for the entertainment of others. Most of the conclusion on this analysis looks back at Thompsons book Hells Angels and how he had risked his life and almost paid for it by trying to get an inside story. Marc Weingartens book, The Gang that Wouldnt Write Straight, focuses on gonzo journalism as a whole genre rather than just describing the works of Hunter Thompson. Around the time that Thompson had chiselled his unique style and found an appropriate title for it, there were already authors who had shown similar signs of creativity. Tom Wolfe and older writers such as Truman Capote had already published stories that were in many ways similar to Thompsons gonzo journalism but lacked the harsh truth that only Hunter could properly tell. The book is an interesting read because much of the books focus merely on Thompson and his career before and after the creation of gonzo journalism. This book looks at seven authors that helped shape the new journalism revolution and then each of them brings their own memories and opinions of that time into each chapter. When asked why he felt that he had become more famous out of gonzo, Hunter wrote, Wolfes problem is that he is too crusty to participate in his stories. The people he feels comfortable with are dull as stale dogshit, and the people who seem to fascinate him as a writer are so weird that they make him nervous. The only thing new and unusual about Wolfes journalism is that hes an abnormally good reporter. There are a lot of quirky parts to the book that make it different to other gonzo pieces and another reason is that the authors give their reasons behind the stories. For Hunter, this meant going into great detail about what had gone through his head for wanting to join the Hells Angels. The implications for practice today can certainly be understood from this chapter alone, as Hunter talks about his need to show the true side of human nature no matter what the outcome was to him. At the time, everyone knew the Hells Angels were no good but no-one quite knew the extent of what they were capable until Hunter had gone along and unveiled everything. In his own book Hells Angels, Thompson obviously tells the story how it was but it is fascinating getting inside the mans head to know why he wanted to report on something so dangerous. Probably another reason why Hunter remains a cult icon and gonzo journalism is still practiced today is because he constantly felt the urge to stand up to w hat most people would turn a blind eye to. Much like the way stories are found today, he was passionate about getting the truth and he would get involved with anyone with that information, just for the purpose of entertainment. Weingarten concludes that Hunters success was because he was truly different from other investigative journalists at the time because once he had locked in on a story it would consume him. That would be to the point where he would take unnecessary risks and ask questions to people who anyone else would leave well alone. Hunter got away from the Hells Angels with a severe beating but the legacy of that story remains Thompsons most hard-hitting gonzo classic. Steven Hoovers journal article, Hunter S. Thompson and Gonzo Journalism: a guide to the research, is essential for being able to find the best materials that are most relevant to researching and writing any articles on Thompsons work. As the article points out, While Gonzo seems to be a unique word at first glance, it is not as uncommon as one might imagine. Gonzo is also a surname, a Muppet, a Japanese animation studio, and a Japanese Buddhist monk who lived in the Heian Period. The research journal offers a great deal more than any Thompson bibliography could because years of literary reviews have already been carried out on the best research material by Hoover. Hoover argues that because of technological advancements of the internet it has become increasingly difficult to get hold of Hunters older material due to search results not flagging the right results up. When trying to get hold of proper gonzo journalism, search results more often than not bring up journalism websites that have a Hunter S Thompson obituary instead. Hoover successfully points the way to the most helpful resources available and gives a detailed description of the materials that are found in each of them. This proves invaluable for being able to find reliable sources that can provide academic opinions for any research articles being conducted about Thompson. In conclusion, it is a difficult task to find any academic opinion on Thompson because he was such a controversial figure. Very few academics have discussed Hunters private life and the true meanings behind gonzo journalism let alone how it has helped pave the way to journalism the way it is today. The authors who have the knowledge of Hunters career are life-long fans of his work and know a great deal about his upbringing and personality. However, it is the lack of acknowledgment surrounding Hunters involvement in forever changing the way reporters tell stories, that proves to be challenging. There are plenty of books and journals about new journalism but these merely glide over the facts about Hunters unusual style and concentrate on how he is the creator of gonzo journalism. I feel that the books I have read so far cover part of what I need to complete my dissertation but I will need to find other ways of analysing Hunters impact on todays society. 3. Methodology 4. Analysis 5. Conclusions and recommendations 6. Appendices 7. References

Saturday, January 18, 2020

High school Violence Essay

Violence is clustered within a relatively small percentage of locations, with about 60 percent of the violence occurring in 4 percent of the schools. This is about four times higher than would be expected based on national rates of crime. High schools are grouped by the nature and level of crimes occurring in the school. Four patterns emerge from this grouping: 1) No Crime, 2) Isolated Crime, 3) Moderate Crime and 4) Violent Crime. High Schools in each group are described in terms if their student population characteristics, community characteristics, and school violence prevention efforts. The results indicate that the characteristics (size, location, socio-economic make-up) of high-violence schools differ markedly from the other schools. High schools with the highest levels of violence tended to be located in urban areas and have a high percentage of minority students, compares to high schools that reported no crime to the police. They also tended to be located in areas with high social disadvantage and residential mobility. It should be noted, however, that a relatively large minority of the schools in the Violent Crime group were located in rural areas (36%), so that image if school violence is being solely restricted to central cities is not accurate. Proportion of High Schools has High Rates of Violence Analysis of the P-SDSSV revealed that about one in five high schools reported any serious violent crime (e. g. , fights with weapons, robbery) during the 1996-1997 school years. While this statistic gives a global indication of the prevalence of these crimes, it is difficult to judge from these data whether certain schools are disproportionately more likely to have high levels of violence. As long as the rate of violence in schools is greater than zero, one would expect at least some schools to have some violence. There are important implications if violence is clustered within a small number of schools. There may be specific problems in these schools that lead to high levels of serious problem behavior. Issues that arise in these environments may not resemble those in schools with lower rates of crimes. Similarly, there may be unique remedies needed to solve these problems. The types of prevention programs and/or activities that are needed to reduce the violent behavior might have to be tailored to these particular environments. Data provided in Table 1 provides estimates that measure the extent that violence is clustered within certain schools. These data compare the observed and expected number of high schools that reported a specified number of crimes to the police. As this comparison reveals, if serious violent crime had been evenly distributed across all schools, one would expect that about 45 percent of schools (100%-55%=45%) would have reported having this type of crime. Instead, only about 20 percent (100%-80%=20%) of high schools included in the P-SDSSV reported this type of crime. In other words, less than half as many schools experienced serious violent crime as expected. About four times as many schools experienced five or more serious violent incidents as would be expected if crime were evenly distributed across all schools. Similar disparities appear for the other two types of crimes. For attacks without a weapon, approximately 55 percent of the schools reported at least one incident. This was considerably lower than the 88 percent that would have been expected if these incidents were evenly distributed across all schools. for property crime, 67 percent of the schools reported at least one crime, while around 90 percent would have been expected to report this type of crime it were evenly distributed across schools. Table 2 displays an alternative way of looking at the distribution of crime incidents reported to police. This comparison is limited to schools that reported at least one crime. About 60 percent of the violence reported on the P-SDSSV occurred within the small number of schools that reported at least five violent crimes, more than seven times higher than expected. Similarly, about 14 times more schools than expected reported 26 or more attacks without a weapon (43. 4% observed versus 2. 7% expected). And nearly 42 percent of schools reported 26 or more property crimes, almost 7 times as many as expected based on school size alone. As can be seen from the crime rates for each group, the Violent Crime group has relatively high rates of all types of crimes. It has the most violence, with the highest rates of serious violence and attacks without weapon. It also has high rates of property crime. The Moderate Crime group is distinguished by relatively high rates of attacks without a weapon and property crime rates. The Isolated Crime group has relatively low rates of all three types of crimes. It does have a slightly higher rate of serious violence than the Moderate Crime group. However, the rate for both of these groups is extremely low relative to the Violent Crime Group.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Decision Making Models Essay

Managers have the responsibility of making decisions within that guide and provide direction to their organizations. Although decisions may be made by individuals, groups, or teams, it is the manager who coordinates the process of decision making. Managers make use of various decision making models to effectively steer the organizations. It is worth to noting that there is no one model or style that is always right or perfect in decision making. This is so because different people are successful and satisfied using different styles. There are two major broad models of decision making. These are the deterministic and probalistic models. The deterministic models result in good decisions with good outcomes. The manager using this model is able to get what he/she expects i. e. the out come is risk free. In probabilistic decision models, the expected results are uncertain and thus making good decision may not necessarily lead to good outcomes. The probabilistic decision making model is characterized by more concern with both the outcome value and the amount of risk each decision carries. All other effective decision making models can be classified as either deterministic or probabilistic model. The other subcategories of decision making models are mechanical, mental/verbal, analytical, and simulation. These models are classified based on such characteristics such as types, evolution in time, and availability of information (McCall M. , and Kaplan, R. (2001). ). Mechanical models take physical appearance of the object. They are used to display or test the design of items ranging from new buildings to new products. Mental/verbal models are also important and can be used to verbalize decision strategies for more complicated decision making models. The other model is analytical model which is a mathematical model and aimed at simplification, abstraction of real systems to give insight and understanding to some interested aspect of reality (Klein G. , et al. , (Ed. ) (1993). The analytical models are applicable to the deterministic systems. A simulation model is the last model that I am going to address. Simulation models are the computerized duplications of real systems and are seen to be more realistic, especially when modeling dynamic/probabilistic systems e. g. as used in aviation industry. Current Application Decision making models have assisted managers a lot in making viable decisions within the organization. The models discussed above have been implemented by individuals within organizations to come up with good decisions. For instance, the mental/verbal model has been used to aid in problem identification, in the development phase as well as the selection phase of decision making. Decision support system (DSS) has found usage in air-line management. Decision support systems and the models have been used to make decision both under risk, certainty, and even conflict in organizations. Other applications of the decision making models include the DSS for fiber optic Network Architecture Design and application of technology to cardiovascular diagnosis. Decision making models have also been used in forecasting with examples such as regression models and Box-Jenkins models. In brief, the use of effective decision making models by mangers has helped organizations to improve their businesses as a result of quality decision. The various effective decision making models used by mangers have both benefits and drawbacks or challenges associated with them. Mechanical decision making models have the advantage of being usable for experimentation. Mechanical models are credited for clearly describing the problem of system under study and thus results in innovative designs alternatives for decision making. Mechanical models also have some challenges in that they do not contain explicit relationships between the decision alternatives and dependant variables or objectives Mental/verbal models make the manager unable to experiment with them and cannot be used to show how outcomes or measures of effectiveness change with decision alternatives. It is also not possible to show how the relationships change with the decision alternatives. These models have the advantage of being easy to understand. They are also based on many years of managerial experience (Klein G. , et al. , (Ed. ) (1993). The advantages of analytical models include that they aim at simplification and bring understanding to some interested aspect of reality. They can also help to test the effects of different decision alternatives, constants and parameter values more easily than with any other type of model. They can also analyze complex problems efficiently and concisely, and in many cases provide the cheapest way to analyze these problems. Although they are the most prevalent models in use today they may not be easily accepted by managers who lack training, experience and time to use them. Simulation models have a high degree of abstraction and as such many managers do not want to work with them. The reason of this could be lack of enough training in and exposure to those models. The other reason is that trained managers may lack sufficient time to pay attention to model. Despite these drawbacks the models are beneficial in the sense that in comparison to the mechanical model they can facilitate experimentation because both the independent variables, dependent variables, constants and parameters are explicitly related by language of mathematics.