Things Fall Apart Okonkwos Tragic Flaw English Literature Essay

Things Fall Apart Okonkwos Tragic Flaw English Literature Essay Things Fall Apart is a tragic story about a man who comes into conflict against himself to prove himself worthy of his tribe. A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy that normally makes a mistake and ends up defeated. The four main criteria for a story to have a tragic hero would be that the main character has a flaw but has some goodness, he is the protagonist of the story, he is noble or exhibits wisdom, and he suffers a reversal of fortune in the end because of his tragic flaw. A tragic flaw of a character is the flaw of the main character that will eventually bring him down. The main character, Okonkwo, meets each of the four criteria to be a tragic hero. His flaw would be that he is violent but he does have some good. He cares for his family; he wants his son Nwoye, to be tough and hardworking like him. Moreover, he wanted his daughter, Ezinma, to be safe. He is a protagonist of the story because he is the main character, he is a hero, and in addition, he is tough. Okon kwo also exhibits wisdom because he is a leader. He is a great warrior and everyone looks up to him to keep them safe. In the end, Okonkwos flaw of violence and overconfidence got out of control. He became too violent when the church took over. The people of his tribe turned to the church instead of following him so he decided to take action and kill a messenger. The commissioner of the church came after him but he had already hanged himself. Therefore, Okonkwo, meeting every rule, is a tragic hero (Wikipedia.org). Okonkwo is an impatient, violent person. When things do not go the way he wants them to go, he cannot just talk it out with someone, he turned to violence whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough, and he would use his fists. He had no patience with unsuccessful men (Achebe 8). He is arrogant and attributes excessive pride; he feels that everyone should listen to him and that he rules his whole clan and even his family. He also beat his wife during the Week of Peace, when she returned he beat her heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace (Achebe 31). Okonkwo also had some goodness in him. Ezinma became very ill and shivered in the night, Okonkwo makes a medicine for her and she gets better. He cares for his family even though he does not want to show it. He hopes for his son to grow tough and strong and not end up like his lazy father. Ikemefuna was a boy from Mbaino who was sent to Umuofia because his father had killed a woman fr om Umuofia. He was to stay with Okonkwo for three years then was to be killed. Okonkwo treated him like he was his own son, they respected each other and Ikemefuna was a hard worker. Okonkwo liked this about him; he was not like his father or his own son Nwoye. The second main rule to be a tragic character would be that he is the protagonist of the story. A protagonist is the main character in a literary work who is a champion of a cause or course of action. Okonkwo is the protagonist of the story because he is the main character and he is the hero of the story. In the first chapter of Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe describes Okonkwo as a great and fierce warrior. He was a great, famous wrestler and his fame had grown a lot over the years. There was another great, undefeated wrestler called Amalinze the Cat that Okonkwo threw in a fight, which was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town (Achebe 7). Okonkwo was a tough, young man and was afraid to show any weakness. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being caught weak (Achebe 59). Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna before the other man could because he was taking too long and he wanted his people to think he was fearless for being the first to kill him. The tragic hero of a story must exhibit wisdom or be noble at birth. Unoka, Okonkwos father, was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow (Achebe 8). He resented his fathers failure and weakness; resented means that Okonkwo was angry and embarrassed of his fathers laziness. Ever since he was young, he wanted to be the opposite of his father. Okonkwo was ruled by one passion- to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved (Achebe 17). Okonkwo is a great leader of his tribe. Many people looked up to him because he is so intimidating to others. While exiled into his motherland, the church and their religion began to take control over all of the tribes. Okonkwos own son, Nwoye, turned to the church. He became fascinated with the poetry. Okonkwo declared a war against them but most of the people in his clan turned to the church. He finally leads the rest of his clan to go burn down the church. This example shows he is a great leader and sticks to his own beliefs, therefore he is a tragic hero (Dictionary.com). The last rule of a tragic hero is that the main character suffers a reversal of fortune because of their flaw. Okonkwo, with his flaw of anger and violence, got out of control one day; he decided to take control, with or without his clan, and kill one of the three church messengers. The villagers, all in shocked and speechless let the other two messengers go. The district commissioner goes to Okonkwos obi so he can take him to jail, but Okonkwo had already hanged himself because he wanted everyone to see how dedicated he was to his clan and know how much the church had separated them all. This flaw of overconfidence of getting his clan back to the way it was reversed his fortune and now he cannot do anything more to help them. In conclusion, a tragic hero would be one who involves the notion that such a hero would make an error in their actions that leads to his or her downfall. This tragic hero must be a character with flaws but with some goodness, which brings them down in the end. They are typically hubris, which is ones own self-confidence and excessive pride. They are the protagonist of the story and they are noble at birth. The final rule for being a tragic hero suffers a reversal of fortune because of their tragic flaw (Wikipedia.com).

Regulation of Air Transport Economic Rationale and Impact

Regulation of Air Transport Economic Rationale and Impact David Grant To understand what was in the minds of those who conceived and developed economic regulations for air transport, a good place to start is the Second World War. Chicago The aviation industry was experiencing its second period of very rapid technological development, the first such period having occurred during World War I. In 1944, it was clear that aviation would play a much bigger role during peacetime after the war, than it had done before the war. The tide of the war had turned and there was a sense that it would soon be over (The History Place, 2014). The minds of world leaders began to focus on post-war matters. The world had been through two wars in close succession and there was a determination that this cycle should not be repeated. In his ‘State of the Union’ message to congress, on 11 January 1944, President Roosevelt said â€Å"We are united in determination that this war shall not be followed by another interim which leads to new disaster- that we shall not repeat the tragic errors of ostrich isolationism† (Peters G and Woolley J, 2014). In November of that year, the United States took a very practical step to address isolationism. It convened a meeting at Chicago to discuss post-war aviation. Delegates from 52 nations attended and discussed the challenges facing international civil aviation. The conference lasted longer than expected but, in the end, it achieved two things: an international agreement, referred to as the Chicago Convention; and, a new organisation, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to oversee international civil aviation (ICAO, 2014). The sentiment expressed earlier in the year by President Roosevelt was encapsulated in the preamble to the Chicago Convention: â€Å". . . whereas it is desirable to avoid friction and to promote that cooperation between nations and peoples upon which the peace of the world depends; therefore, the undersigned governments having agreed on certain principles and arrangements in order that international civil aviation may be developed in a safe and orderly manner . . . and operated soundly and economically; have accordingly concluded this convention . . . † (ICAO, 2014). In respect of an economic rationale for the work that had been done, Adolf Berle, a close advisor to President Roosevelt wrote after the conference: â€Å"a substantial beginning has been made towards opening the air to commerce. It is not too much to say that we entered the Conference in the law and atmosphere of the 17th century; and we came out with a fair prospect of obtaining 20th century conditions. Faithfully yours, ADoux A. BERLE, JR.â€Å" (United States Department of State, 2014) Scope of Regulation The scope of what was agreed at the meeting was broad. It included, for example, the concept of the nationality of an aircraft. It agreed a global system of aircraft registration (that has obtained ever since) under which each nation was assigned a prefix (for example, the letters ‘EI’ and ‘EJ’ were assigned to Ireland) and that aircraft would be assigned a unique registration (for example, EI-AAA, EI-AAB, etc.) by their home nation and that the registration would be displayed prominently on every aircraft. The Chicago Convention was an agreement between nations. Outside of its scope was the question of which airlines flew where and what fares they charged. Domestically, in the US, that function was performed by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) under 1938 legislation. Internationally, it was to be managed by means of bilateral agreements. A standard form of bilateral agreement was prepared by the Chicago meeting (ICAO, 2014). In 1945 the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was founded and took on the role setting fares. The first IATA fare-setting conference was held in 1947. Aviation grew rapidly over the following decades and IATA’s work expanded. By the 1970s, the IATA conference had become a mammoth undertaking and was approving and publishing 200,000 passenger fares and 100,000 cargo fares (Tiernan, 2013). Small Government A majority of Americans (54%) believe that government interferes too much in society and in business (Gallup, 2013). Small government is a philosophy the main tenet of which is that government should get involved in as little as possible and should stay out of the way of business. In the United States, President Ronald Reagan was one if its main advocates (Boaz, 2004). The economic regulations contained in the Civil Aeronautics Act (1938) and the Chicago Convention (1944) lasted until 1978 when some of them were repealed by the Airline Deregulation Act. Although airline deregulation is clearly an initiative that was specific to the airline industry, it is useful to see it in the context of small government. The 1978 changes were consistent with a move towards small government. It was President Jimmy Carter who signed the act into law, towards the end of his presidency in October 1978, but it was Ronald Reagan who oversaw most of the resulting changes and is associated with deregulation in the public mind (Goetz and Dempsey, 1989). Scope of Deregulation The impression is abroad that airline deregulation, which commenced in 1978 and was further developed in 1992 and 2001, has eliminated economic regulation from the airline industry. This is untrue. Significant economic regulation remains, including: restrictions on foreign ownership of airlines, or cross-border consolidation of airlines; restrictions on foreign airlines providing domestic services; and, the tax-free status of aviation fuel. Airline Ownership Ownership of an airline in the US is regulated. No more than 25% of an airline may be owned by non-US citizen(s). In Europe, a similar provision exists but the upper limit on foreign ownership is 49% The economic rationale behind these rules has been presented variously as a wish to protect a fledgling industry or (in the US) military reliance on civilian airliners to provide supplemental capacity in time of war (GAO, 2013). However, one cannot but suspect that it is in fact protectionism of an industry that has in the past been regarded as a sort of national asset, a flag-carrier. The practical effect of these restrictions is to prevent cross-border airline mergers, acquisitions and investments. Cabotage The Chicago Convention specifically outlawed cabotage, i.e., the carriage of passengers (or freight) within the territory of another state. Since then, other developments have reduced the impact of this restriction, most notably European Union treaties which have created a single-market in EU member states so that cabotage restrictions no longer apply there and any EU-based carrier may operate services within the borders of any ether EU-state. This is not the case outside of the EU. Aer Lingus may not carry passenger between New York and San Francisco. Similarly, American Airlines may not carry passengers between points within the European Union. Fuel Tax Article 24 of the Chicago Convention stated that aviation fuel would be exempt from taxes. That article remains in force today. There is general agreement that the world’s climate is changing; and, that the cause is manmade. The proposed solution is ‘sustainable development’. The concept of sustainability is central to the subject of climate change. Sustainable development is defined as â€Å"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs† (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). Emissions from aircraft engines are one of the causes of climate change. The most significant emission (from the perspective of climate change) is CO2 and it is estimated that the CO2 emissions from aviation represent about 2 percent of total CO2 emissions. This seems small, relative to the overall problem. However, two points are noteworthy: aviation is growing at a faster rate than other sectors and so it is estimated that this number could increase to as much as 10%; and, aviation deposits its CO2 directly into the upper atmosphere and so the impact on climate change may be greater than the numbers suggest. Understandably, pressure is building on the industry to reduce CO2 emissions. In particular, there are calls for the removal of Article 24 of the Chicago Convention in order to end the use of tax-free fuel which the industry has enjoyed for almost seventy years. A Note About Safety Between 1944 and today, the aviation industry has achieved significant improvement in its safety record. Passenger fatalities have dropped while the industry has been growing. Figure 1 graphs an index of fatalities relative to passenger number during sixty years between the year 1950 and 2010. Figure 1: index (passengers v fatalities) for 1950 to 1978 and for 1978 to 2010 The blue line indicates progress between 1950 and 1978, which was spectacular. Before deregulation, engineers and pilots had much more influence at airlines than they have today (McManners, 2012). The regulated environment that existed for 35 years (1944 and 1978) was one in which costs and profits were less important than they are today. In that environment, technical departments encountered less resistance when proposing safety-related initiatives than they might today. The red line indicates progress between 1978 and 2010 which has been less marked. This is not to suggest any causal relationship between deregulation and safety. It seems much more likely that the cause of the decline is the law of diminishing returns. One can only speculate about what the rate of progress might have been, had intense competition been introduced sooner. Summary of Impacts The significant impacts of economic regulation have been: The Chicago Convention, bilateral agreements and pre-agreed fares provided a framework for the safe development and growth of an international airline industry which might not have been possible in a free-for-all situation. Restrictions on airline ownership and on cabotage provided nations and airlines with a sense of control over airlines and domestic networks. This was a reasonable price to pay as it allowed nations and airlines to take risks and to develop the confidence to expand internatiomnally while secure in the knowledge that their airline(s) and home market were protected. The provision of tax-free fuel provided an environment in which the new international airline industry could grow more rapidly. This allowed aviation to grow market share and to catch up with other modes of transport. Now, given the need to make aviation sustainable, it may be time to change tax-free fuel. Conclusion Economic regulation has been good for the airline industry. It has served to protect it during a time when it needed to be nurtured and developed. If we look at airline economic regulation through the lens of small-government, deregulation, and market-is-king thinking of today, we are liable to miss the point. Better to look at it through the lens of a world still at war and the lenses of a group of 185 delegates from 52 nations; strangers who came together in a hotel in Chicago for five weeks and who between them had the belief, foresight and imagination to envisage something that didn’t yet exist. It does now. References Boaz D., 2004, Remembering Ronald Reagan, http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/remembering-ronald-reagan Franklin D. Roosevelt: State of the Union Message to Congress, January 11, 1944. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=16518. [accessed, 21 May 2014] Gallup, 2013, http://www.gallup.com/poll/157481/majority-say-government-doing.aspx Goetz and Dempsey, 1989, Airline Deregulation Ten Years after: Something Foul in the Air, Journal of Air Law and Commerce, Vol. 54, No. 4, Summer 1989, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2229476 International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), 2014, http://www.icao.int/secretariat/PostalHistory/1944_the_chicago_convention.htm [accessed 21 May 2014]; and, http://www.icao.int/publications/Documents/7300_orig.pdf 9accessed 22 May 2014] McManners, Peter (2012) Fly and be Damned: What Now for Aviation and Climate Change? London: Zed Books. The History Place, http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/holocaust.htm [accessed, 22 May 2014] Tiernan S, 2013, University of Limerick, MBA (Aviation Management) class notes. United States Department of State / Foreign relations of the United States diplomatic papers, 1944. General: economic and social matters (1944) Preliminary and exploratory discussions regarding international civil aviation; conference held at Chicago, November 1-December 7, 1944, pp. 355-613, http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/FRUS/FRUS-idx?type=turnid=FRUS.FRUS1944v02entity=FRUS.FRUS1944v02.p0622isize=text [accessed, 22 May 2014] US Government Accountability Office (GAO), INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: Issues Relating to Foreign Investment and Control of U.S. Airlines GAO-04-34R: Published: Oct 30, 2003. Publicly Released: Dec 1, 2003. http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-34R World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987) Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, USA: WCED (http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf) 1. What is the economic rationale for the regulation of air transport markets? What impacts have regulations had? Question: Do you mean what was the economic rationale etc. in so far as most economic regulation is now gone, so this would be an essay about pre-deregulation times? Answer: The essay is looking for a more general perspective on the arguments put forward for government intervention in transport markets – so you can cover past and present experiences and economic rationales – many of the historical arguments may no longer be valid, but it is worth rehearsing that they may have been appropriate given the stage of development of say, the airline industry in the 1930s/40s. You have considerable flexibility in what you cover in your essay. 2. Outline the role and impact of network structure on airline behaviour and performance. Role? Impact? Network Structure? Airline behaviour? P2P = no bag transfer; no responsibility for lateness Airline performance? therefore fewer bags lost and therefore better performance; therefore no obligation to late passengers The role of landing fees in influencing network type Paradox re full-service versus point-to-point; Eight flights make 45 markets Global hubs: the gulf and now Turkey? 3. How and why might you undertake a cost analysis of an airline? What difficulties might arise in undertaking such an analysis? Question: Is it the case that I am invited in by the airline to do the analysis and therefore will have access to all financial data; or, is it that I am doing the analysis from outside the airline with access to only published data? Answer: I am not imposing any particular perspective for the 2nd question – you might outline why cost analysis is useful for a firm as well as for regulators or industry analysts. You can discuss the data requirements for undertaking such analyses and the likelihood of these data being available. Again, you have considerable scope to shape the essay any way that you wish. How? Why costs analysis is useful for a firm For a regulator For an industry analyst The data requirements and the likelihood of it being available Standard way of comparing? Legacy costs at the legacy carriers The difficulties? 4. Are airline markets inherently unprofitable? Please explain your answer. No! it just seems that way! Is it infrastructure if is it business? Chicago Conference Sum of profits to date = losses; compare that with other industry(s) Yield management systems better; sell cheap seats first? Supermarket does the opposite (perishable product?!) United Airlines +/-1 pax model Cyclical? Demand is derived; Is there another industry that is the same? Car rental? hotels? The next step after flag carriers; the airline owner! Nike Lauda; Richard Branson; executive jet (Gates v Trump); Howard Hughes In the context of a sector where the other four elements (manufacturers; financiers; airports and MRO etc.) do make money? Parallel? NB, take a holistic view it is profitable Page 1 of 11

Analysis of Emily Dickinsons Because I Could Not Stop for Death Essay

Analysis of Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" In regard to Emily Dickinson’s poem, â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop for Death,† Critic Eunice Glenn says: â€Å"In the first two lines Death, personified as a carriage driver, stops for one who could not stop for him. The word ‘kindly’ is particularly meaningful, for it instantly characterizes Death. This comes with surprise, too, since death is more often considered grim and terrible† (Glenn). Critic Charles R. Anderson says, â€Å"Death, usually rude, sudden, and impersonal, has been transformed into a kindly and leisurely gentleman† (Anderson). Both critics seem to agree on the significance of the word â€Å"kindly† in the first two lines of the poem. â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death— / He kindly stopped for me—† (1-2). They take the word â€Å"kindly† for its most common definitions—agreeable, pleasant, benevolent, etc. With further research, however, alternative, as well as more enlightening, definitions become available. The Oxford English Dictionary defines kindly as: â€Å"In accordance with nature; naturally; by natural disposition; characteristically† and â€Å"In the way suitable or appropriate to the nature of the thing; properly, fittingly† (â€Å"Kindly†). These definitions add new insight to the poem. In the superficial sense, Death seemingly performed a charitable act by stopping for the speaker; in application of these less common definitions, however, Death stopping for the speaker was necessary and proper. It was following a fter the natural course of things. Rather than merely suggesting the Death was a charming, courteous carriage driver, the speaker implies that Death was obligated to stop for her; she is unable to stop for him. It is inter... ...s of conducting mortals into eternity. —JAIME SORENSEN, Brigham Young University, Idaho Works Cited Anderson, Charles R. Modern American Poetry. 1 Jan 2002. University of Illinois. 13 Sept. 2005 uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/dickinson/712.htm>. Dickinson, Emily. â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop for Death.† The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Ed. Thomas H. Johnson. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard UP, 1960. Engle, Patricia. â€Å"Dickinson’s ‘Because I Could Not Stop For Death.’† The Explicator 60(2002): 72-75. Glenn, Eunice. Modern American Poetry. 1 Jan 2002. University of Illinois. 13 Sept. 2005 /poets/a_f/dickinson/712.htm>. Kennedy, X.J., Dana Gioia, and Mark Bauerlein. Handbook of Literary Terms. Chelmsford: Courier Corp.,2005.â€Å"Kindly.† Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

The Formulaic and Episodic X-Files and Supernatural Essays -- Televis

The subjects of this study, The X-Files (Carter, 1993-2002) and Supernatural (Kripke, 2005-), can be seen as innovative pioneers of ‘narrative complexity’ and of the ‘monster-of-the-week’ (MOTW) concept. Mittel identifies narrative complexity, ‘At its most basic level, narrative complexity is a redefinition of episodic forms under the influence of serial narration—not necessarily a complete merger of episodic and serial forms but a shifting balance. Rejecting the need for plot closure within every episode that typifies conventional episodic form, narrative complexity foregrounds ongoing stories across a range of genres. Additionally, narrative complexity moves serial form outside of the generic assumptions[.]’ (Mittel, 2006, p.32) The monster-of-the-week concept is rather self-explanatory, but can be described as telling standalone stories that literally feature a monster, or enemy, every week however, The X-Files have challenged the serial, standalone nature of the concept (Kruse, 1997-8, p.110). The X-Files stars FBI agents, Mulder and Scully, as they take charge in investigating the ‘X’ files (cases that occur through unknown phenomena). Mulder, the believer, and Scully, the sceptic, face corrupt government officials and monstrous mutants while trying to uncover the meaning to unknown phenomena that otherwise, cannot be explained. The episodic and formulaic series allow Mulder and Scully to face phenomena after phenomena while being spliced with an undercurrent of the more serial format of a greater ‘mytharc’ concerning government corruption and of the alien colonisation of earth. Supernatural tells the story of Dean and Sam Winchester, brothers-in-arms, who also, within formulaic and self-contained episodes, hunt monsters... ...d Everyday Life in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In: M. Hammond and L, Mazdon, eds. 2005. The Contemporary Television Series. Edinburgh: Edinburg University Press, pp.159-182. Hodges, L., 2008. Mainstreaming Marginality: Genre, Hybridity, and Postmodernism in The X-Files. In: J. P. Tellote, ed. 2008. The Essential Science Fiction Television Reader. Kentucky: Kentucky University Press, pp.231-246. Mittel, J., 2007. Film and Television Narrative. In: D. Herman, ed. 2007. The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.156-171. Mittell, J., 2006. Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television. The Velvet Light Trap, 58(32), pp.29-40 Nixon, N., 1998. Making Monsters, or Serializing Killers. In: R. Martin and E, Savoy, eds. 1998. American Gothic: New Interventions in a National Narrative. Iowa: Iowa University Press, pp.217-236.

How I’Ve Changed over the Past Year

How I Have changed over the past year? Humans are as changeable as the weather. Or perhaps a more frequent changer. And being one myself I’m no different. Every night when I look back to the previous day I see no change. But when I look back to the year that has just passed, I do see the difference. The experiences I went through changed me to a better or may be something close to a reformation. Nevertheless I’m not the same anymore I was always known to be short-tempered and egoistic. But last year one incident really changed the way I was and thought. My sudden fluctuations in temper made me lose a lot of friends and the loneliness I was in taught me to be more friendly and patient. My friends always knew how to react to my rudeness but unfortunately I forgot my new friends were not accustomed to it. I met some buddies in a friend’s birthday party, last year, who were more than just casual acquaintances. One of them dropped coke over my new silk dress and that did it! I started yelling at her without noticing I am ruining the party. To my surprise the girl started crying and ran away while I was left standing clueless. The birthday boy came up and said â€Å"I think you better go wash yourself, Sunnu, before the spots get dry. I’ll call you later. † He never called and probably would not have if I had not met him in a mall a few days later. â€Å"Yes, I didn’t. But neither did you. † He answered when I asked why he did not call. â€Å"But you said ‘you’ will call. â€Å"Yes, but don’t you think you were at fault and should have taken the first step and said sorry? † I was very confused. I did not know what he meant. Why should ‘I’ be sorry? It was ‘her’ fault, not mines. But now I know why he did not. I was too egoistic to even think of being sorry, let alone saying it. She did a mistake unintentionally, but I did a bigger mistake by not doing what I should have done – forgive and forget. I realized this when one day one of my friends told me â€Å"Sunnu, you never accept the fact that even ‘you’ can make mistakes. You are always too angry to even think what other people might feel at your choice of words. † I was lonely. My friends had left me trying every possible ways to make me realize. But this lone feeling gave me time to think over everything and that is when I realized how wrong I was. One day, one week, one month and in a year I changed myself. I was a reformed Sunayna. I was better and the proof is all the old friends and many new ones happily smiling on the pictures in my â€Å"My Friends† album on Facebook.

Communication and Social Work Essay

This essay will identify and discuss key communication skills in the context of social work practice. The importance of communication skills will be acknowledged by talking about three different skills of communication. The subjects discussed will be non-verbal communication, effective listening and questions, what these skills are and why they are important. It is essential for a professional social worker to hold effective communicative skills as one will encounter people from all different walks of life and the aim to treat a service user as an individual and enable empowerment is paramount to meeting a person’s needs. There is also the need to communicate effectively with colleagues, agencies, professional bodies and the accuracy of one’s communication is essential if the possibility of appearing in court was to be encountered. Communication within social work practise is essential in the way of addressing a person’s needs to enable improvement on one’ s quality of life. Effective communication can build trust, respect and self esteem and this can help a service user to becoming more independent. Good communication skills can also create psychological safety and aid a person to retain and establish links with friends, family and society. (Moonie, 2000). Buggins, Cornwall and Cunnane discuss that psychological safety is created in leadership so staff are able to discuss and raise issues that are of concern without fear (2013). Transferring this to the context of a social worker and a service user can enable the service user to engage in a more open conversation with a feeling that one is being viewed as trying to rectify mistakes instead of being seen as incompetent. There are different elements of communication and a distinct part is non-verbal communication, such as body language, how one dresses, timekeeping for example being too early or too late, touch, distance between people, eye contact and face expression. (Cooper, Lymbery, Ruch and Wilson 2011) Face to face contact with service users who are hard of hearing is particular important in reading one’s expression o f the face or lip reading. Also in this instance sitting closer and the use of touch may be useful and necessary to visually impaired people. On the contrary though as stated by Koprowska (2008) people with autism find face to face contact difficult and may not be able to judge expressions on a face and this may seem strange if it is unfamiliar to a person until some other way of contact is found. Another important part of communication is effective listening. As Rayudu (2010) puts forward,  effective listening is not an attribute that one is born with, but a skill that is learned with practice, experience and training. A guideline for effective listening is paraphrasing which is when the listener repeats what a person has said in one’s own words. The importance of this is to keep control over listening and ensuring accuracy. An equally important skill when effectively listening is mirroring, referred to in a training paper developed for the government, National Park Service (2011) which helps build empathy and trust. Mirroring is when a person’s verbal and non verbal actions are matched subtly. This can ma ke the speaker unconsciously like the listener as the speaker thinks that there are similarities between the listener and the speaker and that the listener is in touch with who they are. Listening skills come in to play when asking questions and the many types of questions that are asked are very helpful to retrieving information from a service user. Another aspect in order for the questioning to work is that a person must show that one is interested in the answer which is why effective listening as referred to earlier plays a big part. Trevithick (2005) There are different types of questions such as open questions, closed questions and leading questions or maybe the non use of leading questions. Although these questions can be helpful they can result in putting words in to a person’s mouth. Open questions result in broad answers and can result in an in-depth expression of thoughts, feelings and opinions and can be left up to the respondent as to how to answer the question. Hargie (2006). These questions encourage service users to talk more in-depth or deeply about any concerns. Opposed to the open ended questions there are closed questions which usually resul t in one word answers being given. These questions can be good for retrieving very specific information. Although these questions should be used carefully as stated in scie (2008) the service user may want to expand on an answer but maybe unsure of how to interrupt. It also limits information and may not give answers to information needed in order to learn about the service user. On discussing the different skills on communication this essay has shown why each skill is important when communicating with a service user or professional body. For a person to feel that they are being listened to and that what one says is not being judged or seem inept is paramount to realising concerns and not missing information. The skills are acquired through training and experience and are needed to get the fullest  and most accurate picture. References Buggins, E, Cornwall, J and Cunane, D.(2013). Create a culture of ‘psychological safety’. Health Service Journal. Issue 8th January. Retrieved from http://www.hsj.co.uk/resource-centre/leadership/create-a-culture-of-psychological-safety/5052550.article#.Um5qk3CG4-o Cooper, A, Lymbery, M, Ruch, G and Wilson, K. (2011). Social Work: An Introduction to Contemporary Practice. (2nd ed). Essex. Pearson Education Ltd Hargie, O. (2006). The Handbook of Communication Skills. (3rd ed). London. Routledge Koprowska, J. (2008). Communication Skills and Interpersonal skills in social work.(2nd ed). Exeter. Learning Matters Ltd. Moonie, N. (2000). Health and Social Care.(3rd ed).Oxford. Heinemann Educational Publishers. National Park Service. (2011). â€Å"Advanced Communication Skills Building and Maintaing Trust† : Module II, Part 2 – Cohort B : Consulting Skills Curriculum for HR Specialists. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/training/tel/Guides/Adv_Comm_Skills_Trust_M od2_CB_Part2.pdf Rayudu,C,S. (2010). Communication. Mumbia, IND. Global Media Scie. (2008). elearning : Communication Skills, Gathering information. Retrieved at http://www.scie.org.uk/assets/elearning/communicationskills/cs04/resource/index.html Trevithick, P. (2005).Social Work Skills. (2nd ed). Berkshire. McGraw-Hill

Elementary Education Essay

Reading Comprehension -The student uses a variety of strategies to comprehend grade level text; Strand: Reading Process Listening and Speaking – The student effectively applies listening and speaking strategies. Informative – The student develops and demonstrates technical writing that provides information related to real-world tasks. Benchmark: LA. 2. 1. 7. 3. The student will summarize information in text, including but not limited to main idea, supporting details, and connections between texts; LA. 2. 5. 2. 4. The student will listen politely to oral presentations by classmates. LA. 2. 3. 1. 1. The student will prewrite by generating ideas from multiple sources (e. g. , text, brainstorming, webbing, drawing, writer’s notebook, group discussion, other activities); LA. 4. 4. 2. 5. The student will write simple directions to familiar locations using cardinal directions, landmarks, and distances, and create an accompanying map. Grade Level: Grade 2 Objectives: 1. Using the book The Trumpet of the Swan, the class will understand the main idea of the story by reading, listening and students discussion. 2. Basing on the journals of Louis in the Trumpet of the Swan, the class will come up with their very own journal writing. 3. Using the given information in the book The Trumpet of the Swan, the class will make a map of the main character’s travels and adventures. Activities: Before reading: 1. Ask the class if they know what a journal is and if they have ever written one. 2. Tell the class you are going to read them a story entitle The Trumpet of the Swan. During reading: 3. Read the Trumpet of the Swan. 4. Show a map of Canada and point important spots that are mentioned in the Trumpet of the Swan. 5. Show a sample journal and explain how to write and what to write. After reading: 6. Ask the class to read Sam’s poem and summarize the text and identify the main idea of the poem (Reading). 7. Ask the class to write a journal about nature (Writing). 8. Have the class make a map of Louis’ travels and adventures including all the important spots in Canada, Montana and the Northeast (Visually Representing). 9. Have the class discuss the book by having them share their favorite part and ask questions like the following: How to behave in the woods if you want to appreciate nature, what are their stand on the ethics of Louis’ father, why is there a need for Serena to hear the beautiful song of her mate, does anyone identify with Applegate Skinner? Or have someone recite a part of Sam’s poem (Talking/Speaking). 10. Ask the class to listen when a classmate recites a poem and identify the main idea of the poem (Listening). Assessment of Writing Development: The 2 ways of assessing a student’s writing development are Rubrics and Portfolio assessment. ? â€Å"Rubrics are tools teachers and students use to evaluate and classify writing, whether individual pieces or portfolios. They identify and articulate what is being evaluated in the writing, and offer â€Å"descriptors† to classify writing into certain categories (1-5, for instance, or A-F). Narrative rubrics and chart rubrics are the two most common forms† (UNL|FLWI, 2008). ? Portfolio assessment is the collection of students’ work over time reflecting their progress, efforts and achievements and teachers based it on the following items: â€Å"students’ Projects, surveys, reports and units from reading and writing Favorite poems, songs, letters, and comments, Interesting thoughts to remember, Finished samples that illustrate wide writing, Examples of writing across the curriculum, Literature extensions, Student record of books read and attempted, Audio tape of reading, Writing responses to literary components, Writing that shows growth in usage of traits, Samples in which ideas are modified from first draft to final product, Unedited first draft, Revised first draft, Evidence of effort, Self-evaluations, Writing that illustrates evidence of topic generation† (Hurst, 2009). Assessment of Grammar Skills: You can informally assess children’s grammar skills by: ? Reviewing children’s work on relevant pages in their Student Books, handwriting sentences they copied during Daily Routines, and especially their own independent Quick Writing. ? Another method is by â€Å"formal graded assessments such as quizzes, selected homework activities, and in-class tests† (Porter and vanDommelen, 2005). Assessment of Spelling Skills: The two ways of assessing the students’ spelling skills are observation and analysis of the work samples. ? Observation can be done in the classroom by observing the students as they write and as they try to use words that are beyond their ability level. It is important that observation be supplemented later with the students’ work samples and it should be done in a systematic way. ? Analysis of the work samples is an assessment of students’ â€Å"spelling ability from examination of samples of their unaided writing† (Westwood, 2008). These â€Å"samples can be taken from students’ exercise books, test papers, and language arts portfolios† (Fiderer as cited in Westwood, 2008). THE SPELLING PATTERNS: 1. Blends: are 2 or 3 letters combined to form a distinct spelling sound. Examples are : -br- in brown and break and -fr- in fry and freeze 2. Digraph: A group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single sound. For example, EA in BREAD, CH in CHAT, or NG in SING. 3. Diphthong: the union of two vowels, pronounced by a single impulse of the voice; as, ea in beat, ou in sound. 4. R-controlled vowels: When a vowel is followed by an r, it makes a special sound. These are called r-controlled vowels, or r-colored vowels. Examples are /ar/ sound as in car, /er/ sound as in butter. 5. Long vowel: a sound which is the same as, or very similar to the letter name of one of the vowels. Examples are /a/ as in gate, /e/ as in need. 6. Short vowel: Are vowels of shorter duration. Examples are short /a/ as in bat, short /e/ as in bet. 7. Contraction: is a word made up from a verb and another word where an apostrophe takes the place of any letters that are left out. It can be positive contraction or negative contraction. Examples are: aren’t – are not and here’s – here is. CUING SYSTEM: 1. Semantics — the study of the development and changes of the meanings of speech forms. Semantics is also a study of the process by which meaning is derived from symbols, signs, text, and other meaning-bearing forms. 2. Syntax — the conventions and rules for assembling words into meaningful sentences; syntax varies across languages. 3. Graphophonic — Refers to the sound relationship between the orthography (symbols) and phonology (sounds) of a language. 4. Phonological awareness — The understanding that speech is composed of sub-parts — sentences are comprised of words, words are comprised of syllables, syllables are comprised of onsets and rimes, and can be further broken down to phonemes. Cuing Strategies â€Å"Used by effective readers to figure out unfamiliar words and to make meaning, cuing strategies include knowledge of syntax, semantics, words and word meaning, and graphophonics (letter/sound associations). Teachers can guide students to use cuing strategies by reminding them to ask themselves, did it sound right? Did it make sense? Did the word look right? † (Teacher Resources, 2002). References † Advice for Teachers: Assessing Student Writing. † UNL | FLWI. 2008. 03 Apr. 2009 . Porter, Patricia, and Deborah VanDommelen. â€Å"Integrating Assessment with Grammar-for-Writing Instruction. † CATESOL: California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. 2005. 03 Apr. 2009 . Hurst, Carol Otis. â€Å"Portfolio Assessment in the Reading-Writing Classroom. † Carol Hurst’s Children’s Literature Site – Reviews and teaching ideas for kids’ books. 03 Apr. 2009 . Westwood, Peter. What Teachers Need to Know about Spelling. Aust Council for Ed Research, 2008. â€Å"Teaching Reading: Lens on Literacy. † Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by Annenberg Media. 2002. .