Capital Punishment Essay - Lets Abolish Legalized Killing :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Let's Abolish Legalized Killing      Ã‚  Ã‚   Capital Punishment in the United States was declared constitutional in 1976 by the Supreme Court. It had been struck down four years prior to 1976 (The Economist 19). There are courts in the United States today that want to abolish capital punishment because the methods used are believed to be cruel and unusual (Creque 51).    The gas chamber execution involves toxic chemicals which "enhances physical trauma to induce death" (Creque 51). A death by hanging may decapitate a person, a firing squad may miss the person and leave him/her to bleed to death, and the electric chair can cook a person to the point of charring and loosening the skin from the bone. While these methods are widely accepted as forms of the death penalty, the procedures can and do go awry.    In 1994, serial killer John Wayne Gacy was executed by lethal injection. This procedure should take no longer than five minutes, but it ended up taking eighteen minutes to complete (Siedeman 52). In 1976, Joseph Tafero was to be executed by electrocution. "When the switch was flipped, six-inch flames and smoke spewed out of Tafero's head" (Siedeman 52). It took an additional two jolts to kill him. These are examples of cruel and unusual punishment.    Some people in the United States believe that capital punishment should not be abolished, just updated and made more efficient. What is suggested is the use of nitrogen asphyxiation which simply puts someone to sleep. This death penalty method would cause no pain or physical trauma (Creque 51). This method of punishment is also cruel and unusual. It is cruel and unusual to make someone believe that they are "just going to sleep" when in they are really being put to death. Creque suggests in this article "Killing With Kindness" that it is okay to punish a human being by this method. What makes this method of punishment any more uncruel and usual?    Many people, including myself, think that the United States should do away with capital punishment all together. Their belief is that the death penalty is racially biased and morally wrong. Many taxpayers believe that capital punishment is more expensive than life in prison.

Reforestation :: essays research papers

Reforestation The purpose of this written report is to inform the reader about the concerns and facts involved with reforestation. Reforestation began in Ontario after World War II. What happened was, professional foresters were assigned to an area and became responsible for its well being. Under the Crown Timber Act, long term management was prepared. Then the many steps needed to rebuild a forest began. Included in this report will be information on the effects of cutting and replanting, such as Carbon Dioxide, and Global Warming. Following this will be methods for planning a forest, and how they are conveyed before planting in a forest begins. There are many reasons why forests are cut down. One is to benefit economically, with furniture and home building. But there is also another reason. Arguments say "the United States could help slow the atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide by replacing old-growth forests with faster-growing young trees". A new study of young and old forests says how this is in fact not true. Loggers have said that new trees pull the carbon dioxide better than old trees, and this may seem true, but it is not. There is one point being overlooked from all of this. The older, larger trees can store much, much more carbon dioxide than a new tree could. By cutting and burning these magnificent seasoned trees, the CO2 is being released back into the atmosphere. These releases of carbon dioxide add up in our surroundings, only to intensify Global Warming. Although this shows what happens when one burns and cuts down old forests, one must still plant new trees for long term plans, not letting them grow for a few years, to then cut them down. There are many methods for planning a forest. The simplest method of replanting a forest is to leave it to nature. A suitable seed bed in which trees will readily take root is integral for successful regeneration. Reducing competition by eliminating grass, weed or shrubs is another requirement in securing a new crop of trees. These will sprout to produce seedlings. Though the weeds were eliminated before, they still grow back, and because of this poor, quality trees will grow. Another method though, is to create a planned forest, where new conifers are grown from seed in a special nursery. Seeding is a reforestation technique used mainly in the Boreal forest area where fire or logging tends to leave no or very little seeds for growth. In specific cases, Ministry staff seed the area with treated tree seeds. Following this is the planting. In many

Study skills for distance learner

This type of education has gained its growing popularity with the developing of Internet, even paving in the different parts of the world, students can simply interact with their teachers and exchange materials over the net. Distance learning has a lot of advantages that make It really a strong and potential competitor against a traditional education. For example, by attending a distance learning course, learners can study at their own place, with their own time and flexible schedules combine different actively simultaneously. It Is also useful for people over 25 who mostly have a full time Job and can study after It.Also It Is a great financial advantage as during stance learning, travel expenses and educational fees are significantly lower. Distance learning is defined as a form of education in which learners and instructors are separated during the majority of the instruction; furthermore, learners have the opportunity to learn whenever a computer is accessible to them Monsoons, 2 003; Andre, 2005, Anderson, 2008). Within this new technology era, nothing is possible anymore. Prosthetic (2010) agreed and added that increasing web-based technologies have significantly influenced the dynamics of teaching and learning.The online aroma has lead distance learners and their Instructors Into new possibilities for interaction and Information access Monsoons, 2003; Prosthetic 2010). In many circumstances, respond to distance learning and education programs have been positive, although more research is needed. There are many different techniques that are used in the distance learning. The most popular and efficient are e-mails, forums, faxes, print materials, video recordings, internet radio, telephone, live streaming and many more.Thanks to all these technologies, distance learners can receive the same learning source such as terrestrial, worksheets and writing assignments same as full time students on campus. Definition of study skills Study skills can be defines as a combination skills of ability knowledge and experience that enables a person to do something well (http:. ‘/ skill is vital for distance leaner in order to help them to cope with their studies. Research shows that learning skills influence academic achievement whereby they enhance increasing in academic skills and performance.The significance of learning skills is also shown in the many instruments that have evolved. There are several hypes of study skills. Students will need to improve deferent skills at different times in their career. They will also wish to use different methods according to their particular need and learning style time. What then are the study skills that students need to improve, apart from those taught inside the program? They can be divided into four stages: time management, note taking, information seeking and communication skills.Distance learning program tend to have a looser structure and many students are studying alongside a Job or personal commi tments. Working out hen you can study and how to make best use of precious study time is essential if the student is going to succeed. Good organizational skills are also essential to deal with course materials and administrative matters. Knowing how to get advice, are skills worth developing, including when and from whom, as distance learners often have to be their own advocates and need to develop the resourcefulness to do this.Time management Time Management skills are crucial for successful people. These are the useful techniques that have helped the leading people in sport, business and public service each the high points of their careers. Time management is the way you regulate or schedule your time. Learning good time management techniques can motivate you to accomplish your goals. (Rite O' Donahue, Mill, M. A. (Deed) 2005-2006) National University of Ireland, Galway) by keeping Journal activity for several times helps you to know when you perform at your best and understand how you spend your time.Don't change your daily routine, note down everything that you always do. Every time you change activities, whether working, making coffee, opening mail, talking with colleagues or whatever, note down any changes. Same goes with recording activities, note your feeling, whether, flat, tired, alert, energetic, etc. Do this regularly throughout the day. Time management has been described using many terms including balance, spontaneous, flexibility, and having control over time (Laurie – Ann M. Hellenizes (2012) What do we know about time management; Lankier 1973).Many people experience time management problems and suffer from time pressure and an increasingly fast pace of life (Hawkins & Klaus, 1997; Major, Klein, & Rather, 2002; McCullough, 1984; Attachment, Dotterels, & Parker, 1996; Heisenberg, Bergsten, Cote, Craver, & Heath, 1982). There are several skills in time management, such as planning, proportioning, organizing, and list making and perseverin g. By having a good time management its helps us to become more productive, stress free and you will be able to create your own free time when you are needed.As a distance learner, time management skills are vital in order for you to cope with your studies. Management effectives in increasing your learning skills. However, individuals who participated in a time management program did perceive more control over their mime after the program. Perceived control over time was related to positive outcomes. Individuals who perceived having more control over their time reported fewer Job induced tensions, fewer stresses, and greater Job satisfaction than individuals who did not perceive themselves as having control over their time.Note making and note taking Note making and note taking is one of the important study skills for distance learners. What to note down and how detailed the notes should be, takes time to develop. It is difficult therefore you need to develop you self with basic ski lls of note asking and note taking. The ability to take good notes will help you save time and focus on your studies. The difference between note taking and note making is, notes taking is happen when you listen to e-tutorial lecturer, seminar or writing down what other people say by taking important notes from it.In dissimilarity, note making involves a process of personal understanding. You will remember the entire note that you making by your own because you are learning and understand the topic. This may take several time to complete. Yet, it is much more efficient and effective in arms of learning than trying to sort out lecture notes and read text books in great haste before an important test or exam. Note taking its difficult than making note. Some of the approaches from reading note-taking also been apply to listening note- taking.This is because you cannot control the flow of a speech, you cannot expect the tutor to repeat the entire tutorial. You need to prepare yourself b efore coming to the class, such as do a pre revision or pre read of the topic so that you can easily understand during the lecture. Note making will reinforce your understanding of hat you have read for the course. As such, you are urged to use these skills effectively to prepare yourself for the tutorial class. J Song, M. (2012) agreed that note taking and note making effectives in enhance personal skills especially in learning skills.Information seeking skills As a distance learning student, one of the crucial challenges for us to success in our studies is our information seeking skills. This is because in the current era we are living now, the way people post, store and even seek information make it easier for us to access faster and easier for all sorts of information. Students need to have knowledge on seeking the correct and proper information that related to their studies. On top of that, it is important for students to have a good decision making skills and critical thinking to be successful in the learning process.First of all, students need to identify the various sources available for the information. One of the sources which are superior in quality of results which is from the OPAC or Online Public Access Catalogue which is an electronic or online catalogue for materials available from the library. Another source for distance learners to search the information is from electronic databases such as Emerald, Prosiest, NSP e-Media and BLISS to name a few bibliographic records of books, Journal articles, reports, book famous form of searching information in this information age is the Internet.Web search engine such as Google or Yahoo have developed their own search algorithm that can help students retrieve information, Journals, e-book, articles etc. Easier and faster. Research has shown that distance learners decide on using the Internet resources as their primary source in seeking for the information for their studies. Sati and Appropriator (2008) co nsider that almost all students use the Internet because it is convenient, easy and quick access.While the web search engine may be the easiest and fastest way to search for information, distance learners must remember that the accuracy and validity of information retrieved on the internet should be concerned. However most distance learners still choose web search engine such as Google to search for their daily information needs. Thompson, A. J. (2007) found that 83 percent of students from her research used web pages as their daily information resources. The tendency of distance learners uses the Internet for information searching because of the time constraint distance learners have.Many distance learners are studying alongside a Job or family commitments. Communication skills Communication is one of the most important aspects in distance learner. Julia Wood defines communication as a â€Å"systemic process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meanings† (pa topic 4 module English Communication). Communication is effective when the recipient of the message understands its meaning and can express that meaning back to the speaker or the ender of the message. In a meanwhile, an ineffective communication occurs when the meaning is not understood.Good communication is important in helping you to enhance the quality of work, develop a stable relationship and inhibit misunderstandings, and navigate daily deadlines. Good communication skills also give people an edge in getting the Jobs they want and help them move up the ladder to better paid positions. There are three types of communication in the workplace, which are formal communication, informal communication and non-verbal communication. Formal communication is a message or information delivered wrought the organization.Bartok and Martin, define formal communication as â€Å"Formal communication refers to vertical and horizontal communication that flows path specified by the official hierarchical organizational structure and related task (http://thebusinesscommunication. Com). Example, in a workplace where employee getting information or instruction from superior is consider as a formal communication. The formal communication is aimed to complete a tasks to meet the management goals. Informal communication can be defined as informal and spontaneous or also known as a grapevine. Grapevine is an informal network of information among employees.Grapevine can be defined as rumors, even though they are rumors it is also useful to management. This is because through the grapevine, management is capable to deliver information and receive feedback faster without involving too much high cost in achieving it. Informal communication is designed to express the individual desires and interests. People are more relaxed and comfortable when they are in an informal gathering where they sharing or barriers. Example, when you communicate with your lecturer after c lass, you are ore comfortable because it is more flexible and no formal communication required during that time.Nonverbal communication is a type of communication that does not involve writing, either words or verbal. Nonverbal communication is the best technique to communicate emotions. Nonverbal communication involves many different channels that express meaning beyond what is being said. These include body movements, facial expressions, gestures and even vocal tone and pitch. Much of the nonverbal information we get from people comes from the eyes (Bloomberg Business Library – Survive Office Politics. 006, pop-45. App). Nonverbal communication represents you to other people.Nonverbal communication plays an important role in the workplace, especially when you are dealing with the public. Your body gestures, the way you talk and eyes contact can tell a lot about yourself to the other person whether or not you are care, if you are being honest, and how well you are listening. The public can gain trust, clarity and rapport when the nonverbal signal match up with the words you are saying. Otherwise, when they do not understand the message or the message not received well this can create tension, struts and confusion.Eye contact, by looking a person in the eyes when making conversation is often considered the ultimate form of respect. You also can tell them by looking in the eyes that what they are saying is important and understood. Tone of voice also one of the important element in nonverbal communication skills. Tone of voice provides powerful clues into your true feelings throughout pitch, inflection and volume. For example, tone of voice is a quick sign of sarcasm, confidence, frustration or agreement. Nonverbal communication is not only crucial in workplace but also in our daily routine life especially for distance learner.Whether interviewing for a Job, working with a client, or interacting with your colleague, by being able to understand and use no nverbal signals is a powerful tools in enhance human interactions and working skills. Communication skills whether it's formal, informal or nonverbal, it is vital for distance learner. This is because it is helping you to understand better about the studies. Effective communication starts with you. It may require some time and effort to get it right, but you will see the benefits in outstanding performance and purport.Conclusion It is proven from the research studied shown that study skills is vital for distance learners. As a distance learner, it is essentially important to plan your study and monitor your progress to make sure that you were on the right track with your studies. There are many information in the student services and website to help you with your learning. This page provides information that distance learning students, in general may find it useful for their studies. It helps them to understand and cope with their studies.

Cruddy by Lynda Barry

Lynda Barry has provided a thoughtful, interesting, and provocative novel about Roberta Rohbeson featuring, on the surface, two diverse, but related story lines. The first is the story of Roberta as a sixteen-year-old girl and details what happened to her to cause her to be grounded for a year for dropping two hits of acid in September of 1971. It is Roberta who gives the book its name. While grounded in her room she begins to write in her diary with an ominous note of her intended suicide, â€Å"I planned this way before the drugs were a part of my life. . . .It was my idea to kill myself† (Barry two pagers before 1). This plot thread is interwoven with a more detailed sinister thread that took place five years earlier when Roberta's parents separated and, at her mother's insistence, Roberta hide in the back of her father's car and accompanied â€Å"the Father,† as she calls him, on a bloody, murderous, cross-country spree fueled by the near constant drinking by her al coholic father. The spree ended with her father as the prime suspect in the Lucky Chief Motel Massacre and with Roberta walking through the Nevada while covered with blood (Barry).It is unclear however whether either of the plot threads actually occurred within the world of the novel or whether they are the imaginings or hallucinations of a teenage girl being punished for misbehaving. Unlike many books that deal with teenage angst by portraying the protagonist as a person with a â€Å"woe is me† attitude, Cruddy distinguishes itself by not falling victim to this self-indulgent trap. Roberta is detached from her family. Like the impersonal description of her father as â€Å"the father,† Roberta's mother is called simply â€Å"the mother.† Roberta views her younger half-sister Julie with the usual contempt of teenagers who are forced to share a bedroom. Roberta has a matter of fact attitude toward the events in her life and blames no one for her actions. She remem bers and acts upon some of the philosophical aphorisms her father espouses. â€Å"DO NOT HESITATE. NEVER, NEVER HESITATE† and L. L. S. S. , (loose lips sink ships) (Barry 30, 99). The book features a large number of charcoal drawings that illustrate the accompanying text. These pictures provide the reader with the best physical description of the father.Page 22 features a portrait of a hard looking man with deep-set eyes and a cigarette drooping reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart. The picture reveals an independent man who will brook nonsense from no one and will not hesitate to use violence should the need or opportunity arise. The father's face reveals no compassion for anyone, not even his daughter Roberta whom he calls Clyde. Ostensibly the alcohol binge and crime spree of the father starts at the time of the separation of Roberta's parents.When the father discovers that Julie, the younger sister, is not his, but the child of his wife's boss he snaps because of the stress cau sed by the discovery. Combined with the apparent suicide of his father known as Old Dad, it was more than he could bear. The newspapers covering the story of the murders alleged that the father stole Roberta in the middle of the night and left a note threatening to kill Roberta if the mother calls the police or tried to find them (Barry 23). According to Roberta this is largely a fiction put on by her mother to get her picture in the paper.The real story is the mother made Roberta hide in the car and accompany her father. At the novel's beginning the father was due to inherit the family business, a well-known local meatpacking plant where he worked as a butcher and had developed a good reputation locally. Instead of leaving the business to his son Old Dad sold it â€Å"out from under† the father and left him unemployed and without funds. Allegedly Old Dad placed the money into three Samsonite suitcases none of which he gave to the father. Then Old Dad hanged himself in the me at cooler.He believes his father, Old Dad, has cheated him and that he is just getting back what was his by natural right. Allegedly much of the father's motivation lies in hopes of recovering the suitcases and the supposed money in them. However, it is difficult to determine if there is any truth at all to the story of the three suitcases of money. Supposedly the meatpacking plant was heavily mortgaged and selling the plant was necessary to pay the debts, â€Å"at least I'm not leaving you in the hole,† said Old Dad.If this were the case one would expect him to open the suitcases as he found them and make use of the money, but he does not do this. When he finds the first suitcase he merely holds it up and says, â€Å"not a scratch on it . . . It's Samsonite! We could do a [bleep] commercial† (Barry 25-38). This peculiar behavior calls into question whether this plot thread ever existed. Nonetheless with this theoretical motivation the father packs his butcher knives a nd leaves his wife. Blood has played an important role in the father's life.Although he spent time in the Navy, being a butcher was his work as a butcher that he believed that he would achieve success. He takes pride in the work he does and has hopes of challenging even the big packinghouses and that stores were going to come back and buy their meet from Rohbeson's Slaughter House (Barry 25). At the end of a workday he and his clothes were often covered with blood. He is devoted to his knives and goes so far as to name them. Little Debbie is his favorite and he gives it to Roberta to protect herself. The nature of the father's profession was inherently violent.The violence manifests itself throughout the novel. He kills people in a variety of ways including homicide by car and shooting people. When Roberta is injured and receives a small cut on her finger that becomes infected, he casually uses Little Debbie to remove the finger at the knuckle while promising that Roberta â€Å"wou ld not feel a thing: (Barry 198). The name of the combination slaughterhouse, restaurant, and bar where they stay for a time is the Knocking Hammer, presumably a reference to a notorious method of killing beef about to be slaughtered by hitting them in the head with a hammer.The violence in the father's life also occurs in Roberta's world. Shortly after the father amputated her finger Roberta found herself thinking about killing the father and the others who live at Knocking Hammer (Barry 214). Shortly afterwards Roberta uses Little Debbie to cut the throat of the deputy sheriff while he is driving her to the institution where her father has committed her. By the end of the novel Roberta has killed her father by slicing his throat with the knife named Sheila. She also killed the others staying at the Lucky Chief Motel.Roberta has become a serial killer. It is unclear whether or not examining the father helps understand his blood thirst. By the book's end the two plot threads have vi rtually merged and it is no longer clear how much of the events in the novel actually happened. It appears likely that the thread where Roberta gets grounded for dropping acid is true. However, it is less clear the other thread occurred at all. It may be the acid induced hallucinations of Roberta. It may be a story made up to entertain her friend Vicky.Both threads may be the imaginary world of a teenager trying to get back at her parents for grounding her for a year by imagining one of them an unfit mother and the father as a homicidal, alcoholic maniac. The novel works in all of these fashions and leaves the reader unsure just what is what. In any case the world where Roberta lives, whether it is real, imaginary, or the product of drug-induced delusions is a violent one. Works Cited Barry, Lynda. Cruddy: An Illustrated Novel. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.

Margaret Atwood; Cat’s Eye Analysis- Refraction and Self Essay

â€Å"Our commonsense explanations of the world and ourselves are problematised by Atwood through her novel. Nothing is quite as it seems, when we look at anything (in a mirror, in the past, at others) it is refracted as if through water.† Discuss the ideas and issues in the novel in relation to this statement, paying particular attention to the techniques and narrative elements used to show this. Our commonsense explanations of the world are based on the absolutes in our lives. Ways of seeing have been socially constructed embedded with values and attitudes that influence our behaviour and view of the world and ourselves. Reality cannot be captured and is interpreted differently by every individual as if refracted through water. Cat’s Eye is a work of influential English by author Margaret Atwood. The novel’s central area of exploration is of different versions of reality, and the accuracy and truthfulness of our own visions of how we see the world and ourselves. These visions are problematised by Atwood, as she uses various techniques that allow her to discretely proffer her idea of ‘nothing is quite as it seems’ to position the audience. This results in our own endorsement of these beliefs, and leads us to question our own lives as just a version of reality, with a sense of disillusionment. Our world and our own lives are challenged by Atwood’s novel, as in questioning the idea of no absolutes and constants in our lives, we also begin to question the other constants in our society such as religion being just another version of reality and not an absolute. This distresses many people and problematises our lives. Measurable, knowable, constant, and absolute qualities of life provide security in our beliefs and understanding of the world and our place within it. Absolutes help us make sense of the world, and provide a connection to the world and our own inner selves generating a sense of belonging. Atwood challenges the concept of absolutes, fixed/knowable identities, and common truths through various techniques. She uses narrative elements to proffer her ideas, such as autobiographical writing to encourage us to question the one and only version of reality that is being told (through Elaine and her life). Imagery/symbolism and intertextuality are recurring techniques, for example her repetitive use reflective surfaces such a glass, water and mirrors are all symbols used to question reflection, and how we see  ourselves; is what we see what we get? These techniques are used in order to provoke self-doubt and insecurity, to unsettle and complicate the way we see ourselves and our world, through the provocative questions that it asks of us. Cat’s eye challenges the naturalized and socially constructed views and encourages the reader to question the dominant views of the world and themselves. Refraction is the distortment of light, as it travels, it’s broken-up as it changes and moves through different mediums. Atwood uses refraction as a symbol representing the key belief that our vision of life and ourselves is refracted, broken up, distorted, and that as a result our perceptions aren’t always accurate. Atwood uses Elaine’s second encounter at the bridge to imply that our views, especially on other people are refracted, and not necessarily as they seem to be. Cordelia is seen to effect Elaine the most significantly, and it is not until the end of the book, when Elaine is finally coming back to herself (the bridge) that Elaine realises that Cordelia was not what she seemed to be. â€Å"There is the same shame, the sick feeling in my body, the same knowledge of my own wrongness, awkwardness, weakness; the same wish to be loved; the same loneliness; the same fear. But these are not my own emotions anymore. They are Cordelia’s; as they always were.†It is only at the end of Elaine’s life when she realizes that her emotions that traumatized her childhood (and adult life) were in fact Cordelia’s, who in order to escape them and cope transferred them to Elaine. Elaine feels stronger with this knowledge and finally releases Cordelia, as the Virgin Mary once released her â€Å"Its ok, you can go home now.† Elaine’s mourning is over and she is free of Cordelia, she can see clearly now- â€Å"The snow in my eyes withdraws like smoke† and is starting to make sense of her past. Atwood also uses Elaine’s misconception of Cordelia to exemplify how our ‘refracted’ view of others substantially affects our view of ourselves and the world; our experience of the present is coloured by our past events. Elaine realises that all these years, she still did not ‘know’ Cordelia, supporting Atwood’s dispute of the notion that there can really be a ‘fixed’ and ‘knowable’ identity. Atwood employs this metaphor in order to position the reader to be receptive to the idea  that our views on others, the world, and ourselves are not absolute but equivocal. In Cat’s Eye the first person limited narration is unreliable in the sense that Elaine cannot ‘see’ enough – either because of her own maturation and desires and the forces conditioning them, or of the consequences of her choices. The novel questions whether ‘lives’, ‘stories’ or autobiographical narratives can ever be accurate. A novel that presents a straightforward linear narrative that moves through events sequentially and constructs a complete set of ideas about life that seem unproblematic. It accepts that our experience of life, our thoughts and feeling, motivations, movement through time – our very representation in a literary text, can be captured accurately. It implies order, coherence, unity and stability; a rational basis for our actions and thoughts thus presenting a conservative worldview. The structure of Cat’s Eye serves as a critique of this unproblematic view of the world. The novel constantly shifts between past and present and her narration as a young Elaine and an old Elaine. This shifting represents Elaine’s life, as she feels it is barley comprehensible. Because the story is written in first person, its only presents one version of reality- Elaine’s version. This leads us to question Elaine’s version and its accuracy. Atwood’s purpose behind this is to bring to light the complexity of character in Elaine, and highlight her struggle in coming to terms with her own identity. This challenge on the common qualities of autobiographical narratives even leads the reader to question Cat’s Eye as just another version of reality that is presented to us in life. Atwood questions the belief that the individual is knowable and that appearance corresponds with fixed reality; she critiques the notion that reality can be ‘captured’. This is shown through her questioning of autobiographical writing, and is perpetuated through the use of Elaine’s paintings at her gallery Sub-versions. Cordelia subjected Elaine to subtle, psychological bullying as a child, and destroyed her self-confidence, which lasts well into her adult life. Her art is a way of expressing these bottled-up emotions and a means of dealing with her trauma; her art presents a different version of reality of her life, one that she is unable to  confront in her everyday life. â€Å"I can no longer control these paintings, or tell them what to mean. Whatever energy they have came out of me. I’m what’s left over.†Through her art she exerts a power that she did have in her childhood, taking revenge on Mrs. Smeath and confronting other issues such as her bullying in the painting Cat’s Eye, where Elaine appropriates the idea of the pier glass reflecting figures outside the frames of the main picture. This glass hangs behind a self-portrait that shows only half of Elaine’s head and incorporates signs of aging. In her childhood the three girls watch her from behind yet the young Elaine in the picture is turned around, facing her tormentors. The painting symbolises the claiming and relinquishing of control. The child, Elaine looks back at the three girls, the adult Elaine looks back at the outside viewer. The back of the head is crucial: a mirror that shows only the ruined half of your face. Elaine’s art reflects the psychological state she is in and has faced in her childhood. This is symbolic of Elaine looking back on her life and seeing her childhood in a different light-‘Nothing is what it really seems.’ The gallery is appropriately named, contributing to Atwood’s hypothesis; Life is a series of different and conflicting versions of reality, identity and reality are not fixed and the concept of ‘exact truth’ can never be captured. Atwood’s novel Cat’s Eye shapes the reality by which we view the world and ourselves. Our lives operate around security (especially of ourselves) and we generate and understanding and connect ourselves to the world through various versions of reality that we reinforce to become believed ‘absolutes’ upon which we base our lives Without the ‘fixed reality’ we create for ourselves and the absolutes that structure our lives, our sense of purpose, and meaning diminishes. Distress is brought upon us through Cat’s Eye because Atwood critiques our quest for identity as she suggests that we will never ‘know ourselves’ and will never have a fixed identity. It is therefore the reader’s choice on weather to comprehend the notions Atwood is proffering. Atwood uses varied techniques and narrative elements such as imagery, symbolism, and the narrative point of view to allude her beliefs. Through the particular employment of these techniques Atwood strengthens her case to the reader and positions them to support her indited criticisms of a knowable identity, and a fixed reality and truth. Cats Eye challenges the  measurable, and the way we qualify things as knowable and existing and a truth. Bibliography: Atwood, Margaret, Cat’s Eye, Penguin, Montreal 1968

Communication Management

Sometimes we want to be everything to everyone and most of the times we figure that it is impossible to be perfect in the eyes of family, friends, and especially employers. Many times we questioned and judged the way people in management handled situations or themselves. When a mini crisis hits the office, most managers are simply reacting to the situation and have not worked or prepared on proactive steps to avoid such mini-daily crisis. The role of managers comes in three flavors, interpersonal, informational and decisional roles. Sometimes with the help of a mentor (s) we can developed all three, but in most cases we find ourselves being good at one or even two, but we are rarely good at all three. Managers that show great skill in the interpersonal role category have the ability to be a liaison between the company and the many contacts outside the company that can help the business grow, become successful or even get out of bankruptcy like in the case of Chrysler. Most of the managers in this category can be seen as a figurehead that simply performs ceremonial duties (James O’Rourke. IV 2013) I honestly have no way to compare this or any type of management style outside my home. I have never been a manager and that would be my greatest weakness in these particular roles. I know that I am capable of representing my family and employer with great pride, as I charter the rough waters and issues, as they come. But, I know that I work hard at planning and being proactive. I am a person that does not let the current crisis take over my life. It takes time to plan and adjust to new situations, and at the end it always pays off to be proactive. If you do prepare for the worse, hoping for the best, you will always be somewhere in the middle and I am good with that. Informational role managers have the ability to collect, analyze and disseminate many kinds of information (James O’Rourke, IV 2013. ) This is who I would consider to be the floor manager. They are constantly moving information among all immediate employees or family member in my case. This would be the manager role I fit into at this point in time within my family group. I am able to the pinpoint the problem and solution to the problem in rder to bring the group together and accomplished our long-term goals. I spend most of the time making sure all parties involved are able to see the issues from another perspective. I can help them reached an agreement on their own without any of the parties feeling as if they did not get what they wanted out of the deal. The last management role is that of the decisional in which the manager finds him or herself determining who gets what resources, how much, when and why (James O’Rourke, IV 2013. ) This manager also act as a negotiator to those with whom he or she deals on a daily basis (James O’Rourke, IV 2013. I think I fit this description well but again with no prior experience it is very hard to determine where you fit or where you do not fit as a manager. I may have some traits or be able to develop others with the help of the right person as my mentor, but as of right now it would be very hard to say what I could do in any specific situation that calls for a hard decision that may impact any other persons career and life in anyway. It is easy to access ones traits and skills at any point in time, but during a crisis our instinct may take or make a different decision than that of what we are on paper. Reference: James S. O’Rourke, IV, Management Communication A Case –Analysis Approach, Pearson

Example Exam Paper Essay

In Malaysia, however, the practice has never left the school grounds. Caning has always been legal in Malaysian schools. The Education Ordinance 1957 (Amended 1959) allows corporal punishments, such as caning, to be meted out by school authorities, but only to schoolboys. An Education Ministry directive issued in 1994 listed eight offences that could warrant caning: truancy, involvement in criminal activities, obscene and impolite behaviour, loitering, dishonesty, dirty appearance and vandalism. 5 II A probe on human rights awareness among secondary school teachers, students and administrators conducted by researchers from local universities engaged by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia revealed the regular use of the cane in schools. What the inquiry found was a gross breach of a child’s rights committed by teachers and administrators alike. In their findings, out of the 5,754 students who participated in the survey, about 52 per cent of the students surveyed agreed that caning commonly happened in their schools. It took place more often in rural schools than urban ones and almost 80 per cent of the cases occurred at technical schools. 10 15 III Understandably, Â  is disheartened by the findings of its study. Commissioner and education working group chairman, Professor Chiam Heng Keng said that while SUHAKAM understands the need to discipline and punish wrongdoers, it maintains that caning is not the best corrective measure. She further added that caning only tells the child to stop whatever he has done. In other words, it does not address the underlying problem. She stressed that teachers must work with parents to get to the root of the problem. In addition, they also revealed that girls were not spared the rod. Almost seven per cent of female respondents from girl schools had reported this. Under the present Child Act 2001, only boys between the ages of 10 and 18 may be subjected to corporal punishment. 30 35 V Last October, the Ministry of Education allowed teachers other than 40 headmasters, principals and those involved in disciplining students to use the cane. The decision followed the rise in cases of assault on teachers and gangsterism in schools. It was recommended that only certain teachers be empowered to cane students. Ideally, they should have at least 10 years of teaching experience and be married with children. 45 VI The secretary-general of the National Union of the Teaching Profession, Lok Yim Pheng, admitted that there are other ways of disciplining a student. These include imposing fines, sending students to detention class and making parents sign a pledge to ensure that their children do not misbehave.