Feedback in learning Essay

1.0What is feedback?:â€Å"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great inspires† William Arthur Ward A teacher carries a big responsibility in area of learning. Some people believe a teacher’s job is to teach and a student’s job is to learn. In today’s classroom, the role of teacher is totally different. Teacher as a facilitator of learning, mentor for learner and classroom supporter. The excellent teacher will take various actions in way to help their students to be successful in their life. So that, one of the action is teacher should provide assessment feedback in way to enhance the learning. Feedback is normally something which happens as a result of cycle teaching and learning action. It can give either before, during or after the learning had been occurs. Generally, what is feedback? Is it guidance, evaluation or praise? As mentioned by Ramaprasad (1983), feedback is information about the gap be tween the actual level and the reference level of a system parameter which is used to alter the gap in some way. Furthermore, the definition by Ramaprasad also supported of new research by Shute (2007) that define the feedback as represent information communicated to the learner that is intended to modify the learner’s thinking or behaviour for the purpose of improving learning. Hence, in learning, feedback should usually presented as information to a student in response to some action on the current level of performance and help them to be better. Correspondingly the educationist agree that assessment feedback is an important part of learning cycle but nowadays students frequently express disappointment and frustration in relation to the conduct of the feedback process. Students may complain that feedback on assessment is unhelpful or unclear and not provide any tips to them to improve their current performance. As a result, students will always repeat the mistake until they get to know the correct answers. Studies of the impact on student learning achievement indicate that feedback has the potential to have a significant effect on student learning achievement (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Feedback should give immediately during the learning process. That can really help student to do self-reflection on their quality of learning. They can figure out did he/she in the right track and how to improve their understanding. Types of feedback: Main focus of given assessment feedback is to describes qualities of work in relation to the learning target. Teacher should give attention to the quality of their written feedback. There are two types of feedback, evaluative feedback and descriptive feedback. Evaluative feedback refers to a summary of student current achievement or performed on the particular task. This feedback is often come out with letter of grades, numbers, check marks, symbols and generals comment such as â€Å"good†, â€Å"excellent† and â€Å"need help†. While, descriptive feedback is specific or detail information in the form of written comments or conversations that help the student understand what he/she needs to do in improve their level of understanding. There are several examples of evaluative and descriptive feedback: Evaluative Feedback Descriptive Feedback â€Å"Try harder next time† â€Å"Your topic discussion is clear and have good examples, your next step might be to check back your grammatical errors† â€Å"90%! A+! Excellent Work! Keep it up!† â€Å"You’re made some simple mistakes in your calculation, remember back the formula use. Please check back the first step until the last step in your calculation for question 10.† Table 1: Examples of Evaluative and Descriptive Feedback Based on examples given, evaluative feedback more to provide a judgement on the quality of the learning task that student did while descriptive feedback focus on helps the student understand what he or she needs to do to improve their current achievement. Besides that, evaluative feedback shown to us those teachers only tells learner or students how they compare to others and descriptive feedback will provide specific information in the form of written comments or conversations more help learner. Regardless of the types of feedback given, either evaluative or descriptive, effective feedback needs to be informative, prompt and guiding. Informative feedback highlights strengths and weaknesses, giving specific examples or explanations. Prompt feedback is returned to students within an agreed timescale for the work submitted. Guiding feedback offer suggestions about how students can improve their learning. All of that combining together to help students to do better the next time. This statement also have support  by Hattie and Timperley (2007), they mention that the most improvement in student learning takes place when students got information feedback about the task and how to do more effectively. Below are examples of evaluative and descriptive feedback given by teachersFeedback as teaching style of scaffolding: As we already know, feedback provides information and guide to students by teachers about learning. That is one criteria of scaffolding. Scaffolding is the core of traditional apprenticeship. It is refers to given support that provides by expert or teacher as steps to improve their learning. It helps to reduce the gap between the student current level of understanding or performance and a desired goal. According to Hattle and Timperley (2007), they mention that depending on the nature and delivery of the feedback, it can have powerful positive effects on student learning and engagement. Beside that in the research by Assessment Reform Group (2002) , also mention that feedback as coaching and scaffolding students. The given feedback is an essential practice of assessment for learning. The process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learner and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there by helping of teachers. That the main reason why the teacher’s feedback important, providing the support necessary for student to proceed towards the next stage or level and achieving the learning goal. Student will view the feedback as improving tips in which students receive information and construct meaning to close the gap. The students need to do something based on the guided giving in the feedback. Scaffolding instructional originated from Vygotsky’s ideas on learning. Vygotsky’s comes out with two levels of learning development. The first level is Actual Development that what learner has already reached. It is the level which the learner is capable of solving problems independently. The second level is called Potential Development which the learner not capable of doing the moment but have potential to do so. Between the actual and potential levels, Vygotsky said that there was what was called a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Proximal means next. In context of feedback, it should act as scaffold by providing tips and support necessary for student to proceed the next stage or level. Without the support students may be unable to accomplish the target. As the result, students will extend their understanding and make improvement. Figure 3: ZPD (Zone of Proximal  Development) Diagram When teacher incorporate scaffolding in feedback, they become more to mentor and facilitator of knowledge rather than the dominant content expert. This teaching style that include with scaffolding will make student active role in class to achieving learning goal. Besides that, it also provides a welcoming and caring learning environment. â€Å"I take care of you and I hope you will be success in future†. Expiration in feedback on student assessment will make them realize that even they did wrong is not means he/she is stupid student. They have room to improve. As conclusion, the best assessment feedback, scaffold student to achieve the higher performance in learning target. Feedback as affective domain in learning: Since 1950’s, research have been done in cognitive theory and educationist had use the Bloom’s (1956) taxonomies of learning. Bloom has mentioned that in learning should have three learning domains. The cognitive domain, affective domain and psychomotor domain. Feedback is referring to affective domain. In affective domain includes feeling, emotion, attitudes, values and motivation. As students that receiving the feedback, they need all of the aspect that include in affective domain. Teacher should play with all of these aspects. Teacher must provide clear understanding. Feedback should be brief, concise statements, in student-friendly language that describe what students are to know and be able to do at the end of feedback. Feedback can be one of the ways to encourage positive motivational belief and self-esteem. There are some ideas for motivating students. Teachers can start the feedback with praises like good job, excellent job, great, brilliant idea, â€Å"You are starting to understand this but†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"This is quality work because†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"Two things you really did well are†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and many more on what they do well. Praise the work or process that focus in achieving the learning goal. Second step, teachers proceed with intervention that tells the student what needs improving and give enough information in way to help them to do better. It can sound like â€Å"Your thinking shows†¦.†, â€Å"One thing to improve on†¦..†, â€Å"You need more†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ , and many more. Next step, teachers share the improvement strategies such as â€Å"Your next steps might be†¦..†, and â€Å"You might try†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The ways that teachers give the  feedback have relationship with the flow of affective domain as described by Krathwohl et.al (1964). They start with receiving, responding, valuing, organizing and ended with acting. Students will receiving the feedback as their new information of mark, wrong answers and the current level that he/she mastering the knowledge. Am I really understood or I just understand little bit? Step 2, responding. Students will respond on feedback given by teacher. They being actively participating bas ed on feedback given to achieve learning goal. Step 3, valuing. They attaching worth to feedback given and try to do correction on the task. After they do the correction, they will organize the new concept and change their existing understanding. The last is characterization. They have the correct understanding and will apply the concept in correct way without misconception. It is the effective way that feedback can help students learn better in positive environment in implement the affective domain. Feedback will demonstrate appropriate ways of enhancing the performance on the task and offer strategies that invite more learner responsibility to improve. â€Å"Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire† William Butler Yeats Feedback as reflection on learning process: Reflection needed students to capture back on their performance in the task given. It also needs students to have clear comparison about their previous performance and current performance. There are three types of reflection that suite with the feedback: reflection on your process, comparison of your performance to that of others and comparison of your performance to a set of criteria for evaluating performance (Schon, 1983). How feedback can be as reflection on learning process? Firstly, reflect on the feedback process. By feedback, students are encourages to look back at how they react and given answer on the task. Teachers will describes the qualities of work in relation to the learning targets. That can make them see how they might have done better and what they need to improve. That is the first step as feedback starter, reflect on achievement. Second, compare of student performance with others. These types of reflection are referring to evaluative feedback. In evaluative feedba ck teachers will give grades, numbers, check marks, symbols and generals comment such as â€Å"good†,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"excellent† and â€Å"need help†. Based on the feedback, students analyze by comparing their performance with friends in hope he/she will motivate to achieve better. The final types of reflection are comparison of student performance to a set of criteria for evaluating performances. These are focus on intervention and improvement that include in feedback. Teachers will share idea on what students needs to improve and gives enough information so the students will knows what the next step to apply. That really show the function of feedback as reflection, facilitates the development of self-assessment in learning.Conclusion: Assessment feedback should play as important role in teaching and learning. Firstly, feedback is a way that teacher can use to determine and analyse how far your student gain the knowledge and what should you suggest to them in helping them success in mastery the knowledge. Secondly, assessment feedback will attract low achievement students to be active learner and more motivated to achieve the learning goal. Overall, assessment feedback should take as important aspect in learning process. Teacher need to apply and change the feedback given in way to help student to be success in future.

Urbanisation

Urbanisation in the world today is an ongoing process that has a profound impact on people's living conditions and health status. The globalisation of markets, the desire for higher education, increased use of communication, and new information technologies are the driving forces behind this process. The urbanisation process has marked effects on the natural and cultural environment, on housing arrangements and social networks, as well as on work and employment patterns, not only in the cities, but also in the rural areas.Access to health care, social services, and cultural activities are in many cases better in the cities, but there the access may not be evenly distributed among the population. Problem of urbanization is manifestation of lopsided urbanization, faulty urban planning, urbanization with poor economic base and without having functional categories . Hence India's urbanization is followed by some basic problems in the field of : 1) housing, 2) slums, 3) transport 4) water supply and sanitation, 5) water pollution and air pollution, 6)inadequate provision for social infrastructure ( school, hospital, etc ).Class I cities such as Calcutta , Bombay, Delhi, Madras etc have reached saturation level of employment generating capacity (Kundu,1997). Since these cities are suffering from of urban poverty, unemployment, housing shortage, crisis in urban infra-structural services these large cities can not absorb these distressed rural migrants i. e poor landless illiterate and unskilled agricultural labourers. Hence this migration to urban class I cities causes urban crisis more acute. 2 Most of these cities using capital intensive technologies can not generate employment for these distress rural poor.So there is transfer of rural poverty to urban poverty. Poverty induced migration of illiterate and unskilled labourer occurs in class I cities addressing urban involution and urban decay. 3 Indian urbanization is involuted not evoluted ( Mukherji, 1995). Poverty induced migration occurs due to rural push . Megacities grow in urban population (Nayak,1962) not in urban prosperity, and culture. Hence it is urbanization without urban functional characteristics.These mega cities are subject to extreme filthy slum and very cruel mega city denying shelter, drinking water, electricity,  sanitation ( Kundu,,Bagchi and Kundu, 1999) to the extreme poor and rural migrants. 4 Urbanisation is degenerating social and economic inequalities ( Kundu and Gupta, 1996) which warrants social conflicts, crimes and anti-social activities. Lopsided and uncontrolled urbanization led to environmental degradation and degradation in the quality of urban life—-pollution in sound, air, water, created by disposal of hazardous waste. Illiterate, low- skill or no-skill migrants from rural areas are absorbed in poor low grade urban informal sector at a very low wage rate and urban informal sector becomes in-efficient and unproductive.

The Importance Of The Political Philosophy For The State And Society Essay

The Importance Of The Political Philosophy For The State And Society - Essay Example States have long used enemies as a justification for their existence (IE population will support them for supposed protection from an enemy). Hardt and Negri’s book Empire, argues that the modern state has shifted its definition of the enemy from traditional ones, such as ideology (IE Communism) or state (for instance during European wars), to a violator of law - states manufacture the enemy as a sort of criminal (83). States have thus maneuvered themselves into a situation where any opposition to the state represents a deviant nature and something that the state has an obligation to address. In Hardt and Negri’s understanding, the enemies of the state are no longer extramural – they are in fact by definition within the state, a part of the state structure. This differs from classical neoliberal understandings of Empire, which address Empire building through expansion beyond borders, especially in an economic sense. In interpreting the quotation â€Å"Hitherto the philosophers have only interpreted the world: the point, however, is to transform it,† it is important to remember the origin of philosophy as a tradition of knowledge. Philosophy started as a form of ancient science – before standards of experimentation, testability and so on were developed, philosophers attempted to use reason to form a better understanding of the world around them. Modern science has since taken up much of the challenge of interpreting the world, by using a structured system of logic and experimentation to build causal relationships between physical phenomenon. Science has thus continually eroded the traditional realm of philosophy, especially once it started addressing the state of the human mind through neuroscience.

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

English - Essay Example Holding graduations has entailed invitation of influential and successful speakers to the University. The graduating class of 2013 also requires a successful and influential speaker for the event. Scrutiny of diverse speakers leads to preference of Michael Hayman. This was the founder of Seven Hills, a major communications and campaigns organization (Nicolao, 2012). Therefore, this is an eminent and influential icon across the British society. Hayman has attended diverse graduation events in Colleges and Universities. He has also hosted interviews for diverse speakers and public figures in diverse graduations. Hayman would definitely formulate the most appropriate speaker for 2013 graduation ceremony in Oakland University. Public speaking requires a set of characteristics from the speaker (Marathe, 2007). There are a set of ideal characteristics that Hayman possesses that qualify him the invitation to Oakland’s graduation ceremony in 2013. All these characteristics in Hayman r emain extremely relevant for this very season in Oakland University’s graduation. Ethos is a major speaking attribute that Hayman possesses. Students in the Oakland University have attained a sense of maturity with time. With the time of schooling and research, students in Oakland University have attained psychological he maturity. ... In this case, public figures and icons have a positive effect towards an audience (Sprague, 2013). Definitely, Hayman is a profound icon with immense ideological influence towards the Oakland audience. Human nature stipulates that we believe in individuals whom we respect. Oakland University graduates would look up to an accomplished individual in society. Hayman has established his professional path, and is a major icon in his field. He pursued higher education to doctorate level. He also founded an eminent organization in Britain (Nicolao, 2012). These achievements and level of success would definitely inculcate immense credibility amongst the Oakland University graduates. Hayman’s expertise and professional success would definitely contribute significantly to the ethos domain of his speech. Michael Hayman is therefore a suitable speaker for the 2013 graduation ceremony in Oakland University. Time management is a paramount virtue in public speaking (Sprague, 2013). Outstandi ng speakers know the exact time to conclude their session. An ideal speech inculcates yearn into the audience. It does not exceed time limits to the extent of boredom (Kumar, 2011). Graduates of the year 2013 in Oakland University possess complex and youthful minds. Their cognitions are characterized with high analytic capability and comprehension. In this case, they require a speaker who is sensitive with the time factor. Oakland University holds its graduation ceremonies in open venues occupied by immense numbers. Therefore, speakers ought to have impeccable time management skills during the ceremony. Graduates in Oakland University would definitely attain maximum benefit from the speech, if the speaker observes time. Hayman has a record of outstanding time management capabilities

What are the pronciples that need to underpin the planning and Essay

What are the pronciples that need to underpin the planning and devlivery of Collective worship in a Catholic School - Essay Example But recently these concepts had been redefined under the 1988 Education Reform Act (ERA), which provided the legal framework behind the collective worship principle in schools in Great Britain today. This law is responsible for most of the reforms that took place in British schools in the past decades. In the context of collective worship, the ERA sought to modify the 1944 statute by mandating that collective worship is a â€Å"broadly Christian character if it reflects the broad traditions of Christian belief without being distinctive of any particular Christian denomination.† (Edge 2002, p. 305) According to the DFE religious education in schools should seek: to develop pupil’s knowledge, understanding and awareness of Christianity, as the predominant religion in Great Britain, and the other principal religions represented in the country; to encourage respect for those holding different beliefs; and to help pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural developm ent. (cited in Wright and Brandom 2000, p. 15) And collective worship is an integral part of this initiative as it is believed that it will be able to achieve for students an understanding of how to live in the modern society. In addition, collective worship is seen as a tool that is available to teachers to complement educational purposes. Wright and Brandom summed up six key aims of collective worship in school: The first is a moral one because collective worship analyses contemporary issues affecting young people and presents varying responses to them; the second seeks to help students identify and think about themselves, of the mysterious universe in which their lives are set and of the strangeness of modern living; the third is about helping student develop their values further; the fourth focuses and celebrates the shared values manifested by respective school communities; the fifth pertains to the encouragement of community spirit, interaction and relationship

Summery3-318 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Summery3-318 - Essay Example Therefore, a vertical line represents the GDP in the graph. Note that a change in employment or output implies a direct positive impact on the GDP and thus there will be a horizontal shift in the vertical line representing GDP in such cases. However, like the level of interest rate, changes in the price level also has no direct impact on the GDP and thus, the GDP line would remain stationary if there was a change in the price level. Figure 1: Graphical representation of GDP The next step is to add the APE into this set up. Assuming a simple linear form under typical assumptions, we can have the following expression:  Note that a, b and c are all positive fractions. ‘a’ represents the autonomous part of planned expenditure, while b represents the marginal propensity to expend out of income and c represents the marginal expenses induced by interest rate changes. Figure 2: Adding in the APE – the horizontal intercept of the APE line is a+b(GDP0) as i=0 along the ho rizontal axis by definition. To graph this relationship into the set up introduced previously, first note that the interest rate has an inverse relationship with APE implying that the graph will slope upwards to the left, i.e., the APE wil fall (rise) following an increase (decrease) in the interest rate. ... expression clearly implies that the IS relationship can be plotted as a straight line which has a horizontal intercept equal to  which lies to the right of a+b(GDP0) and rises upwards to the left with a flatter incline compared to the APE line (since the coefficient on I is c for the APE line while it is c/(1-b) for the IS line. This is shown in the diagram below (figure 3) Figure 3: Adding in the IS line Observe that due to the particular specifications of each of these lines, there will always be an intersection or a common point were the lines cross. Suppose that if there is a change in GDP, the GDP line will move horizontally to the right in case of an increase or to the left in case of a decrease and the APE line will also shift in the same direction but by a smaller magnitude. The shift will be b times the shift in the GDP line. The IS line will remain unchanged. Alternatively if there is a change in the APE line, then the GDP line will remain stationary but the IS line will shift upwards or downwards in accordance to the direction of the change in the APE line. However, the crucial point to note here is that due to these coordinated movements, that these lines will intersect is necessarily ensured. Since by definition the IS line is the locus of combinations of the interest rate and the GDP such that APE=GDP, we can trace the IS line by allowing the GDP to change, letting the APE curve shift in accordance and connecting the new intersection points. The final point to note in this context is that if the GDP shifts first, then the APE will also shift in response and the IS line shall remain stationary. However, if the APE line shifts by itself (say due to a change in a), then the GDP line remains stationary, while the IS line shifts. ASF which is defined as the

MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES FOR THE Research Paper

MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY - Research Paper Example A Multinational Corporation (MNC) is an enterprise engages in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which possesses or built facilities, operates and controls value-added undertakings in many countries. A firm is considered an MNC when 25% of its production and services output came from external through trading and services as well as infuse capital, technology, and managerial expertise to undertake production in foreign countries (Spero & Hart, 1997). Economists posit that a company is considered multinational when it has nurtured a number of affiliates or has subsidiaries in other countries; operate in an array of services and operations globally; gather high rate or percentile of assets, revenues, or profits; its human capital, stockholders, and administrators composed of varied nationalities, and their offshore operations are extensive, ambitious, and inclusive of manufacturing, research and developments (Spero et.al.1997, p 117). Often, the subsidiary company got financial and supervisory support from its parent company or may undertake joint venture in the operations. The financial transfer is called by economists as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which is aimed at controlling some offshore assets and when it invests capital to a subsidiary in other nation by purchasing an enterprise or by feeding capital to commence a new operation (Spero et.al.1997). Sometimes, MNCs does portfolio investment by buying stock or bonds from a national corporation (Spero et.al.1997). Many MNCs are engaged in extractive industries, manufacturing of technology, banking and finance, and the like, but in its corporate management, they are distinct in their technological capacity, corporate structure and the nature of products and services they introduced to the market (Spero et.al.,1997). Their characteristics illustrate that their profit sometimes is more that the gross domestic product (GDP) in almost 170 nations (Spero et.al.1987, p. 119) because they

Respond what you agree with and disagree with and why Essay

Respond what you agree with and disagree with and why - Essay Example The wars in Vietnam and Korea produced a whole generation of veteran warriors who suffers from all possible psychological and behavioural disorders. This generated some sort of butterfly effect to their families and communities, who were also involved in dealing with the post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the war. I disagree with Auchincloss statement that after the World War II, the US felt obligated to intervene in the world affairs. I believe that the US wanted to prove that it is greater political and economic power after the World War II, when the rivalry between the Soviet Union and USA started. I am of the opinion that US intervened in all worldwide political matters only to show its growing military power. The only reason why US intervened was to get a head starts before the Soviets. Everything was a competition – who will send the first astronaut in space, who will have the nuclear weapons, who will land on the

E-Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

E-Business Strategy - Essay Example Internet’s effects on planning are immensely significant to understand. This is because the world of Internet is very varied and takes into consideration a number of aspects including the one related with the change premise. This means that technological manifestations are moving ahead at a bottleneck speed and it is usually difficult to keep a track of what new changes are hitting the business domains within the World Wide Web. His is one of the reasons why Internet is being seen both as a hurdle and as an area where opportunities could be discerned at the very best. Internet motivates planning in the way that it creates room for understanding simple logic and how things are planned out in a sequential format or even randomly. It brings the entire focus back in the fray of the planning domains and this is something that planning does at the end of the day. Internet is such a giant that it is always seen as a platform which will instill change for all the right reasons, shapes and sizes. An example of this is in the form of the revolutionary changes that are taking place within the social media enterprises and networks that even the most adequately placed social networking guru finds it hard unless he has planned beforehand. He must make sure where he has to set his sails and then go about making the best use of the Internet in the long run through sound planning phases.

Creating and Sustaining an Organisational Learning Culture Essay

Creating and Sustaining an Organisational Learning Culture - Essay Example One such company is the centre of this paper. Look Ahead Housing and Care is a charitable housing association that offers specialist housing, care and support. It was first established in 1973 by Mary Jones and a group of concerned individuals. Jones was a retired senior civil servant from the Department of Health and Social Services. Jones and the group envisioned a company that would provide good quality and cheap accommodations for the needy and most vulnerable in the society. From a humble beginning of its first property acquisition in 1974, Look Ahead is now able to support 5000 people across more than 60 projects. The company owns a several properties that provide different types of accommodations. These include hostels for single homeless people, registered care homes, flats and studio-type accommodations for families with support needs. Customers receive support though guidance regarding benefits, budgeting, training, employment, education and general life skills to equip them live their lives fully and become independent contributors to the society. The annual income of the company is in excess of 29.5 million. Currently, Look Ahead employs around 600 staff providing service and care. In 2008, the company was recognised in the prestigious Sunday Times as part of the "100 Best Companies to Work For." It has made the company proud as an employer of choice. It is an achievement that acknowledges the passion and commitment of the company in delivering first-rate service to the society and to employees. Through the dedication, commitment and hard work of management and staff, Look Ahead Housing and Care has developed to become a leading housing and social care provider to vulnerable people in London and the South East. Strategic Objectives Look Ahead's mission is to enable those with particular needs to live ordinary lives within the community. They aim to become enablers of vulnerable people through positive transformation of their lives, and empowerment of individuals in order for them to become active participants in the community. In order to achieve the organisation's goals, Look Ahead has established several strategic objectives in the whole organisation. As a member of the charity-service sector, their first objective is to promote customer involvement, choice and citizenship. This can be achieved through supporting and enabling customers to participate in a wide range of involvement activities; using feedback mechanisms from customer survey to improve services; and implementation of a social inclusion strategy. As part of the community, their second objective is to build and maintain strong partnership. This can be attained by raising and strengthening the company's relationship with purchasers, funders and the local community. Mapping the stakeholders' relationships with the company across all services is made possible by means of local business plans, specialist forum and borough liaison meetings. As an organisation, their third objective is to achieve growth through excellence. The company aims to meet or exceed targets for new business growth and design innovative services. The company also prioritise seeking opportunities for service expansion while delivering efficiency gains. They also commit to deliver ongoing improvements in service quality and performance. As an employer, the fourth objective of Look Ahead is to enable staff to excel in their roles. The

Suffering in Christianity Essay Example for Free

Suffering in Christianity Essay 1. Consider how any single religious tradition copes with the problem of suffering and evil in the world. Nearly every human being on earth has asked this common question. â€Å"Why all the suffering and evil in this world? ’. The presence of evil and suffering has forced adherents of all religious traditions to question their beliefs, their religious identity and their understanding of the ultimate reality. Christians in particular, are faced with these questions and life situations of suffering and evil, confronted to them, on a daily basis. When confronted with life situations they have questioned why an all powerful and an all loving God would allow this to happen. There has been a variety of responses to these questions. Christians have explained suffering and evil as, ultimate judgement of sin, consequences in living in a fallen world, and perhaps the idea of the world not being created in a perfects sense. These are just one of the many responses Christians have thought. However, even though Christians may never know the definite explanation, Christians cope with the idea of evil and suffering by finding ways to respond to it. With the idea of love and compassion taught by Jesus Christ, their goal is to find multiple ways to end suffering and evil through various organizations, actions, deeds and prayers. This illustrates that Christians respond to suffering so the creation of an ideal society in which all suffering and evil can be eliminated. Furthermore, Christians can come to experience the new kingdom of Christ, where love, peace and tranquillity are the centre of all. Suffering which is remotely linked to evil, forces adherents to understand the different kinds of suffering, and how it affects their outlook on life and death. The website â€Å"Suffering and the problem of Evil† states that â€Å"Human suffering, takes on many forms: emotional, natural, and moral. Loneliness, anxiety, and grief are examples of emotional suffering. Fires, tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, and physical illness are examples of natural suffering. Moral suffering is brought on by the deliver act acts of a fellow human beings to cause suffering, something Christians call a moral evil† (Suffering and the problem of Evil. 2013) This demonstrates the result of moral evil leading to emotional, physical and even at times natural disasters. Suffering therefore brings Christians back to reality, to come into realisation with their mortality, which is very easily ignored. It demonstrates the flaws and hints of Christian’s coming death â€Å"It removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortess of a rebel† (Lewis, Problem of Pain, pg 83) It creates an atmosphere, ultimately, in which Christian’s thoughts are directed towards God. â€Å"God whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts us in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world† (Lewis, Problem of Pain, pg 84). The painful statement of Lewis states, demonstrate the truth about death. That death is horrific no matter what form it may take. So suffering in a Christian perspective, allows them to gently prod on their consciousnesses and forces them to understand that suffering may indeed lead to their future deaths, if they were to leave suffering without response. However if Christians can cast their doubt and turn to God, it can therefore bring a foundation of a new thinking, attitude, hope and living, not only to themselves, but to their faith. In the book of Corinthians, the apostle Paul states â€Å"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies†, which demonstrate this tension. Furthermore, the term â€Å"suffering and evil† provides many benefits to the Christian Faith. Suffering provides Christians to give proof of the genuineness of their faith, and to serve to purify, and carry their faith. It provides the opportunity for believers to demonstrate their love for each other as adherents of the body of Christ who â€Å"bear one another’s burdens† (Gal 6:2) D. A Carson a Reformed Evangelical Theologian once stated that â€Å"experiences of suffering. engender compassion and empathy.. and make us better to help others† (Carson, 122). This demonstrates how experiences of a Christian’s own suffering and comfort they receive from the ultimate reality, makes Christians more equipped to help those who are still in suffering and victims of evil. Just as the apostle Paul states in the Book of Corinthians â€Å"Who comforts us in all of our troubles; so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God†. ( 2 Corin 1:4) However most importantly, Christians can cope with suffering and evil as their affliction in God increases them to follow God’s will. In the Book of Hebrews, Jesus â€Å"learned obedience from the things he suffered (Heb 5:8). He learnt the value and significance of submitting the will to God, even at the time it was the most difficult thing in the world o do. Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision, witnessed this kind of teaching and devotion God, when World Vision visited Sri Lanka to provide aid and emergencies to those who were victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami â€Å" Many people in Sri Lanka though, who were directly affected , were asking a different question. They were asking how they could not believe in God as a result of the tsunami, since God was all they had left† (Bible Study, Where is God in Suffering- World Vision. 013) Suffering and evil also provides Christians to improve on the relationship with other human beings, and to fulfil and follow their faith, in restoring compassion and God again in Christianity. Tim Costello provides an in depth view of how Christians can respond to suffering and evil, in the mindset of fulfilling faith and God’s word. In an interview he proclaims â€Å"Faith is incredibly important for me. In religious terms, I believe salvation is everything that restores the crippled image in God- dirty water, not enough food. Sin I think is everything that cripples the image of God- not having access to education, injustice, inopportunity. For me that faith position that I believe everyone, despite the lottery of latitude, is made in the image of God is really the core of my faith and my life’ (Full Transcript, Tim Costello Enters the zone. 2013) Tim Costello places emphasis that Jesus challenges Christians to test out their faith, by responding to suffering, to encourage salvation and eliminate sin. He believes that every human being is made in the likeness of God, so therefore all human beings should be treated with love and compassion. This can lead to the faith of Christianity and God to be restored, which has been abruptly destroyed by sin. God taught Christians the demonstrating of compassion by entering the world it in the form of Jesus, who suffered and died for all Christians. He demonstrated that God is not a God who rules from above but carries from below. Therefore he taught all Christians, to continue the work of compassion and faith through Jesus Christ by responding to suffering. As what Jesus Christ said in the Book of John â€Å"as the Father sent me, I send you† (John 20:21) Suffering and evil have sometimes encouraged Christians to devote their lives entirely to helping those with evil and suffering. Not only do they devote their lives to this, but they also provide other Christians encouragement to contribute in the smallest way, in ending suffering. They have taught not only to the Christian faith, but to all religious traditions, how to incorporate Jesus teachings, but more specifically, love and hope. Mother Teresa is one of the many influential Christians who have taken upon this life. Throughout her life, she went out and lived her faith by seeing her God in every human being in front of her, especially the sick, the aged, and the abandoned. She served God by serving God in them, demonstrating that she lived the Gospel with every breath in her body. She established hospitals for the sick and dying, and started the religious new order, the Missionaries of Charity, in Calcutta which is now practiced and spread throughout the world. She was devoted in caring for the poorest of the poor, the sick and the dying. She clean them, feed them, pray with them, and serve them as their spent their last hours in dignity. She demonstrated compassion for those who were less fortunate then she is, as she once said to a man who she was picking muggets off his face â€Å"You pray to your God, and I will pray to Jesus for your healing† With the many attitudes and teachings that Jesus Christ and the Father have provided to their adherents, Christians have also devised many organizations and appeals in contributing to help those who are suffering and victims of evil. In example, many Christians have responded to those who are suffering in extreme poverty. There are many Christian organizations that deal with this. These are World Vision, Compassion International, Salvation Army, Christian Aid and many more. All of these organizations also â€Å"have principles of the Christian religion in their charters† (What are the type of Different Christian NGOS? 2013) In example, the Salvation Army vision is â€Å"a growing, loving, community of people dynamically living God’s mission in a broken world† (The vision, mission and values of the Salvation Army. 2013) Compassion International places emphasis on â€Å"recognizing the suffering of others, then take action to help† (Meaning of Compassion. 013) While all may have different mechanisms in responding to the issue of poverty, they all place emphasis on ending suffering and taking action. As the Book of Timothy says â€Å"They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life† (1 Timothy 6:18) Conclusively, Christianity provides adherents to respond to suffering and evil, in order to cope with it. Christians are challenged and called by Jesus Christ, to realise the destruction of suffering and evil to all people of the world, and to act on it. Christians are called to act with love and compassion as they serve their faith and Lord, by providing essential needs, love and faith to all those who are still encountering suffering. However furthermore they are called to act as a collective and restore the image of faith and Christianity, and to provide hope, so a world of suffering and evil can soon be eliminated.

Reflective Essay on Engineering Experience

Reflective Essay on Engineering Experience Introduction CE 3.1Â  It was during my second semester of Masters for Mechanical Engineering in UNSW, my father decided to lay the foundations of our new house back in Pakistan. I requested my father to refrain from hiring a contractor to install central air conditioner. The trigger being the fact that I had learnt fundamentals of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) during my Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering and I wanted to gain some more knowledge in my Masters degree, only to design my own HVAC system in my newly built house. I studied Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) in UNSW, Sydney in the same time and completed a project under Professor Dr. Chris Menictas. Background CE 3.2 The day is still vivid clear in my mind. I was in sixth grade when my father had to throw food in the bin as it went stale due to broken fridge. The technician came in to fix the black round box (later I learnt it was a compressor) I welcomed him with lots of annoying questions. He was patient enough to quench my thirst of questions and before leaving he handed me out a mini booklet which was nothing less than a wonderland. The book taught me about the essentials and importance of Refrigeration and how our life is predominantly dependent on it. The curiosity and drive to know more about it landed me in my Bachelors degree of Mechanical Engineering as the prospectus was full of the RAC (Refrigeration and Air Conditioning) course insights. Since then, I had never looked back and grew more confident to fit air conditioning system in my home. UNSW is rated amongst the top ranked universities around the globe. State of the art laboratories and updated softwares always give you an added advantage over your peers. Blessed enough to widen my engineering horizons in UNSW, I came across an RAC software named as CAMEL which trimmed my engineering skills in a positive way. I would sit in the laboratory and play with it for hours to pick up my game and I did very well as in the same course I was honored to head a project and perform heating and cooling load calculations of a newly constructed building composed of two floors divided into two zones upper zone , Z1 lower zone Z2. Nature of Project CE 3.3 This project included the calculation of heating and cooling load of two story building. The calculations were done manually and through famous load calculation software known as CAMEL. Furthermore, it also included different suggestions and techniques on how load reduction can be achieved in the apartment through variations in apartments structures. Objective of the Project CE 3.4 The overall objective of the project was to get real life experience related to load calculations of practical situations. Latent and sensible load had to be calculated including all the real-world possibilities and safety factors. In this project, the calculations of heating and cooling loads of a newly built building are performed. The building comprises of two floors. Ground floor has three sections and first floor has two sections. VRV (Variable Refrigerant Volume) units as air-conditioning were chosen for each level. Other than this, a couple of suggestions were made on reduction of load and increasing the air-conditioning capacity. Nature of My Particular Work Area CE 3.5 In this project, I was acting as the team lead role. I was responsible for several tasks of which some are listed below: I performed initial readings for the project I coordinated between my professor and team members. I was responsible for project planning and progress tracking. I calculated the loads of ground floor through manual calculation. I compared the manual results to the results of CAMEL software. I compiled the report and made technical presentation The way I implemented my project and people management strategies, led my team mates follow in the same footprints to lead their own projects. The chain reaction feed back of developing leaders came to me as a joy and I take pride in it. CE 3.6 Organizational Structure Personal Engineering Activity CE 3.7 First, I divided the project into four major parts and summoned a meeting of my other team members to designate their duties. I made a report on Primavera to set deadlines for the project. One partner was allocated the load calculation of first floor, one was assigned to do software simulations on CAMEL and last one had to make suggestions on how to decrease the load through changes in structures of home. I emailed all of this to my professor too. CE 3.8 To calculate the load manually, I had to use the manual DA-09 to get all the values related to the correction factors, transmission coefficients, absorptivity, reflectivity. My supervisor helped me in understanding how to use the manual. CAMEL was a new software for all of us. So, there were two lab sessions designed to familiarize ourselves with software. Supervisor helped us with all the basics of the software. To get good experience of using it I decided to arrange meetings of all group members so that we could sit together and learn as much as we could through the tutorials and knowledge of individuals. These meetings also helped to understand the manual DA-09, which was very important. As for the most of the calculations we had to get data from the manual. At weekends, every group member had to present the work done during the week. It helped in keeping the track of the progress. These informal meetings helped to keep the harmony and understanding among the group members. If someone was lagging, he was encouraged and helped if required. CE 3.9 I kicked off with the first tier which was research on internet and read books and discussed it with my professor. My major job was to calculate heating and cooling load of ground floor. I researched the major factors of heating a certain place. I made a complete list of them and started with calculations on each of these things. I also made a list of assumptions and the design parameters we already have from our professor. CE 3.10 The second most important task was to know the structure of ground floor. This was already provided to us by our professor. Below is the table which contains all the required data to calculate the loads of the ground floor. CE 3.11 Calculations followed next. The first calculation was of heat gain through each component of the room i.e. floor, roof, walls, windows, electric appliances, doors, glass walls etc. The basic formula used to calculate heat gain through glass windows is given below. Area * Q (w/m2) * correction = Heat gain Solar heat gain is represented by Q. And every glass window has its own correction factor. These values were taken from the manual DA-09. This formula was used for every glass component which was facing sunlight directly. Sample calculations for the glass on west and north are given below: Table 1: Solar heat gain through reference glass (w/m^2) Table 2: Solar characteristics and glass factors West: 2 * 0.9 * 1.2 * 470* 0.94/0.85= 1122.7 W (2 windows .9 x 1.2 m each 0.85 cooling coil efficiency) North: 2* 0.9 * 1.2 * 85 * 0.94/0.85=203.04 W The values of solar heat gain and correction factors were taken from the table 1 2 respectively. CE 3.12 The next part was to calculate solar and transmission gain through walls and roof. Now the equation for heat transfer through the wall is: Q = (Area) * (Equivalent Temperature Differences) * U Here, U represents transmission co-efficient and the value for transmission co-efficient for the material was taken from the manual. Sample calculations for the transmission gain through West, North and South walls are given below. Values for U and Equivalent temperature difference are taken from Table 3 4. Table 3: Equivalent temperature difference (C0) Table 4: Transmission coefficient U-masonry walls (W/m2C) West: 18.84 * 12.8 * 2.01 = 484.71 w North: 12.84 * 16.1 * 2.01 = 415.51 w South: 12.71 * 6.7 * 2.01 = 171.165 w Total Solar and transmission through walls is 1071.385 w CE 3.13 Transmission gain through partitions between different rooms on ground level, doors, glass walls, floor, ceilings were also calculated for correct estimation of the total load. Transmission coefficient for each surface was different due to their material and was taken directly from the manual. Area and temperature difference of each surface was calculated before calculating heat gain. CE 3.14Temperature of the car park was more than the temperature on the ground level so heat was to be transmitted through the floor. To calculate this, I simply calculated the temperature difference, transmission coefficient of the floor and area. For ceiling, because the temperature is the same on the both sides, so, there was no heat transmission through ceiling. CE 3.15 The next part is to calculate the internal heat due to people present in the room. Number of people, diversity factor and heat gain from people was used to calculate the sensible heat gain through people. I used the following equation for this. Q = no of people * diversity factor * heat gain from people It was assumed that the number of males and females were equal. Metabolic factor for the female is 0.85male. Diversity factor and heat gain from people were taken from the manual. CE 3.16 The next step was to calculate the heat from the light sources on the ground floor. Different assumptions were made on the area of ground floor that how much light intensity would be needed. Then based on this light intensity the heat from the lightening sources were calculated. The equation used for this purpose was. Q = Area (m2) * 20 (watt/m2) * diversity factor * storage load CE 3.17Now the next step was to calculate heat generated from different appliances in the room. We had to assume all the devices that can be present in a generic apartment. These include coffee maker, dishwashers, refrigerators and stuff like this. Manual was to take the value of heat gain for different appliances. A range of different appliances was included in the manual. Based on these things the load calculation was done. Similarly, calculations were made about the food being cooked in the kitchen. Safety factor of 5% was used while calculating the total sensible heat from all the sources to tackle any mistake while calculating the load CE 3.18 Internal load had two components; sensible, latent. After calculating total sensible heat, I calculated the total latent heat as well. Safety factor of 5% was used for the total latent heat. After the heat gain was calculated from different resources I had to add these values and calculate the end results. Below tables show the end results of these values. Zone 1 represents the ground floor. CE 3.19 After calculating the total heat gain in summers, all the calculations were repeated using the conditions for the winters and heat loss was calculated for all individual components. Which was in the added up to get the total heat loss in winters. Qs represents the heat gain in summers and Qw represents the heat loss in the winters. Table 5: Results for zone1 (sensible and latent heat) CE 3.21 Now next step was to compare the results of these with simulation results. Me and my colleague compared the results. There was a little bit of difference in the results. This was since CAMEL is advanced software and it accounts for every little thing. Manual calculations are very long process and there is always a little chance of error in it. CE 3.22 To suggest any structural changes in the building for the reduction of overall load, I added different features in the structure i.e. added shades on the windows, reduced the windows area, used different partition materials and wall thickness. I used the CAMEL simulation to see the effect of these changes. By changing some of these parameters I could reduce the load to some extent. Summary: CE 3.23 The day I completed this project I called my dad and asked him to send me blue prints of the house. I started comparing my experimental calculations with my house loads to procure optimum ventilation system components. After three weeks of hard work, I installed the system in my house. I think for me it was nothing less than pulling off a miracle. Starting off with the HVAC basics book, given by the technician to the HVAC course in my Bachelors, then earning a Masters degree and finally ending up designing my own HVAC system based on those heating and cooling calculations reference was nothing less than a dream come true. I really do feel proud of my efforts. So, I would like to conclude by saying that this project helped me achieve my goals to speak of which, as of now, I am on a video call with my dad back in Pakistan who is sitting in that comfy room.

How Celebrity Culture Affects Society Cultural Studies Essay

How Celebrity Culture Affects Society Cultural Studies Essay As we can see that today, the news about celebrities is full on all kind of media. They appear on all kind of communication media from printed media: newspapers, magazines, to television and online media like internet. It can be said that we are living in the century of media innovation together with the development of celebrity culture. For many years ago, if some child was asked about his dream, it would be teacher, pilot, or lawyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ however, today, most of the answers will be to be famous. It is just only one of many impact of celebrity culture on us or even our generation. The significant development of celebrity industry also contributes on those effects. As people see how easy to be or to do something, they will consider it a target to achieve. This is absolutely right with the many ones dream to become celebrities. Furthermore, when the celebrity content becomes daily, it also effects on all of us, especially the young. Their life styles, their behaviorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are often imitated. They are the reasons why I choose this topic: celebrity culture. Of course it a very wide topic to do research, so I decide to narrow it and concentrate on the reason and how does celebrity culture affect our behaviors. I determined my three objectives: 1. To examine the rising tide celebrity culture on newspapers, magazines, TV and the Internet. 2. To explain why many people want to be celebrities. 3. To research the effects of celebrity culture on our behaviour Section B: Analysis of Findings Objective 1: To examine the rising tide celebrity culture in newspapers, magazines, TV and the Internet Together with the media explosion, celebrity culture has become a rising tide on all field of communication industry. Moreover, celebrity content has been foundation to the news of media in the recent century. From the nightly television programmes to mass market magazines to the online edition of newspapers, celebrity news has proved its efficiency to attract attention and to impulse consumption (G.Turner, 2010). In the past, celebrity news might have been limited to a specific range of television outlets and print, it is now a sort of content that can be found right across the media series. The development of new media has leading new ways of introducing, producing and consuming celebrity while online magazines and news which are especially grown as an additional form of the tendency print media has also had an expansive effect (G.Turner 2010). According to Robert van Krieken (2010) said in his article, celebrity which is usually seen as a frothy and unreal topic is also a measure of how superficial contemporary culture has become. However, the celebrity production industry has never ever significantly developed like it today. Also, there is no signal that the limits of the spread of celebrity culture have been reached (G.Turner, 2010). The continuously operating apparatus of celebrity industry along with the growth of digital media has made them the perfect partners who contribute in the expansion of each other. The production of reality TV shows, the rise of Idol, Master Chef, Australias got Talent and others take us to a point that all television formats are produced depending on exploiting people interest in the chance to become a celebrity (G.Turner 2010). It is the celebrity industry which first creates celebrity through the process called celebritisation (G.Turner 2010). For example, the reality TV shows like Idol that many contestants try to express themselves to be recognised through the performance process. This is one among many TV shows which offer people the opportunity to prove themselves to become famous. That is a very first step of the process of transformation (G.Turner 2010). Then, the expansion of digital media the producers and distributors of content through printed and electronic forms magazines, newspapers, television, and now with the development of the various kinds of on-line media would help the celebrities to hold their fame (G.Turner 2010). Those all contribute in the fact that news of celebrities is now full of magazines, newspaper, internet and other kinds of media. William Shakespeare wrote All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players. It is true for movie stars and TV hosts and other celebrities who are famous for being famous (W.Shakespeare, As You Like It, 1600). Objective 2: To explain why many people want to be celebrities It is obvious that the development and efficiency of the media machine help to create a celebrity easier. That means many peoples dreams now easier to be real. Especially, the growth of the reality TV shows make people have more opportunity to appear on TV. Therefore, there are a lot of celebrities who are production of this type of celebrity production industry. A phenomenon called Susan Boyle is an example. A 47-year-old single woman has been the worldwide star just after only one appearance on TV. She had sung the song I dreamed a dream in the TV show Britains got talent (C.Cadwalladr 2010). Then it was like her dream come true when the video of her performance got more than 100 millions views on YouTube. After that, her first album I Dreamed a Dream sold more copies than any others. The story named Susan Boyle like a fairy tale has spread over the world about a talent woman and how easy to become a celebrity (C.Cadwalladr 2010). Furthermore, if someone is the winner in a show, wi th the support of many kinds of media, he could become a celebrity without doubt. What seems to come next to fame? It is wealthy. Statistics show that actors can be paid nearly $US20 million for making a single film (S.Bunbury 2009). But it is not the only source of their income. They are also paid to appear on advertising or to represent a brand. For many years, Australian celebrities efforts are trying to sell us things like hair replacement, air-conditioning, alcoholic drinks, house-and-land packages and fast food. Sarah Murdoch hustles for undies; Gwyneth Paltrow endorses cosmetics; Celine Dion used to represent a car company, Bruce Willis hawks vodka (C.Middendorp 2010). Hence, they can earn millions of dollar from these advertised campaigns (C.Middendorp 2010). Another example is Kylie Minogue who is a famous singer in Australia. She is also known as actress, childrens book author, underwear designer and perfumer. As a result, her net wealth in 2006 is approximately $55 million, according to James Thomson-the editor of BRWs Entertainer Rich List (D.Ziffer, L .Dubecki 2006). However, the obvious prices that most of them have to pay for the fame are their own privacy. The fact is that the celebrities always use media for their self-promotion. So, some people argue that it is unfair for them when the media reports some thing which they want to keep secret. Nevertheless, other said that celebrities take advantage from media to create the ideal figures of them no matter how inaccurate they are, so it has right to tell the truth (B. Haywood 2004). Therefore, some famous celebrities are always followed by the paparazzi and their privacy is exposed on magazines, newspapers. Objective 3: To research the effects of celebrity culture on our behaviour It is obvious that in a society that is obsessed by media and celebrity culture, celebrities have a great impact on everyone. From fashion trends to life style or political views, peoples behaviours, interests and beliefs are strongly affected by celebrities. Furthermore, these celebrity-culture-obsessions usually begin at an early age, therefore, other than adults, teenagers and children are most impressed. They often think of famous people as role model and try to become those figures (C. Shaffer, 2010). For example, there was a research done by the UK research organisation YouGov in 2005 which surveyed a group 800 of 16-19-year-age young people (Cassidy 2006). It showed that 10% of teenagers would leave school to appear on TV if they had opportunity. Sixteen in 100 of them believed they could find success through celebrity industry. Meanwhile, 9% think being famous is the best way to achieve wealthy without qualifications. The positive affects of celebrities are social and environmental effects. Many environmental topics and issues such as global warming, wildlife animal protectionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ could approach the publicity thanks to the celebrities. Tom Hanks, Al Gore, and Leonardo DiCaprio strongly believe in living green lifestyle (C. Shaffer, 2010). These advocacy-celebrities can positively influence people as they would live more eco-friendly and do good thing for environment protection. Furthermore, many celebrities campaigns concerning social issues like charity, helping poor people, HIVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ also have good impacts on people recognition. One example is that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had adopted 3 orphans from different countries (Ethiopia, Cambodia and Vietnam). However, the bad effects also be accompanied by the good effects. The public, with so much exposure to celebrities, could strongly be influenced by their behaviour or even misbehaviour. The fact is that people are imitated by the behaviour associating with success and fame. So, that is the reason why they can have impacts on people, especially the young. Meanwhile, young celebrities can easily affect young people. However, two thirds of 1,007 people in a weekend USA Today Poll believe Hollywood stars are no more likely to get into trouble than other young people (K. Thomas, 2007). Paris Hilton and Linsay Lohan are example. Both of them had to go to jail because of using drugs and driving when they got drunk. Other scandals of the young celebrities concerning with sex, drugs, drunk, clubs, partiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. are exposed daily on many kinds of media. Hence, the downgrading lifestyles of celebrities are seriously affects on young people in general and the next generation in particu lar. No parents want those bad figures to become their childrens role but they could find no way to get rid of their effects. Section C: Self-evaluation Research skills/Procedure Actually, at first, I choose the topic concerning with technology because it seems to be hot and there are plenty of articles and books writing about it. However, I decided the topic celebrity culture because I found I am interesting in it. It is just because of my habit to go online and read news everyday. I was not sure there are any research or articles concerning with this topic, but I had finally chosen what I am interesting in not others are. After the hardest work- choosing topic, I have to determine how I could approach it. I focused on how does celebrity culture affect our behavior, with three objectives: to examine the rising tide celebrity culture on newspapers, magazines, TV and the Internet; to evaluate the cost to be a celebrity; to research the effects of celebrity culture on our behaviour. However, on the process I did the research, I had to change my second objective to to explain why many people want to be celebrities, which seems to be more suitable to my way of approaching the topic. Unfortunately, I could not find any printed resource in Taylors library which could help my research. So, I had to find everything on the Internet. I used google.com and others scholar website on Study Smart to find most of my references and articles. Oral communication skills In the oral presentation, I have chosen to talk about my two first objectives. I think I did well in the oral presentation. I had done this many times before so I did not feel nervous any more when standing in front of crowed. Furthermore, I also control my body language well. I used the outline on cue cards and the power point for my presentation. I did not learn it by heart because I wanted to make it as naturally as I could. Hence, I received good comments from the teacher about those skills. He also commented well about my tied-up-point. Actually, I came to my mind when I was on tram to school. However, I need to improve my pronunciation and concentrate more on plural endings. Also, because I did not practice my presentation enough time, so I was overtime- 8 minutes. So, I have to practice more to improve my English in general and my pronunciation in particular. I also have to learn to handle the time allowed in next time I do presentation. Organisational skills At first, I found it not too hard to meet the deadlines. Because most of my resources for the research project are from Internet, so it was easy for me to collect everything. Then, the hardest and most time-consuming step is to read all of them and classify which articles; journalsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are suitable for which objective. Unfortunately, I was sick and absent 3 days from school, so, I could not hand in the second objective on time. Therefore, I did really hard to catch up with other friends and the deadlines also. From this part, I have learnt a lot about time management: to arrange work, to do the schedule, to catch upà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. I think this very important for my future study in university. Also, this is the first time I write the reference list, so I found it is quite difficult. I had to do it many times and asked the teacher to make sure that I was on the right way. Thanks to him, I could finally finish it. Now I feel more confidence to write the reference list next time. To sum up, I have learnt many new things when doing this research project. They are not only academic, but also social and communicational skills: to do the oral presentation, to manage time, to arrange work, to write a report, to do a bibliography, to overcome unexpected problemsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Those skills are always important in both my study and my life in future. Section D: Reference List Elliott, T. 2010, Celebrity is a growth industry, The Age, 29 May, viewed 01 August 2010, . Bunbury, S. 2009, Like a prayer: Celebrities and religion, The Age, 07 April, viewed 01 August 2010, . Shaffer, C. 2010, How do celebrities influence people?, eHow Contributor, 28 June, viewed 01 August 2010, Cadwalladr, C. 2010, Celebrity: The sadness of Susan Boyle, The Advertiser, 26 June. Funnel, N. 2010, Responsibility goes with the celebrity, The Age, 21 June. Haywood, B. 2004, The Price of Fame, The Age, 08 November. McDonald, B., Loughlan, K. 2010, Fame is like the real thing, Sydney Morning Herald, 06 May. Middendorp, C. 2010, Celebrity may earn millions in ads, but look decidedly cheap, The Age, 14 January, p.15. Thomas, K. 2007, Young Hollywood: What has gotten into them?, USA Today, 06 June. Ziffer, D., Dubecki, L. 2006, What next for Kylie?, The Age, 09 December. Turner, G. 2010, Approaching celebrity studies in Celebrity Studies, Volume 1, p.11 20.

Downsizing And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector Ess

Downsizing And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector Wheels of Industry Over the past decade, more and more American organizations are downsizing and reengineering as a means of eliminating excesses in corporate staffing, bureaucracy, and expenditures. This is true today whether it’s a for-profit company or not-for-profit company. Constant change is a new way of life as companies strive to meet customers needs and the ability to successfully innovate, time after time to achieve competitive advantages. Moreover, American companies are facing a fierce global environment and are downsizing to achieve cost-lowering efficiencies to render their firm more fit to combat tenacious global competitors. American organizations are also downsizing in an effort to cope with fundamental and structural changes in economies and markets.1 Because downsizing and reengineering is excessively used in today’s organizations, we must not mistakenly confuse the two terms, and since American organizations are faced with the problem of massive overhauling, we must understand the meaning and the purpose of both. We must also consider the fundamental approaches organizations use in implementing downsizing. In addition, we must look at the cost benefits to the organizations, as well as the competitive advantages are that achieved. Moreover, while little emphasis of the employee is considered in terms of workforce reduction, there is a need to look at the adverse affects on the employee and the personnel problems that organizations incur due to the aftermath of downsizing. Downsizing is associated and often confused with numerous terms. The term "downsizing" was coined to define the scaling down of the car by sizes by automobile manu... ...ture. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 55-67). 6Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (197-199) 7Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 88-89). 8Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 40). 9Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (238-245). 10Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (Pg. 103-109). 11Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (Pg. 109-111). Downsizing And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector Ess Downsizing And Reengineering The American Public And Private Sector Wheels of Industry Over the past decade, more and more American organizations are downsizing and reengineering as a means of eliminating excesses in corporate staffing, bureaucracy, and expenditures. This is true today whether it’s a for-profit company or not-for-profit company. Constant change is a new way of life as companies strive to meet customers needs and the ability to successfully innovate, time after time to achieve competitive advantages. Moreover, American companies are facing a fierce global environment and are downsizing to achieve cost-lowering efficiencies to render their firm more fit to combat tenacious global competitors. American organizations are also downsizing in an effort to cope with fundamental and structural changes in economies and markets.1 Because downsizing and reengineering is excessively used in today’s organizations, we must not mistakenly confuse the two terms, and since American organizations are faced with the problem of massive overhauling, we must understand the meaning and the purpose of both. We must also consider the fundamental approaches organizations use in implementing downsizing. In addition, we must look at the cost benefits to the organizations, as well as the competitive advantages are that achieved. Moreover, while little emphasis of the employee is considered in terms of workforce reduction, there is a need to look at the adverse affects on the employee and the personnel problems that organizations incur due to the aftermath of downsizing. Downsizing is associated and often confused with numerous terms. The term "downsizing" was coined to define the scaling down of the car by sizes by automobile manu... ...ture. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 55-67). 6Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (197-199) 7Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 88-89). 8Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (Pg. 40). 9Tomasko, Robert M. Downsizing: Reshaping the Corporation for the Future. AMACOM American Management Association, 1987 (238-245). 10Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (Pg. 103-109). 11Cohen, Steven and Eimicke, William. The New Effective Public Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, 1995 (Pg. 109-111).

Would I Become the Next Snow White? Essay -- Personal Narrative, Autobi

Would I Become the Next Snow White? Â   Ah, to be a Disney Girl! To possess beauty so divine it can melt the hearts of charming princes and gruff miners alike. To be able to use the same gift to tame temperamental beasts, while you attract, through angelic song, otherwise timid forest creatures. To know that, in the end-despite the fact that your wicked stepmother has forced you into a life of servitude and an evil queen is seeking your mutilated heart-yes, in the end, some day your prince will come. Â   The image of the perfect girl according to Walt Disney can be described, with little exception, in this way: she is always pretty, always fair, always model thin, always endowed with a beautiful singing voice and always the victim of some malevolent, often jealous, woman. The Disney Girl also has what one writer says she expected to receive when she became a woman: a life filled with "debonair men so overcome by [her] loveliness they burst into song" (Nirenberg 23). Â   Though originally products of medieval and Victorian literature, these female characters have been adopted into Walt's family and have so often been dipped in his colorful animation and sprinkled with his magical fairy dust that we have forgotten their origin and given them an identity that can only be described as, well, Disney. Â   Let's start with the first Disney Girl, Snow White. Now, Snow epitomizes what "gorgeous" represented in the 1930s. In other words, Disney allows her to be a little fat by today's standards (or is it the design of her dress?). Still, most of us agree with the evil queen's magic mirror that this Disney Girl, with her skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, is, in... ...art, but with nature's uncontrollable hand, a raving beauty, a Sleeping Beauty, a Cinderella. Or-if you can believe I thought this, with my Black self-a Snow White. Â   No such thing happened, of course, but then, that is my point. Let's enjoy these tales, but let's make sure-for ourselves and especially for our children-that we understand what is happening here. Though the animation is superb and the stories are full of enchantment, wizardry, and the basic good and evil conflict, we should not be misled into believing that Cindy, Snow, Belle, et al. are the epitome of the ideal woman. Those who do this might find themselves often in the same predicament as that of Cinderella after the midnight chimes: sprawled on their butts in the dust, with their dreams dashed to pieces around them Work Cited Nirenberg, Sue. House Beautiful. Aug. 1991: 23+

Essay --

1.0 Introduction We had selected Apple Iphone 5s as our for our Fundamental Of Marketing assignment. We select this product it because more and more advanced technology exist in the 21st century. Nowadays, more and more modern human like to pursuit the trend of technology, and there is also one of the main reason that we chosen this product for doing research on marketing strategies, marketing environment, marketing mix and proposal to analysing of this assignment. This product(Iphone 5s) is a touchscreen smartphone that produced by Apple Inc. Apple is one of the most famous and reliable brand in the IT world. Its logo is with a silver colour apple on the back casing of the phone. Iphone 5s has a chip with 64-bit architecture, fingerprint identity sensor, a better, faster camera, and an operating system built specifically for 64-bit in order to bring more convenience to consumer. We were focus on how Iphone 5s competitive with other's brand's smartphone company in Malaysia's consumer market. Company background Apple Inc. is an American corporation that design software, hardware and other consumer electronics. Apple Inc.’s product lines are iPhone (smart phone), iPad (tablet computer), iPod (portable media players) and Mac book (Macintosh computer). Apple or "the company" was established in 1977. Besides that, the company sells to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government and creative customers. It was co-founded by Steven Wozniak and Steven P. Job in Cupertino, California. Apple really started in basement or garage not at the expensive business location. This is the one of the reason so many people intrigued to the brand and could be the reason that the computers were such a success, they wer... ...can send email and text, browsing the web, shooting and sharing great video and photo, getting direction easily. Lastly, the entrepreneurs can organize contracts, access contracts, and have a detail schedule. Not only IOS 7 and Ultrafast LTE wireless function can use by them, they also can use the Touch ID, this is a security system which is using their own fingerprint to set the password, so others cannot open their phone to steal the information and idea in the phone. Positioning Having done the above 2 steps which are segmenting the market and selecting specific target market, positioning is the final part of STP process. According the Apple Inc.’s selling point, ‘’iPhone 5S, the most advanced iPhone ever, with our most forward-thinking technologies.’’ The iPhone 5S is the best smartphone that contains the latest advanced features Apple Inc. has created so far.

Goblin Market by Christina Rosetti Essay

Goblin Market by Christina Rosetti I believe this poem tells a story, a story about temptation and lust, about the desire to obtain something the narrator clearly is not meant to take or have. It has similarities to the Story in the bible about the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve have been told â€Å"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if you eat you will surely die. † When I read the poem by Christina Rosetti it makes me think about that story because of the opening lines â€Å"I ate and ate my fill, Yet my mouth waters still;† The narrator, like Adam and Eve, felt discontented with what they were getting. They were always going to want more, never satisfied. There are subtle hints that the narrator should not be eating the fruit, but this makes the fruit taste better and more appealing. The words that have been used are double edged for example â€Å"Cherries worth getting† On it own this sounds innocent and appears to be about fruit! The double meaning here, I believe, suggests that something or someone is desired. Wanting to taste but not being quite sure; this also links with virginity, ‘untouched’ and this is where the lust comes in I think the words Christina Rosetti has chosen are extremely clever because you have to read the poem time and time again to get the true meaning; this keeps the reader interested for longer. Every time you look at this poem you find something else you didn’t notice before. I feel that to try and pull out the striking words would not be of benefit, as they are all seemingly striking and without the rest of the poem attached they would not appear as exceptional; I believe this would not be doing justice to the poem. For example the word â€Å"Pellucid† to me is very striking but alone, without the rest of the sentence, it makes no sense and the feeling is not the same. The line â€Å"Pellucid grapes without one seed† To me has much more of an effect and shows a lot more about the narrator’s emotions. I think the tone of this poem is unpredictable as there are different meanings. When you first read this poem and you see that it is about fruit, one may start to feel that the narrator is babbling, as it does not make a great deal of sense. For example â€Å"To-morrow night I will buy some more; and kissed her†. This, in the context of fruit, seems out of place and somewhat irrelevant. It is only when you read the poem again, this time realising that it is not quite as ‘innocent’ as it first seemed, that the tone changes; it becomes more exciting and profound. I would say that the mood of the poem changes when the realisation of the poem’s true meaning sinks in. While the poem just seems to be about fruit I found the persona offered no excitement or anticipation. This changes quite dramatically when you realise that the poem is actually quite unconventional as it is hinting at a sexual relationship between two women. For example â€Å"Cheek to cheek and breast to breast Locked together in one nest† At this point the voice then seems to become playfully mischievous. There are a lot of similes in this poem, for instance â€Å"Like two pigeons in one nest† I think Christina Rosetti wanted the reader to really visualise what was going on; also I feel that she used simile to create a feeling of anticipation, using a familiar image of closeness. â€Å"Like two flakes of newly fallen snow† Is very clearly talking about two people who are having a sexual relationship, but also telling us that it is the first time and in actual fact they are both virgins. Snow, when it has just fallen, is untouched and perfect in everyway thus symbolising purity. â€Å"Not a bat flapped to and fro Round their nest† Is an example of the use of metaphor in this poem. People do not sleep in a nest and yet these two people are being likened to animals. This I believe creates a feeling of peacefulness, nothing moving. This is representing that they have reached a climax and they are now enjoying the serenity of the moment. An illustration of the use of personification in this poem is â€Å"Wind sang to them a lullaby† The wind of course cannot sing but the image is used to create a peaceful atmosphere. I image it would be really calming and relaxing to have the wind singing a lullaby. Alliteration is not strongly used in this poem I could only find one example which is â€Å"And sugar sweet their sap† I feel this is to heighten the readers’ experience, making them almost taste the sugariness, thus allowing the reader to really get in touch with what is happening in the poem. This poem uses a lot of run on lines an there are only two full stops in the poem. I think this increases the anticipation as well as the feeling of expectation as you can never see how it is going to end. The metre is quite smooth and sinuous and it is used by the narrator to keep the sequence of events told in the poem flowing. The tempo and manner of the poem, as I said earlier, changes when you realise its true meaning. I feel that this happens to keep the suspense. This poem has a sporadic rhyming style because some lines rhyme and others don’t but I feel that this is in keeping with the rest of the poem’s style as it is all rather unconventional.

Jungian Archetypes in Rosemary Sutcliff’s Trilogy Essay

This paper will analyze Rosemary Sutcliff’s trilogy – The Sword and the Circle, The Light Beyond the Forest and The Road to Camlann – in light of the Jungian archetypes embedded in the text: the mother, the old wise man, the shadow, and the mandala archetypes. In her trilogy, Sutcliff employed the Jungian archetypes in order to provide a new configuration of the legend of King Arthur, interweaving myth and fantasy with psychological traits. From this perspective, the Arthurian legend appears in a new light, in which the story and the secondary narratives come to represent a particular mise-en-scene of figures of the subconscious. In Sutcliff’s trilogy, King Arthur and many characters achieve a symbolic significance. The author’s main interest is in King Arthur, around whom she constructs a whole series of archetypal motifs, which account for many of the peculiar and otherwise hard to explain characteristics of the story. Traditionally, all the fantastic motifs have been interpreted as subordinated to the fairy-tale logic and such motifs as witchcraft or transgression of taboos have been attributed to the pre-Christian Celtic subtext. However, this paper will argue that the overwhelming presence of archetypal images in Sutcliff’s texts brings a symbolic context to our interpretation of the legend. The Great Mother Archetype In Jung’s definitions, the mother archetype is ambivalent, in that it can both evoke a benign and benevolent figure, but also an evil, witch-like attribute: The qualities associated with it are maternal solicitude and sympathy; the magic authority of the female; the wisdom and spiritual transformation that transcend reason; any helpful instinct or impulse; all that is benign, all that cherishes and sustains, that fosters growth and fertility. The place of magic transformation and rebirth, together with the underworld and its inhabitants, are presided over by the mother. On the negative side the mother archetype may connote anything secret, hidden, dark; the abyss, the world of the dead, anything that devours, seduces, and poisons, that is terrifying and inescapable like fate. The mother archetype can take the shape of a plethora of symbols and can become actualized either as an image of plenitude and abundance, or as a token of dark forces in man. Both meanings appear in Sutcliff’s trilogy. Significantly, Arthur is deprived of a real mother figure from the beginning. His father’s vow to Merlin, which had granted that the latter would be entrusted the child the night he would be born, set Arthur away of his real mother. Moreover, in his foster family, Sutcliff makes little to no reference to a mother figure, focusing on the male side, who was there to rear the future great king of Britain. In this context, the mother figures that appear in Arthur’s life also have the significance of a repressed longing for a mother but, most significantly, serve to inscribe the character in a supernatural lineage. The solar and benevolent mother figure appears in the guise of Nimue, Lady of the Ladies of the Lake, who marks crucial moments in Arthur’s life, endowing him with the symbol of his manhood an kingship – Excalibur – and also receiving him back in her â€Å"womb† ( the lake) upon his death. The circumstances of Arthur’s first encounter with Nimue hint to the protective aspect of the Lady of the Lake and also to her crucial influence on setting Arthur on the righteous path: And looking where he pointed, Arthur saw an arm rise from the midst of the lake, clad in a sleeve of white samite and holding in its hand a mighty sword. And even as he looked, he saw a maiden whose dark gown and hair seemed about her like the mists come walking towards him across the water, her feet leaving no ripple-track upon its brightness. â€Å"Who is that? † whispered Arthur. â€Å"This is the Lady among all the Ladies of the Lake. Speak to her courteously and she will give you the sword. † [†¦] â€Å"It is a sword that I have guarded for a long time. Do you wish to take it? † â€Å"Indeed I do,† looking out across the lake with longing eyes. â€Å"For I have no sword of my own. † â€Å"Then promise me never to foul the blade with an unjust cause, but keep it always as befits the Sword of Logres, and it is yours. † From this passage, we can notice that Lady Nimue acts as a true maternal initiator into Arthur’s symbolic coming into manhood. She has a positive influence on Arthur’s life and gives the ultimate recognition of Arthur as the true great king of Britain. Her mother figure attributes become apparent especially through the symbolism of the lake. According to Jung, the mother archetype can be translated through various motifs, which allude to the mother’s child-bearing and receiving features: â€Å"The archetype is often associated with things and places standing for fertility and fruitfulness: the cornucopia, a ploughed field, a garden. It can be attached to a rock, a cave, a tree, a spring, a deep well, or to various vessels such as the baptismal font, or to various vessel-shaped flowers like the rose and the lotus. † As the Lady among the Ladies of the Lake, Nimue enacts the essential characteristic of the mother archetype as child-bearer and vessel for the child. The lake is a symbol of the womb. Through this lineage, Arthur is belated with an ancestral and supernatural origin. This idea has usually been interpreted as the inclusion in the story of pre-Christian lore of Celtic fairy-tales. However, the uncertain origin of Nimue, as well as her unquestionable attributes of a mother archetype could suggest that the predominant ancient subtext of the story could stand for archetypes of the collective unconscious. Just before arriving to the lake, Arthur and Merlin have to cross the forest, â€Å"following ways that no man might know but only the light-foot deer;† . The forest, as we have seen in the passage from Jung quoted above, can also be associated with the mother archetype. The final, symbolic welcoming of Arthur in Nimue’s womb at the moment of his death, is also very evocative of the mother figure that Nimue incarnates: â€Å"And the barge drifted on, into the white mist between the water and the moon. And the mist received it, and it was gone. Only for a little, Sir Bedivere, straining after it, seemed to catch a low desolate wailing as of women keening for their dead. † Finally Nimue represents the mother archetype par excellence as she weds and represses Arthur’s father-figure: Merlin. There are many other symbols in the text of the mother archetype. As Jung points out: Other symbols of the mother in the figurative sense appear in things representing the goal of our longing for redemption, such as Paradise, the Kingdom of God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Many things arousing devotion or feelings of awe, as for instance the Church, the university, city or country, heaven or earth, the woods, the sea or any still waters, matter even, the underworld and the moon can be mother symbols. In this light, the quest for the Holy Grail could be interpreted as a mother archetype symbol. The double function of the Holy Grail – as vessel and as token of redemption – enacts in the story Arthur’s quest for a maternal figure. As was stated in the beginning of the analysis, the mother archetype is ambivalent in that it also displays a dark, hidden facet which finds its best expression in the witch figure. In Sutcliff’s trilogy, this aspect of the mother archetype is embodied by Queen Margawse . She is Arthur’s sister and they both originate from the â€Å"Little Dark People†, old lords of the land bearing many affinities with Celtic druidism, magic and witchcraft. This heritage is realized in Morgan in its dark, malefic aspect and she becomes an adversary for Arthur, bewitching him one night into bearing her a child. It is interesting that Morgan’s wicked actions are not motivated in the story, they are simply attributed to her witchcraft and to the fact that she abides by the â€Å"old rules†: Why she did it, there can never be any knowing; for she knew, though he did not, what kin they were to each other (but for her, she had never cared for any law, save the law of her own will). Maybe she thought to have a son to one day claim the High Kingship of Britain. Maybe it was just revenge; the revenge of the Dark People, the Old Ones, whose blood ran strong in her, upon the Lords of Bronze and Iron, and the people of Rome, who had dispossessed them. This could imply the fact that Morgan also has a symbolic function in the text, playing alternatively the role of the threatening mother figure and that of Arthur’s anima. The fact that Arthur and Morgan have the same mother is not coincidental: in a way, Morgan is a metonymic symbolization of the darker aspects of the mother archetype. The Old, Wise Man Archetype According to Jung, the old wise man figure. Can appear so plastically, not only in dreams, but also in visionary meditation (or what we call â€Å"active imagination†), that is, as is sometimes apparent in India, it takes over the role of a guru. The wise old man appears in dreams in the guise of a magician, doctor, priest, teacher, professor, grandfather, or any other person possessing authority. The archetype of spirit in the shape of a man, hobgoblin or animal appears in a situation where insight, understanding, good advice, determination, planning, etc. , are needed but cannot be mustered on one’s own resources. In Sutcliff’s trilogy, the wise old man archetype is embodied by Merlin, who acts as a spiritual counsellor and guide both for Arthur’s father and for Arthur himself. From the outset, Merlin is presented as a spiritual force: besides his belatedness with the Old People, from his mother’s side, and his having been raised by a druid, his father is purported to be an (ambivalent) angelic figure. In Arthur’s life, Merlin represents the wisdom and vision which will help Arthur to accomplish his destiny. Once Arthur becomes a true King, Merlin will fade, as his guidance is no longer necessary. In many respects, Merlin can be equated with the most adequate father figure in the text. Like Morgan and Nimue, Merlin is the embodiment of the â€Å"old ways† and laws, which heed no obedience to the Christian values and norms; he seems to embody the agency of fate (by definition, a pre-Christian theme) and represents, even more than a father figure, â€Å"the uncertainty of all moral valuation, the bewildering interplay of good and evil, and the remorseless concatenation of guilt, suffering and redemption. † According to Jung, this is actually the only path to redemption even if it is hard to recognize it. In his interventions, Merlin is never evil, but we cannot say that he is a wholly moral figure either: he is the one who helps Utha deceive Igraine. This is why Merlin is an ambiguous figure too. Merlin’s life is profoundly interwoven with that of Arthur’s: he appears in the story before Arthur’s birth in order to ensure that the child would be safe from internal feuds after his father’s early death, he guides Arthur in all the crucial moments in his life, withdraws when he realizes that Arthur has become a king in his own right, and will allegedly become resurrected the day Arthur and he will be called to save Britain. From this perspective, Arthur and Merlin reiterate the rebirth archetype: And the King opened his eyes and looked at him for the last time. â€Å"Comfort yourself, and do the best that you may, for I must be gone into the Vale of Avalon, for the healing of my grievous wound. One day I will return, in time of Britain’s sorest need, but not even I know when that day may be, save that it is afar off†¦But if you hear no more of me in the world of men, pray for my soul. † We can notice from this paragraph the similarities between Arthur’s vow to return and the Christian story. The Shadow/Anima Archetype. In Jung’s vision, the anima is â€Å"the great illusionist, the seductress, who draws him into life with her Maya – and not only into life’s reasonable and useful aspects, but also into its frightful paradoxes and ambivalences where good and evil, success and ruin, hope and despair, counterbalance one another. Because she is his greatest danger, she demands from a man his greatest, and if he has it in him, she will receive it. † This archetype is symbolized in the story by the figure of Morgan La Fay, Arthur’s fiercest enemy, who demands of him to give the full measure of his authority and courage. Not coincidentally, she is a witch, she appears as the â€Å"veiled lady†, a true seductress. But for the end of the story, we would be inclined to interpret Morgan in a literal sense – simply as Arthur’s wicked enemy. However, the ending complicates this interpretation because Morgan is one of the three women receiving Arthur upon his death: And there, where before had seemed to be only lapping water and the reeds whispering in the moonlight, a narrow barge draped all in black lay as though it waited for them within the shadows of the alder trees. And in it were three ladies, black-robed, and their hair veiled in black beneath the queenly crown they wore. And their faces alone, and their outstretched hands, showed white as they sat looking up at the two on the bank and weeping. And one of them was the Queen of Northgalis, and one was Nimue, the Lady of all the Ladies of the Lake; and the third was Queen Morgan La Fay, freed at last from her own evil now that the dark fate-pattern was woven to it end. Clearly, Morgan La Fay is just as ambiguous as the other archetypes in the story. Her final communion with Arthur suggests the idea that she does indeed stand for his anima and that Arthur has succeeded in completing the challenge that she had set for him. In a way, Morgan is the receptacle of Arthur’s darker side which he had also inherited from the â€Å"dark people†. However, guided by Merlin’s mercurial light, Arthur succeeds in repressing these malign tendencies which surface with a vengeance in the character of Morgan. Mordred, the incarnation of Arthur’s mortal sin, and of his submission to the anima has be to vanquished in order for Arthur to find redemption. The final metamorphosis of Morgan and her reconciliation with Arthur suggest that redemption has been accomplished. The Mandala Archetype In his analysis of the mandala archetype, Jung stated that: [mandalas] †¦ are all based on the squaring of a circle. Their basic motif is the premonition of a centre of personality, a kind of central point within the psyche, to which everything isolated, by which everything is arranged, and which is itself a source of energy. [†¦] This centre is not felt or thought of as the ego but, if one may so express it, as the self. Although the centre is represented by an innermost point, it is surrounded by a periphery containing everything that belongs to the self — the paired opposites that make up the total personality. This totality comprises consciousness first of all, then the personal unconscious, and finally an indefinitely large segment of the collective unconscious whose archetypes are common to all mankind. In Sutcliff’s trilogy, the most obvious symbol of the mandala is the Round Table. It signifies Arthur’s destiny and enacts the circle of life that he has to complete. Quite significantly, the mandala, also associated with the feminine archetypes, is brought to Camelot as Guenever’s dowry and Merlin is the one who appears to have originated it. The Round Table is the archetype that reunites all the other archetypes, ii is the beginning and the end of Arthur’s quest. The â€Å"archetype of wholeness†, the mandala, or the Round Table reunites the supernatural aspects of Arthur’s life with his terrestrial existence. The overwhelming presence of such archetypes and the great mother, the wise old man, the anima, rebirth and mandala in Sutcliff’s trilogy gives a symbolical turn to the Arthurian legend. In this light we realize the importance of this legend not only for the enrichment of story-telling but also as a universal a expression of the collective unconscious. Works Cited: Jung, C. G. 1973. Mandala Symbolism. Transl. by C. F. Hull, Princeton University Press, NJ. — The Essential Jung, Princeton University Press, 1983. — Four Archetypes, Routledge, 2003. Sutcliff, Rosemary. 1981. The Sword and the Circle: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, The Bodley Head Ltd. — The Light Beyond the Forest, The Bodley Head Ltd, 1981. — The Road to Camlann, The Bodley Head Ltd, 1981.