Macroeconomic questions Essay

1. In America heavy-duty street cleaning machines driven by one person because the government is able to effort to play the machinery. In other countries they don’t have the resources to invest there money in machinery and they have people cleaning with brooms. Labor is cheaper then paying a machinery and spending money on gas as well. 2. The basic question facing any society does technology that play the greatest role, â€Å"How are these goods and services to be produced?†. Technology plays one of the biggest roles because goods are produced with machinery. 3. PPF that is concave shows a more genuine production possibilities and the PPF is bowed out from the origin because opportunity costs rise and more factors are used. 4. Unemployment is shown on the PPF by the line shifting to the left due to the fact that the production would decrease. 5. Three factors that can contribute to an economy’s growth would be increasing labor, increase in population, and capital accumulation. 6. A country would still be able to benefit from trade because they can produce goods at a lower cost and be able to use inputs of other products of which they traded. 7. 7. The main concept of the video was mainly specialization. This is how things have improved in productivity; it displays that everything in the world plays propose. The video used an example of making hamburgers, the restaurant has employees and each has there own job, with everyone doing they’re jobs hamburgers are produced faster and more efficiently. The employees are basically the motor of the restaurant, which make them an important factor.

A Reflection of Faith Essay

A Reflection of Faith As I reflect upon my faith journey, I realize that like so many other â€Å"cradle Catholics,† I had become complacent. I was raised in a predominantly Catholic nation, by an Anglican mother and Catholic father. After being dutifully baptized into the church, I was set upon my path as any ‘good Catholic† should. Even though I attended Catholic girls’ school, my early days of catechesis consisted of Mass and Sunday school more as a ritual than an integral part of living my faith. I performed the rites of First Holy Communion and confession with no real understanding of my commitment and responsibilities. Confirmation was a spiritual fiasco, from which I almost did not recover. My parents did their best to provide a religious foundation for my siblings and me. In retrospect, they were probably ill-equipped to do so. My higher education and pursuit of my vocation have sometimes made it difficult for me to accept and conform to some simple dogmas of the church. I hold many strong personal views on many issues and have had considerable challenges applying the dogma to my personal life. I have always believed that God has a purpose for us all; my purpose was rather hazy until about seven or eight years ago. The illness and death of my mother at age 56, was a tremendous catalyst in my faith journey. I realized that in my vocational quest, I was not following Christ’s plan, moreover, I was trying to fit Christ into my plans. Consequently, my fervent observation of the Holy Days, abstinence form meat of Fridays in the early days, and unending serviced to my parish in the form of Eucharistic minister, Sacristan, and Catechist, were spiritually void. Once I truly succumbed to Christ and sought His path, my commitment to discipleship was fortified. When God provided me the privilege to serve at St. John, He facilitated a means for me to further enhance my own faith, and to impact that of students on a daily basis. This quote from 1 Timothy 4:12 â€Å"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe;† allowed me to embrace my vocation and truly see its gifts. I am called to live out my vocation in the classroom and positively communicate the doctrines of our faith. This, as well as additional Catechesis has taken my understanding of the â€Å"universal† church to new levels. I love each and every one of my students for his or her uniqueness and ability to motivate me to be the best example of Christ that I am able. I no longer focus on my personal flaws or on the â€Å"flaws† I once perceived in the dogma; but on each minor success I gain in the Christian values of my students. Now that my role in Catholic education has come full circle, I feel very blessed to be part of such a rich tradition of faith and discipleship. I passionately believe in my purpose as a Catechist and I know that God will continue to strengthen me as I continue to walk His path.

Article Critique 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Article Critique 2 - Essay Example After reading the article, one realizes how important it is to avoid drugs in the first place as according to the article, the effect of the drugs on the brain chemistry is so fast and strong, that people don’t even realize how and when the drugs take control over them and make them addicts. Hence, the best way to reduce addiction is to keep away from drugs and never to fall in the trap of ‘just one time’. Summary The article â€Å"Stress, Habits, and Drug Addiction: A Psychoneuroendocrinological Perspective†, is written with an intention of understanding how stress leads to substance abuse and addiction by affecting the brain chemistry in human beings. Psychological stress helps the human beings to face the imminent threat and adapt to the surrounding. However, excessive stress response can lead to pathological disorders as it can enhance addictive behavior in people. The authors argue that stress not only stimulates the motivation in reward system and cre ates the possibility of addiction, but also develops a risk of relapse by developing a habit of certain actions and cravings that lead to addiction and relapse. Brain imaging has shown that goal directed actions in human beings are controlled by prefrontal cortex and habitual actions are directed by dorsolateral striatum. The choice (and the action) of taking drug for the first time is in control of human beings, but once the action becomes habitual, he loses control over it and becomes an addict. That is, the action becomes involuntary and gets into the category of habitual actions. Hence, addiction is called as maladaptive form of habit process as a voluntary action of taking drugs gets transformed into an addiction. According to the authors, the first important factor of addictive behavior is the function of dopamine. A study by Packard and McGaugh (1996) has revealed that dopamine is instrumental in development of habitual behavior and strengthening the different aspects of habi t formation in human beings. This leads to second factor which is the habitual behavior in human beings. Habits can be defined as the behavior pattern in which the actions of human being persist even when the reward or goal value of that action reduces to a great extent. It takes regular and persistence efforts for a particular action to become a habit. However, a study by Miles, Everitt and Dickingson (2003) has revealed that in case of drug use, people become addicted (habitual) to drugs in very short time and the transition from controlled dosage to addiction is unusually rapid and fast. The third factor of addiction is the substance itself as it acts as strong stimuli for cause of relapse in people suffering from addiction. The fourth factor in the development of addiction is a problem or injury to the goal directed system, which is located in the prefrontal cortex. Chronic drug administration leads to the damage of prefrontal cortex. This shows that use of drugs harm the human beings in two ways. Firstly, the drug use leads to damage of prefrontal cortex and secondly, the damage, in turn, strengthens the addiction to drugs. This shows how the brain chemistry influences the addiction in behavior pattern. However, the authors have found that even stress plays a

Topic Analysis, Annotated Bibliography, and Research Paper

Topic Analysis, Annotated Bibliography, and - Research Paper Example He argues that the degraded youth express themselves creatively through Hip Hop music. The author’s claim that Hip Hop originated from the neglected and crack-infested inner cities of NY and, thus, cannot be expected to live up to the standards of Middle Class America, will form a critical part of my argument on the origins and influence of Hip Hop. Dimitriadis, Greg. Performing Identity/performing Culture: Hip Hop As Text, Pedagogy, and Lived Practice. New York: P. Lang, 2009. Print. Professor Greg Dimitriadis is an associate professor at SUNY with interests in popular culture and urban education. He critically reflects on Hip Hop’s contemporary currents and the economic, social, and cultural shifts that have influenced and been influenced by commercial Hip Hop. He concludes that these shifts in contemporary currents have a profound influence on Hip Hop fans and adherents. Using Hip Hop historical works to argue that youth fashion their notions of community on Hip Hop ideals, he argues that most urban youth have formed their notions on what America is through the depictions of Hip Hop artists from different regions. This argument will support my claims regarding the influences that Hip Hop has had on young people. Annotated Bibliography Where and how did Hip Hop originate and what influence has it had on contemporary America? Light, Alan. ... The author concludes that Hip Hop arose from aspirations of people who had little in terms of economic and social emancipation. Using vivid reviews by over 50 music and cultural critics, he argues that Hip Hop used the resources that were available to its originators, including microphones, turn tables, old records, and aspirations of success. This argument will support my research into the origins of the Hip Hop art form. Chang, Jeff. Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2011. Print. Jeff Chang is a journalist and Hip Hop critic with a range of awards for his chronicling of the early rap music scene. He focuses on the effect of youth rebellion on Hip Hop’s origin, concluding that, from its initial origins as an art form, for youth without societal support, Hip Hop has transformed American culture and politics. Based on interviews with early Hip Hop artists, the main argument proposed by the author is that Hip Hop acted as an outlet for young black youth to be heard by the society. This claim is relevant to my take on how and why Hip Hop went from music of the oppressed to the most profitable genre in America today. Brown, Adrienne. "Drive Slow: Rehearing Hip Hop Automotivity." Journal of Popular Music Studies 24.3 (2012): 265–275. Adrienne brown is an assistant professor of English literature and language, specializing in African American and American effects on cultural production in the 20th and 21st century. Her central focus here is the materialistic culture in Hip Hop and its influence on American youth, concluding that, rather than the artists, it is this materialistic culture, which speaks to the audience. The main argument is that, in Hip Hop, materialistic objects like

Evolution of the Global Economic Environment Research Paper

Evolution of the Global Economic Environment - Research Paper Example As global trade has grown over the last 20 years, both in terms of global productivity and absolute means, China has sustained their share of global trade and substantially increased their share of global exports of produced goods (Lin 2001). From 1990-2010, at merely more than 10.4 percent (Lin 2001, slide 4), China’s share of global exports was significant. The multinational business is usually perceived as a major motivator for the system of the globalization of production. This is justifiable, because the presence of the multinational business is, in principle, grounded on earlier and major foreign investment (Ostry & Alexandroff 2003). Furthermore, the past two decades have witnessed a dramatic boost in the operations of multinational businesses in China. Recent reports indicate that there are roughly 65,000 transnational corporations at present (Milberg 2004, 45). Their economic effect can be evaluated through varied approaches. Foreign partners, in 2001, comprised more than 50 million workers in comparison to more than 20 million in 1990 (Milberg 2004, 45). According to the UNCTAD (2002, 1 as cited in Milberg 2004, 45), foreign partners presently comprise about one-third of global exports and one-tenth of global GDP. Between the 1980s and the 1990s, FDI’s share in international gross capital formation increased by two-thirds; for China, the rise was by about three-quarters. FDI massively rose in the 1990s, even though it dropped abruptly in 2001 due to the global recession and weakening of stock markets (Lin 2001). Hence the reduction in the flows of FDI was tilted toward advanced nations. FDI to China and other developing nations increased 4 percent from 1980 to 2001, and China’s share of world FDI climbed significantly from the early 1990s to 2001 (Ostry & Alexandroff 2003). Nevertheless, this increase has not been sufficient to make a difference in the share of the developing nations of the global reserves of FDI, which, according to UNCTAD (2000 as cited in Milberg 2004, 46), has changed roughly 35% over the past two decades. China, in the 1990s hardly made it on the international economic scale. However, China was able to improve its status in international trading after roughly two decades, making her the current second most advanced economy in the world (Lin 2001). The trade of China, in the 1990s, was an insignificant presence in world trade. After two decades, the country is presently the biggest global exporter of goods, with a rate of annual export growth at 18 percent (Lin 2001, slide 6). Due to this massive development in China’s role in international trading, trade structure has been altered. It is the contention of this paper that the transformation in trade structure, or with intensified trade in intermediate rather than final products, instead of expansion in the volume of trade that establishes globalization as a relevant occurrence in terms of the development of strategies for economic growth. This transformation in the structure of trade is the outcome of the appearance of global trading systems, wherein bits and pieces of a product are manufactured in various places all over the world.

LEGAL ASPECTS OF INTL BUSINESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

LEGAL ASPECTS OF INTL BUSINESS - Essay Example The South Korean resort of Pyeongchang was the favorite to host Games but Putin made it his personal mission to get the bid, travelled to Guatemala City in 2007 and make Russia final pitch and sweet talked members of International Olympic Committee into voting in the favor of Sochi. IOC member Jean-Claude Killy said it was very important to have the presence of Putin and he spoke French that he never speaks. The cost has presently risen (Bloomberg Business Week). Sochi price tag is some sort of embarrassment. The Sochi game is quite relevant in the study of games and sport in class. It is quite agreeable that the cost is high because it is being set in an expensive defying climate. The Krasnaya Polyana is filled with snow every February and the lower slopes have average wintertime temperature of fifty-two degrees. The officials have to drain swamps, store the previous year’s snow and install over four hundred snowmaking machines. Seventy thousand laborers working seven days a week for as little as U.S Dollar five hundred a month to build over twenty thousand new hotel rooms, new roads tunnels and bridges, renovated airport and new railway lines. A more sinister reason for the rise of the budget is the Beijing extravagant expenditure in the 2008 Summer Olympic. In addition, Sochi Olympics are unprecedented thieves. The contractors who are Putin cronies had a phony cost of over twenty six billion. The estimated cost of the road and railway to be constructed was estimated a cost of $ 8.7 billion. Terrorism is also an issue of concern. Doku Umarov a Chechen rebel leader has urged the Islamist fighters in the surrounding area of North Caucasus to cause much bloodshed on the games as possible (Bloomberg Business Week). The Olympics states that Umarov is held on the bones of their ancestors and many dead Muslims are buried on the territory land of the black sea. To prove that the threat was not ideal,

Copyright has been called an engine of free expression. How accurate Essay

Copyright has been called an engine of free expression. How accurate is this statment - Essay Example Copyright does not guarantee the protection of ideas, but it can protect the original work. For example, many films have the common theme in which the hero kills the villain. According to copyright laws, it is easy to protect the original film from copying, but it is impossible to protect the common theme. In other words, the theme or idea cannot be monopolized, but the original film can be protected. According to Erwin Chemerinsky (2002), â€Å"there is an inherent tension between copyright laws and freedom of speech. Copyrights restrict the ability of people to disseminate speech; when material is protected by copyright there are legal limits on who can circulate or sell it† (Chemerinsky, p.83). Moreover copyright laws are permitted even in modern civilized societies which values freedom of expression. Many people believe that copyright may enhance freedom of expression. Because of the strong linkage between copyright and freedom of expression, copyright is often referred as the engine of free expression. As we know an engine’s abilities is necessary for driving a vehicle or to do some effective work. For example, a car is idle or dead if the engine fails. Same way if free expression is not allowed, no creative works will happen and the term copyright may become meaningless. This paper critically analyses the accuracy of the statement â€Å"Copyright: an engine o f free expression†. Liu Xiaobo, who was jailed by the Chinese authorities for his open stand on freedom of expression rights, has won the 2010 Nobel Peace prize. Even though most of the countries asked China to release Liu from jail in order to receive the Nobel Prize, China is still keeping a blind eye towards this issue. Nobody believes that China may exhibit generous gesture towards Liu for receiving the Noble Prize. China is a country in which freedom of expression is restricted. Even the foreign medias operating in

Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media - Essay Example comedy depended a great deal on the ability of the audience to ‘get’ the joke as laughter from the audience was always a sign during stage performances that the play was being well received. This element of external interaction was incorporated into the sit-com, but with the added benefit of being able to record the show first and then air it later. Thus, unexpected reactions from the audience could be cut out, errors in performance could be tried again and prompts for audience reaction weren’t as obvious. By combining these two approaches, the sit-com still maintains the illusion of being a live event in spite of the great degree of editing and production involved. This ability to edit and change has also introduced more meaning into the shows produced. Just as the comedies of stage and radio were reflections of their society, so have the sit-coms of the past several decades reflected the society that produce them but with the greater realization of preservation of performance and significance to audiences. In many ways, the sit-com of today has not changed a great deal in its structural format even as its reflection of society has altered and the level of meaning presented has deepened with greater understanding of the principles at work. Before one can look at individual sit-coms to see if they hold up to a common definition, it is helpful to have a definition and idea of development in place. Generally sit-coms, or situation comedies, are defined as a form of comedy that presents episodes of recurring characters as they interact within a common environment, facing some sort of complication and resolving it at the end with some form of happy ending. The sit-com has developed from a long history of stage performances intended to entertain the masses by featuring stories they were able to relate with while also poking gentle fun at the lifestyles of the wealthy. According to Lewisohn, precursors of the sitcom have existed since the times of

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Psychology - Essay Example Selye’s studies showed that the body responds in the same way to any stress, be it positive events (new job) or negative circumstances (failure, embarrassment, trouble at school, a stormy romance). ALARM STAGE: Alarm stage suggests that the body is in the generalized arousal state, wherein the body mobilizes its resources to cope with stressors. The pituitary gland signals the adrenal glands to produce and release stress hormones: adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol. As these stress hormones are dumped into the bloodstream, some bodily processes are rushed others are slowed, allowing bodily resources to be applied where they are needed. We should all be thankful that our bodies automatically respond to emergencies. However, brilliant as this emergency system is, it can also cause problems. In the first phase of the alarm reaction, people have such symptoms as headache, fever, fatigue, sore muscles, shortness of breath, diarrhea, upset stomach, loss of appetite, and lack of energy. Notice that these are also the symptoms of stressful travel, of high-altitude sickness, of anxiety, of pressure in the courtroom interrogation, or final exams week, and possibly of falling in love! RESISTANCE STAGE: During the resistance stage, the body continues to resist the stressors. As the body’s defenses come into balance, symptoms of the alarm reaction disappear. Outwardly, everything seems normal. However, this appearance of normality comes at a high cost. The body is better able to cope with the original stressor, example, animals placed in extreme cold become more resistant to the cold, but more susceptible to infection. It is during the stage of resistance that the first signs of psychosomatic disorders begin to appear. EXHAUSTION STAGE: Continued stress leads to the stage of exhaustion in which the body’s resources are drained and stress hormones are depleted. The body is susceptible to disease and even death in this stage. Unless you found a way of

Advantages and Disadvantages of Vegetarians Essay Example for Free

Advantages and Disadvantages of Vegetarians Essay One advantage that cannot be disputed is that vegetarian’s conscience can be at peace in the sense that he does not cause the death of animals grown for meat and fat such as rabbits, poultry or pigs. This idea alone persuades many people, especially women to start embracing vegetarianism as their way of life. Another undisputable advantage of vegetarianism is that long-term vegetarians are rarely overweight thus people can make losing weight easier by becoming vegetarians. Of course, they will still need to compose their diet very carefully since many of the high-calorie (with low nutritional value) foods contain no meat at all. Actually, meat is not high on calories unless it is a fatty meat. Less clear and more arguable is the claim that vegetarianism is healthier and better for one’s longevity. All advocates of vegetarianism play this card and support their claims with many arguments. The basic idea is that our body can get everything it needs from plants or animal by-products such as eggs or milk. Of course, there are extreme groups who refuse to eat animal by-products, but I’ll stick with the less extreme idea. Anyway, this is true, at least as long as you eat fish – some people who consider themselves vegetarians eat fish, some don’t. Anyway, no one can say with absolute certainty (you can believe it, but cannot prove it indisputably) that avoiding all meat is beneficial for human body. However, it is certain that limiting certain types of meat is good for us. And vegetarians benefit from avoiding those kinds of meat (after all they do not eat any meat).

Change Management And Systems Implementation

Change Management And Systems Implementation Introduction This essay is about the importance of change management in information systems development and discusses about the issues that will be the result of change in an organization and also the relationship between change management and system implementation. This essay will explain the theories with related examples that were the implications of change in an organization and will critically evaluate and discusses some ideas from my personal point of view. This essay will reflect upon my understanding of change management that I have learned from this module. Change and Change Management Change management is important in any kind of organisations and especially in information system development. It is a structured way to manage change. According to Disraeli as quoted in (Gilley, 2005) Change is constant. Change is present everywhere. The change can be in an individual, in a group or in an organization. When an individual is motivated to do something different, the change that happens in an individual is the main reason for the whole word to change. Since the individual is associated with groups, and groups are related to other groups to form an organisation, the important process in part of change depends on all individuals, groups or teams, and organisations and leaders also have an important responsibility in the process of change. (Cameron Green, 2009). Technology, globalization, society and evolving legislation forces many organisations to change constantly. The organisations ability to effectively implement change decides the success of the change process which completely depends of the person involved in managing the change. Change is necessary for an organisation nowadays because of competetive pressures and to meet the current customer needs. According to (Gilley, 2005), every four or five years, organisations findings planning to undertake major organisational changes and atleast once a year to undertake moderate organisational change. So change management is inevitable in every organisations to successfully manage the process of change. The induction of this module started with the justification for the need of IT professionals to know change management. Most of the projects related to Information Technology failed due to various reasons in which one would be due to poor change management. According to (Burnes, 2009) Brindle study states that UK government had to admit the failure of its 170 million pounds programme to change the old computer systems that holds the whole countrys National insurance records was a chaos that collapsed the system and leaving the social security number into agitation. According to (Burnes,2009) Done and Willman stated that the main reason for the BAs Terminal 5 debacle was the failure of its cutting-edge computerized baggage handling system. According to (CMSI Lectures, 2010, Week 1, Slide 11), the role of the IT professionals would be working in a team with other professionals, designing the system which other people will use, expecting how they will use the system and explaining the u sers how to use the system to their maximum potential. A change management process involves all the above mentioned roles of an IT professional. These points provided me a complete justification and understanding of the need of change management for a person like me who is an IT professional. The following week I learned about different type of systems and different types of implementations involved in an IT project, other considerations for an implementation, the reason for the implementation and the process of implementation. The different kinds of systems are software such as applications and desktop, hardware system and infrastructure systems such as buildings and network. The facts that should be consider while implementing a system are the level of knowledge in the system, technology, the level of importance with the system and people, whether it is in sourced/outsourced and using the maturity models. According to (Okrent Vokurka, 2004), there are three types of implementation 1) Pilot implementation in which the prioritized functional area which gives the most benefits is implemented first 2) Parallel implementation in which the change is tested in both old and new systems parallel and 3) Big bang implementation in which the data is migrated from old system to the new system all at once which is the most risky implementation. The big bang implementation is considered as most risky implementation since most of the projects implemented this way fails. For example, Heathrow Terminal 5 project was implemented using Big bang implementation. The cutting-edge computerized baggage handler system was considered to be one of the hardest-working IT systems as said by BAA and British Airways(BA) before its launch of the system and it didnt work when it was to work. (Swabey, 2008). There are different types of change such as reactive and proactive change, incremental and All at once change, planned and emergent change. According to (Orlikowski Hofman, 1997) the different types of change are planned(anticipated), emergent and opportunity-based change. Planned change is the change that is well planned and it happenes as we planned. Emergent change is the change which occurs spontaneously out of some experimentation which is not planned. The opportunity-based change is the change that is not planned but introduced purposefully to meet the opportunities that were not expected. Some various issues and aspects of change management can be illustrated with a case study: GK Printers Limited Background: GK Printers Limited is a small printing business established after the Second World War.It is a family business in which the current managing directors father established the business. The company was involved in printing jobs along with producing publicity catlogues for local companies, business cards and stationeries. The business went down due to various reasons such as recession, no computerised printing techniques and no graphics designed printing. This made the managing director to form some strategy along with the printing manager in which the first phase was to subcontract the printing works with graphical design instead of investing more money in new equipments. The company grew very well and they had a good profit and bought new equipments. In 1989, due to its growth in business, it was complicated to manage printing, designing and managing the subcontracting activities all together. The second phase of planned change was to manage companys costing system, controlling paper work and production scheduling. After many discussion, the company planned to install Computer Based System(CBS) and it took two years completely to install the working system after purchasing hardwares and refining the softwares according to the companys requirement. Training were provided to the users and also some managers to use the system effectively. The company had a growth again with their successful installation of CBS and they managed the changes that happened in their organisation. All the changes were in organisation and there were no change in the managerial behaviour of the organisation. The problem again aroused since the customers wants the company to reduce the cost of printing due to recession and they were giving smaller orders. This made GK to think about their survival. Since they were getting only smaller orders, their production cost remained the same and if they want to reduce the price to retain the customers, they will not have any profits. To find a soluti on, the managing director approached the marketing and design manager to come up with the problems and solutions. The manager came up with the problems and suggested to increase the design business by employing more design staffs. The senior staffs didnt agree and there were no decisions taken after the meeting. This made the managing director to consider and he approached a team builder to organise the teams inside the company. The team builder came up with a report that all the managers in the company are working and fully committed for the companys success and the negative point was the way the managing director approach for solutions. He made decisions himself or to consult only with one manager to make up with the decisions. The managing director was upset with this shock and he said he always wanted a team work in the company and henceforth all the decisions will be taken by consulting everyone in the management. This made the managers happy and they were asked to come up with solutions, and after six months, GK met all their customer requirements with the solutions the team came up with and there was a considerable growth in the business. The company also developed the business of designing and developing the websites for its customers in which this business was an accidental development and the managing director created a separate department for this business which become the most profitable and fastest growing part of GK. (Burnes, 2009:383-395) According to my personal point of view on the above discussed case study, the organisation had three phase of change which means this is a phased implementation. Even though the strategies were not planned and it emerged due to the problems, the approach to the change was planned rather than emergent approach. In the first two phase of changes, the company had changes in the organisation but not in the behavioural which led to some failures such as poor coordination and cooperation between the teams and managers and also the fighting for the position between managers. These led the company for the third phase of change which was the behavioural change in which all the members of the organisation understood and cooperated to work together and also the managin director decided to take decisions after discussing with the appropiate teams. The human implications of the change process can be noted in the above case study. When GK want to change their manual system to computerized system, the workers themselves suggested some companies to GK to discuss about the CBS system. The managing director gave the responsiblities of CBS system to the group of people who were the students analysing GKs requirements to install the systems and write softwares for the system. All the organisation changes that were made in the first two phases and the behavioural change that were made in the third phase were accepted by the individuals in the organisation. According to (Burnes, 2004) Lewin was interested to analyze the origins for change and he wants to understand why people dislike change. Lewins theories includes about the planned change embarked by the organization and unintended change that happens suddenly due to some contingencies, the three stage model (Unfreeze-movement-refreeze) and models of changes. But in this case study, t he organisation has no individuals who resisted change. According to (CMSI Lectures, 2010, Week 4, Slide 16) Mintzbergs definition of strategy as five P s can be applied on this case study as a prescriptive stream since the strategy preceds change and implementation flows from the strategic plan. Some of the plans involved in the GKs strategy was to make the manual systems computerized, meet the customer requirements and build a good team in the organisation. Some of the ploys involved were to provide customers with graphical design service and to satisfy all kind of customer needs.The position of GKs place in the market is high and they are one of the best among in providing creative website development for the customers. In contrast to the planned approach, the example of Volvos approach which is one the leading Swedish motor vehicle manufacturer to reorganising vehicle production from the traditional methods of car assembly can be taken as an approach to change as emergent. The decisions are based from the workers of the company and it is completely based on the group work in which Volvos approach to change is unique in its way in which it considers human-centered approach to work. A consultant is a person who is having skills that are different or unique and they have different perspective on an issue. The reasons for using this consultancy approach includes requirement of extra staff resources, on a temporary basis, need for expert help and knowledge to deal some situations, look differently about a particular situation and for outside opinion and disinterested information. (Nachimuthu, 23 November 2010). In the above case study, since no one in the organisation were aware of the changes to be brought, the managing director approached a lecturer at a polytechnic who is the friend of printing manager, in which the lecture suggested one of his student studying business can act as a consultant for the companys improvements. The student worked as a consultant, studied the company for two months and produced a report of the organisationss finding to the managing director and the printing manager which was the basis for the change in the organisation. Management involves doing things right whereas leadership involves doing the right things. Management is about maintaining stability and leadership is about bringing the change. Management processes focus on the present and leadership processes focus on the future. Management processes involves implementing policies and procedures whereas leadership processes involves creating a culture based on shared values. Management processes uses the power of their position and leadership processes uses the personal power. Leadership roles get strengths with different personality types. (CMSI Lectures, 2010, Week 7, Slide 21). For example, the case study that I was using in the seminar about the Shell Company fostering its new level of individual power can be taken. The leadership skills and personality types of Chris Knight were discussed. The case study explains the strategies followed by Knight. Chris knight was a good leader with skills such as motivation, knowledge of the business and abil ity to manage the change and system implementations that turn around the growth of Shell. (CMSI Seminars, 2010, Week 7) Whether if it is planned or emergent approach to change, if it is at individual, group or organisation level change, or incremental or continuos change, there should be one person to manage the change and take responsibility of the change. Change agent is the one who takes that responsibility who can be a managers, internal or external consultants or it can be a team. (Burnes, 2004) states that Expect the unexpected might be the motto of most change agents since the change agents should be capable of dealing with the unexpected.If I was an agent of change in the Heathrow Terminal 5 project, I would have tested the computerized baggage system with more load and would have given training to all staffs in how to get to the parking area and especially how to handle the baggage system. I would have not compromised on testing as the chief executive of BA did on the Terminal 5 project. (Massey, 2008). Conclusion It can be concluded from the above discussion on various issues of change, its implication on human as an individual and groups within an organisation, the different types of approaches to change, the need of consultants and importance of leadership that the knowledge of change management is inevitable in any organisation for a successful system implementation in which the GK case study is an example. The need of change management, its relationship with systems implementation and its importance in Information Technology is justified from the above discussions. [Word Count: 2508]

Complexities of Love Exposed in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club :: Joy Luck Club Essays

The Complexities of Love Exposed in The Joy Luck Club In the novel "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan, the ignorance, the disregard of, and the necessity of love are all reveled as the characters tell their life stories and memories. The characters in the novel take love for granted. By ignoring love, concentrating more on material possessions, and hiding their true identities, the characters don't realize love's importance. One character that takes love for granted is Harold, Lena St. Clair's husband. This occurs when Lena leans over to him in their car and states "I love you." He responds by asking Lena a question about his car, which seems to be more important to him than his relationship with her. Harold does not realize the importance of love. He only thinks about material possessions. Since Harold does not revealing his true nature, he reveals that he has a lack of love for himself as an individual. The love you have for yourself is a necessity in life because it provides self-respect; if one respects oneself, one will respect and love others. The story of Lindo Jong provides insight into the concept of revealing your true nature. To "keep everything inside" as does Lindo Jong, provides for not being able to experience love to its fullest. Lindo Jong hides "under a red marriage scarf" in attempt to shield herself from the outside world. Her "hiding under the scarf" demonstrates that to be able to love, you must be able to first reveal your true nature. Ying-Ying St. Clair stands as an example of the desire to remain hidden as she says, "All these years I kept my true nature hidden, running along like a small shadow so nobody could catch me." The image of the shadow relates directly to the red marriage scarf. They both attempt to provide the concealment of their true natures, because the result of revealing your true self may be that of "pain". The importance of love goes unnoticed as the characters take love for granted and expect it to naturally come to them. The ceasing of taking love for granted does occur later and has its results and consequences. The characters realize that they are taking love for granted when they feel meaningless and uncomfortable, and stop doing so by either ending the relationship or confronting the problem.

Essay --

Throughout history, sugar has been an important product due to its multiple uses as a sweetener and preservative. Countless corporations continue to switch from cane sugar to HFCS to lower cost. But is the toll it takes on American’s health worth the quick buck? C. DIVISION: - 2 Main Points – roadmap, or preview for audience of what is to come. 1. First I would like to give a brief description of what HFCS is, what makes them different from cane sugar 2. When/why the U.S. started using HFCS in products and possible risk factors D. DEVELOPMENT: - 2 Sub-Points of Main Points – supporting detail of main points: quotations, stats 1. A brief description of what HFCS are, what makes them different from cane sugar? a. Since its introduction to food products in the 1960's, HFCS has slowly been added to most foods, such as ketchup, baby formula, soft drinks, baked goods, and breakfast cereals. High Fructose Corn Syrup is a thick, gummy substance used as an artificial sweetener. It’s produced by treating corn with enzymes. First the corn is made into corn starch then into corn syrup a...

Kolb Learning Style Inventory

The Kolb Learning Style Inventory—Version 3. 1 2005 Technical Speci? cations Alice Y. Kolb Experience Based Learning Systems, Inc. David A. Kolb Case Western Reserve University May 15, 2005 Abstract The Kolb Learning Style Inventory Version 3. 1 (KLSI 3. 1), revised in 2005, is the latest revision of the original Learning Style Inventory developed by David A. Kolb. Like its predecessors, KLSI 3. 1 is based on experiential learning theory (Kolb 1984) and is designed to help individuals identify the way they learn from experience.This revision includes new norms that are based on a larger, more diverse, and more representative sample of 6977 LSI users. The format, items, scoring and interpretative booklet remain identical with KLSI 3. The technical speci? cations are designed to adhere to the standards for educational and psychological testing developed by the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measureme nt in Education (1999). Section 1 of the technical speci? cations describes the conceptual foundations of the LSI 3. in the theory of experiential learning (ELT). Section 2 provides a description of the inventory that includes its purpose, history, and format. Section 3 describes the characteristics of the KLSI 3. 1 normative sample. Section 4 includes internal reliability and test-retest reliability studies of the inventory. Section 5 provides information about research on the internal and external validity for the instrument. Internal validity studies of the structure of the KLSI 3. 1 using correlation and factor analysis are reported.External validity includes research on demographics, educational specialization, concurrent validity with other experiential learning assessment instruments, aptitude test performance, academic performance, experiential learning in teams, and educational applications.  © Copyright 2005: Experience Based Learning Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 1. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION—EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THEORY AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNING STYLES The Kolb Learning Style Inventory differs from other tests of learning style and personality used in education by being based on a comprehensive theory of learning and development.Experiential learning theory (ELT) draws on the work of prominent twentieth century scholars who gave experience a central role in their theories of human learning and development-notably John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, Jean Piaget, William James, Carl Jung, Paulo Freire, Carl Rogers, and others-to develop a holistic model of the experiential learning process and a multi-linear model of adult development. The theory, described in detail in Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Kolb 1984), is built on six propositions that are shared by these scholars. . Learning is best conceived as a process, not in terms of outcomes. To improve learning in higher education, the primary focus should be on engaging students in a process that best enhances their learning —a process that includes feedback on the effectiveness of their learning efforts. â€Å"†¦ education must be conceived as a continuing reconstruction of experience: †¦ the process and goal of education are one and the same thing. † (Dewey 1897: 79) 2. All learning is relearning.Learning is best facilitated by a process that draws out the students’ beliefs and ideas about a topic so that they can be examined, tested, and integrated with new, more re? ned ideas. 3. Learning requires the resolution of con? icts between dialectically opposed modes of adaptation to the world. Con? ict, differences, and disagreement are what drive the learning process. In the process of learning, one is called upon to move back and forth between opposing modes of re? ection and action and feeling and thinking. 4. Learning is a holistic process of adaptation to the world.It is not just the result of cognit ion but involves the integrated functioning of the total person—thinking, feeling, perceiving, and behaving. 5. Learning results from synergetic transactions between the person and the environment. In Piaget’s terms, learning occurs through equilibration of the dialectic processes of assimilating new experiences into existing concepts and accommodating existing concepts to new experience. 6. Learning is the process of creating knowledge. ELT proposes a constructivist theory of learning whereby social knowledge is created and recreated in the personal knowledge of the learner.This stands in contrast to the â€Å"transmission† model on which much current educational practice is based, where pre-existing ? xed ideas are transmitted to the learner. ELT de? nes learning as â€Å"the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience† (Kolb 1984: 41). The ELT model portrays two dialectically related modes of grasping experience-Concrete Experience (CE) and Abstract Conceptualization (AC)-and two dialectically related modes of transforming experience-Re? ctive Observation (RO) and Active Experimentation (AE). Experiential learning is a process of constructing knowledge that involves a creative tension among the four learning modes that is responsive to contextual demands. This process is portrayed as an idealized learning cycle or spiral where the learner â€Å"touches all the bases†Ã¢â‚¬â€experiencing, re? ecting, thinking, and acting-in a recursive process that is responsive to the learning situation and what is being learned. Immediate or concrete experiences are the basis for observations and re? ections. These re? ctions are assimilated and distilled into abstract concepts from which new implications for action can be drawn. These implications can be actively tested and serve as guides in creating new experiences (Figure 1). ELT proposes that this idealized learning cycle will vary by individuals’ learning style and learning context. 2 LSI Technical Manual Concrete Experience Testing Implications of Concepts in New Situations Observation and Reflections Formation of Abstract Concepts and Generalization Figure 1. The experiential learning cycle In The art of changing the brain: Enriching teaching by exploring the biology f learning, James Zull, a biologist and founding director of CWRU’s University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE), sees a link between ELT and neuroscience research, suggesting that this process of experiential learning is related to the process of brain functioning as shown in Figure 2. â€Å"Put into words, the ? gure illustrates that concrete experiences come through the sensory cortex, re? ective observation involves the integrative cortex at the back, creating new abstract concepts occurs in the frontal integrative cortex, and active testing i nvolves the motor brain.In other words, the learning cycle arises from the structure of the brain. † (Zull 2002: 18-19) 3 Figure 2. The experiential learning cycle and regions of the cerebral cortex. Reprinted with permission of the author (Zull 2002) ELT posits that learning is the major determinant of human development and that how individuals learn shapes the course of their personal development. Previous research (Kolb 1984) has shown that learning styles are in? uenced by personality type, educational specialization, career choice, and current job role and tasks. Yamazaki (2002, 2004a) has recently identi? d cultural in? uences as well. The ELT developmental model (Kolb 1984) de? nes three stages: (1) acquisition, from birth to adolescence, where basic abilities and cognitive structures develop; (2) specialization, from formal schooling through the early work and personal experiences of adulthood, where social, educational, and organizational socialization forces shape th e development of a particular, specialized learning style; and (3) integration in midcareer and later life, where nondominant modes of learning are expressed in work and personal life.Development through these stages is characterized by increasing complexity and relativism in adapting to the world and by increased integration of the dialectic con? icts between AC and CE and AE and RO. Development is conceived as multi-linear based on an individual’s particular learning style and life path—development of CE increases affective complexity, of RO increases perceptual complexity, of AC increases symbolic complexity, and of AE increases behavioral complexity.The concept of learning style describes individual differences in learning based on the learner’s preference for employing different phases of the learning cycle. Because of our hereditary equipment, our particular life experiences, and the demands of our present environment, we develop a preferred way of choosin g among the four learning modes. We resolve the con? ict between being concrete or abstract and between being active or re? ective in patterned, characteristic ways.Much of the research on ELT has focused on the concept of learning style, using the Learning Style Inventory (LSI) to assess individual learning styles (Kolb 1971, 1985, 1999). While individuals tested on the LSI show many different patterns of scores, previous research with the instrument has identi? ed four learning styles that are associated with different approaches to learning—Diverging, Assimilating, Converging, and Accommodating. The following summary of the four basic learning styles is based on both research and clinical observation of these patterns of LSI scores (Kolb1984, 1999a). LSI Technical Manual An individual with diverging style has CE and RO as dominant learning abilities. People with this learning style are best at viewing concrete situations from many different points of view. It is labeled Di verging because a person with it performs better in situations that call for generation of ideas, such as a brainstorming session. People with a Diverging learning style have broad cultural interests and like to gather information. They are interested in people, tend to be imaginative and emotional, have broad cultural interests, and tend to specialize in the arts.In formal learning situations, people with the Diverging style prefer to work in groups, listening with an open mind to different points of view and receiving personalized feedback. An individual with an assimilating style has AC and RO as dominant learning abilities. People with this learning style are best at understanding a wide range of information and putting it into concise, logical form. Individuals with an Assimilating style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts. Generally, people with this style ? d it more important that a theory have logical soundness than practical value. The Assimilating learning style is important for effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal learning situations, people with this style prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think things through. An individual with a converging style has AC and AE as dominant learning abilities. People with this learning style are best at ? nding practical uses for ideas and theories. They have the ability to solve problems and make decisions based on ? ding solutions to questions or problems. Individuals with a Converging learning style prefer to deal with technical tasks and problems rather than with social issues and interpersonal issues. These learning skills are important for effectiveness in specialist and technology careers. In formal learning situations, people with this style prefer to experiment with new ideas, simulations, laboratory assignments, and practical applications. An individual with an accommodating style has CE and AE as do minant learning abilities.People with this learning style have the ability to learn from primarily â€Å"hands-on† experience. They enjoy carrying out plans and involving themselves in new and challenging experiences. Their tendency may be to act on â€Å"gut† feelings rather than on logical analysis. In solving problems, individuals with an Accommodating learning style rely more heavily on people for information than on their own technical analysis. This learning style is important for effectiveness in action-oriented careers such as marketing or sales.In formal learning situations, people with the Accommodating learning style prefer to work with others to get assignments done, to set goals, to do ? eld work, and to test out different approaches to completing a project. 5 FACTORS THAT SHAPE AND INFLUENCE LEARNING STYLES The above patterns of behavior associated with the four basic learning styles are shaped by transactions between people and their environment at ? ve different levels—personality, educational specialization, professional career, current job role, and adaptive competencies.While some have interpreted learning style as a personality variable (Garner 2000; Furnam, Jackson, and Miller 1999), ELT de? nes learning style as a social psychological concept that is only partially determined by personality. Personality exerts a small but pervasive in? uence in nearly all situations; but at the other levels, learning style is in? uenced by increasingly speci? c environmental demands of educational specialization, career, job, and tasks skills. Table 1 summarizes previous research that has identi? ed how learning styles are determined at these various levels. Table 1.Relationship Between Learning Styles and Five Levels of Behavior Behavior Level Personality types Educational Specialization Professional Career Current Jobs Adaptive Competencies Diverging Introverted Feeling Arts, English History Psychology Social Service Arts Personal j obs Valuing skills Assimilating Introverted Intuition Mathematics Physical Science Sciences Research Information Information jobs Thinking skills Converging Extraverted Thinking Engineering Medicine Engineering Medicine Technology Technical jobs Decision skills Accommodating Extraverted Sensation Education Communication Nursing Sales Social Service Education Executive jobs Action skills Personality Types Although the learning styles of and learning modes proposed by ELT are derived from the works of Dewey, Lewin, and Piaget, many have noted the similarity of these concepts to Carl Jung’s descriptions of individuals’ preferred ways for adapting in the world.Several research studies relating the LSI with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) indicate that Jung’s Extraversion/Introversion dialectical dimension correlates with the Active/Re? ective dialectic of ELT, and the MBTI Feeling/Thinking dimension correlates with the LSI Concrete Experience/ Abstract Concep tualization dimension. The MBTI Sensing type is associated with the LSI Accommodating learning style, and the MBTI Intuitive type with the LSI Assimilating style. MBTI Feeling types correspond to LSI Diverging learning styles, and Thinking types to Converging styles. The above discussion implies that the Accommodating learning style is the Extraverted Sensing type, and the Converging style the Extraverted Thinking type.The Assimilating learning style corresponds to the Introverted Intuitive personality type, and the Diverging style to the Introverted Feeling type. Myers (1962) descriptions of these MBTI types are very similar to the corresponding LSI learning styles as described by ELT (Kolb 1984, 83-85). Educational Specialization Early educational experiences shape people’s individual learning styles by instilling positive attitudes toward speci? c sets of learning skills and by teaching students how to learn. Although elementary education is generalized, an increasing proc ess of specialization begins in high school and becomes sharper during the college years. This specialization in the realms of social knowledge in? ences individuals’ orientations toward learning, resulting in particular relations between learning styles and early training in an educational specialty or discipline. For example, people specializing in the arts, history, political science, English, and psychology tend to have Diverging learning styles, while those majoring 6 LSI Technical Manual in more abstract and applied areas such as medicine and engineering have Converging learning styles. Individuals with Accommodating styles often have educational backgrounds in education, communications, and nursing, and those with Assimilating styles in mathematics and physical sciences. Professional Career A third set of factors that shape learning styles stems from professional careers.One’s professional career choice not only exposes one to a specialized learning environment, but it also involves a commitment to a generic professional problem, such as social service, that requires a specialized adaptive orientation. In addition, one becomes a member of a reference group of peers who share a professional mentality and a common set of values and beliefs about how one should behave professionally. This professional orientation shapes learning style through habits acquired in professional training and through the more immediate normative pressures involved in being a competent professional. Research over the years has shown that social service and arts careers attract people with a Diverging learning style. Professions in the sciences and information or research have people with an Assimilating learning style.The Converging learning styles tends to be dominant among professionals in technology-intensive ? elds such as medicine and engineering. Finally, the Accommodating learning style characterizes people with careers in ? elds such as sales, social service , and education. Current Job Role The fourth level of factors in? uencing learning style is the person’s current job role. The task demands and pressures of a job shape a person’s adaptive orientation. Executive jobs, such as general management, that require a strong orientation to task accomplishment and decision making in uncertain emergent circumstances require an Accommodating learning style.Personal jobs, such as counseling and personnel administration, which require the establishment of personal relationships and effective communication with other people, demand a Diverging learning style. Information jobs, such as planning and research, which require data gathering and analysis, as well as conceptual modeling, require an Assimilating learning style. Technical jobs, such as bench engineering and production, require technical and problem-solving skills, which require a convergent learning orientation. Adaptive Competencies The ? fth and most immediate level of for ces that shapes learning style is the speci? c task or problem the person is currently working on. Each task we face requires a corresponding set of skills for effective performance.The effective matching of task demands and personal skills results in an adaptive competence. The Accommodative learning style encompasses a set of competencies that can best be termed Acting skills: Leadership, Initiative, and Action. The Diverging learning style is associated with Valuing skills: Relationship, Helping Others, and Sense Making. The Assimilating learning style is related to Thinking skills: Information Gathering, Information Analysis, and Theory Building. Finally, the Converging learning style is associated with Decision skills like Quantitative Analysis, Use of Technology, and Goal Setting (Kolb1984). 7 2. THE LEARNING STYLE INVENTORY PURPOSE The Learning Style Inventory (LSI) was created to ful? l two purposes: 1. To serve as an educational tool to increase individuals’ understa nding of the process of learning from experience and their unique individual approach to learning. By increasing awareness of how they learn, the aim is to increase learners’ capacity for meta-cognitive control of their learning process, enabling them to monitor and select learning approaches that work best for them in different learning situations. By providing a language for talking about learning styles and the learning process, the inventory can foster conversation among learners and educators about how to create the most effective learning environment for those involved.For this purpose, the inventory is best presented not as a test, but as an experience in understanding how one learns. Scores on the inventory should not be interpreted as de? nitive, but as a starting point for exploration of how one learns best. To facilitate this purpose, a self-scoring and interpretation book that explains the experiential learning cycle and the characteristics of the different learni ng styles, along with scoring and pro? ling instructions, is included with the inventory. 2. To provide a research tool for investigating experiential learning theory (ELT) and the characteristics of individual learning styles. This research can contribute to the broad advancement of experiential learning and, speci? ally, to the validity of interpretations of individual learning style scores. A research version of the instrument, including only the inventory to be scored by the researcher, is available for this purpose. The LSI is not a criterion-referenced test and is not intended for use to predict behavior for purposes of selection, placement, job assignment, or selective treatment. This includes not using the instrument to assign learners to different educational treatments, a process sometimes referred to as tracking. Such categorizations based on a single test score amount to stereotyping that runs counter to the philosophy of experiential learning, which emphasizes individua l uniqueness. When it is used in the simple, straightforward, and open way intended, the LSI usually provides a valuable self-examination and discussion that recognizes the uniqueness, complexity, and variability in individual approaches to learning. The danger lies in the rei? cation of learning styles into ? xed traits, such that learning styles become stereotypes used to pigeonhole individuals and their behavior. † (Kolb 1981a: 290-291) The LSI is constructed as a self-assessment exercise and tool for construct validation of ELT. Tests designed for predictive validity typically begin with a criterion, such as academic achievement, and work backward to identify items or tests with high criterion correlations.Even so, even the most sophisticated of these tests rarely rises above a . 5 correlation with the criterion. For example, while Graduate Record Examination Subject Test scores are better predictors of ? rst-year graduate school grades than either the General Test score o r undergraduate GPA, the combination of these three measures only produces multiple correlations with grades ranging from . 4 to . 6 in various ? elds (Anastasi and Urbina 1997). Construct validation is not focused on an outcome criterion, but on the theory or construct the test measures. Here the emphasis is on the pattern of convergent and discriminant theoretical predictions made by the theory. Failure to con? m predictions calls into question the test and the theory. â€Å"However, even if each of the correlations proved to be quite low, their cumulative effect would be to support the validity of the test and the underlying theory. † (Selltiz, Jahoda, Deutsch, and Cook 1960: 160) Judged by the standards of construct validity, ELT has been widely accepted as a useful framework for learning-centered educational innovation, including instructional design, curriculum development, and life-long learning. Field and job classi? cation studies viewed as a whole also show a patter n of results consistent with the ELT structure of knowledge theory. 8 LSI Technical ManualHISTORY Five versions of the Learning Style Inventory have been published over the last 35 years. During this time, attempts have been made to openly share information about the inventory, its scoring, and its technical characteristics with other interested researchers. The results of their research have been instrumental in the continuous improvement of the inventory. Learning Style Inventory-Version 1 (Kolb 1971, Kolb 1976) The original Learning Style Inventory (LSI 1) was created in 1969 as part of an MIT curriculum development project that resulted in the ? rst management textbook based on experiential learning (Kolb, Rubin, and McIntyre 1971).It was originally developed as an experiential educational exercise designed to help learners understand the process of experiential learning and their unique individual style of learning from experience. The term â€Å"learning style† was coin ed to describe these individual differences in how people learn. Items for the inventory were selected from a longer list of words and phrases developed for each learning mode by a panel of four behavioral scientists familiar with experiential learning theory. This list was given to a group of 20 graduate students who were asked to rate each word or phrase for social desirability. Attempting to select words that were of equal social desirability, a ? nal set of 12 items including a word or phrase for each learning mode was selected for pre-testing.Analysis showed that three of these sets produced nearly random responses and were thus eliminated, resulting in a ? nal version of the LSI with 9 items. These items were further re? ned through item-whole correlation analysis to include six scored items for each learning mode. Research with the inventory was stimulated by classroom discussions with students, who found the LSI to be helpful to them in understanding the process of experient ial learning and how they learned. From 1971 until it was revised in 1985, there were more than 350 published research studies using the LSI. Validity for the LSI 1 was established in a number of ? elds, including education, management, psychology, computer science, medicine, and nursing (Hickcox 1990, Iliff 1994).The results of this research with LSI 1 provided provided empirical support for the most complete and systematic statement of ELT, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Kolb 1984). Several studies of the LSI 1 identi? ed psychometric weaknesses of the instrument, particularly low internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability. Learning Style Inventory-Version 2 (Kolb 1985) Low reliability coef? cients and other concerns about the LSI 1 led to a revision of the inventory in 1985 (LSI 2). Six new items chosen to increase internal reliability (alpha) were added to each scale, making 12 scored items on each scale. These chan ges increased scale alphas to an average of . 81 ranging from . 73 to . 88.Wording of all items was simpli? ed to a seventh grade reading level, and the format was changed to include sentence stems (e. g. , â€Å"When I learn†). Correlations between the LSI 1 and LSI 2 scales averaged . 91 and ranged from . 87 to . 93. A new more diverse normative reference group of 1446 men and women was created. Research with the LSI 2 continued to establish validity for the instrument. From 1985 until the publication of the LSI 3 1999, more than 630 studies were published, most using the LSI 2. While internal reliability estimates for the LSI 2 remained high in independent studies, test-retest reliability remained low. Learning Style Inventory-Version 2a (Kolb 1993)In 1991 Veres, Sims, and Locklear published a reliability study of a randomized version of the LSI 2 that showed a small decrease in internal reliability but a dramatic increase in test-retest reliability with the random scoring format. To study this format, a research version of the random format inventory (LSI 2a) was published in 1993. 9 Kolb Learning Style Inventory-Version 3 (Kolb 1999) In 1999 the randomized format was adopted in a revised self-scoring and interpretation booklet (LSI 3) that included a color-coded scoring sheet to simplify scoring. The new booklet was organized to follow the learning cycle, emphasizing the LSI as an â€Å"experience in learning how you learn. † New application information on teamwork, managing con? ct, personal and professional communication, and career choice and development were added. The LSI 3 continued to use the LSI 2 normative reference group until norms for the randomized version could be created. Kolb Learning Style Inventory-Version 3. 1 (Kolb 2005) The new LSI 3. 1 described here modi? ed the LSI 3 to include new normative data described below. This revision includes new norms that are based on a larger, more diverse and representative sample of 697 7 LSI users. The format, items, scoring, and interpretative booklet remain identical to KLSI 3. The only change in KLSI 3. 1 is in the norm charts used to convert raw LSI scores. FORMATThe Learning Style Inventory is designed to measure the degree to which individuals display the different learning styles derived from experiential learning theory. The form of the inventory is determined by three design parameters. First, the test is brief and straightforward, making it useful both for research and for discussing the learning process with individuals and providing feedback. Second, the test is constructed in such a way that individuals respond to it as they would respond to a learning situation: it requires them to resolve the tensions between the abstract-concrete and active-re? ective orientations. For this reason, the LSI format requires them to rank order their preferences for the abstract, concrete, active, and re? ective orientations.Third, and most obviously, it was hoped that the measures of learning styles would predict behavior in a way consistent with the theory of experiential learning. All versions of the LSI have had the same format—a short questionnaire (9 items for LSI 1 and 12 items for subsequent versions) that asks respondents to rank four sentence endings that correspond to the four learning modes— Concrete Experience (e. g. , experiencing), Re? ective Observation (re? ecting), Abstract Conceptualization (thinking), and Active Experimentation (doing). Items in the LSI are geared to a seventh grade reading level. The inventory is intended for use by teens and adults. It is not intended for use by younger children.The LSI has been translated into many languages, including, Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Thai, and there have been many cross-cultural studies using it (Yamazaki 2002). The Forced-Choice Format of the LSI The format of the LSI is a forced-choice format that ranks an indiv idual’s relative choice preferences among the four modes of the learning cycle. This is in contrast to the more common normative, or free-choice, format, such as the widely used Likert scale, which rates absolute preferences on independent dimensions. The forced-choice format of the LSI was dictated by the theory of experiential learning and by the primary purpose of the instrument.ELT is a holistic, dynamic, and dialectic theory of learning. Because it is holistic, the four modes that make up the experiential learning cycle-CE, RO, AC, and AE- are conceived as interdependent. Learning involves resolving the creative tension among these learning modes in response to the speci? c learning situation. Since the two learning dimensions, AC-CE and AE-RO, are related dialectically, the choice of one pole involves not choosing the opposite pole. Therefore, because ELT postulates that learning in life situations requires the resolution of con? icts among interdependent learning modes , to be ecologically valid, the learning style assessment process should require a similar process of con? ct resolution in the choice of one’s preferred learning approach. ELT de? nes learning style not as a ? xed trait, but as a dynamic state arising from an individual’s preferential resolution of the dual dialectics of experiencing/conceptualizing and acting/re? ecting. â€Å"The stability and endurance of these states in individuals comes not solely from ? xed genetic qualities or characteristics of human beings: nor, for that matter, does it come from the stable ? xed demands of environmental circumstances. Rather, stable and enduring patterns of human individuality arise from consistent patterns of transaction between the individual and his or her 10 LSI Technical Manual environment.The way we process the possibilities of each new emerging event determines the range of choices and decisions we see. The choices and decisions we make to some extent determine the e vents we live through, and these events in? uence our future choices. Thus, people create themselves through the choice of actual occasions they live through. † (Kolb 1984: 63-64) The primary purpose of the LSI is to provide learners with information about their preferred approach to learning. The most relevant information for the learner is about intra-individual differences, his or her relative preference for the four learning modes, not inter-individual comparisons.Ranking relative preferences among the four modes in a forced-choice format is the most direct way to provide this information. While individuals who take the inventory sometimes report dif? culty in making these ranking choices, they report that the feedback they get from the LSI gives them more insight than had been the case when we used a normative Likert rating scale version. This is because the social desirability response bias in the rating scales fails to de? ne a clear learning style, that is, they say th ey prefer all learning modes. This is supported by Harland’s (2002) ? nding that feedback from a forced-choice test format was perceived as more accurate, valuable, and useful than feedback from a normative version.The adoption of the forced-choice method for the LSI has at times placed it in the center of an ongoing debate in the research literature about the merits of forced-choice instruments between what might be called â€Å"rigorous statisticians† and â€Å"pragmatic empiricists. † Statisticians have questioned the use of the forced-choice format because of statistical limitations, called ipsativity, that are the result of the ranking procedure. Since ipsative scores represent the relative strength of a variable compared to others in the ranked set, the resulting dependence among scores produces methodinduced negative correlations among variables and violates a fundamental assumption of classical test theory required for use of techniques such as analysis of variance and factor analysis-independence of error variance.Cornwell and Dunlap (1994) stated that ipsative scores cannot be factored and that correlation-based analysis of ipsative data produced uninterpretable and invalid results (cf. Hicks 1970, Johnson et al. 1988). Other criticisms include the point that ipsative scores are technically ordinal, not the interval scales required for parametric statistical analysis; that they produce lower internal reliability estimates and lower validity coef? cients (Barron 1996). While critics of forced-choice instruments acknowledge that these criticisms do not detract from the validity of intra-individual comparisons (LSI purpose one), they argue that ipsative scores are not appropriate for inter-individual comparisons, since inter-individual comparisons on a ranked ariable are not independent absolute preferences, but preferences that are relative to the other ranked variables in the set (Barron 1996, Karpatschof and Elkjaer 2000). Howeve r, since ELT argues that a given learning mode preference is relative to the other three modes, it is the comparison of relative not absolute preferences that the theory seeks to assess. The â€Å"pragmatic empiricists† argue that in spite of theoretical statistical arguments, normative and forced-choice variations of the same instrument can produce empirically comparable results. Karpatschof and Elkjaer (2000) advanced this case in their metaphorically titled paper â€Å"Yet the Bumblebee Flies. † With theory, simulation, and empirical data, they presented evidence for the comparability of ipsative and normative data.Saville and Wilson (1991) found a high correspondence between ipsative and normative scores when forced choice involved a large number of alternative dimensions. Normative tests also have serious limitations, which the forced-choice format was originally created to deal with (Sisson 1948). Normative scales are subject to numerous response biases—ce ntral tendency bias, in which respondents avoid extreme responses, acquiescence response, and social desirability responding-and are easy to fake. Forced- choice instruments are designed to avoid these biases by forcing choice among alternatives in a way that re? ects real live choice making (Hicks 1970, Barron 1996).Matthews and Oddy found large bias in the extremeness of positive and negative responses in normative tests and concluded that when sources of artifact are controlled, â€Å"individual differences in ipsative scores can be used to rank individuals meaningfully† (1997: 179). Pickworth and Shoeman (2000) found signi? cant response bias in two normative LSI formats developed by Marshall and Merritt (1986) and Geiger et al. (1993). Conversely, Beutell and Kressel (1984) found that social desirability contributed less than 4% of the variance in LSI scores, in spite of the fact that individual LSI items all had very high social desirability. 11 In addition, ipsative te sts can provide external validity evidence comparable to normative data (Barron 1996) or in some cases even better (Hicks 1970). For example, attempts to use normative rating versions of theLSI report reliability and internal validity data but little or no external validity (Pickworth and Shoeman 2000, Geiger et al. 1993, Romero et al. 1992, Marshall and Merritt 1986, Merritt and Marshall 1984). Characteristics of the LSI Scales The LSI assesses six variables: four primary scores that measure an individual’s relative emphasis on the four learning orientations—Concrete Experience (CE), Re? ective Observation (RO), Abstract Conceptualization (AC), and Active Experimentation (AE)—and two combination scores that measure an individual’s preference for abstractness over concreteness (AC-CE) and action over re? ection (AE-RO). The four primary scales of the LSI are ipsative because of the forced-choice format of the instrument.This results in negative correlatio ns among the four scales, the mean magnitude of which can be estimated (assuming no underlying correlations among them) by the formula -1/(m – 1) where m is the number of variables (Johnson et al. 1988). This results in a predicted average method- induced correlation of -. 33 among the four primary LSI scales. The combination scores AC-CE and AE-RO, however, are not ipsative. Forced- choice instruments can produce scales that are not ipsative (Hicks 1970; Pathi, Manning, and Kolb 1989). To demonstrate the independence of the combination scores and interdependence of the primary scores, Pathi, Manning, and Kolb (1989) had SPSS-X randomly ? ll out and analyze 1000 LSI’s according to the ranking instructions. While the mean intercorrelation among the primary scales was -. 3 as predicted, the correlation between AC-CE and AE-RO was +. 038. In addition, if AC-CE and AE-RO were ipsative scales, the correlation between the two scales would be -1. 0 according to the above form ula. Observed empirical relationships are always much smaller, e. g. +. 13 for a sample of 1591 graduate students (Freedman and Stumpf 1978), -. 09 for the LSI 2 normative sample of 1446 respondents (Kolb 1999b), -. 19 for a sample of 1296 MBA students (Boyatzis and Mainemelis 2000) and -. 21 for the normative sample of 6977 LSI’s for the KLSI 3. 1 described below. The independence of the two combination scores can be seen by examining some example scoring results.For example, when AC-CE or AE-RO on a given item takes a value of +2 (from, say, AC = 4 and CE = 2, or AC = 3 and CE = 1), the other score can take a value of +2 or -2. Similarly when either score takes a value of +1 (from 4 -3, 3-2, or 2-1), the other can take the values of +3, +1, -1, or -3. In other words, when AC-CE takes a particular value, AERO can take two to four different values, and the score on one dimension does not determine the score on the other. 12 LSI Technical Manual 3. NORMS FOR THE LSI VERSION 3. 1 New norms for the LSI 3. 1 were created from responses by several groups of users who completed the randomized LSI 3. These norms are used to convert LSI raw scale scores to percentile scores (see Appendix 1).The purpose of percentile conversions is to achieve scale comparability among an individual’s LSI scores (Barron 1996) and to de? ne cutpoints for de? ning the learning style types. Table 2 shows the means and standard deviations for KLSI 3. 1 scale scores for the normative groups. Table 2. KLSI 3. 1 Scores for Normative Groups SAMPLE TOTAL NORM GROUP On-line Users Research Univ. Freshmen Lib. Arts College Students Art College UG Research Univ. MBA Distance E-learning Adult UG N 6977 Mn. S. D. 5023 288 CE 25. 39 6. 43 25. 22 6. 34 23. 81 6. 06 24. 51 6. 39 28. 02 6. 61 25. 54 6. 44 23. 26 5. 73 RO 28. 19 7. 07 27. 98 7. 03 29. 82 6. 71 28. 25 7. 32 29. 51 7. 18 26. 98 6. 94 27. 64 7. 04 AC 32. 22 7. 29 32. 43 7. 32 33. 49 6. 91 32. 07 6. 22 29. 06 6. 4 33. 92 7. 37 34 . 36 6. 87 AE 34. 14 6. 68 34. 36 6. 65 32. 89 6. 36 35. 05 7. 08 33. 17 6. 52 33. 48 7. 06 34. 18 6. 28 AC-CE 6. 83 11. 69 7. 21 11. 64 9. 68 10. 91 7. 56 10. 34 1. 00 11. 13 8. 38 11. 77 11. 10 10. 45 AE-RO 5. 96 11. 63 6. 38 11. 61 3. 07 10. 99 6. 80 12. 37 3. 73 11. 49 6. 49 11. 92 6. 54 11. 00 221 813 328 304 TOTAL NORMATIVE GROUP Normative percentile scores for the LSI 3. 1 are based on a total sample of 6977 valid LSI scores from users of the instrument. This user norm group is composed of 50. 4% women and 49. 4% men. Their age range is 17-75, broken down into the following age-range groups: < 19 = 9. 8%, 19-24 = 17. %, 25-34 = 27%, 35-44 = 23%, 45-54 = 17. 2%, and >54 = 5. 8 %. Their educational level is as follows: primary school graduate = 1. 2%, secondary school degree = 32. 1%, university degree = 41. 4%, and post-graduate degree = 25. 3%. The sample includes college students and working adults in a wide variety of ? elds. It is made up primarily of U. S. residents (80%) with the remaining 20% of users residing in 64 different countries. The norm group is made up of six subgroups, the speci? c demographic characteristics of which are described below. 13 On-line Users This sample of 5023 is composed of individuals and groups who have signed up to take the LSI on-line.Group users include undergraduate and graduate student groups, adult learners, business management groups, military management groups, and other organizational groups. Half of the sample are men and half are women. Their ages range as follows: 55 = 8. 1 %. Their educational level is as follows: primary school graduate = 1. 7%, secondary school degree = 18. 2%, university degree = 45. 5%, and postgraduate degree = 34. 6%. Most of the on-line users (66%) reside in the U. S. with the remaining 34% living in 64 different countries, with the largest representations from Canada (317), U. K. (212), India (154), Germany (100), Brazil (75), Singapore (59), France (49), and Japan (42). Research U niversity FreshmenThis sample is composed of 288 entering freshmen at a top research university. 53% are men and 47% are women. All are between the ages of 17 and 22. More than 87% of these students intend to major in science or engineering. Liberal Arts College Students Data for this sample were provided by Kayes (2005). This sample includes 221 students (182 undergraduates and 39 part-time graduate students) enrolled in business courses at a private liberal arts college. Their average age is 22, ranging from 18 to 51. 52% are male and 48% are female. Art College Undergraduates This sample is composed of 813 freshmen and graduating students from three undergraduate art colleges. Half of the sample are men and half are women.Their average age is 20, distributed as follows: 35 = 1%. Research University MBA Students This sample is composed of 328 full-time (71%) and part-time (29%) MBA students in a research university management school. 63% are men and 37% women. Their average age is 27, distributed as follows: 19-24 = 4. 1%, 25-34 = 81. 3%, 35-44 = 13. 8%, 45-54 = 1%. Distance E-learning Adult Undergraduate Students This sample is composed of 304 adult learners enrolled in an e-learning distance education undergraduate degree program at a large state university. 56% are women and 44% men. Their average age is 36, distributed as follows: 19-24 = 6. 3%, 25-34 = 37. 5%, 35-44 = 40. %, 45-54 = 14. 5%, and > 55 = 1. 6%. CUT-POINTS FOR LEARNING STYLE TYPES The four basic learning style types—Accommodating, Diverging, Assimilating, and Converging-are created by dividing the AC-CE and AE-RO scores at the ? ftieth percentile of the total norm group and plotting them on the Learning Style Type Grid (Kolb 1999a: 6). The cut point for the AC-CE scale is +7, and the cut point for the AE-RO scale is +6. The Accommodating type would be de? ned by an AC-CE raw score =7, the Diverging type by AC-CE =7, and the Assimilating type by AC-CE >=8 and AE-RO +12) while the re? ective regions are de? ned by percentiles less than 33. 33% (

The Chemistry of Blood Colours

Blood is a necessary component of the majority of living organisms (all vertebrates and some invertebrates); it carries vital nutrients, oxygen and proteins to body tissues and carries away waste products. Blood, although most commonly red, can also be found in such colours as green, blue, clear, pink and violet. However, the common misconception surrounding the idea that human blood is blue before oxygenation is false. All human blood is varying shades of red; these wild alternate colours are found in other animal species such as certain species of crabs and insects. This colouring of the blood can be seen as an indicator of oxygen carrying ability or make apparent the metal with the highest concentration in the blood. The colour containing portions of blood are known as respiratory pigments; these pigments are metal containing proteins which combine reversibly with oxygen. Respiratory pigments are found within cells of blood and their primary function is to aid in the transportation of molecular oxygen. There are four unanimously recognised respiratory pigments, these are; hemoglobin, followed by hemocyanin, then chlorocruorin and Hemerythrin. These four pigments occur in greater percentages and are far more efficient in carrying oxygen than the few other pigments known. These lesser known pigments (not all fully recognised as respiratory pigments) include; vanadium chromagen and pinnaglobin. Haemoglobin, the most common respiratory pigment on earth is the pigment found in all vertebrates (excluding a few Antarctic fish) including humans. Hemoglobin is located within the platelet component of blood giving the distinctive red colouring associated with blood both when oxygenated and deoxygenated, when oxygenated it is a bright red and by the time it is traveling In the veins back to the heart, blood containing haemoglobin is a dark red in colour. This colour is due to the presence of iron in the haemoglobin. Iron is the central atom of the heme group ( Without iron in the heme group, there would be no site for the oxygen to bind) One molecule of haemoglobin, with iron at the centre, can carry four oxygen molecules. Fig 1: Hemoglobin structure Image: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013) Fig1. 2: Hemoglobin, human adult, heme group Image: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013) Hemocyanin is the second most evident form of respiratory pigment, found in mollusks, arthropods and some insects. Blood containing Hemocyanin is blue in colour when oxygenated and transparent in appearance when deoxygenated. Oxygenation causes a colour change between the colorless Cu(I) deoxygenated form and the blue Cu(II) oxygenated form. This blue colour is due to the presence of Two copper atom at the centre of hemocyanin particles and unlike haemoglobin, only two oxygen molecules can reversibly combine with the metal proteins at the centre of the hemocyanin particles therefore it is four times less efficient as an oxygen carrier than haemoglobin. Fig. 2: Hemocyanin, deoxygenated and oxygenated Image: (htt) Chlorocruorin is an iron, metalprotein, respiratory pigment with many similarities to hemoglobin. The most notable of the differences between hemoglobin and chlorocruorin is the abnormal heme group structure of chlorocruorin and unlike hemoglobin it floats freely within the plasma of blood rather than being confined to red blood cells. The chemical colour change of chlorocruorin bears resemblance to both hemoglobin and hemerythrin, changing from a green when deoxygenated to red when oxygenated (two oxygen molecules reversibly combine one iron atom). This ration puts chlorocruorin at 25% the efficiency of hemoglobin. Fig. 3: Chlorocruorin structure Image: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013) Hemerythrin is the third respiratory pigment containing iron, found in marine invertebrates (sipunculids and brachiopods) and used for oxygen transfer and/or storage. Although containing the same metal protein, hemerythrin differs from both haemoglobin and chlorocruorin as it contains two more iron atoms which reversibly combine and are connected by an oxygen molecule. This means that the efficiency of this pigment is 25% as effective as haemoglobin and on par for effectiveness with chlorocruorin. When the oxygen molecule combines directly (no heme group) with the iron atoms a colour change occurs; deoxygenated hemerythrin is near colourless changing to a pink/violet colour when oxygenated. Fig. 4: Hemerythrin structure found in sea worms Image: (Coleman, 2009) Other than the four major respiratory pigments, giving blood colour, there is dispute over two other pigments, little is known of these pigments. They are; Pinnaglobin, a brown pigment found in the blood of a mollusc of the genus Pinna, this pigment demonstrates similarities to the pigment Hemocyanin but contains manganese as the metal atom in place of copper. The other proposed pigment (idea is disputed) vanadium chromagen, is said to be light green in colour, contain metal atoms of Vanadium and is found in sea squirts, ascidians and tunicates. Bibliography (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://web. tock. com/kalee/chem32/spec/ (2008, 04 13). Retrieved from http://www. klingon. org/smboard/index. php? topic=1377. 0 Wiktionary. (2012, 11 11). Retrieved from http://en. wiktionary. org/wiki/vanadium_chromagen Coleman, W. F. (2009, 04 11). Dept. f Chemistry, Wellesley College. Retrieved from http://academics. wellesley. edu/Chemistry/Flick/chem341/hemoglobin1. html Department of Biology, Davidson college . (2005). Retrieved from http://www. bio. davidson. edu/Courses/Molbio/MolStudents/spring2005/Heiner/hemoglobin. html Encyclopedia britannica. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/260910/hemocyanin Frey, R. C. (n. d. ). Hemoglobin and the Heme Group. Retrieved from Department of chemistry, Washington University:

For all his Byronic

â€Å"For all his Byronic / Gothic excesses, Heathcliff exists and steps out of the confines of fiction†¦easily† (Evans 1982) â€Å"He stands unredeemed never once swerving in his arrow straight course to perdition† (CBronte, 1847) With reference to these and other readings of the character of Heathcliff, explore your own interpretation of this character. In your essay you should: * Consider the role and function of Heathcliff within the novel * Explore the characterisation * Consider the various interpretations of his character by A) Characters within the novel B) Critics * Make a personal response to the character. Teacher's Name: Mrs Gowdy Date: When Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights, she received much criticism for the character of Heathcliff. Heathcliff was believed to be the complete opposite to what a Victorian Gentleman should be: â€Å"It is almost definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain† (Cardinal Newman, 1852) Her sister, Charlotte, could not understand why Emily had a character of such evil in her book: â€Å"Whether it is right or advisable to create beings like Heathcliff, I do not know: I scarcely think it is.† (1) Considering Emily's background, it is logical to see why Charlotte might feel like this. Emily was born July 30th 1818 at Thornton, near Bradford, Yorkshire, and was the fifth of six children born to Patrick Bronte and his wife Maria Branwell. When she was two the family moved to Haworth, where Mr Bronte had been appointed the vicar. Except for short periods away as a student and later as a teacher, Haworth would remain her home for all her life. By the time she was seven, Emily had experienced three deaths in her family- her mother and her two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth. Because of her reclusive life, she therefore might not be expected to know of such people to base the character of Heathcliff on. A suggestion for the way Heathcliff behaved is her brother Branwell, who was an alcoholic and dabbled with drugs: † It would have been impossible for Emily to render Hindley's alcoholic degradation and Heathcliff's ranting misery without the protracted spectacle of Branwell's breakdown before her eyes day in and day out.† (Katherine Frank, 1990) However, Heathcliff is a character who stirs emotions in the reader, and our sympathy returns to him again and again throughout the novel, despite his many violent deeds. But why? Why do we feel pity for a man who is presented as an embodiment of dark powers? We are introduced to Heathcliff right at the opening of the first chapter by Mr. Lockwood, (who ironically could be a type of the Victorian Gentleman,) who is delighted to discover that he is somewhat of a misanthropist like himself: â€Å"Mr. Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us†(2) However, Mr Lockwood soon discovers that Heathcliff is not all that he seems to be. Heathcliff winces at the mention of Thrushcross Grange, when Mr Lockwood inquires about it: † ‘Thrushcross Grange is my own, sir' he interrupted, wincing. ‘I should not allow any one to inconvenience me, if I could hinder it – walk in!' † (3) This suggests to the reader that this comment touches on a delicate part of Heathcliff's history, and is something in which he would rather keep secret. Lockwood in chapter two makes a vain attempt to be sociable with the tenants of Wuthering Heights, only to be laughed at by Heathcliff: â€Å"My amiable lady' he interrupted with an almost diabolical sneer on his face† (4) Heathcliff is quite rude to Lockwood, and we can come to the conclusion that he was one who was not brought up with any manners. (This proves to be true later on in the book). Heathcliff clearly shows no sympathy toward him, and wishes for Lockwood to mind his own business. â€Å"Mr Heathcliff may have entirely dissimilar reasons for keeping his hand out of the way when he meets a would-be acquaintance, to those which actuate me† (5) Bronte has chosen to keep this side in the dark, instead choosing to present him as a cold hearted recluse, only at first and then we are quickly shown his passionate side in chapter three. Mr Lockwood's character is naturally inquisitive, and therefore this episode with the landowner only makes Mr. Lockwood more interested in Heathcliff and his background. Catherine's diary shows insight into Heathcliff's past and the way he was treated. â€Å"Hindley is a detestable substitute- his conduct to Heathcliff is atrocious† (6) From this, we can establish that Heathcliff was subject to hostility and was surrounded by harsh treatment. Hindley always saw Heathcliff as a threat to him, especially as he is the ‘outsider' in the family. Nelly reports to Mr. Lockwood: â€Å"He bred bad feeling in the house; and at Mrs. Earnshaw's death†¦ the young master had learned to regard his father as an oppressor rather than a friend, and Heathcliff as a usurper of his parent's affections and his privileges; and he grew bitter with brooding over these injuries.† (7) Hindley, when they were boys, would thrash Heathcliff, and call him names such as † Imp of Satan†. Later on as young men, Hindley degrades him in front of Catherine, as he soon picks up on the fondness between the two, and makes him a servant. Naturally, this treatment he received had an effect on Heathcliff. Being this cold-hearted character is normal to him, having no other example of morals, except in Catherine. He rejects conventional Christian morality at an early age, (no thanks to Joseph whose methods of teaching the young children the Bible in a repressive and forbidding way could be questioned!) and also fails to pick it up as an adult. This rejection of faith could be possibly the reason why he is always referred to in a diabolical way. He has chosen not to be Christian, and therefore the powers of darkness are now ‘controlling' him. Characters such as Mr Earnshaw's comment on the impression of darkness he gives in the novel and of his tyrannical sadistic actions. â€Å"It's as dark as if it came from the devil† (8) It is almost as if he enjoys this evil impression he gives, and he learns he can attack people's weaknesses, such as Hindley and his enjoyment of gambling, which he uses to his advantage to gain ownership of Wuthering Heights. â€Å"You would imagine I was the devil himself- to excite such horror† (9) Heathcliff is such a contrast to what men where like in the Victorian era, which as Cardinal Newman suggests: † Is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him†¦carefully avoids †¦all clashing of opinion, or collision of felling, all restraint, or suspicion, or gloom or resentment; his great concern being to make everyone at ease and at home.† It wouldn't be surprising that the character was criticised, but Bronte did accomplish a much-debated character. Heathcliff does have emotions, and passionate ones at that, and this spurs him on in life. If Catherine was not at Wuthering Heights at the beginning, Heathcliff would not have stayed very long and bore all the physical and emotional torment he was given. Catherine seemed to keep him there, and when he fled, it was only because she had deserted him for a gentleman. We see how much he truly loves Catherine when Lockwood has his dream: â€Å"He got on to the bed, and wrenched open the lattice, bursting, as he pulled at it, into an uncontrollable passion of tears. ‘Come in! Come in!' he sobbed. ‘Cathy do come. Oh, do- once more! Oh! My hearts darling! Hear me this time, Catherine at last!† (10) Lockwood is startled at this and comments that â€Å"he seemed so powerfully affected† and â€Å"struggled to vanquish an excess of violent emotion†. The desperation in Heathcliff's voice shows us how he grieves for a lost one. We are now shown that he is not so evil as he displays himself to be, but still carries some violent tendencies with him, even though that is not expected when you are grieving. However knowing the love he carries for Catherine and his pain for her deserting him when they were young, we can understand why he reacts this way. The way Bronte uses this language to describe Heathcliff, makes him believable to the reader. Our sympathy lies with him, and Lockwood has now changed his perspective on Heathcliff, as has the reader. Nelly, like the reader, changes her opinion of Heathcliff according to the actions he does. When Nelly first met Heathcliff, she referred to him as ‘it', she did not regard Heathcliff as a person due to his physical appearance. † I had a peep at a dirty ragged child†¦yet when it was set on its feet, it's face looked older than Catherine's† (11) Nelly was a child when Heathcliff arrived, and childishly was jealous, along with Catherine and Hindley of having someone which did not look like them being part of the family. However as they both grow up together both have some kind of respect for each other, though it may be small at some times. Nelly fells sympathy towards Heathcliff during the time of Hindley's harsh treatment, and was genuinely surprised that he seemed so immune to it, as if it didn't affect him. However the reader knows that treatment like that does affect a person emotionally, and this cultivated a great resentment towards his tormentors. â€Å"He seemed a sullen, patient child, hardened, perhaps to ill treatment† (12) Her loyalties were torn between Heathcliff and Hindley, and we see her compassion for Heathcliff when he confides in her about Catherine. We learn that Heathcliff is completely devoted to Catherine. † The nation of envying Catherine was incomprehensible to him but the notion of grieving her he understood completely† So much in fact she helps him clean himself up, due to Heathcliff not caring about her appearance since Cathy left. Nelly is also Heathcliff's confidant. She tells him how Cathy is, and what her feelings are towards him. Nelly clearly understands how deep his love is for Cathy. Catherine plays an enormous part in Heathcliff's life, and his love for her seems to be a redeeming feature. Catherine and Heathcliff become very â€Å"thick† when they are young, as Nelly comments to Mr Lockwood, and this weakness that Heathcliff has, this love for Cathy, is manipulated by Hindley as a means of punishment, and is also the reason in my mind why Heathcliff is so determined to seek revenge. As Pinkmonkey, a literature Internet guide, points out in its character analysis of Heathcliff: â€Å"During adolescence, Heathcliff simply assumes that they will always be together† This assumption proves to be wrong. Edgar Linton proposed to Catherine, and she agreed, because she thought that Heathcliff was in fact, too uncivilised and uneducated to be her husband. Although this may sound selfish to Heathcliff when he eavesdropped on the conversation between Nelly and Cathy, we find out soon that after her own interests, she intends to help him in the future. † It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how much I love him†¦ My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath, a source of little visible delight, but necessary† (13) Cathy uses nature to contrast the two young men, and chooses a tree's foliage for Linton. Foliage can be trimmed and blooms, which is what Cathy is feeling for Linton now, but she knows when the harsh weather and the seasons change, all the foliage will die. She knows that she won't love Linton eternally, and problems facing the two will speed up the process. Heathcliff however is symbolised as rocks and are not affected by the weather. Rocks are wild and jagged, which matches Heathcliff's personality, and when the bad weather comes, the rocks are not affected because they are strong. The last comment she says, † a little visible delight but necessary.† could mean she knows that Heathcliff is not likeable but she needs him, as he provides sturdy foundations for her. Unfortunately for Heathcliff, he never gets to hear this part of the conversation, and flees Wuthering Heights. This moment in Heathcliff's history symbolises his turning point, as a character. He now feels a great sense of loss and betrayal, and Heathcliff never forgives Cathy for what she does, but nevertheless still loves her as passionately as before. When he returns after three years, he finds that she has married Edgar Linton and is now mistress of Thrushcross Grange. His plans at first were to seek revenge on Hindley and merely check up on Cathy to see if she is happy. However his suffering at seeing her again overwhelms him and he starts to torment the others, especially Isabella. Isabella is instantly attracted to Heathcliff, possibly because he has returned with an air of mystery around him, and seems dark and brooding. Linton is unhappy because he knew that his property could possibly fall into Heathcliff's hands if they should marry. Heathcliff at first, has no interest in her whatsoever, and is completely unaware of her affection towards him, until Catherine spitefully makes it known, embarrassing Isabella in the process. Heathcliff has no interest in Isabella, simply because he is still infatuated with Catherine. However the appeal of getting one over on Edgar is too great for him, and starts to woo Isabella. This infuriates Catherine and her husband, but Heathcliff only wanted to affect the latter. It seems that he blames Edgar for not being with Cathy, that if he had never been there as a child, Cathy and he would be together. There is also the possibility that Heathcliff, when he was younger was jealous of the social acceptance that others had. Heathcliff was picked on because he wasn't ‘one of them'- not actually be blood related to the Earnshaws; he was found on the streets of Liverpool. Now he has returned, gentleman in appearance, but still the same emotionally affected person, willing to wreak havoc on the people who mocked him. Isabella was warned about Heathcliff- but she chose to ignore it. She knows that by marrying Heathcliff it will anger Cathy who has a ‘if I don't have him no-one can ‘ attitude, and will gain her revenge for embarrassing her. She truly believes that Heathcliff does love her. Catherine on the other hand knows deep inside that Heathcliff only loves her and cannot understand why he would like Isabella. † Oh, the evil is that I am not jealous, is it? Well, I won't repeat my offer of a wife: it is as bad as offering Satan a lost soul. Your bliss lies, like his, in inflicting misery. You prove it†¦ I begin to be at secure and tranquil; and you, restless to know us at peace, appear resolved on exciting a quarrel. Quarrel with Edgar if you please, Heathcliff, and deceive his sister: you'll hit on exactly the most efficient method of revenging yourself on me.† (14) Heathcliff and Isabella run away together, but not before Heathcliff shows us his sadistic side – † Miss Isabella's Springer, Fanny, (was) suspended to a handkerchief, and nearly at its last gasp† (15) Soon enough, the ‘honeymoon' is over, and Isabella realises just who her husband really is. He is cruel and violent, and Isabella questions Nelly in a letter about her husband: † Is Mr. Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not is he the devil?† (16) Abraham Lincoln once said † If you want to test a man's character, give him power† and this could be said for Heathcliff. Heathcliff gains power of Wuthering Heights by manipulating Hindley. Hindley at this point is an alcoholic and likes to bet. He loses his money through betting and is attracted to Heathcliff's newly found wealth, thinking he could win it. However, in the need Hindley dies deep in debt, and Heathcliff loaned him so much money that now he owns Wuthering Heights. Hindley still detested Heathcliff, even though he allowed him to stay there, and on many occasions as told to Isabella, has tried to kill him. We as the reader, however still think of Heathcliff with sympathy, even though we disapprove of his actions, especially towards Hindley and Isabella. We still remember his treatment as a child from Hindley, and so when he seeks out his revenge, we find it extremely difficult not to wish him success. By gaining this power, he is able now to control the future, by arranging marriages and so on. Catherine before she died, gave birth to young Cathy, and Isabella gave birth to young Linton in London. When she died, Edgar wanted to have custody of the child. However, Heathcliff has seen the possibilities and demands that he should come to live with him. After all, he is the father. Linton is quite the opposite of his father; he is pale, weak and quite spoilt in his ways. When Heathcliff finally meets him, he does not even pretend to love him, he calls his mother a slut, and mistreats him. † I'm jealous of monopolising his affection†¦yes Nell, †¦my son is the prospective owner of this place, and I should not wish him to die till I was certain of being his successor. Besides, he's mine, and I want the triumph of seeing my descendant fairly lord of their estates: my child hiring their children to till their father's lands for wages. That is the sole consideration, which can make me endure the whelp: I despise him for himself, and I hate him for the memories he revives!†(17) Heathcliff arranges meetings between young Cathy and Linton because he knows that if they were married, his son could own Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff then has to find some way to claim it himself, and he was delighted to find out the Linton was in ill health without his interference. Heathcliff used emotional torment on Linton, who has a weak disposition anyway, to make him worse. He forces young Cathy to marry Linton for his benefit, which the young girl is not happy about, especially since her father is dying and Heathcliff won't let her see him. When Cathy shouts at him, through Nelly's words we can see how Heathcliff is affected by Cathy's words: † Heathcliff you are a cruel man, but you're not a fiend; and you won't, from mere malice, destroy irrevocably all my happiness†¦I've given over crying: but I'm going to kneel here, at your knee; and I'll not get up, and I'll not take my eyes from your face till you look back at me! No, don't turn away! Do look! Have you never loved anybody in all your life, uncle? Never? Ah! You must look once.† (18) Heathcliff can see his Catherine in her daughter's eyes, which is heart breaking for him, as he can't even bear to look at her. Heathcliff is not hated by Cathy, which also affects him emotionally. † He shrigged his sholders; shook himself, indeed, as if his flesh crept with aversion;† (19) I do not think he should inflict his revenge on the younger generation, simply because they were not to blame for the pain that Heathcliff bore in the past, especially Hareton, who is Hindley's son. Hindley was brought up badly by his father, who was always drunk and violent to him. Heathcliff wished to bring him up after his father's death. Heathcliff treats Hareton in a way, which reflects the way Hindley treated him, except that Hareton is completely oblivious to the fact that this is happening to him, because he wasn't educated. So, Hareton, who should have been the finest gentleman in the area, is reduced to living at Wuthering Heights as a common, uneducated servant, friendless and without hope, and surprisingly he likes Heathcliff. As Heathcliff comes closer and closer to realising his final revenge, he seems more preoccupied with his memory of Catherine. The horrible image of Heathcliff uncovering her grave just to see her face shows us his depth of passion for her. † I got the sexton to remove the earth off her coffin-lid, and I opened it. I thought, once I would have stayed there: when I saw her face again- it is hers yet- he had hard work to stir me; but he said it would change if the air blew on it, and so I struck one side of the coffin loose, and covered it up: not Linton's side, damn him! I wish he'd been soldered in lead†¦when I'm laid there, and slide mine out too; I'll have it made so: and then, by the time Linton gets to us, he'll not know which is which!† (20) The thought of Edgar and Catherine's bodies decomposing together is too much for him. He states that he wants to be buried next to Catherine, and even punches a hole in her casket and asks that the same would be done to him so that their dust can mingle. Near the time of his death, he becomes more and more isolated from everyone and increasingly obsessed with his dead love, imagining that she is haunting him, and Heathcliff becomes more cheerful, and feels happy that when he dies he will be reunited with Catherine. † I have neither a fear, nor a presentiment, nor a hope of death. Why should I? †¦ It is a long fight; I wish it were over!† (21) It is only at this time he feels reconciled to her spirit that he abandons his cruelty towards Catherine and Hareton. Heathcliff is a truly interesting character and our sympathy lies with him, because we understand why he is so determined to seek his revenge on the people who opposed him in the first place. With regards to the quotations at the start of my essay, Heathcliff is a character who seems vivid. The manner in which he speaks and the emotion that he carries with him throughout the book makes him † step out of the confines of fiction†. We never really hate him for what he does, simply because we know why he does it. He was badly treated when he was younger, and this developed into revenge. Still, our sympathy lies with him. Charlotte Bronte may not have liked his † arrow straight course to perdition† but modern readers who read Wuthering Heights justify why, without prejudice.