Victorian Gothic Literature: Scientific vs. Medieval Thinking Essay

Victorian Gothic Literature: Scientific vs. Medieval Thinking      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Creatures of the night have always held a fascination and horror for people in all cultures. The English fascination with sensational and gothic literature came to a peak, after slacking slightly following the Romantic period, in the late Victorian period with such works as Dracula, The Strange Adventures of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. The literate populace avidly devoured this type of literature. While most publishers merely churned out serial horror stories en masse, such as Varney the Vampyre, many serious writers used this genre as a means to force their audience to think about their beliefs. Serious Victorian Gothic literature plays on the fears and emotions of the era, an era that was especially fearful since their beliefs had been ripped out from under them, largely by contrasting modern science with medieval superstition and belief.    The Victorian era was similar to our own in that it was a time when people weren't really sure what was true or what they believed. As this prayer, believed to have come from the Victorians shows, " 'O God - if there is a God - save my soul - if I have a soul' " (Houghton 22). New theories about the age of the earth had demonstrated that something was out of kilter with the bible, since the earth seemed to be older than the biblical account would show. Darwin had gone one step further and shown that man hadn't been created but evolved through natural selection. A generation was growing up in a culture that had had the rug of its beliefs pulled out from under its feet. The main difference between the Victorian sense of doubt and our post-modern doubt is, "faith in the existence of u... ...completely destroyed by his dabbling in alchemic science.    Much of Victorian Gothic literature plays to the Victorian doubt in what they believe, especially as concerns science and what is largely assumed to be medieval superstition. By playing on these fears, authors are able to create stories that are horrifying on several levels. First of all, the action that goes on in the book is enough to make the readers skin crawl. However, the authors go farther and use their audiences natural fears and doubts to create a story that is sensational on all levels.    Works Cited Davenport-Hines, Richard. Gothic: Four Hundred years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin. North Point Press: New York, 1998. Houghton, Walter E. The Victorian Frame of Mind. Yale University Press: New Haven, Conn, 1957. Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Penguin Group: New York, 1992.

Disadvantages of Foreign Aid

An evaluation of Blackberry Company’s implementation of TQM Done by: Sanad F Jumean 1 Table of contents: _ Introduction——————————————————3 _ Continuous improvement————————————-4 _ Employee involvement—————————————-4 _ Customer focus————————————————–5 _ Conclusion——————————————————–6 _ References—————————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€œ7 2 IntroductionBlackberry is a brand that was created by research in motion (RIM) which is a global leader in wireless innovation, the mobile industry was revolutionized with the introduction of blackberry solution in 1999, blackberry offers a variety of products and services targeting both business customers as well as individual customers, most of its products are smart phones that have the ability to send and receive push e-mails and instant massages with a high level of security , it helps its customers connect more easily with the world regardless of the place, blackberry devices can also be used as personal digital assistants, portable media players, and internet browser, the blackberry internet service is available in 91 countries around the world on over 500 mobile service operators. Blackberry’s goal and vision statement is to provide solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market, including the software that allows the BlackBerry Smartphone to p rovide mobile access to e-mail, applications, media and the Internet. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, blackberry provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including e-mail, phone, text messaging (SMS and MMS), Internet and intranet-based applications. 3Continuous improvement: Blackberry Company listens to its customers through votes on its website, feedbacks, and surveys throughout the world. Blackberry has a policy that translates those feedbacks into their routinely two month’s software updates. Software updates include improving their current software’s that are being used by customers and adding new features that come up to the developers through customer feedback process and brainstorming of developers. Security measures are a major concern for blackberry; improvements to the software include such security measures that are most importan t to business people who operate their work on their devices.Continuous improvements in Blackberry Company is not limited to its software but also includes the body of the device, those improvements are mainly based on the previous shape of the same series of the device and reviews from users of the same series phone. Continuous improvement can also be seen in blackberry’s emphasis on continuously training their employees and making sure that they have the necessary skills and specialties to compete in the market, as well as continuously evaluating their performance and determining what needs to be improved. Employee involvement Blackberry Company have 250,000 developers throughout the world, those developers come up with different ideas about developing, improving, and producing a new product. They try to align their ideas through meetings, and then they present the conclusion of their ideas to the top management.If the top management gives the approval to the new ideas of t he developers they apply their new ideas and creations through translating these ideas into products and services. During this stage the rest of the employees receive updated e-mails during every stage of producing the new product to have an overview about the product for the sake of answering customer’s wonders. 4 Customer focus: Blackberry Company is mainly addressing business people in their device but at the same time they still focus on individuals willing to use their products or services. As previously discussed blackberry has various methods in keeping touch with their current customers and new potential markets.After evaluating the feedbacks whether positive or negative, the data gathered is then analyzed and grouped in the form of useful information and knowledge that can be used to keep their products and services up to date. Because customers are the main asset for blackberry, most of the useful information gathered is actually taken into consideration by employee s and developers and translate it effectively to their new or updated product or service. To support our earlier discussion on customer focus, blackberry has awarded an employee that has applied their strategy through engaging customers in all of its research and development process, either as source of innovation, as a part of the product testing program in the redesign of the operational process. This award is called â€Å" Blackberry customer focus award†. 5 Conclusion:It’s important for different types of organizations to continuously evaluate how well they implement TQM, taking into consideration the major effects of implementing TQM on the organization’s performance and its position in the market related to its competitors, however, although blackberry company pays considerable attention on implementing TQM properly, focusing on important factors such as employee empowerment, customer focus, and continuous improvement, it has to do more efforts in certain areas such as employee empowerment by giving its employees the chance to be part of the production process rather than just sending them updated e-mails during every stage of producing the new product or service. 6 References _ http://us. blackberry. com _ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/BlackBerry _ Interviews with Mr. Mike Mefleh Blackberry Product Manger- Middle east. 7

Negative Effects on Children Essay

Parents are too busy earning a living so that they can feed, cloth and educate their children. Consequently, they spend much time away from home and from their children. Since their parents are not around, the children have no choice but to spend their time in front of the television. It then goes without saying that children spend a lot of time in front of the television set where they are exposed to sex and violence. The question then is; does the exposure to sex and violence have negative effects on children? There is no simple or obvious answer. Some people may argue that the sex and violence on television does not have negative effects on children. This group of people believe that that the amount of sex and violence on television is not enough to warrant the change in the behavior of the children. More over, that some children are too young to understand the scenes on television, anyway. Others yet may argue that exposure to sex and violence, however limited it may be, does have negative effects on the children. It influences them to commit antisocial and sometimes immoral behavior. Nevertheless, it is important to analyze the issue critically before settling for any one conclusion. SUMMARY OF INFORMATION The media has both positive and negative influences on children. On the one hand, it provides their growing minds with information. On the other hand, it also provides them with negative information in the form of sexual and violent content that corrupts their young minds (Singer & Singer, 2002). According to Josephson, when children watch television, they understand the content in very different ways. How they understand the television content is highly influenced by their ages, their attention spans and also their life experiences (1995). Case in point. Think about children who are less than five years old and the kind of attention span they have. Yes they may take the time to sit in front of the television, but after a few minutes they will have gotten restless and moved on to some other activity, say playing with their toys or just running around. More over, even though these children may appear to be paying close attention to the scenes on television, it is very likely that in their minds, they may fail to register what the exact content of program is. It is only the mature, much older, children and adults who are capable of discerning program content. According to Cameron, this is because most children under that age of seven cannot easily tell fantasy and reality from each other. To them it’s all one and the same thing. At this stage of their development, it is hard for the children to understand the motives and justifications for the violence on television (2009). Children are unaware of whether the characters on television are real or not. Consequently, Bugs Bunny is just as real as the news anchor. Therefore, since the child does not know what is real and what is not, it is then possible then possible that they will also not be able to distinguish whether or not to copy what they see. It is for this reason that it would be incorrect to conclude with certainty that indeed all the sex and violence on television does have negative effects on children. It is only after the age of two that children begin to really pay attention on what is on television. As the children grow older, they learn to differentiate between what they see on television and reality. By the time these children grow into teenagers and adulthoods they shift their focus from television preferring to instead spend their time on other activities such as developing relationships with their peers of the opposite sex. Nevertheless, it is during adolescent that sex and violence on television may have a greater impact on the children. Those without guidance may try out what they see on television. Thus, it is important to note that it is the amount of time that a child spends in front of the television that really matters. According to Huesmann, children who consistently watch violent programs on television are more likely to be negatively affected than their counterparts who do not. Think about it. A child who frequently watches Monday night wrestling, which by all standards may be described as a violent program, is more likely to try wrestling with his friends. What is even more interesting is that the child may also attempt using the same wrestling behaviors, as seen on television, as a way of solving conflicts with others (2001). Thus, children who watch/are exposed to violence on television are more aggressive (Jonassen & Harris, 2003). According to Greenspan, in the process, these children are bound to injure not only themselves but others in the process (2007). Concurrently, children who habitually watched television programs raced with sexual content were much more likely to be involved than their counterparts who were not. According to Stein, frequent watching of sexual content on television was a big influence in teen pregnancy (2008). It is probable that the children may want to try out what they may have watched and the consequences in this case are teenage pregnancy. Nathanson & Cantor (1998), argue that at some point in time children will be exposed to television; it is unavoidable. It may not happen in their homes. Children may go visiting their friends where they may have to watch television meaning they may be exposed to sex and violence. It is therefore up to parents to protect their children from prolonged exposure to sex and violence on television. The simplest way of doing this is by restricting the number of hours that children actually spend in front of the television. Rather than letting children watch television after school, parents may choose to enroll their children in such after school activities such as soccer practice or ballet. Such activities are sure to keep children away from exposure to negative TV programs. Even when children are left under the care of a nanny, parents should leave strict instructions on just how much time their children should be allowed to watch television. It would also be important if the parents themselves were to change their television watching habits. In most instances, toddlers are heavily influenced by their parents (Josephson, 1995). Therefore, if the parents were to stay away from the television but instead partake in other activities, their children would follow suit. This way the parent’s would not have to worry about the television negatively affecting their children. Another way that parents may protect their children is by letting children watch television programs that have PG rating. The idea behind this concept is that parents should watch a television program first before they let their children. The main idea here is for the parents to determine the suitability of the program. PG also means that parents should watch the program with their children so that they may offset any negative effects. By all standards, PG rating is good and workable idea. However, according to Cameron, very few parents may want to do this (2009). SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH STUDY Most of the research that has been carried out has focused on the effects of television violence on children. However, according to Eyal & Kunkel, there has also been research whose aim was to show the association between the watching of sex on television and pregnancy among teenagers. The argument is that there is a relationship between the exposure of children and young adults and their expectations about sex and also their engagement in premarital sex (2008). One such study was published in 2008 in the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics. According to Chandra, Martino, Collins, Elliot, Berry, Kanouse & Mlu, while there was increasing evidence (from previous studies and research) that the exposure of children/youth to sexual content on television is a big influence on their sexual attitudes and behavior, the studies were yet to establish the king of association that existed between the exposure of children to sexual content and adolescent/teen pregnancy. Accordingly, the study by Chandra et al, sought to establish this relationship (2008). The participants were some 2000 children between the ages of 12 and 17 years. These children were tracked for period of three years; till they were aged 15 and 20 years. The participants by interviewed by telephone. According to Chandra et al, the participants who constituted the sample were drawn from a list of house holds that had been commercially purchased. the researchers were careful to select the households that had a high probability of housing adolescents aged between the ages of 12 and 17 years. The final study sample therefore comprised of 57% males, 665 white, 12% Hispanics and 17% blacks all of them adolescents with an average age 18. 1 years. Survey, was the chosen research design. The survey was meant to measure and collect data on the television viewing habits of the adolescents, their knowledge of sexual matters, In addition, their behaviors and attitudes towards sex plus demographic and psychosocial variable, such as age, sex and education level which are known to predict sexual behavior, were also measured (2008). As a way of encouraging the participants to respond to the survey questions, the survey was conducted in private. From the survey, it was established that to a great extent the exposure of children/teens to sexual content on television was a big predictor of teen pregnancy. From the research, the teens that were exposed to high levels of sexual content on television were found to be twice as likely to experience pregnancy in the subsequent three years. The reverse was true for those who had lower levels of exposure. So, 25% of those who watched frequently watched sexual content on television were involved in a pregnancy. The number was high compared to that of the adolescents who watched the least; which stood at 12% (Chandra et al, 2008). The results of the study go to show that indeed habitual exposure to sexual content on television does have negative effects on children. From the study, most of the children who frequently watched sexual content on television were subsequently involved in a pregnancy compared to their counterparts who did not watch sexual content on the television much. Accordingly, there is a link between the exposure of children to sex and sexual content on television and the negative effects of pregnancy. Thus, it is clearly evident that sex, and even violence, on television has negative effects on children, more so when the exposure is frequent, prolonged and unsupervised. It is for this reason that the exposure of children and violence on television should be restricted. For instance, by watching television with their children and discussions the depictions of sex on television, they may be able to tone down the influence of the sex and the violence (Chandra et al, 2008). CRITICAL ANALYSIS Most of the information contained in internet sites, into the question of whether all the sex and violence on television has negative effects on children, does indeed provide information to the affirmative. Children spend a lot of time in front of the television from an early age. When children are young, say between the ages of two and five, the sex and the violence cannot be said to have influence on them. This is because children are very young and are not able to tell fantasy from reality. More over, they have a limited attention span which makes their concentration and internalization of the content on television impossible. However, it is when children are all grown up, into their teens that the sex and violence can be said to have some kind of effect on children. When children are older, they are also more mature and therefore able to differentiate fantasy from fiction. Furthermore, the fact that they are older means they may try out what they watch on television. There is strong evidence behind this information. For instance, it has been reported that children who watch wrestling duplicate the same aggressive behaviors that they watch on television. They are openly aggressive towards their peers. Sometimes, they even use the same behaviors to solve their conflicts with their peers. However, the internet information goes on to explain that children have to be exposed to prolonged sex and violence on television for there to be negative effects. More over, that the children who are frequently exposed to the sex and violence on television are more susceptible to the negative effects. It is for this reason that parents restrict how much time their children spend in front of the televisions. The research study also goes to provide information on the link between frequent exposure of children to sexual content in television and negative effects, in this case pregnancy. There is strong evident in support of this. Of the 2000 children who were surveyed in the research, 25% of those who had frequent exposure to sexual content were found to be more likely to be involved in a pregnancy in subsequent years. This was as compared to 12% of those who were not as frequently exposed to sex and sexual content on television. Just like the information compared in the internet sources, as soon as children are old enough to differentiate between fantasy and reality it is very likely that with prolonged exposure, they may want to try out what they see in television. Again, it is prolonged exposure that makes all the difference. The best way of mitigating the negative effects of exposure to sex and violence on television, parents should watch and discuss how sex and even violence is portrayed in television. This would also help to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies. CONCLUSION It is evident that television content, sex and violence, has some negative effects on children. It is true that quite a large number of children watch television and are therefore exposed to sex and violence. Nevertheless, it is important to note that not all these children who are exposed are susceptible to the negative effects. Certain groups of children are more prone to acting out what they see on television. It is this group that is likely to aggressive and or immoral. This is the group of children that has prolonged and frequent exposure to sex and violence on television. It is for this reason that exposure to television is limited. Thus, it may be correct to conclude that all the sex and violence on television has negative effects on children. However, it is also important to note that it is only prolonged exposure to the sex and the violence that results in the negative effects. It is the children who frequently watch television programs laced with sex and violence that are more likely to be aggressive and promiscuous as compared to their counterparts who do not. According to the information contained in this report, negative influences of sex and violence on television only become visible when the children are much older. Thus, it remains largely unclear as to why frequent exposure of adolescents to violence and sex on television influences then negatively, After all, are they not at an age where they are capable of differentiating right from wrong; fiction (what is on television and reality (what they should not do); and therefore refrain from engaging in certain activities? More research may be necessary to provide insight into the reasons why children prefer to act out the negativity they view on television rather than on the positive. Is there, for instance, more gratification in doing what is considered negative as compared to doing what is right? Answers to these questions may shed more light on to why sex and violence has negative effects on children at all. REFERENCES Cameron, J. (2009). The view on TV violence. iafrica. com. Retrieved 15 April, 2009 from http://lifestyle.iafrica. com/parenting/fatherhood/274094. htm Chandra, A. , Martino, S. , Collins, R. , Elliot, M. , Berry, S. , Kanouse, D. & Mlu, A. (2008). Does watching sex on television predict teen pregnancy? Findings from a national longitudinal survey of youth. Pediatrics. 122(5): 1047. Eyal, Keren & Kunkel, D. (2008). The effects of television drama shows on emerging adult’s sexual attitudes and moral judgments. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. 52 (2): 161.

How Does My Interpersonal Communication Shield Impact My Everyday Communication Skills Essay

Being able to participate and take part in this project was very interesting. It gave me a chance to look at how others view me, how I view myself, and what influences me to be the person that I am. I’ve always been a nice and hardworking person. I love to help people, and I try to stay very positive even when situations present themselves to seem impossible. My family and friends along with my boyfriend all help influence the attitude that I have towards life. I’m a very open person in social situations, but I can also be very guarded about my personal life. I’ve always had a pretty decent self-esteem. I try not to allow others the satisfaction of forcing me to come out of my comfort zone and ruin my self-esteem. I try to stay out of situations that may make me feel bad about myself. I believe that my interpersonal communication shield impacts my everyday communication skills. From the nurturing people that surround me on a daily basis to influence me to stay positive and always be myself, to my defense against destructive cultural beliefs that help me stay encouraged to always be positive. I am most definitely impacted by my shield. There are also many things that I don’t know about myself, such as particular body language. I do many things that I don’t notice but someone else may notice subconsciously. This is in my hidden self these could be negative or positive. But I do know that they are reflections of how I really feel at times. In my private life I can be like a wall, I’m extremely guarded about my feelings and my business. I can easily self-disclose to my family and close friends as well as my boyfriend, although it is a lot harder for me to self-disclose with strangers and distant friends and associates. I can be a loner at times but I use my self- affirming statements to stay positive and keep my head up when I can’t rely on others to influence my attitude. They have always been a good resource when I feel by myself and need some positivity.

Business Proposal for a Restaurant Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business for a Restaurant - Research Proposal Example One of the goals that the business seeks to achieve its expansion in the next two to four years. Additional services like accommodation will be available to the customers. When a new restaurant enters the market, it is expected to make enough profit that can finance the anticipated expansion. The restaurant will, therefore, implement efficient business management strategies. Tactical business spending will be the order of the day in this proposed business venture. A sole proprietor will own the business. The entrepreneur has chosen this ownership because of its simplicity. There is no sharing of all the profits from the business. The profits could then be used to expand the business rapidly. It is also easy to change the legal structure of the business. If the business expands, it can run as a limited liability company. The business will be located in the surroundings of Detroit City because it has a large client base. Some of the potential customers who already exist in the city inc lude youths working in different businesses, college students, and middle-aged people. Majority of these potential customers do not have enough time to cook for themselves during the day. These potential customers are willing to spend money on snacks, fast food, ethnic food, and comfort food. There is a challenge of price sensitivity among the potential customers. When food prices go up, they tend to prefer cooking for themselves rather than buying from restaurants. The typical customers targeted are people aged 20 to 49 years.

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

Media Law - Essay Example This report provides some insight into the dynamics of these treaties and conventions and explains how they can and will facilitate the expansion of this company into foreign territory. The advancement of modern technology has changed global mobility in such a way that the concept of free and open markets have given rise to a form of â€Å"deterretorialization†.1 The transnational trade regime has been altered by this new age of globalization to the extent that world trade is no longer constrained by borders.2 Treaties and Conventions have been attempting to harmonize international commercial activities.3 Some of these Treaties and Conventions are relevant to this company’s plans to expand into foreign territories and will impact upon the employment contracts, contracts for the sale of its products outside of the UK and protection of intellectual property across borders. Expansion into the European Community will not have any real consequences since the UK is already bound by the harmonization that characterizes the UK. The primary goal of the Treaty Establishing the European Community if one of unity and harmony. Article 2 of the Treaty provides as follows: â€Å"The Community shall have as its task, by establishing a common market and an economic and monetary union and by implementing common policies †¦a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities, a high level of employment and of social protection, equality between men and women, sustainable and non-inflationary growth, a high degree of competitiveness and convergence of economic performance, a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, the raising of the standard of living and quality of life, and economic and social cohesion and solidarity among Member States.†4 In accordance with the principles set forth in Article 2 of the Treaty of Rome, Articles 23-31 provides for the free movement of goods within the European

Compare the Ways the British and French Ruled Their Respective Essay

Compare the Ways the British and French Ruled Their Respective Mandates. What Are Some of Their Legacies in the Region Today - Essay Example The British and French rule in the Middle East A look into history proves that before the 1st World War, Britain and France were rivals in nature and were worried about the increasing influence of each other in the Arab and African region (Brainard, 2004). While the British developed a north-south axis of power, to balance the equation, the French developed a firm east-west axis of power. However, as both of them realized the benefits of supporting mutual interests, they came together by the beginning of the 20th century through assisting Suez Canal construction by Egypt, the Sykes-Picot agreement and the alliance in the First World War. The period thereafter witnessed a considerable change in the strategy adopted by both. They decided to divide the Middle East into a large number of countries. This helped them balance the power without conflict, and also, it ensured that they could continue their exploitation without considerable amount of opposition from the territories. Similariti es and dissimilarities between he French and British rule in the Middle East Evidently, both the British and the French tried to rule their own regions through established elites, though the British seemed more willing to move their mandates ahead and towards a better qualified form of independence, and the only exception in this connection is Palestine (‘Iraq: Initial contacts with the British’). In Palestine, for the first time in British history, it had to end its rule without establishing a government behind it. In other words, one can say that the British only wanted protectorates and mandates like Egypt and Palestine as permitted by the League of Nations. So, the British allowed the territories under its rule to have their own domestic political policies though the British continued their military bases and controlled their foreign policies. This is evident in the case of Egypt and Iraq. For example, though the British got support from the Arabs in its campaign ag ainst the Ottomans starting in Basra, the British soon realized the fact that the Arabs would not support them in the long term. Though 1919 saw the British getting the responsibility to administer the area from the League of Nations, soon they found widespread unrest and rebellion, and they realized the fact that the only way to bring the situation under control was to make a puppet government, and the victim selected for the purpose was Hashemite ruler Faysal as it was thought that being a descendant from Prophet Muhammed, he would be accepted by all factions. In addition, as he was not from Iraq, it was thought that he would not feel confident enough to rule without the help of the British. The strategy worked out and there were a number of treaties ensuring proper flow of oil and total control of the regimes affairs. Almost a similar picture one can see in the case of Egypt too. Though the British allowed monarchs to rule Egypt, the period after the construction of Suez Canal (1 859-69) saw the British dethroning Ismail, and it was followed by widespread resentment against the foreign domination. So, the British had to capture the control Egypt again, and thus made a protectorate. Later on,