Practical book review Essay Example for Free

Practical book review Essay Petersen breaks down the book in five parts . He starts off with part one the value of of communication balancing: listing awhile , talk until the other person stops hearing , Listen until the person calms enough to hear again. He furthers this in a another chapter. He then moves on to the Flat-brain theory . He uses diagrams to explain the different levels of Stomach functions which is where the our emotions are located . This area is were we experience our inner nudges . He also explains how the heart functions , the heart functions as a filter it gives and receives concerns , suggestions, and support. The next function is the head. The functions of the head is thinking, planning , remembering. The next couple of chapters begin to talk about he goes into a deeper understanding of the the flat brain theory until he reaches the flat- brain syndrome where he talks about how our brains function better in a short football shape. However when our brains are squished it creates a serious defect in our head fiction.he continues to talk about this concept . Part two starts off with the talker listener process taking turns talking and listening. This can and will determine the role of talker or listener. The talker-listener card was introduced and we were provided a actual card to put to use in our personal time. The purpose of this card is to create an atmosphere and role of each persons involved. The card provides instructions on when to talk and when to listen this the opportunity of the talker to without being interrupted and the listener to be attentive to what the talker is talking about. Chapters 8 through 15 go deeper in depth of the talker- listener card and its many functions from the talker prescriptive and the listener prescriptive. Part Three Petersen highlights the six communication traps, 1. Ritual listening, 2.Perry Masons( which made me chuckle ) 3. Why? 4. Not?5. I understand, he goes in depth to help the reader understand the difference between the five communications traps. He also talks about when trying new things and some of the thoughts that come long with that . When trying new skills you always have negative reactions such as: To much repetition grates, new skills often sound fake, friends and family co-worker get rattled by change. He further part three by discussing basic listening technique . He uses technique such as : para-feeling ( putting the talker’s feelings into your words), decoding . He futhers the conversation of why we don’t listen better in part five Where you can use TLC( talker-listener card) in group settings . The TLC card can help aide through difficult discussion as well help moderate a two person conversation . In conclusion in part five he states â€Å" how if you go beyond skill to increase empathy, genuineness and warmth you’ll tap into reservoir of healthy humanness that’ll out wheels on your technique( Pg 210). RESPOND! I remember growing up and my mother would ask me â€Å" how are you? what are thinking about?† I would have such a difficult time in expressing my feelings. I felt like when no one really cared about me , and my thoughts. In chapter eleven Petersen talks about the first talker goal: sharing your feelings. I immediately become more in tune with what I was reading. I recently had an encounter with a very close friend and she made the statement: Kia you listen to everyone else’s problems but you never seem to open as easy as we do to you. That’s unfair to us as friends. I thought to myself I trust them as friends but sometimes its easier for me to keep my thoughts to my self . However from reading this chapter I understand that it hinders my communication not only with my friends but with others . It puts a stumbling block on me to be open and receptive. So I went back to that friend and we went to dinner and I used skittles as props; we sat down and for every skittle in my hand I had to share my feelings or thoughts on questions she had or asked. I can honestly say that just by having this little prop it open the door and I was able to release so much that I was holding back from her. I now see the difference of talking and listening she listened attentively and this allowed me to be honest and not feel judged by her or her actions. REFLECT! Honestly the thought that popped in my head as I was reading this book was our relationship with Christ. I have said this before but it seems to be more imperative . We often talk to Christ and we tell Him all the troubles of our lives and how we need this or we need that.However we often neglect the fact that Christ has to something to say to us. I started to reflect on the stories of Jonah , Moses. They did not want to recognize the many clues that was present to them throughout their walk so it took spectacular things to happen to them before they got the message. Isn’t like God to speak to us In the loudest moments of our lives. In those times of anger and frustration and we miss the mark because we are so loud internally. He took Jonah inside of the fishes belly in order to get the message to him . It took a burning bush to get Moses attention and it took me reading this book ; to recognize that internally Im so loud that I need to learn how to calm myself down and others to experience me. Could it be that God has to extreme measures sometimes for me to stop and recognize Him? I often am on the go and pray on the go but I have recognize that in the moments when I feel like giving up or fighting or screaming He speaks quietly and calms my mind , soul, and spirit. He speaks often I guess the question is how much are we really listening ?Silence keeps you bound , talking gets you free, listening brings understanding! ACT! Some of the techniques that I plan on using are the Talker- Listener card . I plan using this in my personal life ,when I have arguments and as well as in just simple conversations when trying to come to an agreement. I believe that this strategy will be helpful in my prayer time . The concept of talking and listening and really allowing God to minster to me as I minster to Him. Another technique I will use and will keep visuals of is the balancing scale of the emotions, heart, judgement or thoughts. Remembering the scale will help balance my conversations in the future especially when it comes to a misunderstanding. I really thank Petersen because I am a visual learner and the pictures put what he was saying in perceptive for me. Another technique that is really important to is remembering the pointing finger. In many conversations I often use my hands to communicate how Im feeling . After reading this section of the book I understand how my hands and fingers can seem more offensive then helping . I will remember this and will try to not use my hands as much in explaining my feelings. I plan incorporating the talker- listener card in my youth groups and after school programs. Teaching our youth to the stages of communication now . View as multi-pages

Evaluation Of Formal Strategic Planning Business Essay

Evaluation Of Formal Strategic Planning Business Essay What is strategic planning. As in daily life when people have choices or plans to make, down to the simplest things as in, what will we do this weekend?, businesses need to form plans or strategies to know their way forward with a goal for the business to reach in order to maintain the success of the business and to achieve objectives. All members within a group must know of the plans made in order to follow them with the desire to be successful within their environment for continued growth, success and also to move with the ever changing world in which we live. It is important for management to set out a game plan to continually strengthen the performance of their company. A strategic plan will state how a business should conduct themselves for a period of time in order to achieve these desired goals, this can be seen as a means to an end, looking forward to where changes need to be made and setting out a plan in order to reach that point using strategic methods. Jasparro R.J. (2006) states that strategic planning can help companies to think and act strategically, develop effective strategies, clarify future directions, establish priorities, improve organisational performance, build teamwork and expertise, and deal effectively with a rapidly changing environment. This has proven difficult in recent years and the following report will go into more depth as to the reasons why certain conditions may impact Strategic Planning. Nature of Formal Strategic Planning To form a plan, a business will have to look at both the external and internal environments surrounding their specialist area. It is at this point a company will decide on their competences and look at what the company is best at doing. They may then look at how they can expand on their strengths and look at what their competitors are doing within the same area. They need to know what makes them special and stand out from the crowd, what makes customers turn first and foremost to them, then look at the options they have at that moment in time to maintain the momentum and the returning business. It is at this point in the planning stage that they may look at perhaps not doing something which may be good for the company at a later date and maybe it is not the right time to make such changes yet. There should be a clear distinction between formulation and implementation. Formulation is in the planning process, implementation is carrying out the plans made using SWOT and PESTEL. Five Forces Analysis is a technique for identifying the forces which affect the level of competition in an industry and scenario planning is a technique that builds various plausible views of possible futures for a business. The five forces framework takes into account the potential entrants to the market (threat of entry), buyers (buying power), suppliers (bargaining power), substitutes (threat of substitutes) all leading toward Competitive Rivalry as outlined below: Porters Five Forces Template from thevirtualconsultancy.com PESTEL, an analytical tool which considers external factors and helps a business think about their impacts, allows us to look at Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal factors which might affect companies. This is a broader plan than a SWOT analysis which concentrates more on the internal factors of a company, on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Both SWOT and PESTEL need to be taken into account when considering major changes for any company. Key Characteristics of Strategic Planning Upon consideration of PESTEL and SWOT, a company will be required to look closely at their present work ethics and see where changes are required to help the company improve. Companies also have to limit their weaknesses and see opportunities for the business to thrive for the future. External matters will need to be considered such as recession, the time of year, inclement in weather, looking at the global market, is there a need to outsource certain aspects of the business, will this be cheaper for the company, will it cause more threats? The characteristics of strategic planning are weighing up PESTEL and SWOT matters and forming a plan to overcome or take advantage of the market in which they are in at that specific moment in time. The strategy needs to be frequently reviewed against prevailing external and internal environments. An Intended Strategy is when a company will write down their plan for employees and management to follow, this plan may become a Realised Strategy when this will need to be reformed and another plan made to reach the next level. Sometimes however, these plans are not met and a company will need to sit down with their board of directors and look at an Emergent Strategy, this could be down to major changes within their market, inclement in weather for some companies or many other factors but companies are still required to find a way out of their Unrealised Strategy and to move on from that with another Intended Strategy. Planning is a huge factor in Formal Strategic Planning. Evaluations of Formal Strategic Planning In evaluating strategic planning, business intelligence interprets a need to constantly monitor how the strategy and the objectives are being implemented and to note whether or not the company have overcome problems using their plan or not. If they have not, then the way the strategic plan was set out will need to be restructured to combat the problems and redesigned to provide competitive advantage for the organisation. Drago, W., Clements, C. (1999) indicates that leadership qualities of management and staff should be taken into consideration when applying any strategic plan. This article outlines the necessity to draw on the strengths of your staff and their traits to incorporate this into your overall strategic plan helping you to attain the overall outcome required. Advantages/Strengths of Formal Strategic Planning Strategic planning models the future of the company and allows everyone to see that they are working toward the same mission statement or the same goal. It outlines a paradigm showing strengths and a focus on where the company sees its future. It can add stability to the workforce who can see the company making future plans. Failure to make plans could mean a company becoming stuck in the middle if they have not differentiated enough to gain market share. Through planning, it can be said that companies will learn their market better, know their competitors views and decide whether they need to change their product or become more diverse sticking to a related market or taking their products into another dimension. For example, Virgin began in the early eighties with Virgin music, moving onto Virgin Atlantic and now they have broadened to Virgin media and phones. They recognised that they needed to change their market at specific times in order to continue expansion through planning or foreseeing the future of the company thus increasing their market power. In the early days, Virgin music was used to balance cash flows in order to move into the Virgin Atlantic area and spread risks throughout different branches of the same company. Disadvantages/Weaknesses of Formal Strategic Planning It can be said that in todays economic environment that planning is not always effective, as the market is changing constantly, almost on a daily basis making it difficult to plan anything at all. It is difficult to control anything which is out of our own hands as per the external factors mentioned earlier within this report. A business model could be flawed and may not have had enough thought put into in the initial process which could lead to failure for a business. Personnel could change and a company may need to restructure a plan according to a new setup of staff. A number of external or internal factors or changes can make targets unobtainable. When plans change, and an emergent approach is required to combat weakness in the formal planning, it can reflect that management arent focused totally on the initial goal with a willingness to compromise which could prove time consuming and inefficient due to its flexibility. Mintzberg (1994) states that strategic planning often spoils strategic thinking, causing managers to confuse real vision with the manipulation of numbers, this reflects upon the fact that managers can lose sight of reality and instead remain focused on the strategic plan instead of their vision and may not have a desire to change. Uncertain Dynamic Environment It is indicated in a journal written by Pateli, A.G., Giaglis, G.M. (2005) that researchers are linking performances between business models and strategic planning to take into account strategy, industry and resource based effects outlining that companies are required to look at the broader spectrum and link outside influences with their internal influences. The strategy influence indicates considering such matters as where a company is within their market area, should they expand, should they outsource, are their staff equipped to deal with change, is training required, the need to focus on goals and realise if their potential could be realised or perhaps moving towards a different area entirely for the moment in order to survive as a business. The industry influence will concentrate more on the internal market, looking directly at competition and forward planning, find out if they are equipped to cope with such changes and if not, what steps are required to be taken in order to stay ahead of the game. Johnson G et al (2008) indicates that knowledge complexity of an industry or organisational complexity with larger companies (perhaps local governments with various sectors) makes it difficult to plan anything strategically within the global recession. Managers need to be aware of constant environmental scanning and know what is going on around them in order to know the future direction they face. Using emergent strategies may work best for companies. In this environment, companies will be aware of the constant forces of change outwith their control and realise ways in which to overcome these. Political issues are constantly changing too and at present we face the possible emergence of an Independent Scotland. Although it is said that Scottish people will have more say over ones government and more political freedom, they also face greater economic risks, less security and more differences with England and possible further insecurities with the Euro. Obviously for individual companie s, this could be a time of considerable change and a need to be equipped to face both outcomes. Businesses will need to look closely at both scenarios and have emergent strategies to deal with problems they may face. Challenges of Uncertain Dynamic Environment Within our Uncertain Dynamic Environment, despite the potential advantages of formal strategic planning approaches, it can be of limited benefit to organisations. In a highly volatile global economy, there is a need to act quickly and effectively to change and uncertainty. Contribution/Roles of Formal Strategic Planning in Uncertain Dynamic Environment The role of formal strategic planning comes under scrutiny in an uncertain dynamic environment as it can be shown to have some sort of effect if a company has proven effective in its ability to foresee external †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Scenarios are visions of the future, a look at what may happen. Conclusion Is planning worth it? Planning is not necessarily strategic thinking. Thinking is intuitive and entrepreneurial based on ideas and a foresight for something a person or a company might want in the future. This is based on questions of what if? and complex thinking. Planning is bureaucratic and can mean that management are overly complicated which can result in faulty decisions. A plan created by a bureaucracy could be overburdened by needless steps and obstructions that would hinder actually getting the task completed in a timely and efficient manner. Bureaucracy is often taken to mean inefficiency and absence of practical considerations. Orders made by people that do not have to follow those orders and really do not understand (or possibly even care) what their orders actually require. However, a certain amount of planning within any business or life decision has to be made to a certain degree with a view to being totally versatile in order to make major changes as and when required to move to the next level. Strategic planning is not easy and has challenges, but the hurdles could be worth overcoming.

Analysis of the Greenwich Primary Care Trust

Analysis of the Greenwich Primary Care Trust A report describing and analysing the public health contribution of an organisation or initiative of your choice. Greenwich Primary Care Trust Introduction The contribution to public health made by an organisation or agency can be evaluated in relation to a number of features. These can be the range and scope of activities, the relevance for the local area, the effectiveness of the interventions, and their foundation within the boundaries of evidence-based practice. However, public health can also be measured in relation to how well the agency addresses key aspects of public health, including inequalities in health, what these constitute and their impact, and what is being done to address specific inequalities. In addition, known areas of public health need can be assessed in terms of progress made so far and amount of services provided to meet identified targets. This report explores the public health contribution provided by Greenwich Primary Care Trust in their The annual Public Health Report 2007 2008. In this report, which introduces itself using the following frames of reference, â€Å"providing the most up-to-date and local information; thinking ahead as the population is due to grow and change; and making evidence-based recommendations to help prioritise local actions on the key health challenges for the borough† (GPCT, 2008 p 3). Discussion Public health is generally focused on significant health factors and issues which are important to the wider population, rather than to the individual, and impact upon society and social structures and social life, not just on the lives of single people (Pomerleau and McKee, 2005; Orme et al, 2007). Pomerlau and McKee (2005) describe public health as â€Å"the science and art of promoting health and preventing disease through the organized efforts of society† ( p 7). Therefore, it is not surprising that the report focuses very much on language surrounding the identification of key elements of public health which are subject to health promotion within the locality, as being the specific focus of the Trust. Pomerleau and McKee (2005) cite the Ottawa Charter which was concerned with building healthy public policy; creating supportive environments; strengthening community actions; developing personal skills; reorienting health services ; and demonstrating commitment to health prom otion (p 9). These could be considered as signposts to understanding the value of a public health policy published by a specific agency. The report is a clear, detailed and comprehensive report clearly and effectively outlining key areas for health which are viewed as priorities. These include: Improving mental health (especially depression); Reducing cardiovascular disease (chiefly heart attacks and strokes); and reducing cancers (especially lung, bowel, prostate and breast) (GPCT, 2008). The report provides statistics on morbidity and mortality for the borough which demonstrate that in relation to health and disability over the lifespan, these are the most significant health problems and the ones which are, it can be assumed, most urgently requiring attention. All of these foci are very much about health promotion, but when looked at in the context of what is known about these kinds of diseases, all of the other elements of the Ottawa Charter cited above can be seen to affect these health issues. In line with health promotion principles, the report does focus on living longer, on quality of life, and on wellbeing issues, all of which are laudable in relation to public health because they relate both to the individual, and individual desires, and to the aspects of public health which will support and benefit the state (Iphofen, 2003). One of the drawbacks, however, of such a sweeping approach to public health policy, however, is seen in this report as frequently as it is seen in the national, governmental health promotion campaigns, that of over-simplification, and, arguably unconscious, marginalisation of certain individuals. For example, the report, like government public health campaigns, does not take enough notice of the individual fac tors which not only influence health but are not so easy to eradicate, such as the genetic factors influencing health and health behaviours (Hall, 1951). In relation to health promotion in the key health areas identified, the report does acknowledge the issues of lifestyle factors and socio-economic factors affecting health and disease, morbidity and mortality. The report states that both current and historic socio-economic factors, and the diversity of the local population, especially in relation to ethnicity, are considered significant in relation to the most important public health issues. There is a wide range of literature which links social life, socio-economic status and health, and which demonstrates that those who experience inequalities in health are those who are most disadvantaged in social and economic life (Bury and Gabe, 2004). It is also well known that health inequalities increase as the gap between advantage and disadvantage widens, and that certain social or cultural groups are more likely to experience disadvantage and the concomitant inequalities in health (Freund et al, 2003). GPCT (2008) acknowledge this, and fo cus on some important social groups as most suffering disadvantage in the locality, including Black African and Irish populations. They argue that their policies have been designed to demonstrate â€Å"greater targeting of groups at greatest risk of poor health outcomes, and working with these groups to develop approaches that will really work, with a particular focus on the Black African and Irish populations in the borough who have poor outcomes across the major causes of early death and ill health† (p 7). The report also addresses a range of ethnic issues and differences in health. However, it does not go far enough in describing and discussing policy responses to these issues, and to outlining constructive ways to make real progress in these areas. Plenty of literature shows the ethnicity based inequalities in health and the spectrum of disadvantage related to ethnic diversity (Spector, 2002). These kinds of inequalities, which are often racially demarcated, are reflected in global communities, and are no new occurrence (Goeslin et al, 2004). Yet there are ongoing discussions about the ability to address such problems through public health initiatives, even with the inclusion of and best use of healthy public policy (Bury and Gabe, 2004; Pomerleau and McKee (2005). Issues which continue to reflect the cross-sectorial problems surrounding public health include homelessness and poverty (Ryan and Sarikoudis, 2003). The report does address the statistics around economic inequalities and poverty, showing that the borough has a higher proportion of people in lower-paid occupations, which significantly impacts on health. It also addresses some specific issues which emerge from the social health spectrum, including sexual health and young people (Bergmann and Scott, 2001). The report does focus on behavioural aspects of health, and illness, across specific social groups, including young people’s health. Some of the issues presented are similar to those found nationally and internationally, including teenage pregnancy and teenage social isolation (Bergmann and Scott, 2001; Goesling and Firebaugh, 2004). However, there is very little focus on, for example, homelessness as a public health issue, one which affects many of the key points which are being raised in the report. Shah and Cook (2001) for example, show that in one of the key indices of cardiovascular disease, that of hypertension, factors influencing this disease the most are not socioeconomic status but actually social isolation, and homelessness is one of the most severe forms of social isolation that exists in our society. The report cites a number of initiatives which have positively affected health and wellbeing within the borough, but it does not really present any radical or innovative initiatives to address what are ongoing, predictable and somewhat repetitive and recurrent health and lifestyle issues which impact upon morbidity and mortality. There is a great need for different approaches to public health which build upon existing knowledge and incorporate, perhaps, more concrete information. For example, including service user input in the collection, analysis and use of these kinds of data, and in the development of public health policy, should be a significant part of public health activities such as these, and should feature more strongly in these kinds of reports. Yet models of health and social care continue to exclude the patient voice, though in this circumstance it may be complicated by the ethnic and cultural diversity fo the borough (Gagliardi et al, 2008). Conclusion The report discussed identifies the specific public health concerns of this London borough, and demonstrates not only what the most challenging issues are, but how the public health data of mortality and morbidity statistics intersect with some of the socio-economic and cultural statistics of the area. It identifies key areas for health promotion, but does not go far enough in addressing individual differences and the genetic factors which can complicate sweeping statements about causal and affecting factors in health and illness. It demonstrates that public health policies must be focused on local need, and that ongoing concerns are cardiovascular disease, mental illness and cancer. All of these are related to lifestyles, and therefore public health policy also relates to social policy. However, the links between these two could be made much clearer. References Bergman MM, and Scott J (2001) Young adolescents wellbeing and health-risk behaviours: gender and socio-economic differences. Journal of Adolescence. 24, 2, 183-197 Bury, M. and Gabe, J. (2004) The Sociology of Health and Illness: A Reader. London: Routledge. Carr, S.M. (2007) Leading change in public health – factors that inhibit and facilitate energizing the process. Primary Health Care Research and Development. 8 207-215. Freund, P., McGuire, M. Podhurst, L. (2003). Health, Illness and the Social Body London. Gagliardi, A.R., Lemieux-Charles, L, Brown, A.D. et al (2008) Barriers to patient involvement in health service planning and evaluation: An exploratory study. Patient Education and Counseling 70 (2) 234-241. Goesling, B. and Firebaugh, G. (2004) The Trend in International Health Inequality Population and Development Review 30 (1) 131–146. Hall, C.S. (1951) The genetics of behavior. In Stevens, S.S. (ed.), Handbook of Experimental Psychology, 1st ed. John Wiley and Sons, New York, USA 304-329. Harding, G. Taylor, K. (2002) Social Determinants of Health and Illness The Pharmaceutical Journal 269 485-487. Iphofen, R. (2003) Social and individual factors influencing public health. In: Costello, J. Haggart, M. (2003). Public Health and Society Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Orme J, Powell J, Taylor P and Grey M (2007) Public health for the 21st century (second edition) (Chapter 1.) Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Pomerleau J, Mckee M (eds) (2005) Issues in Public Health Milton Keynes: Open University Press Ryan, A. Sarikoudis, V. (2003). ‘The Social Model of Health, Bridging the Gap between the health and homelessness sectors’. Paper Presented at the Third National Homelessness Conference. Shah, S. and Cook, D.G. (2001) Inequalities in the treatment and control of hypertension: age, social isolation and lifestyle are more important than economic circumstances. Journal of Hypertension. 19 (7) 1333-1340. Spector, R.E. (2002) Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness Journal of Transcultural Nursing 13 197.

Successful Relationships And Short Stories :: essays research papers

Successful Relationships and Short Stories A successful relationship is the Holy Grail in life for most people. We are constantly searching and striving to attain that bond with someone with out fully understanding the components involved in making it happen. In a time of serial monogamy, marriage drive thrus, and quickie divorces, we don't have much incentive to invest that sort of time. Relationships are easy to get out of. But in order to have a successful relationship, both parties must first actively communicate their intentions of what they are hoping to gain from the relationship, concerns, and hopes for themselves as individuals and as a collective. Failure to do this would surely be the demise of any relationship. There are many instances in the short stories in which I have read where two characters are unable to grasp the concept in which I am putting forth. A prime example would be Miss Dent and Mr. Blake from John Cheever's "The Five- Forty-Eight." In this story, Miss Dent and Mr. Blake start with a working relationship which escalates into a one night stand. Neither character has communicated what their intentions or hopes for this encounter is. Miss Dent is coming from the angle that she cares for this person, and would like something more from this affair. She articulates this to him later saying "All I wanted was a little love." Had she addressed this in the beginning, it would have been clear what her hopes were for this relationship. Mr. Blake however was coming from the exact opposite angle: "She gave him a drink and said that she was going to put on something more comfortable. He urged her to; that was he came for." If these people were openly communicating their intentions to each other would have been clear therefore enabling them to make an informed decision. Another example of a successful relationship from the short stories I have read is character Nanapush and his young friend Eli from Louise Edrich's "Matchimanito." Eli frequently came to Nanapush for advice on hunting, women, and life in general. It was clear to Nanapush what Eli's intentions were, as Eli communicated it frequently with his barrage of questions. "I'm a Nanapush remember. That's as good as saying I knew what interested Eli Kashpaw. He wanted something other than what I could teach him about the woods. Successful Relationships And Short Stories :: essays research papers Successful Relationships and Short Stories A successful relationship is the Holy Grail in life for most people. We are constantly searching and striving to attain that bond with someone with out fully understanding the components involved in making it happen. In a time of serial monogamy, marriage drive thrus, and quickie divorces, we don't have much incentive to invest that sort of time. Relationships are easy to get out of. But in order to have a successful relationship, both parties must first actively communicate their intentions of what they are hoping to gain from the relationship, concerns, and hopes for themselves as individuals and as a collective. Failure to do this would surely be the demise of any relationship. There are many instances in the short stories in which I have read where two characters are unable to grasp the concept in which I am putting forth. A prime example would be Miss Dent and Mr. Blake from John Cheever's "The Five- Forty-Eight." In this story, Miss Dent and Mr. Blake start with a working relationship which escalates into a one night stand. Neither character has communicated what their intentions or hopes for this encounter is. Miss Dent is coming from the angle that she cares for this person, and would like something more from this affair. She articulates this to him later saying "All I wanted was a little love." Had she addressed this in the beginning, it would have been clear what her hopes were for this relationship. Mr. Blake however was coming from the exact opposite angle: "She gave him a drink and said that she was going to put on something more comfortable. He urged her to; that was he came for." If these people were openly communicating their intentions to each other would have been clear therefore enabling them to make an informed decision. Another example of a successful relationship from the short stories I have read is character Nanapush and his young friend Eli from Louise Edrich's "Matchimanito." Eli frequently came to Nanapush for advice on hunting, women, and life in general. It was clear to Nanapush what Eli's intentions were, as Eli communicated it frequently with his barrage of questions. "I'm a Nanapush remember. That's as good as saying I knew what interested Eli Kashpaw. He wanted something other than what I could teach him about the woods.

the conscience :: essays research papers

She could not take it anymore. She was convinced that she could no longer endure the presence of that hateful vagabond. She was determined to end it, end everything, no matter how bad it might be, rather than bear his tyranny.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It had nearly been fifteen days with that struggle. What she didn't understand was the tolerance that Antonio had with that vagabond. No, truthfully, it was strange.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The vagabond begged for hospitality for one night: the night of Ash Wednesday exactly, when the wind dragged along a blackish dust, whirling, and whipped the glass windows with a dry crackle. Afterwards, the wind ceased, and there befell a strange calm to the earth, and she pondered, while closing and adjusting the window blinds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  --I don't like this calm--   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She hadn't even locked the back door when that man arrived. She heard his call ringing from behind the door in the kitchen:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  --Kind lady...--   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mariana felt sudden fear. The man, old and raggedy, was there; a hat in one hand, with a begging manner.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  --Shall God protect you...--he started to say. But the vagabond's eyes looked upon her in a strange way. A way that robbed her of words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many men like him begged for the grace of heaven on winter nights. But something about that man frightened her without motive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The vagabond began to recite his ballad: For one night, if they would kindly let him sleep in a stable; a piece of bread and a stable; he doesn't ask for more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The storm announced its coming...   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Outside, Mariana heard the drumming of the rain against the door. A deaf rain, thick, a warning of the approaching storm.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I'm alone--she said dryly--. I mean...when my husband is away, I do not want unknown people in my house. Go, and may God protect you.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But the vagabond remained still, looking at her. Slowly, he put his hat on and said: --I'm a poor man, kind lady. I never did any wrong to anyone. I ask very little: a piece of bread...   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In that moment, two maids, Marcelina and Salome, came running in. They came from the vegetable garden, with their aprons over their heads, screaming and laughing. Mariana felt a strange relief after seeing them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Well--she said--. Fine... but only for this night. For tomorrow when I awake, I do not find you here....   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The old man knelt, smiling, and said a strange poem of thanks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mariana ascended the stairs and went to go to bed.

Scouts View of Atticus Parenting Skills in To Kill a Mockingbird :: essays research papers

Atticus, my father, is a good parent, because he respects children, teaches us about open-mindedness, and maintains closeness and trust with us. This quote briefly tells us about it, 'Jem and I found our father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us with courteous detachment.' Atticus treats Jem and me with respect. I remember the time I asked Uncle Jack what a whore-lady was, but he gave me a vague answer about Lord Melbourne, which I didn't really understand him. However, Atticus said, ?Jack! When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness? sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion of quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles ?em.? This shows how he respects children?s rights to get a decent answer like how adults answer each other with decent answers in order for each other to understand, and that adults should answer to children by telling them enough information for them to at least understand, not just give them a indistinct answer and let the child just believe it for the rest of their lives until they grow old and finally find out the real answer. Atticus teaches us many kinds of ideas including things like, how racial slurs are bad, how not to be racist, and makes sure that we don?t get influenced by Maycomb?s prejudice. He is the adult character least affected by prejudice in the society. We can tell this through his having no problem with Jem and me attending Calpurnia?s church, or with a black woman raising us, and he demolishes the use of racial slurs. He tells us, ?As you grow older, you?ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don?t you forget it?whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.? He teaches us about the real world, and hinting that we shouldn?t be worthless people who only think from their own side, and hold prejudice against the blacks, or just anything. I trust the advice Atticus gives me. ?As Atticus once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem's skin and walk around in it: if I had gone alone to the Radley Place at two in the morning, my funeral would have been held the next afternoon.

Deception Point Page 21

Tolland groaned. â€Å"Now he's showing off. What Corky means is that we can prove a rock is a meteorite simply by measuring its chemical content.† â€Å"Hey, ocean boy!† Corky chided. â€Å"Let's leave the science to the scientists, shall we?† He immediately turned back to Rachel. â€Å"In earth rocks, the mineral nickel occurs in either extremely high percentages or extremely low; nothing in the middle. In meteorites, though, the nickel content falls within a midrange set of values. Therefore, if we analyze a sample and find the nickel content reflects a midrange value, we can guarantee beyond the shadow of a doubt that the sample is a meteorite.† Rachel felt exasperated. â€Å"Okay, gentlemen, fusion crusts, chondrules, midrange nickel contents, all of which prove it's from space. I get the picture.† She laid the sample back on Corky's table. â€Å"But why am I here?† Corky heaved a portentous sigh. â€Å"You want to see a sample of the meteorite NASA found in the ice underneath us?† Before I die here, please. This time Corky reached in his breast pocket and produced a small, disk-shaped piece of stone. The slice of rock was shaped like an audio CD, about half an inch thick, and appeared to be similar in composition to the stony meteorite she had just seen. â€Å"This is a slice of a core sample that we drilled yesterday.† Corky handed the disk to Rachel. The appearance certainly was not earth-shattering. It was an orangish-white, heavy rock. Part of the rim was charred and black, apparently a segment of the meteorite's outer skin. â€Å"I see the fusion crust,† she said. Corky nodded. â€Å"Yeah, this sample was taken from near the outside of the meteorite, so it still has some crust on it.† Rachel tilted the disk in the light and spotted the tiny metallic globules. â€Å"And I see the chondrules.† â€Å"Good,† Corky said, his voice tense with excitement. â€Å"And I can tell you from having run this thing through a petrographic polarizing microscope that its nickel content is midrange-nothing like a terrestrial rock. Congratulations, you've now successfully confirmed the rock in your hand came from space.† Rachel looked up, confused. â€Å"Dr. Marlinson, it's a meteorite. It's supposed to come from space. Am I missing something here?† Corky and Tolland exchanged knowing looks. Tolland put a hand on Rachel's shoulder and whispered, â€Å"Flip it over.† Rachel turned the disk over so she could see the other side. It took only an instant for her brain to process what she was looking at. Then the truth hit her like a truck. Impossible! she gasped, and yet as she stared at the rock she realized her definition of â€Å"impossible† had just changed forever. Embedded in the stone was a form that in an earth specimen might be considered commonplace, and yet in a meteorite was utterly inconceivable. â€Å"It's†¦ † Rachel stammered, almost unable to speak the word. â€Å"It's†¦ a bug! This meteorite contains the fossil of a bug!† Both Tolland and Corky were beaming. â€Å"Welcome aboard,† Corky said. The torrent of emotions that gripped Rachel left her momentarily mute, and yet even in her bewilderment, she could clearly see that this fossil, beyond question, had once been a living biological organism. The petrified impression was about three inches long and looked to be the underside of some kind of huge beetle or crawling insect. Seven pairs of hinged legs were clustered beneath a protective outer shell, which seemed to be segmented in plates like that of an armadillo. Rachel felt dizzy. â€Å"An insect from space†¦ â€Å" â€Å"It's an isopod,† Corky said. â€Å"Insects have three pairs of legs, not seven.† Rachel did not even hear him. Her head was spinning as she studied the fossil before her. â€Å"You can clearly see,† Corky said, â€Å"that the dorsal shell is segmented in plates like a terrestrial pill bug, and yet the two prominent tail-like appendages differentiate it as something closer to a louse.† Rachel's mind had already tuned Corky out. The classification of the species was totally irrelevant. The puzzle pieces now came crashing into place-the President's secrecy, the NASA excitement†¦ There is a fossil in this meteorite! Not just a speck of bacteria or microbes, but an advanced life-form! Proof of life elsewhere in the universe! 23 Ten minutes into the CNN debate, Senator Sexton wondered how he could have been worried at all. Marjorie Tench was grossly overestimated as an opponent. Despite the senior adviser's reputation for ruthless sagacity, she was turning out to be more of a sacrificial lamb than a worthy opponent. Granted, early in the conversation Tench had grabbed the upper hand by hammering the senator's prolife platform as biased against women, but then, just as it seemed Tench was tightening her grip, she'd made a careless mistake. While questioning how the senator expected to fund educational improvements without raising taxes, Tench made a snide allusion to Sexton's constant scapegoating of NASA. Although NASA was a topic Sexton definitely intended to address toward the end of the discussion, Marjorie Tench had opened the door early. Idiot! â€Å"Speaking of NASA,† Sexton segued casually. â€Å"Can you comment on the rumors I keep hearing that NASA has suffered another recent failure?† Marjorie Tench did not flinch. â€Å"I'm afraid I have not heard that rumor.† Her cigarette voice was like sandpaper. â€Å"So, no comment?† â€Å"I'm afraid not.† Sexton gloated. In the world of media sound bites, â€Å"no comment† translated loosely to â€Å"guilty as charged.† â€Å"I see,† Sexton said. â€Å"And how about the rumors of a secret, emergency meeting between the President and the administrator of NASA?† This time Tench looked surprised. â€Å"I'm not sure what meeting you're referring to. The President takes many meetings.† â€Å"Of course, he does.† Sexton decided to go straight at her. â€Å"Ms. Tench, you are a great supporter of the space agency, is that right?† Tench sighed, sounding tired of Sexton's pet issue. â€Å"I believe in the importance of preserving America's technological edge-be that military, industry, intelligence, telecommunications. NASA is certainly part of that vision. Yes.† In the production booth, Sexton could see Gabrielle's eyes telling him to back off, but Sexton could taste blood. â€Å"I'm curious, ma'am, is it your influence behind the President's continued support of this obviously ailing agency?† Tench shook her head. â€Å"No. The President is also a staunch believer in NASA. He makes his own decisions.† Sexton could not believe his ears. He had just given Marjorie Tench a chance to partially exonerate the President by personally accepting some of the blame for NASA funding. Instead, Tench had thrown it right back at the President. The President makes his own decisions. It seemed Tench was already trying to distance herself from a campaign in trouble. No big surprise. After all, when the dust settled, Marjorie Tench would be looking for a job. Over the next few minutes, Sexton and Tench parried. Tench made some weak attempts to change the subject, while Sexton kept pressing her on the NASA budget. â€Å"Senator,† Tench argued, â€Å"you want to cut NASA's budget, but do you have any idea how many high-tech jobs will be lost?† Sexton almost laughed in the woman's face. This gal is considered the smartest mind in Washington? Tench obviously had something to learn about the demographics of this country. High-tech jobs were inconsequential in comparison to the huge numbers of hardworking blue-collar Americans. Sexton pounced. â€Å"We're talking about billions in savings here, Marjorie, and if the result is that a bunch of NASA scientists have to get in their BMWs and take their marketable skills elsewhere, then so be it. I'm committed to being tough on spending.†