Compare the signal man by Charles Dickens and if she bends, she :: English Literature

Compare the signal man by Charles Dickens and if she bends, she breaks by John Gordon Introduction ============ In my essay I intend to compare the similarities and differences of many aspects of 2 short stories. "The signal man" a pre 20th century story by Charles Dickens and "If she bends she breaks" a post 20th century story. By John Gordon. They are naturally different because of their age. The signal man is pre20th century and is typical of the style of story from that era. If she bends she breaks is post 20th century so it has more modern words and is aimed at a younger audience. The stories themselves are similar in that they are both macarbre ghost stories. Titles ------ The title to every story gives the first impression and can give clues as to what the topic of the story is or what will happen.The signal man is a plain boring title thay does not make people wish to read it.If she bends she breaks on the other hand is an unusual title , it is mysterious and makes you want to read on. But a good title does not necessarily mean a good story. I found the signal man was a much better short story where as if she bends she breaks seemed a better title but it is aimed at young children, is a pretty boring story and the plot is easy to pick up, early in the story. The signal man is a boring title but it lets you know what the story is about without giving away the plot. If she bends she breaks is a very intersting title and you only know what it means when you've read the story so it is very effective. But "if she bends has an unusual title, it makes you want to read it, and only when you read it do you find out what, "if she bends she breakss" mean. "if she bends" title, was very good, the story was not as good, in contrast it was the opposite for "the signal man", it had a plain title, but a good story. Beginings and settings ---------------------- The beginning of the signal man, creates an atmoshpere of the supernatural by, its settings. The settings in the signal man, are descibe by dickens as very dark, solitary, and dismal place, "his post was in as solitary and dismal place", meaing that the signal was all alone, in a very dark, and boring place, which is a typical setting for a ghost story He discribes it as being "a great dungeon" dark, cold, scary, and horrible this gives the reader the sense of pain and torture.

You Might Want to Do Some Introspection

You might want to do some introspection. For each of the eight intelligences in the Howard Gardner list, think about your own level of talents and performance. For each intelligence, decide if you have an area of expertise that makes substantial use of the intelligence. For example, perhaps you are good at music. If so, is music the basis of your vocation? Students can also do this type of introspection, and it can become a routine component of PBL lessons.Students can come to understand that they are more naturally gifted in some areas than in others, but that they have some talent in all of the eight areas identified by Howard Gardner. Curriculum and instruction can be developed to help all students make progress in enhancing their talents in each of these eight areas of intelligence. Robert Sternberg Many teachers have provided testimonial evidence that PBL encourages participation on the part of their students who do not have a high level of â€Å"school smarts. They report that some of their students who were not doing well in school have become actively engaged and experienced a high level of success in working on projects. These observations are consistent with and supportive of the research of Robert Sternberg. As noted earlier in this chapter, different researchers have identified different components of intelligence. Sternberg (1988, 1997) focuses on just three main components: Practical intelligence–the ability to do well in informal and formal educational settings; adapting to and shaping one's environment; street smarts.Experiential intelligence–the ability to deal with novel situations; the ability to effectively automate ways of dealing with novel situations so they are easily handled in the future; the ability to think in novel ways. Componential intelligence–the ability to process information effectively. This includes metacognitive, executive, performance, and knowledge-acquisition components that help to steer cognitive processes. Sternberg provides examples of people who are quite talented in one of these areas but not so talented in the other two.In that sense, his approach to the field of intelligence is somewhat like Howard Gardner's. However, you can see that Sternberg does not focus on specific components of intelligence that are aligned with various academic disciplines. He is far more concerned with helping people develop components of intelligence that will help them to perform well in whatever they chose to do. Sternberg strongly believes that intelligence can be increased by study and practice. Quite a bit of his research focuses on such endeavors. Some of Sternberg's work focuses specifically on â€Å"street smarts† versus â€Å"school smarts. He notes that some people are particularly talented in one of these two areas, and not in the other. This observation is consistent with the work of Lev Vygotsky (Fosnot, 1996) who argues that the type of learning that goes on outside of s chool is distinctly different than the type of learning that goes on in school. While some students are talented in both informal and formal education, others are much more successful in one rather than the other. A teacher who is skillful in developing PBL can help students to design projects that are consistent with their learning abilities and interests.David Perkins In his 1992 book, Smart Schools, David Perkins analyzes a number of different educational theories and approaches to education. His analysis is strongly supportive of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Perkins' book contains extensive research-based evidence that education can be considerably improved by more explicit and appropriate teaching for transfer, focusing on higher-order cognitive skills, and the use of project-based learning. Perkins (1995) examines a large number of research studies both on the measurement of IQ and of programs of study designed to increase IQ.He presents detailed arguments that IQ has three major components or dimensions. Neural intelligence. This refers to the efficiency and precision of one's neurological system. Experiential intelligence. This refers to one's accumulated knowledge and experience in different areas. It can be thought of as the accumulation of all of one's expertises. Reflective intelligence. This refers to one's broad-based strategies for attacking problems, for learning, and for approaching intellectually challenging tasks. It includes attitudes that support persistence, systemization, and imagination.It includes self-monitoring and self-management. There is substantial evidence to support the belief that a child's neural intelligence can be adversely affected by the mother's use of drugs such as alcohol and cocaine during pregnancy. Lead (such as from lead-based paint) can do severe neural damage to a person. Vitamins, or the lack thereof, can affect neural intelligence. Moreover, there is general agreement that neural intelligence has a â€Å"use it or lose it† characteristic. It is clear that neural intelligence can be maintained and, indeed, increased, by use.

Be My Brother

Belonging and alienation is the process of being either excluded or accepted by the society in which you live. Belong is a human conception,mostly considered a fundamental human need and a source of survival, safety, protection and happiness. To belong is usually considered positive and essential for a successful existence:however a negative sense of belonging:found among the displaced, marginalised and uncared for can lead to many social, filial and personal problems that can be almost insurmountable for the individual.The short trop fest film â€Å"Be My Brother† by Genevieve Clay 2009, represents these ideas through the films central characters. The film deals with society and people with disabilities feeling displaced within society due to prejudices. It also displays the notions of disconnection and isolation within the family home of the main character and his brother. The viewer here develops a strong connection to the idea of alienation and not belonging. The short fil m â€Å"Be My Brother† explores the concept of isolation through disabilities.Richard the protagonist is born with a disability and is isolated from society. Richard feels as though he doesn’t exist around his brother Damien. As the film progresses, Richard the protagonist meets a girl names Amanda and she neglects him at first, though she discovers another side to him, and so form a relationship with him. Social acceptance is the process of affiliation with society, but within the film â€Å"Be My Brother† it begins with the exclusion of the main character that has a disability. This is evident when Richard meets Amanda for the first time.As she see’s Richard approaching, she immediately moves towards the edge of the seat. The wide shot used in this scene indicates Amanda’s discomfort, where it demonstrates her fear towards people who are physically different. Furthermore, as Richard offers his hand to Amanda for a handshake, she quickly touches h is hand, and faces the other way. The close up shot within this scene reveals Amanda’s disgust towards Richard through hand gestures, where it emphasies her cruelty and superiority towards him.Clothing in this segment plays a crucial role. Amanda is wearing black clothing, which portrays her social standing, which represents class, elegance, and wealth, whereas Richard is wearing brown clothing, expressing dull, inferior and being less important. The full shot used demonstrates the relationships between characters, and where they stand in society. In addition, social acceptance can be displayed within the family. Richard feels displaced around his brother Damien.This is exemplified in the scene where Damien wearing a black hoodie with his hood up, incorporated with the wide shot depicts resentment and exclusion, where Damien feels embarrassed about his brother because he has a disability. The black hoodie symbolises something evil and depressed which contributes to the isolat ion Richard is experiencing. As Richard passes his hand with the audio recorder to Damien, Damien promptly tries to avoid Richard by moving his head. The close up shot allows the audience to see Damien’s facial expression conveying Damiens arrogance towards Richard.Social acceptance is the key concept within the film â€Å"Be My Brother†, where cameral angles and clothing play a crucial role in revealing the idea of feeling accepted and to belong within society. Disconnection and isolation is portrayed throughout the film between Richard and his brother. The negative sense of belonging, where someone feels isolated; found among the marginalised and uncared for can lead to anger and disappointment. The ideas of isolation can be seen at the beginning of the film. The extreme long shot at the beginning of the film reflects the setting, as Richard is disconnected from society.The blur of the background enhances Richards loneliness and societies prejudice against people wit h disabilities. Furthermore, the aspect of displacement can be manifested in the segment where Damien is sitting by himself at the bus stop and Richard is standing up, expressing his point. The major quote Richard plays in his audio recording â€Å"I am what I am, I can’t change that, my brother doesn’t seem to understand, he seems like he doesn’t want to be near me, I seem to always embarrass him and I don’t like to be ignored! shows evidence of self-expression where Richard seeks to be accepted by his brother and society. Anger and disappointment emerges within the audio recording which shows Richards frustration towards his brother, creating tension and indicating family breakdown.However, Damien experiences a change of heart when he is unable to pay his bus fare. Richard steps in and pays the driver. The long shot used in this scene culminates Damien’s feelings towards his brother, creating a journey as he walks down the narrow bus path toward s his brother and he is thinking and taking into account what his brother did for im and how he has treated his brother. The notions of anger, resentment and embarrassment slowly fade away as he takes off his hoodie and Richard hugs him. This important factor leads to acceptance with his brother and the formation of a positive family relationship. Disconnection and isolation is portrayed throughout the film between Richard and his brother, although it diminishes when Damien comes to the realisation that he is taking his brother for granted and thus the film shapes our understanding of belong and alienation.Ultimately the short film â€Å"Be My Brother† has further developed the understanding of belonging and alienation. Details of the social acceptance, disconnection and isolation portrayed throughout the film between Richard and his Brother, all expose â€Å"belonging and alienation† as a human conception whereby to belong is usually considered positive and to not bel ong leads to marginalisation. The feeling of belonging means acceptance however if someone is under the threat of not belonging the feelings of isolation, anger and disappointment emerge.

The Importance of Education to an Individual

Education involves a solid student/teacher relationship, as well as both student and teacher incorporating imagination into the teaching process. Both student and teacher must work together to reach an understanding of education in the classroom; this enables students to grasp full advantage of the material being taught by the teacher. Knowledge in most cases, allows you to see yourself, and to understand what you can produce. The most important aspect of education is change. Change is basically what education is; you are becoming educated and expanding your mind or in other words changing it. The more educated you become, the more able you are to approach the world, and the better off you are to introduce new thoughts to your society. A key example in demonstrating the teacher/student relationship and education as a whole, is explained by Sheldon Solomon. In Solomon's lecture on education, he discusses critical thinking and aesthetic awareness. Both, form creativity, and creativity equals change. Change, in the sense of altering ideas or approaching concepts from different angles as you become more educated and mature. Creativity allows you to take your ideas in any direction that you wish. When you start your education in elementary school you learn very easy concepts. As you proceed, you build upon early ideas with more advanced concepts. Your intuition increases through education and you have a broader background of facts and information to use. In addition to critical thinking, aesthetic awareness includes a change of your emotions. Deep visions start forming with all the information you have gathered through the years. Visions, in the sense of what the future will bring to one's life and what can be accomplished in the years to come. With these visions, students can determine what they want to do with the rest of their life. In addition, Professor Solomon includes a â€Å"dynamic interaction between active students and active teachers† (Solomon 9/9/99), as one of the five integral parts of a solid education. Students and teachers should work together to decide what and how they will be taught. The role of the professor is to keep the students interested, while the task of the students is to do what is asked of the professor. When students and teachers work together to find an effective and interesting way to learn material, the students don't have any excuse but take full advantage of the education that is being presented to them. To ensure student interest, a re-evaluation of the teaching methods should be reviewed every so often to keep the level of enthusiasm. One of the most important aspects of a person's education is the direction in which it takes you. The course the student wants to take is up to his or her imagination. As Alfred North Whitehead states, â€Å"imagination is not to be divorced from the facts: it is a way of illuminating the facts. It works by eliciting the general principles, which apply to the facts, as they exist, and then by an intellectual survey of alternative possibilities, which are consistent with those principles. In enables men to construct an intellectual vision of a new world, and it preserves the zest of life by the suggestion of satisfying purposes† (Whitehead, 15). Many individuals in my generation have very short attention spans. They can't be fully interested in school, without the freedom to express their own ideas and imagination. I believe that capturing student's interests involves acts of incorporating imagination in the classroom and being encouraged by the teacher. If this happens, students will use their talents to their fullest potentials â€Å"illuminating the facts. † Standard curriculum in schools can incorporate imagination as the key to students understanding boring information that they think they'll never use again in their life. An example of this is teaching mathematics, word for word, right out of the textbook in elementary school. The kids do the work mostly because they are required to do so rather than the desire to learn. If math is taught with objects on tables and a group interaction of the specific lesson is incorporated, a better understanding of the material will occur. These objects are the things that get you to imagine concepts and personal ideas. From an idea, imagination can spark the brain to open up to other possibilities and renditions of their original idea. A personal concept of an idea gives forth a creative personalized understanding. An excellent example of what a teacher should not aspire to is Gradgrind. I disagree with the narrow mind of Gradgrind, in Charles Dickens, â€Å"Hard Times for These Times. Teachers' should constantly doubt the credibility of the content and teaching methods. The idea of giving students a mass quantity of facts is very appealing because it will act in a way similar to an encyclopedia. However, Gradgrind failed to link these facts in an interesting, imaginative way. He was useless to his students and the students were useless to him. The clever point of this piece is the use of satire incorporated into Dickens' writing, clearly implying that the students should be incorporated into the teaching process. In no way, should they feel inferior, or feel like prisoners to the teacher. When a teacher dictates to students, they shut their brains and they become irritated by the teaching process. The teacher must provide encouragement plus interest with his or her students. Students want to accomplish work for themselves but also need the respect from their teachers to feel positive about their learning. When the teacher works at the level of the student it makes both feel equal, and better communication occurs, a friendship develops. Both student and teacher work together to reach this understanding of knowledge. My belief is that both students and teachers absolutely must work together to reach the ideal education. It is my experience that there will always be a disagreement of opinion about what and how students should learn, but in the end, I think that it is the responsibility of the students and their teachers to find this equality. If teachers weren't viewed as the dictators of life but rather education tools, I believe that students would get a little more out of the average education. Most importantly, teachers would be able to see the enjoyment of teaching, and find their jobs more rewarding.

Medical Negligence and Malpractice Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Medical Negligence and Malpractice - Case Study Example There were no laws specifying requirements to practice any profession and anyone could practice whatever profession he or she wished to. As a result, there was tremendous competition between physicians and other healers. The only way the public could hold a person responsible for his actions were through tort laws. However, malpractice litigation can exist only with an established practice and a healer cannot be sued for deviating from standards if no standards exist. Since only trained physicians had professional standards, they were sued and quacks were not. There are five fundamental groupings of rationales for medical malpractice. First, a physician "contracts with those who employ him that he has such skill, science, and information as will enable him properly and judiciously to perform the duties of his calling." Second, "the principle is plain of uniform application, that when a person assumes the profession of physician and surgeon, he must, in its exercise, be held to employ a reasonable amount of care and skill. For anything short of that degree of skill in his practice, the law will hold him responsible for any injury which results from its absence (Breen et al, 1997). Third, a physician "undertakes that he will bring to the work a fair, reasonable and competent degree of care and skill in reference to the operation to be performed." Fourth, "freedom from errors of judgement is never a part of a contract with a professional man." And finally, physicians need not guarantee a cure. These principles led to increased malpractice lawsuits against better physicians. Although medical malpractice is founded on the standard principles of tort law, interest groups perceive medical malpractice differently depending on the way malpractice claims affect their financial, social, political, and professional interests. Differences in perception among politically perceptive interest groups have been significant obstacles in resolving malpractice problems. Articles su pporting and opposing the medical malpractice system have appeared in newspapers and magazines. Opponents of malpractice cite malpractice cost as a cause of high health care costs. Opponents argue that the medical malpractice system modifies the doctor and patient relationship and creates an environment in which defensive strategies influence treatment decisions (Fielding and Waitzkin, 1999). Opponents also claim that damage awards are like winnings in a lottery and provide unscrupulous lawyers and patients incentives to sue the providers. The costs of defending malpractice lawsuits and damage awards are increasing the cost of medical treatment. The costs of defensive medicine are increasing medical costs and making medical care unaffordable. Compensation for medical injuries is a paramount goal of medical malpractice actions (Hay, 1992). Compensation should be timely, fair, and paid to all who qualify for it. To be timely, compensation should be paid expeditiously. To be fair, compensation should be proportional to the amount of loss. However, it is important to determine what injuries will be compensated. The system could compensate all injuries regardless of cause, or medically caused injuries only or negligent medical injuries only. Using the concept of quality costs, malpractice costs can be divided into injury costs and

Description of African immigrants living in the U.S Essay

Description of African immigrants living in the U.S - Essay Example At the end of 1970s, African immigrants constitute around 2 percent of total legally accepted immigrant population in America. In the subsequent decades their share in total immigrant population increased, but not very significantly. For example, in 1980s as well as in 1990s, their share in total immigrant population stands at a level around 3 percent. (Gordon, 92-94, Arthur, 1-2) The countries of Africa from where migration of people to America is mostly taking place over the years are â€Å"Nigeria, South Africa, Liberia, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and the Horn of Africa (Mainly Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea)† (Arthur, pp. 2). Among all these countries, Nigeria constitutes the highest percentage of African immigrants in U.S.A. followed by Ethiopia. For example, in 1998, 17 percent of total African immigrants in U.S.A. cane from Nigeria, while 13 percent came from Ethiopia. According to a report published by Immigration and Naturalisation Service in 1971, most of the African immigrants came to America from the northern part of the continent, particularly from countries like Egypt and Morocco. However, over the years immigration from North Africa has slowed down significantly, while immigration from Sub-Saharan countries has got a high pace. The African immigrants in U.S.A. can be treated as a part of the brain drain process, i.e. the pr ocess of migration of talent on an international basis, from less developed countries to the industrialized developed nations of the world. Most the African immigrants presently living in America have already gathered experiences of urban life and interstate migration within their own countries prior to their arrival in the land of America with a hope to further enhance the prospects of their future. (Arthur, 1-2) Over the years, number of Africans living in U.S.A with an expectation of better life has increased. For examples, during 1970, around 61,463 Africans were living in America, while by 1980, this

Nursing Practice in Singapore Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nursing Practice in Singapore - Research Paper Example How do the patient’s vital signs affect your nursing care? Vital signs reflect a response to nursing and medical care. The patient’s BP will be checked before administering his BP medication, following which the BP will also be checked an hour following the administration of BP medication. Patient’s vital signs will be checked q 4 hours. Pain medication will be administered only if there is any pain and response to the medication will be checked after an hour of administration of the drugs. The main concern in this patient is blood pressure. The patient was a clerk in a private office until a couple of years ago when he sought voluntary retirement because of his illness. The patient lives with his wife. He has four sons, all of who are married and live separately. He does not have much financial help, except for some from his sons. He feels that racial discrimination and acculturation are two factors which ruined his life.   The patient went to Milby HS but did not graduate.   He could not graduate for financial reasons and other commitments. The patient is a cooperative person but is depressed because of his chronic illness. He enjoys movies. He is independent and is aware of his body needs and limitations. He, however, is unable to control the urge to consume alcohol. He does have a backache now and then but is not worried about that.   He enjoys a body massage. He does care about how he looks. In fact, he jokes that he is a â€Å"shabby guy†. I explained to the patient about the diet he must be taking. The prescribed diet for him is a diabetic diet with low salt and low potassium food in view of hypertension and chronic renal failure. I provided the information in the form of a chart after consulting his daily food timings and interests. I made a tailor-made diet chart for him.