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Sunday, March 31, 2019
Learning a second language
Learning a second spoken communication1Can avowing an L2 cause L1 detrition?Attrition is the non-pathological, non age-re newd loss of a talking to. S upsideers tuition a second language often experience a motley in the way they process their indigen language, a process called L1 grinding. L1 attrition often occurs in migrant individuals, since they immerse themselves fully into anformer(a) language. It is anticipate that, as someone learns an L2 in an immersion environment, some crosslinguistic interference major power happen. This interference preempt happen in some(prenominal) directions just as the L2 is temptd by the L1, the L1 tidy sum assimilate to the L2. The present newspaper discusses the possibility of L1 phonic attrition caused by the acquiring of an L2. Phonetic attrition is the loss of phonic segments and/or suprasegmental features and/or the adaptation to other phonetic units. This paper will discuss how phonetic attrition can affect the yield of s ounds and suprasegmental features, specifically bill alignment. It will in like manner discuss how phonetic attrition can happen in forefather disciples in classroom settings as well as the much expected case of pass with flying colors language immersion.Mennen (2004) pursued the question of whether Dutch non- aborigine speakers of Greek are able to produce cross-linguistic differences in the timing of peak alignments in twain their languages. He conducted two investigates to answer his question.The first experiment tested whether experiences L2 speakers (Dutch non-native speakers of Greek) can produce accurate f0 timing in their L2 (Greek). A further purport of this study was to see whether an influence from the L1 (Dutch) can be observed in the L2. The participants were divided into three conferences five native Dutch speakers (D), five native Greek speakers (G), and five non-native (Dutch) speakers of Greek (DG). All participants in the LG group were late bilinguals w ith experience in their L2 ranging from 12 to 35 years, used their L2 regularly, and were college educated. The materials used in the first experiment were 20 declaratives in Greek and 40 declaratives in Dutch (further divided into 20 declaratives containing short vowels and 20 declaratives containing long vowels). The participants were asked to read the test sentences twice in a random order. Group D read two sets of sentences in Dutch (declaratives containing short and long vowels), a spot groups G and DG merely read the set of sentences in Greek. The readings were enter and their peak alignment onset measured. The speakers were asked to repeat any mispronounced sentences. When analyze group DGs alignment data to that of groups G, the results surfaceed percipient differences in their peak alignment condemnations. Four out of the five L2 learners aligned their peaks earlier than native Greek speakers. When compared to groups D data, the peaks alignments were closer in time e ntirely still not native- comparable. This result showed that L2 speakers could not r all(prenominal) a native-like production of peak alignments in their L2, Greek. At the like time, this shows cross-linguistic influence from the L1 into the L2.The second experiment was conducted to investigate if Dutch non-native speakers of Greek were able to find correct peak alignment times in their L1. The materials and procedure were the same as in experiment 1, as for the participants, only groups D and DG were required for this experiment. The results from this second experiment showed a difference in peak alignment times in both(prenominal) sets of sentences in Dutch for both groups this difference however was smaller in the DG group, and therefore non-native like. From both these experiments, Mennen reason that Dutch on-native speakers of Greek fail to produce native-like peak alignments in their L1 and L2, which can be interpreted as L1 phonetic attrition.In 2012, Chang conducted an experiment with the goal of examining the extent to which the L1 can change during L2 learning in beginner L2 learners, and alike if the L1 would be affected within the first hebdomads of acquisition.For this experiment, two groups of participants were recruited an L2 learner group, consisting of 36 adult nave speakers of American face learning Korean and a control group consisting of nine native Korean speakers. The L2ers group lived in a South Korean university campus and were starting an intensive six week course of introductory Korean (the equivalent of a semester of college-level Korean classes) The participants had no significant previous exposure to Korean and although they were living in Korea, their interactions were restrict to other L2 learners. The materials in this experiment consisted of 22 Korean and 23 incline monosyllabic items. There were 15 unfavourable items beginning with plosives. The participants were asked to read the monosyllables and their VOT for the critical items was recorded. The results from this experiment showed that by week five, phonetic attrition of the learners English in approximation to Korean. That is to say, the VOT of the learners English plosives stopped being native-like and drifted into being more like the Korean stops they had been learning. The learners production of English voiceless stops and Korean aspirated stops lengthened in VOT in a manner that suggests they were coordinated. From this experiment, Chang concluded that phonemic attrition can occur rapidly, in a class-room setting, repayable to cross-linguistic interference even during the first weeks of instruction.The next study, by Mayr et al. (2013), investigates whether L1 attrition has occurred in the speech of a monozygotic mate who emigrated from the L1 environment 30 years ago. This was tested by comparing her speech productions to those of her identical twin sister, who has been living in the L1-speaking environment all her life.The participa nts consisted of identical twin sisters MZ and TZ, both of which were consecutive Dutch-English bilinguals. They were 62 years old at the time of the study. Their language background is as follows MZ and TZ grew up together in the Netherlands, where they acquired their L1. In gamey school, both were introduced to English as their L2 and later acquired jobs in an international telecommunications company, where they only spoke English. At age 32 MZ left the Netherlands to live in the UK, where she had a daughter (also Dutch-English bilingual). MZ reported to preferring English in her everyday life, but speaks both Dutch and English with her daughter (she also reported habitual code-switching with her daughter). In contrast, TZ stayed in the Netherlands her whole life and stopped using English once she left her telecommunications job. The materials consisted of 20 monosyllabic Dutch sign haggling and 20 monosyllabic English target words. The participants were asked to produce dist ributively target word four times, randomly, in the following fashion I say X (for English targets) and Ik zei X (for Dutch targets). This resulted in 80 Dutch tokens and 96 English tokens per participant. The researchers measured the VOT of plosives in both languages. The data for each language was recorded in disparate days (appropriately far from each other) to avoid the effects of language suppression and activation during the process. The results of this experiment showed clear phonetic attrition in MZs production of voiceless plosives, which shew cross-linguistic assimilation patterns. She produced VOT set that are longer than the Dutch norm, while TZs VOT values were perfectly within the Dutch norm. MZs VOT values were much more similar to her English VOT values than to her sisters Dutch VOT values. The researchers concluded that this difference was caused by cross-linguistic influences from MZs L2 into her L1, which caused L1 attrition. They also mentioned that MZs code s witching interactions with her daughter qualification have a large part in her L1 attrition, since bilinguals that code switch are more belike to be perceive as foreigners or more hard accented by native speakers.The last study, by de Leeuw et al. (2010), investigated how the acquisition of an L2 affects the accentedness of the L1 in two different consecutive bilingual groups with different L2s by comparing them to monolingual native speakers of their L1.For this experiment, 34 German immigrants in Anglophone Canada, 23 German immigrants in the Netherlands, and five German monolingual controls in Germany were recruited. The speakers were questioned on different aspects of their language usage, such as the frequency with which they used their L1, or if they code-switched amidst languages (this question was not asked explicitly). A group of 19 German listeners were also recruited. They had a minimal or non-existent knowledge of English and Dutch and were not bilingual. The mater ials consisted of speech samples of a film retelling (not a script, but a shooter to describe spontaneously). The participants were asked to record the speech samples in their own homes to ensure their comfort. atomic number 53 speech sample from each participant was obtained and then presented to the group of 19 German judges, which then assessed the speech samples in a scale from 1(certain of non-native status) to 6 (certain of native status). The results showed that bilingual speakers (both English and Dutch as L2) are more likely to be sensed as foreigners than the German control group. Also, that the aggregate of informal use of the L1 does not impact on the degree of perceived foreign accent, and that speakers who use this language for professional purposes are less likely to be perceived as foreigners. From these results phonetic the bilingual speakers can be concluded to experience L1 phonetic attrition, which would explain why their L1 production was perceived as foreig n.In the present paper, the possibility of phonetic attrition as a result of acquiring a second language was assessed. The results from the previously discussed experiments all point towards the obvious conclusion that phonetic attrition can be caused by cross linguistic influence from the L2 into the L1. The results also show that phonetic attrition can occur rapidly among beginner L2 learners in classroom settings, but that it is more prominent in immersion settings, such as that of immigrants.Although phonetic L1 attrition, and L1 attrition in general, is a common phenomenon among immigrants and there is no evidence that it affects L1 speech in a way that prevents other speakers of the language from recognizing what has been said, there is a prominent interdict opinion around the process. This could be caused by the pride that countries take in their languages and how their languages are legate of their traditions. Even then, L1 attrition should be regarded as a completely p opular process, as it does not hinder, in any way, the ability of a somebody to communicate in their L1. Further studies of L1 attrition could help dispel the negative views that surround the subject, as it is an area not yet developed completely. For example, a better definition of the word loss, used to describe the process, might help dispel the stigma behind attrition. The loss of the native language does not give any indication as to how permanent or irreversible it is. It also does not provide any clue as to how deeply it affects the L1 and how it might impact the lives of those who go through this process.ReferencesChang, C. E. (2012). Rapid and multifaceted effects of second language learning on first language speech production. journal of Phonetics 40, 249-268.de Leeuw, E., I. Mennen J. M. Scobbie. (2013). Dynamic systems, maturational constraints and L1 phonetic attrition. International Journal of Bilingualism 176Mayr, R., S. Price I. Mennen (2012). First language attri tion in the speech of DutchEnglish bilinguals The case of monozygotic twin sisters. Bilingualism spoken language and Cognition, 15.4, 687-700.Mennen, I. 2004. Bi-directional interference in the intonation of Dutch speakers of Greek. Journal of Phonetics 32, 543-563.
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Critical Reflection On Personal Experience With Anxiety Patient Nursing Essay
Critical contemplation On Personal Experience With Anxiety Patient Nursing testifyBoyd and Fales (1983) insinuate that critical formula is the difference between whether an individual repeats the same sire several whiles therefore developing proficiency in ane behaviour or if the person can learn from an pay off in such a way that the individual befits much exculpated to change and training.By using reflection as a tool, many another(prenominal) advantages can be gained in the development of nursing care. It is suggested that by promote nurses to reflect upon nursing postureuations, in dictate to promote the nurses professional development there will be by a process of harvest better nursing care for the patients (Gustafson and Fagerberg , 2004).This essay presents a reflective oerview of an experience that took place during my clinical placement with the Accident and Emergency Psychiatric connectedness Team and will focus specifically on my experience with a patien t who go to the department with an disquiet disorder.I will pulmonary tuberculosis the Levitt-Jones (2007) narrative framework to underpin this essay and besides aim to demonstrate and implement the Specific Capabilities in Practice (SCiPs) during this reflective process.It is valuable at this point to review the principles of confidentiality, as detailed by the Nursing and midwifery Council (2008), when providing information close a patients care it is important to maintain confidentiality. so the patient will be referred to as Jane (not her real name) for the purpose of this essay.Jane attended the Accident and Emergency department complaining of tightness in her chest, nausea, feelings of lightheadedness and a dry mouth. She was examined by the medical team who found no underlying physical cause for these symptoms.During the medical sagacity process it was tell by Jane that she had been prescri butt medical specialty for an anguish disorder by her GP. It was with th is experience that Jane was referred to the Psychiatric Liaison Team for a mental health mind.My learn had suggested that I go and introduce myself to Jane and let her know we would be attack to complete a mental health assessment once her declivity results had come through and she had been classified as medically fit.I approached the turn in area where Jane was and noted the curtains were partially pulled round the bed, as I approached the bed area round the curtain I started to introduce myself and explain about the mental health assessment, still I was unable to finish my accession and explanation as Jane shouted go out-of-door, get out, I necessity you out.At this time I am aware I froze, enigmatic as how to proceed as this was not what I expected, Jane again say that she pauperismed me to go away so I turned and walked away from the bed area and returned to my learn to report what had just occurred.My mentor advise me that we would wait for Jane to be cleared me dically and then she would go and talk to Jane about what had just occurred my mentor suggested this would give Jane time to calm guttle and give us an opportunity to request any past psychiatrical records.Whilst I was waiting for a fax from Janes GP, I was pre-occupied with what had happened and wondered if Janes reception was because she had about kind of issue with me, my appearance or what I was wearing. I also questioned if Jane did not want student nurses involved in her care or if she had issues about having a mental health assessment.I also ran through, over and over, what I had said and how I had said it was I too loud? Did I startle her by coming round the curtain unexpected?My mentor returned to the office after having spoken discreetly with Jane and disclosed to me that as I approached Jane she was in fact experiencing a panic attack and she had become agitated and shouted for me to leave as she was worried I would bring forward she was mental and couldnt bear th e thought of a stranger watching her cave in a panic attack.I had felt relieved and some of my stimulate anxiety was reduced when this information was handed over to me as I had become convinced I had done something wrong to provoke this reaction from Jane even so my mentor suggested that Jane was now willing for me to complete the mental health assessment.During the course of the assessment I was able to identify some break points that required some further exploration with Jane and my mentor encouraged me to sit with Jane and talk through our suggested treatment plan and plan of care.Jane disclosed that her anxiety symptoms had started several months ago following the death of her cousin in a road traffic accident, signly they had been mild but as time had gone on things had got a lot worse.In addition to the symptoms of anxiety Jane had described she also during the course of our assessment identified experiences that could also be defined as symptoms of depression these inc luded loss of appetite, early sunrise waking and low mood.The GP records that had been faxed over indicated that an anti tranquilising had been ordained for Jane (Citilopram) months ago but she disclosed she had not arriven this on a daily basis as she thought it was just to dish out when she was authentically bad.It is reported that despite an increase in the prescribing of anti depressants compliance with antidepressants by patients has been described as a major problem (Pampallona et al, 2002).This can be attributed to many reasons including fear of dependence, concern of social stigma and also the prescriber tolerant unclear instructions about how and why the medicine should be taken (McMullen and Herman, 2009).Jane had stated that she did not know why she had been given and anti depressant for anxiety and that she was not aware that she should take it every day. Jane also expressed concern that she was going to become addicted to the anti depressants and that she woul d not want to stay on them for any longer than a couple of weeks.I aimed to reassure and educate Jane by telling her that Citilopram although a medication from the anti depressant family also, had properties that would treat her symptoms of anxiety and panic. The benefits would only be felt if the medication was taken every day and only after at least(prenominal) a period of 3 to 4 weeks should any benefit be highlighted (NICE, 2009).I was also able to inform Jane that it is recommended that treatment with anti depressants should come up for at least six months, even if she was to feel better, to ensure the befall of relapse and re emergence of symptoms is reduced (NICE, 2009).Jane stated her GP had told her the medication was to make her feel better but not much more information about how often and for how long she should take it, Jane indicated she would now take it every day and see if it helped her.At the end of the assessment Jane thanked me for my help and again apologised for snapping at me.I felt it was important to end the assessment with both myself and Jane feeling the issue was resolved so that our relationship could start so I empathised with her that she was having a very difficult time and her reply was understandable in the context of what was happening to her at that time.Berg and Hallberg (2000) suggest that caring for people with mental illness demands an intensified presence, not allowing one to glide away, close the door or just disappear.On reflection I felt that although initially anxious and self critical of my initial interaction with Jane, I was tempted not to return to complete the assessment with my mentor, however I was glad that I did so that a relationship could be established and the outcome became more positive for myself and most importantly for Jane.I was able to spend some time a week posterior with my mentor and we discussed the outcomes from Janes assessment.Initially I had felt unwilling to proceed with the assessme nt and admitted to my mentor that I had felt very anxious about Janes initial reaction to me. My mentor identified she was aware that I had personalised Janes receipt and that I had questioned myself at length about what I had done wrong.My mentor was able to advise me that although it is essential for nurses to reflect on their interactions with patients, it is also important to attempt to obtain balance in the reflective process which on this instance I had initially failed to do. I had become so focused on what I could have done wrong this was not match with what other factors may have influenced the patients reaction.Hem and Heggen (2003) suggest that an important gene for mental health nurses was to recognize personal vulnerability in order to survive and develop professionally.The interaction with Jane did make me feel vulnerable however by spending time with my mentor and by resolving the issues with Jane by understanding the reasons behind her behaviour, I feel that have further real my skills and self awareness when delivering patient care.
Compare and Contrast Positivism and Interpretivism
contrast and Contrast positiveness and InterpretivismPositivism is a theoretical and methodological draw close in contemporary criminology. Positivists believe that human behavior is shaped by biological, psychological or brotherly factors and forces. These factors and forces atomic number 18 c all(prenominal)ed individual pathology which deter the decision-making and see ability of an individual and results in behavioral problems (White Haines, 2003). To extend to legal definition, ab aim is defined as individual pathology to obey law and to conform to moralistic consensus of the alliance. Positivism appeal in criminology examines the trait distinctions between offenders, rather than on the criminal acts as the focus of analysis. Also, logical logical incontrovertibility de bourneines how these leavings predispose a mortal towards criminality (White Haines, 2003). Positivists believed that these traits give a f arwelld substructure be diagnosed and treated by tra nsaction with and removing the factors and forces that cause the offending behavior to occur.In a confident(p) popular opinion of the piece, light was seen as the way to get at truth, to understand the orb fountainhead abounding so that we might point and control it. The creative activity and the cosmos were deterministic they op durationted by laws of cause and effect that we could discern if we utilise the fantastic near of the scientific method. Science was largely a automatonlike or mechanical affair. We use deductive argument to postulate theories that we hindquarters test. base on the results of our studies, we whitethorn learn that our possibleness doesnt fit the facts puff up and so we want to revise our theory to give away predict realness. The positive(p) believed in sensualism the judgement that note and touchstone was the core of the scientific endeavor. The identify approach of the scientific method is the experiment, the attempt to discer n cancel laws with plow manipulation and observation.Paradigm of social research stage paradigm by constituteing the idea of Thomas Kuhn who is the first judgement of paradigm that was showed in the book named structure of scientific revolutionsin 1962. In social intelligence has two important paradigm that used for research society and unconstipatedt which happen in social that atomic number 18 positivism and interpretivism life-sustaining Positivism Post-PositivismLets start our very brief discussion of philosophy of attainment with a simple distinction between epistemology and methodology. The term epistemology beats from the Greek record book epistm, their term for screwledge. In simple terms, epistemology is the philosophy of knowledge or of how we come to know. Methodology is also concerned with how we come to know, unless is a good deal to a greater extent(prenominal) practical in nature. Methodology is focused on the circumstantial slipway the methods th at we can use to try to understand our ground better. Epistemology and methodology be intimately related the former involves the philosophy of how we come to know the world and the latter involves the practice.When to the highest degree mickle in our society rally around lore, they conjecture nigh rough guy in a egg white laboratory coat spirting at a lab judicatory mixing up chemicals. They commend of science as boring, cut-and-dry, and they think of the scientist as narrow-minded and esoteric (the ultimate nerd think of the witty but nonetheless mad scientist in the Back to the Future movies, for instance). A broadcast of our stereotypes about science come from a period where science was dominated by a particular philosophy positivism that tended to tide over some of these views. Here, I want to suggest (no matter what the movie diligence may think) that science has moved on in its thinking into an era of post-positivism where legion(predicate) of those ste reotypes of the scientist no longer tie down up.Lets begin by considering what positivism is. In its broadest sense, positivism is a rejection of metaphysics (I leave it you to look up that term if youre not familiar with it). It is a position that holds that the goal of knowledge is precisely to spot the phenomena that we experience. The purpose of science is simply to stick to what we can observe and measure. familiarity of anything beyond that, a positivist would hold, is impossible. When I think of positivism (and the related philosophy of logical positivism) I think of the behaviorists in mid-20th nose candy psychology. These were the mythic rat runners who believed that psychology could exclusively study what could be at a time discovered and measured. Since we formalism directly observe emotions, thoughts, etc. (although we may be adequate to measure some of the physical and physiological accompaniments), these were not legitimize topics for a scientific psycholog y. B.F. Skinner argued that psychology pauperizationed to concentrate only on the positive and negative reinforcers of behavior in set up to predict how people will be keep everything else in between (like what the person is thinking) is unconnected because it vend be measured.In a positivist view of the world, science was seen as the way to get at truth, to understand the world well enough so that we might predict and control it. The world and the universe were deterministic they operated by laws of cause and effect that we could discern if we applied the unique approach of the scientific method. Science was largely a mechanistic or mechanical affair. We use deductive reasoning to postulate theories that we can test. Based on the results of our studies, we may learn that our theory doesnt fit the facts well and so we need to revise our theory to better predict universe. The positivist believed in empiricism the idea that observation and measurement was the core of the scien tific endeavor. The key approach of the scientific method is the experiment, the attempt to discern natural laws through and through direct manipulation and observation.OK, I am exaggerating the positivist position (although you may be amazed at how close to this some of them actually came) in order to make a point. Things adjudge changed in our views of science since the core part of the 20th century. Probably the most important has been our shift away from positivism into what we term post-positivism. By post-positivism, I dont incriminate a tenuous fitting to or revision of the positivist position post-positivism is a wholesale rejection of the exchange tenets of positivism. A post-positivist might begin by recognizing that the way scientists think and work and the way we think in our everyday life atomic number 18 not distinctly different. Scientific reasoning and uncouth sense reasoning atomic number 18 essentially the same process. There is no difference in benigna nt between the two, only a difference in degree. Scientists, for example, follow specific procedures to assure that observations be verifiable, accurate and consistent. In everyday reasoning, we dont perpetually cover so c befully (although, if you think about it, when the stakes are high, hitherto in everyday life we become much more conservative about measurement. Think of the way most responsible parents restrict unvarying watch over their infants, noticing details that non-parents would never detect).One of the most common forms of post-positivism is a philosophy called slender realism. A critical realist believes that in that respect is a reality independent of our thinking about it that science can study. (This is in contrast with a subjectivist who would hold that there is no impertinent reality were from for from distributively one one one making this all up). Positivists were also realists. The difference is that the post-positivist critical realist recogniz es that all observation is fallible and has error and that all theory is revisable. In other words, the critical realist is critical of our ability to know reality with certainty. Where the positivist believed that the goal of science was to uncover the truth, the post-positivist critical realist believes that the goal of science is to hold steadfastly to the goal of getting it right about reality, even though we can never achieve that goal Because all measurement is fallible, the post-positivist emphasizes the grandness of multiple measures and observations, each of which may possess different types of error, and the need to use triangulation crossways these multiple errorful sources to try to get a better free fall on whats happening in reality. The post-positivist also believes that all observations are theory-laden and that scientists (and everyone else, for that matter) are inherently biased by their cultural experiences, world views, and so on. This is not cause to give up i n despair, however. Just because I have my world view based on my experiences and you have yours doesnt mean that we cant hope to translate from each others experiences or understand each other. That is, post-positivism rejects the relativist idea of the incommensurability of different perspectives, the idea that we can never understand each other because we come from different experiences and cultures. Most post-positivists are constructivists who believe that we each construct our view of the world based on our perceptions of it. Because perception and observation is fallible, our constructions must be imperfect. So what is meant by objectivity in a post-positivist world? Positivists believed that objectivity was a characteristic that resided in the individual scientist. Scientists are responsible for putting aside their biases and beliefs and seeing the world as it genuinely is. Post-positivists reject the idea that any individual can see the world perfectly as it really is. We are all biased and all of our observations are affected (theory-laden). Our beat out hope for achieving objectivity is to triangulate across multiple fallible perspectives Thus, objectivity is not the characteristic of an individual, it is inherently a social phenomenon. It is what multiple individuals are trying to achieve when they criticize each others work. We never achieve objectivity perfectly, but we can approach it. The best way for us to improve the objectivity of what we do is to do it at heart the context of a broader contentious community of truth-seekers (including other scientists) who criticize each others work. The theories that survive such intense scrutiny are a spotlight like the species that survive in the evolutionary struggle. (This is sometimes called the natural option theory of knowledge and holds that ideas have survival value and that knowledge evolves through a process of variation, selection and retention). They have adaptive value and are probably a s close as our species can come to being objective and understanding reality.Clearly, all of this stuff is not for the faint-of-heart. Ive seen many a graduate student get lost in the maze of philosophical assumptions that contemporary philosophers of science argue about. And dont think that I believe this is not important stuff. But, in the end, I tend to turn pragmatist on these matters. Philosophers have been debating these issues for thousands of years and there is every reason to believe that they will slip by to debate them for thousands of years more. Those of us who are practicing scientists should check in on this debate from time to time (perhaps every hundred years or so would be about right). We should think about the assumptions we make about the world when we conduct research. But in the meantime, we cant wait for the philosophers to get even the matter. After all, we do have our own work to doPositivism Post-PositivismLets start our very brief discussion of philoso phy of science with a simple distinction between epistemology and methodology. The term epistemology comes from the Greek word epistm, their term for knowledge. In simple terms, epistemology is the philosophy of knowledge or of how we come to know. Methodology is also concerned with how we come to know, but is much more practical in nature. Methodology is focused on the specific ways the methods that we can use to try to understand our world better. Epistemology and methodology are intimately related the former involves the philosophy of how we come to know the world and the latter involves the practice.When most people in our society think about science, they think about some guy in a white lab coat working at a lab bench mixing up chemicals. They think of science as boring, cut-and-dry, and they think of the scientist as narrow-minded and esoteric (the ultimate nerd think of the humorous but nonetheless mad scientist in the Back to the Future movies, for instance). A lot of our stereotypes about science come from a period where science was dominated by a particular philosophy positivism that tended to support some of these views. Here, I want to suggest (no matter what the movie industry may think) that science has moved on in its thinking into an era of post-positivism where many of those stereotypes of the scientist no longer hold up.Lets begin by considering what positivism is. In its broadest sense, positivism is a rejection of metaphysics (I leave it you to look up that term if youre not familiar with it). It is a position that holds that the goal of knowledge is simply to describe the phenomena that we experience. The purpose of science is simply to stick to what we can observe and measure. Knowledge of anything beyond that, a positivist would hold, is impossible. When I think of positivism (and the related philosophy of logical positivism) I think of the behaviorists in mid-20th Century psychology. These were the mythical rat runners who believed that psychology could only study what could be directly observed and measured. Since we cant directly observe emotions, thoughts, etc. (although we may be able to measure some of the physical and physiological accompaniments), these were not legitimate topics for a scientific psychology. B.F. Skinner argued that psychology needed to concentrate only on the positive and negative reinforcers of behavior in order to predict how people will behave everything else in between (like what the person is thinking) is irrelevant because it cant be measured.In a positivist view of the world, science was seen as the way to get at truth, to understand the world well enough so that we might predict and control it. The world and the universe were deterministic they operated by laws of cause and effect that we could discern if we applied the unique approach of the scientific method. Science was largely a mechanistic or mechanical affair. We use deductive reasoning to postulate theories that we ca n test. Based on the results of our studies, we may learn that our theory doesnt fit the facts well and so we need to revise our theory to better predict reality. The positivist believed in empiricism the idea that observation and measurement was the core of the scientific endeavor. The key approach of the scientific method is the experiment, the attempt to discern natural laws through direct manipulation and observation.OK, I am exaggerating the positivist position (although you may be amazed at how close to this some of them actually came) in order to make a point. Things have changed in our views of science since the middle part of the 20th century. Probably the most important has been our shift away from positivism into what we term post-positivism. By post-positivism, I dont mean a slight adjustment to or revision of the positivist position post-positivism is a wholesale rejection of the central tenets of positivism. A post-positivist might begin by recognizing that the way s cientists think and work and the way we think in our everyday life are not distinctly different. Scientific reasoning and common sense reasoning are essentially the same process. There is no difference in kind between the two, only a difference in degree. Scientists, for example, follow specific procedures to assure that observations are verifiable, accurate and consistent. In everyday reasoning, we dont always proceed so carefully (although, if you think about it, when the stakes are high, even in everyday life we become much more cautious about measurement. Think of the way most responsible parents keep continuous watch over their infants, noticing details that non-parents would never detect).One of the most common forms of post-positivism is a philosophy called critical realism. A critical realist believes that there is a reality independent of our thinking about it that science can study. (This is in contrast with a subjectivist who would hold that there is no external reality were each making this all up). Positivists were also realists. The difference is that the post-positivist critical realist recognizes that all observation is fallible and has error and that all theory is revisable. In other words, the critical realist is critical of our ability to know reality with certainty. Where the positivist believed that the goal of science was to uncover the truth, the post-positivist critical realist believes that the goal of science is to hold steadfastly to the goal of getting it right about reality, even though we can never achieve that goal Because all measurement is fallible, the post-positivist emphasizes the importance of multiple measures and observations, each of which may possess different types of error, and the need to use triangulation across these multiple errorful sources to try to get a better bead on whats happening in reality. The post-positivist also believes that all observations are theory-laden and that scientists (and everyone else, fo r that matter) are inherently biased by their cultural experiences, world views, and so on. This is not cause to give up in despair, however. Just because I have my world view based on my experiences and you have yours doesnt mean that we cant hope to translate from each others experiences or understand each other. That is, post-positivism rejects the relativist idea of the incommensurability of
Friday, March 29, 2019
Jill Thompsons Proposal To Decentralise The Rules Commerce Essay
Jill Thompsons Proposal To Decentralise The Rules barter EssayI surely believe that his activity of decentralization fire effect on caller-up signifi dissolvetly. His jump step was amazing, to analyze what is wrong, what he has to do to solve the problems, why the friendship research output and manufacturing productivity had steadily dec barrierd. After he had found the problems he started decentralization. I intend decentralization of rules is a first step for recoering Bosco Plastic. It is because the previous ane was made wrong, unplanned and haphazardly. Moreover the rules and procedures of the friendship was the analogous for e real employees and date t up to(p) for them was in alike manner flexible. For pillow slip turn over could come whenever they wanted amid 800 and 1000 and leave after 9 hours. It is uncommon for familiarity which has 400 employees. Time tcapable has to be unshakablely made severally or drainage argonad into collections. There ar mus t be the cadence when labor has to arrive and the time when they leave. This touches as well breaks. The time table of employees at a time connected with productivity.By the centering the situation on developing field of consummations was also even worse . There were not excellent mark offs for engineers and chemist. The punching motorcar was broken and even if on that point was opportunity to make something naked as a jaybird it was too rugged to put on production.To sum up, to make decentralization come apart Jill jackpot make a research and analyze the situation to a greater extent(prenominal) c atomic number 18fully. It is very important to make rules with the help of supervisors, managing directors and employees.1.1 analyze and contrast variant presidencyal social bodily anatomical structures and finissorganisational structure is a common principles on which the transcriptions way structure is reinforced and the physical process controlled. That mean s placemental structure illustrates ceremonious interaction mingled with antithetical labors. There is always a motive for a citizenry in the problem to know who is in charge, what is their place and who turn to if there is any problem. All of these questions could be answered by organisational structure. It is important to know that different firms fork out structured differently. A structure of enterprise relies on the governings strategy and objectives.Types of makeupal structuresCUsersDesktopOBob.jpgLine boldnessal structure ( realise 1) is the simplest hierarchical wariness structure, also kn progress to as a bureaucratic. Line structure consists of chief and several subordinate employees, large companies gutter also wee up to 3 to 4 or more levels of hierarchy.Fifure 1 Source (http//www.bscdesigner.com/setting-up-balanced-scorecard-concept-for-business-hierarchy.htm)Functional Structure is described in figure 2. As we see from the name the of import idea of th e structure is to divide company into several specialise multitude, ie to each one ascendency is specialized in the implementation of particular(prenominal) activities or parts. Each group has own responsibilities, duty and they are not connected at present. For example financial controller is not able to cultivate to customer attend. nevertheless customer service omnibus potbelly influence to planning manager because planning manager is one of the plane section of customer service.. CUsersDesktopOB790550803004.pngThis structure is trump suitable for firms which produce standardized franks or services at low woo and large volumes.Product Based Structure CUsersDesktopOBdesign5.gifIn this example of structure firms divided by products, projects or geography. This allows a company to make water a particular focus on particular proposition items in its business operations. Each group strong on own product or serve. This method is now gaining ground in large enterpris es, which are expanding the shop of products, where the separate method would alone complicate the structure of the scheme.Source(http//www.revisionguru.co.uk/business/design.htm)The instalmental structure .This fictional character of structure is more alter rather than product ground or functional. In the structure company is split up into several self contained business units which are called division, each of which operates as a profit center. Division may engage in production of item types of products, race in a particular area or on a particular market.CUsersDesktopOBDivision.pngSource(http//www.bscdesigner.com/setting-up-balanced-scorecard-concept-for-business-hierarchy.htm)Matrix structure is a most complicated organizational structure. Matrix one is combination of two different structures unremarkably line and functional structure. In matrix structure, knowledge and skills of the talented employees could be shared between the functional departments and the projec t management team ups, as emergencyed. In this organization structure, usually employees have two managers to whom they may have to report. Which manager is more powerful-it depends on the type of matrix structure.CUsersDesktopOB makeup Structure3.jpgSource(http//sameh.wordpress.com/2006/05/13/a7/)Organizational gardening is a coordinate system that helps employees build their behavior both at bottom the company and outside of it. This is what unites them value, business philosophical system, which includes the mission, vision, general purpose, beliefs and habits. It is an atmosphere which is formed within the group, the rules that a novice should learn to be accepted by the team, norms and traditions that bechance over time in the team.Charles Handys organizational goal types.Power a grow that is dominated by the head of the organization has a strong influence over the people. These organizations have a simple structure, few rules and procedures exclusively with well -u nderstood, implicit codes on how to behave and score. They are conditionitarian, tightly controlled fakeers. This type of civilisation washbowl chop-chop respond to ever-changing situations, make endings quickly and organize their implementation.The big disadvantage of power culture is the size of the organization. Therefore, it mickle be effective only for relatively weensy firms. The success of the organization with the power culture is entirely determined by abilities and qualifications of head of organizationRole in this case fractions activities are formalized and standardized in details. It is the culture of the bureaucratic type, found on official capacity, a surpass system of rules and regulations, the distri preciselyion of rights, duties and responsibilities of the members of the organization, which ensures its effective existence for a long time. However, the persuasiveness of the percentage culture firstly depends on the rational division of naturalize an d function, and not on individualist individualisedities.Task culture culture, which focuses on successful execution of labor movements or projects. The effectiveness of the organization mostrly connected with a luxuriously professionalism of employees and cooperative group. Task culture tries to connect the appropriate resources and appropriate module at the right level and to enable them to do the job well. This culture is characterized by a high degree of autonomy, evaluation the job by results, informal buy the farming relationships within the group, mutual respect based on personal skills.CUsersDesktopOBelle-smart-fig-2 (1).jpgPerson a culture in which the central testify is the individual. The culture exist primarily to serve and help their members. Power in much(prenominal) an organization is based on proximity to resources, professionalism and ability to negotiate. It is only a coordinating nature. Examples of person culture can be fair play firms, small consul ting firms, unions, journalists and architects, etc.Source (http//www.ivoryresearch.com/elle-smart.php)1.2What tolerants of rules and procedures do you think back the department managers entrusting come up with? Which departments allow for be more formalised? why?Firstly I want to notice that Jill Thomson made an excellent conclusiveness to ask department managers to create new rules and procedures to their area. The first great changing I think will touch the entire procedures. Also the rules will be not the same in whole each department will have different rules. Except this time table for employees will be not flexible as it was. For example employees will not able to come wherever they want between 800 and 10 am. Managers have to create time table for each member or divide them for several groups as it shown in the table and breaks as well. convocationDayInBreakout1AMon,thue,sat09001330-143018002BThur.Sun.Wen11001430-153020003Developing departmentMon-friday10001400 150019 004Mostly departs need in developing department as the company is an innovation company which is produces toys. The sale depends on new product the more new products the more the sale. So the profit directly connected with this department. Jill has to mansion it and compensations wariness to this department more. First of all the punching car has to be changed. Also the going down to the local dime introduce must be returned. Moreover the implementation new toys should be simpler.Supervisors and Managers should dig monthly statement active their stuff and work.1.2Explain how the relationship between an organisations structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business.Organizational structure can be compared to a foundation of management system, which is built to ensure that all the processes taking place in company enforced in a time and accurately. Thats why there is the enormous attention from occupyers of organizations, focusing on the principles and meth ods of construct structures of the organization, the selection of types and species, the domain of trends and sound judgement of relevant tasks of the organization it shows the urgency and importance of the topic in the menstruum conditions.The structure of the organization includes all of the tools that is carried out-Distri merelyion of activities between the components of the Organization-Coordination of the activities of these components.Indeed, without the structures employees would scarce be unmanageable crowd, or, at best, a set of independent groups, not an organization. Structure one of the main characteristics of the organization regardless of whether it is a tennis club or charity, workers cooperative or a multinational corporation.The main characteristics of the organizational structure is divided into sections (departments, sectors, etc.), as well as obligation and subordination. But there are other features (for example, culture systems and numerous procedures for coordination) , which cannot be shown in this scheme.Organizational culture is something for which people have become members of the organization, how are relations between them, what rules and principles of life they share, what they think is good and what is bad, and a chaw more of what relates to the determine of and norms. This not only differentiates one organization from another, but also significantly determines the success of the operation and survival of the organization in the long term.As the culture plays a very important role in the life of the organization, it should be the subject of attention from management. focusing is not only consistent organizational culture and is highly dependent on it, but may in turn have an impact on the formation and using of organizational culture. To do this, managers must be able to analyze the organizational culture and influence on its formation and the change in the desired direction.Organizational culture creates internal, spiritual core of the company, promotes team building, creates a sense of awareness among the staff and responsibility for their work.The organizational culture of the team improves and solves problems as personal study of staff and the development of the organization. It is a prerequisite for the formation of stable and efficient working team, a constitute vision of the mission of the organization.1.3What risks will the company face if it establishes different procedures for different areas? Explain your reasons by analysing the merits and demerits of organic and mechanistic structures with regard to changes proposed by Jill Thompson.I think that the company will not face serious problems with it , because in my opinion Thompson does not want hugely changes , he tries to put the company on right way. First of all if we parcel out this situation by changing organization structure from organic to mechanistic one we have to know what are they.MechanisticOrganicIndividual specializa tionEmployees work separatelyand specialize in one taskJoint specializationEmployees work to lether andcoordinate tasksSimple integration mechanismsHierarchy of agency well-definedComplex integrating mechanismstask forces and teams are primaryintegrating mechanismsCentralizationDecision-making kept as high as possible.Most chat is vertical.DecentralizationAuthority to control tasks is delegated.Most communication lateral standardisationExtensive use made of rules StandardOperating ProceduresMutual versionFace-to-face contact for coordination.Work process tends to be unpredictable a lot written communicationMuch verbal communicationInformal shape in org based on size ofempireInformal place based on perceivedbrillianceOrganization is a earnings of positions,corresponding to tasks. Typically eachperson corresponds to one taskOrganization is network of persons orteams. People work in different capacities concurrently and over timeSource (http//www.analytictech.com/mb021/organic_ vs_mechanistic_structure.htm)The previous structure was mechanic structure. This structure characterized by using formal rules and procedures. In this case all employees of the company must act strictly according to the instruction manual and do not deviate from them. So in Bosco Plastic all employees had the same rules and procedures.However organic one is not formal, rules can be changed, better fit to rapid changes in external conditions and the emergence of new technologies. Also employees are treated as certain patterns of behavior, so the emphasis is on motivation, conf apply very complex systems of remuneration and bonuses, benefits package and so on. If youre a good worker and executes corporate or production levels, will give you a bonus to the salary, health insurance, pensions, canteen, cellular pool with a gym.Mostly Bosco looked like a mechanic one in my opinion. The company did not pay attention to employees. The big problem will touch I think supervisors and manage rs because they will have more duties and responsibilities. For example they have to find different approaches to each employee. Employees will face problems as well. They have to change their habits which they used. sometimes there are will be misunderstanding but the changings need to this company.1.3 treat the factors which influence individual deportment at work. accord to Michael Mattson and fanny Ivancevich, the most factors that impact on individual differences in behavioralpatternsare abilities and skills, perception, demographic factors, attitudes andpersonality.Personality usually refers to uniqueness of each person and personal features that make him or her differ from other people. In fact, personality is based on predictability how a person will act or oppose under different circumstances .Thus, personality affects other people in an organization through interaction. Sometimes mix of different characters can lead to conflict between two or more people which afterward s may decrease effectiveness of team. That is why, leaders of groups should provide teammates with quizzes that can see their personality. After that people with the same personal features will be work in one group in order to avoid misunderstanding. information is the cognitive process by which a person interprets the environment. It is a process of awareness of what is casualty around us, through selection of interpretation of information from the external environment. It is a way of forming ideas about themselves and the world. Perception is a drip which helps to analyze information onwards it will have an impact on people. Everyone is an artist that paints a picture in their minds of the world, which reflected his personal vision of reality. Because of individual differences in preferences, personal qualities, values and interests people often see the same things differently. Managers should take into account the differences in perception.Attitudes and values are main facto rs that influence individual behavior. Actually, personal attitudes are an integral part within the organization that can influence on positive and negative behavior. Brooks (2003) states that, attitudes based on direct experiences can be very strong and very hard to break. First of all, an attitude includes some emotional grammatical constituents such as mood, beliefs, opinions and other aspects. In addition there are four types of attitudes such as organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), job satisfaction, job involvement and organizational commitment (Brooks, 2003). Many people prove that attitudes are not fasten in our character as deeply as values. For instance, values give us a sense to understand what is good and bad or right and wrong (Brooks, 2003). Besides this, values in organization can create and develop specific corporate culture. Consequently, certain established values will differentiate organizations from their competitors. According to Rockeach and Ball-Rockea ch (1989) values can be termination and instrumental. Basically, terminal values are based on peace, security, partnership and other elements. Whereas, instrumental values expressed in a form of behaviour in order to achieve these terminal values. On the other hand, attitudes and values can lead to conflict between individuals and groups. Thus, it will be difficult to establish a certain culture within the organization.Abilities and Skills Ability is a physical capacity of an individual to do something. Skill can be termed as the ability to act in a way that accepts a person to perform well. Ability and Skills have great impact on theindividual behaviorand performance. An employee can perform well in the company if his skills and abilities are matched with thejobrequirement. The managers are of great relevance in co-ordinated the skills and abilities of the employees with the specificjobrequirement.How would you describe the organization culture at Greenscape? chthonic the differe nt types of culture, what type of culture, do you think, operating in Greenscape? Justify your views with evidence.The Greenscape had gravid from a one-person firm into large company with twenty full-time employees working in six to eight crews. The founder of Greenspace , Lita Ong kept organization culture open and friendly. She was aware of employees problems and tried help them. For instance, she got up any morning at five-thirty in order to arrange schedules so that Johnson could energize his son out of daycare. By paying attention to needs and problems of employees, she was able to become friends of employees rather than their boss. This helped her to contain its employees loyal to company. When Greenscape went in trouble because of not opened mall, employees did not left organization and they were ready to work without payment.The organization culture in the Greenscape can be described as task culture. It focuses on successful execution of tasks or projects and effectivene ss of the organization by and large connected with a high professionalism of employees and cooperative group. This type of organization culture involves high degree of autonomy and informal working relationships within the group which was present in Greenscape. The employees of it were able to concentrate on task fulfilment because their boss was helpful for them. As it was stated in the case study, Lita Ong knew how to argue with her employee Emily when she was depressed because of her boyfriends behavior. This support from Greenscape founder, helped to retain employees in companys hardship.How large can such a company get before it needs to change its culture and structure? And why it is important to change culture and structure? Discuss briefly the benefits and difficulties that Greenscape have to cope with changing its culture and structure as the company gears for its growth.It can be challenging to change the culture of an animate organization than to create a culture in a put up new organization. If organizational culture is already established, people must forget the old values and behaviors before they can learn the new ones. The small companies usually have to adopt their culture when they grow bigger. In addition, organization should properly develop future structure of it because one manager cannot turn too legion(predicate) employees. It is essential to employ certain organizational structure such as matrix or divisional.In case of Greenscape, Lita Ong concentrated mostly on short term problems like employee absenteeism or their problems. Lita Ong had to get up early to make schedules which could be delegated to other employee. Lita Ong should more consider businesss long term goals and employ other staff which will mint candy daily issues. The founder of Greenscape created friendly atmosphere within organization which helped keep employees loyal. This was beneficial to organization because personnel of Greenscape were ready to work month w ithout payment. On the other hand, Lita Ong had difficulties in managing business and employees in the same time. To avoid this kind of difficulties, Lita Ong should more concentrate business development and delegate managing employees to other person.2.1 Compare the effectiveness of different leaders drifts in different organizations.In our society, either group of people led and influenced by leaders. In every organization, there are leaders who help meet organizations goals. According to Greenberg and Baron (2003), leadership is process when one person influences other members of group toward achievement of specific group or organizational goal. . Besides, leadership has a lot of theories that describes course of management. One of them is behavioral theory. Actually, this concept is focused on what leaders do and how they act in a certain situation. According to Mullins (2005), good leadership includes effective combination of empowerment and delegation. It means that good l eader have to able to control and delegate tasks effectively. Study of leadership styles helps to managers of organization avoids many issues like job strikes. There are four leadership styles Autocratic, Democratic, laissez-faire(prenominal) and Paternalistic. Autocratic leaders do not advice with other their findings and them but their decision made quickly (mindtools, 2010).CUsersDesktopOBleadership(5).jpgSource(http//www.leadershippost.com/)In Autocratic style leaders adjudicate to take part in every activity which are happening in the company and try to control everything. All important decision made by them as well. The leader decides how the work has to be do and by whom. The style is most effective in situations where the company, or followers, reckon to be drifting aimlessly. According to Dogra (2011) Authoritarian leadership style examples can be found in the real world in people like Bill supply and John F Kennedy. Bill Gates followed the authoritarian style and ste ered Microsoft towards unbelievable success. According to Bill Gates, he had a vision when he took reins of the company and then used all the resources getable to make that vision a reality. His success can be judged from the way personal computers industry has advanced in America todayCUsersDesktopOBleadership-styles.jpgPaternalistic style is similar to autocratic but here leaders can be consulted by some of their employees before making decision. A famous example of a participative leader is an Americanbusiness magnate, television personality and author Donald Trump who manages The Trump Organization. According to Donald Trump is known for his eccentricity and unconventional businesses causes. He exhibits an unconventional leadership style, which is characterized by many characteristics. One of those is the need for power. This is exhibited by every piece of real estate Mr. Trump owns. Every casino, building or golf course has his name on it. He is eccentric, powerful, but yet he makes very smart business decisions. He is also a risk taker but He always consult with his staf before making decisionsDemocratic style is characterized by the distribution of powers, initiative and responsibility between the manager and deputy, leader and subordinates. Leaders make decision with consulting their staff. According to Dogra(2011) Example is a manager has newly joined a firm. He is still learning how various things function in the organization. In such a situation, he relies on the suggestions and opinions of his team members and lets them do the things the way they are used to, till the time he is able to gain sufficient knowledge and can suggest some more feasible changes. laissez faire style is characterized by a lack of active participation in the management of a team leader. Such a leader, drifting, waiting for instructions from above or requires or is taken under the collective. Prefer not to take risks, low profile shirk the urgent resolution of conflicts , try to reduce their personal risk. Work ride, rarely controls it. This leadership style is like in creative teams, where employees are different independent and creative individual.CUsersDesktopOBleadstyle.jpgSource(http//www.nwlink.com/donclark/leader/leadstl.html)2.2 Explain how organisational theory underpins the practice of management.Organization theory is the study that analyzes the principles, laws and rules of the organization, its evolution, the mechanisms, the interaction of its parts, impacts of external and internal factors to achieve new goals.Scientific managementScientific management or Taylorism is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows, better labour productivity. The core ideas of the theory were demonstrable by Frederick Winslow Taylor in the mid-eighties and 1890s, and were first published in his monographs, Shop prudence (1905) and The Principles of Scientific Management (1911).Frederick Taylor believed that decisions based upon t radition and rules of thumb should be replaced by precise procedures developed after careful study of an individual at work. Its application is detail on a high level of managerial control over employee work practices. In scientific management the practical implementation of specific activities preceded by a thorough scientific analysis of work processes and conditions for their implementation, as do practical measures based on the achievements of modern science and best practices.An essential part of the scientific management is division of labor. For proper operation of the company or organization, you must first sequester employees to specific jobs and assign each a concrete job functions. This is achieved by selecting the best division of labor and division of the entire scope of work into separate parts, each of which performs a specific employee.According to vectorstudy.com (ND)The four objectives of management under scientific management were as follows1. The development of a science for each element of a mans work to replace the old rule-of-thumb methods.2. The scientific selection, training and development of workers instead of allowing them to choose their own tasks and train themselves as best they could.3. The development of a spirit of hearty cooperation between workers and management to ensure that work would be carried out in accordance with scientifically devised procedures.4. The division of work between workers and the management in almost equal shares, each group taking over the work for which it is best fitted instead of the former condition in which responsibility largely rested with the workers. Self-evident in this philosophy are organizations arranged in a hierarchy, systems of abstract rules and impersonal relationships between staff.According to psylist.net (ND) Taylor was one of the first who began to use psychological tests in physical exercise and used observation, interviews and questionnaires as well. He first raised the questi on about the connection process with the activities and the psyche of people.BureaucracyBureaucratic management can be described as a formal system of organization based on clearly defined vertical hierarchical levels and roles in order to maintain efficiency and effectiveness. German sociologist Max Weber was the first who demonstrated the advantages of the bureaucracy as a management system. According to Weber, bureaucracy is the most efficient form of organization. The organization has a well-defined line of authority. It has clear rules and regulations which are strictly followed.Characteristics Of Bureaucratic OrganizationsManagement by rulesManagement by rules and regulations provides a set of standard operating procedures that facilitate congruity in both organizational and management practices .The activity of each member of the organization subject to regulations aimed at streamlining the process of management. Ideally, these rules should make the predictability of each e mployee and the organization. Although the rules can be modified, but, in general, they should be stable over time.Division of laborEvery employee has certain responsibilities and scope of work, which cannot duplicate the scope of the powers of other members. starchy hierarchical structureBureaucratic structure of the organization can be compared to a pyramid the majority is in its base, and a minority at the top. Each person included in this vertical hierarchy, led by lower people and, in turn, is subject to a higher. As a result it helps to monitor the activities of each member organization. compose documentsAll actions, rules and decisions taken by the organization are formulated and recorded in writing. Written documents ensure that there is continuity of the organizations policies and procedures.2.3Evaluate the different approaches to management used by different organizations.Approach to the management includes goals, laws, principles, methods and functions, management techno logy and practice management.Typeshuman relations approachsystems approachcontingency approachThe homosexual Relations Approach emphasizes the importance of human needs in the workplace, and the reflexion of management practice and job d
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Aztecs Essay -- essays research papers
AztecThe Aztec Indians, who are cognize for their domination of southern and central Mexico, ruled between the 14th and sixteenth centuries. Their name is derived from Azatlan, the homeland of the north. The Aztecs also call themselves Mexica and there language came from the Nahuatlan furcate of the Uto-Aztecan family.The Aztecs were formed after the Toltec civilization occurred when hundreds of civilians came towards Lake texcoco. Late families were unfortunate and were forced to go to the swamp lands. In the swamp lands there was only one make-up of land to farm on and it was totally surrounded by to a greater extent marshes . The Aztec families some how converted these disadvantages to a might empire known as they Aztec Empire. People say the empire was partially formed by a deeply believed legend. As the the legend went it said that Aztec people would create a empire on in a swampy place where they would pick up an eagle eating a snake musical composition perched on a cactu s which is growing out of a rock in the swamplands. This is what priests claimed they saw while entering the new land.By the year 1325 Their capital city was finished. They called it Tenochtitlan. In the the capital city aqueducts (piping) were constructed, bridges were built, and chinapas were made. Chinapas were little islands formed by pilled up mud. On these chinapas Aztecs grew corn, beans, chili peppers, squash, tomatoes, and tobacco. Tenochtitlan (the capital city) was covered in giant spectral statues in run to pay their respects to the gods. In the Aztec religion legion(predicate) gods controlled an Aztecs daily life. Some of these gods include Uitzilpochtli (the sun god), Coyolxauhqui (the moon goddess), Tlaloc (the rainfall god), and Quetzalcoatl (the inventor of the calendar and writing). Another part of the Aztec religion was human sacrifices. For their sacrifices the priest would lay the man or woman over a bell-shaped (rounded) stone, then he would take a sharp knife and thump the victims heart out. They did this because they believed that soundly gods could prevent bad gods from doing evil things and they also believed that good gods got their strength from human blood and hearts so they had sacrifices in order to keep their gods strong. For major rituals warriors were sacrificed, for the warrior this was one of the greatest hon... ...eternity. The earth was and then created done fire and death the earth mother had fallen, the moon goddess was dead, and her brothers slaughtered.And so is the bilgewater of the Aztec creation. They based their lifestyle on the examples set by the gods and goddesses in the story, thus they led violent lives. The Aztecs saw no wrong in torturing, maiming, and decapitating their neighbors for the gods. They were a savage people, and this savagery would be their downfall.In 1519 Hernando Cortes led over d men into Aztec territory in search of gold, what he found were the brainy golden statues of the Azt ec deities. The Aztecs believed him to be the representative for some white skinned god, and therefore feared and respected him. It was not until they saw him melting their statues and shipping the blocks of gold to Spain that they acted. They attacked Hernanado and his men, and succeeded in driving them off. However, Cortes returned later with the support of local Indian tribes that hated the Aztecs for centuries of poisonous treatment to defeat the mighty Aztecs and take the empire. This ended the Aztec civilization forever.
Cavemen :: History
In early times, cavemen lacked useful tools to communicate and survive. Their early weapons were brittle and made it herculean to successfully hunt. They were always on the move, traveling to find food and shelter. Because of these things, groups of cavemen remained small. The cave man eventually overcame these problems and grew to be civilized. The caveman made many big advances end-to-end history.Some fundamental things that cavemen discovered were fire, hunting weapons, tools, and a verbal verbiage that was much more complex than their animal ancestors. The first discovery, fire, provided them with warmth and protection, light, and erupt to cook things. The second, hunting weapons, were made mostly of flint and dulled easily. The one-third advance was tools. They had tools that helped them in hunting and farming. Because they now had tools for farming, they could remain more stationary than their ancestors. Their language, consisting of only syllables, allowed them to comm unicate with less hindrance than their predecessors.The reason these advances were so great was that they provided them the stepping stone for becoming civilized. They could now remain in one muddle instead of being nomadic. The tools they had for farming allowed them to make agriculture worth the effort. It overly gave them much free time to work on other things such as inventing the wheel. They also developed art, which shows us their higher level of thought.The cavemans discoveries changed races way of life for years to come.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Thomas Jefferson, the Hypocrite :: Biography Biographies Essays
Thomas Jefferson, the Hypocrite Jefferson had undo political traditions. From his contradictionsand defecting his priciples, Jefferson destroyed the political precedentand is an exemplatory hypocrite, which can be seen throughout hisadministration. Jefferson was an admired national leader who was grappling unsuccessfullywith the moral issue of slavery. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the closure of Independence, opposed slavery his whole life, yet he neverfreed his take slaves. He championed Enlightenment principles, yet neverfreed himself of the prejudices of his soceity. Jefferson was extremelyhypocritical in the issue of slavery. Jefferson was a plantation ownerearly in his life, and had slaves works for him throughout his life.Jefferson had tolerated patch he didnt accept others who owned slaves.Jefferson denounced the slave owners, while he was owning and using slaves.Although Jefferson was supposedly a good slave owner, his hypocriticalnature made him accuse others n ot to own slaves while he, himself wasowning slaves. some other(prenominal) part of the hypocrisy was that Jefferson believedthat the slaves were dependent upon the white man, while he, himself wasdependent upon the slaves. Jefferson overly was hypocritcal in hisacquisition of the Loisiana territory. In Jeffersonian principles, largeexpansive governments were bad, and niggling was good. This was a antithesisof that principle. Jefferson knew that the acquisition of the Loisianaterritory was beneficial to the welfare of the U.S. According to theconstitution, nowhere in the constitution is the acquisition of land aright of the government, Jeffersons sensibility was to strictly go bythe constitution (as seen with the national bank controversy), this isanother contradiction during his administration. Since the appropriation ofthe Lousiana territory was burning(prenominal) for the expansion of the united states,he temporarily dismissed his principles, therefore destroying politicaltr aditions. Another hypocritical issuance during Jeffersons administration was hisacceptance of the National Bank. Early in Jeffersons political career,Jefferson had debated with Hamilton on whether to have the National Bank.When this government was first established, it was possible to have unploughedit going on true principles, but the contracted, English, half-letturedideas of Hamilton destroyed that hope in the bud, We can pay off his debtsin 15 years. Early in Jeffersons Administration, Jefferson had denouncedthe National Bank. At the end of his administration, Jefferson realizedthat the National Bank was important and this is hypocritical bydisregarding his principles. The Burr conspiracy depicted Jefferson as a ruthless, and a individualwho will do anything inorder to achieve his goal.
Pacifisim vs. Realism Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive War Essays
Pacifisim vs. RealismIn this paper I volition be analyzing and critiquing the conjecture of pacifism. This possible action is the belief that contend is never an option under either circumstance. Even if a nation is being attacked a pacifist leave tail believe that retaliating is morally wrong for a number of reasons. Such reasons bum pacifism are supported by issues of morality and what the pacifist themselves palpate to be morality. I will provide three arguments to the pacifist path of thinking.It is an inevitability that with fight lives will be woolly, but that also unobjectionables non officially involved in a war will omit their lives. There is simply no sort around the loss of devoid lives amidst war in this age of advanced weaponry, which is specifically designed to go over the lives of many with just one use. The pacifist argues that the inevitable losses of complimentary lives are unacceptable and therefore war is an unacceptable solution to a conflict . This is my first and most prominent argument for pacifism. Those in opposition of the system of pacifism argue that the targets of all military operations are the opposition or those with evil intent, but history shows us through such(prenominal) events as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World warfare II that unimpeachables can be baffled in massive amounts, which far byweighs any possible good through with(p) by such military operations. The fact of the matter is, innocents are woolly during times of war and that alone should be enough reason to demand war unjustifiable. Robert Holmes put it best when he wrote, There essential be a new conception of how to get along in the cosmea, a recognition that only the individual person is of ultimate value - not governments, not abstractions, not collectivities - and that if we do not cherish the life... ... many to overlook. We do not live in a John Lennon being. We can figure it, but to fixate it reality is an impossibility and our stance on war should reflect this impossibility. A country cannot survive alone on an affirmatory look at things. Sometimes action is necessary. Sometimes the lives of many must(prenominal) be sacrificed to preserve a nation.Realism return key ins safety through forbidden the country. By keeping ourselves safe other countries may decide to retrace our example and thus conception peace is spawned. Though total ball peace can never be reached due to the imperfect world we live in realism can lead us adpressed to it because of its ignoring of morality. Trusting facts will produce a far more substantiative result in the long run than trusting knowings. Feelings can streak our judgments, but the realistic view helps us avoid that. It helps us tell peace throughout the country. Pacifisim vs. Realism Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive War EssaysPacifisim vs. RealismIn this paper I will be analyzing and critiquing the conjecture of pacifis m. This theory is the belief that war is never an option under any circumstance. Even if a nation is being attacked a pacifist will believe that retaliating is morally wrong for a number of reasons. Such reasons behind pacifism are supported by issues of morality and what the pacifist themselves feel to be morality. I will provide three arguments to the pacifist way of thinking.It is an inevitability that with war lives will be upset, but that also innocents not officially involved in a war will fall asleep their lives. There is simply no way around the loss of innocent lives amidst war in this age of advanced weaponry, which is specifically designed to take the lives of many with just one use. The pacifist argues that the inevitable losses of innocent lives are unacceptable and therefore war is an unacceptable solution to a conflict. This is my first and most prominent argument for pacifism. Those in opposition of the theory of pacifism argue that the targets of all military oper ations are the opposite or those with evil intent, but history shows us through such events as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II that innocents can be lost in massive amounts, which far outweighs any possible good make by such military operations. The fact of the matter is, innocents are lost during times of war and that alone should be enough reason to make war unjustifiable. Robert Holmes put it best when he wrote, There must be a new conception of how to get along in the world, a recognition that only the individual person is of ultimate value - not governments, not abstractions, not collectivities - and that if we do not cherish the life... ... many to overlook. We do not live in a John Lennon world. We can look it, but to make it reality is an impossibility and our stance on war should reflect this impossibility. A country cannot survive alone on an sanguine look at things. Sometimes action is necessary. Sometimes the lives of many must be sacrific ed to preserve a nation.Realism ensures safety through out the country. By keeping ourselves safe other countries may decide to follow our example and thus world peace is spawned. Though total world peace can never be reached due to the imperfect world we live in realism can lead us appressed to it because of its ignoring of morality. Trusting facts will produce a far more affirmative result in the long run than trusting feelings. Feelings can debase our judgments, but the realistic view helps us avoid that. It helps us ensure peace throughout the country.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Comparing the Violin to a Puzzle Essay -- comparison compare contrast
canvass the Violin to a PuzzleA violin can be compared to a puzzle. Each piece of the puzzle has a unique exercise in the outcome of the picture, or in this case, the overall sound. The pieces are brought unitedly by both the violins maker and its player. Just like a puzzle, diametrical persons, when given the same pieces probably will not put them in the same order. This fact accounts for the differences in the designs of master violinmakers and the tonal differences between players. To adduce Joseph Wechsberg, The tone is of course created by the violinist . . . the same violin compete by several violinists sounds different in the hands of each player, (45). In spite of the different interpretations of where the pieces should go, if any piece of the puzzle is missing or deformed, the puzzle wont fit together correctly. In order to determine whether or not the pieces are correctly assembled, it is necessary to understand the pieces and their functions.The violin consists of cardinal parts back and belly,two parts each, 6 ribs and wrong blocks, 12 inside linings, 24 purflings, 4 pegs and strings, and one each of bass bar, fingerboard, neck, scroll, nut, lower nut, tailpiece, loop, tailpiece button, nosepiece and soundpost (Bachmann, 58).The shape and design of the instrument is referred to as the model. The model not whole influences the appearance of the violin, but also its acoustic qualities. For the most part, the acoustical issuance is limited to the playability of the violin. For example, the shape of the shoulders influences the ease with which high positions, or notes, are contend (Curtin). The choice of wood also affects the violins acoustical properties. Traditionally, violin makers used spiffy and maple fr... ...r that the reader will be seduced by the violins siren song.Works CitedBachmpedia of the Violin. unseasoned York DaCapo, 1966. Curtin, Joseph. The Anatomy of a Violin. 16 March, 2003. <http//www.msen.com/violins/about/anatom y.html Gough, Colin. Science and the Stradivarius. Physics institution April 2000.<http//physicsweb.org/article/world/13/4/8/1/pw-13-04-09fig5 Ifshin Violins 25 March, 2003. <http//www.ifshinviolins.com/strings.html Hill, W. Henry, Arthur F. Hill, and Alfred E. Hill. Antonio Stradivari His Life and Work (1644-1737). New York Dover, 1963. Johannsson, Hans. 31 March, 2003. <http//www.centrum.is/hansi/construction/ Victor, Andrew. Bows Magic Wands. 25 March, 2003. <http//members.aol.com/bowedstrings.bows-magicwands.html Wechsberg, Joseph. The Glory of the Violin. New York Viking, 1973.
Amazing Grace Essay -- Film, Movie, William Wilberforce
Amazing Grace is not a ingenuous celluloid, it is a great impression. Films on History can be lengthened and tedious, but that sure is not the case in this fascinating movie about the famous abolitionist William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-striver trade order through the British parlia custodyt. Contrary to what its title suggests, Amazing Grace isnt really about the inauguration of the Christian hymn. Set in the eighteenth century England, it focuses on Williams political cargoner to abolish the slave trade by arguing against it on the floor of the House of Commons, which place him at odds with some of the most powerful men of the time. William is a motivated gentleman with one purpose endeavoring to terminate slavery in the empire. Filmed in 2006, this is a perfect example of life, complexity and the avocation of liberty in the years of the African slave trade.The movie begins in 1797. A stand forcoach carries two men through the countryside in the menacing rain ahead, two men are whipping a sawhorse lying on the wet ground. The stagecoach stops, and the two men amaze out the younger points out tiredly that if they will stop vanquish the horse, it may be able to recover and get up. One of the men begins to respond aggressively at the interference, but the other stops him, adage that the gentleman who spoke is William Wilberforce of which hes seen speak in London. This scene really sets the stage for demonstrating who Wilberforce is, and the role of his importance.At a luncheon, Wilberforce is introduced to the beautiful, like-minded woman who is to become his prospective wife, Barbara Spooner. With many signs of infatuation towards Wilberforce, Barbara gives Wilberforce a reason to exist, as he tells her his story, which allows the fil... ... do in fact match historic facts.If I were the director I would have reduced the amount of talking that took place in the movie. Although the movie was very complicated and did ind eed require an abundant amount of knowledge for the audience to appreciate the movie, I found myself very uninterested at some parts which led me to slowly stop paying attention. If I were the director I would give my self a pat on the back because of what great work I had done. I would feel so good because I was able to educate so many batch of what happened such a long time ago, and the importance of how free we are as citizens today. This movie truly was incredible and clearly demonstrates how one man risks everything, to speak for those, who could not. To make the blind see and to lead a figurehead that would change the worldRemember that God made men partake (William Wilberforce).
Monday, March 25, 2019
Addressing the Evils of The Industrial Revolution :: essays research papers
The evils of the Industrial Revolution in england were address in many ways in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Industrial revolution changed the lives of many quite a little. most people believe the Industrial Revolution was bad for both the people and environment of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Some believe that one of the polish off parts of the Industrial Revolution was child labor. Children were very small and belatedly to order around without being stood up to. Children were also being remunerative very low earnings. Most children worked 16 hour days with only(prenominal) a 40 minute break which most were unable to ware because they were so unwealthy. This all changed when the Health and Morals Act came into effect in 1802 which declared that The minimum age of employment shall be 9 years. and The running(a) day for children under fourteen shall be limited to twelve hours. other act which helped the work conditions of children was the Factory Act of 1833 which declared No soul under 18 years of age shall be allowed to work in the night in or about any cotton, woolen, linen, or silk hero sandwich or factory where steam, water, or any other mechanical tycoon is used to work the machinery.Another way that the evils of the Industrial Revolution were addressed were Unions. Unions are an organization of workers who work to get set up of wages or lessen hours along with many other work related luxuries. maven thing that hindered the growth of many unions was the Combination act of 1800 this said that both workman who shall enter into any Union to obtain an advance of wages or to lessen or alter the hours or who shall, for the purpose of obtaining an advance in wages persuade,solicit,intimidate,or influence any workman to quit or lave his work shall be committed to jail.. This act made Unions illegal. Ralph Chaplin write of Solidarity Forever felt differently. In his book he wrote When the unions inspiration through and through the workers blood shall run, there can be no power great anywhere beneath the sun. Yet what force on earth is weaker the wispy strength of one? Bur the union makes us strong. This basically says that as a single laborer you are powerless but as a union you are strong.As you can see the lifespan of the working class was not very good in the 1700s and 1800s.
Quantitative Research Essay -- Scientific Research Science Essays
Quantitative Research Quantitative query is based on statements much(prenominal) as anything that exists exists in a certain quantity and can be measured. While Thorndikes statement from 1904 appears to be fairly innocent and direct, it staked an beta philosophical position that has persisted in social science research end-to-end most to this century. (Custer, 1996, p. 3). In 1927, William F. Ogburn successfully lobbied to have Lord Kelvins motto When you cannot measure, your knowledge is meager and unsatisfactory prominently and permanently mould onto the face of the University of Chicagos social science research building. In this decade, however, the competing icons of quantitative and qualitative research have become almost work partners in educational research. Many researchers today advocate a mental image of choices that seeks methodological appropriateness as the primary criterion for judging methodological quality. This will allow for situational responsiveness that s trict adherence to one paradigm or another will not (Patton, 1990, p. 30).The ideals of quantitative research claim for procedures that argon public, that use precise definitions, that use objectivity-seeking methods for data collection and analysis, that are replicable so that findings can be confirmed or disconfirmed, and that are authoritative and cumulativeall resulting in knowledge useful for explaining, predicting, and controlling the make of teaching on student outcomes (Gage, 1994, p. 372).This is the basic definition of quantitative research that will be discussed in this paper. For purposes of comparison, qualitative analysis will be frequently mentioned along with quantitative analysis.The Two ParadigmsA quantitativ... ...litative Research Methodologies. ledger of Industrial Teacher Education 34(2) 3-6.Gage, N. L. (1994). The Scientific Status of Research on Teaching. educational Researcher 44(4) 371-383.Hathaway, R. S. (1995). Assumptions Underlying Quantitative and soft Research Implications for institutional Research. Research in Higher Education 36(5) 535-562.Hoepfl, M. C. (1997). Choosing Qualitative Research A Primer for Technology Education Researchers. Journal of Technology 9(1) 12-39.Howe, K. R. (1985). Two Dogmas of Educational Research. Educational Researcher 14(8) 10-18.Liebscher, P. (1998). Quantity with Quality? Teaching Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in an LIS Masters Program. Library Trends 46(4) 668-680.Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Newbury Park, CA, Sage Publications, Inc.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
The Benefits of Responsible Human Cloning Essay -- Argumentative Persu
The Benefits of Responsible homosexual Cloning On an workaday afternoon in July of 1996, in an unremarkable shed in Scotland, a lamb was born. This lamb was to spark a controversy that would be one of the defining arguments of this era. This lamb, simply named dolly (after Dolly Parton in reference to the mammary cell used as the donor), was the first gear clone to be born using specialized cells from an adult mammal. The incident that the lamb was cloned from these specialized cells - such as muscle cells, liver cells, or mammary cells - is what made this discovery of such importance. Before this, scientists had thought that these cells had deep in thought(p) their ability to grow into a new embryo. They had already cloned embryos, but this apocalypse meant that a clone could be produced from an adult subject. At first, one would trust that little benefit could be derived from such a discovery, beyond the gewgaw of being able to make an exact copy of ones self, but sci entists before long theorized many benefits that could result from such a procedure. A more hom ogeneous program line group for use in science experiments involving animals would be an obvious example. A completely similar group of animals is extremely difficult if not unattainable to accomplish without the use of cloning. The current research being conducted on develop would benefit greatly from this application of cloning. The medical field could also be helped by cloning. Cells from a cloned embryo could be used to treat such illnesses as Parkinsons Disease and muscular dystrophy. Also, entire organs could be grown to replace failing ones, thus entirely eliminating t he long wait for a matching donor. This would also eliminate the harvest-home of organs from the prisoners... ...fin, Dr. Harry. Cloning and Genetic Modification A Brief annals of Nuclear Transfer. Roslin Institute Online. Online. 11 Dec. 1997. Herbert, Wray, Jeffery L. Sheler, and Traci Watson. The World Af ter Cloning A Readers Guide to What Dolly Hath Wrought. U.S. News and World Report 10 Mar. 1997 59-63. Kolata, Gina. clone The Road to Dolley and the Path Ahead. New York, William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1998. Macklin, Ruth. Human Cloning? Dont Just set up No. U.S. News and World Report 10 Mar. 1997 64. Mario, Christopher. A bring out of Science, a Storm of Contoversy. U.S. 1 Newspaper 5 Mar. 1998. PrincetonInfo.com. Online. 9 Mar. 1998. overblown Panel Condemns Cloning, Warns of Genetic Research Dangers. Fox News. Online. 3 Mar. 1998. Shapiro, Harold T. Ethical and policy Issues of Human Cloning. Email to the author. 10 March 1998.
Eulogy for Grandmother :: Eulogies Eulogy
acclamation for grannyMy grandm opposite was a rattling amazing person. She was brilliant, compassionate, and out qualifying, a fantastic dancer with a sense of humor, and without any ego at all. In new(prenominal) words, exactly like meSeriously, though, we expect a lot in common. Among other things, I inherited her frizzly hair, her mind for trivia, and her obsession with books and music... She preferred secret novels and go to sleep standards, dapple I liked science fiction and arguing n roll, but those difference of opinions are all skin-deep. Like she endlessly said, I barb thats why they make burnt umber and vanilla ice cream. (She preferred cover pecan.)That reminds me of one small difference between us she was an amazing cook, while I still rush trouble boiling water. Meatballs with all-day sauce, stuffed shells, followed by refrigerator cake... It was all so good. You could bye into her apartment and pass out from the smells alone. It makes me empty-belli ed just phoneing intimately it. And when Id walk home from elementary naturalise and let myself into her empty apartment, on that point would always be a pecker on the TV, telling me that in that location were cookies and milk in the fridge. Its the short(p) things... I always knew that she was thinking virtually me.As we both grew older, we grew even closer. I did some pretty grave things in high school, but she always took my side, even when I was all the way in the wrong. She defended and protected me, mostly from my mom. eld later, at my wedding, she serenaded us in a garden in Cambria, tended to(p) by a jazz band. She sang, It had to be you, wonderful you... It had to be you. She had much(prenominal) a beautiful tattle voice, and I swear, she must have cognise the lyrics to every single tenor written before 1959.We shared a dance afterwards. Even though I was taller than her, she still made me detect like a little boy, as we danced cheek-to-cheek. It was the best day of my life.When I think of her, I think of her warm embrace. On my bad days, she would wear and comfort me. Grandma would roam me in her arms and protect me from the continue of the world, and make me feel that everything was going to be all right. Even in her hospital bed, holding her bowl over and listening to her soft breath, I treasured to kick my shoes transfer and be hugged by those safe, strong arms.Eulogy for Grandmother Eulogies EulogyEulogy for GrandmotherMy grandmother was a truly amazing person. She was brilliant, compassionate, and outgoing, a fantastic dancer with a sense of humor, and without any ego at all. In other words, exactly like meSeriously, though, we have a lot in common. Among other things, I inherited her curly hair, her mind for trivia, and her obsession with books and music... She preferred mystery novels and jazz standards, while I liked science fiction and rock n roll, but those differences are only skin-deep. Like she always said, I gues s thats why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream. (She preferred butter pecan.)That reminds me of one small difference between us she was an amazing cook, while I still have trouble boiling water. Meatballs with all-day sauce, stuffed shells, followed by icebox cake... It was all so good. You could walk into her apartment and pass out from the smells alone. It makes me hungry just thinking about it. And when Id walk home from elementary school and let myself into her empty apartment, there would always be a note on the TV, telling me that there were cookies and milk in the fridge. Its the little things... I always knew that she was thinking about me.As we both grew older, we grew even closer. I did some pretty terrible things in high school, but she always took my side, even when I was clearly in the wrong. She defended and protected me, mostly from my mom.Years later, at my wedding, she serenaded us in a garden in Cambria, accompanied by a jazz band. She sang, It had to be you , wonderful you... It had to be you. She had such a beautiful singing voice, and I swear, she must have known the lyrics to every single song written before 1959.We shared a dance afterwards. Even though I was taller than her, she still made me feel like a little boy, as we danced cheek-to-cheek. It was the best day of my life.When I think of her, I think of her warm embrace. On my bad days, she would hold and comfort me. Grandma would wrap me in her arms and protect me from the rest of the world, and make me feel that everything was going to be all right. Even in her hospital bed, holding her hand and listening to her soft breath, I wanted to kick my shoes off and be hugged by those safe, strong arms.
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