”What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie Essay Sample free essay sample

In Sherman Alexie’s â€Å"What You Pawn I Will Deliver. † the supporter exemplifies how to be a professional homeless con creative person. and reveals how to utilize an existent stolen household artefact to feed on the human capacity for compassion. It’s a narrative in which our supporter with the same first and last name. Jackson Jackson. lurchs across a attire made by his grandma in a local pawnbrokers shop. said to be stolen some 50 old ages before. and his journey to raise the money to purchase it back. Jackson Jackson is an alcoholic. Washington State Native American Indian. who has spent the last six old ages of his life honing his accomplishments of use in Seattle. He refers to himself as being an â€Å"effective homeless adult male. † ( 486:3 ) if there is such a thing. It is his sterling achievement and the lone thing he happens to be good at. between failing out of college. We will write a custom essay sample on †What You Pawn I Will Redeem† by Sherman Alexie Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page neglecting at legion matrimonies and being a non-existent male parent to several kids. Jackson moved to Seattle 23 old ages before Alexie’s narrative takes topographic point to go to college. Assuming he is an norm 18 twelvemonth old fresher. that would set his current age at approximately 40. old adequate to do sense out of and apologize existent life events. contrasting with the sum of immatureness displayed on a consistent footing throughout the piece. He strays off from big behaviour on an hourly footing. most likely a contemplation of the unworried life he’s been populating on the streets. He foremost accepts an impossible challenge to get nine hundred and 99 dollars in 24 hours to purchase the stolen attire back. The action apparently inspires hope in the reader that he has belief in himself to do the unrealistic possibility of obtaining so much money probable. He so refers to the three bottles of intoxicant he purchases after go forthing the pawnbrokers shop as â€Å"imagination† ( 488:48 ) . says that he doesn’t want to name the constabulary because â€Å"It’s a pursuit now† ( 489:73 ) and that he â€Å"want [ s ] to be a hero†¦like a knight† ( 495:278 ) . These are the capricious phantasies of a kid. non of a full-blown grownup. â€Å"We Indians are great narrators and prevaricators and mythmakers. † ( 486:4 ) says Jackson at the start of the narrative. He goes on to turn out this statement by taking us on a journey over the following 24 hours in which he uses the narrative of his family’s bad luck to raise commiseration from those around him. Upon hearing the narrative every character does something nice for Jackson in an attempt to ea se his predicament. After he ab initio tells his narrative to the pawnbroker. he receives a slightly unrealistic. yet solid trade. Raise nine 100 99 dollars in 24 hours and the regalia is his. The store proprietor even gives him 20 dollars of his ain money to acquire him started. The â€Å"Big Boss† from the Real Change organisation hears the narrative and does him a favour ; he gives Jackson 50 documents free of charge. in hopes he can raise a small excess money at none of the startup cost of purchasing the documents from him foremost. Officer Williams. a kindhearted bull. listens intently to Jackson’s narrative so hands him all of the money in his billfold: 30 dollars. Geting the regalia back has more to make with comfort than heritage. It is evident early on that Jackson doesn’t like being entirely. Having failed in most every major enterprise. he looks for things to make full the hole that has been made by a series of hapless events that have become his life. Twice in a three and a half hr clip period Jackson goes wholly bust. but each clip he makes money he ever spends it on comfort. He starts the narrative with a set of friends: Rose of Sharon and Junior. â€Å"We affair to each other if we don’t affair to anybody else. â₠¬  ( 486:5 ) he says. He uses the first 25 dollars he acquires to purchase intoxicant to imbibe with his two friends. He wins one hundred dollars on a lottery ticket and gives off 20 to a immature shop clerk that he enjoys chat uping with. Sharon of Rose and Junior disappear. so â€Å"lonesome for Indians† ( 491:145 ) he spends the staying 80 vaulting horses on purchasing shootings for aliens in a downtown all-Indian saloon. He spends most of the 30 dollars Officer Williams gives him on a munificent eating house breakfast for himself and three Aleut Indians that he met at the pier the twenty-four hours before. something he can non afford. but does anyhow. Out of the one hundred-sixty dollars Jackson Jackson raises. one hundred and three dollars and 50 cents is spent on intoxicant. the ultimate friend to a alone alky. The more things alteration. the more things remain the same. The money flow in Alexie’s narrative serves as a contemplation of Jackson himself. He goes through alterations. but merely as the sum of money he has at the beginning of the narrative. four hours in. and at the terminal remains the same†¦so does he. Plants Cited: Alexie. Sherman. â€Å"What You Pawn I Will Deliver. †Literature: Fiction: An Anthology of Stories for Further Reading. Eds Nicholas Delbanco and Allan Cheuse. New York: McGraw Hill. 2010. Print.

Left-53506100 BKK 20503 Essays - Journalism, News Media, Mass Media

left-53506100 BKK 20503 MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY Comparing and contrasting a "hard news" article of an event in a foreign country with the same report from local newspaper. PREPARED FOR: MADAM NOR HAFIZAH ABDULLAH BY: NUR WAIRA BINTI MOHD NASIR (040910) 1.0 What is the event / occurrence? The report covers about an explosion near a chaotic sidewalk in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan , New York City at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday night that caused injuries of at least 29 people. It was believed by the authorities that the explosion was erupted by a homemade bomb which they later assumed it as an act of terror. However, the governor said that no international links found in the explosion. To make it worse, the authorities then found a second explosive device a few blocks away from where the earlier location of explosion occurred. After an investigation was carried out, they found that the second explosion device was actually a pressure cooker attached to wiring and a cellphone. Indeed, it was a tragic night for the New Yorkers and became more to a nightmare for them because of the history of 9/11 attacks CITATION CHR \l 1033 (M. Christopher, 2016) . 2.0 Why is the event considered "hard news"? How is this event considered as hard news? Basic knowledge of this is, news stories are divided into two types which are hard news and soft news. Hard news is regarded as breaking news or current news which the printing is exclusively reported for the readers to acknowledge it immediately. S oft news in the other hand are just the featured ones such as arts, entertainment and lifestyles CITATION Int08 \l 1033 (n.a, Introduction to Journalism, 2008) . One of the characteristics of hard news is that it usually but not compulsory to be appeared on the front page of newspapers . In this case, the event was being highlighted on the cover page, reported in two pages. On the front page, the event was put in a title of "9/17 shakes New York" with a picture included at the side of a very brief information regarding the event. Though it is said that hard news does not necessarily to be appeared on the front page, but it gives a ver y concrete reason why the "9/17 shakes New York" is considered as hard news. Besides being featured on the front page, hard news contain more factual approach in its presentation. If we carefully scrutinize the lede p aragraph of the news, it actually answers the 5W and 1H questions which stand for who', what', where', when', why' and how'. For instance, the lede paragraph of the news answered those questions in just a paragraph; "An explosion rocked a crowded Manhattan neighborhood and injured 29 people, and a suspicious device discovered blocks away was safely removed ". Hard news is commonly being ranked on the top of the list to be printed in the newsroom if the subject matters are like politics, war, economic and crime. In this explosion tragedy, it falls under the subject matters like politics, war and crime. Such news of the subject matters are very crucial to be reported to the society, nation and the world so that everyone will be more careful and take precautions to avoid any scenes. People need to know what is truly going on out there. 3.0 What are wire / news services? Who supplied the information to the Malaysian newspaper? Wire services are widely used in every news agency. Wire services are defined as news organizations that collect a nd issue news of forms from around the world. Wire services are benefit newspapers, magazines, broadcast outlet and government agencies at the wholsesale level CITATION YeJ03 \l 1033 (Ye, 2003) . In this article, the wire services that supplied the information to Malaysia newspapers are; Reuters, Associated Press (AP) and European Pressphoto Agency (EPA). Reuters provided a photo of the firefighters working near the site of the explosion in Chelsea. The European Pressphoto Agency also provided a photo showing the police investigators sifting through the debris on the street in front of St Vincent de Paul Church where the explosion occurred in the borough of

African History Essay Topics - Taking The Subject More Seriously

African History Essay Topics - Taking The Subject More SeriouslyAfrican history is full of struggles and moments of triumphant achievement, a vital topic for your African history essay is how the region has experienced these steps in the development of its societies. Like any other aspect of human development, there is no single model that describes all these changes, just as there is no single model that can adequately capture the essence of Africa's social development.In fact, our look at African history shows that the continent's societies evolved in ways that mirror the varied societies of the world. The mere fact that some African societies have advanced societies today while others are quite backward does not mean that Africa has any more of a responsibility to make people in the West understand its history and aspirations.Your African history essay must reflect your understanding of both Africa's progress and decline. To make it more interesting, include observations on the at titudes and behavior of Africans toward Africans as well as Americans, British, and Europeans. Finally, include observations on both African and European societies from a comparative perspective, covering various aspects of these societies, like those that develop their countries, develop their economies, or focus on education, health care, and the environment.Also include some history of African colonies. Today, Africa is a continent of many developing countries and it is also one that is quite a sought after destination for immigrants. Some of the countries that you will address include Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, and South Africa. What this means is that you will be writing about the differences between African countries and our society at large.As you do this, you will gain a unique perspective of the challenges that these countries have had to deal with in a variety of different ways. It also helps if you use African li terature to enrich your ideas, or better yet, read it so that you will gain an appreciation for the contributions made by Africans in all fields of culture and society.While the society of African immigrants is very different from that of the natives, you should still write about your society's social progress and decline from a comparative perspective. Try to incorporate some common patterns and themes that link these two sides. Examples of these themes are slavery, displacement, colonialism, migration, xenophobia, and discrimination.African history essay topics require a thorough and detailed look at any aspect of the society. The most important thing to remember is that there is no single model of social development that you can use to interpret your country's history. This makes them very difficult and time consuming topics for any student of history.And even though writing about Africa's past is rather laborious, essay topics like these are still much easier to learn and work w ith than other kinds of historical writing. If you plan to write about such topics, then just make sure that you don't try to overdo it or take it too seriously. Instead, include some jokes or stories about your native land in the context of an academic essay, and you will find that you can actually take African history essay topics more seriously than other kinds of student essays.

Metamorphosis by Kafka Essay Example

Metamorphosis by Kafka Essay Example Metamorphosis by Kafka Essay Metamorphosis by Kafka Essay Essay Topic: The Breadwinner The Metamorphosis Gregor Sams in Metamorphosis Unit 1 Question 1 In the book The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa is a traveling salesman (Kafka Kiesel, 2002). However, he hates the traveling and the constant anxiety added to the fact that he cannot make more than just acquaintances. The job requires Gregor to get up early but he dislikes the idea. To make the situation worse, his manager appears to be very cruel in his leadership and Gregor would have wanted to quit the job were it not for him supporting his parents. Question 2 Gregor is the breadwinner in his family since he has to provide for his parents and sister, Grete, with the returns he gets from his job as a commercial traveler. His father is demeaning and demanding despite the fact that he is engulfed in business debts and bankruptcy. Gregor’s father is highly indebted to his manager and this situation forces Gregor to commit to his work. Therefore, Gregor is obliged to maintain his career even though he does not like it at all. After his metamorphosis into an insect, Gregor ceases to be of importance since he can barely control of his body and he loses his job. His father drives him away to his room by using a stick and this shows a reversed role where Gregor is lowly regarded by his father yet before his metamorphosis, the father depended on his efforts at work. Question 4 After the transformation, Gregor is more worried about being late for work than he is about himself. This character trait shows that he lacks inspiration and anything to look forward to in life. He is not enthusiastic with other aspects of life because he has a low self-esteem and sees himself as nothing more than his family’s breadwinner. He detests his job and feels that the colleagues are often gossiping about him thus, the grotesque image he gets after the transformation is a vivid impression of his inner soul. Gregor is not self-conscious and he has already adapted to the boring routine life. Question 5 When Gregor’s parents first see the gigantic insect, they do not recognize it as their son. Gregor’s father pushes him away back to his room with a stick. He might have been astonished since he clenches and starts crying but disgusted with the sight of the insect. The mother faints when she sees Gregor crawling because she is also astonished and is in disbelief of the occurrence. Their initial reactions suggest that they view Gregor as an insignificant creature, which is scary and no longer useful to them Unit 2 Question 1 The things that have changed in Gregor’s life are his physical appearance, his eating habits and his role in the family. Physically, Gregor has become a typical insect depicted by feelers, numerous thin legs, a hard back, and a segmented belly (Kafka Kiesel, 2002). His voice also changes and it becomes unclear since he cannot be heard by neither the manager nor the rest of his family when he responds to them while locked in his room. Instead of milk, he can only eat rotten food scraps. He ceases to be the family’s breadwinner since he loses his job because of his condition and instead of people looking up to him as before, they are disgusted by his sight. However, Gregor’s perception of himself and perspective of life remain the same. Before the metamorphosis, Gregor’s life is plain and boring with lack of inspiration and he accepts his new physical condition despite its ugliness. He still feels devastated that his family has financial constraints instea d of worrying about himself. Question 2 From Gregor’s point of view, the positive aspects of his metamorphosis into an insect are that he ceases to work in the dreadful field characterized by the cruelty of his boss and that he no longer has the heavy responsibility of providing for his family. He enjoys the freedom of crawling around on the ground and on walls without the thought of waking up early everyday to go to work. Although the conditions for the metamorphosis are tough, for the first time Gregor is able to relax. His sister Grete gives him feeds him and cleans his room but stops being compassionate towards the end of the story. The transformation, in disguise, made his life simpler than it was earlier. Question 3 The first section of the story before Gregor’s metamorphosis, it is apparent that his life is miserable throughout the narration. His days are boring since he has to follow a certain routine of worrying about travels and train connections. In addition, Gregor feels like the acquaintances he meets on his way are nothing more than that and the food he eats on his journey is not enjoyable (Kafka Kiesel, 2002). His boss is very insensitive at work and Gregor loses morale. He ends up in frustration and desperation because he is dissatisfied with the disparities of life. His life lacks zeal because he is always on the move and has inadequate interaction with people hence, no social ties. Question 4 Gregor’s father reveals the existence of enough money to cater for their needs for a short while. Gregor learns that his father had accumulated some savings five years before his business failed. He also finds out that some of his earnings had been put away by his family without his knowledge. When Gregor learns the truth about the family’s finances, he feels proud to have contributed to their wellbeing since not all the money he gave his parents was spent. He feels embarrassed upon hearing the discussion of the parents suggesting employment to avoid spending the savings because the father and mother seem incapable of being employed. He looks for something to preserve as soon as he moves beneath the sofa after the mother and sister have moved much of the furniture. Unit 3 Question 1 Three boarders come to live with the Samsas and they occupy the living room. These characters are significant in the story because they reveal the efforts of the family in trying to make a living amidst the financial struggles. The boarders live with the Samsas on condition that they pay the rent. This shows how the parents ventured into other means of making a living despite Gregor’s irreversible condition that brought his job to a halt. By being disgusted at the sight of Gregor in the form of an insect, they show the value of cleanliness and neatness in the environment. From their point of view, insects thrive in dirty places and since they reacted negatively to Gregor’s appearance, they communicate the importance of cleanliness. Furthermore, Kafka (2002) might have desired to incorporate the different themes such as selfishness and greed to show how they were conformed to indifference. He might have not specified them according to names because they all fell in the same category. All three represent similar traits and themes. Question 2 Gregor is wounded because his father threw apples at him and one fell squarely on his back and it became permanently lodged. Gregor felt immense pain and it altered his movement. His father reacted in that manner because he found the mother unconscious and thought Gregor tried to attack her. The incident symbolizes how his family undermines him and how his life before the metamorphosis was difficult within his environment. One apple after another hit his back and finally destroys his wellbeing. This might symbolize how his routine work depressed him continuously before he transformed into an insect. His injury is a reflection of the miseries he had in his human life. Question 3 When his sister, Grete plays the Violin, Gregor is interested and he attempts to move to the parlor where she is. He is elated by her talent and wishes to be alone with her in his bedroom so that he can unveil his plan to her. The sister plays the violin in the parlor to entertain the boarders but sadly, they lose interest. His plan is sending her to music school where she can nurture and express more of her talent. This response shows that Gregor is compassionate and devoted he is by wanting the best for every member of her family. He is dedicated to the responsibilities he has and intends to be a caring and loving brother (Kafka Kiesel, 2002). Question 4 Gregor’s sister, Grete is the first to decide that she must ‘get rid’ of the insect. As she plays the violin who eventually become disinterested, Gregor crawls to the parlor to listen when one of the boarders spot him and reacts disgustedly. They threaten the Gregor’s father by saying they will leave and not pay rent but he moves them out of the parlor. Given the difficult financial situation the family is in because Gregor can no longer work, losing in come in the form of rent proves to be a great disappointment. Therefore, Grete suggests that they should assume the insect is not Gregor and get rid of it. According to Grete, Gregor is the reason to their suffering. When Gregor overhears the conversation and feels awful because he has become a liability to the household. His life appears to be meaningless to him since he believes he brought suffering to their lives with his transformation. He finally dies by morning. Unit 4 Question 1 According to Whitlark (2012), in the story, the characters that undergo change include Gregor, his parents and his sister. Gregor’s transformation is obvious in the beginning since he physically changes into a giant insect. He no longer has his human body, which would allow him to run his daily errands normally. His life also changes from being the family’s breadwinner to becoming the family’s dependant. Prior to his metamorphosis, he provided for his family with the payment he received from work. He has become worthless and a nuisance to the point that his family plans to get rid of him because they believe he is the reason for their suffering. His parents are also transformed into productive people when they realize that Gregor can no longer provide for them because of his status. They begin discussing about chances of employment as the father is a bank attendant and the mother sews lingerie for a boutique. The family also sells jewelry to create income and th is shows how hardworking they have become. On the other hand, Grete’s personality changes towards the end when she wishes to get rid of the brother. She stops having sympathy for Gregor as before when she cared for him, fed him and cleaned his room. She stops seeing the humane part of Gregor. Question 2 The narrator strongly implies that Gregor starves himself to death. Other forces that might have led to Gregor’s death are guilt and rejection. Gregor feels guilty that he cannot provide for his family anymore when he listens to the discussion on their financial situation for the first time. He feels that he has become a burden to them because he cannot do anything constructive or contribute to their welfare. He wishes that he could do more as shown by his intention for his sister’s future with her talent of playing the violin. The fact that he is an insect has led people around him to undermine him and treat him cruelly. His father chases him away to his room with a stick and goes further to dent his back by strongly throwing apples towards him. His mother, the boarders and his manager are horrified by his presence. He sees no sense worth living and therefore loses hope. This situation is made worse when he realizes the family wants to get rid of him. Question 3 When Gregor transforms into an insect, his family stop viewing him as a man of importance because he no longer can help them financially. In addition, he has become a burden to them because he needs to be fed and he scares potential customers and people away. On the other hand, the family is pushed to be hardworking and productive because they realize that they have to meet their needs despite their financial struggles. They indulge in businesses such as selling jewelry and the father becomes a bank attendant. The father also reveals some savings that could salvage them. They become more informed although inconsiderate of Gregor’s well being. This effect suggests that the relationship between Gregor was only bound by financial providence (Whitlark, 2012). He lacked an intimate relationship with them Question 4 Gregor’s metamorphosis is symbolic because when he transforms into an insect, we can understand all the difficulties he persevered while in his human form. His grotesque appearance scares people away therefore; he cannot have an intimate relationship with them. Before his transformation, he complained about his acquaintances being distant. He did not have a chance to know them better. Gregor became lonely and might have yearned to know the meaning of his existence (Whitlark, 2012). As an insect, he is secluded from the rest as he spends time in his room. Another aspect of symbolism is evident when the father hits him with apples inconsiderately thinking that he attacked the mother. Kafka may have wanted to show how Gregor’s boss mistreated him in his job. As an insect, his father is in charge of him and sees him everyday while the case was the same with his boos back at work before he was an insect. Both have authority over him in the different environments. References Kafka, F., Kiesel, H. (2002). Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and other writings. New York: Continuum. Whitlark, J. (2012). The metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. Pasadena, Calif: Salem Press.

Behaviorism, Its Origin, Purpose and Main Definitions.

Behaviorism, Its Origin, Purpose and Main Definitions. Behaviorism For as long as history can date back, humans have always had a certain interest in what makes up an individual; who they are, and what aspects of there being, have set them apart from others within there species. As behaviorist see it, these questions are answered by nothing more than the world in which you were brought up in. Behaviorism, focuses on variables we can observe, measure, manipulate; and avoid whatever is subjective, internal, and unavailable i.e. mental (1998, C. George Boeree). Behaviorism is a very old theory of personality. One of the oldest theories dates back to Rene Descartes. He introduced the idea of substance dualism, and called the person a machine dependent on external events whose soul was the ghost in the machine (substance dualism). Meaning that what is mental, and things that are physical are completely separate. Modern behaviorism however changes this theory in refusing to acknowledge any internal workings of the mind. Behaviorist believe that, persons are nothing more than mediators between behavior and environment (Skinner, 1993). Because the inner workings or the human mind are ignored, opponents to the theory make a strong case against it. Behaviorism is unable to explain human language, and memory. Although these criticisms indicate a failure in this theory. It isnt denied that behaviorism can teach the world a lot about human behaviors. Behaviorism as it is known today was founded on the ideas of John B. Watson. Watson claimed that behavior should be examined, rather than describe how the mind was working. He contended that it was possible to condition humans and animals. In his famous study, Watson conditioned a young child named Albert to fear a white rat. He did so by creating a loud noise whenever Albert touched the rat. Frightened by the loud noise, the child associated the rat to this feeling, and feared the rat the same way he feared the noise. Watsons work was backed by the most noted behaviorist B.F. Skinner. Skinners entire system is based on operant conditioning. The organism is in the process of operating on the environment (Skinner, 1993). While operating, the organism encounters a special kind of stimulus, called a reinforcing stimulus, or simply a reinforcer. This special stimulus has the effect of increasing the behavior occurring just before the reinforcer. Operant conditioning is: the behavior is followed by a consequence, and the nature of the consequence modifies the organisms tendency to repeat the behavior in the future (Behaviorism, 1997). Skinner ran experiments to prove this by placing a rat in a cage called a Skinner Box. His cage would have a bar or pedal on one wall that, when pressed, causes a little mechanism to release a foot pellet. The rat would then bounce around the cage, doing whatever it is rats do, when he accidentally presses the bar, a food pellet falls out. The operant is the behavior just prior to the reinforcer, which is the food pellet. In no time at all, the rat is furiously peddling away at the bar. A behavior followed by a reinforcing stimulus results in an increased probability of that behavior occurring in the future (Stacy Breslau, 2003 ). What if you dont give the rat any more pellets? After a few attempts, the rat will stop pressing the bar. This is called extinction of the operant behavior. A behavior no longer followed by the reinforcing stimulus results in a decreased probability of that behavior occurring in the future. (Stacy Breslau, 2003 ) Now, if you were to turn the pellet machine back on, so that pressing the bar again provides the rat with pellets, the behavior of bar-pushing will pop right back into existence, much more quickly than it took for the rat to learn the behavior the first time. This is because the return of the reinforcer takes place in the context of a reinforcement history that goes all the way back to the very first time the rat w as reinforced for pushing on the bar. A question Skinner had to deal with was how we get to more complex sorts of behaviors. He responded with the idea of shaping, or the method of successive approximations. Basically, it involves first reinforcing a behavior only vaguely similar to the one desired. Once that is established, you look out for variations that come a little closer to what you want, and so on, until you have an animal performing a behavior that would never show up in ordinary life. Skinner and his students have been quite successful in teaching simple animals to do some extraordinary things. Beyond fairly simple examples, shaping also accounts for the most complex of behaviors. You dont, for example, become a brain surgeon by stumbling into an operating room, cutting open someones head, removing a tumor, and receive a reward. Instead, you are gently shaped by your environment to enjoy certain things, do well in school, take a certain class, see a movie, and so on. This could be something your parents were carefully doing to you, but much more likely, this is something that was more or less uni ntentional. Another type of reinforcement is aversive stimulus. It is the opposite of a reinforcing stimulus, something unpleasant or painful. A behavior followed by an aversive stimulus results in a decreased probability of the behavior occurring in the future (Stacy Breslau, 2003 ). This both defines an aversive stimulus and describes the form of conditioning known as punishment. If you shock a rat for doing something, it wont do what ever it is it got shocked for. If you spank Johnny for throwing his toys he will throw his toys less and less (maybe). If you remove an already active aversive stimulus after a rat or Johnny performs a certain behavior, you are doing negative reinforcement. If you turn off the electricity when the rat stands on his hind legs, hell stand a lot more. Notice how difficult it can be to distinguish some forms of negative reinforcement from positive reinforcement. If I starve you, is the food I give you when you do what I want a positive? Or is it the removal of a negative, the aversive stimulus of hunger? (1998, C. George Boeree) Skinner doesnt approve of the use of aversive stimuli, because they dont work well. Earlier I said that Johnny will maybe stop throwing his toys? Thats because whatever was reinforcing the bad behaviors hasnt been removed. This hidden reinforcer has just been hidden with an aversive stimulus. So, sometimes the child will behave, but it still feels good to throw those toys. All this boils down to a theory of personality that says that ones environment causes ones behavior. A man named Albert Bandura found this a bit too simplistic for the phenomena he was observing, aggression in adolescents, and decided to add a little to it, environment causes behavior, but behavior causes environment as well(Bandura, 2000). He labeled this concept reciprocal determinism. He then went a step further. Bandura began to look at personality as an interaction among three things the environment, behavior, and the persons psychological processes. Adding imagery and language to the mix allows Bandura to theorize much more effectively than someone like, B. F. Skinner, about two things that many people would consider the humans strong point, observational learning or modeling, and self-regulation. Of the hundreds of studies Bandura was responsible for, one group stands out above the others. The bobo doll studies. Bandura made of film of one of his students, a young woman, beating up a bobo doll. In case you dont know, a bobo doll is an inflatable, balloon creature with a weight in the bottom that makes it bob back up when you knock him down. The woman punched the clown, shouting sockeroo! She kicked it, sat on it, hit with a little hammer, and so on, shouting aggressive phrases. Bandura then showed his film to groups of kindergartners. The children then were let out to play. In the play room, were several observers with pens and clipboards, a bobo doll, and a few little hammers. The observers recorded: A lot of little kids beating on the bobo doll. They punched it and shouted sockeroo, kicked it, sat on it, hit it with the little hammers, and so on. In other words, they imitated the young lady in the film. This might seem like a worthless experiment at first, but the children changed their behavior without first being rewarded for that behavior. While that may not seem extraordinary to the average person, it didnt work well with standard behaviorist learning theories. He called the phenomenon observational learning or modeling, and Banduras theory is usually called the social learning theory. Bandura did a large number of variations in his study. All these variations allowed Bandura to establish that there were certain steps involved in the modeling process. If you are going to learn anything, you have to be paying attention. Likewise, anything that doesnt allow you to pay attention is going to decrease learning. If, for example, you are sleepy, groggy, drugged, sick, or nervous, you will learn less. Second, you must be able to remember what you have paid attention to. This is where imagery and language come in. We store what we have seen the model doing in the form of mental images, or verbal descriptions. When stored, you can later bring up the image or description, so that you can reproduce it with your own behavior. At this point, youre just sitting there daydreaming. You have to translate the images or descriptions into actual behavior. So you have to have the ability to reproduce the behavior in the first place. For example, I can watch Olympic swimmers all day long, and not be able to reproduce their times, because I may not even know how to swim. But if I can swim, my performance would in fact improve if I watch swimmers who are better than I am. Our abilities improve even when we just imagine ourselves performing. Many athletes, imagine their performance in their mind prior to actually performing. With all this, youre still not going to do anything unless you are motivated to imitate. Bandura says there are many motives, past reinforcement, promised reinforcements, vicarious reinforcement. These are, considered to be the things that cause learning. Bandura is saying that they dont cause learning but, only cause us to demonstrate what we have learned. He sees them as motives. The negative motivations are there too, giving you reasons not to imitate someone such as past punishment, promised punishment (threats), vicarious punishment. Like most traditional behaviorists, Bandura says that punishment in whatever form does not work as well as reinforcement and, in fact, has a tendency to backfire on us.

Informal interview(HRD) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Informal interview(HRD) - Essay Example He has to set the daily roster, look for new and novel things for the employees, interact with them and facilitate in solving their day to day issues, look after their needs and wants, discuss options to safeguard their organizational rights and basically take the message of the employees towards the higher management realms. The rationale for choosing this person was that Mr. Jack is a renowned person within his field and all employees have something good to say about him. It shows that Mr. Jack has a very commendable relationship with the employees as well as the people with whom he is connected on a personal as well as a professional level. He likes to maintain his links with the people even though they are not working with the same organization any more. I believe that choosing Mr. Jack for this interview is also based on how well he has been able to bring confidence within his personality and how much people can learn from him and his actions. He is a thorough professional who b elieves in success and brings out the very best through his actions and behaviors on a daily basis. I asked Mr. Jack how he got along with people from different backgrounds and how he would cope with someone who was not easy to come by. I even asked him how he would react to changing policies of the organization which he believed would ransack the basis of association that existed between the organization and its employees. I inquired from Mr. Jack how he would go with the recent upsurge in downsizing by most organizations and what he would do to make sure that there was complete job security within his organization. I discerned the basis of his attachment with the recent trends and developments within the Human Resources field and what he shall do to make sure that everything remained in line with the policies of the land where the company existed. Lastly I requested Mr. Jack to let me know how he would foster positive ties with the people who have left the organization and hold so me form of resentment and disgruntled feelings (Saunders 2004). I learned quite a few things from what Mr. Jack had to tell me. He was forthright and candid about his approach towards doing things his way, which was in accordance with the rules and policies of the organization. He told me there was a great amount of growth within his field and anyone can take up the Human Resources arena to extract the best mileage out of his education. He even told me that a career switch towards the Human Resources field would bring in higher stakes in terms of money, an excellent profession and above all linkages with the people who hailed from different backgrounds and ethnicities. It even allowed an individual to learn new things and get acquainted with discussions which he had never put his eye upon. Mr. Jack was very comprehensive as far as the answering of his questions were concerned and I saw that his eye contact did not break even for a single second – which suggested for his hones ty which he was delivering through his verbal and nonverbal communication regimes. In the end, I would suggest that interviewing Mr. Jack was indeed something which can be regarded as a positive point for me. It helped me understand what a wonderful personality Mr. Jack is. It also assisted me in comprehending how he takes the different avenues of life in his

Strategic 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic 2 - Essay Example Automobile manufacturers’ sales proved the most lucrative for the global automobiles industry in 2008, generating total revenues of $1,698.5 billion, equivalent to 95.19% of the industry's overall value. In comparison, sales of motorcycles generated revenues of $85.8 billion in 2008, equating to 4.81% of the industry's aggregate revenues. The performance of the industry is forecast to accelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 4.5% for the five-year period 2008-2013, which is expected to drive the industry to a value of $2,220 billion by the end of 2013. 1) Threat of New Entrants: A tremendous increase in raw material costs in recent years has resulted in pressure on both market players and suppliers. The diverse markets in which suppliers operate have reduced their reliance on the automobile industry. Barriers such as stern government regulations, high fixed costs and exit barriers hinder new entrants to the market. Competition in the industry has increased as a result of econom ic downturn. 2) Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers such as steel and aluminum manufacturers are often large companies who supply to a wide variety of industries, reducing their dependence on the automobile manufacture market.