Kozol’s Savage Inequalities

Jonathan Kozol was born in 1936 in Massachusetts.   Throughout his life, he has been extremely active in public issues.   He spent several teaching in public schools, fighting against the inequalities there, but also fighting for the civil rights movement and equality for all, despite race or ethnicity.   Most of the schools Kozol taught at were inner-city schools, similar to the ones he writes about in his book (www.wikipedia.com).Kozol’s purpose in writing the book was to expose the vast inequalities that are present in today’s schools.   He provided a snapshot of many different ways schools are unequal: funding, teacher quality, school environment, materials, and more.   He profiled several different schools, in particular, inner-city Chicago schools and suburban Chicago schools (New Trier), to show the vast differences in every aspect of these schools, and the effects that these differences had on the students.Kozol also intended to show the multitude of d ifferent issues that went into creating the problem, such as lack of funding, lack of materials, lack of quality teacher, political laziness or outright disdain (towards inner-city schools), parent misinformation (or lack of information), lack of parental education and knowledge about the system, and more.   These differences all account for why the schools are so vastly different; money is not the only problem and simple solution.Kozol accomplished his purpose.   As one is reading the book, one is filled with shock, horror, and indignation at the vast inequities that exist in the schools.   One particularly telling section is his illustration of the kindergarten students, who Kozol describes as bright and eager to learn, even in the inner-city.   However, these kids – who have every ability to learn – are given few materials and poor teachers, and they fail to thrive.This failure, he explains, results from the education system failing them, and not from their own lack of anything.   He clearly illustrates the unfairness of the school system, and proposes some interesting solutions.   In the kindergarten class in one of Kozol’s examples, there are no pictures on the wall, there are ancient textbooks, there are few toys to play with, and there is a teacher who is almost too tired to care.   The teacher knows that whatever happens, many of these students will drop out of high school, and many of those will land in jail.   The teacher does not believe that she can make a difference, even though at this age, with the students eager and primarily well-behaved, she could.The purpose was well accomplished because of Kozol’s many examples.   The way he used the case studies was especially interesting.   In the case of New Trier, the parents were unwilling to tax themselves at a high rate, but their income and property values were so high that they will had plenty of money.   Therefore, the school had excellent class of ferings, facilities, teachers, and students.   In poorer districts, like Lawndale, parents taxed themselves as much as they could, and they still couldn’t afford to have good school buildings, new materials, and good teachers.   This difference in personality and attitude of the people in the district further illustrates Kozol’s point.In addition, Kozol highlights the sheer environment differences in the schools.   In the suburban districts, teachers come in everyday, on time – or they are subject to discipline or being fired.   He quotes one principal in an inner-city school as saying â€Å"I take everything that comes through the door,† which means that teachers who are absent more often than not, or who show up a couple hours late everyday still have jobs.   These environments portray a complete lack of caring on the part of the teachers.This is at least in part because the teachers truly believe they cannot make a difference.   Many know t hat most of the students will drop out of school and end up in prison, illiterate, and with no job or a poor job.   Some teachers even see this effect as positive, stating that the kids who really care remain in school until graduation.   However, this is a terrible way to think about students, and only perpetuates the situation.Also, the suburban schools tend to be newer, brightly lit, with plenty of classrooms and bathrooms and decorations.   The urban schools are lucky to have one working bathroom that isn’t clean, dark windows, and a building that is falling apart around them.   In some cases, urban schools have extremely overcrowded classrooms, no working bathrooms, no libraries, no computers, no decorations, and are extremely depressing.   Students begin skipping school at a young age merely to avoid these circumstances.Kozol also discusses the attitudes of the law makers.   Many refuse to spend more money on these failing schools because it would, in their estimation, be like â€Å"pouring money into a black hole.† In other words, useless.   This goes to show that government officials are not doing anything to solve the problem; in fact, they often are the problem, by refusing to believe that anything could change.   Their lackadaisical attitude needs to turn around; rather than rewarding the students who are already succeeding, they should attempt to help the students who struggle, who will only turn around if the law makers choose to do their job and advocate for all students.The section on Corla Hawkins’s class was particular interesting.   In it, Kozol illustrates one of the â€Å"bright spots† in otherwise terrible inner-city schools.   Ms. Hawkins is a unique teacher who cares about her students, who makes sure they come to school, who forces them to respect her and each other.   She spends a lot of her own money on supplies for the classroom, including a set of encyclopedias.   She assigns homew ork everyday in order to promote responsibility.She sits the students in â€Å"teams† at groups of desks, and has them teach each other the lessons.   Her emphasis means that students in her class succeed much more than the average student in the school.   Ms. Hawkins also teaches the students important social skills.   She doesn’t give grades at all in the first quarter; she gives team grades in the second; she gives pair grades in the third; she gives individual grades in the fourth.   In this way, she teaches the kids to learn before being competitive about grades, and then to help one another and cooperate more than compete.   Later, she teaches the students to look out for themselves.One of the unfortunate problems with this is that these students will have one year of excellent teaching, and then will go back to the â€Å"typical† way that things are in inner-city schools, meaning that their chances of success are still fairly low overall.   It also gives the students as taste of what could have been, which means that overall, one good teacher doesn’t change anything.The best solution is to correct the problem by changing the way the schools are financed.   Instead of refusing to put money into the schools, politicians should be eager to put more money into them, enough to build new buildings (or improve the current ones) and to hire truly qualified teachers.   If that occurs, change will begin at the bottom levels, as students come in and find teachers with higher expectations, and materials to support learning.   People need to stop being completely hopeless about these schools and these students and start giving them what they need.   Without the proper materials and quality teachers, there is no way that students will care, or learn.In some states, school funding is done in an unconstitutional way.   In fact, in most states, schools are funded at least in part by property taxes.   This offers an imm ediate inequity, since poorer areas, like inner-city areas, will automatically have lower property values, and therefore, less money for schools.   A new funding plan that distributes money more equally, or based on need, is in order.   A suburban school with already current materials, computers, and new buildings does not need as much money as an inner-city school with old materials, no technology, and a crumbling building.Currently, the thinking in education is to give money to the students and districts who are already winners.   Money is allotted as a prize for success.   This value needs to change, so that money is given based on need, because the value is success and opportunity for everyone, not just for the privileged few.Reading this book changes one’s view on the way schools are handled in this country.   It seems perfectly fair to grow up in a privileged district, and to go into education as someone who wants to continue that tradition of excellence.   However, confronting the problems that face many schools today shows that education is not perfect, and not every school or student is nearly as lucky as some.This new realization will change the way a person looks at being an administrator.   Perhaps, instead of fighting for every dollar for a particular school’s excellent AP program, one would choose to distribute that money to districts who do not have things they need.   Or, instead of purchasing new textbooks frequently and getting rid of the old ones, one might choose to buy new textbooks for another school, or to donate older (but still fairly recent) ones to a school in need.Also, when it comes to making policies, one might choose to consider what is best for all students, rather than only a small group.   Many of the students in a poorer district do not have anyone to advocate for them.   Their teachers and politicians mostly will not, and their parents may not know how to.   Some people in their district, and some of the students themselves, may not even speak English.   An administrator from any district may be able to stand up and fight for them.   If enough administrators begin to value equality in education (and separate is not equal, whether it is separated by race or social class), changes will begin to occur.This book is a very eye-opening look at the reality of schools today.   It is an important thing to realize – not all schools are equal.   Many students are suffering because of the lack of opportunity their schools provide, ultimately setting them up for near certain failure.   The only way this will change is if educators stand up and fight for change, and an educator who has not learned about these inequalities will not be able to stand up and fight.   Every educator should know what is really going on.This book comes highly recommended.   Kozol goes into the schools and paints vivid pictures of what the schools are actually like.   He’s no t writing from a high horse or a strictly academic perspective.   He is showing what the day to day realities are for so many students.   He is high-lighting the problems in a completely real-world way.   Kozol’s book is an important one in the field, and one that everyone should read.BibliographyKozol, Jonathan.   Savage Inequalities.Jonathan Kozol.   Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.   Accessed November 10, 2006.   Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Kozol.

Summary of “Deep Intellect”

In â€Å"Deep Intellect† author Sy Montgomery makes his case in showing that octopuses are intellectual invertebrates. Scientists believed that octopuses were unintelligent brainless creatures. However new studies have amazingly revealed just the opposite. Studies now show that octopuses are intelligent, emotional and have individual personalities. Montgomery talks about his encounter with an octopus, Athena, at the Aquarium in New England and the different studies that prove that octopuses are intelligent. Octopuses are invertebrates that touch and taste with the thousands of suckers that are on their eight arms.A study by Alexa Warburton although problematic revealed that â€Å"California two-spots quickly learned which side of a T-maze offered a terra – cotta pot to hide in† (page 3). The octopuses appeared to intentionally not cooperate by jumping off the mesh while being scooped out of their tanks. Scientists measure intelligence by brain size and counting n eurons. Octopuses have about 130 million neurons in its walnut size brain and amazingly three-fifths of their neurons are in its arms. The intelligence of octopuses also includes the ability to change colors and shapes to hunt and to escape predators.Scientists believe that octopuses are colorblind but new evidence proposes that they may see with their skin. A study by Jennifer Mather shows that octopuses can employ foresight and even plan. Mather observed an octopus choosing rocks to place in front of its home to feel safe before going to sleep. Another study by Roland Anderson reports an octopus playing with a pill bottle as a toy. The octopus was blowing water to move the pill bottle from one end of her tank to the other. Anderson states that â€Å"Only intelligent animals play – animals like crows and chimps, dogs and humans† (page 5).In a study by Bill Murphy octopuses opened locks on boxes to get food and they used different strategies showing individuality. One octopus was so eager to get the food that he broke the outer box and then squeezed into the inner box. Roland Anderson also proved in a study that octopuses remember familiar humans. In this experiment one person would just feed the octopuses and another person would touch them with a briskly stick. After a few week, the octopuses would shoot water at the person that touched them with the briskly stick at first sight. However when the octopuses saw the person that fed them they would move toward that person.Scientists have noticed that octopuses and humans have eyes that are almost the same. Humans and octopuses eyes have transparent corneas, regulate light with diaphragms and focus lenses with a ring of muscle. Based on the research data octopuses are unsocial creatures that have a short life span. They have evolved into intelligent and emotional creatures that have individual personality. Scientists today still know very little about the intellect of octopuses. To understand the m ind of these eight arms wonders, scientists must rethink the way they examine the nature of the mind.

Assignment 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment 4 - Essay Example The bus which I used for this experiment was filled with many passengers. Some foreigners like Indians and Pakistanis were also there inside the bus. I was seated at the middle portion of the bus. Immediately after the bus was started to move, I started to sing loudly. The person sitting next to me was an American and he asked me to stop singing. The driver also looked back and shown signs to stop singing. I did not obey and continued my singing. All the passengers inside the bus looked at me with different facial expressions, body languages and gestures. Some of the Indians and Pakistanis inside the bus enjoyed my performance along with some of the Americans and they took this incident lightly. However, some other passengers, mostly the Americans have shown signs of agony and discomfort. Some of the passengers approached the driver and asked him to stop the bus and throw me out of the bus. Some others murmured that I have some mental disorders. Surprisingly, after five minutes, ever ything started to stabilize. My fellow passengers started change their attention from me and focussed more on outside sceneries and sights. Even though, I tried to vary the volume of my sound very much in order to irritate my fellow passengers, many of the passengers did not care and I stopped singing after some time. Suddenly people again started to look at me.

Welfare Reform Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Welfare Reform - Research Paper Example For most of our jobless countrymen, welfare checks provide the means to continue to purchase life giving food as sustenance in their daily lives. However, the economic hardships that have befallen our local governments have forced its leaders to rethink and reform the local welfare laws in order to protect the neediest and deserving members of the state. This was done by multiple states in the guise of requiring all welfare participants to submit themselves to individual drug testing prior to their application for welfare. Although there have been some people caught as being positive for substance abuse in the past, this particular welfare reform has not been as successful as its implementing bodies hoped it would be. The failure of the drug testing law in relation to welfare privileges stem from the various complaints filed by different sectors of society against the law. These groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claim that the local law revisions are a violati on of basic human rights and must therefore be declared null and void by the state courts. This paper aims to look into the validity of the legality of the claims by the various human rights organizations in an effort to prove the ill effectiveness of this particular law in relation to welfare reform. ... at the time explained that (1999): The Fourth Amendment guarantees that no individual in this country can be subjected to a search by the government unless there is reasonable suspicion that they have committed some crime, Welfare recipients may be poor, but that's not a crime—not yet, anyway. The ACLU believes that by requiring mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients, those wishing to avail of the government aid will have been branded by society in a negative manner before they have even been proven to have committed any offenses. The law simply has too many loop holes, in the opinion of the group, for it to become actually effective in preventing the use of tax payer dollars by drug addicts who happen to be a member of our society. In Michigan, they believed that this law would have been an effective deterrent towards drug abuse even though (1999): ... evidence from a 1996 federal study showing that "the percentage of welfare recipients using, abusing, or dependent on alcohol or drugs [is] relatively small and consistent with the general U.S. population and those not receiving welfare benefits... Due to the existing inconsistencies in the law, its implementation, and questionable effectiveness in deterring welfare recipients from participating in illegal drug activities, the law was eventually halted and has not been implemented since. Let us be clear though that this law has not become as widespread in implementation as the government had first hoped. This is because the 1996 Welfare Reform Act did not make it a mandatory prerequisite to receiving government aid. The ACLU claims that (ACLU, 2008): Before the Michigan policy was halted, only 10% of recipients tested positive for illicit drugs. Only 3% tested positive for hard drugs, such as cocaine and

Supervision Topic of Issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Supervision Topic of Issue - Research Paper Example Thus, this discussion seeks to evaluate the relevance of supervision in social work, with a view to underlining the different types of supervisions necessary for the accomplishment of effective social work services delivery. Supervision in social work has become an important aspect of determining the success of maintaining the best practices in both the health and human services professions. Successful client outcomes, is the major target of social work supervision (Noble & Irwin, 2009). Through good supervision, high levels of job satisfaction are achieved, while commitment to the organization and a high rate of social workers is realized. The first area through which social work employees are able to perceive the nature of support that they are offered by their organization is in supervision. This is because; social work consists of emotionally charged nature of tasks, which then requires that the social workers are granted sufficient support in order to be able to cope with the nature of their work. Thus, effective social work supervision has been identified as one of the ways of enhancing social workers retention within health and human services organizations (Reamer, 2003). The relevance of supervision in social work draws from the fact that the knowledge of social work has greatly increased, while the population served by the social workers has increasingly become complex. Equally relevant in the social work profession is the need to protect the clients from any form of harm that might arise out of unethical social practices that degrades the client’s dignity or breaches their confidentiality (Pack, 2009). In this respect, it is essential that all social workers are suitably equipped with the right skills and training to deliver social services effectively, while also ensuing that any form of assistance that the social workers might need to execute social work responsibilities

Retailing Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Retailing Industry - Essay Example The aim of the paper is to present findings of previous researchers in a structured form, which will to draw further conclusion or will make it able to predict a general trend. New outcomes of the paper come from the analysis of those findings and result in the connection between the emergence of born global companies and the extensive use of IT strategies by small companies. Additionally the situation with SMEs' integration into e-business presents interest for the development of national economies: the paper indicates weaknesses in the current IT development of SMEs. The development of information technologies (IT) has stretched the horizons for almost every business. Small companies have got the opportunity to open themselves to the world, large companies have used their chance to strengthen their competitive advantage through the use of increasing their internal effectiveness with the help of IT solutions. The paper is set in the context of retailing industry, which implies a small buyer power, fierce competition, and most importantly the urgent need for diversification. Due to the fact that retail companies have developed in similar ways during the past century, they offer the same services to customers. The only way to get a company out of this dullness is to diversify itself. Diversification is extremely important for both large and small companies in retailing industry. Previous researches of Miller (2000), Rossi and Tuunainen (2002), and Evaristo and Kaarst-Brown (2004) have observed the changes made by IT in large and small retailers' strategies and infrastructure (Section 3 and 2 correspondingly), while the framework of Brown, Seltsikas, and Tailor (2003) devotes much attention to issues of outsourcing (Section 5). Rapid internationalization of small-to-medium enterprise (SME) also presents academic interest: papers of Malhotra (2000), and Abbot and Stone (2003) concentrate on the difference of development of large and small firms in the context of IT implementation (Section 4). Differences in the use of large and small businesses are seen most vividly in the infrastructure and strategy of companies. Smaller companies seek for strategies and IT tools that will help them to seize new business opportunities (Miller, 2000), while large retailers use IT solutions to enhance their internal effectiveness (Rossi, Tuunainen, 2002). The next section starts with a detailed comparison of the internal infrastructure of large and small retailers. 2. DIFFERENCES IN INFRASTRUCTURE 2.1 Differences in the internal infrastructure Internal infrastructure ensures the flow of information inside the company (e.g. from one department to another). It is the most 'invisible' part of companies' operations from the customer's perspective, and at the same time internal effectiveness is vital for both large and small businesses. That is why the implementation of IT in the internal infrastructure is a common practice in retail businesses regardless of their size. Even the smallest companies, which do not make the Internet their first priority, use information systems (IS) for quick and easy access to prices, inventory and delivery times to follow through with customers' requirement (Miller, 2000). IS can enhance the internal infr

Consequences of Migration in the UK Labor Market Term Paper

Consequences of Migration in the UK Labor Market - Term Paper Example It has been determined that people have the tendency of shifting in other places, where growth or economic development can be seen. Due to a lack of work opportunity or unemployment people have over the years preferred to move in developed cities or places for working opportunity. In this regard, it has been also observed that in developed countries such as the United Kingdom (UK) and the United State of America (USA) the effect of migration can be viewed highly in labor market. It can be evidently asserted that in the modern era, it will be very difficult to identify such examples, where people rather preferred to be born, live and die under the same roof significantly.In this concerned discussion, the main aim is to highlight how migration has led to changes in the labor market of the United Kingdom. In addition, the study with a focus on reviewing pertinent literature will also emphasize how migration can affect human resource management (HRM) in an international setting.         In accordance with Bauer & Zimmermann (1999), unemployed workers’ from central and Eastern Europe (within the EU) have moved towards the UK for job opportunities. According to a report, it has been observed that the wages of the UK labor market have been higher than that of central Europe and EU labor market indeed (Bauer & Zimmermann, 1999). Over the years, it has been observed that the pressure of migration has increased significantly. At the same time, it has been also determined that the migration has not only happened in central Europe and EU but also it has been seen in different territories such as America, Africa, and Asian countries. The impact of high-level immigrants has been also seen in the political environment and economy of the United Kingdom. Due to the high amount of immigrants the UK market has been affected in a number of ways. Consequently, the labor market has become more congested and as an effect, the wages of labors have been reduced specifically. Sim ultaneously, the availability of migrant labors has led towards unemployment issues in the United Kingdom.

Contrast essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Contrast - Essay Example The method of giving solution to problems was the same in math and physics. The two had the same way of presenting answers. To be specific, both classes had utilized various formulas to explain phenomena and outcomes. In the mathematics class, numbers and variables were utilized to answer mathematical problems. For example, algebraic expressions were used by the teacher to describe a relationship which varies over time (â€Å"What†). In physics, numbers and variables were also employed in explaining a scientific problem. For instance, in determining the amount of force exerted in an activity, Newton’s law of motion was applied by the instructor. In the classroom, the teacher always associated the formulas used in actual setting. The application of the formulas in real life was emphasized. Even in small dealings, the professors would find a way to relate it to the topic whether in math or physics class. For instance, my math teacher had chosen a classmate of mine who was a businesswoman to illustrate the importance of addition and subtraction. In contrast with the mentioned similarities, the two classes essentially differed in the practical application of its topics. In the physics class, actual experiments were conducted to personally experience the truthfulness of the formulas. To test the students, the teacher included practical exams wherein students were tested if they really know how to perform the experiment and how well they understand the lesson. In another case, a student was called to explain and demonstrate a topic in front of the class. It was some sort of an oral exam. However, in the mathematics class, there was no actual experiment. It was just all about trial and error in a piece of paper. The professor never entertained the idea of calling students to answer a mathematical problem on the board. He never conducted an oral exam. What the

A bio that captures the readers attention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A bio that captures the readers attention - Essay Example By delivering an approachable plan, Gabriel Trigo assists the clients clarify the path of their goals for financial freedom. Gabriel Trigo’s motto is â€Å"Sound financial and investment advice begets a brighter future full of financial freedom†. Trigo pursues the motto, and he is dedicated to assisting the clients achieve the financial freedom by offering high-quality advice, as well as, integrated wealth management solutions that enhance and simplify the quality of the lives of the clients. It is tremendously fulfilling to assist the clients to devise excellent decisions for their goals and circumstances. Gabriel Trigo knows he is successful when clients return with positive feedback highlighting how the investment advice has become a positive influence in their lives. He has a fiduciary duty to individual clients, and he needs to help them to the best of his ability to get them to where they want to go. The clients’ success is Gabriel’s happiness. Seek Gabriel’s advice and you will never be

Humanities-issues in science and societies 3b Essay

Humanities-issues in science and societies 3b - Essay Example Notably, the cost of the GM seed is twice or thrice the cost of the non-biotech seeds. Nevertheless, it is evident that the adoption of this biotechnology is by far high in industrialized countries than in the developing ones. Research indicates that almost 91% of the global fields planted by the GM seeds are concentrated in six foremost industrialized countries. They include Canada, Argentina, United States of America, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay. Further analysis shows that, USA alone contributes to 54% of the total GM food supply worldwide while the rest countries generate a total of 80%. There are several factors have contributed to this disparity and; therefore, the case presented is more likely to dominate unless otherwise stated (Miller & Lentz 240). Therefore, this paper seeks to show how political agendas in the untapped markets, problematic stands and uncertainties in health, high economic costs, and uncertainties in markets contribute to the disparity in GM seeds sold to industrialized countries and developing countries. It has been of considerable concern on the level industrialized countries have taken the privilege in exploiting the potential grounds in developing countries. Inadequate resources hinder the development of bio-technology in the developing countries. This hindrance is also as a result of inadequate transparency on the significance and the stages of implementing GM food production methods. A close observation of Africa, for instance, forms the basis of these politically inclined agendas. As a result of severe drought and resilience of the pests, the international corporations have strongly indulged in claiming eminent ability of crop yields in these zones. In the course of implementing this system of food production, there emerges opposition even when these corporations are willing to donate them (Koch & Askeland 180). Private companies and other foundation are in the hype of

Communicating with Children Essay Example for Free

Communicating with Children Essay ‘Communication is fundamental to development’ (Crow et al, 2008, p. 11). This essay will therefore critically discuss how certain factors can affect communication and how practitioners may be able to overcome these barriers in their daily practice. It will begin with a definition of communication, and then state some of the different ways we communicate on a daily basis. It will move on to explain the importance of these interactions, and illuminate how cultural, social, environmental and emotional factors can create barriers and affect communication with children. Finally, it will consider ways practitioners can become better at communicating with the children they work with. The word ‘communication’ basically means ‘to share’ and its desired outcome is understanding. It is a part of our basic drive to form relationships and is based on ‘theoretical knowledge, cultural understanding and experience’ (Crow et al, 2008, p. 7). It involves an ‘interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information’ (www. efinitions. net/definition/communication) which are transmitted through body language, ‘touch, listening, tone of voice, gesture, playing, observing, reassuring, explaining [†¦] and reflecting’ (Crow et al, 2008, p. 7). Effective communication can be beneficial to children and their welfare as it allows them to gain an identity, develop psychologically and intellectually, form and sustain social relationships, and express themselves emotionally. However, transmission channels between adults and children are not always straightforward, resulting in barriers to their communication skills which can cause ‘confusion, discriminat[ion], alienat[ion], [†¦] or create problems’ (Crow et al, 2008, p. 7). One such barrier is seen due to cultural differences. Through efficient communication, children learn the social rules of non-verbal communication, which includes body language and gestures. Learning these social rules are essential in order to communicate competently, however, communication is socially constructed, and body language and gestures therefore bear different meanings between and within cultures. The differences within sub-cultures are due to ‘language acquisition, linguistic differences or [a]different mother tongue’ (Crow et al, 2008, p. 30). It is also not uncommon for children to develop their own language and signs through the use of modern technology. This, on the one hand, is a positive aspect of communication, as developing bilingually can lead to future success, and technology allows for innovation and promotes relationships, but, not all children are as resilient as each other, and learning two languages at once, be that spoken or sign language, can confuse them a great deal. New forms of communication can also be confusing for practitioners with little experience of modern technology, which can lead to a reluctance to communicate and socialise, especially between generations. Cultural differences can therefore ‘inhibit as well as influence communication’ (Crow et al,2008, p. 0) with children. Socialisation is of great importance for communication with children. Gerhardt (2004, cited in Crow et a. , 2008, p. 11) claims that it should start from birth because ‘communication between carer and baby plays a key role in the development of the infant’s brain’. These first dydadic relationships and further experiences of socialisation contribute crucially towards a child’s communication progress as they allow for empathic responses, interpretation of non-verbal communication and the understanding of emotions at a later stage. Children who are not communicated with as babies are reported to suffer restricted brain growth and global delay (Crow et al, 2008, p. 12) due to deprivation of social contact and care. This can create a barrier to their acquisition of language. Be that as it may, not all children experience dydadic relationships, and they still learn to communicate. Hart and Risley’s (1995, cited in Crow et al, 2008, p. 12) observational study of communication amongst families suggests that the rate of language acquisition depends on socio-economic status, and that the richer the family, the richer the vocabulary. The nature/nurture debate therefore seems at large here in that babies may have an innate predisposition to learn spoken language but that it is their experience of communication and articulation with key members in their environment that shapes / hinders their capacity to learn. A positive environment can therefore promote communication with children; however, a child’s environment can also be of hindrance in numerous other ways. Children with sensory sensitivities, especially those diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), can face profound barriers which could affect their communication. This is due to difficulty processing everyday sensory information in colourful/lively so called child friendly classrooms. These children, by not being able to cope with all the information surrounding them are likely to become anxious, stressed, cross, or even feel physical pain which can result in challenging behaviour due to their failure to communicate their emotions. There is a clear physiological explanation for this behaviour in that the ‘perception of threat causes the release of the hormones cortisol and adrenalin which block cognitive and memory processes and trigger the fight, flight or freeze reaction’ (Crow et al, 2008, p. 4). It is not only the communication of children diagnosed with ASD that are affected by emotions though. Children who have experienced neglect, abuse or who are being bullied can all suffer in silence. Furthermore, the emotions of practitioners themselves can have an impact on communication with children. If practitioners are angry, sad or not feeling themselves, their emotions and means of logical thinking can become impaired. Practitioners therefore need to find better ways of communicating with children, especially those who face particular barriers on a daily basis. A starting point would be to acclimatise themselves with what ‘studies of communication skills and processes have suggested [†¦] vital to model in work with children’ (Crow et a. , 2008, p. 22), namely expressive skills, listening skills and process skills. Expressive skills are vital to convey messages to others so that they understand what is being communicated. These skills involve facial expressions and body language. Listening skills involve the total opposite to expressive skills, and requires the listener to obtain and understand the messages and information conveyed by the other person. Both these sets of skills are important as they allow the practitioner to understand how they come across to others and to read emotions. Process skills are needed to manage communication, and they essentially help the practitioner to make appropriate choices, retrieve information/ knowledge or collect necessary tools in an orderly manner in order to interact with a child. Practitioners need to be very aware of their expressive skills and distinctive use of language, especially in light of cultural diversity. As Valerie Daniel (The Open University, 2013 a) stated, ‘body language says a lot’, and alongside gesture, it bears distinct meanings between cultures. Eye contact is one significant area of concern. It is one of the most forthright modes of communication, and where and how you look at someone can alter the interaction. Staring at someone you are communicating with can cause that person to feel uneasy, yet it is important to look at him/her in order to show that you are paying attention. Some cultures however discourage eye contact all together, and claim it is a form of rudeness. Particular use of language can also cause distinctions between children, for example one black pupil commented that ‘around the school when it’s white boys it’s a group but when it’s black boys it’s a gang and I think it’s wrong’(London Department Agency, 2004 cited in Crow et al, 2008, p. 16). It is important therefore that practitioners take care in their use of language as what people hear influences their perception (Kay and Kempton, 1984, cited in Crow et al, 2008, p. 5), and perceptions and understanding shape’s the experience of other’s. Practitioners therefore should use their process skills to gain cultural knowledge in order to be aware of the different implications of expressions and language before judging the actions of a child, as judgments are always based on personal experience. In doing so they can develop a rapport based on respect, and open up communication pathways so that children can ‘develop their own communication skills and [†¦] understanding of their society and culture’ (Crow et a. , 2008, p. 1) As communication methods develop, experience indicates that practitioners need to prioritise ways of communicating their services through modern technology. According to Turner (2003, cited in Crow et al, 2008, p. 11), one attribute children saw in an inadequate practitioner was that they are not interested. It is therefore important for practitioners to engage as much as possible with children and young people’s interests in order to get them to participate and communicate openly, rather than become introvert due to frustration over lack of understanding. Some may argue that ‘information technology is damaging children’s ability to communicate articulately and effectively’ (Crow et al. , 2008, p. 38). Nonetheless, as Vikki Butler (The Open University, 2013, b) suggests, ‘no one wants to participate in something that’s not relevant to them’, and in today’s technological age, it is modern technology that is embedded in children’s lifeworlds. Despite lack of training opportunities and funding, practitioners need to find a way of familiarising themselves with children’s culture. Children in turn will learn to respect practitioners for their interest and for not dismissing their innovative skills (Crow et al, 2008, p. 38), allowing communication and socialisation through the formation of collaborations. Providing opportunities for socialisation through group interactions could further develop practitioners’ communication with the children they work with as it allows the chance to ask open ended questions, which demand reactions longer than single word answers. Practitioners must not however ask too many questions in their quest to extend learning, as children tend to become wary and refuse to open up. Practitioners must also make use of their listening skills by listening to the child’s intent as well as content, not interrupting them and reflecting empathetically on their answers in order to show the child that they are interested in what they have to say. A group interaction such as circle time is a good method to improve both children’s and practitioner’s communication. It must be based on interests though because when ‘children are interested in what they do, [ ] you will be surprised at what they achieve’ (Valerie Daniel, The Open University, 2013, a). Ground rules of considerate communication must be set however, and these could be negotiated together as a group, but in the long run could result in helping children with their concentration, taking turns to speak, thinking before expressing their thoughts and listening to each other, essential skills of communication for all, especially those who missed out on being spoken to as babies. Practitioners can also provide younger children the chance to communicate and socialise through play. Play allows the practitioner a myriad of opportunities to gain knowledge regarding a child’s understanding of the world (Crow et al, 2008, p. 33). It also allows time to observe how a child feels at any given time. Further experience indicates that by providing toys such as puppets, toy animals or dressing up clothes, the practitioner provides the child with a means of expression in a safe environment, allowing him/her to detach themselves from an emotional situation. This can also be seen on the DVD material, (The Open University, 2013, b) where the child, an elective mute, used karaoke machines and puppets as a medium of communication. Ensuring safe havens would therefore promote practitioners communication methods with children who place importance on feeling safe. Children often suggest that practitioners could provide security by recognizing bullying as a real problem among pupils (The Open University, 2013, b). Practitioners could therefore prioritise emotional literacy by providing ways of expressing emotions such as placing bully boxes in classrooms. Ensuring equal opportunities between boys and girls would see the practitioner as being fair, which is an important issue during childhood. They could also ensure that every child feels valued at the setting by simply being friendly or by showing care and support for them. This could be done by a simple hand on the shoulder or reciprocating spontaneous hugs (The Open University, 2013, a), however practitioners, especially males, need to be aware of policies and the implications of touch, as contact can be misinterpreted. Actions must therefore always be above any criticism. Nonetheless, allowing a means of safety and ensuring a place where a child feels content can inhibit frustrations and improve a child’s self-esteem. This can only lead to better communication channels with practitioners. Cultural, social, environmental and emotional factors can therefore create barriers and affect children’s communication. Still, as communication is a social construct, the extent to which it is inhibited depends on time and place. Practitioners, through knowledge of vital skills can alleviate these barriers in order to assist children suppress their frustrations and emotions, and develop their communication skills along the way. Simultaneously, practitioners gain an insight into the way they are perceived, allowing them to reflect and become better communicators with the children with whom they work. As already stated therefore, ‘communication is vital for development’ (Crow et al, 2008, p. 11), however it is now clear that it has been, presently is, and will be equally vital to the progress of both children and practitioners in the future.

The three Narrators Essay Example for Free

The three Narrators Essay The lifeless thing that lay at my feet my candle was nearly burnt out. Frankenstein has made himself isolated by abandoning everything to create his creature. Mary Shelley develops the theme of isolation in chapter 21 when Victor Frankenstein is placed in prison; she has now physically isolated him. Frankenstein is shown as very secluded and distraught I was overcome with gloom and misery. Frankensteins closest friend had been killed so his isolation seems to be justified. Shelley used his self-pity to reflect to evoke the feeling that he is alone without a friend; no one is there to help so he goes deeper into self pity no one near me soothed me with the gentle voice of love; no dear hand supported me. Shelley portrays the monster as a misunderstood individual with caring at heart but wants retribution against Frankenstein. The monster mirrors the actions of a child that had been rejected at birth by its parents. The monster looks to the reader as being destined towards a life of isolation and depression. The monster describes himself as a poor, helpless, miserable wretch. Shelley uses these comments by the monster to evoke the feeling of sympathy and make it known to the reader that at that point in the time the monster was feeling rejected and isolated making the monster low in self-esteem leading to the statements being made. The monster also enhances the portrayal of the isolation by admitting he is desolate to the reader making more straight-forward for the reader to identify with the monster and even Mary Shelley as all the characters are related to Shelleys personal experiences during her childhood and adulthood. At the end of chapter 10 when Frankenstein and his monster meet Shelley shows the monster as someone who was willing to make friends among humans. I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? To the reader the monster is shown as an isolated individual who has unfairly been abandoned by its father/creator. Frankenstein is shown as his father who has left him to rot therefore enforcing the effect of isolation the reader feels about the monster. The reader is then made to feel that Victor Frankenstein is to blame for the monsters feelings of isolation. Shelley used this technique to prepare the reader for the monsters narrative view and to start seeing things from the monsters perspective. In conclusion Shelley has been found to use to several narrative and literal techniques to show the feeling of isolation through all the characters. Shelley very often during the story used the scenery to reflect the emotions of the narrators within the book. The isolation within this book was one of the primary themes contributing to its gothic theme. Shelley uses things she experienced during her experience to create different situations in which isolation and sympathy were portrayed. Shelley (in the book) does not mention the word isolation however using very subtle techniques during the dialogue of the narrators and also scenery description she conveys the emotion fully to the reader about the characters within the story. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

Evolution of Australian Flora: Hymenopteran Visual Systems

Evolution of Australian Flora: Hymenopteran Visual Systems Abstract Very little work has been done on the evolution of floral colour diversity, outside of Europe and the Middle East. In particular, we know almost nothing about the evolution of the Australian flora in the context of hymenopteran visual systems. Such a study is likely to be important due to the geologically long isolation of the Australian flora and the high proportion of endemic plant species. The aims of this study were to investigate the colour of Australian native flowers in the context of hymenopteran visual systems, the innate colour preferences of Australian native bees (Trigona carbonaria), and the interactions between native bees and a food deceptive orchid (Caladenia carnea). Firstly, I found that the discrimination thresholds of hymenopterans match up with floral colour diversity and that hymenopterans appear to have been a major contributor to flower colour evolution in Australia. Secondly, I found that Trigona carbonaria has innate preferences for wavelengths of 422, 437 a nd 530 nm. Thirdly, I found that bees were able to habituate to orchid flowers based on colour, thus potentially explaining the colour polymorphism of Caladenia carnea. Together, my study suggests that the evolution of the Australian flora has been influenced by hymenopterans. 1. Introduction Plant-pollinator interactions The mutual interactions between pollinators and plants have been suspected in driving angiosperm radiation and diversification in the past (Regal 1977; Crepet 1984; McPeek 1996). The obvious mutual benefit is that pollinators depend on the pollen and/or nectar of flowering plants for food and, in return, partake in the incidental transfer of pollen necessary for plant reproduction (Faegri and van der Pijl 1978; Harder, Williams et al. 2001). Worldwide, it is estimated that more than 67% of angiosperm plants rely on pollination by insects (Tepedino 1979). Hence, pollinators play a critical role in the persistence and survival of flowering plants, which are of high value to the human food chain (Kearns and Inouye 1997; Klein, Vaissiere et al. 2007). Flower colour signals and sensory exploitation Colour is the result of the visible light being absorbed or reflected off objects and then processed by the eye and brain of an animal (Le Grand 1968). Light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and can be quantified by the wavelength of different photons of energy (Bueche 1986). The wavelengths reflected off the object are perceived by a visual system as the object’s colour. For example, light that appears blue to a human observer can be described by a dominant wavelength of 400nm, whilst light that appears red is 700nm. Ultraviolet light falls between 300-400nm and can be seen by bees, but not humans. Flower colours have been influenced by the sensory receptors of insects, including their colour vision, which is different to human vision. Humans have a red, blue and green receptor (Chittka and Wells 2004). In contrast insects have a UV, green and blue receptor (Chittka and Wells 2004). As human vision is very different to a hymenopterans’ colour visual system, one cannot discuss a bees’ colour perception according to human colour terms such as red or blue. Therefore, this thesis will discuss colours according to wavelength. Colour is one of the most important floral signals plants use to communicate information to insect pollinators (Giurfa, Vorobyev et al. 1996; Dyer, Spaethe et al. 2008). Although it is known that pollinators select flowers based on morphology, nectar availability, size, and odour (Giurfa, Nà ºÃƒ ±ez et al. 1994; Kunze and Gumbert 2001; Spaethe, Tautz et al. 2001; Whitney and Glover 2007), colour is known to play a critical role in enabling pollinators to detect and discriminate target flowers from a biologically important distance of up to 50 cm (Giurfa, Vorobyev et al. 1996; Dyer, Spaethe et al. 2008). Our understanding of the evolution of colour vision in insects has advanced considerably in recent years. In the past, studies of colour perception were limited due to little information on the colour visual system of insects (Frisch 1914; Daumer 1956). It is now possible to evaluate how flower visual signals appear to the visual system of hymenopteran pollinators, using spectrophotometer and colorimetry techniques, which allows quantitative evaluations of how complex colour information is perceived by insect pollinators (Chittka 1992) (fig. 1). Previous research has revealed that colour discrimination in hymenopterans is phylogenetically ancient, with different hymenopterans sharing similar colour perception (Helversen 1972; Chittka and Menzel 1992). Importantly, colour discrimination in the hymenoptera is known to predate the evolution of floral colour diversity (Chittka 1996). Here, recent research has revealed remarkable convergence in the evolution and distribution of floral colours in different parts of the world. Specifically, in a seminal paper, Chittka (1996) showed that flowering plants in both Europe and the Middle East have adapted their colour signals to the visual systems of bees, with flower colours in these regions closely matched to the visual receptors of hymenopterans (Chittka 1996). However, outside of Europe and the Middle East, very little work has been done on the evolution of floral colour diversity. In particular, we know almost nothing about the evolution of the Australian flora in the context of hy menopteran visual systems. This is an important question to investigate due to the long isolation of the Australian flora and the high proportion of endemic plant species. I hypothesise that the Australian floral coloration will closely match the discrimination thresholds of hymenopterans as recent evidence suggests that insect pollinators supported the early spread of flowering plants (Hu, Dilcher et al. 2008). Innate colour preferences of bees Charles Darwin was the first to state that innate preferences could allow an inexperienced pollinator to find a food source (Darwin 1877). Pollinators may use certain traits of flowers such as morphology, scent, temperature and colour to locate food (Heinrich 1979; Menzel 1985; Dyer, Whitney et al. 2006; Raine, Ings et al. 2006). Previous studies evaluating innate colour preferences have tended to focus on two species: the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) and bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). By contrast, no studies have looked at the innate colour preferences of Australian bees and how this affects their choices for flowers. We know that European bumblebees and honeybees show strong preferences for violet and blue (400-420nm) throughout their geographic range (Chittka, Ings et al. 2004) ,which interestingly correlates with the most profitable food sources (Lunau and Maier 1995; Chittka and Raine 2006). These preferences are likely to have had an impact on the relative success of dif ferent flower colours in regions where these bees are dominant pollinators (Chittka and Wells 2004). Consequently, information on the innate preferences of Australian bees will be important to understand hymenopteran plant interactions in the Australian context. Pollinator learning and food deceptive orchids Most plants reward their pollinators with nectar or pollen. However, some species do not offer floral rewards and, instead, employ a range of deceptive techniques to trick insects into performing the task of pollination. Deceptive pollination strategies are particularly well known and widespread among orchids (Jersà ¡kovà ¡, Johnson et al. 2006). For instance, approximately 400 orchid species are known to achieve pollination through sexual deceit, luring unsuspecting male insects to the flower through olfactory, visual and tactile mimicry of potential mates. More common are food deceptive orchids which are believed to number as many as 6,000 species (one-third of orchids) (Jersà ¡kovà ¡, Johnson et al. 2009). Food mimicking orchids employ bright colours to falsely advertise the presence of a reward to attract naive pollinators (Ackerman 1986; Nilsson 1992; Jersà ¡kovà ¡, Johnson et al. 2006). The common occurrence of food deception in orchids suggests that this form of pollinat ion by deception is an extremely successful evolutionary strategy (Cozzolino and Widmer 2005). Visits by pollinators to deceptive plants are influenced by pollinator learning. In the case of sexual deception, previous research shows that insects quickly learn unrewarding flower decoys and avoid them. For example, male insects learn to avoid areas containing sexually deceptive orchids (Peakall 1990; Wong and Schiestl 2002). However, whether insects can learn to avoid food deceptive orchids remains to be investigated. In addition, high levels of variability in floral traits, particularly flower colour and floral scent, may interrupt the associative learning of insects by preventing their ability to become familiar with deceptive flowers (Schiestl 2005). Indeed, variation in colour, shape and fragrance is evident in non-model food-deceptive orchids (Moya and Ackerman 1993; Aragà ³n and Ackerman 2004; Salzmann, Nardella et al. 2007). However, previous studies have only looked at pollinator preference for colour morphs (Koivisto, Vallius et al. 2002), rather than assessing if vari able flower colour slows down the ability of naive pollinators to learn unrewarding flower decoys. Furthermore, there is a need to incorporate a combination of colour vision science and behavioural ecology to understand how a bee perceives the orchid flowers, as bees have a different visual system to humans. Although humans cannot see ultra-violet light, UV sensitivity is common in some animals (Tovà ©e 1995). UV sensitivity has been found in insects, birds, fish and reptiles (Marshall, Jones et al. 1996; Neumeyer and Kitschmann 1998; Cuthill, Partridge et al. 2000; Briscoe and Chittka 2001). Studies on UV vision in an ecological context have mainly focused on species specific signalling and mate choice (Bennett, Cuthill et al. 1996; Bennett, Cuthill et al. 1997; Pearn 2001; Cummings, Garc et al. 2006). However, few studies have looked at the role of UV signals in attracting bees to orchids. Previous studies have shown that the presence of UV reflecting crab spiders attracts honeybees to daisies (Heiling, Herberstein et al. 2003). In a similar study, Australian native bees (Austroplebia australis) were attracted but did not land on flowers with UV reflecting crab spiders (Heiling and Herberstein 2004). However, the role of UV signals in orchids is not well studied. In particular, it is not known if the UV signal is important in attracting naive bees to food deceptive orchids. Thus, it will be useful to know if UV signals might also serve to lure naive pollinators to deceptive flowers to understand deceptive pollination. Aims This project will investigate Australian flower colour diversity in the context of hymenopteran visual systems, the innate colour preferences of Australian native bees (Trigona carbonaria) and their interactions with a food deceptive orchid (Caladenia carnea). This study aims to address the following questions: 1. Is there a link between hymenopteran vision and Australian floral coloration? 2. Does an Australian native bee (Trigona carbonaria) have innate colour preferences? 3. Does a food deceptive orchid (Caladenia carnea) exploit the innate colour preferences of Trigona carbonar 2. Methods Part 1. Is there a link between hymenopteran vision and Australian floral coloration? Flower collection and spectral reflectance functions of Australian native plant flowers Australian native flowers were collected from Maranoa Gardens, Balwyn (melway ref 46 F7). Maranoa Gardens was chosen due to the diverse collection of species from all over Australia. Flowers were collected once a month, from May to January. A colour photograph was taken of the flower for identification. I also took a UV photograph for all flowers, using a digital UV camera [Fuji Finepix Pro S3 UVIR modified CCD for UV imaging] with calibrated UV-vis grey scales (Dyer, Muir et al. 2004). As UV rays are invisible to the human eye (Menzel and Blakers 1976; Dyer 2001), this photo enabled any UV reflectance areas of the flower to be measured by the spectrophotometer (Indsto, Weston et al. 2006). The spectral reflection functions of flowers were calculated from 300 to 700 nm using a spectrophotometer(S2000) with a PX-2 pulsed xenon light source attached to a PC running SpectraSuite software (Ocean Optics Inc., Dunedin, FL, USA). The spectrophotometer was used to quantify the colour of the flower as wavelength. The white standard was a freshly pressed pellet of dry BaSO4, used to calibrate the spectrophotometer. A minimum of three flowers from each plant were used for each spectral analysis. I evaluated a sample of 111 spectral measurements from Australian flowering plants, encompassing a representative variety of plant families (fig. 2). Correlations between spectral reflectance functions of different plant flowers and trichomatic vision of the honeybees To understand if there is a link between hymenopteran vision and Australian native flowers, I used the methodology used by Chittka and Menzel (1992). In that study, Chittka and Menzel looked for correlations between flower spectra sharp steps of different plant flowers and trichomatic vision of the honeybees. Sharp steps are a rapid change in the spectra wavelength (Chittka and Menzel 1992) (see fig. 3 for an example of a sharp step). These steps cross over different receptors, thereby producing vivid colours that stand out from the background. Furthermore, a colour signal will be more distinguishable to a pollinator if the sharp steps match up with the overlap of receptors in a visual system. Thus, the main feature of a flower wavelength is a sharp step. For this study, I defined a sharp step as a change of greater than 20 % reflectance in less than 50 nm of the bee visual spectrum. The midpoint of the slope was determined by eyesight as described by Chittka and Menzel (1992), as th e nature of curves varied with each flower. The absolute numbers of sharp steps within each flower spectra were counted. The frequencies are shown in fig. 4b. As hybrid plants are artificially selected by humans, hybrid flowers were not included in the analyses. Generating a Hexagon colour space To evaluate how flower colours are seen by bees, I plotted the flower colour positions in a colour hexagon space. A colour space is a numerical representation of an insect’s colour perception that is suitable for a wide range of hymenopteran species (Chittka 1992). In a colour space, the distances between locations of a two colour objects link with the insect’s capacity to differentiate those colours. To make the colour space, the spectral reflectance of the colour objects were required, as well as the receptor sensitivities of the insect. For Trigona carbonaria, the exact photoreceptors are currently unknown, but hymenopteran trichromatic vision is very similar between species as the colour photoreceptors are phylogenetically ancient (Chittka 1996). Thus, it is possible to model hymenopteran vision with a vitamin A1 visual template (Stavenga, Smits et al. 1993) as described by Dyer (1999). I then predicted how the brain processed these colour signals by using the avera ge reflectance from each flower, and calculating the photoreceptor excitation (E) values, according to the UV, blue and green receptor sensitivities (Briscoe and Chittka 2001) using the methods explained by Chittka (1992). The UV, blue and green E-values of flower spectra were used as coordinates and plotted in a colour space (Chittka 1992). The colour difference as perceived by a bee was calculated by the Euclidean distance between two objects locations in the colour hexagon space (Chittka 1992). Modelling the distributions of Australian flower colours according to bees’ perception I analysed the most frequent flower colour according to a bees’ colour perception using the methods of Chittka, Shmida et al. (1994). I plotted the Australian flower colours in a colour space (Fig 5a). A colour space is a graphical representation of a bees’ colour perception. A radial grid of 10 degree sectors was placed over the distribution of colour loci and the number of floral colour loci within each sector was counted(fig. 5b). Part 2. Does an Australian native bee (Trigona carbonaria) have innate colour preferences? Insect model and housing Trigona carbonaria is an Australian native stingless bee that lives in colonies of 4000-10000 individuals (Heard 1988). In the wild, stingless bees live in hollows inside trees (Dollin, Dollin et al. 1997). Trigona carbonaria has a similar social structure to the honeybee (Wille 1983). They are common to North Eastern Australia and are a potentially important pollinator for several major commercial crops (Heard 1999). A research colony (ca. 4000 adults and 800 foraging individuals) of T. carbonaria was propagated for the experiments by Dr Tim Heard (CSIRO Entomology, 120 Meiers Rd, Indooroopilly 4068, Australia) as described in the paper by Heard (1988). Bees were maintained in laboratory conditions so that no previous contact with flowers had been made. For this study, a colony was placed in a pine nest box (27.5 x 20 x 31 cm; LWH) and connected to the foraging arena by a 16 cm plexiglass tube, containing individual shutters to control bee movements. All laboratory experiments were conducted in a Controlled Temperature Laboratory (CTL) at Monash University, Clayton, School of Biological Sciences (CTL room G12C dimensions 3 x 5m), during the months of July 2009- January 2010. Relative humidity (RH) was set to 30%, and the temperature was set to 27  °C (SPER-Scientific Hygrometer, Arizona, USA), as this set up approximately matches conditions in Queensland for insect pollinators (Heard and Hendrikz 1993). Illumination (10/14 hr day/night) was provided by four Phillips Master TLS HE slimline 28W/865 UV+ daylight fluorescent tubes (Holland) with specially fitted high frequency (>1200Hz) ATEC Jupiter EGF PMD2x14-35 electronic dimmable ballasts which closely matches daylight conditions for trichromatic hymenoptera (Dyer and Chittka 2004). The flight arena (1.2 x 0.6 x 0.5m; LWH) was made of a coated steel frame with laminated white wooden side panels. The arena floor was painted foliage green, and the arena lid was covered with UV transparent plexiglass. Experimen ts were conducted from 1pm-3pm to control for time of day, as this is when bees are most active (Heard and Hendrikz 1993). Pre-training Bees were habituated to the flight arena for seven days. Naive foragers (i.e. bees that had never encountered real or artificial flowers) were initially pre-trained to forage in the flight arena on three rewarding aluminium sanded disks (25 mm in diameter), with a 10-ÃŽ ¼l droplet of 15% (w/w) sucrose solution placed in the centre. The disks were placed on vertical plastic cylinders (diameter = 25 mm, height = 100 mm), to raise them above the floor of the flight arena so that bees learnt to fly to the disks. Pre-training allows bees to become habituated to visiting artificial flowers for further experiments. The aluminium sanded disks were chosen as neutral stimuli because they have an even spectral reflectance curve in the spectral visual range of the bees, fig. 6. The sucrose solution reward on these training disks was refilled using a pipette after it was consumed by foraging bees. The spatial positions of these training disks were pseudo randomised, so that bees would not learn t o associate particular locations with reward. Bees were allowed a minimum of two hours to forage on the pre-training disks before data collection Innate colour preference testing To test the innate colour preferences of naive bees, I performed simultaneous choice experiments with flower-naive bees using artificial flowers that simulated the floral colours of natural flowers. The aluminum rewarding disks were replaced by the ten unrewarding, coloured artificial disks in the original flight arena. Artificial flower stimuli were cut in a circle (70 mm diameter) from standardized colour papers of the HKS-N-series (Hostmann-Steinberg K+E Druckfarben, H. Schmincke Co., Germany). In each experiment the same set of ten test colours (1N pale yellow, 3N saturated yellow, 21N light pink, 32N pink, 33N purple, 50N blue, 68N green, 82N brown, 92N grey, back of 92N white) were used. These colours were chosen as they have been used in innate colour experiments with other hymenopterans (Giurfa, Nà ºÃƒ ±ez et al. 1995; Kelber 1997; Gumbert 2000), and the colours are also widely used in other bee colour experiments (Giurfa, Vorobyev et al. 1996). The coloured paper disks were placed on vertical plastic cylinders (diameter = 15 mm; height = 50 mm), to raise them above the floor of the flight arena. The gate was shut in the arena to ensure the bees used in each trial were separated from the next trial. The number of landings and approaches to the stimuli were recorded for one hour. Approximately 200 bees were used for each trial. The spatial positions of the artificial flowers were pseudo randomised in a counter balance fashion every 15 minutes. After each trial, the colour disks were aired and wiped with a paper tissue to remove possible scent marks, which are known to affect experiments with honeybees (Schmitt and Bertsch 1990; Giurfa and Nà ºÃƒ ±ez 1992). I conducted each subsequent trial after removing the used bees from the system, to ensure that the bees in the next trial were replaced with naive foragers. It is known that perception of colour can be influenced by background colour (Lunau, Wacht et al. 1996). Therefore, I also tested colour choices on other background colours of grey and black. The results are qualitatively similar (fig. 8b), so only data from the biologically relevant green background was used for subsequent analysis. Analysis of colour stimuli As bees see colours differently to humans, I quantified stimuli according to five parameters: wavelength, brightness, purity (saturation), chromatic contrast to the background and green receptor contrast. Dominant wavelength was calculated by tracing a line from the centre of the colour hexagon through the stimulus location to the corresponding spectrum locus wavelength (Wyszecki and Stiles 1982). Brightness was measured as the sum of excitation values of the UV, blue and green receptors (Spaethe, Tautz et al. 2001). Spectral purity of the stimulus was calculated by the percentage distance of the stimulus in relation to the end of the spectrum locus (Chittka and Wells 2004). Chromatic contrast was calculated as the distance of a colour stimulus from the centre of the colour hexagon relative to the background. Chromatic contrast is important as perception can be affected by background colour (Lunau, Wacht et al. 1996). Green receptor contrast was measured as the green receptor excitat ion from a stimulus relative to the background (Giurfa, Nà ºÃƒ ±ez et al. 1995). This contrast is relevant as green receptors and green contrast are known to affect motion in bees (Srinivasan, Lehrer et al. 1987). Statistical analyses The impact of wavelength on number of landings by Trigona carbonaria was investigated using a single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a post hoc Tukeys HSD test (ÃŽ ±=0.05) (Quinn and Keough 2002) using the number of landings as the dependent variable and wavelength of stimuli as the independent variable. Brightness, purity (saturation), chromatic contrast to the background and green receptor contrast of stimuli were analysed using the Spearmans rank correlation test against choices. Statistical analyses were conducted using R statistical and graphical environment (R Development Core Team, 2007). Statistical significance was set to P≠¤0.05. Part 3. Does a food deceptive orchid (Caladenia carnea) exploit the innate colour preferences of Trigona carbonaria? Plant model Caladenia carnea is a widespread species, common to eastern Australia. The orchid is highly variable in colour, ranging from pink to white. It is pollinated by Australian native bees of the Trigona species (Adams and Lawson 1993).With bright colours and fragrance, this orchid achieves pollination by food mimicry (Adams and Lawson 1993). Thus, due to the colour variation of the orchid, C. carnea is an excellent model with which to examine floral exploitation of potential pollinators. Caladenia carnea flowers were supplied by private growers from the Australasian Native Orchid Society. Can Trigona carbonaria perceive a difference between pink and white flowers of Caladenia carnea? Colorimetric analysis of the pink and white Caladenia carnea flowers were used to investigate whether different colours of the orchid would be perceived as similar or different to a bees’ visual system. A spectrophotometer was used to take four measurements of each flower colour (pink versus white). The actual measurements used in the analysis were an average of each colour (Dyer, Whitney et al. 2007). To predict the probability with which insect pollinators would discriminate between different flowers, these spectra were plotted as loci in a hexagon colour space (Chittka 1992) (see ‘hexagon colour space’ methods). Choice experiments I conducted trials testing the preferences of bees when offered a dichotomous choice between a white versus pink Caladenia carnea flower. Each trial took place inside a flight arena. Each white and pink flower used in a trial were matched for size, placed into indiviual plastic containers (diameter= 5 cm, height=5 cm) and placed in the arena with a distance of 10 cm between flower centres. Each container was covered with Glad WrapTM (The Clorox Company, Oaklands, CA, USA) to remove olfactory cues as they are known to in ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence the choice behaviour of honeybees (e.g. Pelz, Gerber et al. 1997; Laska, Galizia et al. 1999). Approximately 50 bees were let into the arena for each trial. The  ¬Ã‚ rst contact made by a bee with the Glad WrapTM within a distance of 4 cm, was recorded as a choice of that  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ower (Dyer, Whitney et al. 2007). The number of landings were recorded to the flowers for five minutes. After each trial, the Glad WrapTM was changed to prevent scent ma rks. In addition, individual flowers and spatial positions were randomised. Individual bees were sacrificed after each trial to avoid pseudo replication. Does the UV signal affect the attraction of bees to orchid flowers? To investigate whether the UV re ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ectance of the dorsal sepal affected the response of bees, I offered bees the choice between two white orchids, one with a UV signal and the other without (N=16). The UV signal was removed by applying a thin layer of sunscreen (Hamilton SPF 30+, Adelaide, SA, Australia) over the dorsal sepal. Spectral reflectance measurements were taken to ensure that the sunscreen prevented any reflection of UV light (below 395 nm) from the sepals and did not change the reflectance properties of the orchid. In addition, spectral measurements of orchid sepals under Glad WrapTM confirmed that the foil was permeable to all wavelengths of light above 300 nm and did not obscure the reflectance of flowers. Do bees display preferences when choosing between pink versus white orchid flowers? To assess whether bees show a preference for pink or white variants of the orchid Caladenia carnea, I offered bees a simultaneous choice between a pink or white flower (N=16). See procedures for choice testing. Do bees habituate to non-rewarding orchids based on differences in floral coloration? I conducted a two stage experiment to investigate if bees could learn to habituate to a non-rewarding flower colour over time and whether bees adjusted their subsequent flower choice depending on the flower colour encountered previously. At stage 1 of the experiment, native bees were presented with one flower, either white or pink. Flowers were placed in a container with Glad WrapTM. Landings to the flower were recorded at the start and again at the 30 min mark. At stage 2, the flower from stage 1 was swapped with a new flower colour and the number of landings were scored for 5 minutes. Flowers were randomised and Glad WrapTM changed to prevent scent marks after each trial. Once again, bees were used only once per experiment. Statistical analyses For experiments 2, 3 4, numbers of landings by naive bees to flower pairs were compared using two tailed paired t-tests. A two factor ANOVA was used to analyse whether bees habituate to non-rewarding orchids based on differences in floral coloration. The dependent variable was the number of landings and the two independent variables were previous flower colour and new flower colour. 3. Results Part 1. Is there a link between hymenopteran vision and Australian floral coloration? Correlations between the inflection curves of different plant flowers and trichomatic vision of hymenopterans The analysis of 111 spectral reflection curves of Australian flowers reveals that sharp steps occur at those wavelengths where hymenoterans are most sensitive to spectral differences (fig. 4b). There are three clear peaks in sharp steps (fig. 4b). It is known that hymenopteran trichomats are all sensitive to spectral differences at approximately 400 and 500 nm (Menzel and Backhaus 1991; Peitsch, Fietz et al. 1992). Hence, the peaks at 400 and 500 nm can be discriminated well by hymenopteran trichomats, as illustrated by the inverse Δ ÃŽ »/ÃŽ » function (solid curve shown in fig. 4a) of the honeybee (Helversen 1972), which is an empirically determined threshold function which shows the region of the electromagnetic function that a bees’ visual system discriminates colours best. In summary, the spectral position of receptors of trichomatic hymenopterans are correlates with steps in the floral spectra of Australian flowers. The distributions of Australian flower colours according to bees’ perception The floral colour loci are strongly clustered in the colour hexagon (fig. 5a). Blue-green flowers are the most common in the perception of bees, while pure UV flowers were the rarest (fig. 5b). Part 2. Does an Australian native bee (Trigona carbonaria) have innate colour preferences? Effect of brightness, spectral purity, chromatic contrast and green receptor contrast on colour choices There was no significant effect of stimulus brightness on choice frequency (rs= 0.333, n=10, p= 0.347; fig. 7a). There was no significant effect of spectral purity on choice frequency (rs = 0.224, n=10, p= 0.533; figure 7b). There was no significant correlation effect of chromatic contrast on choice frequency (rs = 0.042, n=10, p= 0.907; figure 7c). There was no significant effect of green receptor contrast on choice frequency (rs = 0. 0.552, n=10, p= 0.098; figure 7d). Effect of wavelength on colour choices Stimuli colours are plotted in figure 8a, as they appear to a human viewer to enable readers to understand the correlation between colour choices. However, all statistical analyses were conducted with stimuli plotted as wavelength due to the different visual perception of bees and humans (Kevan, Chittka et al. 2001). There is a significant effect of wavelength on the number of landings by Trigona carbonaria (Single factor ANOVA, F9,110 = 5.60, P

Aviation Industry Essays -- Informative, Aviation

General Aviation Brief History: The civil aviation world consists of two categories according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): scheduled airline service and general aviation (FAA, n.d.). The Aviation industry as we know it today was born from General Aviation (GA), and both their histories are inextricably linked. People’s ambition to fly stretches back to ancient times, of tales and legends passed down from Greek civilizations, and a passionate drive to master the sky. It is in this same spirit that GA currently resides. The enthusiasm people have for aviation is arguably, unrivalled. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie within the GA industry, a sense of bravado that lends itself to any such death defying occupation. The current GA industry is comprised of two parts: Private operators, described as those who fly without compensation and Charter operators, describes as those who operator for compensation (FAA, n.d.). As of today, general aviation makes up more than 1 percent of the U.S . Gross Domestic Product and supports almost 1.3 million high-skilled jobs in professional services and manufacturing and hence is an important component of the aviation industry and the economy as a whole (AOPA, n.d.). The aforementioned divisions of GA can be further defined, per the FAA’s Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR), as Part 91 and Part 135 operators: ïÆ'â€" Part 91: These regulations are in place for aircraft owners that operate for non-commercial purposes. These are typically private individual or corporations that fly without compensation. ïÆ'â€" Part 135: These consist of aircraft that fly for commercial, ‘for-hire’ purposes. These are typically ‘charter’ flights which are compensated. Comparable to Part 121(Commercial Airlines... ... a ‘grass-roots’ approach by which each individual is given a portion of the responsibility for security. This method commonly practiced in airports, where regular concerned citizens report suspicious activity and items to security personnel. This method has proven successful in the realization of lowered accident rates in the GA community as stated by Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nicolas Sabatini "This record is due to a dedicated commitment to safety by everyone in general aviation." (Sweet 2006) It is important to keep a level headed perspective when dealing with issues of security, especially in the aviation field. At times, the knee-jerk reactionary rules imposed by the TSA may, very well, ensure the security of the issue, but a careful balance must be struck between this dogged need for security and essential opportunity for nurtured growth.

Leif Erikson: How He Discovered America Essay -- Leif Erikson

Many people think that Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot in America, but this conventional belief is wrong; Leif Erikson, a Norse explorer set foot in Newfoundland almost 500 years before Columbus was even born. This paper will cover everything about Leif Erikson’s life including his grandfather’s banishment from Norway, and Leif’s father’s exile from Iceland. Leif Erikson’s early life, his family, and his visit to Norway to serve under the king. The first recorded European to see North America, Bjarni Herjà ³lfsson, and Leif Erikson’s voyage to America. This paper is also going to talk about Leif Erikson’s brother, Thorvald Erikson’s voyage to Vinland because his tale is interesting. Near the end of this research paper, it will have a paragraph on Leif Erikson’s later life. Finally at the end of this paper it is going to talk about the unknown reason why no other Europeans sailed to Vinland, and Le if’s impact on modern day North America. Leif Erikson’s grandfather, Thorvald Asvaldsson slaughtered a man in Jà ¦ren, Norway in 960 CE. This was the age of the Vikings, but Thorvald was still banished from the land (Mandia, n.d.). So he brought his ten year old son Erik, later to be named as Erik the Red because of his scarlet hair, to Drangar in northwestern Iceland on a farm with rather appalling soil (Where is Vinland?, n.d.). Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, and grandson of Thorvald Asvaldsson, was born around 970 CE, in Iceland (Where is Vinland?). It was a convention of norse culture that children did not grow up with their families, instead Leif grew up with a man named Thyrker, practically a foster father to Leif. Thyrker was born in Germany, but he was brought to Iceland because Erik the Red captured h... ... http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia/vikings_during_mwp.html Ryne, L. (n.d.). Leif Erikson. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from Great Norwegians website: http://www.mnc.net/norway/Erikson.htm Skrà ¥mm, Y. (2004, August 14). Leif Ericsson. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from The Viking Network website: http://viking.no/e/people/leif/e-leiv.htm Soniak, M. (2013, January 23). He Could Have Discovered America, but He Wanted to See His Parents. mental_floss, Retrieved from http://mentalfloss.com/article/33584/he-could-have-discovered-amErika-he-want d-see-his-parents Weitemier, K. A. (n.d.). Leif Erikson. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from Great Norwegians website: http://www.mnc.net/norway/LeifErikson.htm Where is Vinland? (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Canadian Mysteries website: http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/vinland/home/indexen.html

Pragmatism, Perfectionism, and Feminism :: Feminist Feminism Pragmatism Essays

Pragmatism, Perfectionism, and Feminism ABSTRACT: I consider the revision of pragmatism by three leading neopragmatists: Richard Rorty, Richard Bernstein, and Cornel West. I argue that their vision of pragmatism lacks a teleology, though a teleology is suggested by Bernstein's description of a pragmatic ethos. I appeal to Stanley Cavell's notion of 'moral perfectionism' to suggest a kind of teleology that is available to pragmatism. Finally, I find the weakness of pragmatism done without teleology well exemplified in the exchange between Rorty and Nancy Frazer at Rorty's 1990 Tanner Lecture. Rorty's paper, "Pragmatism and Feminism," was meant to offer feminists some pragmatic strategies for improving their position. Frazer's strong response finds Rorty's suggestions only marginally helpful. I interpret her criticism of Rorty's suggestions to be that they lack something like a teleology. To me, this suggests that pragmatism can learn from feminism. Pragmatism is revolutionary both in the sense of being a philosophy that is critical, destabilizing, and progressive, as well as in the sense of being a philosophy that, in the turning philosophical tides, has come back. Pragmatism was eclipsed in the first half of the twentieth century by analytic philosophy, in its various forms, but in the last decade or so pragmatism has returned in full force, and with an explicitly philosophical agenda. In this paper I will examine this new wave of philosophical pragmatism, sometimes referred to as neopragmatism, as it appears in the works of three of its leading proponents, Richard Rorty, Cornel West, and Richard Bernstein; and specifically, how it compares to, contrasts with, and contributes to feminism, as illustrated in the exchange between Rorty and Nancy Fraser that occurred as part of Rorty's 1990 Tanner Lecture. A difficulty that arises in talking about pragmatism, new or old, is that pragmatism comes in so many forms. For Rorty, the most influential of the neopragmatists, pragmatism is primarily anti-philosophical. He defines its role in terms of negations: it is anti-representational, anti-universalist, and anti-foundational. One of Rorty's descriptions of what pragmatists do is, "pragmatists keep trying to find ways of making antiphilosophical points in nonphilosophical language." (1) For Cornel West, pragmatism represents a kind of return to philosophy, a return, that is, from a false to a genuine philosophy. It is a return to a philosophy that, at last, addresses the loci of our real needs. In his impressive, The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism, West describes the return to pragmatism as follows:

Ethics and Amtrak

The Amtrak case study is a horrible accident that occurred in 1993. I feel the entire cause of the accident was a series of events that could not have been known. The stakeholders in this care are the Amtrak employees, customers and land owners of the railway lines. The biggest interest of the stakeholders would be loss of life. No one wants to be involved with the loss of a human life. And I am sure there are several financial reasons for the interest, as well. To begin with, corporate social responsibility functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. The legal obligation Amtrak has is to provide a safe service for its customers. They need to show the customers that they put every effort into providing a safe and dependable service. Economically Amtrak needs to clear up this disaster and correct the problems so the customers will continue to use Amtrak. If this situation is not handled correctly it could have ruined the company. Ethically Amtrak needs to seriously improve it tracking and emergency response procedures. When they couldn’t really determine where the train, in my opinion, was the biggest problem with the EMS reaching the crash. Philanthropic is showing concern for humanity, especially by performing charitable actions such as donating money. I feel if Amtrak agreed to pay for the services of the people who died in the accident, that would be a good start. Finally, my recommendation for this case is simple. Figure out what went wrong and what went right. Correct all the wrongs and make sure the corrections stay in place. They also need to determine some type of checks and balances for these new procedures. I understand accidents happen, but, Amtrak needs to take every precaution to ensure this does not happen again. I feel if the current managers and supervisors had a stronger sense of morals this accident would have been much easier to deal with. In fact, this accident might not have happened if the current administration had enforced stricter rules. I also feel that a situation like this can destroy a transportation company if it’s not handled properly. The company needs to get the customers confidence back at any cost, because no customers no revenue. I feel Amtrak has a long way to go to repair the faults in their company, however at least admitting they need help or have problems is the first step in correcting the issues.

Realism and Expressionism in Death of a Salesman

Examples of expressionism in cobblers goal of a salesmanDeath of a salesman is a play written by Arthur miller in the year 1949. The entire spot it t anile from the perspective of the protagonist Willy Loman. As the last name alludes, Willy has never accomplished anything in his feel and now is at the rattling curiosity of it where he still hopes of devising it big in the world. He is 63 years old and has the mind of a child. Willy literally lives in the glory long duration of the past where his mind tends to switch buns and forth, from the present to the past.From his name we learn how the subscriber is hanging on a drib to take on Willy depart he do it. And His last name gives the feeling of him be a depleted man, someone low on the social ladder and unbelievable to succeed. He alternates between different perceptions of his heart. Willy seems juvenile and relies on others for support, even though he pretends to refuse the help given by his brother Ben when hes asked to go to Africa. But in the end he fails to accomplish anything at all. Expressionism is defined as a style of play in which the playwright seeks to express emotional interpret through their work.Miller uses some an(prenominal) motifs to carry this, such as in the precise beginning where the fluting is played nonwithstanding even though Willy hears it hes actuallyly not aw be of it. This im deviates to the reviewer a major characteristic of Willy. It is of the rattlepated minded life that he leads. The flute is one of the many melodyal motifs in the play such as an verificatory reference to Willys father. Also music is linked to many tragic elements and events which atomic number 18 present. laggard whistling in the facelift leads him to lose his job. In the past Willy has an combat with another women, when Biff finds this out their blood sours.The appearance of the women who Willy has been having an affair with is introduced with sensual music. Willys wife L inda also has the habit of constantly humming this appears as tragic because in order to escape the tensions of her life she demonstrable this habit. Realism is defined as endeavor to reveal or describe things as they ar actually experienced. It attempts to capture real people doing everyday things. there is not oftentimes room for imagination because the force-out tends to revel what he sees in life. The events are some quantify connectable with that of every day man.The brisk is set place in the 1930s during the Great economic depression which smash the United Sates. But more(prenominal) than the historic backdrop the common struggle for coin is faced by all. Willy who works with a firm which fools him, refuses to pay him and in the end fires him after all he model in is a everyday experience. Willy wants his children to yield a better life than he did so his decision to end his life so that Biff and Happy may bring in specie is an extreme just an possible one in society. Biff and Willly drift apart as time goes by this is because their ideas of happiness are alone different. Willy viewed succeedr as achieving money and power Biff however viewed supremacy in life as being apt and doing what he loved which is working and work on the land and accomplishing something with his own hands. umpteen times the parents view of success is far different from the kind of success that the child sees. The seeds which Willy buys are an important part of the play. Willy is constantly troubled by the model if he has raised his sons well. He worries that as a father he allow for be unable to provide for them. in that respect are times Willy says Nothings planted. I dont have a thing in the foundation.This is an allusion to the belief that he has within himself that he has done nothing to provide for his sons. on that point is times where we see Willy regret his affair for example when he sees Linda stitching her old stockings. He is reminded of how during his affair he gave many stocking to the nameless women, and becomes guilt ridden that he spatet provide for his wife now. There are further events which use more of these two elements. As far as the setting is concerned, when we see the room of Willy and Linda, it becomes overt that only the needs of Willy is taken in to concern.Willys room contains only bed, head and shelf holding Biffs trophy, no items of Lindas are shown. a great patronage like Ahabs white whale, world is seen as the unachievable dream for Willy. No matter how hard he tries to achieve this it has long been a lost cause. In the end the protagonist realizes that his life has been an bereavement and that he doesnt want the resembling to happen to his sons. They are both change of location down a path which will only end in failure. In order to avoid this Willy takes his own life so that he may be able to give the insurance money to his sons.Here is a time where we see one action fulfilling both of t he elements. For as Willy takes his life then he shows how much he loves his sons and how desperate he has become. His family was doing their take up to survive from day to day. This is seen at many grass root levels of any society. Many people of our society live in denial as to cover up the worry thats building up inside. Every time they feel they are getting ahead financially, a trouble occurs and they find themselves right back where they started. nearly people also have to deal with problems and conflicts within their family throughout their life.