Thumbs Up or Down on Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

Thumbs Up or Down on Shakespeare Essay Shakespeare is famous for variety of good reasons. He is a clever writer who presented his works with depth and purpose. He deserves all the thumbs up he could possibly get. Here are three reasons for those thumbs ups. First, like what I’ve pointed out earlier, his works were cleverly written and very deep in some extent. They point moral lessons that shout the pros and cons of assortment of actions letting the readers to be mindful of the meaning behind each act. In Othello, for example, you would think that it has a racist theme, but if you look closely, you will see that it condones racism. Second, through his works, we had a glimpse to the times that passed long before we were born and also, long before he was born. His Work the Tragedy of Julius Caesar somewhat described the way of life in times of the Roman Empire. This particular work painstakingly explained the mechanism of a long-lost time. Third reason for thumbs up is that his passion in writing can be seen in his works. Passion is hard to translate through words, but it clearly manifested in every play he created. What could better explain the depth of how he portrayed his characters? Although Shakespeare can be described as a genius, he still earned a list of drawbacks. My first reason for his thumbs down is the fact that he had never published any of his works and if isn’t for his friends, we might have lost all of his wonderful works. Because of this, many are convinced that other writers like Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, wrote some of his stories. Second, most of his plays contain suicidal scenes, and of course, most of his protagonists died; the list includes Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and so on. I once read in some article that because of Shakespeare’s big influence of the way of thinking in the Romantic era, the suicidal incidence increased dramatically. Third, I really like his portrayal of the past but sometimes I find his histories quite dry and difficult to understand; they are really tough going especially for average of the students. I’m totally convinced that Shakespeare deserves all the thumbs up he could possibly get. Although I had pointed out some negatives about him and his works, they do not really weigh much for me. For example, the fact that he didn’t publish any of his works doesn’t prove that he is an incompetent writer. Aristotle and Confucius have the same record, and they’re still famous. Also I love the way Shakespeare used humor inside the Tragedy of Julius Caesar; it proves how witty he was, which is a very plus factor for me. And more importantly, his suicidal themes made his works a lot more controversial but all of these have deeper meaning that made readers look beyond the act. Works Cited â€Å"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.† 1993. The TECH. 6 June 2008 http://shakespeare.mit.edu/works.html.

Crisis Management A Brief Study Management Essay

Crisis Management A Brief Study Management Essay An individual, an organization, a government, or the global economy at any point of time may face debacles. This may come in any form and can devastate the present circumstances and can lead to difficult situations. Such occurrences are often termed as crisis. It is therefore defined as a major, unpredictable and upsetting event that intimidates to harm. Even though crisis is an unpredictable form of event, but it is not unanticipated. This report will present a brief overview of crisis associated with the companies that is, organizational crisis will be the main area of study. In addition, this report will also present insights of the modern crisis management techniques adopted by organizations around the world. Furthermore, the report will also throw light on the cases where companies have faced crisis situation and how they dealt and overcame that situation. In this context the company which has been chosen to depict the importance of crisis management and also to reveal how the company surmounted the situation is Nokia. After that, depending upon the findings of the literature study a conclusion will be drawn. Finally some recommendations will be also provided by which will assist companies to address different forms of crisis. Defining Crisis Eminent scholars have stressed on the fact that crisis is a threat to organizations, an unexpected element and short periods of risk (Akers, 2007, p.11). It can affect every segments of the social order that include educational institutions, non profits, churches, business, families, government etc. This study will however focus on the issue in the context of an organization. For an organization crisis can be illustrated as an anomalous and uncharacteristic situation or perception, which is beyond the control of an organization and also threatens to impact their operation. Several cases have also pointed out that if a possible crisis is identified at the initial stage, it will have least impact or the impact can be minimized to a large extent. On the other hand if a company fails to determine the possible crisis at the initial stage, it can adversely affect the operation of an organization. Even in some cases, a crisis can also threaten the survival of a business. Hence for them to s urvive and operate effectively in the market place, superior crisis management techniques and tools should be in place (Fearn-Banks, 2010, p.2). Defining Crisis Management Crisis management is simply defined as a systematic effort to circumvent or manage the crisis that an organization may face during its lifetime. The concept of crisis management was initiated during the 1980s, when large number of environmental and industrial disasters took place (Barton, 2007, p.5). In order to manage a crisis effectively an organization should consider a systematic approach towards the improvement process as it is indispensable to safeguard the reputation of company along with its brands. Therefore companies should enlighten their customers about the happening and to some extent is necessary for survival (Khodarahmi, 2009, p.524). Additionally, eminent scholars such as Appelbaum, Keller, Alvarez BÃÆ' ©dard (2012) added that relatively modern concepts such as strategic planning can also be effective in managing organizational crisis to a satisfactory level. The authors also put emphasis on the fact that a number of US corporations are employing this concept to f orecast and deal with the issues, threats or problems that are beyond the operating control of the firms. Discussion Eminent scholars such as Dinant and Miller have identified seminal researchers in the same field of study. They categorized the study into two major groups namely macro and micro sizes. The primary intention of their study was to offer insights regarding the most committed and active researches in the field of crisis management (Jaques, 2008, p.192-195). Hence based on their study a number of literatures have been consulted to formulate this report. Several authors also highlight that effective communication plays an imperative role towards managing any form of crisis (White, 2009, p.177-178). For example cases such as oil spill of Exxon Valdez, issues at the Enron Energy Company and the disaster of Space Shuttle Challenger portrayed the importance of communication to get rid of the crisis situations. However not only having effective crisis management team helps an organization to deal with any form perils, it also needs to know the types of crises that may impact the functioning of the organization. Types of crisis A company has to deal with different forms of crisis. Some of the major forms of crisis are detailed below:- Natural Disaster: It is about the physical demolition of the organizationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s assets due to some naturally occurring disasters. For example flood, earthquake and volcanic eruptions etc (Martin, 2012, p.83). Industrial Accidents: In this aspect the crisis occurs primarily due to a collapse in construction, release of toxic substance, fire etc. Product or Service harm crisis: This type of crisis does not demolish the physical assets of the organization, but impacts on the cognitive aspect of the firm. Some of the examples of product or service failure crisis are equipment failure, system failure and failure in communication (Siomkos, Triantafillidou, Vassilikopoulou Tsiamis, 2010, p.770). Capacity: This type of crisis arises due to some faulty or defective goods. It may have health related issues if not handled properly. Public Relation: This is another type of cognitive crisis that an organization faces. In this context the intangible assets of the company are threatened. In addition, this can have direct effect on the brand image and brand value of the company. Apart from that it can also indirectly affect the net sales. The PR crisis occurs primarily because of poor media attention, negative publicity in the media, or it may also arise to the changes in the management of an organization (Pride Ferrell, 2010, p.412). Legal Crisis: A company may face legal crisis due to product liability, health scare or due to any kind of fraud from the employees of the organization. Business or Corporate Crisis: This is one of the most common and vital type of crisis that an organization faces. Some of the common causes for this crisis are sudden shortages in demand, competitor launching a new and advanced product, large number of customer switches, strike by the workforce, strike by suppliers and hostile takeover. Financial Crisis: One of the major crises that a company some time faces with is the financial crisis. Often companies deal with financial crisis and ultimately losing their position from the market. It is a situation where the company witnesses shortage of fund to properly operate in the market. Crisis Management: A Business Case In order to give a real world example, Nokia has been chosen to depict, how actually a company deals and manages crisis. It was during the time of 2005-2006, when the company was charged with defective batteries. The battery that Nokia used to give with the handsets was BL-5C. Customers complained that the battery gets over heated after certain interval of time. Hence it was a product related crisis and can be termed as Product or Service Failure crisis. However, the situation did not remain curtailed to a product failure; it went on to become one of the largest PR crises of all time. The crisis had struck the company in such a way that the company in the subsequent years went on to record low sales. The company has taken early actions to minimize its impact. The strategy adopted by the company was to simply accept the product and replace the defective batteries. The company well understood that if they do not act in this way, their reputation will be strongly affected that may resul t in negative public relation. The decision of the company to replace all the affected batteries paid off and the company succeeded to a large extent. Although the company initially lost some customers, but later on after the implementation of this strategy Nokia regained the confidence of the customers. The company not only handled the situation effectively, but also displayed how they are prepared for any such occurrences in the future (IBN Live, 2007). Meanwhile other companies such as Cadbury have also faced similar situation. It was related with a worm. The chocolate packets had worm in it and several complaints came forward for the same issue. The company managed the concern by launching a PR campaign within two weeks of the news outbreak. Celebrity endorsement also played a major role in the survival of the company. The campaigned helped them to regain consumer confidence within 3 months only. This shows how effective crisis management can actually offer quick and effective results to a company (Manning, 2007, p.506). Facing Crisis In order to successfully diffuse a crisis, an organization at first, needs to know how to handle that crisis before it actually takes place. Different authors have given different approaches to effectively handle crisis, but among those the most popular theory has been provide by the Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt in the early 1996. The authors, Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt have divided crisis management into three stages. The three phases are named as diagnosis of crisis, planning-prevention, and adjusting to changes. The model developed by them to address the issue of crisis management is demonstrated below: Diagnosis of Crisis: According to the authors the first stage is about determining the early indicators or signs of the crisis. This is an essential task for the managers and executives to sense the warning indications of the crisis. If they are successful in sensing the early signs, it is the duty of the organization to make the employees ready for facing the situation with firm determination and courage. Planning: The second step associated in this model is about the proper planning towards addressing the crisis. Once the crisis has been identified the next step is to plan how the crisis can be handled. According to the authors, the management team should take immediate action to minimize its effect. Also in order to avoid urgent situations relevant strategies are developed and take quick decision. Adjusting the Changes: The final step is to get accustomed with the new situation. It is the duty of the employees to get along with the changes for the purpose of making the organizationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s function more effective. Also for getting adjusted to the situation properly, it is also important to evaluate the cause that that led the organization to face the crisis. This will prevent the company from doing any mistakes and will foster them to develop new plans and strategies for the future course of action. This phase is also referred to as the post crisis phase (Coombs, 2011, p.10). Apart from that there is one more method by which companies can effectively handle crisis and is commonly known as corporate crisis management. In this context, the management of the organizations forecasts, identifies, examines and acts immediately upon the issue that led to the crisis. This approach enables organizations to deal with any form of crisis (Heller Darling, 2012, p.153). Conclusion The report was about the importance of crisis management within an organization. In this study the company used for depicting the importance as well as revealing the way a company actually deals with crisis situations is Nokia. The study has reviewed substantial amount of literature or the works completed by earlier scholars in the same field of study. It revealed that an organization may face with different type of crises. It includes Natural Disaster, Industrial Accidents, Product or Service Failure, Capacity, Public Relation, Legal Crisis, Business and Management Crisis and Financial Crisis. Similarly Nokia in this context, also faced product and service related crisis which further turned into PR crisis, but the company has effectively managed the situation. The company has a well prepared crisis management team and also contingency plans. Hence analysing the situation, it can be clearly highlighted that each organization should have a well defined crisis management framework to continue its operations effectively in the market place. Recommendation Some of the ways by which a company can effectively manage crisis are as follows: Issues Management: No organization in this world would like to face any situation that may harm their operation process or may disrupt the functioning. Especially, organizations do not like face any circumstances that fuel media coverage. This is because any issues that are scrutinized by the public can result into pessimistic and negative legal, financial and political impacts. Contingency Planning: It is highly recommended that companies around the world must have contingency plans to deal with different kind of crisis situations. Preparing an emergency plan in advance reflects that a company is aptly prepared for crisis. Thus contingency planning is highly essential in crisis management. Business Continuity Plan: There are situations when, to some extent, organizations will be affected by a crisis. To deal with such scenarios organizations should have business continuity plan. A business continuity plan highly assists organizations to reduce the impact of the crisis. In addition, organization must understand the important elements that run daily operation. Hence, a backup for each element must be in place so that the company functions even during the time of crisis. The company should continuously train each employee regarding how to deal with crisis situation. The training should not only be about physical crisis that may occur due to some natural calamities, but also training should be given to deal with cognitive factors.

Review Of Brzezinskis The Grand Chessboard Politics Essay

Review Of Brzezinskis The Grand Chessboard Politics Essay The Grand Chessboard was written by Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter, and was published in 1997. It is a progressive book on American foreign policy of the 1990s and after. It looks candidly at reasons for Americas policy of aggression towards Afghanistan and conciliation towards Pakistan. It also spells out the need for Americas policy of toleration towards Saudi Arabia and its carrot and stick attitude towards China. It throws light on the growing problem of religious fundamentalism and the need for America to stay ahead as the only superpower in order to control Eurasian politics. The book is divided into seven chapters and runs into 220 pages. Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski was born March on 28, 1928 in Warsaw, Poland. He is an eminent American political scientist, foreign policy advisor and statesman who was National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981 and continues to be President Barrack Obamas mentor and foreign policy advisor. He is Professor of American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins Universitys School of Advanced International Studies. He is also a scholar of great repute at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a valuable member of various governmental and non-governmental boards and councils. Brzezinski belonged to the Polish nobility and his family bore the Traby Coat of Arms insignia. They originally came from the town of Brzezany in Galicia which is said to be the source of his family name. Brzezinskis father was a Polish diplomat who was posted in Germany prior to World War II. Brzezinski spent some of his earliest years witnessing the rise of the Nazis and this may have some bearing on his anti-Semitic and anti-Israel leanings. He went to Harvard University to work on a PhD that focused on the Soviet Union. His research led him to trace the connections between the Russian Revolution, Lenins position in Russian politics and the proceedings during Stalins reign. He received his doctorate degree in 1953 and later collaborated with German-American Professor and political scientist, Carl J. Friedrich to develop the concept of totalitarianism and apply its principles to the Soviet Union of 1956. Brzezinski dedicated the book to his students and in Brzezinskis words it is For my students- to help them shape tomorrows world. Hence all students of politics and international relations will benefit from reading this book. It is also a worthy guideline for political scientists and diplomats who would want to get an in-depth knowledge of American foreign policy and rationale behind the changing strategies to stay ahead and on top of global geo-politics. Brzezinski writes in the introduction to this book, The formulation of a comprehensive and integrated Eurasian geo-strategy is therefore the purpose of this book (Brzezinski 1997). In his book The Grand Chessboard, Brzezinski has discussed his most significant contribution to post-Cold War geo-strategy. He emphasizes the need for America to be the global leader and continue to be the arbiter of Eurasian geopolitics. His theory simply put is for American hegemony to continue and for America to dominate the economic and political arenas by minimizing the risk of other potential super powers from Eurasia to gain ascendency in world politics. He has divided Eurasia into four distinct regions and has discussed ways in which the US should charter its foreign policy towards these regions in order to maintain its global dominance. Brzezinski lays claims to the United States being the only comprehensive superpower after the fall of the Soviet Union: America is now Eurasias arbiter, with no major Eurasian issue soluble without Americas participation or contrary to Americas interests (Brzezinski 194). In The Grand Chessboard Brzezinski gives the audience a complete and candid elucidation of American international strategy since 1992. He explains that what this strategy aims at is absolute global dominance by America. Appreciating Brzezinskis argument requires looking at Americas Cold-War strategy through a new lens. (By Zbigniew K. Brzezinski Basic Books) The geo-strategy takes a close look at world affairs during the last decade of the twentieth century. It attempts to decipher the tectonic shift in world affairs and scrutinizes the role America needs to play as the emergent superpower in a uni-polar world. Brzezinski points out that for the first time in history a non- Eurasian power has surfaced as a major negotiator of Eurasian power dealings and also as the worlds paramount power(Brzezinski xiii). The disintegration and collapse of the Soviet Union gave the United States a key foothold in its rapid ascendance as the actual and exclusive global superpower. The source of Americas growing geopolitical ambitions was provided by the rapid growth of the countrys economy through industrialization. The significant economic development was promoted by a culture and environment that encouraged experimentation and modernization. Americas open and democratic political institutions and free market financial system created unique opportunities for wealthy investors to expand the countrys economy and boost its international reputation. The American way of life was congenial to economic growth and the development of national power. The book deals with some major issues of world politics and spells out Brzezinskis take on the design of US foreign policies in dealing with these issues. The rising threat from Islamic fundamentalism to American primacy is described as a possible issue that might prove challenging. Maintaining control over the unstable west Asian region in the absence of a stable and dominant Islamic state could be part of the Middle Eastern problem. Brzezinski argues that even though the Cold War is over and America has emerged as the single most dominant superpower after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is still necessary to maintain American hegemony to prevent the emergence of a dangerous multi-polar world of independent great powers scrambling for predominance and political advantage. He describes the three grand imperatives, of Americas strategy, its mechanisms and purposes are to help prevent conspiracy against American interests; to ensure the dependence of the less secure nations and pledge their loyalty by providing them security against fundamentalist forces and to keep the underlings pliant and protected in order to prevent other potential powers from taking over these regions. The manuscript provides insights into the thinking behind the 1992 planning document issued by the Pentagon, which maintained that the United States must continue to control the international system by not allowing other advanced and industrialized nations to challenge American leadership or try to assume a larger regional or global role. Americas leadership role, as Brzezinski advocates, meant that not only should the United States dominate its allies, the wealthy and technologically developed states in Europe and East Asia, but also that it must lead the way in fostering peace and stability by dealing with such irritants as Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, and Kim Jong II of North Korea so that there is no scope for potential super powers like Germany or Japan to acquire the means to resolve regional problems by themselves and gain supremacy in the region. The growth of Islamic fundamentalism could exploit the religious sentiments against the Americans and take advantage of the Arab-Israel conflict to undermine and destabilize the authority of several pro-American Middle Eastern states and jeopardize the regional interests of America in the Persian Gulf region. Brzezinski, however, points out that without political unity and in the absence of a single indisputable influential Islamic state, a challenge from Islamic fundamentalism would lack a geopolitical core and would thus be more likely to express itself through diffuse violence (Brzezinski 53). The book also contains other references to the steadily growing problem of Muslim fundamentalism and its impact on global security. The real thrust of Americas foreign policy since the start of the Cold War, according to Brzezinski, was not to thwart or overcome the Soviet menace, but the successful effort to impose an ambitious vision on a confused and disorganized global scenario. The basic idea was to provide for the security of the Eurasian potential super powers and by engage them in such a manner that their military and foreign policies would encourage them to form alliances that America dominated and keep its erstwhile enemies contained. It also sought to prevent its partners from embarking upon independent foreign and military policies that might jeopardize American interests and supremacy at the global level. This policy would help to stabilized relationships among the states of Western Europe and East Asia, and reassure their neighboring states that these powerful partners would remain appeased and loyal. With America leading from the front the West European and East Asian nations would be free from fea rs and mutual competitions and would be able to cooperate politically and economically. This in turn would create stability and harmony in the world and would enhance prosperity and international order that would aid the advanced industrialized countries to forge ahead and maintain economic growth and development. Brzezinski elucidates his point by citing the example of how encouraging Korea to become a unified democratic entity would not be in Americas interests as this development would endanger Americas global control strategy. A rejuvenated and unified Korea would minimize the apparent need for U.S. troops on the peninsula; and would lead to a U.S. pullback from East Asia. This, in turn, would lead to Japan becoming more self-sufficient and secure militarily; that would show the way for military, political and economic rivalry and bickering amongst the nations in the Far East. Japan would gain dominance and could become a potential threat to American supremacy in that region. Hence, the best solution was to maintain the status quo in Korea, which allowed U.S. forces to be stationed there indefinitely and keep vigilance in the area. The ultimate objective of American foreign policy should be benevolent and farsighted in keeping with American ideals and the fundamental interests of human kind. But in so doing the policy must ensure that no Eurasian power be allowed to emerge as a potential challenger to Americas position as the world leader. It must stay ahead in the race and neutralize through effective alliances and policies any scope for a unified Europe or an individual developed nation capable of dominating Eurasian economy and politics and eliminate potential challenge for America. The book gives us an in-depth insight into policies and policy making but it leave some questions unanswered. It discloses the logic that has motivated the American national security strategy ever since the Cold War but it also highlights the fact that this logic predictably involves a massive project that is necessarily open-ended and long lasting. To maintain status quo in an effort to preserve political, economic and strategic dominance America must continue the policy of maintaining troops in the unstable regions of Islamic fundamentalism. The price of such aggressive posturing can be high in the changing climate of world politics and the new vision of a harmonious and peaceful world. So the question remains, according to Brzezinskis logic, how do you pull out troops from the different regions and encourage self governance and at the same time follow the policy of global leadership where the troops must always remain? Brzezinskis theory of global adult-super vision strategy means that American expenditure on its military and security is nearly as much as, perhaps, the rest of the world combined. However, he argues that in order to maintain its control over the Black Sea oil it must deal with Turkey and Iran carefully. To maintain its hegemony over this region might mean sending more troops to stabilize the region. That American interests were firmly planted in the region is apparent: The momentum of Asias economic development is already generating massive pressures for the exploration and exploitation of new sources of energy and the Central Asian region and the Caspian Sea basin are known to contain reserves of natural gas and oil that dwarf those of Kuwait, the Gulf of Mexico, or the North Sea. (Brzezinski 125). Brzezinski freely admits that executing a policy of global dominance is difficult, absorbing, and costly, and offers a solution which is a bit contradictory. Although in keeping with the short and midterm interests continued U.S. preponderance is an absolute necessity, Brzezinski argues that in the long-term the United States can share leadership with regional powers. Multilateral projects, beginning from international adjudicators to U.N. police procedures, all of these require a strong leader. Brzezinskis main argument relies on the claim that American hegemony remains the indispensable foundation for world cooperation and the integration of advanced countries towards world peace and balance of power. To support his argument Brzezinski outlines the possibility of an eventual trilateral division of leadership among the United States, Europe, and Japan. Even then he makes it quite apparent that Europe and Japan would remain junior partners to a predominant America with a larger share of the expenses with no greater authority and independence. The partner nations have never agreed to this formula and have consistently said that if the United States wanted to lead, it would have to pay the expenses and incur the hazards that accompanied leadership. Thus, to say that America can never let go of its supremacy because of the political, economic, and military ramifications is stretching the point a bit far. Cooperation among the great powers ensures stability and peace and that it can only be garnered under American supervision is somewhat self-defeating. According to Brzezinski, stability in Western Europe and East Asia could be guaranteed by American predominance alone, was the prerequisite for cooperation and stability. There is no reason to believe that, without this guarantor, stability will not be achieved. Americas dominant position should foster stability and create a geopolitical core of peaceful global management and shared responsibility.

singer :: essays research papers

Whitney Houston once sang, â€Å"I believe the children are the future, teach them well and let them lead the way.† Children are our future. They will be making our laws, curing diseases, inventing revolutionary products etc. These, along with many others, are reasons why there is so much emphasis on our youth and youth in general. Without them we would cease to exist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While youth is very important to society, the older generation plays a very significant role as well. Our elders are our teachers, our wisdom, and our key to the future. You don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. Elders can tell us where they’ve been and in turn we will take their wisdom to where we are going; the future. However elders aren’t always treated with the respect, sometimes due to their senile and controlling behavior, and sometimes because of youth’s ignorance/innocence. American society in general sh*ts on old people. Weather it be a teenage boy heckling an old lady raking her lawn, or an adult shoving their parents in a ratty nursing home only to be straw fed and eventually led to certain death. Growing old in America isn’t a very great experience. Everywhere you go you see older people trying to look younger, biggest example being dyed hair. Wearing make-up, and most disturbingly, plastic surgery is another. Advertisements suggesting that looking young is the be all end all are directed toward older people because they know that a majority of older people want to fit in and look like the ideal young person. That is why a lot of older people get flattered when you say they look younger than they really are. This is also why they will get pissed off when you tell them that they look older than they really are.

Kurt Vonnegut - The Man and His Work :: Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut – The Man and His Work One of the best, most valuable aspects of reading multiple works by the same author is getting to know the author as a person. People don't identify with Gregor Samsa; they identify with Kafka. Witness the love exhibited by the many fans of Hemingway, a love for both the texts and the drama of the man. It's like that for me with Kurt Vonnegut, but it strikes me that he pulls it off in an entirely different way. Kafka's work is a reaction to his mental anguish, which is kind of like Vonnegut, who has dealt with the bulk of his personal hardships throughout his career, but those hardships are not his sole motivation. And, while he's lead an interesting life, it doesn't seem nearly as dramatic or romantic as Hemingway's. Plus, Vonnegut is much more overt than either of the two about his authorial involvement in his work. But what really forces Vonnegut to impose his presence on the text is his complete inability to remove himself at all from the act of communication at the core of any work of literature. He revels in that involvement. He has mentioned his desire, what he implies is a universal need of all human beings, for some "soul-deep fun." He uses this term as a synonym for greatness. And this has lead to some nasty comments in fiction workshops about stories that I've written: complaints of flat characters, cartoonish plotlines, non-directed criticism, overall pessimism and over-sentimentality for all things lowbrow. Needless to say, sometimes I feel, to varying degrees of pretension, like Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born on November 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana to Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. and Edith Lieber Vonnegut. He had an older brother named Bernard and an older sister named Alice. Kurt, Sr. was a well-known architect in the city and Edith was the daughter of a wealthy local family. The Vonneguts had been in Indianapolis for several generations, and were well-off, respected members of the community. Unlike the characters in most of his books, Vonnegut's early childhood was extremely privileged. It wasn't until the stock market crash of 1929 that he experienced the type of life that he would go on to write about in the future: the middle Middle Class. This was devastating to his family. According to Understanding Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. the depression moved in and made itself at home in the Vonnegut household.

Master’s Prepared Nurse Interview Essay

This paper is about an interview of a master’s prepared nurse who is in the position of an Assistant Director of nursing. The theme of the interview is concerned in showing how a graduate of a Master in science in nursing would be able to prepare a nurse in assuming a bigger role in the nursing practice, administration or education (Master of Science in Nursing, 2013). This opportunity gives the individual many different opportunities for growth and sets a room for career advancement. In this interview, I made the choice of interviewing B.A, who is a fellow instructor. Although I know that she is qualified for the position, I am also interested on how she rose from the ranks, and how she values education as one of the tools of achieving her dreams. Overview of Career B.A. began her career immediately after she graduated as a medical assistant in 1991. Between 1991 and 1993, she worked at a surgical group practice clinic. Much of her clinical experience was gained when assessing patients, assisting physicians, taking vital signs, and performing injections. In 1993, she became a certified assistant nurse after she continued with her education. She then worked at a Convalescent Home between 1993 and 1996, where she coordinated care with nurses in regard to the physical needs of her clients and hence reinforcing the desire of learning more in order to render better services (Summary Report for: Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, 2013). B.A later pursued a Licensed Vocational Nurse program and graduated in 1996. From 1996 to 2000, she worked as an LVN, where she refined her technical skills on intravenous therapy,  medication pass, catheterizations and irrigations, and also patient’s safety and support implementations (Master of Science in Nursing, 2013). Later, she went back in school and was awarded an associate degree in nursing. B.A was then promoted to Clinical Nurse II between 2000 and 2004 at the hospital she worked for. She also became the nurse supervisor at the rehabilitation unit, hence taking charge of CNA’s and LVNs while at the same time coordinating with the interdisciplinary team in regard to therapies concerning the clients (Master of Science in Nursing, 2013). In 2008, she completed bachelor’s degree in nursing at Phoenix University. This was the opening of more exciting opportunities and challenging roles. Later, she was promoted to clinical nurse III, a positionshe held for seven years. B.A. was confirmed as a certified public health nurse in 2008. Since then, she has sought to impart her skills and knowledge to students (Summary Report for: Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, 2013). She was then given the position of an instructor in LVN program. Reasons for Graduate Education B.A recalled that when she was still in school, she got scarlet fever and that there was a nice lady who visited and took good care of her. Another incident she recalled was when she lost her second pregnancy from abruption placentae. At this time, she was in denial and shock, but the nursing staff took extremely great care of her family. In B.A’s family, she is the only one with a degree hence making it a major accomplishment (Master of Science in Nursing, 2013). Her bachelor’s degree in Nursing was mainly contributed by the passion she had in teaching. The completion of Nursing/MSN/Health Care Education at the University of Phoenix in 2011 after an intense twenty month period of being on campus, prepared her to function in higher leadership roles in both the educational and clinical setting. The curriculum was mainly based on critical thinking, evidence-based practice, and leadership development. The nursing courses were based on advanced nursing content and leadership skills. On the other hand, the health care education was focused on curriculum development, faculty role, instructional strategies, assessment and evaluation (Summary Report for: Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, 2013). In this regard, the degree qualifies her to different titles as assistant professor and professor, nursing director, and other posts such as assistant director of nursing and  director of nursing. Present Position At present, B.A is the assistant director of nursing at a prestigious school of Nursing. In addition, she is training and expected to assume the role of nursing director this year. She is also teaching students critical thinking by stating that the provided information must be evidence-based so that the students can be well informed and act in a responsible manner (Master of Science in Nursing, 2013). Pearls of Wisdom B.A. has for the past been advising her fellow instructors and students to develop the spirit of perseverance and discipline. She says that a person must have a purpose in life and that it must come to pass in you do not allow distractions (Summary Report for: Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, 2013). She also says that studying and researching is her motto for new knowledge and that every person should copy that motive. She adds that the more one knows, they more they would be able to interact with other people and clients. Conclusion In conclusion, in this paper, I interviewed an MSN graduate and the assistant director in our school of Nursing. Through her knowledge, she has been able to sharpen her skills and changed her attitudes into a more human minded perspective. Her education as a graduate helped her in her leadership skills, nursing educator, curriculum expert and corporate team player. This interview had a strong positive impact in my life since I learned several lessons. Some of the virtues I learned are determination; hard work and discipline are key elements for any individual’s success. In addition, we share the same belief of obtaining a graduate education in order to advance in my career and better the lives of others. References Master of Science in Nursing. (2013). Master of Science in Nursing Program Description. Arizona, United States of America: Grand Canyon University Master of Science in Nursing. (2013). Retrieved from University of Phoenix: http://www.phoenix.edu/programs/degree-programs/nursing-and-health-care/masters/msn-ed.html Summary Report for:Nursing Instructors and Teachers,

Infectious Disease

* What is the infectious agent (pathogen) that causes this infectious disease? For example, the name of the bacteria, virus, or parasite. Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that comes from the Hepatitis A virus (HAV). There isn’t a treatment for the disease once you get it. How is this infectious agent transmitted through food or water? Hepatitis A is contracted from eating food and drinking water contaminated with human feces. Eating raw and undercooked fish that was in contaminated waters contribute to the disease. Sometimes eating raw produce that have been contaminated can also cause the illness. Foods that have been sitting out in the air and have had bacteria growth on it and eaten also contribute to the disease. * What is an example of a real life outbreak of this foodborne illness in the United States? * What are the clinical symptoms, duration of the disease, and treatment if any? During Hepatitis A some symptoms of the disease are fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, clay colored bowel movements and joint pain. In 70% of the cases Jaudice is the most common symptom. Symptoms can last up to 2 months. The average time of incubation is 28 days. Once contracted, there is no treatment. The individual has the illness to run its course. * What steps can be taken to prevent further outbreaks? Include individual as well as environmental precautions and methods. To prevent further outbreaks, people should have good hygiene including wash their hands often especially when they deal with food preparation. There has also been a vaccination created for Hepatitis A that is given to children between their first and second birthday. Others that should get vaccinated are men having sex with men, people traveling to Central and Southern America, Mexico, Asia (except Japan), Africa and eastern Europe and people that use street drugs. Once you are immune to Hepatitis A you can’t get it again. To prevent the spread of Hepatitis A in water, chlorine is added to the water in US.