Universal Themes Essay Example

Universal Themes Paper Make a Copy Common themes All of life is connected Each life, no matter how small, matters Life is too brief Youth (innocence) and beauty do not last We dont appreciate what we have until it is gone Pride can blind us to the truth Small acts of kindness and/or generosity can have a tremendous effect Courage can reward those who push themselves Sometimes we learn too late what we need to know Social status, beauty, wealth, etc. Do not matter We learn through trial, hardship, or pain those lessons most valuable The individual is sometimes in conflict with society Individuals are often alienated and alone Agglomerations is a fierce inner force, but is often thwarted or delayed by o outside forces Fantasy is sometimes more real than everyday reality Mortality is inevitable Human beings are sometimes too weak or too blind to do what is right We often want what others have or we often want what we cannot have Fear, jealousy, and greed are destructive emotions People of all cultures and of all times are more alike than they are different Nature does not care about people Each of us is alone, often feeling small or frightened in the world Evil exists in the heart of men (and women) We will write a custom essay sample on Universal Themes specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Universal Themes specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Universal Themes specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Power can be a compelling force Activity One: Now write a universal theme statement for these thematic sues actions What is truth? What is beauty? What is real? What is justice? What is honor? What is love? What does it mean to live a good life? What does it mean to be a hero? What does it mean to have courage? What does it mean to be a friend? Activity Two: From your blobs identify which of the themes above or below match your topic. Then, determine at least one rhetorical strategy used, and then, defend, shall Eng or qualify it. In other words, why is it important? Summarize your blob or article. Match to a theme State the rhetorical strategy Defend, challenge or qualify it More themes Value of technology in education Slavery Function of humor and humorists in society Daylight Savings Time Midwestern values Effects of a consumer culture Individual and conformity free speech effect of television on society environmental issues effect of adversity on ones character value of penny coins scientific research methods corporate advertising/sponsorship in schools national school curriculum intellectualisms effect of dissent in America Effect of advertising on society emigration ethics of rewarding charitable acts in school what museum artifacts represent value of muckrakers/whistle blowers rascals how fads reflect American values effect of money in society value/effect of personal opinion/commentary in society compulsory voting effect of reading on independent thought consumerism and advertising poverty the Mississippi River value of trial and error thinking cultural differences comm on sense and personal values protecting the environment morality cultural norms effect of entertainment on society admiration of birds in flight plagiarism in school effects of Civil War from Lincoln point of view childhood memories abuse of power appreciation for natural world/beauty man versus machine/technology selfsameness limitations of viewing the world through photographic images Activity three: Put these themes in a two column table and write the theme in the first column and an idea of your own original thought about the topic in the second. Value of Technology in Education Technology in education helps students keep up with the latest technology and prepare them for the work place. It also allows students to explore a topic deeply.

The Fight for Womens Rights in the Past and Present

The Fight for Women's Rights in the Past and Present The meaning of womens rights has varied through time and across cultures. Today, there is still a lack of consensus about what constitutes womens rights. Some would argue a womans ability to control family size is a fundamental womens right. Others would argue womens rights fall under workplace equality or the chance to serve in the military in the same ways that men do. Many would argue that all of the above should be deemed womens rights. The term typically refers to whether women are treated as mens equals, but sometimes it specifically refers to special circumstances that affect women, such as job protection when they take time off for maternity leave, though men in the U.S. are increasingly taking paternity leave. While men and women may both be victims of social ills and violence related to human trafficking and rape, protection against these crimes is often described as beneficial to womens rights. The implementation of various laws and policies over the years paints a historical picture of the benefits that were considered to be womens rights at one time. Societies in the ancient, classical, and medieval worlds show how womens rights, even if not referred to by that term, differed from culture to culture. United Nations Convention on Rights of Women The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, signed by many United Nations member states, asserts that womens rights belong to the political, economic, social, cultural, civil realms. According to the convention text,  which became an international treaty in 1981: Any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. The declaration specifically addresses eliminating prejudice in public education, giving women full political rights to vote and run for public office, as well as marriage and divorce rights that equal mens. The document also called for the elimination of child marriage and sex trafficking while also mentioning equality for women in the criminal justice system and in the workplace. The NOW Statement of Purpose In 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) formed and wrote a statement of purpose that summarizes key womens rights issues of that time. The rights outlined were based on the idea of equality as an opportunity for women to develop their fullest human potentials and to put women into the mainstream of American political, economic and social life. The womens rights issues identified included those in these areas of employment and economics, education, family, political participation, and racial justice. The 1855 Marriage Protest In their 1855 marriage ceremony, womens rights advocates Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell refused to honor laws that interfered with the rights of married women in particular. They advocated for wives to be able to legally exist outside of a husbands control, to inherit and own real estate, and have the right to their own wages. Stone and Blackwell also campaigned for wives to be able to choose their own names and place of residence and to sign contracts. They demanded that married mothers be granted custody of their children and be able to sue in court as well. Seneca Falls Womens Rights Convention In 1848, the first known womens rights convention in the world took place in Seneca Falls, New York. There, organizers of the convention declared that men and women are created equal. As such, the feminists gathered demanded that women immediately be given the rights and privileges due to them as U.S. citizens. In their Declaration of Sentiments, the Seneca Falls participants insisted that women should be able to vote, have property rights, including the right to the income they earned, and to pursue higher education and a variety of professions, such as theology, medicine, and law. Womens Rights in the 1700s In the 1700s, influential women also spoke out about womens rights from time to time. Abigail Adams, the wife of U.S. founding father and second President John Adams, asked her husband to remember the ladies in a letter in which she discussed disparities in womens and mens education. Hannah Moore, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Judith Sargent Murray focused especially on womens right to an adequate education. They used their writing to advocate for women having influence over social, religious, moral, and political decisions. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1791–1792), Wollstonecraft called for women to be educated, have equality in marriage, and have control over family size. In 1791 during the French Revolution, Olympe de Gouges wrote and published the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Citizen. In this document, she called for women to have free speech, including the right to name the father of their children and equality for out-of-wedlock children, a demand that suggested that women had the same right as men to have sexual relationships outside of marriage. Treatment of Women in the Ancient World In the ancient, classical, and medieval world, womens rights differed somewhat from culture to culture. In some cases, women were essentially regarded as slaves or children under the authority of their husbands or fathers. Women were largely confined to the home and lacked the right to come and go as they pleased. They also had been deprived of the right to choose or refuse marriage partners or end a marriage. Whether women could dress as they liked was an issue during this time as well. A number of these concerns and others continued to be problems for women in the centuries that followed. They included a lack of custodial rights over children, especially after a divorce; the inability of women to own property, run businesses, and control their own wages, income, and wealth. Women in the ancient, classical, and medieval world also faced employment discrimination, barriers to education, a lack of voting rights, and the inability to represent themselves in lawsuits and court actions. In the centuries since, women have advocated for these rights and more, but the struggle for equality hasnt ended. Women still face employment discrimination and barriers to healthcare, while single mothers are at great risk of falling into poverty.

Change Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Change Rosabeth Moss Kanter Change Management Organisations Must Change and Change quickly INTRODUCTION Rosabeth Moss Kanter is the professor in business at Harvard Business School, where she holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship. She is known for her classic 1977 study of Tokenism. As a business leader and expert on strategy and leadership for change, she was nominated as the top ten on the list of the â€Å"50 most influential business thinkers in the world†, and she is on the list of the â€Å"100 most important women in America† and the â€Å"50 most powerful women in the world†. Her main concepts include changing organisations, bureaucracy and characteristics of resistance to change. (drfd.hbs.edu, 2007) In 1989, she argues that: â€Å" today’s corporate elephants must learn how to dance as nimbly and speedily as mice â€Å". (Burnes, 2004) In other words, she points out that big organisations should change and change quickly to meet the changing environment. This repo rt is going to analyse the key drivers for this statement and find out the reason behind change. This report contains three sections. Section 1 will give definitions to change management and the importance of change. Section 2 is discussions, which is divided into two sub-categories, first part is concerned with the models of change management, and part 2 goes on to show examples of how big organisations keep up with change and the possibilities of failure. This section contains examples of big organisations successfully changed to meet their goals and objectives, while some other organisations stay the same and fail to maintain their strong market position. Section 3 is conclusions. CHANGE MANAGEMENT â€Å" Today’s corporate elephants must learn how to dance as nimbly and speedily as mice if they are to survive in our increasingly competitive and rapidly changing world† (Burnes, 2004) According to Paton it is no surprise that change is also a fact of life within huma n systems. Recent developments in the global economy have catapulted this fact to the forefront of management concerns as well. Therefore, even though Professor Kanter’s statement was mentioned about 18 years ago, it is still valued today. Additionally, Kanter (1989) mentioned that in order for organisations to change, it requires faster action, more flexibility and closer partnerships with employees and customers than typical in the traditional corporate bureaucracy. To quote from her, â€Å"Corporate giants, in short, must learn how to dance†. Therefore, the â€Å" corporate elephants † represents big companies while â€Å" mice â€Å", on the other hand, represents small firms. To summarise her statement above, we could conclude that small firms are more flexible in changing compare with big organisations, because big organisations have more management levels and more bureaucracy; therefore, corporate giants should adapt this ability to change and change qu ickly. More over, the most important reason for organisations to change, is to keep pace with the ever changing business environment and give a good company image to the public that they are keep up dating themselves and stay competitive.

Historical Developments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Historical Developments - Essay Example This was further intensified when the Royal Proclamation was issued by King George III, prohibiting the colonists to settle beyond the Appalachian Mountains. This was a move to strengthen the British relationships with the Native Americans. Followed by this, there were a number of Acts, namely Sugar Act (1764), Currency Act (1764), Quartering Act (1765) and Stamp Act (1765) increased the duties and taxes of the colonists. When the colonists resisted, these Acts were enforced on them. The Boston Massacre of 1770 ignited the fire between the parties and the colonists used this event to showcase the cruelty of the British. The Intolerable Act (1774) which placed restrictions on meetings and Boston harbor in response to the Boston Tea Party, was a milestone, as it resulted in the colonies forming an Association (First Continental Congress) to boycott British goods in retaliation. The open warfare at Lexington and Concord (1775) resulted in the death of 8 American men and 70 British soldi ers. This was followed by all the 13 colonies meeting to form the Second Continental Congress in May 1775 and George Washington was named the head (Gipson, 1954). Thus the growing grievances of the colonists against the restrictions placed by the British, finally resulted in the American

Mercy killing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mercy killing - Essay Example The terminology mercy killing on the other hand refers to someone taking a direct action to terminate the life of a patient without permission from the patient. The decision to take such an action is usually made on the assumption that the patient’s life is no longer meaningful or that if the patient was in a position to say so, he would express his desire to die (Padilla 219). The distinction between mercy death and mercy killing is that mercy death is voluntary and is conducted with the permission of the patient and often at his request while mercy killing is involuntary and does not involve the patient’s permission or request. None of the actions is more morally acceptable than the other and arguments exist against these actions. Many arguments used against suicide are applicable to mercy death to some extent but the issues surrounding mercy death are complicated by the fact that another person has to do the killing (Padilla 227). If patients who request for mercy de ath would wait to see the results of medical therapy and science, they would probably adjust to their situations and change their minds about dying. Mercy killing is also complicated by the fact that it is done without the consent of the patient and this is a violation of the Value of Life Principle, no one has the right to decide whether a person’s life is worthy. Human beings also have rights and they are not the same as those of animals and no matter what science may say no human being is merely an animal. Question 2: What are the arguments for and against mercy death? Is it morally justifiable in some situations? The first argument about mercy death is that people who are suffering and in pain are usually in a state of fear and depression and therefore cannot simply make rational decisions, if such patients were to wait and see what medical science and therapy can do for them they would probably adjust to their situation and change their minds about dying. The second argu ment states that just as we are generally willing to put animals out of their misery when they suffer, we should do the same for human beings but the rights of human beings to live and die are not the same as those of animals. Western religions maintain that human beings have immortal souls and even non religious humanists talk about the human spirit or personality stating that it should be accorded greater respect than the mere physical self (Padilla 230). Mercy killing is a direct violation of the Principle Value of Life mainly because it involves taking the life of an innocent person, murder is murder regardless of the motive and this is cemented by the fact that patients have not or cannot give their consent for the termination of their lives. The domino argument states that because the consent of patients cannot be obtained, an outside decision about the worth, value and meaning of a patient’s life has to be made but this is a dangerous move because no one has the right to decide if a person’s life is worthy, has value or is meaningful. There is also a possibility of finding cures in future and patients could therefore continue living. In cases of financial and emotional burdens to the family but finances and emotions should not be determining factors where human life is concerned. Both mercy death and mercy killing are not morally justifiable because humane alternatives for both mercy death an

Broken Windows Theory Essay Example for Free

Broken Windows Theory Essay The â€Å"broken windows† theory as explained in the article; which holds that physical detoriation and an increase in unrepaired buildings leads to increased concerns for personal safety of residents and a rise in the crime rates, is an applicable theory for the conditions in the inner cities. I believe it also can apply to the current conditions in some suburban areas that are degrading, such as the local town of Norristown where I grew up. Norristown up until the 1960’s and the rise in drug use, was peaceful little mini-city in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Growing up in Norristown, my father would tell me stories of neighbors taking care of neighbors during tough economic times, and even fearing getting in trouble because everyone in the neighborhood would hit him before he got home to his father. The area hangouts were always clean and peaceful, and the houses were up kept. There still was crime, but it wasn’t always violent or prevalent. That all changed in his estimation by the late 1960’s. The drug culture entered into the area, and houses started to become run-down due to numerous squatters living 10-15 at the time in them. Area hangouts became dangerous, and he said they would have to literally fight other groups to be allowed to use the basketball courts. Violent crimes with weapons rose, and so did murder. During the 1970’s and the 1980’s, older residents began moving out in droves despite the Council’s attempts to institute tougher crime-fighting tactics. By the turn of the 2000’s, many neighborhoods looked rundown and were dangerous. I was born in Norristown in 1986 and lived there until my parents were able to move out in 1998. Drugs were rampant, crime was bad, and my mother never let me leave the house without someone older and trustworthy escorting me. If you took the time walking down in the neighborhoods, which we did a lot to get to school, you noticed many of the things mentioned in the â€Å"broken windows† theory breakdown. Many houses had broken windows, graffiti, and were the hangouts for drug users. Squatters were as prevalent as they were in the late 1960’s, with anywhere between 10-20 adults of all kinds of races living in the houses and dealing drugs. The police couldn’t do anything without getting shot. A lot of officers were harmed, and the drug operations to try and stop the flow of drugs from Philadelphia and Camden, NJ were hardly successful. I personally saw two of my cousins fall trapped to both sides of this dichotomy, one became a narcotics officer who was forced into retirement due to being shot in the back by a drug dealer, and another cousin is spending the next 25 years in prison for drug trafficking and the sale of cocaine. Gangs and drug dealers began coming from Philadelphia to establish â€Å"satellite† branches of their operations. People began putting bars on their window s due to the break-ins, community events kept getting cancelled, and the sound of gunshots became normal. By late 2004, the Council in Norristown decided to take action. Rundown houses were boarded up and condemned. Cops were brought in from outside jurisdictions to train the Norristown police on how to run better undercover drug sting operations. Crime was reduced, but murders were still high. The Council also sought out one thing they didn’t before, outside investment by companies to revitalize sections of the town. With these steps, Norristown has begun to improve, and so has the feelings of safety for the local populace. However, Norristown has decades of decay to combat, which will take time. If only they had looked at the â€Å"broken windows† theory they could have fixed this years ago.

Essay example --

A 2006 Pew survey on the Internet use of American teenagers between the ages of twelve and seventeen showed that not only are ninety-three percent connecting to the Internet, but sixty-one percent of them are online at least once a day (Haugen and Musser 100). As society is becoming further dependent on technology for communication, cyberbullying is becoming increasingly prevalent among teens and young adults. Cyberbullying occurs when someone uses the Internet or digital communication to harass others; this includes texts, e-mail, social networking sites, and instant messaging (Parks 9). The problem of cyberbullying leads society ask how it can be stopped, which leads to the debate of whether or not cyberbullying laws are an appropriate solution. Implementing cyberbullying laws could decrease or even stop cyberbullying because the laws would allow for consequences, which multiple cyberbullies are avoiding by using the Internet to remain anonymous. Cyberbullying should be illegal be cause it is growing in popularity, worse than traditional bullying, and causing devastating effects to teens and young adults. Cyberbullying is only getting worse as technology becomes the primary source of communication. Peggy J. Parks addresses this popularity of cyberbullying in her book Cyberbullying. Assistant criminal justice professor and author Marie-Helen Maras states, â€Å"With cyberbullying, bullies no longer need to confront their victims face-to-face. Instead, young cyberbullies use communications technology to annoy, embarrass, humiliate, abuse, threaten, stalk, or harass other children or teenagers† (qtd. in Parks 8). Also, a survey of students between the ages of eleven and eighteen conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center showed tha... ... harassment of cyberbullies. Its growing popularity, ability to humiliate teens instantly, and harmful effects are all reasons why cyberbullying laws are needed to stop cyberbullies everywhere. Cyberbullying laws are needed to stop the growth of cyberbullying, as well as the bullies who are taking advantage of technology to harass others. Victims of cyberbullying are affected psychologically and all too often suicidal. Stopping cyberbullying would decrease the number of cyberbullying-related suicides, therefore, saving the lives of victimized teens and young adults. As of November of 2011, anti-bullying laws that include electronic harassment have been enacted in thirty-five states. Cyberbullying affects the lives of teens and young adults everywhere causing psychological harm and even suicide; laws against cyberbullying could be the answer to ending this epidemic.â€Æ'