Management and change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management and change - Essay Example Since other workers are part of the organisation, their views are also important in the change process (Marglin, 1974). However, the management may decide to use an approach that does not involve other workers in the decision-making process. Consequently, other workers may feel short-changed, and this affects negatively on employee involvement. In essence, the approach that the change agent uses in implementing new ideas in an organisation also has an impact on the overall performance. Most organisations tend to fail in terms of implementing new changes due to applying an unpopular approach. On the other hand, an ideal approach for implementing changes in an organisation should consider all issues that are pertinent to an organisation (Marglin, 1974). In this regard, a rational or technical approach is ideal for situations where the decision-making process involves consideration of different alternatives. A rational approach entails a systematic process where the management in additi on to relying on their skills and experience, considers various issues prior to implementing organisational change (Marglin, 1974). This paper explores the strengths and limitations of a rational-technical approach towards managing change. In a rational-technical approach to managing change in an organisation, the change agent considers a number of factors that can influence the change process (Knights & McCabe, 2003). Such factors include skills and experience of the manager or leader, the demands by followers and the prevailing situation in an organisation. With regard to skills and experience of a manager or a leader, a rational-technical approach requires the change agent to have knowledge of how an organisation operates. For instance, the manager needs to understand the environment that the organisation operates, vision and goals of the organisation, systems in the organisation, the change plan and

Comparing poems Nothings changed Essay Example for Free

Comparing poems Nothings changed Essay The Poem nothings changed is based on Tatamkhulu Afrika himself who spent many years in South Africa and his autobiographical poem which describes most of what him and others had experienced and his own feelings expressed during the policy of Apartheid, introduced by the government in his country. This forced many popular attractions such as beaches, buses and even towns to be changed to white areas only. For some this meant leaving the country forever all just because of the colour of there skin. The poem itself is set out in six stanzas, each including eight fairly short but important lines. This kind of layout and structure in the poem creates a sense of control, showing how the poet is extremely clear about what he is saying and feeling in his head with no sudden actions leading to rage. Within the pattern of the poem the line lengths do also vary from a whole entire stanza to just two little words. For example: District Six. No board says it is: but my feet know, and my hands, and the skin about my bones, and the soft labouring of my lungs,and the hot, white, inwards turning. This shows how the structure of the strong poem changes in the stanzas, gradually getting bigger sentences as the stanza speaks on, giving a feeling of confidence in the poet proving he knows what he is talking about with all the information gathering. The whole poem is written in the present tense, although always recalling past experience he had the poet is constantly reliving the experience as he writes every word. This makes this poem in particular stand out from what were they like? due to the fact it is easy to identify what is going on. The poet also clearly states how he is feeling and what he is exactly doing as he writes, describing every little detail by putting us in his shoes. The poem overall describes how he returns to the wasteland that was once his home and relives the anger he felt when the area was first destroyed. With him seeing the restaurant Which consists of being expensive, stylish, exclusive with a guard at the gatepost it makes him think about the poverty around it especially the working mans cafi across from it were people live without eating from plates and on a plastic table top. This makes him reflect that despite the changing political situation, there are still huge inequalities between blacks and whites. Even though South Africa is supposed to have changed, he knows the new restaurant is really whites only. He feels that nothing has really changed overall. The deep anger he feels makes him want to destroy the restaurant completely to smash the glass with a stone, or a bomb. Secondly the poem what were they like written by Denise Levertov who wrote poems that opposed American fighting in Vietnam in the 1960s. This particular poem is against the typical American ignorance of the Vietnam war. She published the poem to show her true feelings about what the American army themselves had done to the people and the way of life of Vietnam. The structure of the poem is like an interview, having the interviewer or questioner ask all the questions together and then the speaker answer each question after one another. Altogether there are six questions followed by six very surprising answers. Also at the end of the poem the answers are followed by a rhetorical question who can say? This makes the reader think in there head about the answer and shows the unusual treatment Vietnam received by the American army. In the poem itself she compares two different periods, before and after the war had ended showing the interesting experiences people were put in and what she wants answered for. The tone in the first section of the poem includes a thought on curiosity and full of wonder and also could be considered as being questions which are asked quickly and impatiently as when reading them you want to get to the answers straight away. Also the tone of the questioner may seem to be angry and a state of foolishness and insensitivity, yet still having a sense of sadness because of the loss of such an innocent country and the people who lived there during this hectic time. The questioner themselves represent the uninformed Americans and the response being Denise Levertov giving the impression that the questioner should have known more about Vietnam. The responses to the questions seem rather bitter and brutal to the suffering people as when read seem honest and quickly spoken in your head which is what the poet is trying to get at to show the emotion of which happened during the war itself. Overall both poems include some similar qualities, both being completely true and poets experiencing the lives lived out there. Yet nothings changed is describing the life long change of the country since introducing the law of Apartheid in the 1960s and how the country is still living with it, and overcoming the stress and changes the country had to make to change the lives of black and white people which is something of anger and hatred. This is shown by a personal experience form living in the country and visiting local areas and recording the atmosphere of the place. This anger can also be shown in what were they like although this particular poet may have had experience from Vietnam she was not there to see it and includes in her poem questions referring to the fact she wants answers to what has happened in the past war against America. This shows the poems are different one including life experience on unfair laws made and the other just wanted answers on what she believes what happened in the Vietnam war is completely wrong.

Investigate the use of internet activities Essay Example for Free

Investigate the use of internet activities Essay ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This research study will neither be possible nor successful without the enduing support of trusted people in the lives of the researchers. We thank them with all our hearts and tears. The researchers would like to thank our thesis advisers Dr. Lita S. Sagun and Professor Melanie Pacho, for their patience and concerns in the accomplishment of this research paper. Also, the researchers extend a sincerest gratitude to Dean Orlando M. Cabigting, Jr. for his warm support in our data gathering, as well as Engr. Michael V. Benavidez and Prof. Albert A. Vinluan for making it possible. To the panel members, ______________________, _____________________, ______________________ for spending their time to share ideas and suggestions through the development of our paper. To our family and friends, who serve as our inspirations in doing our best to improve ourselves and our thesis as well. We thank them in showing full support and understanding to strengthen our hopes to finish this study. And of course, the most trusted of all, the Almighty God, for the blessings, guidance, knowledge and wisdom that He shared to give us enough perseverance and courage to go beyond success. APPROVAL SHEET The thesis paper hereto entitled INTERNET ACTIVITIES AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION, prepared and presented by MARY ROSE M. LEYSON, LES PAUL C. BUSTAMANTE, LEONY B. BOLAÑOS AND APRIL ROSE C. BILLONES, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology is hereby examined for acceptance and approval. _______________________ Thesis Adviser Approved by the Committee on Oral Examination with a grade of _______ on 14th day of September, 2013. ____________________________________________ Member Member ______________________ Member Accepted as partial fulfilment of the requirement needed in Psychological Thesis Writing for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Dr. LITA S. SAGUN Head, Psychology Program Dr. ORLANDO M. CABIGTING, Jr. Dean, College of Arts and Sciences ABSTRACT Title: Internet Activities and Sleep Deprivation Researchers: Mary Rose M. Leyson, Les Paul C. Bustamante, Leony B. Bolaà ±os, April Rose C. Billones Adviser: Dr. Lita S. Sagun Date: 2012-2013 The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of internet activities that may affect the sleeping hours of a person or else cause of sleep deprivation. The research aims to provide some possible solutions to utilize the cause of sleep deprivation. It is also conducted to the beneficiaries of the study including the students, parents, teachers and future researchers. In order to gather data and information, researchers used the descriptive method through the use of instruments such as survey questionnaires and interview. The interview is conducted to a sleep specialist, Dr. Instrella of Capitol Medical Center to further understand about sleep deprivation. Survey questionnaires are administered to Computer Science students of New Era University as the respondents of the study. For data presentation, statistical treatments are percentage and weighted mean. Researchers also used the Epworth Sleepiness Scale to determine the sleepiness of the respondents after using the internet. Researchers’ objective is to give awareness for the possible cause and effect of sleep deprivation to the students in using internet so as to be the starting point of letting this usual thing to us. This study provides information to the parents and teachers about the risk of having sleep deprivation amongst students. This study was conducted at New Era University in Computer Science Department with 207 respondents. Through random selection, there are 126 male respondents and 81 female respondents. According to age, there are 49 participants in 15-16, 83 participants in 17-18, 57 participants among age 19-20, and 18 participants from age 21 and above. The study found out that male respondents are more likely to have sleep deprivation if they continue not to control their time facing the internet every night than female respondents. Based on the results, researchers recommend limiting the time of using the internet, have a time-management, use of library books or any printed material for doing assignments and also provide a comfortable room to sleep with. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title pagei Dedication.ii Acknowledgement..iii Approval Sheet.iv Abstract..v Table of Contents..vii CHAPTER 1. The Problem and Its Background1 Statement of the Problem4 Assumptions5 Significance of the Study..6 Scope and Delimitation 7 Definition of Terms.7 2. Review of Related Literature..12 Theoretical Framework..23 Conceptual Framework.26 3. Research Methodology.28 Research Design .28 Respondents..28 Research

Assessing And Solving Ethical Dilemmas Philosophy Essay

Assessing And Solving Ethical Dilemmas Philosophy Essay Honesty is the cornerstone of character. The honest man or woman seeks not merely to avoid criminal or illegal acts , but to be scrupulously fair, upright, fearless in both action and expression .Honesty pays dividends both in dollars and in peace of mind. B.C Forbes What are Ethical dilemmas Ethical dilemmas occur generally when a person is made to choose between two or more alternatives and all of them seem right from different perspectives. Such dilemmas have a very blurred line between right and wrong thus complicating the decision making process for a person. Sometimes its not even a question of right or wrong but which of the alternatives is more viable. Decision is further made difficult by the varying amount of impact of each decision on the profitability, share price, market share, competitiveness, relations and various other factors. For e.g. should wealthier person be forced to pay more taxes for poor people in the society. Why ethical dilemmas exist For any organization, its difficult to maintain harmony as opinions of individuals vary, stakes are high and emotions run strong. This may give rise to ethical issues which in turn can become ethical dilemmas, also known as ethical paradox. Let us first try to understand as to how ethics can be maintained in an organization as well as individual: Justice It talks about rights and laws, rules and regulations, fairness etc. The good thing about it is that it accentuates on equality and believes in providing justice to all irrespective of any cast, creed etc. This helps in establishing ethical standards and the enforcement may cause people or organization to abide by the law and remain ethical. Care Nothing can beat positive organizational climate and the value for each others feelings. Strong personal connections and trust over each other may make ethical decisions simpler by simplifying the lines between good and bad. Power Sometimes power and influence and the resultant fear to abide by the rules and regulations keep people on track. If the autocratic behavior of a leader denounces unethical steps then it makes his/her followers also to choose the correct path guided by him. Community These days we find the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility being taken up very seriously by the organizations. To keep themselves in the good books of community, the firms have started acting in the welfare of community which itself closes some unethical measures by company. Profession One cant deny clashes between personal and professional codes. Both the employee and employer should be careful in choosing each other else it will lead to lot of unrest and instability to both the parties. Differences and issues related to work work give rise to conflicts. The differences can come from various factors like working style, personal differences etc but if the difference is due to an ethical clash, then it can have serious repercussions. The following diagram shows us that an individual does have ethical issues with the organization on whole or with the team due to which he may not be able to deliver his 100% best in the work he undertakes. How to resolve ethical dilemmas As such there are no fixed rules to decide what is to be followed in case of ethical dilemmas. As stated earlier its not just about right or wrong decisions but taking a decision which one feels is more appropriate in a given context. However there are some methods suggested by various people in the field of business ethics for deciding which better decision to be chosen by an organization or individual under given circumstances. For e.g. Organizations and individuals can choose to follow many of the suggested ethical theories for moving ahead with their decisions. But the most useful and most effective method of choosing an ethical decision seems to be finding a similar example of ethical dilemma in past with any other individual or organization. Analyzing the actions, the reasons for actions the consequences of those actions which took in the past gives us a very good idea about the direction in which a person should proceed in case of ethical dilemmas. Therefore before deciding o n any plan of action a person must analyze all the possible consequences of the act and must check for how are the actions in line with the moral values and principles governing the organization or individual. Few of the right consequences by taking right decision can be: Substantially improve society. Help maintaining a moral course in turbulent times Cultivate strong teamwork and productivity Support employee growth and meaning An insurance policy they help ensure that policies are legal Promote a strong public image Ethical dilemmas from Hindu epics In this part of the project we would describe the various ethical dilemma situations from the Hindu epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. The situations described are very much character centric and hence each situation would be described in context of the character. But these situations from these epics can very clearly be seen even in present conditions across the world at individual level, family level, organization level or country level. Following are the characters and their ethical dilemma situations from epics : Bhishma : Bhishma also known as Gangaputra, meaning the son of Ganges (the holy river). The context of ethical dilemma being mentioned here with Bhishma is about his fighting the war of Mahabharata from the side of Kauravas while he always wanted the victory of his opponents Pandavas. This ethical dilemma shows how even a very powerful and highly knowledgeable person like Bhishma do fall in the ethical dilemma trap and are not able to make out clearly that which of the decisions are better to go with. Lets analyze the ethical dilemma of Bhishma on following criteria. Why such a dilemma happened Bhishma was an obedient son. He during the reign of his father, Shantanu took a pledge that he will always abide by the orders of the king. He also pledged that he will never marry and wont ever become the king himself. So at the time of Mahabharata war he was in dilemma because he was binded by his pledge towards following the orders of king and hence to fight the war from the side of Kauravas but at the same time he knew very well that objective of Kauravas for the war was not good. He knew that Pandavas are the true people for owning the throne of Hastinapur. He was actually confused between whether it is right to break his earlier pledge of obedience for what he considered right or to blindly follow his pledge. This is a perfect example of a manager in present condition who is trapped in a quandary to follow or refuse the decision by top management if he finds them in conflict with his own ethics though following them might pave way for his lucrative career. Consequences of Decision As per his decision of fighting for Kauravas against Pandavas, finally Bhishma lost the fight with Arjuna and died after the war was over. During his last moments he mentioned that it was a mistake on his part to consider himself above the nation or taking the side of an army which was not fighting for good reason. Conclusion By analyzing the character of Bhishma , we can conclude that though his intentions for serving his king were good but he made a mistake by blindly following it without reflecting on his decisions from time to time. He should have realized that welfare of the kingdom is an insurmountable purpose in priority and his personal decisions shouldnt defeat it. This lesson can be implemented in present scenario when an individual feels obliged on joining an organization and stops thinking if the organization is leading in the right path. He has to rationally figure out if the managerial decisions: legitimizes managerial actions strengthens the coherence and balance of the organizations culture improves trust in relationships between individuals and groups Supports greater consistency in standards and qualities of products/services. Cultivates greater sensitivity to the impact of the enterprises values and messages. An analogy with Corporate real life case Hyundai Chairperson went to jail for embezzlement and breach of trust Problem: In late April 2006, Hyundai Motor Company chairman, Chung Mong-koo was arrested. This example would show us that the society interest prevails over individuals interest. Problem Details: The following month he was accused on charges of breach of trust, embezzling company funds, and causing damage to companies in the Hyundai group. Consequences: In April 2006, the directors of Hyundai apologized to the public and said the Chung family would donate assets worth Won 1 trillion to society. In June 2006, Chung appeared in court and admitted his guilt to a certain extent Karna : Eldest of the Pandava brothers, but not known to any of his brothers. Loyal friend of Duryodhana. Ethical dilemma of karna has been analyzed on following basis : Why such a dilemma happened Karna was son of Kunti (Mother of pandavas). He was born before kuntis marriage and hence because of fear of social repubation, kunti floated the child in the river. Karna was brought up by Adhirath, the chariot driver of king. Karna was supported by Duryodhan when he was not accepted by anyone else. Duryodhana made him king of Ängdesh. All these benefits by Duryodhan made karna indebted to him. For rest of his life karna promised to be loyal to Duryodhan in return of all these benefits. Here again we can see that an issue of loyalty against moral values of karna coming into play. This is because karna was always aware of what is morally right and what is morally incorrect but because of his loyalty to Duryodhana he decided to remain loyal in place of being morally correct in his own eyes. Consequences of Decision As a consequence of his decision to remain loyal to a person (Duryodhan) instead of being moral or doing what is in benefit of larger people, Karna fought in the Mahabharata war from side of Kauravas. He was finally killed by Arjuna. Conclusion Here also we see that karna was considering his loyalty towards a person (Duryodhana) to be more important than his moral values and doing the things for betterment of larger people. This analogy of karna can very well in this context be related to the way employees of Enron remained loyal to their top management by concealing the actual condition of the organization from the larger number of stakeholders. They did not go for morally correct decision of informing the condition of the degrading organization to the stakeholders. An analogy with Corporate real life case Dell Investors filed suit Over Accounting Practices Problem: A group of investors had filed a lawsuit in Feb, 2007 alleging that Dell had used illegal accounting methods to hide secret kickback payments paid by Intel .This case would show us that though being associated with the firm , the investors didnt get deter to complain against Dell. Problem Details: According to allegations, the payments from Intel were meant to ensure that Dell used only Intel Processors in its PCs according to suit. The investors claimed that Dells profits were inflated by hundreds of millions of dollars. Consequences: Regulators from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York launched an investigation of Dells accounting practices due to which Dell had failed to file its quarterly earnings numbers for the periods ending Aug. 4, 2006 and Nov. 3, 2006, leading the Nasdaq stock exchange to take the decision of dropping Dell from its listing board for some period of time. Yudhisthira: Eldest son of Pandu, former king of Hastinapur. He is considered to be the best judge of right and wrong things. On the basis of his such a great knowledge he was awarded the title of dharmraj(King of right doings). But in Mahabharata we see even yudhishthira was caught in the web of ethical dilemma. Why such a dilemma happened This situation happened when Yudhishthira was invited by his younger brother Duryodhana for dhyut krida, a game of gambling. Those days the art of gambling used to make or break a kings reputation. Any person refusing to be a part of this game was considered either a coward or penniless. Yudhishthira as a king was well aware of the risk associated with the game yet he went beyond his limits by betting on his wife and ultimately losing to Duryodhan. Even though in the midst of the game, he had a clue of his losing out badly yet to prove he was strong enough to take the game further, he not only insulted his wife but tarred his own image. Consequences of Decision As a consequence of giving priority to his impression on society over what he believed to be morally and ethically correct, it led to the decline of the fame of Yudhishthira. He lost his fame and respect in the eyes of the people who considered him to be a real distinguisher of right and wrong. This game of gambling is a blemish on the character of Yudhishthira till date. Conclusion By analyzing the character of Yudhishthira, his act, reasons for act consequences of act we can conclude that decisions by people must be based on what is ethically correct rather than acting to inflate ones ego. An analogy with Corporate real life case Samsung paid $ 90 m in DRAM case Problem: Samsung paid $90m to bring to an end lawsuits brought against it by 41 US states as a result of its role in a worldwide DRAM price-fixing cartel. This would show us how in a bid to control the market (similar to Yudhishthiras claim to pride though he knew that he was committing mistake ), Samsung fell in the trap. Problem Details: Samsung, Elpida, Hynix and Infineon were all found guilty by the US Department of Justice of conspiring to set memory prices between July 1999 and June 2002 Consequences: In May 2006, Samsung, Hynix and Infineon agreed to pay $160m to settle a class-action brought against them by individuals who claimed they were financially harmed by the alleged conspiracy. Vibhishan : Vibhishan was the brother of Ravana. He was aware of the reality of Rama his real powers. For this reason he suggested Ravana to know the reality of Rama and move towards him making shri Rama his friend instead of making him his enemy. The dilemma faced by vibhishana is mentioned on following basis : Basis of existence of Dilemma : Vibhishan knew that Ramas power stood superior to that of his own brother (Ravana).He tried persuading Ravana to follow the path of goodness and extend a friendship relation to Rama. But when all his efforts went in vain, he was in a dilemma of whether to stay with his brother country at the time of war or should he stand in support of Rama, a person who he considered right. Hence here we see Vibhishana getting trapped between being a good obedient brother or being an enemy of his own brothers and country. Consequences of decision taken: He was insulted by his brother in front of society and ordered to leave his kingdom. This all happened after all the efforts taken by Vibhishana to pacify his brothers and Ramas relations. Later he decided to follow the path which he believed to be morally correct and a path towards achieving Moksha. He went to Rama and became his friend and a very important advisor against battle with Ravana. At the end after winning the battle Rama offers the kingdom of Ravana to Vibhishana as gift of his friendship and his gratitude towards his help and support in the war. Conclusion : Here again we see an ethical dilemma faced by a character between his loyalty towards personal relations and an ethical path. But here if we see in detail about the conditions, actions taken and consequences faced by the character, we can conclude that at the end Vibhishana took the right decision of joining with Rama. As we can see that by joining with Rama Vibhishana ensures that the effects of battle should be minimal on the citizens of his own country Lanka. With deeper thought we realize that his decision was out of his true love and respect for his country for he knew that by joining Rama, undesired damages of his kingdom can be avoided. Hence by observing this situation of Vibhishana we can also say that what actually looked to be a person who shifted to the enemy camp in the time of war and who was considered as a traitor by his own citizens was actually the real person concerned about the safety of his country. Here is a very good example by which we can explain that followi ng ethical decisions may seem to be against some of the known and dear ones in the short run but finally it is the ethically and morally correct decisions which are really good for the betterment of the organizations. This example of ethical decision resulting in loss for an organization in the short run but finally coming out as the most beneficial decisions ever taken in history for the organization in long term can be seen very well from the ethical decision taken by Johnson Johnson while calling back all its medicines which were considered fatal for the health of people consuming these medicines. As a result of this decision organization faced a huge short run financial loss even it looked that company may go for bankruptcy but now finally it is seen by everybody that Johnson Johnson is the top organization in its field and has a very good brand value and is perceived as one of the best ethically driven organizations. An analogy with Corporate real life case SEC fined TREND Micro CEO Problem: The allegation of suspicious trading of shares by Chen, chief executive and co founder of leading anti- virus firm Trend Micro on the major Chinese Internet Portal Sina.com. She was found to be in partner with the wrong dealings by his own husband too. This example would show us that one shouldnt keep silent over his/her close ones misdeeds. Problem Details: Apart from allegations of insider trading, there was also an inquiry into whether Ms Chen under reported her holdings in Trend Micro chares. Consequences: the CEO of Trend Micro was ordered to pay a fine by US Financial watchdogs. Also the US Securities and Exchange Commission did its investigations following the allegations. The company suffered huge losses due to it. Conclusion from the Project Most prominent ethical dilemma from Epics : By the study of various characters from Mahabharata we have seen that there is prominent type of ethical dilemma which exists across large number of characters. This prominent type of dilemma is the dilemma of loyalty versus moral values. Here by loyalty we mean that loyalty of a person can be towards anything. This loyalty in case of Bhishma was towards his own pledge of protecting his king. In case of Karna this loyalty is towards Duryodhana. Here the reason of loyalty is again different. While in case of Bhishma the reason of loyalty is his pledge in case of Karna reason of loyalty is his being indebted to Duryodhan because of the benefits given by Duryodhan to him. Similarly for Yudhishthira the inclination was towards popularly accepted beliefs rather than his own inner voice telling him not to go ahead with the game. In Ramayana, Vibhishan on the other hand was an example to show that ethically taken decisions stand much superior to ones worldly relations. Existence of similar dilemma in present scenario : The ethical dilemma faced by the large number of characters in Mahabharta can be seen in present scenario as well. This dilemma of loyalty versus personal moral values of an individual can also be seen in case of Enron failure. Here also as already explained above, employees found it their duty to remain loyal to the organization or top management by not concealing the degrading condition of organization to outside public. Conclusion : From all the above mentioned examples we can conclude that following ethically and morally correct decisions are the ones which an organization or an individual should always go with though they may be hard to follow. This is because these decisions may look difficult and harmful when viewed in short term perspectives but these are truly the decisions which are going to be beneficial in long run. All successful individuals and organizations are those which have a respected and trustworthy image in the minds of the public and stakeholders it has. This kind of image of individuals and organizations is never built in a day or so but is an effect of continuous dealings of ethical or moral values. According to Universalist theory of Business Ethics too, the interest of the larger mass prevails over individual interests It rightly says that the best moral choices are those that you want others to do , even when you cannot make yourself an exception , and ,that respect others as persons.

Robert Burns :: essays research papers

Robert Burns is a man of the most impassioned temper; with passions not strong only, but noble, and of the sort in which great virtues and great poems take their rise. It is his love towards his country, people, and nature that inspires him. That opens his eyes to its beauty, leading his heart and voice to praise them with his passion. Robert Burns was born January 25, 1759, in a straw-thatched cottage, to William and Agnes Burns. His mother had a great store of folklore songs and ballads, and his father tried at all costs to surround his children with good reading and conversation. At the age of seven, his father moved the family to Mt.Otiphant from Alloway. In 1773, at the age of only 15, Robert composed his first song, Handsome Nell, in honor of the village blacksmith's daughter. In 1777, that family moved to Lochlea. In 1778, Robert was fortunate enough to have a summer term of schooling at Kirkoswald. " It is said he ate his meals with Fergusson's poems in one hand and his spoon in the other." (Essay on Burns, 24) Returning to the farm, he composed Poor Mailie's Elegy, Winter, and other early pieces, under a blooming interest to become a poet of the people, or as he put it, "a Scottish bard." In 1784 his father died, and Robert, with his brother Gilbert, moved to Mossgiel, in Mauchline. Most of Robert's best work was accomplished here. At the age of 26, Robert helped his brother out on the farm. Every chance he got, during the day, he would pull his book out of his pocket and begin to read, and think out themes. At night, he would climb up into his attic room, where he would write his thoughts down before going to bed. He wrote ballads, epistles, epitaphs, satires, and dedications. He wrote of winter, spring, and summer, of rivers, braes, and uplands. He wrote of anything, and of everything, that could have ever passed his mind working through those hard days on his farm. One thing that inspired Robert with great esteem is nature, this opens his eyes to great beauty, making his heart and voice express his praises. "There is a true old saying, 'Love furthers knowledge:' but above all, it is the living essence of that knowledge which makes poets; the first principle of its existence, increase, activity. Not

Creating own signature for use in web :: essays research papers

In this tutorial I will show you how to make a custom user bar. I will be making a Photshop CS user bar. 1) Make a new document with sizes widht: 350 height: 19 with a transparent background. 2) Make a suitable gradient and apply it. 3) Now get a logo, when I usually search for images i use Google Images, find your logo and open it up in Photoshop. 4) Now it's time to remove your logo from the background, get the polygonal lasso tool and carefully cut it out. 5) Now go to Edit > Copy, then open the user bar document (the one where you applied a gradient), then create a new layer and go to Edit > Paste. 6) Now with this layer selected go to Edit > Transform > Scale and resize your logo or reposition it if you wish. 7) Now right click on the layer and select Blending Options and give it a little outer glow with these settings: 8) Now make a new layer and get the Elliptical Marquee Tool and drag it from about point 1 to point 2. 9) Now get the Gradient Tool and use these settings: and now drag it vertical from point 1 to point 2: 10) And now you have a nice light effect, create a new layer and fill it with a 45 degree scanline with opacity from 10% - 15% if you don't have a 45 degree scanline make a new document with dimensions 3x3 with a transparent background and do a maximum zoom, now get the pen tool (make shure your color is set to black) and draw what I've done in this picture: When you are done go to Edit > Define Pattern and name it what you want and click ok. Now you can close this document because the pattern is permanently saved in Photoshop. Here is what you should have so far: 11) Now it's time to put some text, I will use font Visitor which you can get from this link: http://dafont.

Misguided Gothic Authors :: gothic

Misguided Gothic Authors      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In many ways the fascination with the gothic style of art, represented by music, literature, film, and others, is nothing more than a way for the observer to escape from real life and its many responsibilities. Gothic art claims to be profound and contain great esoteric meaning with life changing impact, yet the characters and the message are more often weak, unproductive, crippled, or even mad. Examples of this flaw in the argument in favor of the gothic imagination are given in the works by Beethoven, Goethe, Rice, and Gilman. It will be revealed that these authors have been misguided often by their own escapist nature to create a false reality and promote it as meaningful. In truth, the gothic imagination is the imagination of those who are looking for an excuse for their laziness and purpose behind their protective depression.      Ã‚   There is no question that the work of Beethoven are tremendous and phenomenal. His talent as a composer has rarely been closely met. The maturation of his compositions show a growth of important musical literature that admitted have changed the world within and without the realm of music. This fact has been a powerful tool carried by those promoting the gothic imagination for far too long. It is true that Beethoven was deaf and that he had difficult relations with his family as well as various women in his life. This gives no call for belief that he was any different than any of the other millions of people in the world that have been in the same situation. It is suggested that his great works were due to his suffering and gothic mind. It is suggested that he struggled and transcended because he was a gothic hero. The abuse of the contributions of such a remarkable musician is almost in excusable. In attempts to justify their own suffering and to give excuse for their inabil ity to operate within normal human society, the gothics will say that Beethoven was misunderstood, suffered, and died miserably, and so will they. They have given up to the world and now feel justified in doing so.      Ã‚   Beethoven was a man with a great amount of talent and influence in his world which does set him apart somewhat from others. He also had a great deal of pain in his life which sets him apart from very few others in this world.