Diversity of Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diversity of Life - Essay Example These vital factors play an imperative role in deciding the kind of flora and fauna of the place, accordingly, different kinds of ecosystems are present in different parts of the world. Tropical zone is hot as it receives most of the sunlight falling on the planet. The rate of evaporation is also high, rainfall and humidity is more. The vegetation is thick and most of the Rainforest is present in this region. Thus, climate of a place decides the vegetation and animals of the place. For instance, desert conditions cannot support pine forest but they support animals like camel with padded hoofs to walk on the hot sand and membrane-covered eyes to see during desert storm. The animal is well adapted to live under water scarcity condition because of its hump which stores fat. In a similar manner, desert conditions also support cactus plants which are well adapted to the climatic conditions of desert, the leaves are modified as spines and thick stem to carry out the process of photosynthesis. In a similar manner, pine trees with conical shape and wax coated, needle like leaves are the adaptive features of the flora belonging to the frigid zone. The conical shape and wax coated leaves of the plant allows snow to slide off the plant. Needle like leaves allow air to pass through the plants, these features aid in better survival of the plant. The fauna of the frigid zone encompasses polar bear which has white fur for protection from the chill of snow and also to escape from the enemies. Other animals encompass seal, wolf and dogs called huskies. Temperate zone on the other hand, possess mild climate which is neither too hot nor too cold. This climatic zone supports good conditions for the survival of humans, as the climate is moderate it allows proliferation of numerous life forms. Distribution of animals and plants in this climatic zone is also supported by the environmental agents and the

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 90

Assignment Example t the rate might not take past performance into consideration, or same level of performance may be marked for all the attributes or raters have different opinions about different performance levels. 2. The Barnard’s theory states that managers situated in the decision-making positions of the organizations have no authority until his/her subordinates accept his/her decisions. For example, the government wants the department of defense to initiate start working on a task, if the department does not accepts the task; the government does not have authority and vice-versa. 3. System I type management have the ability to provide reward, punishment to their subordinates (Babcock 129). They have this ability due to the position they hold in the organization. This type of management is used to motivate workers to work on a specific task. System II type management is used in Engineering settings where the manager has to help the subordinates through his expertise. 4. In some cases, management fails to adopt the dilemma of authority being equal to responsibility. This dilemma is not followed while delegating tasks to subordinates. A subordinate may be assigned a task or responsibility but he may not have the equal authority to get the task completed. In such scenarios, the subordinate has to use tactics such as persuasion and personal power to get the job done. 5. Engineers undergo heavy training, they are taught about every technicality of the job and in vocational schools, they learn about every single details of doing a task perfectly. They do not have the skills of being flexible on work or use different techniques for working; these are the reasons due to which they fail to manage in organizations. On the other hand, students in the business environment are taught to be flexible and are allowed to do a certain task in any effective and efficient manner and this is why these managers are more

Components of Supply Chain Management (SCM) Essay Example for Free

Components of Supply Chain Management (SCM) Essay The main elements of a supply chain include purchasing, operations, distribution, and integration. The supply chain begins with purchasing. Purchasing managers or buyers are typically responsible for determining which products their company will sell, sourcing product suppliers and vendors, and procuring products from vendors at prices and terms that meets profitability goals. Supply chain operations focus on demand planning, forecasting, and inventory management. Forecasts estimate customer demand for a particular product during a specific period of time based on historical data, external drivers such as upcoming sales and promotions, and any changes in trends or competition. Using demand planning to develop accurate forecasts is critical to effective inventory management. Forecasts are compared to inventory levels to ensure that distribution centers have enough, but not too much, inventory to supply stores with a sufficient amount of product to meet demand. This allows companies to reduce inventory carrying costs while still meeting customer needs. Moving the product from warehouses or manufacturing plants to stores and ultimately to customers is the distribution function of the supply chain. Supply chain integration refers to the practice of developing a collaborative workflow among all departments and components involved in the supply chain to maximize efficiencies and build a lean supply chain. 2 Walmart’s Method of Managing the Supply Chain Walmart has been able to assume market leadership position primarily due to its efficient integration of suppliers, manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution to stores. Its supply chain strategy has four key components: vendor partnerships, cross docking and distribution management, technology, and integration. Walmart’s supply chain begins with strategic sourcing to find products at the best price from suppliers who are in a position to  ensure they can meet demand. Walmart establishes strategic partnerships with most of their vendors, offering them the potential for long-term and high volume purchases in exchange for the lowest possible prices. Suppliers then ship product to Walmart’s distribution centers where the product is cross docked and then delivered to Walmart stores. Cross docking, distribution management, and transportation management keep inventory and transportation costs down, reducing transportation time and eliminating inefficiencies. Technology plays a key role in Walmart’s supply chain, serving as the foundation of their supply chain. Walmart has the largest information technology infrastructure of any private company in the world. Its state-of-the-art technology and network design allow Walmart to accurately forecast demand, track and predict inventory levels, create highly efficient transportation routes, and manage customer relationships and service response logistics. 3 Benefits of Efficient Supply Chain Management Wal-Mart’s supply chain management strategy has provided the company with several sustainable competitive advantages, including lower product costs, reduced inventory carrying costs, improved in-store variety and selection, and highly competitive pricing for the consumer. This strategy has helped Walmart become a dominant force in a competitive global market. As technology evolves, Walmart continues to focus on innovative processes and systems to improve its supply chain and achieve greater efficiency. How to Manage the Bullwhip Effect on Your Supply Chain The goal of any supply chain is to get the right selection of goods and services to customers in the most efficient way possible. To meet this goal, each link along the supply chain must not only function as efficiently as possible; it must also coordinate and integrate with links both upstream and downstream in the chain. The keystone for a lean supply chain is accuracy in  demand planning. Unforeseen spikes in demand or overestimations of demand stimulate the supply end of the chain to respond with changes in production. Production and supply issues then impact the consumer end of the supply chain and the effects ripple up and down the chain. This is often referred to as the bullwhip effect. 1 What Causes the Bullwhip Effect? Supply chain management is a complex process. There are several issues that can lead to the bullwhip effect and those issues can be exacerbated by delays in transmitting information, and a lack of coordination up and down the supply chain. Some causes of the bullwhip effect include: Consumer demand swings Natural disasters that disrupt the flow of goods and services Overcompensation when addressing inventory issues Ordering processes, such as order batching, can also contribute to thebullwhip effect. Organizations may accumulate larger orders before processing them in an effort to reduce costs and create transportation economics. They may also wait to place larger orders to benefit from lower prices offered during a promotion. Demand forecasting manipulation is another cause. By padding the forecast to compensate for possible errors, the organization loses sight of true customer demand. Customers can also contribute to the bullwhip effect by engaging in shortage gaming during periods of short supply by purchasing more than they need. Additionally, customers taking advantage of liberal return policies can create problems with developing accurate demand forecasts. 2 How to Minimize the Bullwhip Effect The first step in minimizing the bullwhip effect is to understand what drives customer demand planning and inventory consumption. Lack of demand visibility can be addressed by providing all key players in the supply chain  with access to point of sale (POS) data. Suppliers and customers must then work collaboratively to improve both the quality and frequency of information communication throughout the supply chain. They may also choose to share information through an arrangement such as vendor-managed inventory (VMI). Eliminating practices that introduce spikes in demand, such as order batching, can also help. The higher order cost associated with smaller or more frequent orders can be offset with Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and computer aided ordering (CAO). Pricing strategies and policies can also help reduce the bullwhip effect. Eliminating incentives that cause customers to delay orders, such as volume transportation discounts, and addressing the causes of order cancellations or reductions can help create smoother ordering patterns. Offering products at stable and fair prices can prevent buying surges triggered by temporary promotional discounts. Special purchase contracts can be implemented to encourage ordering at regular intervals to better synchronize delivery and purchase. 3 Adopting Supply Chain Management Best Practices Using sound chain management processes and systems will result in the efficient flow of goods from a raw stage to the consumer while enhancing ROI for the company. Reviewing case studies and other resources detailing best practices can suggest opportunities for improvement. Adopting successful practices such as Walmart’s use of cross docking, or Dell’s process of bypassing the middle man by offering made-to-order computers directly to customers, can contribute to a lean supply chain and minimize the bullwhip effect. Reducing the bullwhip effect requires a thorough evaluation of organizational policies, measurements, systems, and practices. Based on the positive implications an efficient supply chain can have on costs, sales, profits and customer satisfaction, it’s an undertaking well worth the investment and effort.

Service Provisions for the Homeless in Britain

Service Provisions for the Homeless in Britain Social welfare, democracy and government Set out below is an evaluation of how social welfare, democracy, and government relates to the issue of service provision to avert or solve homelessness in Britain. There are, as will be examined, various causes for homelessness, and therefore differing levels of service provision to help the homeless in Britain. The post-war welfare state had supposed to have made homelessness an almost negligible problem, so social welfare, democracy and government carried on operating without thinking the issue was serious, even though services were available when needed. However, homelessness had never gone away and various factors outlined below explain how the issue became more important on the social welfare policy, democratic and governmental agendas, and service provision was in increasing demand. Whilst social welfare policies, democracy, and government may not directly cause homelessness, they can arguably have a great deal of influence over how it is tackled, and the level of services pro vided and who provides those services. Some cases of homelessness are easier to tackle or resolve than other cases, depending on the initial causes of homelessness. Social welfare, democracy, and government are factors that combine or act singularly to affect the levels of and the permanence of the service provisions to prevent homelessness and to those that are already homeless. Social welfare, democracy, and government hold the key to finding homes for the homeless, and providing the service provision to ensure people remain housed. The main foundation of social welfare policies in modern Britain was the welfare state as established during the Labour governments of 1945 to 1951, which was intended to make poverty, social exclusion, and homelessness disappear from British society. The welfare state legally defined which organisations are obliged to provide services, namely government departments, local authorities, and voluntary or non-governmental groups (Jones Lowe, 2002 p. 1). The rationale of the welfare state was inspired by the Beveridge Report and the Labour party’s own ideological outlook, which was to eradicate poverty and social exclusion to make Britain a fairer country. As part of its plans it gave local authorities the powers, and the funds to provide council housing on a greater scale than previously to every body that needed it (Lacy, 2006 p. 8). At the end of the Second World War the main cause of homelessness was actually the number of houses that had been destroyed by bombing during the war (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003 p.11). The government did its best to solve the housing shortage with a large construction programme of council houses. The provision of council houses was intended to provide people with affordable housing when they could not afford private rents or to buy their own houses, and it was the responsibility of all local authorities to provide council housing using money provided by the government (Moran, 2005 p. 14). The welfare state was intended to reduce poverty through the payment of unemployment benefit, supplementary benefit, rent rebates, and Family Allowance. These benefits were supposed to keep people above the bread line, to provide them with a minimum standard of living, and were primarily benefits or services provided by the Department of Social Security. However, it was hoped that government economic policy would reduce the need for people to claim benefits in the first place, or the need for services to keep them housed. Almost full employment, adequate levels of social security benefits, and the increased availability of council houses were significant factors in preventing homelessness, although service providers were always needed to ensure that people got help when they needed it (Jones Lowe, 2002 p. 189). Rent rebates and government attempts to control private sector rents were intended to keep families on low incomes in their homes. The main responsibility for controlling pri vate sector rents was the government’s whilst rent rebate was administered by local authorities on behalf of the government. The main public perceptions about the provision of services to the homeless until the late 1960s, was that social welfare measures such as social security benefits, rent rebates, and rent controls had seen the problem all but cease to exist. Although service provision by government departments, local authorities, and non-governmental organisations had continued to operate, and even expand (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003 p. 137). However for those people that knew more about the provision of services for the homeless, it was clear that social welfare policies had not been capable of completely resolving the problem. People that understood social welfare and housing policies also knew that homelessness was linked to inadequate housing and unemployment. Unemployment meant that some people fell behind with their rent or mortgage payments, eventually leading to their eviction or the re-possession of their homes. There were and are voluntary organisations such as Shelter, Crisis, and the Citizens Advice Bureaux which provided advice services to prevent people becoming homeless (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003 pp. 28-9). The public perception that homelessness was no longer a meaningful or measurable social and economic problem was changed by the film ‘Cathy come home’ and the launch of a charity dedicated to solving the problem of homelessness and intent on influencing public opinion and government policies, Shelter. Unlike existing charities that helped homeless people such as the Salvation Army, Shelter only existed to tackle the issue of homelessness and it believed that being an active pressure group was the best way to alter or influence public opinion, as well as attempt to change social welfare policies. In other words Shelter wished to offer greater levels of service provision than government departments and local authorities did at that time. In the late 1960s the government had not changed its social welfare policies to have any extra detrimental affects on the problem of homelessness. Instead Shelter was demonstrating that in some individual cases that social welfare policies had proved incapable of preventing homelessness or keeping up with social, economic, and political changes. At this time government departments and local authorities were the predominant service providers for the homeless, or the potentially homeless (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003 p. 381). The 1960s after all were a decade when social, economic, and political changes were starting to become apparent, these changes which had consequences for social welfare policies in general, and that had an impact on the service provision for the homeless. Social changes included it being easier to get divorced, a rise in the number of births outside marriage, a rise in the number of lone parents, increasing crime levels, and the growth of illegal drugs taking. All these social changes would change the ways families lived in Britain; the break down of family relationships has arguably had a greater impact on the problem of homelessness than any changes to social welfare and housing policies. That is although the consequences were unplanned and inadvertent, yet they had to be responded to by the providers of services to homeless people (Jones et al, 2004 p. 294). Shelter and Crisis, amongst others, have argued that social welfare policies are administered in ways that make it harder for government agencies and local authorities to help people that are already homeless, compared to helping people that are already housed. People that are homeless are often only able to claim lower rates of social security benefits, and also find it harder to gain employment or find somewhere permanent to live (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p. 70). Social welfare policies have been altered, most notably by the Conservative governments between 1979 and 1997 and by the New Labour governments since 1997. In terms of social welfare the Conservatives had wanted to reduce the size of the social security budget, as well as reducing the size of the public sector, the former being a task in which it failed (Eatwell Wright, 2003 p. 287). In fact, under the Conservatives the budget for social security expenditure actually increased due to the economic policies that was pursued l eading to high unemployment, and increased levels of service provision for the homeless. In contrast to the Conservatives, New Labour claimed that it would use social welfare policies to make service provision more responsive to their users actual needs, for example asking the homeless what they wanted from their service providers (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 pp 415-16). There are also ways in which democracy in Britain can be related to the problem of service provision for the homeless and the potentially homeless, and also related to the political, social, and economic factors that influence and affect levels of homelessness. In a liberal democracy such as Britain, the political, social, and economic policies used in relation to service provision such as towards homeless people can be shaped by the relative importance that the electorate, attach to each individual issue. In many respects the service provision for the homeless has not become one of the major electoral issues that can dominate political debates, and that can ultimately determine which political party wins or loses the next general election. Despite not being one of the main political issues, the provision of services for the homeless is certainly an issue that is on the political agenda in Britain, and it is an issue that will undoubtedly stay there. That the provision of services fo r the homeless remains upon the political agenda in Britain has to be attributed to the efforts of pressure groups or charities like Shelter, Crisis, and the Big Issue. Indeed the efforts of these groups have managed to maintain publicity about the problem of homelessness as well as providing some very useful services themselves. These groups believe that their publicity campaigns will not only influence public opinion, their publicity campaigns will hopefully influence social welfare and housing policies to make service provision effectively serve the needs of the homeless. However these organisations are also important service providers for homeless people, giving advice, advocacy services, training, and emergency accommodation. Some members of the electorate do not regard homelessness as being a separate issue from social welfare policy, as far as they are concerned the government should have the appropriate policies to provide services to the homeless. After all that is what peo ple pay their taxes for (Malin, Wilmot, Manthorpe, 2003 p. 51). Pressure groups or charities that publicly campaign for and in support of the homeless view the tackling of prejudices against the people that are homeless as an important part of their objectives of service provision for the homeless. Shelter and the Big Issue act as advocates for those people that are homeless as they are disenfranchised by virtue of not having a home address, and therefore being unable to register their names on to the electoral register. Without the advocacy and media contacts of such pressure groups and charities, the homeless would have very little influence upon democracy, as they cannot vote for or against any political party because of its policies and objectives in relation to the issue of homelessness. Political parties will not necessarily feel the need to adjust their social welfare and housing policies to help certain groups like the homeless, especially if these people are formally and legally unable to participate in the democratic electoral processes at all (Jones et al, 2004 p. 294). However political parties have not been able to ignore the problem of homelessness, even if they have attempted to resolve the issues surrounding homelessness with varying degrees of enthusiasms (Jones, 1999 p. 176). However, although the homeless may be disenfranchised that does not mean that the homeless do not contribute towards liberal democracy in Britain. The work of charities and pressure groups helps the homeless to voice their opinions in public, and those groups actively promote the interests of the homeless. Shelter and the Big Issue hope to sway public opinion, as well as influencing the incumbent government’s social welfare and housing policies to assist the homeless as much as possible. In a liberal democracy like Britain, public opinion can influence government policies as well as governments attempting to shape public opinion in order to gain electoral advantages or support. The way in which democracy operates mean that political parties, pressure groups, and the media compete with each other to shape public opinion. In return the public often regard some issues as being more important than other issues. For instance, the state of the National Health Service, education, law and order, besides the state of the economy are often the most important issues during general election campaigns. The responsibility for service provision for the homeless goes across government departments, and the measures needed have to compete for funding with other policy areas such as health, education, and defence. Political parties naturally adopt the policy stances that fit in with their ideological beliefs, yet maximise their chances of electoral success. Once governments are elected they have to decide who provides public services and the extent of the services that are provided (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 pp. 48-50). In Britain the government has an important part to play in dealing with the problem of homelessness, even if the government has not caused those problems in the first place. For the government to effectively manage and reduce the problem of homelessness it helps for the government to understand the various causes of people losing their homes (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p.70). The majority of causes for people being homeless are social or economic rather than political. The government can prevent some people from becoming homeless by adopting social welfare and housing policies. The majority of causes for people becoming homeless are social or economic, rather than political. The government can prevent some people becoming homeless by adopting social welfare and housing policies, although the government cannot prevent the social circumstances that potentially lead to homelessness. The government is not in a position to prevent the break up of family units that make men and young people pa rticularly vulnerable to becoming homelessness. Men actually are the group most likely to face homelessness in the wake of relationships breaking up. Women have a higher chance of keeping their homes when relationships end. Other s factors that contribute to the problem of homelessness are related to crime, or more specifically those people that serve prison sentences and then have nowhere to live after they have been released. People with drug addictions, alcoholics, and those with mental health problems all have an increased risk of becoming homeless during their lives. These people have been helped by groups like Shelter, Crisis, and the Big Issue that provide services to get their lives back on track (Jones et al, 2004, p. 294). Although governments in Britain may not be able to prevent the circumstances or factors that make people become homeless, governments are in a position to help people find homes to live in. Governments are the key decision makers when it comes down to deciding upon the s w and housing policies that are the main ways of preventing people from losing their homes. Government policies can make it easier, or alternatively make it harder for people to stay in their homes or find new accommodation when it is required. For instance, the Thatcher government’s decision to sell off council houses was very popular with existent council house tenants, one million of whom went on to buy their homes from their local authorities. The selling off of council houses might not have been so detrimental to efforts to keep people housed if the local authorities had been allowed to build replacement houses in the same quantity. Selling off council houses made it harder to find affordable accommodatio n to rent, whilst the local authorities had a declining number of homes to provide housing for those that wanted it (Moran, 2005, p.28). Even if such a high volume of council houses had not been sold off, new homes construction has lagged behind the demand for homes to rent or buy. In turn the shortage of houses to rent or buy continues to make rents and mortgages even higher and less affordable for many people. Both Conservative and New Labour have refused to intervene to lower house prices or rents to allow more people to find a home (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003 p.291). However New Labour has launched a programme to increase both the actual capacity and the quality of hostels and temporary accommodation with a budget of  £90 million. That programme allows non-governmental organisations to improve the quality of the services that they provide to the homeless (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2005 p. 8). However, it would be wrong to assume that British governments do nothing to prevent the problem of homelessness growing. The government has to decide which services are provided to the homeless. Local authorities or Registered Social Landlords are still responsible for housing many people and New Labour has been expanded the amount of new construction that can undertake (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p. 70). The main way in which the government helps to prevent the problem of homelessness increasing is through the social security system. Individuals and families in receipt of social security benefit or low income are generally entitled to housing benefit, which means that they have all or at least a high percentage of their rent paid for by the relevant local authority (Jones, 1999, p.176). Local authorities administer the housing benefit system and are then fully refunded by the government via the Department for Work and Pensions. Housing benefits pays out a great deal of money each year t o prevent people being evicted and subsequently homeless, it provides a service for millions of people (Jones, 1999, p. 176). Despite been means tested, housing benefit is still one of the biggest amounts of expenditure on the social security budget (Whitaker’s 2007 p. 450). For instance, in the financial year 2002 –03 the government spent over  £11 billion on housing benefit which, demonstrates the importance attached to preventing homelessness through the services provided by the Department of Work and Pensions in conjunction with local authorities (Department for Work and Pensions, 2003 p.32). Bibliography Coxall B, Robins L Leach R (2003) Contemporary British Politics 4th edition, Palgrave, Basingstoke Department for Work and Pensions, (2003) Departmental Report 2003, The Stationary Office, London Eatwell R Wright A, (2003) Contemporary Political Ideologies 2nd Edition, Continuum, London Fisher J, Denver D, Benyon J, (2003) Central Debates in British Politics, Longman, London Jones B, (1999) issues in British Politics Today, Manchester University Press, Manchester Jones B, Kavanagh D, Moran M, Norton P, (2004) Politics UK, 5th edition, Pearson Longman, London Jones M and Lowe R (2002) From Beveridge to Blair – The first fifty years of Britain’s Welfare State 1948-98, Manchester University Press Manchester and New York Lacey R, (2006) Great Tales from English History, the Battle of the Boyne to DNA, 1689 – 1953, Little Brown, London Malin N, Wilmot S, Manthorpe J, (2003) Key Concepts and Debates in Health and Social Policy, Open University Press Buckingham and Philadelphia Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2005) Sustainable Communities: settled homes; changing lives, Crown Copyright, London Moran M, (2005) Politic and Governance in the UK, Palgrave, Basingstoke Seldon A Kavanagh D, (2005) The Blair Effect 2001 – 5, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Whitaker’s, (2007) Whitaker’s Almanack 2007 – today’s world in one volume, A C Black, London

Elizabeth Rex in comparison to Fiddler On The Roof :: Essays Papers

Elizabeth Rex in comparison to Fiddler On The Roof More specifically, the comparison to be made is between both of Brent Carver’s performances in the aforementioned plays. In Fiddler, Mr. Carver presented us with a humble, lovable and yet poor milkman (Tevye), quite pleased with what he has, but always hoping for a little bit more money in his purse (as he says, â€Å"If I were a rich man†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). What makes his character all the more lovable is his monologues with the Almighty/God (as well as the audience), for this is where the pureness of his heart shines through. For example, he stops to think and speak with God when he sees his daughter Tzeitel in love with Motel. The two had made a pledge to marry one another, but Tzeitel became betrothed to a butcher named Lazar Wolf. In this brief (and musical) contemplation, Tevye weighs the two choices he has, and finally comes to the conclusion that marrying Motel would be mouch better for his daughter, ultimately scoring points with the audience. In Elizabeth Rex, however, Carver brought to life an entirely different character with Ned: a homosexual confined to playing women’s roles and cursed to die from a pox given to him by his lover. Ned is also a heartwarming character at times, showing his companionship with the other characters and with his pet bear, but at other times, he challenges both the audience and the queen of England. The first indication that Ned was much more than any other character usually seen on stage was his entrance. He ran up on stage yelling obscenities (â€Å"Shit! Shit! You rutting bitch!†) and throwing his shoes because one of his fellow actors had flubbed a line. But when the queen appeared, his attitude became more grim and clever. He dared her to stop playing the man for once and be true to herself.

Poes Fall of The House of Usher Essay: Gloomy Images :: Fall House Usher Essays

Gloomy Images from The Fall of the House of Usher In Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher the narrator first views the house of Usher and perceives a mystery incapable of being solved. Foreboding imaginings keep coming into his mind in spite of rational thinking and reasoning. As he says, there are things beyond our ability to rationalize. He rationalizes that if he could look at things differently or in a brighter light, he might be able to change it, but when he looks into the lake he sees, with even more fear before, a mirror image of the house in all its darkness. The eye-like windows of the house reflect back at him. This paragraph is the epitome of the Romantic movement and the story itself makes many direct and indirect references to Romanticism. Poe's references to Van Weber and Fuseli are direct references to European Romanticists. Poe wrote this story when Romanticism was at its height in Europe. The neoclassic world view had given way to the realm of the emotion. No longer was art or life looked upon as a set of rules that if one followed one could rationalize and make a sense of order out of things. Now, one looked at the emotion beneath the rational. And if that emotion was dark and even evil, it was still beautiful because it expressed a truth. Whereas Hawthorne, in Young Goodman Brown, viewed good and evil as something outside of ourselves, such as a witch or a devil, Poe seems to look within the very soul of man. The first element of Romanticism which Poe seems to incorporate into our paragraph and into the story is the moving away from neoclassic rationality when he says that when he looked upon the house he was "forced to fall back on the unsatisfactory conclusion that . . . the reason, and the analysis, of this power lay among considerations beyond our depth." In the story, he also speaks of abandoning reason in his struggles with fear. Reason does not seem to help here. Reason has gone the way of the neoclassicists. In another part of the story, Poe speaks of the sentience, or consciousness of feeling, of vegetable which seems to grow out of the ordered placement or arrangement of the stones. But the consciousness of feeling does not come until the element of decay and fungi is added to the ordered structure.

TOK wok

TOK Writing Assignment â€Å"When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to resemble nails. † (Abraham Maslow) How might this apply to ways of knowing, as tools, in the pursuit of knowledge? Ways of knowing embody memory, language, emotion, intuition, sense perception, reason, imagination, and faith, which take part in the process of acquiring knowledge. For instance, language can be considered as a means of exchanging the knowledge with each other and emotion is a way to express our personal feelings and convey the message to other people.We are able to use hese ways of knowing as a tool to obtain knowledge, therefore understanding the world around us. Speaking of tool, the quote above might suggests that if we only have a hammer, thus it becomes the only way to solve all the problems, which means all the problems are naturally seemed as nails in our mind, even if they are essentially not. In this case, the hammer impacts the viewpoint towards all the problems . That being said, we are likely to determine the things around us, even the world, based on the tool we are holding.This concept provides an idea that if ways of nowing is conceived as a tool, like a hammer, it will affect how we evaluate the problem first, consequently impacting the way we solve the problems and even shaping the way in which we think about the world around us. Sense perception, one way of knowing, is defined as a mechanism by how we obtain knowledge on stimulation of senses. In simple terms, we use senses to look and feel, in order to understand the world.Seeing and hearing are two common materials contributing to sense perception, which play a significant role in impacting how we think about the world. An example of it happened to me, which made me strongly feel the power of sense perception on the view towards the world. Since now I am studying in Canada, a multi-culture country, my friends at school are from all over the world, who have different skin and hair color. It is easy to see people of different nationalities, while I am walking on the street.In stark contrast, it is rare to find people with different hair color in the country where I come from, especially the time when my great grandmother grew up. By chance, I showed my great grandmother the photos of my riends here; she was totally shocked by all kinds of different hair color she saw. She sat stunned for a while and said, â€Å"Oh, how come they don't have black hair! They look completely different from us. Unbelievable, can't imagine, that's not true†¦ This is the first time, my great grandmother actually saw people in different hair color and she was shocked by that, even doubted herself at the first few seconds. It is because she thought that everyone in the world had black hair and yellow skin, more interestingly, she has never even thought about other countries in her realm of knowledge. However, for a ninety-eight-year-old person in China, what she saw every day we re people with black hair and everything she heard was about the xanthoderm. It is not surprising that she naturally had this viewpoint of the world according to what she saw and heard.This simple example demonstrates the idea that sense perception, as a way of knowing, has the ability to influence how we look the problem, in this case, the world, and then drawing a conclusion of the problem. Not only the sense perception as a way ot knowing can steer the pursuit ot knowledge, faith also shows its strong effect on it. With regard to faith, it reminds me of a poem I read in my English class. The poem â€Å"Limbo†, wrote by Seamus Heaney, portrays a depressive story that a Catholic mother attempted to kill her baby by putting him in the sea in 1970s.The reason why she did that is because this is an illegitimate infant and she thinks it is the right thing to do based on her strong Catholic faith. In comparison to the Buddhism, they would never put it in the same way, because kil ling a baby regardless of if the baby is an illegitimate or not can be considered as a sin according to their faith. Catholicism and Buddhism both believe in different faith, which leads two completely opposite Judgments towards the same thing.In other words, different faiths allow people to Judge differently as they look from the different angles towards one thing, in the second place, leading to make different decisions. Simply put, the concept that ways of knowing could shape the way we estimate problems and coming up with different ways to solve them is verified by this example. Nevertheless, there is a common counterclaim states that the way we solve a problem is based on the problem itself, furthermore how we look t the problems does not change the essential meaning or property of the problems.Although it might be true, during the process of estimating a problem and solving it, we unconsciously interpret the problems in our own unique way. Hence when we convey those problems o r ideas to other people by languages, what they acquire is the personal viewpoint towards those problems, not the problem itself, which means we indirectly change the property of the problems when we deliver them by using the tool we has. This implicates language, another way of knowing, is able to shape ow we look and interpret things around us.As a foreign student, English is my second language which I am using as a tool to exchange ideas with other people now. I always find that it is really hard for me to translate Chinese directly into English, vice versa. It is because the way we compose a sentence, the structure of the sentence and the order of the sentence constituents are all different. For instance, when we describe an object, we chronically put all the adjectives in front of the object; however, English-speakers prefer to describe an object following with a subordinate lause, which means the important part of the object is actually appearing after it.As I have been speaki ng mandarin for almost sixteen years, an entrenched idea exerts a great impact on me as I unconsciously value the things with the description in front of them more than those having the description after them at the time I see or hear them. Since I habitually pay more attention to that, I would somehow miss the part where my Canadian friends are trying to emphasize by using the way they describe a thing, which leads to misunderstandings or estimating things differently.However, ccording to my situation now, living in an English-speaking country, I should drop my mandarin hammer and pick up the English hammer, in order to nail the right thing with the right tool. All in all, the idea that ways of knowing have the ability to impact how we formulate ideas, derive conclusions, and thus gaining knowledge has been demonstrated by exploring different ways of knowing such as sense perception, faith, and language. Throughout my essay, we are able to conclude we use different ways of knowing as tools to seek the treasure of knowledge and allowing these tools to decide what (1243) kind ot treasure we are going to tind