2018 English 241 syllabus Essays - Writers, American Writers

English 241: Survey of American Literature I Fall 2018 MWF 10-10:50, Rm. 827 Instructor: Dr. Justin R. Wert E-mail: [emailprotected] Office Phone: 961-6559 Office Location: 214 Dickinson Office Hours: M 11-2; TuTh 12:30-2; W 11-12, 1-2; F 11-12 Required Materials: 1) The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 9th Edition. Vols. A (ISBN# 978-0-393-93571-4) and B (ISBN# 978-0-393-26447-0) 2) The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Norton Critical Edition, 2006 (ISBN # 0-393-92476-9) 3) A novel of your choice-see American Novels list (last pg. of this syllabus) 4) two flat folders with pockets ? This course is a Writing Intensive Course, English 111 and 112 are pre- requisites for this course. You must have completed both of those courses to be eligible to take this class. This course has extensive reading and writing requirements, including the following items: . You will read 5 book-length works (novels and non-fiction), 28 essays and stories, and more than 50 poems. . You will write a 7-8 page term paper and 31 reading responses. ? Course Description/Objectives: English 241 provides an introduction to American literature from the colonial period to the Civil War. The course will focus on major authors & their works as windows upon human experience: Description: . Each literary work provides a window upon human experience. In other words, the work reflects the author's perceptions of American history/culture, psychology, social mores, gender, philosophy, music/art and/or other elements of the American experience. . Students will identify major authors and their works as well as major themes & concepts of the three different time periods in American Literature: from the colonial period to the Civil War. Students will analyze these themes/concepts and assess how and why they are essential to the development of American Literature. Objectives: . Students will identify major authors and their works. . Students will identify major themes & concepts. . Students will analyze and apply these themes/concepts and assess how and why they are essential to the development of American Literature and how and why American literature has influenced American culture overall. . Upon completion of this writing-intensive course, students should be able to: Use the writing process, including pre-writing and revision strategies, to complete essays; Support their ideas in writing with specific details and evidence; Structure their ideas in an organized format; Edit their writing according to the rules of standard academic English; Evaluate their sources for credibility and academic appropriateness; Employ techniques for integrating information, such as paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting; Exhibit the ability to think critically; Demonstrate, through their writing, familiarity with the College's standard, evaluative writing rubric; and Cite sources using an appropriate documentation style. CENTRAL QUESTIONS/MAJOR THEMES: for class discussion/tests/exam COLONIAL: 1500's to Revolutionary War . What was the relationship between American colonizers (Columbus & de las Casas) and the native populations? What was the relationship between the American colonists and England/Europe (Bradford/Morton/Bradstreet/Crevecouer/Franklin) . What were the roles of women/minorities in colonial America & American Renaissance? (Bradstreet/Wheatley) NATIONAL: 1780's-1830's/Transcendentalism . Why/how did American literature begin/grow from colonial period to 1820? . What is Transcendentalism? How is it practiced by Emerson/Thoreau? Who are the predecessors to Transcendentalism? Who was influenced by Emerson/Thoreau and why? Who was outside/skeptical of Transcendentalist movement? Why? (Poe, Hawthorne, Melville) AMERICAN RENAISSANCE: 1830's-Civil War . What was the American Renaissance? Which authors were included/excluded from F.O. Matthiessen's 1940 book, American Renaissance? Why? . Major themes/directions of writing (religion, philosophy, natural phenomena, individualism vs. industrialism, individualism vs. communal, abolitionism) . Why/how did American literature begin/grow from colonial period to 1820? And from 1820 to 1865 (American Renaissance period) . What were the roles of women/minorities in colonial America & American Renaissance? (Douglass/Dickinson) . Poetry: What are old poetic traditions continued in American lit. And what are the new directions? (Fireside poets, Poe, Dickinson, Whitman) ? The Four Components of the Course: 1) Tests (40%) 2) Responses to Readings/In-Class Writing (20%) 3) Final Exam (20%) 4) Term Paper (20%) 1) Tests (40% of final grade): . We will have 2 Tests (20% each). Each test will be TBA. However, the 2 tests will be given at the end of the first 2 reading lists. So when we finish a reading list expect a test at the next class. 2) Responses to Readings/In-Class Writing (20% of final grade) . You will respond in writing to numerous essays, letters, poems, stories, and

Primark and Ethical Business.Doc Essay Example

Primark and Ethical Business.Doc Essay Example Primark and Ethical Business.Doc Paper Primark and Ethical Business.Doc Paper Primark and Ethical Business Introduction Primark the leading clothing retailer Rapid changes in media, transport and communications technology have made the world economy more interconnected now than in any previous period of history. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of textile manufacture and clothing distribution. Consumers want fashionable clothes at affordable prices. Much of high street fashion is produced in various countries across the world. Businesses source clothes from countries like India, China, Bangladesh and Turkey because of lower material and labour costs in these countries. In order to meet consumer demand, Primark works with manufacturers around the world. Primark is part of Associated British Foods (ABF), a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group. Primark has almost 200 stores across Ireland, the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Portugal. Primark’s annual turnover accounts for a significant proportion of ABF†s revenues and profit. Primark’s target customer is fashion-conscious and wants value for money. Primark can offer value for money by: Sourcing products efficiently Making clothes with simpler designs Using local fabrics and trims Focusing on the most popular sizes Buying in volume Not spending heavily on advertising. The largest Primark store is located on Market Street, Manchester, England. Some 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) of retail space is spread across its three floors. It took over from Liverpool in 2008 after TK Maxx moved from the basement floor to the Arndale Centre, allowing Primark to fu rther expand Corporate Social Responsibility Every business has the corporate social responsibility (CSR) to be Ethical in its business environment and CSR is about responsibility to all stakeholders and not just shareholders. What is Stakeholder? A person, group or organisation, has direct or indirect stake in an organisation because it can affect or be affected by the organisation’s actions, objectives and policies. Key stakeholders in a business organisation include its creditors, customers, directors, employees, government agencies, owners, suppliers, unions and the community from which the business draws its resources. What are Business Ethics? Ethics are moral guidelines which govern good behaviour so behaving ethically is doing what is morally right Behaving ethically in business is widely regarded as good business practice. Being good is good business† (D. Anita Roddick) â€Å"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business† (Henry Ford) Code of Practice A common approach is to implement a code of practice. Ethical codes are increasingly popular – particularly with larger businesses and cover areas such as: Corporate social responsibility Dealings with customers and supply chain Environmental policy actions Rules for personal and corporate integrity Primark from Ethical to Unethical Business Let’s take one of the above stakeholders the suppliers to analyse how the suppliers and supply chain can affect the business ethics and can make a business unethical business. A business cannot claim to be ethical firm if it ignores unethical practices by its suppliers. Use of child labour and forced labour, Production in sweatshops, Violation of the basic rights of workers, Ignoring health, safety and environmental standards. An ethical business has to be concerned with the behaviour of all businesses that operate in the supply chain i. e. Suppliers, Contractors, Distributors, Sales agents. So the Primark could not consider and concentrate on the supply chain of its suppliers who were hiring the child labour in the factories in various states of India and Bangladesh. Those suppliers were the main source of Primark retail clothing products in UK and. This issue was exposed by The Observer, The Independent News and the BBC panorama. Primark declared as least ethical business Primark, the discount clothing chain beloved of bargain hunters, has been rated the least ethical place to buy clothes in Britain. Primark scores just 2. 5 out of 20 on an ethical index that ranks the leading clothing chains on criteria such as workers rights and whether they do business with oppressive regimes. Mk One and Marks Spencer were ranked second and third worst for ethics by Ethical Consumer magazine (By Martin Hickman Consumer Affairs Correspondent Thursday, 8 December 2005, The Independent news) The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), of which Primark is a member, has undertaken an investigation in to the reports. The ETI confirmed to Drapers this week that the investigation was ongoing and no conclusion had yet been reached. Primark refutes the claims stating it can offer good value and good quality because of low mark-ups and big volumes. We use simple designs, our overhead costs are extremely low and we dont run expensive advertising campaigns. Lapse in standards The information provided by the BBC enabled us to identify that illegal sub-contracting had been taking place and to take action accordingly, Primark explained. According to Primark, the garments affected accounted for 0. 4% of the retailers worldwide sourcing. It added that the sub-contracting involved home working and in some instances children were also found to be working at home We take this lapse in standards very seriously indeed, said Primark, which is owned by Associated British Foods Under no circumstances would Primark ever knowingly permit such activities, whether directly through its suppliers or through third party s ub-contractors. The Primark supplier in question, a major Indian exporter called Fab n Fabric, had employed a subcontractor who had discovered the ultimate disposable workforce: child refugees. Primark’s Code of conduct and Initiatives taken Under the terms of its code of practice for suppliers, Primark prohibits the use of child labour in its manufacturing chain. Primark says it will terminate relations with suppliers guilty of certain transgressions and those unwilling to make the necessary changes to their employment practices when breaches of its code are uncovered. Primark and Stakeholders Engagement Primark sacked the three suppliers before being hit by a wave of negative publicity inevitably coming its way from the documentary. The firm, owned by Associated British Foods, said it had made the statement to fulfil a responsibility to shareholders, not as cynics suggested to lessen the shock of an international expose. The retailer said that, as soon as it was alerted to the practices over a month ago by The Observer and the BBC it cancelled new orders with the factories concerned and withdrew thousands of garments from its stores. A statement from Primark Stores on Bangladesh 19/11/2010 A Primark spokesman said: â€Å"Primark shares and recognises many of the concerns raised by No Sweat. We acknowledge that conditions for workers in some factories do not always meet them high standards that we and other brands sourcing from these factories, expect. Primark believes ethical business practices are of the highest importance and that is why we work tirelessly with our supplies and other stakeholders, including those in Bangladesh, to raise standards and the welfare of the workers that depend on the orders placed at these factories. Primark is working in several ways to continually improve ethical standards and working conditions among suppliers. Primark’s Initiatives and Working with stakeholders Working closely with external partners featured strongly in much of what Primark achieved during 2010. Highlights include the following: Primark in Bangladesh In Bangladesh, 16 of the factories from which we buy have been working with Nari Uddug Kendra (NUK), an NGO that focuses on women’s rights. Together, Primark and NUK have provided training for factories on how to manage workers more fairly, and educate them about their rights. In 2009, 974 workers received training through this programme. Furthermore, Primark has created a new Ethical Trade Manager position in Bangladesh. One of the first initiatives to be launched by the Ethical Trade Manager will be tailored ethical training for suppliers in Bangladesh. Further plans are underway to recruit a female Ethical Trade Executive with a specific remit to focus on women’s issues in factories, which we know are particularly important I this context. Primark in China In China and Bangladesh, Primark began projects that aim to create long-term, sustainable improvements in labour standards and provide living wages for people. Several visits had been undertaken to both countries in 2009, to identify suppliers, factories and local implementation partners including NGOs, worker organisations, employer associations, and technical experts. Primark in India In southern India we are working at grassroots level with an NGO to understand and address the challenges faced by workers in communities where Primark’s products are made. The programme includes surveys to identify workers, families and children at risk, as well as providing a counselling service and helpline for people. A core part of this initiative is worker education and we have established groups that look at issues from hygiene and personal development to gender equality and workplace rights. Primark with International Organisations Through Primark’s membership of the ILO and International Finance Corporation (IFC) Better Work programme, we engage and collaborate with retailers and labour experts within countries to provide localised supplier training, remediation and worker engagement. Primark’s supplier factories in Vietnam are part of the initiative, and we support the efforts and plans of the ILO to implement the programme in other countries from which we source. Primark and BSR This year Primark joined Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), a CR organisation with over 250 corporate members. Primark is an active member of the BSR Mills and Sundries working group, a coalition of clothing retailers which looks at ethical and environmental performance within spinning mills, dye-houses and sundry manufacturers. BSR also worked with Primark on identifying key trends in labour migration in China, and how Primark suppliers could mitigate potential labour shortages through good human resource management. Finally, we are proud that Primark is BSR’s partner in Bangladesh for the health enabled returns programme, a groundbreaking initiative that provides healthcare and education for women in factories. Primark and ETI As a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), Primark continued to be actively involved in a number of ETI groups in 2010 relating to the following: General Merchandise, Home working Principles of Implementation, Annual Report, Purchasing Practices, and China. Primark also increased its collaborative efforts with other brands, via membership of cross-brand forums in a number of countries as well as more informal joint efforts on supplier remediation. As 95% of the factories that supply Primark also supply other retailers, this joined-up approach is one of the best ways to achieve progress Primark altered internal system Primark has brought many changes in its internal system to meet the requirements of Ethical Trading Initiative and to over come the issue of least ethical business. Appointment of Ethical trade Director Team The Primark has employed Katharine Kirk, from Gap Inc, as Ethical Trade Director. No new supplier can be appointed without being audited, and then Cleared by her. Primark has been steadily expanding the size of its own ethical trade staff over the last 2 years. In-house there is currently an 8 person team (including the Director). Recent additions to the team include a new Ethical Trade Manager in Bangladesh and plans are underway to recruit a female Ethical Trade Executive for Bangladesh with a specific remit to focus on women’s issues in factories. Primark also has a new Ethical Trade Manager in Turkey, and a new Ethical Trade Executive to add to the strength of the existing team in India. The aim is to have in place a team of 15 by the end of 2010. Monitoring and Auditing In 2009 Primark had conducted over 1080 audits, which is almost double the number in 2008 (533 audits). The growing in-house ethical team, new third party auditor partners, and the online audit database are helping to support this growth. Audits are accompanied by a remediation programme for each supplier as required. This is the accepted way the industry seeks to raise standards. Primark uses a mix of our own in-house and third party auditors. Third party auditors performed around 70% of our audits last year. So the Primark is increasing the number of them. Most of their visits are unannounced or semi-announced. They are paid for by Primark, to reduce the burden on suppliers and factories. The focus of Primark’s auditing programme is the top 250 suppliers which represent 87. 6% of the selling value of the business. Primark had audited all suppliers ranked in the top 250 by the end of 2009. Primark audit according to: Level of turnover with a supplier, proportion of a supplier’s production that is dedicated to our business, country of manufacture, risk of production process, any other information about a particular supplier or factory that identifies risk. However, Primark recognised that audits are a necessary, but not sufficient, part of the solution to raising standards in the supply chain. Much is dependent on remediation and training. Remediation plan with Factories Primark has third party auditors and staff works out a remediation plan with each factory after an audit, and then a follow-up is conducted, mainly by our own team members. More than half the audits we do are follow-ups (55% of Audit in 2009) 18 months ago Primark began work on a new, cutting-edge, online audit management system. BSI Entropy’s management system helps us to keep track of non-compliances at the individual production site, as well as at country and buying department levels. The system helps us to follow up non compliances in a timely manner and identify root causes of problems and where additional training is required. Primark has established a dedicated living wages projects in China and Bangladesh. The lessons learned and models developed will be rolled out more widely within Primark’s supply base. The project entails using local experts in each country – NGOs, trade unions and productivity experts – to improve the systems within the factories. Primark buyers will also be involved in encouraging factories to make the necessary changes, sharing knowledge and experience with the factory management, as well as looking at how they can improve the way they buy – for example by paying close attention to the timing and volume of orders so as not to overstrain the factory. Training programmes All Primark buyers and key personnel have been trained in ethical trade. In total this has covered 209 staff equating to over 1,672 hours worth of dedicated ethical trade training. New staff members are also given training on ethical trade during their induction. Ethical trade training was provided to Primark’s China-based staff. The supplier training programme has been extended and dedicated events took place in China, the UK and India last year. In November Primark hosted 3 days of ET training for the top 50 Chinese suppliers and their factories in Shanghai. 192 individuals attended these sessions. In July 40 Irish and UK suppliers and factories attended one of the ethical trade workshops held in Reading and Birmingham Primark is about to launch a new Suppliers’ Extranet, an online information resource centre for suppliers which will include helpful training tools and guides for factories. Primark has also developed an online compliance training tool for suppliers with a specialist provider, so we can reach more factories, more quickly. Recommendations to improve Ethical Practices The ethical climate of a business organization can make the difference between a successful venture and an unsuccessful one, that there may be a co nnection between how a business is perceived and its internal ethical climate. Improving the ethical climate of your own business enhances and preserves its reputation, inspires loyalty and advertises that it has its ethics message right. It also fosters an ethical culture within the organization. Evaluating Ethical Behaviour I would like to recommend and suggest that companies should undergo internal ethics audits on a regular basis because that the regular internal audit of the business organizations ethics and compliance program adds great value to the organization. A business organization should take a top-down approach to ethics. By communicating and modelling behavioural standards from the highest levels of your business down to the entry-level positions. So we can ensure that there is no gap between ethical standards and the actual behaviour of employees. By regularly evaluating these standards and the behaviour of your companys leadership, you can effectively promote compliance to ethical behavioural norms for your organization. Educating Employees A business organisation should Increased focus in the business community regarding ethics-based issues has led to increased funding and research to increase ethical awareness. One strategy to improve the ethical climate of your business organization is to offer or even require classes in business ethics. Business ethics classes at the local community college or even classes offered directly through the human resources department can be a practical and cost-effective way to offer ongoing ethics training and motivation. Protecting Employees One problem that might arise in the promotion of ethical guidelines to your orkforce is the fear employees may have regarding their role in reporting unethical or questionable behaviour by another employee or even a supervisor. Employees must be assured that they will be safe from retaliation from other employees or supervisors who might be turned in for engaging in questionable activities. The best way to make this assurance is to offer employees a confidential channel through which they can report bad behaviour. A company ethics hot line is one way to increase employee willingness to speak out. Another might be a suggestion box kept in a secure location where other employees are not likely to see one of their fellow employees turning them in. Employees must be confidently assured that reporting bad behaviour is expected and safe. Supply chain sources Every business organisation should choose its supply chain sources with carefully and make sure that all your suppliers are taking care of human rights in their factories by visiting the factories of your business suppliers. Conclusion For companies with plans to establish a more formal code of conduct and ethics program or to improve existing ones, the tone must be set at the top. Effective standards for ethical conduct must be initiated, supported, encouraged, and practiced by top management. Furthermore, a code of conduct cannot be effective if it is not adequately communicated and explained. Todays technology provides various cost-effective methods for communicating an ethics code. These communication efforts should be provided in a steady stream even after the initial awareness campaign. The advantages that are to be gained from formally practicing in ways that adhere to ethical principles include, the development of company documentation that guides and informs staff members on their proper conduct both during normal business interactions and during ethically-challenging situations; A better understanding by staff members of their responsibilities, and an ability to align their values with those of the organisation; The assumption of an appropriate level of accountability by staff members in identifying and anaging business risks; The facilitation of fairness and moral management in business activities; Increased trust from, and between, internal and external stakeholders. Increased employee satisfaction; A more open-minded organisational culture in which the interests of the employer, employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders are protected; An enhanced reputation within the community that helps attract new staff and customers, increases both public and community relations, and the potential for improved financial performance; and an enhanced reputation with competitors, governmental agencies and financial institutions by working with external agencies such as the International Labour Organization, the ETI and independent auditors, Primark helps to set and maintain standards. Its auditors work with suppliers over a period of time to help them meet the exacting standards set out by the Ethical Trading Initiative. This enables the supplier to become approved. So the PRIMARK has proved it wrong that its business operations are unethical, by taking the key measures and introducing many changes in its internal and external operations. Now Primark’s operations are based on Based on international Labour code and this is Translated into 26 Languages and published on Primark website. PRIMARK has sets off full policies and is part of terms and condition Training for suppliers and buyers to ensure adherence to ethical practice Tough selection process for new suppliers Reference: tutor2u. net/business/strategy/business-ethics-issues. html tutor2u. net/business/strategy/business-ethics-introduction. html tutor2u. net/blog/index. php/business-studies/comments/1175/ http://tutor2u. net/blog/index. php/economics/comments/my-primark-answer-and-more-questions/ abf. co. uk/stakeholder-engagement. spx ethicalperformance. com/news/article. php? articleID=6068 Source: tutor2u AS/A2 Economics Blog Source: tutor2u Business Studies Blog businessdictioneray. com : investopedia. com/terms/s/shareholder. asp#ixzz1Q7yKwTDG www. primark. co. uk/Ethical www. primark-ethicaltrading. co. uk/ /primark_announcement_on_eti_review . htm Read more: Strategies to Improve the Ethical Climate of a Business Organization | eHow. com ehow. com/way_5891381_strategies-ethical-climate-busines s-organization. tml#ixzz1QJ2wEgBZ Published in 2004, Curtis C. Verschoor NASDAQ letter to the SEC, April 11, 2002, nasdaqnews. com/ news/pr20 02/corporate%20governance. pdf Lei singer, KM, Corporate Ethics and International Business: Some Basic Issues foundation. novartis. com/business_corporate_ethics. htm, Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development (June 2, 1994) Murphy, Diana E. , The Federal Sentencing for Organizations: A Decade of Promoting Compliance and Ethics, Iowa Law Review (January 31, 2002), pp. 703-704. Anonymous, (2001), The importance of business ethics, HR Focus, Vol 78, Iss 7, p 1, 13+, New York Brandl, P. and Maguire, M. , (2002), Codes of ethics: A primer on their purpose development and use, The Journal for Quality and Participation, Vol 25, Iss 4, PP 8-12, Association for Quality and Participation, Cincinnati, OH Hopen, D. , (2002), Guiding corporate behaviour: A leadership obligation not a choice, The Journal for Quality and Participation, Vol 25, Iss 4, pp 15-19, Association for Quality and Participation, Cincinnati, OH Lovitky, J. A. and Ahern, J. , (1999), Designing compliance programs that foster ethical behaviour, Healthcare Financial Management, Vol 53, Iss 3, pp 38-42, Healthcare Financial Management Association, Westchester, IL Malan, D. , (2002), Applying tick-box ethics, Accountancy SA, PP 3-9, Hinesburg, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ken gray, Johannesburg. Master, M. , (2002), Ethics at work: The disconnect in ethics training, Across the Board, Vol 39, Iss 5, pp 51-52, New York Read more: hetimes100. co. uk/case-studyconclusion158-412-6. php#ixzz1QJJhwWDY Messmer, M. , (2003), Does your company have a code of ethics, Strategic Finance, Vol 84, Iss 10, pp 13-14, Institute of Management Accountants, Montvale, NJ Niedermeier, S. and Rhodes, L. , (2002), Creating a culture of credibility, The Journal for Quality and Participation, Vol 25, Iss 4, pp 13-14, Association for Quality and Participation, Cincinnati, OH The Work Foundation, (2002), Managing Best Practice No. 8: Corporate Soc ial Responsibility Case Study 1, pp 20-21, The Work Foundation, Birmingham Verschoor, C. C. , (2000), To talk about ethics, we must train on ethics, Strategic Finance, Vol 81, Iss 10, p 24, Institute of Management Accountants, Montvale Wells, S. J. , (1999), Turn employees into saints? , HRMagazine, Vol 44, Iss 13, pp 48-58, Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria thetimes100. co. uk/case-studyconclusion158-412-6. php#ixzz1QJJhwWDY

Significance of Troy in Iliad and Uruk in Gilgamesh Research Paper

Significance of Troy in Iliad and Uruk in Gilgamesh - Research Paper Example Homer’s Iliad is fundamental to any study of Troy and the Trojans... the Iliad’s importance for the purpose of the book is twofold. First, it is the earliest surviving literary representation of the Trojans... Secondly, the Iliad had a continuing influence right through to the end of the ancient world. (Erskine, 48) ...nor were the trench and the high wall above it, to/ keep the Trojans in check longer. They had built it to protect/ their ships and had dug the trench all round it that it might/ safeguard both the ships and the rich spoils which they had/ taken, but they had not offered hecatombs to the gods. It had/ been built without the consent of the immortals, and therefore it/ did not last. (Book XII) Troy was built by the sea and was protected by a trench and a fortified wall. This shows the military strength of Troy and it also explicit its ability to attack the enemy from behind its walls. The high walls of the fortress gave an opportunity to assess the strength of the approaching enemy and an easy way to attack it. Moreover, the trench also served as an important defense mechanism to keep the enemy out of the city. Though the military might of Troy seemed invincible, yet it fell because the gods were perhaps not happy with the people. As it was built without paying homage to the gods or the ‘immortals’; therefore, it was bound to be destroyed. It points towards an important religious factor in Iliad that cities can retain life only with the approval of gods. â€Å"The lofty towers of wide-extended troy† (36, Book II) could not be saved from burning down to ashes even with all its military strength.This was not the case long before, when â€Å"None stands so dear to Jove as sacred Troy† (68, Book IV). Troy was a city that was self-sufficient in crops and agriculture.

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 23

Management - Essay Example After that, everybody choose what part of the project that he or she wanted to do. By the second week, the group established a schedule that suited the whole team. The main purpose of this was to meet and discuss further plans in order to meet the course requirements. Also, the structure of the group was balanced, where every person reported to all the other members. This gave the group the advantage of knowing and being up-to-date on what their colleagues were working on. Another advantage that the group had was no task or process conflicts in choosing the film or working on our meeting schedule. The all-channeled structure made it easy for us to communicate with each other. The group also set their goals and expected outcomes from this experience, and then laid down the plan of how to meet them. Our goals for the team were very straightforward when we began our project. Unexpectedly, we had established some SMART goals for the team prior to knowing the full definition. Our specific goal was a time-bound goal. We decided that everyone would do his or her task and submit it by a specific time. The influence style most frequently used in our group was the collaborative approach. We worked together to include everyone in the decision making process and left no group member in the dark. There was never a set position of power because we all worked together in delegating all of our tasks. This influence style was highly effective because it allowed our group to work as a team and not as singular entities. By agreeing on all of our tasks together, we were able to form a strong unbiased opinion. This allowed us to efficiently set goals and maintain a strong work ethic. Through using this process, there were little to no conflicts. The only minor conflict that arose was when we could not find a set date that would allow our schedules to work together; however, we communicated effectively through emails and got together when

Social Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Social Psychology - Essay Example Achieving social competence requires balanced interaction with the cognitive state of individual, psychological dispositions and cultures the individual practices (Lovaglia, 2007). Until the 1970’s sociologists underscored the investigation of emotion as a relevant field in sociology (Stets, 2007). However, with the discovery that human behavior, interaction and social structuring relies on emotional expression, sociologists delve into manners of human expression such as language. Language is a main way through which people express their emotion. Therefore, developing linguistic faculties aids humans in acquiring the sense of self through expression of their emotions. Language defines symbolic interaction as it is the means through which culture moves form one generation to the next. Language is not only a symbol but its use elicits symbols through which humans understand each other. For instance, one may choose obscene words to refer to a situation or person. This obscene lan guage expresses anger or disappointment. One can see that Mead (1934) succeeds in his intention of highlighting the importance of language in social psychology (James, 2007). Through an interaction of an array of possible developmental stages as suggested by various theorists, an individual reaches a compromise of the best possible self. A few of these theories include latent trait theory and, in view of Herbert Mead, mainly cognitive theory. Sense of self involves creating a distinction between the self and others. These distinctions are as basic as knowing ones gender. The sense of self, therefore, relies on knowing what role one plays in society. The position affiliated to a person is a symbol of the self as it guides the social interactions they engage. For instance, an individual when analyzing an occurrence will ask â€Å"who† did what to â€Å"whom†? Even in the constantly changing roles, self identity is responsible for stability and coherence, in regard to soc ial interactions, for the individual. However, Mead points out that the self needs to be as flexible as possible. This will help the individual to self conceptualize and, therefore, create the unique self (Stets, 2007). The sense of self lays a foundation for development of self esteem. Without self esteem, an individual will have a hard time balancing their inner feelings with those people hold towards them. Secondly, the individual will have a hard time expressing their emotions even with a grasp on linguistic faculties and their perceived meanings. The result of this is deviants in society as seen in crime, and sexual expression. Social competence should be emphasized in childhood as early as possible. Jean Piaget viewed young children as little scientists. He was of the view that children are capable of deciphering situations and actions through perception. Therefore, it is possible to introduce self control to the child as it will help them associate it with self esteem even la ter in life. According to Siegel in his book â€Å"Criminology: Theories Patterns and Typology†, research reveals that low self control during childhood may result in disrupted social bonds. This means that, in adulthood, the individual will not have meaningful social interactions due to low self esteem. This is a sure way to fall in to some forms of crime as prescribed by latent trait theory. The same can apply to sexual interactions that have a direct correlation to self esteem. Siegel (2012) further notes

Development of a Perception System for Indoor Environments

Development of a Perception System for Indoor Environments Autonomous navigation is a well-known task in robotic research. It is associated to get the environmental information such as visual images or distance or proximity measurements from external sensors and to detect obstacles and measure the distance to objects close to the robot path[10, 35]. Most robots are equipped to distance sensors like ultrasonic, laser or infrared to be able to move through corridors and to follow walls in indoor environments. A[A1] control algorithm based on odometric sensorial information and distance measurements supplied by sonar sensors was developed to guide a mobile robot moving along a corridor or following a wall in [3]. The[A2] Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) structure was evaluated for wall following task using ultrasound sensors in [17]. a mobile robot control law for corridor navigation and wall-following, based on sonar and odometric sensorial information is proposed. The control law allows for stable navigation avoiding actuator saturation. The posture information of the robot travelling through the corridor is estimated by using odometric and sonar sensing. The[A3] ultrasonic sensors were also used to measure and obtain the distance and orientation of a robot utilizing a Fuzzy Incremental Controller (FIC) for controlling a wall follower robot [10]. Trajectory tracking task is an especial task of wall following which is no obstacle like walls to detect. So, distance sensors like sonar or infrared could not help the robot to follow the trajectory. Control[A4] algorithms based on vision sensors have also been introduced for indoor navigation. For example, a robot utilized a vanishing point of lines extracted from the corridor structure in order to identify the heading direction. But, a complex mathematical calculation is needed to capture the vanishing point [37]. A[A5] CCD color camera was used to control the position of a robot while it navigated towards a target position [15]. The images of this camera were processed and the visual features of environment were fed through a neural network to enable a mobile robot to identify its own position. The task of orientation recognition was applied in order to follow a path in environment, too. The[A6] 3D trajectory estimation for unknown outdoor environments was investigated in [31]. This estimation was based on vision information captured by a trinocular stereo camera that is mounted on the robot. No prior map was used and the trajectory is found by tracking and detecting relative changes in the position of features extracted from images. Most techniques used complex mathematical equations and models of the operating environment to achieve the ability to move through corridors, to follow walls, to turn corners and to enter open areas of the rooms for an indoor navigation task [7]. Researchers[A7] used vision sensors to detect trajectory and to design their steering control law using the kinematic equations of motion[13, 34]. In these works which were considered in an off-road environment, the robot used both laser range finder and stereo vision. The laser was used to scan the close front ground for analyzing its roughness, and stereo vision apperceived drivable situation of far front ground. The path planning was performed using the data acquired from these sensors. Among three processes applied in outdoor navigation, including perception, planner, and motion control module, these works were focused on the decision of control laws of the robot, i.e. the longitudinal velocity, the lateral velocity, and the angles of sensor pan-tilts. The controller uses the information prepared by the planner. The characteristics of terrain like coefficient of longitudinal rolling resistance and the coefficient of lateral friction are known, and a description of trajectory space is presented according to the robots dynamic analysis. The[A8] Reinforcement Learning (RL) was applied to control a wall follower robot for learning reactive behaviors[30]. The environment is perceived in 3D using a stereo and mono vision. In this work, the images are processed to reduce the amount of relevant information and a small occupancy grid with 9 cells is created to discretize the state space. The controller utilized Q-learning technique and the action space was discrete, too. The most considerable works which have yet been done in outdoor robot navigation have constructed a grid map to determine the traversability of the terrains. The classical methods focus on a binary representation of the terrain from an obstacle occupancy point of view. Another approach is to characterize the presence of an obstacle in a grid cell by giving a continuous value. This value represents the probability distribution for occupancy of the grid cell by an obstacle. The more comprehensive methods evaluate terrain characteristics, too[9, 33]. For example, traversability is defined as a non-binary mathematical function of the slope and roughness of the terrain for each cell [18]. This traversability degree has not been interfered to robot local control directly and it has just been used in the path planner. They use some systems like GPS to find their locations and measure the distance they moved through. Kinect[A9] sensor was used to capture 3D point cloud data of outdoor environment in [28]. This data were fed to a 3D Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm to localize the robot in the environment. This point cloud was projected into a 2D plane to make a 2D SLAM algorithm applicable, too. According to this research, the advantages of Kinect sensor are a considerably lower price, and the inclusion of color into the maps in compared to conventional laser scanners. A[A10] system with two main parts was applied on surveillance mobile robot and enable it to have an autonomous navigation [4]. One part is a reactive navigation system. It used Kinect data to avoid obstacles. In this part, the depth map with one row and 5 columns was created using each depth image and pixel intensity of three cells (left, front and right) are analyzed to compute the absolute minimum and maximum distances between sensor and obstacles. Eight different situations and their relevant action commands are determined. A classifying system trained possible situations of an indoor environment using Kinect data in second part of the system. [A1]a mobile robot control law for corridor navigation and wall-following, based on sonar and odometric sensorial information is proposed. The control law allows for stable navigation avoiding actuator saturation. The posture information of the robot travelling through the corridor is estimated by using odometric and sonar sensing. [A2]In particular we deal with the well-known strategy of navigating by wall-following. In this study, probabilistic neural network (PNN) structure was used for robot navigation tasks. The provided files comprise three different data sets. The first one contains the raw values of the measurements of all 24 ultrasound sensors and the corresponding class label Sensor readings are sampled at a rate of 9 samples per second. [A3]The robot navigation is based on wall following algorithm. The robot is controlled using fuzzy incremental controller (FIC) and embedded in PIC18F4550 microcontroller. FIC guides the robot to move along a wall in a desired direction by maintaining a constant distance to the wall. Two ultrasonic sensors are installed in the left side of the robot to sense the wall distance. The wall following control of the autonomous robot has been presented using ultrasonic sensors. The sensor data are used to measure and obtain the distance and orienta- tion of the robot [A4]Some control algorithms based on artificial vision have been introduced, where the robot is allowed to move by following the wall in the corridor like the one introduced by Durrant-Whyte et al. In other research work, Zhou et al. [20] let the robot in their work to identify the heading direction through a vanishing point of lines extracted from the corridor structure. The lines look like they are scattering from one point in the image of the corridor. This one point is the vanishing point. Although it looks easy to extract the lines, but capturing the vanishing point require a complex mathematical calculation. [A5]The problem of controlling the pose of a mobile robot with respect to a target position by means of visual feedback is investigated mainly. The proposed method enables a mobile robot to identify its own position using visual features of environment. At the same time, the robot performs an orientation recognition using the same recognition method of position identification in order to follow a path in environment We developed a visual perception navigation algorithm where the robot is able to recognize its own position and orientation through robust distinguishing operation using a single vision sensor. [A6]This paper describes ongoing research at the University of British Columbia on the problem of real-time purely vision based 3D trajectory estimation for outdoor and unknown environments. The system includes an inexpensive trinocular stereo camera that can be mounted anywhere on the robot. It employs existing scene information and requires no prior map, nor any modifi cation to be made in the scene. [A7] Autonomous mobile robot achieves outdoor navigation by three processes, including the environment information acquired by the perception module, the control decision made by the planner module, and the motion plan performed by the motion control module[8]. Consequently, for safe and accurate outdoor navigation it is vital to harmonize the three modules performance. In this paper, the emphasis is focused on the decision of control laws of the robot, and objects include the longitudinal velocity, the lateral velocity, and the angles of sensor pan-tilts. In an off-road environment, the robot uses laser range finder (LRF) with one degree of freedom (DOF) pan-tilt (only tilt) to scan bumpy situation of the close front ground, on which the robot is moving, and employs stereo vision with two DOF pan-tilt to perceive drivable situation of far front ground. With the data accessed from laser and vision sensors, the passable path can be planned, and the velocities of left side and right side of the robot can be controlled to track the path, consequently, the robot off-road running is completed In this paper, a description of trajectory space[7] is presented according to the robots dynamic analysis, which is defined as the two-dimensional space of the robots turning angular speed and longitude velocity. [A8]This article describes the development of a wall following behaviour using a methodology for the learning of visual and reactive behaviours with reinforcement learning. With the use of artifi cial vision the environment is perceived in 3D, and it is possible to avoid obstacles that are invisible to other sensors that are more common in mobile robotics. the image is divided into a grid made up of 3 rows and 3 columns (Fig. 2(c)) for codifi cation. Each cell will have either free or ocuppied label, depending on the number of edge pixels it contains. Thus defi ned, the state space is 29, and in order to reduce it, it is supposed that if a cell in one of the columns is occupied, all those cells above it are also occupied. [A9]In this paper we investigate the suitability of the Xbox Kinect optical sensor for navigation and simultaneous localisation and mapping. We present a prototype which uses the Kinect to capture 3D point cloud data of the external environment. The data is used in a 3D SLAM to create 3D models of the environment and localise the robot in the environment. By projecting the 3D point cloud into a 2D plane, we then use the Kinect sensor data for a 2D SLAM algorithm. We compare the performance of Kinectbased 2D and 3D SLAM algorithm with traditional solutions and show that the use of the Kinect sensor is viable. Our research indicates that the Kinect is a viable option for use as a sensor for mobile robotic navigation and SLAM. It ofiâ‚ ¬ers signifi cant advantages over conventional laser scanners, such as 3D model building, pure visual SLAM, a considerably lower price, and the inclusion of colour into the maps. [A10]This paper presents the development of a perception system for indoor environments to allow autonomous navigation for surveillance mobile robots. The system is composed by two parts. The first part is a reactive navigation system in which a mobile robot moves avoiding obstacles in environment, using the distance sensor Kinect. The second part of this system uses a artificial neural network (ANN) to recognize different configurations of the environment, for example, path ahead, left path, right path and intersections. The ANN is trained using data captured by the Kinect sensor in indoor environments. This way, the robot becomes able to perform a topological navigation combining internal reactive behavior to avoid obstacles and the ANN to locate the robot in the environment, in a deliberative behavior

Sherlock Holmes & The Speckled Band / Lamb To The Slaughter Essay examp

Sherlock Holmes & The Speckled Band / Lamb To The Slaughter "Lamb to the slaughter", by Roald Dahl, and "The Speckled Band" by Arthur Conan Doyle share many features, despite the difference in eras in which they were written. Each story has its own distinctive style when creating both tension and an atmosphere of suspense. "The Speckled Band" has a sense of urgency about it, yet manages to build up suspense until the climax of the story. "I have reasons to know....which tend to make the matter even more terrible than the truth." This quote, found in the first paragraph, immediately begins creating an atmosphere for the story, and intriguing the reader as to what the narrator (Dr. Watson) is talking about. The reader will now want to continue reading to find out the truth. Doyle also uses other character's speech to add to the tension: "It is not cold which makes me shiver...it is fear, Mr. Holmes. It is terror." At this point, the events have not been explained - this character (Miss Stoner) describing how she is feeling inceases the tension, as the readers do not yet know the full situation; only that they should be scared of whatever it is. The use of the word "terror" helps to emphasise the point - 'fear' may not be strong enough, but following it with 'terror' helps to reinforce the situation to the reader. "You must not fear...we shall soon set matters right." As Sherlock Holmes says this, it may cast a doubt over the reader's mind - if a character issues a statement proclaiming that things will turn out well, there is a concept that the opposite may happen instead. All this further adds to the need to read more, as the reader will now want to see if Holmes is indeed correct. .. ...e author here also manages to end the story in a fitting manner, by having the investigating officers eat the murder weapon. The atmosphere and overall tone changes at the climax - from a serious murder story to a black comedy, using the line: "Personally, I think it's right here on the premises." "Probably right here under our very noses." The irony is that the men are being unknowingly correct - they are actually eating the leg of lamb used to kill one of their colleagues. The two stories also differ in the way they use sympathy. In "The Speckled Band", the audience is supposed to express sympathy towards the victim, Helen Stoner, and is expected to be against the killer, Dr. Roylott. In "Lamb To The Slaughter", it is written so that it appears the killer is actually the true victim - that she was driven to killing her husband by the man himself.