A Solders Duty in Guests of the Nation Essay examples -- European Lit

War evokes different emotions and feelings for many people. Some are drafted and forced to serve, others volunteer their lives for a cause they believe in and some never even see a battle ground. Some live, some die, others are captured and become prisoners or hostages. But one thing is certain, for those who have actually seen war know first hand that it has the power to change and in most cases it does just that. In Frank O'Connor's "Guests of the Nation," two British soldiers are captured by the Irish Republic Army. Two young Irish soldiers are assigned to guard the captives. The British earn the trust and friendship of their young captors. Until one day the call of duty forces the Irish to carry out orders that forever change their perspective on the war and the duty that accompanies. In "Guests of the Nation," O'Connor uses six elements of fiction to illustrate the conflict associated with the responsibility of duty and one's personal morals in the circumstance of war. Although this is a story of war and there is obviously external conflict between the opposing countries, it is the internal conflict of the Irish soldiers Bonaparte and Noble that help the reader understand how the weight of duty ultimately defeats personal morals during war. It is Bonaparte and Noble's duty as an Irish soldiers in the IRA (Irish Republic Army) to guard the two captured British soldiers. Bonaparte feels the two men do not even need guarding, that they would not flee given the chance. He and Noble both have become bored with docile cottage life and would rather be out in the action fighting. Bonaparte soon finds out that he and Noble are going to be relived of there guarding duties but not how either of them had anticipated. "It was the... ... of something like this happening. Now he begins to feel a dilemma between what his duty might be to his country and how that duty will ultimately win out over any moral dilemma he might have to the men. All five characters in this story are faced with dilemma be true to one's self or one's country. Although war is defiantly a divider it also has the power to bring together under moral and personal circumstances. War is what brought these men together and it is what ultimately lead the physical death of Hawkins and Belcher, but it also lead to a little piece of Noble and Bonaparte dying too. This war forever changed the lives of four men because the duty of war was held in above morals and friendships. Works Cited O'Connor, Frank. "Guests of the Nation." Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Sylvan Barnet, et. al. New York: Harper Collins, 2008. 590-598.

Health and Education

Health education is an essential tool of community health. Every branch of community health has a health educational aspect and every community health worker is a health educator. But health education has been defined as a process which effects changes in the health practices of people and in the knowledge and attitudes related to suet changes. A great deal of ill-health in this country and elsewhere is due to ignorance of simple rules of hygiene or of indifference to their practical application. However, health is of the greatest importance and an indispensable factor in life.Without it a man becomes burden to others and useless to himself. In other words, health is the basis of individual and social welfare. But the concept of health and practice of health-education is almost as old as the human race. Health education has been defined as â€Å"the sum of all experiences in school and elsewhere that favor ably influence habits, attitudes and knowledge, related to individual, commun ity and racial health. † At present in our country much attention is being paid to the education for total health. Good health is a pre condition for good education.There is a saying that sound mind lives in a sound body. So, education cannot be acquired without the proper frame of the mind and proper frame of mind cannot be possible without proper health and hygiene. Realizing the importance of health education Secondary Education Commission, 1952-53 stated: â€Å"Unless! Physical education is accepted as an integral part of education and the educational authorities recognize it, need in schools the youth of the country, which form its ‘most variable asset, will never be able to pull their full weigh to national welfare.The emphasis so far has been more on the academic type of education without proper consideration being given to physical welfare and the main ­tenance ‘ proper standards of health of the pupils†. Health education is the very foundation of every successful public health programme so one of the main functions educations should be to help every child deve ­lop a healthy body, an alert mind and sound emotional attitudes. Health education aims at bridging the gulf between the health knowledge and health practices of the children.

“I know why the caged bird sings” Essay

After a childhood full of cruelties, disappointments, and being raped at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, Maya Angelou survived and became the most important civil, human, and Women’s Rights Activist. After her rape she was silent for 5 years, and only through the encouragement of her grandmother did she start to write and act. Her writings won her world acclaim and she was nominated for the National Book Award, a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. She is indisputably one of the most influential women in history. Her poem â€Å"I know why the caged bird sings† shows her grace and skill as a poet, and a humanitarian. â€Å"I know why the caged bird sings† is a six stanza poem. The poem has a very traditional structure. The first two stanzas are triplets, followed by a quatrain, then another triplet, and ends with a quatrain. It has a very simple but effective rhyme scheme. The triplet stanza has a AAB rhyme, and the quatrain stanzas have a AAAB rhyme. This poem is lyrical and intense. The themes presented in this poem are of a freedom and â€Å"triumph over adversity (Arensberg 273)†. In stanza one Angelou describes how birds in the wild have unbound freedom. She writes â€Å"leaps on the back of the wind†¦ dips his wings in the orange sunrays, (lines 1-3)† about the free birds activities. Her words affect the senses, and the reader feels the freedom the birds experience in flight. She brings nature and the outdoor elements to life and the audience is right there at play with the birds. Freedom abounds! In stark contrast, the next stanza snaps the reader back from their dreamlike state. There are a series of very strong words that create a feeling of depression, and claustrophobia. Angelou explains the life of a caged bird. â€Å"narrow cage, bars of rage, and wings clipped. (lines 3-6)† These phrases create a sense of dread and imprisonment. This evokes sympathy for the bird, and thoughts about if we were also imprisoned (Arensberg 280). The reader begins to think what is life unfair and, why that bird? and further, why me? â€Å"But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams, (line 14)† the poem continues and yet the bird still sings. Angelou comments â€Å" The caged bird still sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still (lines 17-18)† about the bird who displays the only freedom he has at present, his voice. Pierre Walker, in his 1995 article, comments â€Å"that the bird still dreams,â€Å" and he has the determination to overcome and make the best of his situation. There is a single focus for Angelou use of alliteration in this poem. She uses the â€Å"s† sound over and over again – â€Å"his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream† (line 15). The â€Å"s† sound creates the feeling of wind, the whispering of tree leaves, the bird is scared but he sings because he can. He cannot fight his nature. He will find freedom anyway he can, and for that bird it is his singing. The use of the rhyme scheme in the quatrain portion of the poem is AAAB. The inflexibility of the first three lines in stanza 3 â€Å"thrill†¦hill†¦shrill† create the perfect path to the true theme of this poem. When the reader expects another word to rhyme it doesn’t, and the quatrain ends with â€Å"freedom. † The same is true for the last stanza, which is a repeat of the first. Liliane Arensberg explains that the rhyme reminds the reader that â€Å"there is always hope, there is always the will to survive and the promise at the end of the tunnel of light (Arensberg 289)† – of freedom. â€Å"I know why the cage bird sings† by Maya Angelou is a very popular poem. Many people find inspiration in her words, and find solace in the hope and determination that bird has. If he can sing, so can the reader. If he can survive so can you. We cannot always choose our lot in life, but we can make the best of it. We can reflect, find out talents, and give those to the world. Maya Angelou presents a very important message to the reader in the form of a very lyrical almost song like poem by using strong imagery of a bird and it’s cage, the pursuit of freedom as a theme, a strong rhyme scheme, and alliteration. Angelou skill as an author cannot easily be missed and neither can her message that we must overcome misfortune and strife to become what we were always meant to be. Works Cited Angelou, Maya. The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou. 1st ed. New York: Random House, 1994. 101. Arensberg, Liliane K. â€Å"Death as Metaphor of Self in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. † College Language Association Journal 20 (1976): 273-91. Walker, Pierre A. â€Å"Racial protest, identity, words and form in Maya Angelou’s ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. ‘. † College Literature 1 Oct 1995. 23 Nov 2005 .

Article Review

Article Review ; Journal of Managerial Issues- Summer, 2002 Authors Names: James P. Burton Thomas W. Lee Brooks C. Holtom Research Design: A survey research deign was employed to study the performance of customer service employees with respect to their commitment to the organizations output. The surveys were carried out on the employees in one department of a big national retailer. Variables involved: The independent variables included the ability to attend work and the motivation to attend work, which were used to determine the attendance of the employees. The dependent variable was the attendance of the employees because it depended on the ability of the employees to attend or if they are motivated to do so. Relationship proposed: The relations were based on Steers and Rhodes model that proposes that attendance is predicted by motivation to attend while ability to attend has an indirect effect on attendance. Conclusion: The results of this study portrays that an employees ability work coupled with lack of motivation to attend work notably leads to his or her absenteeism. This kind of absenteeism is attributed to several family issues. On the other hand, a motivated employee may fail to attend due to such issues as illnesses and sickness. This study also supports the view that absenteeism is a multidimensional concept that should not jus be viewed in one orientation of either ability or motivation (Burton, Thomas, and Brooks, 2002). It is recommended that future researches should involve both specific and overall dimensions of absenteeism. Critique: This study has several implications on management of firms since it helps to monitor the reasons for absenteeism of employees. This study was however limited by the failure of the items for measuring ability to form the underlying construct making it impossible to determine the exact measure of attendance influenced by ability. The use of predictive design of determining the results was the strength of this article presenting the attitudes of the employees about commitment and absenteeism long before they try to do so.

Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto essays

Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto essays Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto forecasted the downfall of capitalism and the rise of communism. It predicted that the communist revolution was most likely to take place first in Britain or Germany because of their high population of proletarian factory workers. However, he was proved incorrect because these factory workers were happy with their conditions and felt no need to revolt. The Communist Manifesto appeals mostly to the lowest of the lower class, what he called the "proletariat". The idea of a communist society is that everything is owned by the state. People are paid "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"; meaning that depending on how many people the salary must support is the determining factor in the size of the paycheck. This would appeal to the proletariats because it would put them on equal footing with everyone else. The abolishment of a class system benefited them greatly. Marx reasoned that his ideas appealed most to the working class, therefore it would catch on in countries with large populations of working-class people, i.e. Germany and Britain. The reason that a communist revolution did not take place in Britain is due simply to Marx's timing. The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848, but the ideas of Marxism did not catch on until the 1870s-80s. When it was first published, the British Industrial Revolution had already started. When its popularity began to rise, it did not catch on in England because working conditions in the English factories had improved drastically from what they had once been. The "oppressed" people Marx was trying to appeal to in 1848 did not feel oppressed when they were being informed of the communist ideals, so, therefore, they had no reason to revolt. They were happy with the way things were because they had already gotten so much better. In the 1820s-30s, when the English proletariats felt oppressed, would have been the ideal time for a revo...

How to Get Rid of Christmas Tree Insects

How to Get Rid of Christmas Tree Insects Theres nothing like the smell of an evergreen tree to get you in the holiday spirit. But when you bring a live or cut Christmas tree indoors, some of the insects that have called your Christmas tree home might be joining you for the holiday season. Heres what you need to know about Christmas tree insects. Holiday Bugs Pose a Very Small Risk   You really dont need to worry about bringing any dangerous or destructive pests inside with your Christmas tree. Your home isnt an appropriate habitat for insects that inhabit coniferous forests, and they arent going to move in for good. Lacking food and adequate humidity to survive, most Christmas tree insects die soon after moving indoors. Just keep an eye out - if you find insects, they wont bite or sting and wont travel far from the tree. Insects that Live in Christmas Trees Coniferous trees attract a variety of small insects that may be visible only in large numbers. Aphids are common pests of evergreen trees, and the warm conditions of your home may cause overwintering aphid eggs to hatch. Some conifers host adelgids, which produce cottony secretions over their bodies. Mites and scale insects also inhabit Christmas trees. Larger Christmas tree insects include bark beetles and praying mantids. Adult mantids will be long gone from the cold temperatures, but mantid egg cases can hatch when introduced to the warmth of your home. If that happens, youll have hundreds of tiny mantids wandering in search of food. Christmas trees often harbor spiders, too. Check for Insects Outside Harmless or not, you probably dont want to spend the holiday season with bugs crawling around among the presents or flying into your windows trying to escape. You can minimize the chance of Christmas tree insects wandering around your living room, though, before you get it inside. When choosing a tree, inspect it carefully. Look for signs of aphids or other small insects. Theyll likely appear as little brown or red dots. Adelgids resemble a dusting of snow. And dont forget to examine the undersides of branches. Check each branch for egg cases, which could contain praying mantises. Prune out any you find because your warm home will feel like spring and induce eggs to hatch. Brown cocoons may harbor sawflies. Look at the trunk, too - small holes with sawdust trails are a sign of bark beetles. Reject any tree that seems heavily infested with pests. Before bringing the Christmas tree in the house, shake it vigorously to dislodge insects and spiders. Remove any bird nests, as these can contain mites. If you want to be sure that you found all the bugs, putting the tree in a five-gallon bucket of water in the garage for a few days can serve your peace of mind. If you do want to go after bugs found on the tree, dust it with diatomaceous earth, which dries out any bugs it comes into contact with. Wear eye and face protection when applying, as its actually pulverized rock that you dont want in your eyes or lungs. Shake the tree to remove excess before bringing it inside. Christmas Tree Insects Indoors Whatever you do, do not spray aerosol pesticides on your Christmas tree, as these products are flammable! Insects require humidity to live, and most will desiccate and die within a matter of days. Additionally, they will be unable to survive without food. It is much safer, and better for your health, to simply vacuum up any dead insects you find.

Personal and Managerial Effectiveness (PME) Resit Assignment Essay

Personal and Managerial Effectiveness (PME) Resit Assignment - Essay Example In the recent times there has been a tremendous surge in the analysis and study of diversity and Geert Hofstede happens to be an important diversity expert who propounded the concept of dimensions of national culture that could have a tremendous impact and influence on the management of modern day organizations and institutions. The paper tends to explore and understand the managerial implications of Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture and extends pragmatic recommendations that could yield effective diversity management within organizations. There is no denying the fact that at one time most of the professionals in the UK, are they doctors, engineers or managers had two things in common that are they happened to be mostly white and male. However, in a contemporary context, the constitution of the British work force happens to be quite different. The workforce employed in the British institutions and organizations predominantly happens to be diverse, multicultural and heterogeneous. In a larger context each and every individual on the planet earth tends to be different. However, in an organizational context, when it comes to managerial implications, the eventual success of a group depends to a large extent on the individual team members’ ability to handle the conflicts and differences arising owing to diversity. In that context, the concept of cultural dimensions propounded by Geert Hofstede happens to be of immense importance and relevance. Before grappling with the managerial implications of the concept of cultu ral dimensions, it would be more pragmatic to have an insight into the concept of culture. Cultures is mostly a learned notion and broadly speaking it pertains to the essential, values, norms and beliefs that impact the behaviour of a large pool of people. Besides, culture happens to be an immensely complex notion in the sense that within a