Modernism and Postmodernism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modernism and Postmodernism - Essay Example In the next section the focus will shift to the contribution and impact of modernism and postmodernism to our society. "Modernism signals a dialectical opposition to what is not functionally 'modern, namely 'tradition'." (Eysteinsson, 1990, pg.8). The term modernism refers to a movement that gained popularity in the closing years of the 19th century and was prevalent through the period of the world wars right upto the late 1940's. (criticalpoet website) Like any other socio-cultural movement, modernism has a great impact on the poetry, fiction, drama, painting, music and architecture of that era. The era of modernism has also been referred to as the period of 'scientific idealogy'. The ideologies of modernism were backed by scientific rationale and these scientific theories were used to expose the failing of rival beliefs. A popular example of modernist is the theory of Darwinism as against the Biblical Literalism. (Nine O'clock Service website) It was an era when people tried to break away from traditional beliefs and practices. breaking away from convention there were several experiments with news forms and styles of self expression. The website of the Nine O'clock Service quotes J.urry whi in his 'The tourist gaze: leisure and travel in contemporary societies' (1990) says Modernism ""involves structural differentiation. the separate development of a number of institutional and normative spheres; of the economy, the family, the state, science, morality, and an aesthetic realm" (p.84) The website goes on to state that the modernist sees ordered differences in all aspects of life like scientific and every day knowledge, literature and popular fiction class and mass"; "art and craft"; "education and entertainment or even serious and commercial. In terms of sociology, the modern society is said to reflect the industrialized world where technology plays an important role. The age also saw the break up of traditional communities and religious beliefs and individuals with their strength and convictions came into prominence. But modernism had its flaws. Over the years another school of thought challenged the modernists notion of truth as defined by science. This wave has been called 'post-modernism'. Historian Arnold Toynbee first used the term post-modern in 1939. A very broad based term, post modernism has come to define the beleife that there can be no absolute truth and focuses on the concept of relativity. It is a revolutionary theory that does not believe in the pursuit of truth on defined knowledge. Instead postmdernism believes that every experience is unique and temporary. (Rosenau.P, 1992, pg 26) It suggests that there are no single truths and experiences and circumstances define our understanding of truth. Post modernism too has had its impact on every walk of life. This theory came into prominence somewhere in the late 1940's and early 1950's. The idea of postmodernism is relevant in the works of thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche. His "death of God" movement propounded the theory that knowledge is interpretive with no one meaning. With the death of God Nietzsche held that moral truth was relative. The self was acclaimed as the most powerful who he termed superman. But with the rise of powerful men like Hitler and stalin who held the society to ransom, thinkers of the post war generation realized the significance of

Case Study for the Complete Care Repair Research Paper

Case Study for the Complete Care Repair - Research Paper Example Research Problem The research problem has many angles because there are several problems with MindWriter. Some of the problems that have been seen are discussed here: There is a call center that is able to answer questions for customers who have a malfunctioning product. They have an 800 number to call and the call center can answer service, support and ordering questions. Unfortunately these are the only questions they can currently answer. When a person calls in, the call center must take the name, number and address from the customer as well as the Mind Writer model number. The technical representatives with this information will then ask question to understand more clearly the nature of the customer’s problem. They will attempt to resolve the problem on the phone if they can. The challenge is that they cannot answer every inquiry on the phone. Some of the things that need to be researched include: 1. There are employee shortages and training new technical representatives i s time consuming and does not always happen in the time that they are needed. 2. The courier does not always pick up and deliver the products as they have spelled out in the contract with Complete Care Repair. 3. ... Complete Care Repair will need to research to find where the problem really is and do something more to help it. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to define how Complete Care Repair can help MindWriter understand their problems and eradicate them. Some of the issues they will need to understand better in order to help MindWriter include: 1. Check with the courier company and see whether this is the best one for MindWriter to use. 2. Will the repair aspects of Complete Care Repair that include the diagnostic and sequencing areas need to be refined? 3. Does the technical director need more training or is there a need for the staff to have more training in this area? 4. Is there a problem with packaging? Can it be resolved if there is a different type of package created? 5. Is there a need for repair centers closer to where MindWriter operations are or should repair happen on site? These questions will guide the research into how Complete Care Repair can help MindWriter. Research Objectives Then research objectives will be to find out more information about MindWriter in order to help them. Specifically, there needs to be a thorough examination of the entire company in order to identify the problem areas. After Myra and Jason came back from Austin, they were able to identify several areas where there were problems. These areas need to be examined more closely. The research objectives will include: 1. To examine the call center to understand how they work with customers. We will want to identify what is working and what is not working. 2. To examine the packaging to see whether this is the most appropriate packaging or whether there are alternatives that would keep the

Customer Service Essay Example for Free

Customer Service Essay 1. The key concepts and topics in this course that have made me a stronger candidate to continue in the business world would be what I have learned from the units dealing with: Diversity, Customer Behavior, Customer Loyalty, and Exceptional Service: I have learned that customer comments, good or bad should always be taken into consideration, addressed and handled appropriately. Comments can provide insight to the thought process of the customer and it could help improve not only the customer service department but the product as well. The success of a company relies on the customer. Relationship Building and Solving Customer Problems: Satisfied customers will remain customers until there is a better option offered to them. Loyal customers establish an emotional connection with a business and/or company. Their loyalty is motivated by their experience with the products and the service. Customer service is what a company or business provides; customer loyalty is the result of the service. Extraordinary approaches to customer service is to go beyond the customer’s satisfaction, and make every attempt to surpass the customer’s expectations every time. A company earns customer loyalty by molding the shopping experience to the needs of the customer. Customers have a tendency to patronize companies that interactive with them in a positive, meaningful, personal manner. Many companies offer their customers loyalty programs such as; reward programs. This method can ensure a company keeps their current customer base and entices possible new customers. The Impact of Communication Styles on Customer Services:  A business cannot afford to lose customers because of a lack of customer service, but many do. Customers remember how they are treated and pass the word along, good or bad. Once a customer has been treated poorly they are likely not to return to buy from that business again, even if that business has what they need. When customers are satisfied, it is probable that they will spend more on the product or service and keep returning to that business. Customer service representatives (CSRs) play a big role in keeping, and bringing customers to a business. That is why it is essential to train customer service representatives in effective communications styles and skills because they are the liaison between the customer and the business. The CSR’s communication skills can impact the decision of a customer’s loyalty and the right communication style can be helpful in avoiding conflicts. Communication styles are methods in which a particular individual converses with another individual. Great service requires effective communication styles, and skills. Having a combination of these elements will guarantee that the right message is conveyed in a way that ensures the customer receives and understands it correctly and as intended. 2. Discuss how this course has affected you in your professional development as a student and as a person as well as encouraging you on your academic path. This was a very beneficial, educational and informative class. I have chosen the legal  field, more specifically, paralegal studies. I currently work for a bankruptcy law firm and I have learned a great deal since I have been employed there. I have 30 plus years work experience and a great work ethic. With what I have learned in this class, my work ethic, and common sense, I believe I will be successful as a paralegal. I have learned the importance of maintaining professionalism. This class has reinforced my desire to continue in the legal field and has helped me in interacting with clients, co-workers and the attorneys I currently work with. My skills in listening, communicating, observing and relationship building have improved by taking this class. I would recommend a class in customer service, regardless of the professional field one decides to enter into. I believe it would be very insightful and valuable.

Banisteriopsis caapi :: Botany

Banisteriopsis caapi "It was thirty minutes before I felt the first sensation, a numbness on the lips, and a warmth in my stomach that spread to my chest and shoulders even as a distinct chill moved down my waist and lower limbs...I opened my eyes to a flash of light, a passing headlight on the road, harsh and intrusive. I retreated again and felt myself fade into an uncomfortable physical body, prostrate on the mat, and tormented by vertigo and a mounting nausea" (Davis 1996). This account describes the beginning feelings and affects of an experience between Wade Davis and yage, a drink whose main component is the plant Banisteriopsis caapi. Banisteriopsis caapi is a plant found in the tropical regions of South America, including the countries of Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and more. It is a liana that grows in the tropical forests of these regions and is often utilized in native tribe cultures. Many different aboriginal tribes of the Amazon rainforests use drinks prepared from this plant under many different names: ayahuasca, caapi, yage, yaje, natem, datem, pinde, dapa, and more. It has been used in various tribe cultures for years and still has a place in today's societies and religions. Banisteriopsis of the Malpighiaceae, is a genus of around one hundred species of plants in tropical America. Three of these are known for their hallucinogenic affects in ayahuasca. These three plants are B. inebriens, B. caapi (Schultes 1970) and B. quitensis (Schultes 1995). The best known of these three species and the main component of ayahuasca is B. caapi. When the drink ayahuasca is made, it is often supplemented with other plants that provide hallucinogenic properties to the drink. There are many species of plants, stretching across genera, that are added. Some of the plants included in these various admixtures are Diplopterys cabrerana, Psychotria viridis, and Psychotria carthaginensis. There are also members of the Solanaceae that are commonly used, Nicotiana species, Brugmansia species, and Brunfelsia species (Schultes and von Reis 1995). These plants bring different chemical constituents to the drink. The chemical components of Banisteriopsis caapi that cause the hallucinogenic effect are beta-carboline alkaloids found in the bark. More than nine alkaloids have been isolated in B. caapi. The three main active constituents, and most well known from this plant, are harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine. Other beta-carboline alkoloids include harmine-N-oxide, harmic acid methylester, harmalinic acid, harmic amide, and more (Kawanishi et al 1982).

Lillian Trasher

Lillian Trasher was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on September 27, 1887. Being born to a catholic family, Lillian was not saved until her teens when she got her hands on a Bible and read it for herself. Trasher attended Bible school while she worked at an orphanage in Marion, California. Little did she know that orphanage work would be her life’s calling. How did she become the â€Å"Mother of Thousands†? When Trasher was 23 years old, she attended a church service where she heard a female missionary speak. Trasher would later say that this was the night she was called to be a missionary. She immediately began to make plans to travel to Egypt. The first thing she did was break off her engagement. The sudden change of plans was shocking to her friends and family. Her parents refused to assist her financially. Trasher knew that it was God’s will for her to move to Egypt, so she prayed and prayed, until little by little she raised enough make the trip. On October 8, 1910, Trasher began her voyage on the S. S. Berlin. The day she left, Lillian was asked to read a verse appropriate to the trip, so she opened her Bible to Acts 7:34. The verse read,† I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt. † This verse confirmed God’s will in Trasher’s life. She had no doubt that she was meant to go to Egypt. Lillian arrived in Assiout on October 26, 1910. She would immediately begin missionary work with Reverend Perlsford, a missionary too Egypt. At this point Trasher still didn’t know why God had called her to Egypt, but it would not take long before she found out. On February 10, 1911, Trasher took in her first Orphan after finding the baby girl alone with her dead mother. This began a domino effect. Every time Trasher heard of a child in need she would take them in with out any hesitation. Trasher had no way of providing for the children and she knew that no one from America would be able to support these children either, so she decided to raise funds locally. Lillian rode astride a donkey all over surrounding areas soliciting funds for the orphanage. With lots and lots of prayer, Trasher succeeded in raising enough funds to keep her new orphanage running. By 1916 Trasher was known by the people of the Nile Valley as â€Å"The Nile Mile. † At this point she had 50 orphans living in her home. She new she had to move in order to expand. She purchased a half-acre of land and moved the children into a building there. Gradually more and more land was purchased because of growth. The orphanage would grow to be 19 acres in size. In 1919, the Assemblies of God granted Trasher missionary appointment. When this happened Assiout Orphanage became an overseas ministry of the Assemblies. The orphanage began to grow immensely. The orphanage is no longer just an institution but, but more of a small town with more than a dozen major buildings including a church, five schools, three nurseries, dormitories, hospitals, dairy barns, a water plant, an electric power plant, and Lillian’s home. Today, the orphanage maintains over a thousand orphans, widows, and disabled peoples. The children are educated and taught trades at the orphanage. Each one is given the opportunity to be successful in life after they leave the orphanage. Because the girls are so well educated they are often sought after to boys from the city to be their wives. The boys leave with the ability to support themselves and their future families. Trasher never considered what she did as working but as living. She knew it was her purpose in life, and she loved every second of it. She believed she was living life to the fullest. Lillian Trasher cared for more than eight thousand boys and girls during her life. Each one called her â€Å"Mamma†. She loved every one of them the same and prayed for them every day. These children would grow up to have families of their own and their children would call Trasher â€Å"Mamma† too. It is clear that Lillian Trasher truly was a â€Å"Mother of Thousands. †

Why do men and women have such different experiences of health?

In looking at the question â€Å"Why do men and women have such different experiences of health†, I am going to look into topics such as Biological differences, Gender responsibilities, and Sociological explanations. The diversity in male and females health begins from puberty, usually around the age of ten to fifteen in both sexes. Young women begin their menstrual cycle at an average age of thirteen, so it is acceptable to say that they are aware of their Physical self early on in life, women are more likely to visit their doctor as a result of menstruation, and are also encouraged by their friends, family and the Media to seek medical advice when they have a concern about their sexual health, which would lead to Routine visits for smear tests, or contraceptive advice. Conversely young men would not usually bother to go to the doctor possibly for the reason that they do not want to cause a fuss, or even their peers dismiss their ailment, with comments similar to â€Å"be a man†. Another biological factor is connected to differences in physical make-up other than biological function. This view is based on different genetic features; for example women are generally smaller and so men are generally considered to be stronger. This view is, however fraught with inconsistencies because of the variations that obviously exist in physical attributes among men and women. It also ignores social and cultural factors that are vital to any appreciation of gender. Our ideas in society tend to construct gender differences in health problems, there appears to be some evidence that men take more risks than women such as dangerous sports, Violent activities and hazardous occupations. Although women tend to consult doctors more often statistics suggest they have more ill health, this could be because women in their socially produced gender roles are seen as more acceptable to show weakness and seek medical help and also if they are going to the doctor they are more likely to be diagnosed, possibly if men visited the doctor more often there would be a change in that statistic. In childbirth, reproduction, and mental health, women are more likely to be given prescriptions for anti-depressants or tranquillisers, men however are more likely to have alcohol problems, a more socially acceptable response to stress than it is for women, although statistics indicate that women are catching up with men in the drinking stakes. A woman's role is often looking after everyone in the family so she tends to carry an added burden of stress with an attitude of having to soldier on with her responsibilities so she may be prone to physical and mental disorders. Victims of social and economic circumstances women tend to suffer from what is known as â€Å"housewife syndrome† the isolation and constant decision making involved in housework are very stressful as is the responsibility of looking after young children and managing a job, and of course we must not forget single mums they have the extra stress of either being on benefits and trying to feed themselves and their children as healthily as they can, or being the only wage earner trying to do the same with very little time to relax which is a contributing factor towards stress not forgetting, men are single parents as well and do suffer from the same financial factors as single mothers. In addition there are certain illnesses that women suffer from because of their biology such as post-natal depression, and the menopause, because women tend to live longer they are more likely to suffer from degenerative disorders like arthritis and senile dementia. And an alarming 21% of women suffer from some form of disability. Men are more at risk from Coronary heart disease and there is an increase in men only disorders such as Prostate, Testicular, and Bowel cancer. Gender social roles are becoming less important, girls are doing better than boys at school, they are more career minded than ever, the emphasis is on fending for themselves, its almost as if they don't need men. So where does that leave men? There is substantial evidence that more and more men live alone, there is an increase in the rates of mental illness, suicide, and even eating disorders. Present day mobility, lack of roots, weakened family structure and increased pressure to succeed have all been suggested as playing a part in the growing trend toward high suicide rates in young men. There are more emotional support networks aimed at women, leaving men feeling isolated, although the last five years has seen a boom in men's magazines such as FHM, Loaded and Maxim. These magazines investigate a large number of health issues concerning men, and they incorporate relevant medical information such as home examination of their testicals in a jocular light hearted way, they also contain contact numbers and advice lines, which must be a reasurance for men. The artefact theory suggests that the use of surveys for statistics is inaccurate because it fails to take into consideration the clinical iceberg where it is unknown how many people suffer illness as they don't always report it, also most health care happens in the home, usually women treating symptoms by self care. In the case of postal surveys not everyone will respond and generally women fill in the forms for other family members. It is also unreliable because the figures relate to males of working age and not females, or older and younger people also statistics change all the time. However a survey carried out in 1992 showed that there were major gender differences in knowledge, attitudes and behaviour relating to health. These figures come from surveys like the General Household Survey (GHS) which is a continuous survey based on a small sample of the population resident in private households in the UK, included in this survey are questions on fertility, housing, health, employment and education.

Salvation of the Soul Essays - Bethany Hamilton, Surfing, Poster

Salvation of the Soul Essays - Bethany Hamilton, Surfing, Poster Salvation of the Soul The above image is the poster of Soul Surfer, which was released on April 8, 2011. As you see in the poster, the movie is made based on a inspiring true story that happened to a champion surfer, Bethany Hamilton. It was directed by Sean McNamara. After he read an article talking about Bethany Hamiltons story, he decided to make a movie based on it. Because Christian faith is integral to Bethanys story, this movie is viewed as a Christian movie. It shows the power of faith through the experience of the surfer and talks about God and faith. The creator wanted people to get inspired after they watch it. The poster is made up of many different parts. There is a tagline in the top of the poster, and below the tagline, the title of the movie shows in a larger size and different color. This difference makes the title become more noticeable. Below the title, there is the cast list for the main characters. Then, the main character comes out. The girl stands and carries a surfboard that is bro ken, and her expression appears to be thinking deeply. Finally, the sea is grey, not blue. It is abnormal and thought-provoking. And if we see the poster carefully, we can find that the light surrounds the girl. After analyzing this poster, we can find the poster uses text, placement of the character, facial expression, and color contrast in order to illustrate the spiritual salvation of the girl. This poster contains many texts, including the tagline, title, and cast list. The tagline is When you come back from a loss, beat the odds, and never say never, you find a champion. This sentence shows that the movie talks about a person who becomes stronger from a loss and gets ahead afterwards. After audiences see this poster, they will watch the movie with much curiosity and awe, because they want to know what happened to the girl. The title of this poster is the name of the movie. The words Soul Surfer are enlarged and are in a darker color. This change of font makes the title more obviously and noticeable. People like to associate the word soul with holy things. So after they see this title, they will think deeper about what happened to the girls spirit. The cast list is in the middle of the poster. The actor Dennis Quaid and actress Carrie Underwood are very famous actors. They will attract many audiences for this movie. The tagline and the title tell us the deep meaning inside of the girl. Besides the texts, the placement of this main character is also important. The girl stands by herself and carries a broken surfboard that covers her whole body. The surfboard symbolizes her. She stands alone, illustrating that she is strong enough to handle everything by herself. But she is also lonely. No one stands with her and maybe this is the reason that compels her to become strong. When we change our focus to the surfboard, we can find a shocking scar in it. And because the surfboard is the only thing that is carried by the girl in this poster, we find the surfboard is very important to her. After we understand the relationship between the surfboard and the girl, it lets us guess what the girl experiences if the surfboard has a big scar in it. This placement makes people feel helpless and vacuous of the spirituality of the girl. Although only one character is showed in this poster, the facial expression of her still can impart significant information. A light of tenacity comes into her eyes. From her eyes, we can feel that she is very persistent and can accomplish the thing she decides to do. Compared to the helpless that we found regarding to the placement of the girl, we can find out that she grows up in a sense. On the other hand, half of her face is hidden behind the broken surfboard. That looks like the girl wants to hide something that she doesn't want others to know. And we dont know if she is happy or sad. Her facial expression represents there are many