Thursday, October 31, 2019

Jewish Museum Berlin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jewish Museum Berlin - Essay Example Under it, one would see an independent infrastructure on the outside though both the new and old buildings are interconnected underground. There is a second underground tunnel that directs one to the E.T.A Hoffmann Garden or The Garden of Exile and a final underground tunnel that leads from the Museum to the Holocaust Tower which is a 79 foot tall empty silo. This final tunnel is an empty concrete where light can only come through a small slit of the roof that covers it. These three tunnels are three spaces that represents the connection of the realities of Jewish life in Germany- Continuity of that history, Emigration from Germany, and of course, the Holocaust. Today, there is a multifunctional space that gave way to the establishment of the Museum’s restaurant and also an area to hold lectures, concerts, and events while still keeping up with the Baroque style of architecture. 1 A lot about the infrastructure’s architecture has a lot to do with the cultural circumstances, both social and intellectual of that time. The interconnections of the three tunnels actually represented Berlin politics at that time where East and West Germany was starting to build and develop a relationship on the year 1960s which only came to a halt when they started competing with each other in year 1989. The spaces that are readily felt and seen inside the building highlights that relationship which was anything but static, resulted by the political clashes afterwards. The Museum’s extension, showed the re-integration of the understanding of politics and social significance at that time which is hoped to bring the East and the West Germany together. Also, the changing mood of the entrants from the cool and neutral spaces to a radical and zigzag design which earned the name â€Å"Blitz† are a strong symbolism of the unstable and ever changing history at that time

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Later Adulthood Development Essay Example for Free

Later Adulthood Development Essay During our life time it is inevitable that we will grow older. People 65 an older are living longer lives. This age group has been increasing over the years with the help of new technology. During this stage in life we will go through many life transformations. First we will change not only physically, but mentally, and emotionally, and socially. Our roles in life will change drastically and if not prepared it will not be a smooth transition. If a person was once very independent in their younger years and now will need to be dependent on others for assistance it could become a big problem. They may need help with basic daily health needs such as bathing, cooking or may need help getting around town. There are many assistant living facilities that will assist them if needed. Another issue in aging is they may become victims of crimes. Elderly people have physical limitations that will make it harder for them to defend themselves. Discrimination will now become another issue that they will have to face. It may be hard for them to land a job at this age because many companies might be worried that they will constantly be out of work or can’t physically do the job. Compare living accommodations such as accessibility and the need for health care: There are numerous nursing facilities for the elderly to live in. In the past these facilities were ran like institutions and less like a home. The new facilities are well equipped with everything they would have in their own homes. Facilities provide entertainment, social gatherings, everything you would need to enjoy your elderly years. Many elderly people would prefer to live and maintain their own households with their spouses and not have to resort to facility living. Health care is important to the elderly generation because they are more apet to have health problems. Because of the increasing cost of health care Medicare and Medicaid programs were put in place to reduce the cost of health care for this age group. Another medical issue for the elderly is that Physicians are primarily  trained in treating young people and the elderly does not receive the quality care they need. In that age group medical care is crucial for their survival because they are more frail and sick than the younger generation. The transition from work to retirement is a major part in anyone’s life. Mandatory retirement was once created for people age 65 an older, it was meant to abolish the oversupply of available workers. Congress eventually stopped this law because it was discriminating towards the elderly. Retiring is a major adjustment in life for those who worked there whole lives. One of the many adjustments are living on a smaller income, and no interaction from fellow coworkers. Social Security benefits is a financial assistance program for retired people 65 and up but it was never intended to make a person financially independent. It is impossible to live comfortably just off of social security checks alone. About 95 percent of older adults receive Social Security; for 18 percent of them, Social Security is their only income. Americans who did not prepare themselves finically will need to work for the rest of their lives. Those who did not prepare themselves for retirement will have to worry about money and possible have to rely on government assistance. Those who did prepare themselves financially will not have to worry about money an can enjoy their leisure time and enjoy the many things that they weren’t able to do while working such as traveling, golfing, etc. Many people at this stage will get bored an unfulfilled without a job to go too. Volunteering their time and possible a part time job are a few ways an elderly couple can do to stay productive and be a contributing citizen. Older people volunteering their time can also lead to a higher feel of worth and self-esteem. Many changes go in in marriage, family, and peer relationships when we grow older. Older people are married they are happier than the non-married ones. When we age we will have to understand that one spouse will have to take care of their spouse. The caretaking spouse will get frustrated, angry, overwhelmed with caring for their spouse. When a spouse is ill this can drain the family savings and add more stress over finances. When a spouse dies it can be very emotional for the spouse that is left behind they will begin to experience loneliness’, depression and will have more things to take care of on their own. The surviving spouse will have to be emotionally ready to move on with life without their mate. Peer relationships will also change beca use  friends are sick and dying and reminds them that the end is near. This can lead to elderly people staying in the house and distancing themselves from other people and family. Some elderly begin to live with family and like the idea that they are around their loved ones. Others do not want to put a burden on to their family and decide to move into a nursing facility instead. Living with someone else can become a major shock because they are used to living on their own. The social policies that affect the older adults are Medicaid, Medicare, social security benefits, and the older Americans act of 1965. Medicare was created to assist older people with the cost of health care. Everyone 65 and older will be eligible for this service. Everyone in the United States is eligible for some sort of social security benefit after retirement age if they worked. This Money is paid into the social security system from taxes from employees and employers. It is a certain amount of money given every month to offset the cost of living. Some elderly people live off just social security alone because they did not plan correctly for the future. If a person does not have any pensions, savings and other income it will not be enough to live comfortable off of. . The Americans Act of 1965 is a law and its amendments and they are the basis for federal aid to states and local communities to meet the needs of the older generation. This law assists with an adequate income, physical and mental health, housing, employment opportunities. The final service made for the elderly is Medicaid. It provides services for low income families, and those who need public assistance. Each state is different with the Medicaid benefits. When we age we will all change mentally, physically, physically and socially it’s all a part of this life cycle. With proper planning and research growing older can be a smooth transition in life. Financial planning, family support, resources are all positive can contributions to everything an older adul t needs. References Dale, O., Smith, R., Norlin, J. M., Chess, W. A. (2009). Human behavior and the social environment: Social systems theory (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Impact Of Performance Management On Organizational Success Commerce Essay

Impact Of Performance Management On Organizational Success Commerce Essay The concept of Performance Management is an important HRM process that provides the basis for improving and developing performance and is the part of the reward system in its most general sense. Performance management is a systematic process for improving organizational performance by developing the performance of individuals and teams. It is a means of getting better results by understanding and managing performance within an agreed framework of planned goals, standards and competency requirements. Performance management is: A process for establishing a shared understanding about what is to be achieved and how it is to be achieved, and an approach to managing people that increases the probability of achieving success. (Weiss and Hartle, 1997) Performance management can be defined as a strategic and integrated approach to delivering sustained success to organizations by improving the performance of the people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of teams and individual contributors. (Armstrong and Baron, 1998) Performance management is all about improvement-synchronizing improvement to create value for and from customers with the result of economic value creation to stockholders and owners. The scope of performance management is obviously very broad because performance management must be viewed at an enterprise wide level. Organizations work more effectively when the goals and objectives of the organization, those of the smaller work units and the job responsibilities of each employee are all linked. When people in the organization understand how their work contributes to the success of the company, morale and productivity usually improve. The aim of all the parts of the company is the key to making these links clear to everyone. (Robert Bacal, 1999) Performance management has three distinct components defined by Banks and May, 1999 that are following: The first component consists of the definition of performance which includes organizational objectives and strategies, the second component is the actual measurement process itself and the third component is the communication between supervisor and subordinate about the extent to which individual behaviour fits with organizational expectations. Many of the components of performance management have been recommended for years as valuable to performance assessment. The importance of performance management is that the process combines most of these suggestions and adds the overlay of the strategic importance of various performance areas. (Frank Conte, 2009) RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES The objectives of a research project summarise what is to be achieved by the study. Objectives should be closely related to the statement of the problem. Properly formulated, specific objectives will facilitate the development of the research methodology and will help to orient the collection, analysis and utilisation of data. For example, realizing the two keywords performance management and organization success, it is important for this research study to have a particular organization that will focus in determining impact of performance management on McDonalds success. The research objectives are the goals to be achieved through the research. The Research should always be based on pre-decided questions. These questions help to focus on the research objectives. The first step in any research is defining the problems to be studied and the questions to be asked. (Campbell et al, 1982) A good research question defines the focus of your research project. It helps readers to know the specific subject matter you will be addressing. It can set boundaries to help you figure out where to go next and defines which data you need to collect and which methods you will use to access and analyse your documents (Hung Popp, 2009). Research question needs to be answerable by the kind of study researcher could actually conduct. The researcher doesnt want to pose a question that no feasible study could answer, either because the data that might answer them could not be obtained. (Maxwell, 2005) In the research the following questions will be answered: What is Performance Management? How is it achieved within McDonalds? What is meant by organizational success? How is success affected by the impact of performance management? What are the positive and negative impacts of performance management on an Organization? LITERATURE REVIEW Literature reviews or searches are essential steps in any research project. They often focus on articles in academic journals although textbooks may also be consulted. Performance management is a term, which is widely used in organizations and in particular by human resource professionals. A generic definition is that it is about applying processes, techniques and systems which maintain and improve individuals performance whilst simultaneously aiming to improve the performance of the organization. ( Hale Whitlam, 2000) From the HR field Armstrong and Baron highlight the importance of performance management being strategic, integrated (vertical, functional, HR integration and integration of individual needs), concerned with performance improvement and development. The principle of setting goals for individuals which are linked to organizational goals has a long history, evolving from merit rating to management-by-objectives (MBO- first coined by Peter Drucker in 1955), through Lockes Goal setting Theory of 1968 (Greenberg Baron, 2000) and finally to performance management, which became a recognised process in the 1980s (Armstrong Baron, 2002). Philpott and Sheppard (1992): The fundamental goal of performance management is to establish a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and for their own skills and contributions. As stated by Hartle (1995), Performance management should be integrated into the way the performance of the business is managed and it should link with the other key processes such as business strategy, employee development and total quality management. Performance staff members are at all times faced with the test of building agreement as to which workloads are supposed to be treated the best, and categorizing which workloads should be acceptable to experience a constrained setting. Once agreement is attained, the essential tools and measurements have got to be in place to decide if the prioritized workloads are meeting definite goals. Literature reviews of various academic journals and text books written by different authors are very helpful in conducting the research and supporting the research findings with the opinion and point of views of different authors. Performance management of employees is an important element of HR processes in the successful organizations (Burnes 2004). Performance management is a concept which emphasize on the continuous improvement on employees performance which has a good impact on the productivity of the organization in the long run. Effective performance management of employees is very helpful in order to achieve the strategic business objectives (Caldwell 2002). HR managers of successful organizations consider the implementation of performance management process essential for the business growth and development. It also helps the employees to improve and develop their own skills (Chen 2003). Most of the employees working in the organizations want to grow in their field; the supervisors during the performance management process can guide their subordinates which is helpful for them to overcome their professional weaknesses and improve their skill essential for their professional growth (Cherry 1993). The process suggests a complete career growth plan for the individuals by enhancing their performance in a professional business environment. However, it is important that performance management process should be implemented in a way that it should also improves the overall performance of the business by using different business processes like total quality management. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT A BRIEF OVERVIEW Performance Management is a method for creating a collective understanding regarding what is to be accomplished and how it is to be accomplished. It is an approach to supervising people that raise the likelihood of reaching success. The performance management process helps the managers and supervisors to provide feedback to the employees regarding their current performance at job and expected level of performance (Covey 1991). It provides clear direction to the employees about management expectations regarding their performance. The compensation and rewarding system is also established based on the performance of the employees over the period of time. It also assists the organizational leadership to identify the training needs of the organization and resolve the performance related issues. It provides opportunity to the managers to set the performance expectations and keep proper tracking of the employees performance (Doorewaard and Benschop 2003). The supervisors and managers can me asure the performance outcomes by comparing it with the performance expectation and performance appraisal can be done on the basis of this exercise. However, it is important that management should adopt the performance management practices that are consistent with the business operation requirements and objectives of the organization (Drumm 1999). An effective performance management process starts with defining the performance objectives which includes tasks and results which needs to be accomplished. It is important for the management to communicate the objectives to the employees in order to get the desired results (Francis 2003). Planning is also an important part of the performance management process. Planning includes making clear to the employee how they assist the organization to accomplish its objectives. Work together with the employees to clarify the performance standards and make sure that there is accountability at every stage. Employees should be made to comprehend the accountabilities and expectations regarding their job. Clarify the behaviours which are required from them and why. Explain them that they are accountable for taking an active role in running and judging their performance all through the year. Effective communication methods could be adopted for this purpose because if the objectives and tasks have not been communicated to the employees, they will not be able to perform according to the expectations. Once the tasks has been communicated and employees have started putting efforts in order to achieve those tasks then continuous performance reviews are very essential to advise employees about their ongoing performance and management expectations. Feedback is considered to be the most critical step in performance management process (Gibb 2001). Give frequent informal coaching. It involves acknowledging the good work that the employee is doing and helping out the employee to perform up to the mark. Discover ways through which the employee can grow and improve, and work together to generate development plans. Rapidly communicate novel opportunities and adjustments that affect the employees job. Name clear actions that the employee can implement so that suggestions offered are co ncrete. Formulate informal observation notes (perhaps on a calendar) whenever the employee performs a good job, make and implement development plan. These observations will assist supervisor while reviewing the performance of employee and filling the performance appraisal form. The supervisor can also note down praise or complaints from consumers concerning an employees work (Hale 2000). The manager and supervisor can use all saved notes regarding the employees performance and evaluate their performance on accountabilities and behaviours. The supervisor can invite the employee for feedback with reference to how they performed throughout the year. They may perhaps remind the supervisor of particular occasions of good performance or troubles outside their control that harm their capability to do their job well. After completion of the performance appraisal forms talk to employee about ratings and remarks. The most important step in this process is to recognize and reward the employees for their good performance because it will not only motivate employees to go extra mile to meet the goals but also increases the loyalty of the employees. In the modern business worlds loyalty of internal customers has been an important concern for the HR managers because if employees dont feel ownership of the work they will never put their 100% efforts for the success of the business (Huang 2001). Therefore, it is important for the organizational leadership to recognize the employees for their efforts and compensations should be made on the basis of employees performance and efforts because if employees are compensated and rewarded on performance basis then it will create an atmosphere of healthy competition within the organization essential for individual and organizational growth (Hunt 2003). Training and development of people is also an important step in performance management process which helps to improve the skills of the employees according to the job requirements (Hyland and Verreault 2003). The value of employees and their progress all the way through training and education are key features in shaping long-term profitability of a business. If you appoint good quality employees, it is likely to spend in the development of their skills as they can enhance the productivity. Training is mostly thought to be for new employees only which is a wrong perception because continuing training for existing employees facilitates them to adjust according to the varying job and business requirements because external environment is changing on continuous basis and it is essential to develop and train the employees according to the latest system and processes in order to increase the efficiency of the business and maintain the market share (Johnson and Scholes 2002). An important step in performance management process is to link the individual objectives with the business objectives and directing the efforts of the employees towards the achievement of those objectives. Here comes the role of the immediate supervisor of an employee who can direct the employees efforts towards accomplishment of specific objective and make the employee feel that his efforts are important for the growth and success of the business (Kane and Grant 1999). At the end of the process it is important to ensure that individual efforts should be directed towards meeting the organizational goals. It needs to be determined the contributions of each team towards tasks achievement. This is also helpful in defining the future human resource policies and strategies. These approaches may help to improve organizational performance depending on if they are put into practice at length and stay alert on managerial outcomes. Some of the following, e.g., organizational learning and knowledge management, might be interpreted more as movements than organization performance strategies because there are wide interpretations of the concepts, not all of which include focusing on achieving top-level organizational results (Liao 2005). Nevertheless, if these two notions are instilled from corner to corner of the organization and focus on organizational outcomes, they can add strongly to managerial performance. On the other hand, the Balanced Scorecard, which is purposely intended to be inclusive and focused on organizational results, will not develop performance if not applied from a strong design. THEORIES OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT The fundamental structure of performance management is drawn from basic principles of well-established motivational and learning theories. These theories are underpinning of performance management in this research proposal. Goal theory was developed by Latham and Locke (1979) who highlights four mechanisms that connect goals to performance outcomes: They direct attention to priorities; They stimulate effort; They challenge people to bring their knowledge and skills to bear to increase their chances of success; The more challenging the goal, the more people will draw on their repertoire of skill. This theory underpins the emphasis in performance management on setting and agreeing objectives against which performance can be measured and managed. Control theory focuses attention on feedback as a means of shaping behaviour. As people receive feedback on their behaviour they appreciate the discrepancy between what they are doing and what they are expected to do and take corrective action to overcome the discrepancy. Feedback is recognized as a crucial part of performance management processes. Social cognitive theory was developed by Bandura (1986). It is based on his central concept of self-efficiency. This suggests that what people believe they can or cannot do powerfully impacts on their performance. Developing and strengthening positive self-belief in employees is therefore an important performance management objective. Clayton P. Alderfer (1972) devised ERG theory of human needs that explained three primary categories: Existence: This is akin to physiology and security needs in Maslows hierarchy of needs. It is concerned with fulfilment of basic requirements like food, shelter and clothing. Relatedness: It is related to needs like interpersonal relationships, acceptance as a member in a group/society and family relationships. Growth: This need involves people finding the opportunities to be what they are most fully and to become what they can. Expectancy theory developed by Porter and Lawler (1968) and it states that motivation will be high when people know what they have to do to get a reward, expect that they will be able to get the reward and expect that the reward will be worthwhile. So this theory leads to the performance management. Equity theory demonstrates the importance of perception in motivational behaviour of employees. The central theme of this theory is that satisfaction as a consequence of job performance is contingent upon the perception of equity. Stacy Adams (1965), who was given credit for development of this model, had brought recognition to the issue of equity in performance management. As we know literature review is the major part of the research project. So, it is necessary to know what has already been covered and the theories that have been developed to provide leads and reference points or as the basis for a grounded theory. METHODOLOGY Methodology usually refers to the general approaches to research, while method refers to techniques for gathering evidence (Gancian 1992). Therefore Methodology is a theory and analysis of how research does or should proceed (Harding 1987). Methodology is that how to apply the methods in the research. In my research, the methodology will be based on both, qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. The qualitative research aims to generate insights into situations and behaviour so that the meaning of what is happening can be understood and it is often a useful tool to discover research questions. Quantitative research is empirical-based on the collection of factual data that is measured and quantified and in other words it is the link between cause and effect. The proposed methodology will include both primary and secondary data collection techniques. Data collection techniques will include comprehensive database research, highlighted data, surveys, supplemental intervie ws. By using the case study in research, the concept will be better understand. The analysis of this research is qualitative which is used to highlight the different patterns and make it easier to understand. In this research, the case study will be on McDonalds. The structure of research is based on literature review. (Saunders et al 2008). INTERVIEWS: Interviews are an important research method. Interviews are basically qualitative but they can become more quantitative by the use of content analysis. The advantages of interviews are that they obtain information directly from the people involved in the area that is being researched and can provide insights into attitudes and perspectives. It gives opportunity to give information of research to interviewee so he/she can give relevant information (Zikmund, 2003). The interviewer is an integral part of the investigation. (Smith, 1983) SURVEYS: Surveys obtain information from a defined population of people. They provide more powerful data than other methods by using a combination of questionnaires and interviews and possibly focus groups. (Zikmund, 2006) states that the main purpose of survey in research is to collect primary data, which is assembled specifically for the research. CASE STUDY: A case study is a description or history of an event or sequence of events in a real life setting. Case study protocol sets out the objectives of the research, how the case study will support the achievement of those objectives, including the evidence required and how the work of producing the case study will be conducted. This methodology covers sources of evidence such as interviews, observations, documents and records. The use of multiple source of evidence, each with its strengths and weaknesses, is a key characteristics of case study research.(Gillham, 2000) DATA ANALYSIS: The data collected through interviews, surveys and case studies will be continuously analysed. Doing data collection and data analysis, according to Merriam (1998) is the right way to do it in qualitative research. It is helpful, as it enables the researcher to focus and shape the study as it proceeds, through consistent reflection on the data and attention to what the data are saying (Glesne, 1999).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Morals And Psychological Aspects in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre Essays

Morals And Psychological Aspects in Jane Eyre Jane Eyre takes the idea of a fairy tale a step further by adding psychological aspects to the story. Jane did the right thing in regards to marrying Mr. Rochester because "what is [considered] morally wrong cannot be psychologically right." In other words, Jane's moral values told her what Mr. Rochester had done wrong. Because of this she cannot "psychologically" go along with it as if nothing was wrong. Psyche and morals both are products of the mind. The mind may consider both options, but it ultimately will choose the option which adheres to its moral foundation. Jane's morals include honesty, justice, and friendship. Her past experiences strongly support this moral foundation. As a child she was constantly accused of being dishonest. Mrs. Reed even informed Mr. Brocklehurst that she was deceitful when she met with him before sending her off to school. She tells him that he should "keep a strict eye on her, and, above all, guard against her worst fault, a tendency to deceit." This both infuriated and crushed Jane. She through experiences such as these came to hate the idea of deceit along with anyone who practiced it. In addition, Jane never saw justice. No matter how obvious it was that John or one of his sisters were at fault Jane was always blamed. By looking at Jane's moral values it becomes apparent what Rochester has, in Jane's eyes, done wrong. He was deceitful in many ways. For one, he didn't tell Jane that he was already married when he asked her to marry him. Big mistake! He also pretended that he was in love with and going to marry Blanche Ingram so that he could make Jane jealous. Even though Jane loves Mr.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Kentucky Town of Manchester Illustrates Obesity Critique Essay

According to Wil Haygood, it’s his best opinion that the health concerns in this town of Manchester are due to the lack of exercise facilities and excess amounts of fast food restaurants and unhealthy foods offered in their local stores. I somewhat agree, to a point, that it is more difficult with so much temptation around. However, I also feel that a lack of self control is a contributing factor in any case such as this, as well as the fact that some people turn to food in times of stress, while others may also be in denial that there is a problem at all. In this story as well as actual situations, I have heard reasons and â€Å"excuses† as to why someone may be overweight. For example, in the story the Mayor of the town says, â€Å"I just don’t know a lot about obesity.† Until you realize it, you’re blinded. Then you get to an age where you suddenly say, â€Å"Oh, my God! What have I done to myself?† On the one hand, it seems as though the mayor is admitting that at one point in time, she was oblivious to the fact that she was overweight. At the same time, I do not understand how any individual could not be aware of such changes to his or her own body, especially if it is a drastic change. I would have to say that she demonstrates a definite lack of self control, and denial that the problem has or had anything to do with her own actions. By focusing on anything but the root of the issue, this woman may be overlooking the deeper problem of her health actually being in jeopardy. I feel that these type s of problems can be solved by individuals simply assuming responsibility that they have a lot to do with their weight gain. They can make better decisions, though they may be hard to follow through with, they can take action to correct their issue. Focusing on one man by the name of Charlie Rawlins, he chose to do this. He was a twenty year old man who stood five foot nine inches tall, and weighed two hundred and fifty one pounds. His weight was problematic to the point that it caused him to have to have several knee surgeries. The pain that he had to experience from his weight applying so much pressure on his body was more than he could handle. Mr. Rawlins educated himself on nutrition. He  started eating healthier, making better choices with his eating habits, and he began working as a personal trainer at a physical therapy facility inside a local hospital. With such positive choices, determination, effort and a lot of dedication, he was able to lose a total of sixty six pounds. He shows a lot of concern towards the local kids. He attempts to get them to come and see him at work, but they always refuse. His concern for them is sincere and personal because as he puts it, â€Å"The kids around here, they’ll eat corn b read and taters for lunch. They’ll get a 20-piece chicken meal. It’s killing them.† He figures that the reason that people do not go is due to a lack of resources, however he also argues that with the amount of money that these people spend on fast food they could easily afford his prices. Another local, Regina Stevens, who is the town’s pharmacist, states that it is her opinion that the residents are â€Å"unaware of the consequences of being overweight.† The pharmacist admits that a good share of the medications, which she prescribes, are â€Å"things that can be adversely affected by increased weight.† â€Å"These medications are for conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and hypertension†. She also admits that while she is most important to some people, others would not need her help at all if they would simply lost weight. Some of these individuals could be taken off of their medications all together. She even states that â€Å"they would have increased longevity in life.† If Regina Stevens is right about this, which I believe that she is, then it is a shame that so many people still believe that losing weight and living a healthier lifestyle is so difficult to attain. One former local, Jill Day who grew up in this town was astounded by the amounts of overweight people, children and adults as she looked around after coming home on a break from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. It was her opinion that the issue would make â€Å"an interesting academic study.† She did a study on the underlying causes that can lead to obesity. She conducted the study using elementary school students, by using fourth and fifth graders, although only two hundred and seventy seven students total participated out of seven schools. She did different tests, and as it turned out, exactly half of the students were either overweight or obese. Her next comments are hand in hand with what was stated before, about the problem  with denial. Day, who is now an assistant professor of human development and kinesiology says the people have a fear of talking about the issue of obesity, â€Å"a fear of knowing the truth.† She even states that some claim that obesi ty by in large is heredity however she disagrees. She states that â€Å"Since 1980, obesity has tripled in children, so we can’t totally blame genetics for this increase.† She blames the issue on a lack of physical activity combined with poor eating habits, and makes a valid point that attitude can make a large impact on willingness to make such changes. She talks about how people do not want to work hard to get to where they want to be. Instead, they just want to take the easy way out and the outcome of taking that ‘easy route’ is that these people are having severe health problems. Some other people mentioned in this story are two sisters, Carlin and Brittney Robinson. These girls are sweet and full of personality; however the main topic of conversation for them is food. Carlin states that she has started to notice that she is bigger than most kids at school and that she gets picked on. Her sister Brittney says that she would like to talk to Carlin about her weight but she does not want to â€Å"push her buttons.† She states that it is uncomfortable to talk about. Carlin even admits that she will not weigh herself because it is embarrassing. The girls do not even have full length mirrors in their home, so they cannot see the extent of their weight gain. Brittney is right that she should talk to her sister and help her in any way that she can, but she seems to be more hesitant when she claims that her reasoning for not doing so is to not upset her. It is my opinion that by not reaching out to her she is enabling the situation. At the same time, she wants to keep from hurting her sisters’ feelings, possibly making her feel worse about herself. The better thing to have done would have been to reach out, especially as a family member, which is a lot less embarrassing than an outsider, and voice her concern in a way that showed that she cared, carefully. In conclusion, I would just like to say that I hope that more people will start taking the initiative like Charlie Rawlins did, and be able to understand that it is okay to admit that they have a problem and to ask for  help if they truly need it. If you are embarrassed about your appearance, and know that you need to lose weight, it isn’t as hard as you think. It will be hard at first, but keeping a positive attitude and staying determined to reach your goal, then you will be able to succeed. References: Kentucky town of Manchester Illustrates National Obesity Crisis (published in the Washington post, July 17th, 2010), by Author Wil Haygood Pages 406-416 of â€Å"They say I say† by Authors Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. Haygood, Wil. â€Å"Kentucky Town of Manchester Illustrates National Obesity Crisis† Washington Post, 2010 July 12.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Angelou essays

Angelou essays When Angelou was three and her brother Bailey was four, their parents divorced. They sent the children to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, and her son Willie in Stamps, Arkansas. Annie, whom the children soon began to call "Momma," was the proprietor of the only store in the black section of Stamps. During the cotton harvest season, Momma awoke at four in the morning to sell lunches to the crowd of cotton laborers before they began the day's grueling work. In the morning, the laborers were full of hope and energy, but, by the end of the day, they barely had energy to drag themselves home. They always earned less than they hoped, and they often voiced suspicions about weighted scales. For her whole life, the stereotype of happy, singing cotton pickers enraged Angelou. The laborers never earned enough to pay their debts, much less enough to save anything. . What is the significance of the sermon delivered at the annual revival? The black Southern church constituted an avenue for subversive resistance. At the revival, the preacher gave a sermon that criticized white power without directly naming it. He never mentions white people, but his diatribe against greedy, self-righteous employers was clearly an attack on the miserable wages white farmers paid to black field labor. He criticized people who give charity with the expectation that the recipient would be humble and self-belittling. The implicit meaning of his statement was a diatribe on so-called white charity. Often, white people would expect the black recipients of their "charity" to avoid all signs of having pride in themselves or their identity. The people at the revival could entertain fantasies of their oppressors burning in hell with the support of divine will. For the most part, they shouldered the burden of their disadvantages of poverty and discrimination with resignation, attributing their suffering to God's will. However, the black church pro vi...