The Red Tent by Anita Diamant essays

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant essays "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant tells the Biblical story of Dinah, the only daughter in Jacob's family of four wives and twelve sons. Told from Dinah's perspective, the book details lives of women and the importance of the 'red tent' at that time. It teach us timeless lessons of life, love and suffering of woman. The novel begins with the stories of Dinah's mothers, the four wives of Jacob: Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilbah. Although Leah is Dinah's birth mother, all four teach her lessons and share their gifts. With their help and insight, Dinah grows into a strong, capable woman. Through the novel, we grow with Dinah from her childhood in Mesopotamia through puberty, when she is then entered into 'the red tent,' and well of into her adulthood from Cannan to Egypt. Throughout her journey, we learn how 'the red tent' is constantly looked upon for encouragement, solace, and comfort. It is where a woman goes once a month during their periods, where they have babies, where they dwell in illness and most importantly, where they tell stories, passing on wisdom and spinning collective memories. With a heart full of advice and wisdom, Dinah matures from a simple-minded young girl to a valiant independent woman. Each of her mothers taught her something different: Rachel taught her to help pregnant women deliver children, Leah taught her to weave and be strong, Bilbah taught her patience and Zilpha taught her to honor the Gods. Fertility and childbirth were central women's role in a society at the time of 'the red tent'. A woman's value was determined to a great extent by the number of children she bore, particularly by the number of male children. Jacob, Dinah's father did not seem to have much of role in her life at all. He barely recognizes her and she is not a part of the measure of his worth that his sons are. For most of her brothers, Dinah was just another woman in the tents, just another to serve the man. She had a spe...

Positivism-the key to success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Positivism-the key to success - Essay Example ot on an individual’s ability to ascribe positive outcomes to one’s aspirations, for it is eventually up to a person as to how one chooses to shape one’s life. The paper brings together the arguments for and against how positive thinking brings success, and then comes to a conclusion that positive thinking it actually a key to success. To confirm this, the paper highlights the way I shaped my life and how I achieved success in personal endeavors by using positivism as the key to success. Since my childhood, I always positively looked forward to any task, problem or challenge that came my way. I was somehow always confident about being successful, irrespective of the fact that at that time I did not know what it meant to be positive. I simply believed that being happy while facing life would bring me success and fulfillment. For instance, I represented my state in national swimming competitions. I knew that in case of an athlete, one has to be very strict with one’s training hours and diet. However, my personal passion for success went beyond training and proper diet. Before participating in a competition, I strongly believed that I was going to win, and I simply imagined myself on the podium with coveted medals and trophies. I think it was primarily owing to this positive attitude on my part that I managed to win many competitions. In high school I was always hopeful and positive about achieving what I aspired to achieve. The remarkable fact is that when you seek good, you are very likely to find it (Peale 1). I just immersed my consciousness in the goals I wanted to attain, and never stopped until I realized them as Peale explain also. For instance, I am a triplet and I have a brother and a sister. Many a time people happen to believe that all the three of us will think and act the same. However, realistically speaking, this is not true. The three of us spent our childhood together. In fact, in high school, we three were in the same class, taught by the

Leadership for Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership for Organizations - Essay Example This intentional feature of acquiescence distinguishes from the various kinds of manipulations reliant on official power. The final aspect focuses on the fact that the consequences of leadership lead to deriving desired behavior from the followers. These desired actions are supposed to be decisive and are targeted towards an intention in a particular organizational structure. In other words, leadership is the competence of an individual to channelize and to stimulate the followers for the reason of exerting increased endeavor towards the accomplishment and effectiveness of the organization (Weiss, 2011). The paper intends to comprehend the leadership style that would be best suited to ensure the degree of success of an organization. Thus, this paper will make an attempt towards comprehending and evaluating the key concepts of leadership in a particular organization. The organization chosen for the reason of realizing the purpose of the paper is the Ashford Rotary Club. Leadership The ory & Its Way of Working Transformational Theories The transformational theories or this particular approach entails the basic notion that alteration and the function of leadership is predicting and putting into practice the reconstruction in terms of performance in the organizations. Leaders pursuing this approach help in prompting emotions within the followers which are perceived to stimulate them in order to behave in a definite way that can be referred as exchange relations. Transformational leaders are generally learnt to have a good vision and adequate management skills in order to generate an emotional union with the concerned followers. It has been noticed that the leaders possess a tendency to motivate the followers with the intention to attain the purposes that go further than their respective self interest (Boyle, 2003). Transformational leaders are known to entail three core characteristics and they are motivation, empowerment and morality. The motivational factor in suc h leaders is learnt to aim at the upper-order needs, for instance self-actualization in comparison to the other fundamental behavioral as well as emotional needs. The feature of morality emphasizes on the development of the followers. This particular core feature engages the incorporation of the moral values in relation to a particular organization within the followers which aids in giving rise to united orientation among the group members. Finally, the trait or quality of empowerment entails decisive independence, dynamic task management along with effectiveness of the individuals. Therefore, the three features of the transformational leaders help in attaining the following mentioned factors with regard to the followers (Boyle, 2003). An instance can be observed in terms of the President of the Ashford Rotary Club who acts as a leader for the members by guiding them. The President is known to follow a transformational style of leadership as he strongly motivates the members towards serving the community to the maximum. He never fails to admire or acknowledge the work done by his members and makes it a point to speak about the achievements of the respective members with the others. This helps in strongly encouraging the members in exerting increased efforts towards the attainment of the objectives of the Rotary Club despite witnessing grave problems such as dearth of funds (Ashford Rotary Club, n.d.). Effect of Power &

The Importance of the class-system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Importance of the class-system - Essay Example on class in comparison to quality of character, the novels create intelligently woven tales that are rich in story and plot, while maintaining a relevant editorial on the socioeconomic relationships within their culture. In Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, the main character, Pip, experiences the many levels of the class system in nineteenth century England. Although such a rise would be near impossible, the use of one character to experience the many levels of the system allows the reader to create a structure and relativity between the lowest place where he starts his journey, to the higher end where he ends as an English gentleman. Although Dickens allows his character to have this journey, â€Å"The atmosphere and smell Havesham’s employ, or partaking of gentlemanly delights in London.† [1]. The reader remains aware of the rise that Pip has experienced and, when read during the time period, a personal impact was undoubtedly felt by this commentary. In exploring the class system in Great Expectations, Dickens is able to establish the importance of the system to the social culture, while making clear commentary on the true equality of the classes. As he develops his characters, we see that true worth is not measured in wealth or distinction, but rather in the quality of the character of an individual. Miss Havesham, a woman of means, is a twisted character who seeks to avenge herself on a boy and influence the growth and ability to form a good relationship by twisting the mind of a girl. In the bitterness of her ruined life, she seeks revenge through those who should have hope by virtue of their youth. Dickens displays an immense fascination with the prison system in his work. The character of Magwitch is quietly central to the theme of class distinction within the work. â€Å"As a returned convict who was been forcibly expelled, Magwitch in Great Expectations occupies a more complex position than mere ‘out sidedness’ and becomes a tool for a

Management Capacity Resume Essay Example for Free

Management Capacity Resume Essay The purpose of this letter is to express my interest in working with your company in a management capacity.   I have over 15 years experience working for a major bottling company utilizing my Sales and Operations management skills which would be an asset to your organization. My diverse background includes serving in the United States Army Reserve.   In both my military and professional career, I have demonstrated excellent leadership abilities and exceptional customer service skills.   I successfully built a solid sales team consistently mentoring and motivating staff to meet and exceed company sales quotas. In addition to the skills noted on my resume, I can also offer your company: An enthusiastic individual seeking new endeavors, accomplishing personal and professional goals. A multi-tasking individual leveraging sales and marketing skills to exceed sales quotas. Excellent analytical ability with solid verbal and written communication skills. I look forward to speaking with you further to discuss my skills and qualifications.   You can reach me at the number listed above.

Impact of Conglomeration on Cultural Industries

Impact of Conglomeration on Cultural Industries Cultural industries are a major source of generating information and knowledge in societies. The concentration in ownership over them, in the recent years by private corporate houses has brought in changes, in the way they operate and function in society. In this article, we see why cultural industries are important, what the functions carried out by them are and how they are affected by the conglomerate style ownership which is prevalent in society today. WHAT ARE CULTURAL INDUSTRIES? Cultural industry as a concept had first been put forward by German critical theorists of the Frankfurt School, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. While in exile from Nazi Germany in the 1940s, they wrote the Dialectic of Enlightenment through which they popularized the concept. In it, they wrote about the life in capitalist United States and felt it was rather meaningless and shallow. According to them, culture had become commodified in the capitalist societies, which was why they coined the term Culture Industry. (pg24) The complexities which have arisen in society over time have metamorphosed the singular field spoken about by the two proponents and led to the creation of ‘cultural industries’. The different ways in which society is influenced has led to the creation of different types of cultural production. (pg24) The continuous changes in the culture, economy and society make it important to understand cultural industries in the present day context. Cultural industry, in simple terms, refers to the activities which are interrelated with symbolic goods, i.e. those goods whose economic value is determined by their cultural value. This definition of cultural industries is relatively fluid as they respond to the changing dynamics of societies. Cultural industries comprise of ‘classical’ cultural industries like broadcast media, architecture, music, films, etc. and traditional arts such as theatre, visual arts, literature, galleries, etc. (1) In the present day the term cultural industries is often used synonymously with media industries. ROLE OF CULTURAL INDUSTRIES IN SOCIETY Cultural industries have certain distinct functions to play in the present day modern societies. Firstly, cultural industries affect our views and knowledge about the world by creating and circulating different products. The media have a major contribution in this regard, not only through newspapers and broadcast news programmes but also through entertainment like films, television series and music. They help frame our views on what is right or wrong, determine how people live together in society, how far democratic functions are carried out and justice and rights upheld. These texts are disseminated by powerful corporations whose major motivation is to earn profits. Often theorists debate over whether cultural industries operate to carry out the interests of these elites in the society. Through cultural industries they try to accustom the common man towards a particular way of thinking which would eventually help serve their interests. (Pg 4) Secondly, the cultural industries tend to promote a particular type of work in society. Cultural production in societies takes place according to the type of audience. The texts produced in the system may sometimes be mediocre and not enriching for the people because the motivation is not to promote the creativity in society. Rather it is to preserve the power of the business elites and promote consumerism. The contemporary sufferings and inequality of the capitalist societies are said to be the fallout of these cultural industries. The heads of corporations generally decide the freedom given to the workers or artists and thus control the potential of the workers. (pg6) Thirdly, cultural industries are an important source for determining the source of wealth and employment in the societies. Scholars say that it is the brand name of the businesses which are of actual value and have motivated further spread of knowledge in societies. In recent years other sources developed, such as the internet. The massive boom in communication technologies provided an opportunity for the growth of credit based economic growth. Thus, cultural industries act as instruments of economic and social change. (Pg8) INTERESTS OF THE CORPORATIONS It is important to understand what the interests of the executive and owning class actually are to understand how and why corporations function as they do in contemporary capitalist societies. The prime interests of companies are to maximize their profits and revenues. Although some companies provide better conditions to their workers and offer many benefits but the target of the companies is to maximise their profits by minimising the costs. The owning class of companies try to collaborate with companies like their own. Despite the competition between the two, they try to unite in lobbying and campaigning against certain government legislations which are in support of the working class. For their business to prosper, the corporate owners require stable economic and political conditions. They might be against certain reforms which the government wants to introduce which might be beneficial to the consumers and workers. Thus they try to influence the government by donations in the ele ction campaigns and show their support to certain political candidates which will help create an atmosphere in the system which is needed for their business to boom and enlarge. (pg76-77) OWNERSHIP OF CORPORATIONS Around the 1960s, in the United States, conglomeration became one of the basic features of ownership of corporation. Diverse business and industrial houses that originally had interests limited in oil and financial services only, had now started investing more into the media industries. These industries primarily had private ownership. In the late 1980s a new form of cooperation emerged whereby there was cross –promotion and cross-selling between the different corporations so that there would an increase in the overall sales. With the developments in technologies new sources of cultural production emerged making the ownership more complex. In many of these industries such as radio, television and films, there was the emergence of oligopolistic ownership emerging which was leading to the creation of huge conglomerates. (pg195) In the USA, for instance, large corporations such as the RCA (Radio Corporation of America) became one of the leading companies overtaking the various me dia forms like publishing and newspaper companies and Hollywood studies emerged as an oligopoly which was integrated vertically. This vertical integration led to the development of certain new technologies such as recording and playback. There was also cross media ownership which made the system very complex. Film studios like MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) also held considerable interest in music industry. In the 1980s media houses began to invest more into consumer electronics companies. (pg72) For instance, Sony bought over CBS Records and Columbia Pictures Entertainment whereby it could use rock music and cinema which were popular in the US to promote the sale of CD and thereby increase their cultural productivity. (pg198) With the emergence of IT giants in the new millennium, telecommunications industries ventured into the broadcasting market. But it must be noted that these companies did not have significant cultural production. Their focus was more on gathering data on consumers which would help them to increase their sales. One of the most important ventures into cultural industries by the IT companies was that of Google who purchased YouTube in 2006. Google had recognized the relationship of circulation and distribution with that of culture and communication. The basic idea was that the greater the number of consumers who visit YouTube and the more number of pages they view, the greater will be the promotion of certain ads by YouTube. This led to the major clash over copyright between Goggle and other cultural industries. (pg 198) IMPACT OF CONGLOMERATE STYLE OWNERSHIP There was an increasing emergence of small companies which took part in the cultural production though it was at a much smaller scale. These small industries brought to the fore concerns regarding the domination of big business houses over cultural production. It was argued that ownership in the big business and corporate houses belong in the hands of a few. As it was explained earlier, the different shareholders especially in the media industry have started acting as moguls. They have control and ties with other powerful institutions and people who help spread and propagate their particular interests in society.(pg 73) Some scholars dispute that there has emerged a ‘managerial revolution’ in the nineteenth century which has led to delegation into the hands of the managers who have different interests from that of the owners. Thus, interests of the corporations become varied as different classes involved become more diverse. Critics say that the managerial class also bel ongs to the wealthy higher stratum of society and so they may share interests with the owning class. (pg 75) There can be many harmful effects on the democratic practices in the nation if there is concentration of corporate ownership over the media and cultural industries. The media is one of the main sources of information for the people today. It is responsible for enlightening the people and providing them with vital information. But if there is increased corporate interest in media coverage, then there can be a major impact on what the media covers and does not cover. The media can no longer provide unbiased information and always has to bear in mind that the information that they generate does not in any way offend the owners. Thus, the media and other cultural industries become bound and shackled by the chains of the interests of the executive and corporate heads. The common man in turn is denied access to accurate and unbiased information. If he could us it he could make informed decisions. This has a direct fallout on the democratic political system in the society. (3) Another significant issue is that the knowledge that is generated and the culture that is produced become uniform and standardized. The information that is generated is that which can help retain the power and position of the corporate giants and tycoons. This compromises the ability of the common man to develop his or her ability to the fullest potential because what is popular in society is controlled and decided by a few who belong to the elite class. The inequalities in society are legitimised by the cultural industries like media which help retain the power and wealth domination of the corporate heads. Thus we see that the control exercised by the giant corporate houses is not direct, but through their ownership and control over the media and other cultural industries. (4) There have often been debates whether cultural industries under the influence of private ownership have concentrated more on commerce rather than creativity. With increase in corporate interests in cultural industries and media whose primary motive is earning large profit and returns, many scholars feel that there has been a compromise in the quality of news generated. Journalism must maintain high quality but with new budget cut downs to reduce costs there has been a decline in the resources available to the journalists. Also, there has been a shift of concentration from important political and economic events to gossip on the lives of celebrities and the entertainment world as this proves to be more lucrative for them. Thus, there is concentration on public taste and what the public want to see, which some scholars point out is rather good than concentration on what the elites want people to see. Ben Bagdikian in his work The Media Monopoly listed the number of media companies in different industries like newspapers, magazines, motion pictures and television in the US market. In 1983, he found that there were 50 major corporations but their number continuously dwindled over the years and ultimately became only 5 in 2004. This clearly manifested the scope of influence that these corporation have in influencing the cultural industries. (pg205) Many critics point out corporations may become victims of the environment they exist in. For this reason many of them have adopted the policy of ‘de-convergence’ in recent years, whereby they concentrate on their primary business areas and have sold off their other business operations. But conglomeration continues to exist as one of the main features of cultural industry. CONCLUSION After careful scrutiny of the important role of cultural industries and the impact of conglomerate type of ownership on them, one observes that the latter limits the autonomy of the cultural industries in various manners. It is imperative that initiatives be taken to liberalize them from the corporate interests which bind them. It must be noted, that this form of ownership can have positive impacts as well. For instance, the corporate houses can control and keep a check on the government and limit them from acting arbitrarily or biased decisions. They also help promote healthy competition in the society. But after weighing the positive and negative impacts of conglomerate ownership over cultural industries one can conclude that there is need to take positive action in form of diversification of ownership. REFERENCES The Definition of ‘Cultural Industries’  http://www.pedrobendassolli.com/pesquisa/icc1.pdf Reference provided The Cultural Industries By David Hesmondhalgh Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership,  http://www.globalissues.org/article/159/media-conglomerates-mergers-concentration-of-ownership Media Ownership – Does It Matter?  http://lirne.net/resources/netknowledge/meier.pdf The Media Industry: Structure, Strategy and Debates  http://www.sagepub.com/mcquail6/Online%20readings/9b%20Croteau%20%20Hoynes%20-Devereux-Ch-02.pdf

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The Great Irish Famine was undoubtedly one of Irelands darkest periods of history. The Great Famine, or also referred to as the Irish Potato famine was from 1845 through 1852 where many people starved, were disease stricken, poor and some forced to emigrate. The reliance on the potato to the Irish people was so great that when the Famine struck, the population declined greatly. The famine caused around one million deaths and another million immigrated to different countries. The Irish people’s health, death and emigration didn’t only impact themselves and their families but also Irelands social and economical state. For what began as a natural disaster, the conditions of Ireland during and post famine were intensified by actions (or the lack of action) from the Whig government. (BBC) In 1800 the British Act of Union made Ireland apart of the United Kingdom after the Irish staged a major rebellion against British rule. Before the famine happened, Ireland was a society in a crisis because of a rapidly expanding population. The population went from 2.5 million to 8.5 million, which put pressure on land, and food. The potato was a cheap crop, which was the staple diet of the rural population of Ireland. While it was cheap and easily accessible, it was also easily diseased. Potatoes are good with cleansing soil so they became more numerous in Irelands agriculture and diet. About one acre of potato growth could feed a family for a year since it is a crop that is healthy and can well feed people. Pre-famine, the rural poor people of Ireland ate around fourteen pounds of potato per person per day. They would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a liquid compliment such as salty water, skimmed milk, buttermilk, etc. The potato was ... ...sh Potato famine from 1845-1852 was Irelands greatest natural disaster that created a lasting struggle. The famine produced struggles that had a great effect on the economic and social trends for many years. The impact it had on the country and its lasting legacy through out the world is significant in Irish history. Unfortunately the famine had great negative impact on the country and forced many citizens to immigrate. The political aspect of the famine was disordered and produced a lot of difficulties and troubles. Although it is unknown what exactly the death count was, it was exceptionally high enough to be called a natural disaster, which occurred within the authority of Great Britian. Great Britian was the most industrially advanced empire at the time. The impact that Great Britian had on the Irish famine produces questions on how they reacted to the tragedy.