My Favourite Cafe

I would like to tell you some words about one of my favourite cafes in Murom. It is a suitable place to sit with a cup of tea or coffee or to spend spare time with your friends. In my humble opinion, it would be hard to find friendlier place in Murom than this litlle cafe, but of course it is a matter of taste. This coffee-house is located in Moscovskaya street near the cafe-club â€Å"Happiness†. The interior helps to create relaxed home atmosphere. It is a small cafe, which specializes in serving coffee and desserts with a small and simple dining room. You can find different types of coffee there – espresso, capuchino, latte, black coffee, coffee with cognac, liqueur and some others. Also this cafe provides all kinds of drinks – alcoholic and non-alcoholic, such as juice, mineral water and various types of tea. The cafe’s menu is rather diverse. You can eat salads, fish and meat dishes; tasty cakes, rolls and and pies with different fillings; fruits – apples, oranges, grapefruits and lemons cut in small pieces; sandwiches and pancakes with various syrops and sauces; sushi and a variety of ice-cream, that can be with fruit sweet syrops, nuts and chocolate. The interior of this cafe is rather cosy and comfortable. Inside the cafe one can observe several small wooden tables without table-cloths, wooden chairs and nice soft sofas. There are stands with sugar, salt and paper napkins on the tables. Near the entrance, there is a large mirror, therefore the visitors have an opportunity to look at themselves. Along the walls are wooden cases with some pictures and photos. You can always hear unostentatious and melodic music there. The waiters are rather neat, friendly and polite. Usually the order is ready quickly, and the visitors don’t wait for a long time. Unfortunately, I can’t remember, when this cafe starts its work, but I know that they close up usually at 1 o’clock am. Also, it is allowed to smoke there, but only after 7 o’clock pm. In the evening some visitors ask the waiter to bring them an ashtray, so that they can drink a cup of fresh coffee with a cigarette. The prices in this cafe are not very high. The cost of a cup of coffee varies from 40 to 150 rubles, ice-cream – about 100-130 rubles and a glass of juice 30-40 rubles. Usually I prefer to order several cups of coffee, tasty ice-cream and some sweet deserts – puddings, pancakes, pies, etc. In the middle of the cafe, one can see a small bar with a variety of alcohol drinks, mineral waters and juices. The room itself is looking not very large, yet it is bright, clean and pleasing to the eye. So you can easily enjoy yourself in this lovely place.

Steroids in Sports

Steroids in Sports In many places around the world today, sports competitions are increasing in popularity due to the quest to win, to be the best. Many athletes will do anything to win, whether that means breaking the rules or cheating. The desire to win is imbedded into all humans, especially when professional athletes of today’s age are becoming icons and are viewed as figures of greatness by their rare abilities to perform at such a high level. The quest for money and fame is also a common reason for athletes to cheat or bend the rules.Steroid use is the most common form of cheating in all sports today. Other than the fact that they are harmful to your body, they are taking away from sports and sending the wrong messages to aspiring athletes. The issue that is currently being addressed in the sports industry is that if so many people are already using steroids, such as bodybuilders and athletes, then why not make them legal and let people use them at their own risk? Or rat her should we just keep them illegal due to their harmful health risks and promotion of unfair advantages in sports?Before getting into the ethical concerns about the legalization of steroids, let’s talk about what steroids are and how they work. A steroid is a synthetic substance similar to the male sex hormone testosterone. The most common use of steroids is having them injected into skeletal muscles or they are taken in powder and pill form. There are so many types of steroids and each of them has its own value. Many types of steroids are used for medical conditions and health problems. These types of steroids are prescribed by doctors. Any type of steroid that is not prescribed by a doctor is illegal.Steroids that are taken by athletes and other abusers take them in cycles of weeks and months. This is called cycling. Cycling involves taking several doses of steroids over a definite period of time, stopping for a period, and then starting again. Along with this method, ste roid users often use the â€Å"stacking† method during their cycles (NIDA 1). This is when users will combine several different types of steroids to get maximal results while minimizing negative effects. There are many effects from the use of steroids, some positive and some negative.Though there are more negative effects then there are positive ones, many of the positive effects of steroids include treatment for medical conditions. Anabolic steroids can be legally prescribed to treat conditions like delayed puberty as well as diseases that result in loss of lean muscle mass, such as cancer and AIDS (NIDA 1). Short term effects of steroids are the ability to train harder and longer and an increase in lean muscle mass and strength. Minor negative side-effects include excessive hair growth, oily skin, acne, and a deepening voice.These are just minor short term side-effects though. The effects of steroid use that are the main concerns of users are increased risk of cancer, heart attack and liver disease. Also, increased blood pressure, increased risk of atherosclerosis, and obstructive sleep apnea may occur (NIDA 2). For men, shrinkage of the testicles, baldness, and risk of prostate cancer are things to be aware of. For women, common side-effects are facial hair, male-pattern baldness, and a deepening voice. Lastly, adolescence taking steroids may stunt their growth and accelerate puberty changes.The use of steroids in baseball has been revealed, and was put out in the open. Steroids have been utilized in baseball for decades, but just lately have arrived into the lime light. In the summer of 2003, the USADA obtains a secret fluid, brought in anonymously. This fluid, ‘the clear', turns out to be Tetrahydrogestrinone. It's an untraceable steroid utilized by some of the world's top athletes. Later it is disclosed that Trevor Graham, a sprint adviser to some of the elite sprinters, submitted the steroid and the baseball steroid era began.The steroid wa s traced back to Victor Conte at BALCO labs, and it is finally discovered out that Patrick Arnold was the pharmacist who evolved the steroid. Barry Bonds' name is cited as one of BALCO's large-scale clients. In fall of 2004, steroid checking starts under the MLB's new collective bargaining agreement. Barry Bonds undergoes random checking, and proceeds on to win his 7th organization MVP. Over the next couple of years, some athletes are connected to BALCO and anabolic steroids. Many athletes came ahead and accepted their steroid usage while some still asserted innocence.In 2007, previous Senator George Mitchell issues a 409 piece report, after a 21 month enquiry considering steroids in baseball. The report titles 89 people engaged in baseball who have are suspect of utilizing steroids. Again, some athletes eventually accept to utilizing steroids, while there are still numerous, which have been suspect, deny utilizing anabolic steroids. In the years after 2007, more proof is discovered opposing many MLB players and some apologies are made. Anabolic steroids are still utilized in baseball today, and ball players still undergo drug tests.Professional sports needs the most gifted athletes in the world, and people will manage anything they can to get the intended for display, even if it is endangering their career. Tetrahydrogestrinone, opened the eyes of newspapers and followers around the world to not only steroid use in baseball, but steroid use in all sports. Not a day goes by without hearing about a steroid associated case, or an athlete failing the drug test. Fans and parents anticipate professional athletes to be models. Because of baseball's steroid scandal, steroids are better liked than ever, in both adults, and teens.Several associations, and retired athletes, for example Jose Canseco, are now conversing to juvenile teens about steroid edge consequences, steroid misuse, and hazards of anabolic steroids. Major League Baseball had an established steroid rule which was made in 2002. Under this rule, a first time violation would only result in therapy for the player. Not one contestant was ever suspended. After the BALCO scandal, Major League Baseball eventually determined to buckle down and topic harsher punishments for steroid users.The new principle, which was acknowledged by Major League Baseball players, was handed out at the start of the 2005. It stated that the first positive test will result in a suspension of up to ten days. The second positive test will result in a suspension of thirty days. The third positive test will result in a suspension of sixty days. The fourth positive test will result in a suspension of one full year. Finally, the fifth positive test will outcome in a punishment at the discretion of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.Players will be checked not less than one time per year, with a possibility that some players can be checked many times per year. Bud Selig, the Commissioner of Major League Basebal l, successfully made the living principle and has suggested even harder punishments for positive tests than the ones in place today. The new punishments that Bud Selig has suggested are a â€Å"three strikes and you're out approach†. This is that the first positive test would result in a fifty game suspension. The second positive test would result in a one-hundred game suspension.Finally, the third positive test would result in a lifetime suspension from Major League Baseball. These new suggested punishments are much harsher than either of the first two, although, they should be acknowledged by both the players before any changes can be made. Under the present rule, the first Major League ballplayers have been suspended for checking positive. The Mitchell Report, or Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball, is the outcome of previous Un ited States Senator George J.Mitchell's enquiry into the use of anabolic steroids and human development hormone in Major League Baseball. The 409-page Mitchell Report, issued on December 13, 2007, shows the use of illegal game enhancing substances by players and the effectiveness of the MLB pharmaceutical checking program. It's still present that Senator Mitchell's recommendations considering the management of past illegal drug use and future avoidance practices. The Mitchell Report names eighty-nine Major League Baseball players who are supposed to have used steroids or drugs.George Mitchell, a previous United States Senator and prosecutor, was nominated by Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig on March 30, 2006 to enquire the use of performance-enhancing drugs in MLB. Mitchell was nominated throughout a time of argument over the journal Game of Shadows, which chronicles thought complete use of performance-enhancing drugs, around some distinct kinds of steroids and development hormone by Barry Bonds. Bud Selig determined to start the method of ending the illegal use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs after reading Game of Shadows.The term was made after some influential people of the US Congress made opposing remarks about the effectiveness and honesty of MLB anti-performance enhancing drug policies. In recent news in sports today, many players are being caught using illegal substances of performance enhancing drugs. For example, San Francisco Giants outfielder, Melky Cabrera, was caught using illegal performance enhancing drugs late in the 2012 season. He was sentenced to the 50 game suspension and this also takes a toll on his popularity which was increasing due to his MVP caliber stats. His suspension is the most significant in-season ban by MLB since Manny Ramirez received his first 50-game suspension in 2009† (Lacques 1). Though the Giants won the World Series without Melky Cabrera, they most likely will not offer him a contract extension in the 2013 season, in which he will be a free agent. Steroids may also cause inner turmoil within players. They may become disliked by other teammates because they are harming themselves and cheating. It is not fair to those who don’t take steroids and work out hard to make themselves become a better player.For example, Dustin Pedroia, 5’ 6† second baseman for the Red Sox, won MVP of the league in 2008 without any steroid use. On the other hand, Alex Rodriguez, Yankees third baseman, who has won multiple MVP’s recently admitted to three years of steroid use. As far as the fans know, steroids could have helped him during his years of greatness. That leaves many people to believe he is a great player, but did not put in the hard work like Dustin, who earned the respect of millions with his work ethic and determination.I believe that the use of steroids or any performance enhancing drugs should remain illegal in sports. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)  division on anti-doping believes that â€Å"doping jeopardizes the moral and ethical basis of sport and the health of those involved in it†Ã‚  (Ashby 1). I agree with UNESCO because steroids will cause an unfair advantage for many people in sports. Sports will no longer be about who has the most talents or puts the most work into becoming better but more about who has the better steroids to make them better.The National Football League created its own policy on steroids and performance enhancing drugs because they believe it threatens the integrity of athletic competition (Ashby 1). Many people are beginning to believe that legalizing steroids will benefit sports because it will create a higher, faster level of play. It is also argued that since many athletes are being caught using them anyways that they should just be made legal to stop with the suspensions and taking away of titles earned by players while using steroids.For example, the US Anti-Doping Agency stripped cyclist Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and banned him from the sport for life for doping. There are some who believe it is wrong to take his titles away but in my belief I think that it is only right for his titles to be stripped. Well, maybe not all seven of them, but the ones in which he was using steroids during. There are many psychological and physical side effects to your body from continued steroid use. Psychologically, a player may go from a state of well-being to a state of depression.Players tend to have outbursts known as â€Å"roid rage†, which is a feeling insecurity when they are playing bad even though they are on this drug. Mood swings and intense aggression and violence have also been known to occur. Some players feel that steroid use will benefit their career by making them a better player. This is not true. Most are looking for a quick way to increase their speed, endurance, muscle mass and physical size. They want to have a stronger physique which gives them confidence as well as strength to perform better on the baseball field. Some also tend to get addicted to the steroid habit.Some players who have been injured, mildly or dramatically, require this drug to recover from the injury, but then cannot live without it. Jason Giambi, former Yankee first baseman, was overweight, slow, and a poor hitter at the beginning of his career. In order to maintain his position on the team, he chose to take steroids after workouts to alter his body. This had an immediate effect, but after he was caught, he went from being a well-rounded player, back to slumps in his game and having to work hard like everyone else. There is also the business standpoint that leaves many people to think that steroids should be legal.Former baseball players Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa put on two of the most memorable baseball seasons in 1998 and 1999. Fans became invested in the home run races, especially in 1998 when McGwire shattered Roger Maris’ 37-year-old single season home run record. More jerseys were sold that offseason than in any other. This view is that steroids will cause many players to break records and there will be an increase in fans. My view is that the players who take steroids and break records are breaking the records of those who actually worked hard and stayed clean while achieving them.This, to me, is a good way to describe the unfairness due to the fact that sports won’t be about achieving greatness and success through hard work, determination, and great talent, but by having some talent and taking lots of steroids. Based upon research and studies of the dramatic effects steroid use, I believe that steroid should remain illegal unless used for medicinal purposes. Reasons being the negative and long lasting effects it can have on one's body, along with the negative effect that they will cause in the change of the integrity and fairness of sports.Numerous anti -doping policies have been created to stop the use of steroids in sports today and I feel that with a strong push towards a clean and fair game, these organizations might be able to nearly eliminate steroids from many sports. Major athletes may enjoy the results but are clueless to extent of the damage it will cause them in the future. Lastly, there is no reason for people to harm their bodies for short term results and according to April Ashby, â€Å"Steroids have no place in sports† (Ashby 1).

Aids Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Aids - Essay Example It can also be transmitted through infected blood transfusions. Drug addicts who use syringes are also at a high risk of developing the disease. It can be transmitted to the fetus from the mother during pregnancy as well as during birth and nursing. The disease affects the major systems of the human body owing to the suppression of immunity by the virus. It can result in severe conditions which include pneumonia as well as cancers like Kaposi’s sarcoma. The treatment for the condition is mainly antiretroviral therapy. Prevention is aimed at awareness. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is a pathological condition which is referred to as a syndrome owing to the fact that this disease affects many systems of the human body and is characterized by many secondary infectious diseases as well as cancers arising from different cells. It may also affect the nervous system of the patient and hence the patient presents with signs and symptoms of nervou s disease. This syndrome is led to by the human immunodeficiency virus. This virus and the resulting disease were identified in the year 1981. The virus possesses the ability to decrease the efficacy of the immune system of the human body and hence it puts a person at risk of the development of many diseases that would not occur in a normal healthy person. The pathology has led to increased attention from international health organizations due to the severity of the disease accompanied by the fact that the number of infected people keeps on increasing every year (Davidson et al 2006, Levinson 2008, Robbins et al 2005). Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome has been ranked as the second most common pathological condition across the world which explains the fact that this disease follows a global pattern. It has been labeled as an epidemic due to the increased presentation of the number of cases. In Africa it has been identified as the first most common reason of death and has been repor ted to lead to more than 20 percent of deaths in the region. Ever since the disease has been identified, it has been linked to greater than 20 million deaths around the world. The World Health Organization presented with the findings that 39.4 million people had AIDS or were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus in the year 2004 (Davidson et al 2006, Levinson 2008). 70 percent of the people who suffer from this disease belong to Africa. In the year 2002, it was identified that 900,000 residents of the United States were suffering from the disease. Amongst the residents of the U.S., it is considered to be the second reason of death amongst the males of the age group 25 to 44. On the other hand, amongst the females of this age group, it is ranked as the third life taking reason. The pathology is also found to affect young children below the age of 13 years. It has been analyzed that 2 percent out of the total cases of the disease affects these children. In 2002, 800,000 more children were affected with this syndrome (Robbins et al 2005, Levinson 2008). There are many underlying causes that can result in AIDS. The human immunodeficiency virus which is the causative organism for this disease prevails in the fluids of the human body which include the blood, semen, saliva as well as milk from the mammary glands. Thus contact with infected body fluids increases the susceptibility of contracting the disease (Davidson et al 2

Contested masculinities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contested masculinities - Essay Example With reference to Brett Easton Ellis’s American Psycho (1991) and Jackie Kay’s Trumpet (1998), this essay explores the multitude of expressions of masculinity within and between cultures. Contemporary theorists of masculinity have increasingly noted the idea of a post-feminist male identity (Burr 1995). There is a perceived backlash towards advances in feminism over the last quarter century that posits male identity in direct opposition to feminism. In books such as Backlash and Stiffed, Susan Faludi has identified a crisis in masculinity and a resultant wave of males attempting to reassert traditional identity constructions. She discusses ways in which men have lost significance in modern society. Writers such as Benjamin Brabon have discussed the appearance of such expressions of masculinity in cultural artifacts such as the film Falling Down, arguing that the white-male main character is acting out in the film because his previously dominate social position western society has been dislocated in the new millennium (Brabon 57). Other writers identify the normative standards that underline many expressions of male masculinity and explore the resultant backlash (Bark er 2008). These interpretations of ‘post-feminist man’ has incorporated the violent outbursts of males in contemporary society and films as extensions of phallus emasculation experienced as a result of these feminist advances. In fact, statistical research has shown that over the last twenty-year period woman are more than twice as likely to report being attacked by a significant other (Hatty 5). In terms of patriarchy, Thomas Byer argues that: Perhaps the major – function and driving force of patriarchal narrative is the attempt to re-member a masculine body whose member has been â€Å"dissed† Thus sadism and violence directed against women are not in themselves synonymous with narrative; rather they are among the most common, and most virulently misogynist,

Leaders are born and not made critically discuss Essay

Leaders are born and not made critically discuss - Essay Example Today's dynamic environment requires leaders to be flexible enough to drive change in the organization. The paper elaborates and critically discusses the different leadership approaches and theories. It critically analyzes the statement that "leaders are born not made" in the light of the views of different authors on various theories. In the early twenty century, it was considered that the leaders are born and cannot be made. It was assumed that there must be three qualities in every leader and on the basis of these qualities the leaders can be judged. Personality, physicality and mentality were the elements that were found mandatory to be a leader. It was also thought that the organizations having an ability to recognize great leaders would touch the pinnacle of success (Horner 1997). According to this view, the leaders are born and these qualities cannot be developed. Without the natural capabilities and abilities no one could become a leader. These leadership qualities are the gift of nature that can be given to any one regardless of sex, nationality and origin. Horner suggests that a number of researches have been carried out to distinguish the qualities of a leader but so far no great output has been achieved. The author says that there may be several situational and environmental factors that add up to a leader's effectiveness (1997). According to a famous Michigan and Ohio State leadership study in the context of an organization, consideration and initiation as two most important factors. The same was proved with the research carried out at other several colleges and universities. In the presence of this research, it can be said that leadership qualities are not necessarily inborn but it can also be grown in the employees (Horner 1997). Leadership is something keenly related to the behaviors that can be taught to the employees. The employees are not necessarily born with leadership qualities but these are the qualities that can rise up in the employees. If the employees are motivated and trained in the manner there is no reason why the maximum output is not achieved and they will surely be proved themselves as the great prospective leaders. Some researchers have moved forward with their research to discover what leadership behaviours are and how the behaviours of leader can be distinguished from their subordinates. In the light of those behaviours the art of leadership could be taught. Such researches focus on both people oriented and task oriented actions of behaviour. (Horner 1997). This behaviour can be learned instead of considering that these are inborn factors. There are several leadership theories that elaborate leadership behaviours, traits and qualities. These theories explain the different aspect of leadership and qualities of a good leader or weather these can only be the inborn qualities or they can be taught as well. The first theory is the great man theory that says that the "leaders are born and not made". According to the theory, the great leadership abilities are inherited and can not be taught to any one. Further only the great man can lead and the subordinates are made to obey these great men (Roberts 1994). The great leaders show up when there is a great need of them. The main idea of the Great man theory was the recognition of the great people as natural born leaders. The theory further says that the history has been formed by great leaders. Mostly the people of

Microlending helps small enterepreneurs start businesses Essay

Microlending helps small enterepreneurs start businesses - Essay Example There are collaborative efforts between Kiva, lenders, entrepreneurs, and other players in the microfinance sector. This diversifies its reach to the global population, allowing web-based donations to be mobilized for loaning purposes. The organization of Kiva.org is unique relative to the financial purposes it serves. The microfinance combines a traditional business system with a contemporary web platform in executing its operations. The ultimate objective is to reach out to the needy entrepreneurial population and help it eradicate poverty in both the short run and long run. Kiva.org uses other microfinance players to reach out to the globe. Being a web-based microfinance, it does not necessarily need physical locations to attend to entrepreneurs. Also, working with other global microfinances further makes Kiva.org unique. Most importantly, the microfinance does not operate on a return-on-investment basis. Lenders actually donate the loan funds without expecting any returns on the loans that Kiva gives to needy entrepreneurs. The loans given by Kiva.org to entrepreneurs come from donations that are received from the lenders through the website. This essentially deviates from traditional businesses where loan funds are obtained from deposit-taking activities. On the same note, Kiva.org depends on field partners to have entrepreneurs’ profiles approved in order to qualify them for microfinance lending. The model Kiva.org uses to give loans is effective and efficient. As the situation stands, this microfinance has reached millions of entrepreneurs in need of loans. Follow-ups are also made to not only ensure that the awarded loans are put to use, but also repayments are collected when they fall due. While this model appears simple, it is actually sophisticated and functional. Personally, I think that this model would work on a larger scale. The

Economist & Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Term Paper

Economist & Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman - Term Paper Example In addition, that  economics is ever changing, not stagnant. He has applied increasing returns theory to international trade and geographic clustering (Krugman and Helpman p.84).  Ã‚   Professional Profile He is acknowledged worldwide as a leader in the fields of  economic geography  and the role of increasing returns in shaping  international trade.  At MIT, he became the Ford International Professor of Economics. He has been a professor of Economics and International Affairs in Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, and currently with Princeton (New York Times). He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a member of the Group of Thirty. He has also worked as an advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, and to a number of countries such as Portugal and Philippines (Speakers of Substance ). Recently, he was President of th e Eastern Economic Association and a centenary professor at the London School of Economics. Krugman is also the author and editor of about 18 books and over 200 professional journal articles, mostly on international trade and finance. ... 08 he won Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for amplification on models of  international trade  and the geographical concentration of wealth, by probing the effects of  economies of scale  and of consumer preferences for varied goods and services. Furthermore, in recognition of his work, he received the John Bates Clark Medal from the American Economic Association, an award given every two years to the top economist under the age of 40.Paul Krugman was awarded the  2011 Gerald Loeb Award  for Commentary for his "Paul Krugman Columns" in the  New York Times (New York Times). Amongst other Krugman’s credentials include, in 2011 he was among the top 50 influential individuals in global finance and Foreign Policy’s  Top 100 Global Thinkers 2010 and 2009. In 1992, he was a member to a team of economist on international appointed by President Reagan to deal with the recession New Trade Theory His professional repute is largely owed to his work in inte rnational trade and finance; he is the initiator of the "new trade theory," a major rethinking of the theory of international trade (Krugman p.286, 1994). New Trade Theory by Paul Krugman brings the determinants of comparative advantage into the model. This theory seeks to explain trade between comparable countries was projected in a 1979 paper in the  Journal of International Economics. It is based on two assumptions economies of scale and consumer’s preference for diversity of products. New Trade theory took into consideration the transportation costs, which was the source of the home market effect (Krugman 109-116, 1997). This implies that due to economies of scale countries specialize in production of specific products. Moreover, despite a country having no comparative advantage in trade it may be in a

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Ethics - Essay Example Usually the debate on the issue of abortion is based on the definition of human life, as both sides disagree as to what human life is. In this paper, an attempt will be made to resolve the moral question regarding the issue of abortion using utilitarianism. The issue of abortion will be evaluated using the utilitarian ethics and solutions will be proposed. The issue of abortion will also be discussed and arguments of both sides will also be evaluated. A brief description of utilitarianism will also be included in the paper. The Issue of Abortion Abortion involves human induced ending or terminating pregnancy. In the process of abortion, the embryo is removed before achieving human life form. Abortion is considered a moral issue all over the world. Some regard as taking away an innocent life. Mostly the criticism regarding abortion comes from religious circles. The argument made those who oppose abortion is that it is a process which disallows a life from coming into this world and th erefore it is equal to murder. Moral question regarding abortion is also raised because basic freedom of the living being is violated. People compare it with murder, and therefore abortion remains a controversial issue all over the world. Pro abortionists argue that abortion is not equivalent to murder because it does not involve taking a human life. ... abortionists also argue that parents are in the best position to decide about the future of their life and family, and therefore their decision should not be questioned or challenged when it comes to abortion. The main difference of opinion in both the schools of thought arises from the definition of a human life. Anti abortionist argue that a fertilized egg is a human being and therefore terminating it is equal to termination of a human life (Gutting, 1). On the other end, pro abortionists argue that human life is not achieved until a child takes up a human form, usually after several weeks of the pregnancy. This is the crux of the debate between the two schools of thought and it is not easily possible to take a side. There is no consensus as to what is human life and therefore this debate is yet to be resolved. Utilitarianism: A Brief Introduction Utilitarianism is a well known ethical theory forwarded by John Stuart Mill which argues that the morality of an action can be determine d by analyzing the consequences of that action on the majority members of the society. If an action yields maximum happiness or benefit for a maximum number of people then the action is morally permissible. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentalist ethical theory where morality of the action is determined by the consequences of those actions and nothing else. Utilitarianism determines the wrongness or the rightness by evaluating the action on the basis of the ‘good’ or ‘benefit’ it causes to the overall society or the maximum number of people involved. Utilitarian ethics ignore universal standards or any other standards for evaluating an action and place all weight on the consequences of the action and the positive or negative effect on the action on all parties involved.

Overloading Trucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Overloading Trucks - Essay Example Although overloading might be seen as quite a common and widely practices approach in any nation but it has certain adverse impacts which require to be discussed. The adverse impacts of overloading of trucks might result in occurring severe life risk accidents, negative impacts in the materials overloaded and unfavorable impacts on the vehicles along with roads among others. In order to deal with this critical concern, government of every nation frames certain regulation, adherence of which is mandatory for the vehicles (NTEA, n.d.). In order to acquire a comprehensive understanding about the aforesaid subject matter, the legislation and law of overloading trucks in New Zealand (NZ) and Saudi Arabia (KSA) has been elaborated in the following discussion. Overloading of vehicles is a serious offence in any part of the world. This aspect of transport law can also be seen in the legislation of New Zealand. Overloading is seen as a serious offence in New-Zealand owing to the fact that it has severe negative impacts on the vehicles, people and the goods carried among others. According to the Land Transport Management Act 2003 in New Zealand, trucks and other vehicles should be aware of their liabilities and act accordingly. Furthermore, Land Transport Act 1998 instructs that vehicles drivers should always ensure safety of the road, the vehicle and the people travelling in highways. Contextually, restrictions against overloading of trucks and other heavy vehicles are highly crucial. According to section 43 of the Land Transport Act 1998, a person carrying a heavy motor vehicle (e.g. Truck) will fall under the offence of infringement, if he/she is carrying the vehicle with goods in excess of the prescribed limit of weight for that particul ar vehicle. Furthermore, the law also signifies that the person will also be accused separately for overloading in each of the axle of the vehicles. Non-compliance of this section of the

Progressive Era through the Great Depression Research Paper - 1

Progressive Era through the Great Depression - Research Paper Example Some of these include the end of American isolationism when it entered a war with Spain between 1895 and 1898, the moment when American women were given the right to vote in 1917, and America’s entry into the First World War in April 1917 (Stein, 2009). Other turning points were the stock market crash in October 29, 1929 which precipitated the Great Depression, the day when John Glenn became the first man to orbit the earth in 1962, America’s entry into the Vietnam War in 1959, and the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 (Stein, 2009). In recent years, America has been transformed by the advent of personal computers in the 1980s and the terrorist attack in New York in 2001. Historical Events that shaped American Society The Revolutionary War and the Civil War each greatly affected the then young America (Stein, 2009). The revolutionary war guaranteed the nation’s sovereignty and the Civil War helped to enforce the significance of the federal government over t he state governments. When World War One ended more than two decades later, America was resentful for having been forced to use its resources to fight a war in which it had no spoils. This resulted in a re-newed focus on isolationism. This isolationism would cause America to stay out of the Second World War until its own shores were attacked by a member of the Axis powers. On discovering the atrocities visited on Europe’s Jews by Germany, America experienced a sense of guilt for maintaining its isolationist policy while Adolph Hitler executed millions of innocent human beings. This guilt would result in the US taking an active role in the affairs of other nations- thereby earning the moniker ‘the World’s policeman’. This involvement was evident in the creation of the United Nations, involvement in the Korean War, the many attempts to curb Communism, and the launch of the war against terror. America’s development of social security was another change that resulted the Great Depression; which proved to Americans that their economy would not always economy be on the rise. In the 60s, the social revolution caused by the civil rights movement forced America to examine race relations and look for ways to truly ensure that all citizens were treated equally. Why women earned the right to vote in the frontier states of the West before eastern and southern states It was in Wyoming where women were first given the right to vote. Soon, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho also allowed their women to vote. Wyoming’s reasons for allowing women to vote were not tied to any idealism but were rather aimed at curbing the existing shortage of women in the state. By ratifying this act, Wyoming hoped to draw more women. Another reason is that Western states were basically being created out of undeveloped woodlands. This called for all types of labor that could be availed. Women worked tirelessly in clearing woodlands and farming alongside the men. Thi s earned them a respect that was not enjoyed by their counterparts in eastern states. How women and minorities have changed American Culture In the past, most women and Minorities were openly discriminated against. Most of the time, they were given menial jobs at very low pay (Sage, 2010). There acceptance into the American mainstream workforce has resulted in the acceptance in American society that individuals should not be judged on the basis of their ethnicity

Technology and Society Essay Example for Free

Technology and Society Essay Has technology had a positive or negative affect towards society? Technology is a part of our everyday life. Almost everybody in our society uses technology. For example, it can either be your computer, phone, game console, iPod, television, and many more other devices. However, technology has had a lot of positive affects in the world, and it has also had many negative effects in the world. One example of how technology has had a positive effect in our society would be shown by the usage of your cell phone. The cell phone has helped had a positive effect in society by helping people communicate in a faster way. Instead of emailing somebody and waiting for a long reply, you can just text somebody and get a faster reply in a few seconds. Another way that technology has had a positive effect on society is described by the way people use the computer. You can use the computer to find out information by just typing it in on Google and finding out what you need instantly. One example of how technology has had a negative effect on our society would be shown by social media. Technology has had a negative effect on society through social media by causing people to get fired from their jobs, due to the fact of what they post up or write on their account. As you can see, those are a few examples of how technology has had some positive and negative effects in people’s everyday lives. Technology has increased over 18,000 times from 1971 to 2000. â€Å"Many people around the world has described the Internet to be a global equalizer. The reason that people around the world describe the Internet as a global equalizer is because the Internet provides a store of information to anybody who has access to the Internet all over the world† (4). These people around the world claim that the information that technology can provide benefits of a large city to other countries and rural communities around the entire world. Which is an example of why technology has had a much more of a positive effect than a negative effect on society. Science and technology has also had a grand effect on society. Science and technology both show how communication and knowledge have been increased in today’s world. It has shown a positive effect in society by an improving access to information, advancing medicine, and improving sanitation. Everyday new advances in science and technology are discovered and continue to be a big benefit to society. Technology has proved to be a positive and very effective throughout the twentieth century. In this century it has been shown by people being able to access information about varies subjects through the internet. By news being so readily available online it brought to light many important issues, like â€Å"this century made racism a shameful practice; recognized gender oppression as a social evil; proclaimed human rights as transcending race, caste, and religion; pleased for international economic justice; began to celebrate diversity and to care for the disabled; and condemned exploitation of the young† (23). This is one major example of how technology has impacted society in a positive way. Ojeda, Auriana. Technology and Society: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2002. Another way technology and science benefited our communities and lives would be computers. Computers have become a household appliance. Computers have had an impact on society in a positive way because they play a big part of how technology is used. For example, the computer has transformed civilization. It also serves as a device where it can store and organize a lot of information. Also, the computer has many functions. You can transfer files, download, and upload files at a faster pace, which can save you a lot of time. â€Å"They not only think and follow commands but can make decisions, draw, design, scan labels, automate industries, calculate, translate, communicate, and more†(31). This shows how very effective the computer has been in society by being almost replicas of our mind. Another way computers show a positive effect on society is through the Internet. The internet is a very helpful form of communication. Communication has shown many examples of having a positive effect on society as well. Like, being able to search for a job, talk to loved ones far away and run businesses from home. One way that technology has had a positive effect on society would be represented  through the use of telecommunication. Telecommunication can prove that it has had a positive effect on society by showing how people can communicate easier. Such as ways that would be shown in cellular phones. â€Å"In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted his voice across eight miles over a wire† (32). Which shows an example of how telecommunication has started to have the influence it does now in society. OShaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media Society. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford UP, 2008. It shows from having another person’s voice traveling across eight miles over a wire to communicate easier with another person. That shows how cellular phones have had a big impact on society as well from starting out as a voice being transmitted in a faster way with a more advanced way by the use of physics, and electromagnetism. Another way that communication can show a positive effect on society would be how people communicate on the internet by websites such as Twitter, Facebook, Skype and etc. Communication has a major factor of having a positive effect on society. As you can see, not only have cellular phones can be shown to be proven a positive effect on society through telecommunication but, also through how technology resources can be shown as a great equalizer for education at Schools. Education at Schools has had positive changes due to technology and science. The education system is always trying to find better ways to reach children and help them learn the best way they can, because of this people saw technology to be a powerful tool that could be effectively shown by teachers and families to a better the way students to learn. Proof of this can be stated that it can be a â€Å"challenge for educators in a more helpful way because it helps show more advances in technology resources which means new gaps open up in educating students, as quickly as the old ones are† (41). Since technology resources have had that positive impact on students and educators it has also shown how it became an obsolete faster than a textbooks that educators, such as teachers used. Which shows how education at Schools is seen in a positive way on society. OShaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media Society. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford UP, 2008. Television has also proven to have a positive effect on society. Television has had a positive effect on society by providing a lot of entertainment  throughout our entire day. Television has also helped people out in society by creating a lot of jobs for people in the world. It has also provided people with a lot of news and information that can benefit us every day. Tips for safety, recipes for meals, places to shop and more are all at our reach just by changing the channel. Also, the weather, and national emergencies all over the world are broadcasted as they happen to keep us in touch with the rest of the world. Television has impacted society by showing people all around the world problems that other countries and cultures go through almost every day and how they all live. It has opened people up to the world and beyond. It helps make the world better, which is a big positive impact of science and technology. The internet has also influenced a positive effect on society also. One way the internet would prove to show how it has influenced a positive effect on society would be proven through how everybody uses social media. Social media has proven to be one of the biggest things that almost everyone uses almost every day. One of example would be how people use Facebook. Facebook shows how the internet how to connect with your friends and how to post up anything you want. One example of how Facebook can help is if you need to contact a friend, or a family member. You can easily message them, and receive a message fast. Which shows how social media and the internet can influence society in a positive way. Not only has social media proved to be shown as a positive thing in society. But, so has the internet has also proved to be a positive effect in peoples life’s then just social media. One example of that would be shown in other websites such as YouTube, Gmail, AOL, Yahoo, Google, Twit ter, etc. These websites can also give you a variety in a lot of entertainment, and provide you a lot of news and a lot of information about places and what is going on around the world. For example, Gmail your school can give you updates through your e-mail account and you would be updated with what you need to know with the information a teacher, or staff member gives you. Another example would be YouTube. YouTube can influence society in a positive way by providing you a variety of different videos to watch and laugh from. Basically it can entertain you just like the Television can. But, in more of a way that you can specifically choose from. Also, with Google you can search up anything you want to know or need to  research about in the world and find out instantly. Google can affect people in a positive way by helping somebody find directions, or answer your questions. It can also help you if you don’t understand something in school, and you try to find out more about it on Google. These are some examples of how the Internet can really influence people all over the world in a positive way. Even though science and technology has had some negative effects on society the positive effects outweigh the negative. As you can see, there are many reasons, and many ways to prove how technology has a positive effect on society. Whether it is shown in examples of your computer, phone, game console, iPod, television, and many more other devices. Technology has influenced society in a lot of excellent ways and has advanced our way of living in many ways. In conclusion, technology can be shown to effect people in today’s society and throughout history in many positive ways with learning new things, entertainment, and also communication. Computers, Television, Cellular phones, the Internet, and social media have shown examples in how they impact a positive effect on society and how they help and provide a lot with what they can benefit in today’s society. These are some reasons as to why, Technology has had a positive effect in society, than a negative. Bibliography Ojeda, Auriana. Technology and Society: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2002. OShaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media Society. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford UP, 2008. Berlatsky, Noah. Social Networking. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2013. Semmelhack, Peter. Social Machines: How to Make Money with the Internet of Things.N.p.: Wiley Sons Canada, Limited, John, 2013.

Gym Cultures Prominence In Society Cultural Studies Essay

Gym Cultures Prominence In Society Cultural Studies Essay Gym culture holds a prominent place in contemporary society. Studies1 focused on the physical dimensions of self-concept document the significance placed on physical appearance in evaluations of self-worth. The inconsistency between the real and ideal self is an important trigger within gym culture and this relationship is comprehensively and covertly exploited through media narratives and advertising images. Roland Barthes asserts that an imitated object makes something appear which remained invisible, or if one prefers, unintelligible in the natural object. Structural man takes the real, decomposes it, then recomposes it.2 Unravelling the means by which texts and images recomposed the original is at the centre of structuralist analysis. Concepts of semiology developed by Ferdinand de Saussure form the basis for structuralist methodology. Saussure rejected the conventional view of the linguistic sign as a name attached to an object in favour of the notion of the linguistic sign as a two-sided psychological entity.3 The word sign is used to describe the whole created through the combination of the signified (signifie) and the signifier (signifiant). The signifier is the materially perceptible component such as a sound, picture or written mark whilst the signified is the conceptual meaning. The relationship between the two, according to Saussure is arbitrary, founded entirely on social convention. Signs employed in the discourse of gym culture habitually focus on bodies. Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 all contain images of young, slim, and attractive 1 Maguire, J. and L. Mansfield, No-bodys perfect: women, aerobics, and the body beautiful Sociology of Sport Journal 5, 2 (1998): 109-137. 2 Critical Terms for Literary Study. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995. 3 The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Chris Baldick. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press bodies. The relationship between the photographic images, the signifier, and the concept of youth, health and attractiveness, the signified, combine to create the sign. Roland Barthes however noted that this model focuses extensively on denotation to the detriment of connotation. In his initial investigations Barthes distinguishes between two forms of reference: denotation and connotation. Conventionally denotation is referred to as the literal, primary sense or straightforward dictionary meaning, whilst connotation refers to the range of further associations that a word evokes in addition to its denotation. The connotations of a particular word are a formulated sequence of qualities, contexts, and emotional responses commonly associated with that to which it refers. The context in which the word or phrase is used and the individual inclinations of the audience determine which connotations will be initiated. Initially Barthes suggested that analytically connotation can be distinguished from denotation4 in the same way that a photographic image represents the denotation of what is photographed, the connotation is exposed through how it is photographed. Barthes however later concluded that: denotation is not the first meaning, but pretends to be so; under this illusion, it is ultimately no more than the last of the connotations (the one which seems both to establish and close the reading), the superior myth by which the text pretends to return to the nature of language, to language as nature. The two women in Figure 1 and the woman in Figure 3 are all pictured wearing long pants. The same particular item of clothing is denoted in both advertisements, namely pants. However in Figure 1 the 4 Chandler, Daniel:  Semiotics for Beginners  (1994) pants are cargo pants whilst in Figure 3 the model wears jeans. Cargo pants connote youth, hip-hop and dance culture whilst jeans are associated with the everyday down-to-earth, girl-next-door. The style of pants selected reflect a range of connotations, the denoted image is inherently connotative. Barthes perspective exposes denotation as being no more natural than connotation but rather as stemming from a process of naturalization. Denotation is thus proved to be a product of ideology. Images prevalent in gym culture discourse documents this well. Note the similarity between the models selected in Figures 4, 5 and 6. They are all slim, tanned and tall with long blond hair and have been selected to portray a specific image of femininity influenced by historical attitudes and social convention, which conforms to contemporary westernized ideology. Similar images are presented to both male and female consumers. Fitness magazine (Figure 5) features an image of American television host K elly Ripa, with a byline suggesting that the magazine contains the secrets to how she got this buff, whilst the cover of Mens Fitness (Figure 6) has a byline suggesting that the magazine contains the secrets of how to gain hard abs, strong enough for a night with the featured Carmen Electra, glamour model and actress. Connotatively men should be fit and muscular to attract their ideal woman, and women should strive to be that ideal- attractive, slim, tanned and blond. The selection of celebrities this physical represented ideal suggests that fame, success and wealth accompany the ideal. These associations formed by groups of signs create a cultural paradigm. In the same way the Zumba advertisement in figure 1 is designed to immediately invoke connotations of a gym culture paradigm. The images are of one male and two female bodies. Little of their faces, apart from smiles suggesting fun and happiness, can be seen reinforcing a focus on moving bodies and physicality. Naked midriffs whilst emphasize muscled, slim bodies also invokes sexual connotations. Through metonymy the graphic representation of a speaker emphasizes the role of music and its associations with parties, social interaction. Strong colours are used and orange, the adverts predominant colour believed to be invigorating as it increases oxygen supply to the brain is used to reflect joy, enthusiasm, creativity, attraction, success and stimulation. It is also used to attract attention as it is high visibility. The line Ditch the workout, join the party! aligns working out with having a party. The word join is repeated four times reinforcing the idea of belonging, identifying wit h and being part of a particular group. The language choice is deliberately relaxed and informal, to emphasize fun. The paradigm created is one of youth, music, party, fun, sexual attraction, dancing and fitness, with a focus on belonging. Figure 2 is an advertisement for a Sony water resistant walk-man. Sony employ an approach common to brand-name product advertising, one whereby their product is aligned with culturally desirable paradigms, in this case fitness and health, thus advancing a connotative association between their product and other values their audience might hold. A young man is pictured, dressed in a vest he appears to have been running. The aim is to establish paradigmatic relationships between exercise and fitness and Sonys brand. In so doing Sony hope to include their product in a fitness paradigm and through this inclusion their brand comes to connote all that characterizes gym culture. Whilst Paradigmatic relations rely on familiar cultural associations to create meaning, syntagmatic relations create meaning through the sequence in which the signs are displayed. In Figure 1 the line Ditch the workout, join the party! aligns working out with having a party. In figures 3 and 4 both advertisements rely on an alternative semiotic structure in addition to paradigmatic relations to communicate their message. Both advertisements offer promises of transformation, figure one blatantly telling us before and after. A syntagmatic relation can be represented by the connotative narrative, a sequence of associated events: She joined the gym, exercised regularly, ate the right food, lost weight, and was thereby transformed. Because this is such a familiar narrative to us, the advertisement can invoke it and all its associations by just showing us a single image, the mirrored but subtly altered image of the women that represents the start and finish of the narrative. Our understand ing of figure 4 relies on previously learnt and accepted conventions. Barthes identified these previously learnt and recognised conventions as cultural codes which could be utilized in structural analysis of texts. 5 In contrast to the conventional definition of myth as a traditional or customary story Claude Levi-Strauss and Roland Barthes shifted the emphasis of myth as a plot to myth as a way of thinking akin to a kind of ideology. Roland Barthes 1957 Mythologies brought to light how myths are part of everyday modern life. Barthes demonstrates an idea of myth as a further sign, its foundations in language, but to which further implication is added. To make a myth, the sign itself is used as a signifier, and a new meaning is added, which is the signified. This additional meaning is not arbitrarily, even if the reader is not aware of it. Historically determined circumstances are presented as natural. Predominantly media driven modern myths are created to disseminate an impression of society that is 5 Leak, Andrew N. Barthes, Mythologies. London: Grant Cutler, 1994. compliant with current ideologies. The earlier discussion of the models chosen in figures 4, 5 and 6 is an example of how pervasive myth can be. Barthes characterizes myth as ubiguitous6 being or seeming to be everywhere at once. The tall, slim, blond woman is unanimously presented to male and female consumers alike as the ideal women. In addition myth is axiomatic operating as a sort of fusion of fact and value, it is assertive. Axiological language presenting a theory as a fact is frequently found in advertising narratives. Figure 4 contains a good example: inside everybody is a better body. Myths are not just narratives, but narratives mixed with other signs: Figure 3 suggests, through a combination of images, graphic representation and narrative, that joining their gym will make you younger. Gym culture serves as a good example of how myth permeates consumer driven society. According to Barthes uncovering of the Ideological abuse hidden in the display of what goes without saying lies at the centre of structuralist analysis and serves to warn that since the theft of language perpetrated by myth is so subtle that nothing appears to have been taken8 consumers are affected by it without even recognising its existence. 6 Leak, Andrew N. Barthes, Mythologies. London: Grant Cutler, 1994. 7 Ibid., 8 Ibid., p57

The Origin of Emotion Labour

The Origin of Emotion Labour Emotions are feelings that people experience, interpret, reflect on, express, and manage (Thoits, 1989). They arise through social interaction, and are influenced by social, cultural, interpersonal, and situational conditions (Martin, 1999). In many situations in our daily lives, we often find ourselves suppressing feelings and displaying a more socially accepted emotion that is deemed more appropriate. For example, showing excitement about a companys promotion or suppressing fury when being cut off by someone in a waiting line. Regulating individuals emotions to comply with social norms then is referred to as emotion work (Hochschild, 1990; p. 118). When we need to display particular emotions and suppress others, which required by our job roles, we do our emotion management for a wage. Hochschild (1983) termed this regulation of ones emotions to comply with occupational or organizational norms as emotional labour. She defined emotional labour as the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display; emotional labour is sold for a wage and therefore has exchange value (Hochschild, 1983; p.7). According to Hochschild (1983), jobs involving emotional labour possess three characteristics: they require the workers to make facial or voice contact with the public; they require the worker to produce an emotional state in the client or customer, and they provide the employer with an opportunity to utilize some control over the emotional activities of workers (Hochschild, 1983). Based on impression management, Ashforth and Humphrey (1993) defined emotional labour as the act of displaying the appropriate emotion. Their definition differs from Hochschilds (1983), since their definition emphasizes the actual behaviour rather than the presumed emotions underlying the behaviour (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). According to Morris and Feldman (1997), emotional labour possesses the following characteristics: (a) emotion work occurs in face-to-face or voice-to-voice interactions with clients; (b) emotions are displayed to influence other peoples emotions, attitudes and behaviours; and (c) the display of emotions has to follow certain rules. 2.1.2 Dimensions of Emotional Labour and Its Measures Brotheridge and Grandey (2002) restructured emotional labour into two categories: One focuses on the characteristic of the job and the other emphasizes employees emotion management process. The former is called job-focused emotional labour which includes the frequency, duration, variety, and intensity of emotional labour and display rules. The latter is named employee-focused emotional labour, an emotion management skill that employees use in the course of interactions with clients. This category includes surface acting and deep acting. Brotheridge and Lee (2003) used the similar approach. They developed an emotional labour measure including both job-focused and employee-focused variables. Specifically, their measure has six facets: frequency of interaction, intensity and variety of emotional display, duration of interaction, and surface and deep acting. Emotional labour researchers often ignored spontaneous and genuine emotions, acknowledged as passive deep acting by Hochschild (1983), in the development of the emotional labour measure. Diefendorff, Croyle, and Gosserand (2005) constructed the display of naturally felt emotions as an independent factor and formed a three-dimensional emotional labour instrument: surface acting, deep acting, and naturally felt emotions. In summary, despite many different measures developed, the general view is that job-related variables, such as frequency, intensity, variety, and display rules are experienced as the antecedents of emotional labour rather than emotional labour itself and two acting modes (surface and deep acting), that employees use to match the required emotional display are regarded as the true components of emotional labour (Grandey, 2000 A.A. Grandey, Emotion regulation in the workplace: a new way to conceptualize emotional labor, Journal of Occupational health Psychology 5 (1) (2000), pp. 95-110. Abstract | icon_pdfPDF (1059 K) | Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (124)Grandey, 2000). 2.1.3 Servicing Acting Based on Goffmans (1959) dramaturgical perspective of social interactions, Hochschild theorized that service is a show where the service provider is an actor, the customer is the audience, and the work setting is the stage (Grandey, 1999). The work place (restaurant) provides the setting and circumstance that allows actors (wait staff) to perform for audiences (diners). The interaction between actors and audiences is based on their mutual definition of the setting, which can be interpreted as occupational or organizational norms or display rules. Surface acting and deep acting are two types of acting mechanism that emotional labour preformed. 2.1.3.1 Surface Acting Surface acting is a discrepancy between felt and displayed emotion (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). Surface acting involves employees simulating emotions that are not actually felt, by changing their outward appearances (i.e., facial expression, gestures, or voice tone) when exhibiting required emotions. For example, a hotel front desk employee may put on a smile and cheerfully greet a customer even if she or he is feeling down. In this case, the front desk clerk feigns emotions that are not experienced (Chu, 2002, P.18). Using the surface acting technique, people change the outward expression of emotion in the service of altering their inner feelings. By changing facial or bodily expressions, such as slumped shoulders, bowed head, or drooping mouth, inner feelings can be altered to a coincident state (Hochschild, 1993). 2.1.3.2 Deep Acting Deep acting occurs when employees feelings do not fit the situation; they then use their training or past experience to work up appropriate emotions (Chu, 2002, P.19). Unlike surface acting, deep acting involves changing inner feelings by altering something more than outward appearance. In surface acting, feelings are changed from the outside in, whereas feelings are changed from the inside out in deep acting (Hochschild, 1983). Hochschild (1983) classified deep acting as (1) exhorting feeling, whereby one actively attempts to evoke or suppress an emotion, and (2) trained imagination, whereby one actively invokes thoughts, images, and memories to cause the related emotion (thinking of a wedding to feel happy or a funeral to feel sad). In other words, employees use their training or past experiences to help summoning appropriate emotions or responses (sadness, cheerfulness) for a given scene. By practicing deep acting, emotions are actively induced, suppressed, or shaped (Kruml Geddes, 2000). 2.1.4 Functions of Emotion Labour Zapf (2002, P.248) stated that Emotion work is a part of an overall task and, thus, it helps to fulfil the overall task and increase task effectiveness. Ashforth, B.E. and Humphrey, R.H., 1993. Emotional labor in service roles: the influence of identity. Academy of Management Review 18, pp. 88-115. Full Text via CrossRefAshforth and Humphrey (1993) consider emotion work as a form of impression management because by showing certain emotions the employee deliberately attempts to foster certain social perceptions of him- or herself. Emotion work is done to influence the emotions of the clients either as the ultimate or as an instrumental goal. In the service business, the premise is that customers or clients would be more likely to do business with an organization when they experience the interaction with service providers positively. This should mainly depend on how far the interaction with the service providers either supports or threatens their self-esteem. Emotion labour may help to make the social interaction more calculable and assist to avoid embarrassing situations that might otherwise interrupt the interaction with clients (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). Moreover, emotion work may help to develop or stabilize the organization-customer relationship for building trust in the organization. This is more important in the service sector than in other sectors; because (1) it is difficult to assess the quality of service; (2), because the service product is immediately consumed and corrections, such as giving the product back, are impossible (Ashforth and Nerdinger, 1994); (3), emotion labour should influence the clients emotions thereby influencing their cognitions and behaviours. (4), influencing a clients emotion may make other things easier. In the entertainment business and in the helping professions, influencing the clients emotion may be the ultimate goal. 2.2 Antecedents of Emotional Labour Antecedents of emotional labour including two characteristics: individual characteristics and job characteristics. 2.2.1 Individual characteristics Emotional labour researchers seem to agree that service workers emotional acting can be explained by personality traits because personal dispositions underlie much of the way that people think and behave (Ashkanasy, Hartel and Daus, 2002). Two personality variables as the antecedents of emotional labour will be examined, which are negative affectivity and intrinsic motivation. 2.2.1.1 Negative Affectivity Negative affectivity is a dispositional personality variable and an individuals tendency to experience discomfort across time and situations (Watson and Clark, 1984). Individuals high in negative affectivity tend to resident the negative aspects of themselves, others, and situations in a generally more negative way and often seem to be anxious, nervous, and afraid (Cropanzano et al., 1993 R. Cropanzano, K. James and M.A. Konovsky, Dispositional affectivity as a predictor of work attitudes and job performance, Journal of Organizational Behavior 14 (6) (1993), pp. 595-606. Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (118)Cropanzano, James, and Konovsky, 1993). Individuals low in negative affectivity are typically in states of calmness and peace (Watson, Clark, and Tellegen, 1988). As discussed by Liu, Perrewe, Hochwarter, and Kacmar (2004), negative emotional experiences is aroused by negative affectivity to across time and situations that may obstruct individua ls to regulate their emotional experiences in the service encounter. Such individuals appear to fake their positive emotions when necessary (Kim, 2008). The relationship between negative affectivity and stressors is also supported by the basic theory of heat-affect-overload (Van De Vliert and Van Yperen, 1996). Specifically, employees living and working in hot climates of countries such as Nigeria, Indonesia, and Singapore are high in negative affectivity and experience role overload. It has been proposed that availability of heat or hot climate deranges the thermoregulatory system of the human body and leads to negative affectivity. Such high negative affectivity individuals are faced with higher role overload. According to Osman and Kayode (2008), who studied in emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion among hotel employees in Nigeria, they stated that even though the hotels may have functioning air-conditioning systems, regular power cut or outages due to poor electric power infrastructure in Nigeria may cause frustration among employees and customers. In addition, the high cost of running alternative power source like generators limits the proper use of the air-conditioning systems in most of the hotels. Frontline hotel employees such as door attendants, food servers, and beverage servers have to serve customers in outdoor facilities, such employees are exposed to direct sunlight and humidity under these circumstances. Most of the frontline employees cannot afford to buy air-conditioning systems in their houses; if they could, they do not enjoy it due to irregular power supply in the country. Furthermore, they may not have sufficient financial resources to buy automobiles having air -conditioning systems. Therefore, such employees usually far from their houses go to work, using modes of public transportation such as buses, which are overloaded and are devoid of air-conditioning systems. Accordingly, frontline hotel employees in a country such as Nigeria are high in negative affectivity and experience-deepened stress. Employees in frontline service jobs of the hospitality industry in Nigeria are expected to manage their emotions by changing their outward appearance to display organizationally desired emotions while the inner feelings remain unchanged and thus are likely to experience emotional exhaustion (Osman and Kayode, 2008). In addition, negative affectivity is widely used in strain-related research and has been linked with emotional exhaustion (Houkes, Janssen, De Jonge, and Nijhuis, 2001). In their meta-analytic work, Thoresen et al., 2003 C.J. Thoresen, S.A. Kaplan, A.P. Barsky, C.R. Warren and K. De Chermont, The affective underpinnings of job perceptions and attitudes: a meta-analytic review and integration, Psychological Bulletin 129 (6) (2003), pp. 914-945. Abstract | Article | icon_pdfPDF (244 K) | Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (78)Thoresen, Kaplan, Barsky, Warren, and De Chermont (2003) reported an estimated mean population correlation of .54 between negative affectivity and emotional exhaustion. According to Spector, Zapf, Chen, and Frese, (2000), the perception mechanism also proposes useful guidelines for developing the relevant hypotheses. That is, the perception mechanism states that high negative affectivity individuals tend to perceive their jobs as s tressful and experience high levels of strains. It means, high negative affectivity frontline employees in the hotel industry are susceptible to higher emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion. 2.2.1.2 Intrinsic Motivation Another personality variable used as the antecedents of emotional labour is intrinsic motivation. To date various personal resources or personality variables (e.g., self-efficacy, optimism, and locus of control) have been examined with regard to emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion (Ito and Brotheridge, 2003). As a personal resource and a key personality variable, intrinsic motivation has not received much empirical attention in the hospitality management and marketing literatures (Karatepe and Uludag, 2007). Intrinsic motivation refers to an individuals feeling of challenge or competence derived from performing a job (Keaveney, 1992, p.151). Intrinsically motivated employees have better problem-solving skills and are innovative (Miller, 2002). Grant (2008, p.49) states that intrinsically motivated individuals feel naturally drawn, or pulled, toward completing their work, are process focused-they see the work as an end in and of itself, and are present focused-they are concerned with the experience of performing the work itself. Consistent with the Conservation of Resources Theory, intrinsic motivation is one of the personal resources that can be used for coping with emotional dissonance and exhaustion. As a personal resource, intrinsic motivation can affect employees willingness and perceived effort to manage emotional experiences in the service encounter. Such a personal resource can also be invested in aiding the process of stress resistance and can contribute to the maintenance of res ource reservoirs (Hobfoll, 2001). Consequently, employees with personal resources have mastery that enables them to cope with demanding or forbidding conditions more effectively and thus prevents them from experiencing emotional exhaustion (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti, and Schaufeli, 2007). Recently, Karatepe and Uludag (2007) also demonstrated that intrinsic motivation lowered emotional exhaustion for a sample of frontline hotel employees in Northern Cyprus. 2.2.2 Job Characteristics 2.2.2.1 Interaction Characteristics Customer satisfaction depends on the quality of the interpersonal interaction between the customer and frontline employees (Bitner, 1990). Hochschild (1983) argued that job characteristics such as numerous interactions with customers are likely to increase service providers emotional labour. Brotheridge and Grandey (2002) found that frequency and variety of emotional display were positively related to surface acting and deep acting and that duration was positively related to deep acting. In the article by Brotheridge and Lee (2003), frequency and variety showed a positive relationship with surface acting and deep acting, although duration was not related to either acting. Diefendorff, Croyle, and Gosserand (2005) reported interaction characteristics (frequency, duration, and routineness) were not significant predictors of surface acting but mostly related to deep acting. Specifically, duration had a positive impact on deep acting and routineness showed a negative influence on deep ac ting. The most popular theory regarding the relationship between customer contact variables and emotional labour strategies originates from Morris and Feldman, 1996 J.A. Morris and D.C. Feldman, The dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of emotional labor, The Academy of Management Review 21 (4) (1996), pp. 986-1010. Full Text via CrossRefMorris and Feldmans (1996) conceptual work. The authors argued that the more often a work role requires socially proper emotional displays, the greater the companys demand for emotional regulation and the greater employees emotional labour; frequent changes in the variety of emotions to fit in different situational contexts require more planning and anticipation on the part of service employees, thereby entailing greater emotional labour; and emotional displays of long duration require more effort than short duration, leading to greater emotional labour. This notion suggests the possibility of frequency, variety, and duration increasing emotional labo ur in general (both surface and deep acting). However, previous findings especially regarding duration seem to suggest that duration largely leads to deep acting. Deep acting may be the strategy of choice during long interaction because it becomes difficult for employees to fake emotion for a long period of time (Diefendorff et al., 2005). 2.2.2.2 Job Autonomy The hospitality literature has shown that job autonomy can mitigate the level of hospitality employees emotional exhaustion (Kim, Shin, and Umbreit 2007). Morris and Feldman (1996, 1997) suggested employees who have less autonomy over their behaviour should feel more emotive dissonance, which likely leads them to fake feelings (surface acting); and those who have more autonomy experience less emotive dissonance, therefore they are likely to express their natural emotions. According to their rationale, job autonomy is not related to emotive effort (i.e., deep acting). 2.2.2.3 Display Rules According to Hochschild, 1983 A.R. Hochschild, The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA (1983).Hochschild (1983), service occupations involve strong norms and/or expectations regarding displays of emotions. Research has shown that display rules have a positive relationship with emotional acting (Brotheridge and Lee, 2002). Some studies separate display rules into positive and negative rules. Positive display rules evaluate service providers recognitions on expressing positive emotions and negative display rules evaluate the recognitions regarding suppressing negative emotions at work. Brotheridge and Grandey (2002) showed that both types of display rules were positively correlated with both types of acting. Diefendorff and Richard (2003) hypothesized that perceived demands (positive and negative display rules) would be positively related to emotional display, but the result indicated that emotional display only led by positive rule demands. Diefendorff et al. (2005) found that positive display rules were positively correlated with deep acting and negative display rules were positively correlated with surface acting. The authors explained that positive rules (what to express) clarify expectations better and result in good faith attempts (deep acting), whereas negative rules (what not to express) lead employees to just go through the motion and fake their emotions (surface acting). In hospitality organizations such as hotel companies, distinct norms are often included in the job description and employees are trained consistently (e.g., showing a smile with a mirthful greeting). Hence, it seems plausible that hotel firms display rules increase the likelihood of hotel personnels emotional regulation, leading to emotional acting either surface or deep acting. Therefore, in harmony with Brotheridge and Grandeys (2002) work, it is predicted that display rules, regardless of the type, will affect both acting strategies. 2.3 Consequences of Emotional Labour Ashforth and Humphrey (1993) described emotional labour as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can facilitate task performance by regulating interactions and precluding interpersonal problems. On the other hand, it can impair performance by priming expectations of good service that cannot be met (Ashforth and Humphrey, 1993). The following section discusses the positive and negative consequences of performing emotional labour, and particularly, its effects on employees psychological well-being. 2.3.1 Negative Consequences 2.3.1.1 Fusion of Self and Work Role In the emotional labour literature, substantial research in this field addresses unfavourable outcomes. The most-often-cited outcomes are burnout and job dissatisfaction (Morris and Feldman, 1996). Other impacts on the individuals psychological well-being are also discussed in the literature, such as poor self-esteem, depression, cynicism, role alienation, and self-alienation (Ashforth and Humphrey, 1993). Wharton (1999) suggested two reasons why the regulation of service providers emotional displays is problematic. First, to ensure service quality, employers often implement behaviour scripts (such as smile, eye contact, body position, tone of voice) for service providers to follow. This restrictive script prevents service providers from interacting with customers based on spontaneous intuition, but on a script drawn up by employers. That is, workers own complex for interaction may be suppressed and replaced by an organizationally sanctioned response (Wharton, 1999). Second, service providers may have different interests vis-à  -vis the outcome of the interaction. That is, employers believe that service providers emotional displays are instruments of service excellence. While front-line employees may sometimes share those objectives, they do not always do so. In these instances, workers interests may be sacrificed. Hochschild (1983) theorized about the consequences of emotional labor based on service providers capacity to strike a balance between the requirements of the self and the demands of the work role. Sustained performance of emotional labour may produce a fusion of self and work role, an estrangement between self and work role that comes at the expense of the self, or a separation between self and work role that comes at the expense of the work role (Hochschild, 1983). The fusion of self and work role can be seen as the service providers inability to depersonalize and detach themselves from the work roles. Research has shown that workers in human service occupations, such as social work or counselling, are often too identified with their work roles and lose the ability to maintain sufficient psychological distance between the emotional requirements of their job and their sense of self. For example, hotel service providers use deep acting techniques to conjure up desired positive emotions and to suppress felt negative emotions. But after awhile, many these service providers reveal that they have a hard time recovering their true feelings once their shifts are over. They begin to lose track of when they are acting and when they are not (Hochschild, 1983). 2.3.1.2 Emotive Dissonance Contrarily, another potential consequence of emotional labour is the estrangement between self and work role. Just as workers on the assembling lines become estranged from their bodies, service providers may become estranged from their true feelings (Hochschild, 1983). Hochschild claimed that most of the negative consequences of performing emotional labour have its roots in this estrangement. The estrangement between oneself and the work role is often presented in the forms of emotive dissonance or unauthenticated, which can be seen as a result of surface acting. Similar to cognitive dissonance, emotive dissonance reflects a gap between felt emotions and expressed emotions. For example, a front desk employee greets a customer in a cheerful and enthusiastic manner but indeed, she or he feels down and unhappy. The inconsistency between expressed emotions (cheerful and enthusiastic) and felt emotions (down and unhappy) is emotive dissonance. Based on the assumption that people are motivated to maintain and enhance their sense of self as being meaningful and authentic (Erickson Wharton, 1997), the experience of emotive dissonance may cause the individual to feel false and insincere. Researchers suggest that the regular occurrence of emotive dissonance may be harmful in terms of employees personal and work-related maladjustment, such as poor self-esteem, depression, and alienation from work (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). Hochschild (1993) suggested that emotive dissonance is most harmful to employees psychological well-being when it comes at the expense of the self, and is less harmful when it is at the expense of the work role. When emotive dissonance comes at the expense of the self, employees blame themselves for displaying fictitious emotions and feelings of unauthenticated. Thereafter, this estrangement of oneself leads to negative consequences such as depression (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993), drug or alcohol abuse (Hochschild, 1983), and low self-efficacy (Seeman, 1991). Antithetically, when emotive dissonance comes at the expense of the work role, employees ascribe this false emotion or inauthentic expression to the demands of the job rather than to the desires of the self (Wharton, 1999), and thus it may be less harmful in terms of their psychological well-being. In an interview with a waitress, Paules (1991) documented how one waitress does not overextend herself into her work. The waitress says that when she distances herself from her job she does not feel bad about it (Paules, 1991, p.286). 2.3.2 Positive Consequences Although substantial literature on emotional labor implies negative consequences, some researchers have suggested positive consequences for both organizations and individuals. 2.3.2.1 Organization For an organization, regulating employees emotional display in a highly scripted manner can ensure task effectiveness and service quality (Ashforth and Humphrey, 1993), and increase sales and repeated business (Rafaeli and Sutton, 1987). Also, the positive aspects of emotional labour include financial rewards (i.e., tips or salaries) (Rafaeli Sutton, 1987); increased satisfaction, security, and brand loyalty (Wharton, 1993). 2.3.2.2 Individual Although customers are major stress-producing figures for front-line employees, customers also provide employees with many entertaining and satisfying moments in their working (Tolich, 1993). One reason for this satisfaction is that customers enliven otherwise monotonous tasks. Most of the entry-level jobs in the service industry are highly routine and standardized (i.e., supermarket clerks or food servers). Because of the variety of customers, their presence, even when annoying, is only somewhat distracting, and can be stimulating (Tolich, 1993). Rose (2001) recognized the positive function of emotional labour because interaction with customers serves as a comic relief; he conducted an extensive qualitative study on waitresses working-life. He described the sources of satisfaction for wait staff as below: Some waitresses gain satisfaction from contributing to a customers enjoyment (you supply nurturing and sustenance, the things that make life pleasurable). Some respond to the hustle and stimulation of a busy restaurant, the sense of being in the middle of thingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦some like the attention (the spotlights on you)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..some comment on the pleasure of the attenuated human interaction: though well never get to know each other, theres a really nice feelings that go back and forth (Rose, 2000, p. 19). Roses (2000) case studies offer some support for the argument that performing emotional labour is not always psychologically damaging. The interaction with the public, being at the centre of attention or a sense of joy when knowing ones work is altruistic in nature all bring some intrinsic rewards to ones job when performing emotional labour. The reward or benefit aspect of performing emotional labour receives some empirical support. Wharton (1993) found that workers employed in jobs requiring substantial amounts of emotional labour experience higher job satisfaction and lower emotional exhaustion than other workers (Wharton, 1993). Adelman (1989) found a similar result for table servers. She concluded that, contrary to Hochschilds estrangement assumption, performing emotional labour does not adversely impact employees psychological well-being, but enhances their job satisfaction (Adelman, 1989). 2.4 Moderators of Emotional Labour 2.4.1 Successful Recruitment and Selection Karatepe and Aleshinloye (2009) pointed out that in order to fill vacant positions in organizations, managers should use effective recruitment and selection tools. It is significant that managers should consider the personality traits of candidates in the selection process, focus on candidates who are intrinsically motivated, and try to hire those who can manage their felt emotions matching organizationally desired display norms in the service encounter. This should be a far-reaching practice among hospitality managers. By doing so, managers can go some way to making such frontline employees manage problems associated with emotional dissonance and exhaustion. Another implication for practice is that employing mentors in the workplace appears to be inevitable, since younger, less educated and less experienced employees are confronted with emotional dissonance and exhaustion (Karatepe and Aleshinloye, 2009). Mentors could help such employees alleviate their emotional dissonance and exhaustion by listening to employees problems and their expectations from the management of the hotel and providing support and guidance (Lee and Akhtar, 2007). 2.4.2 Adequate Training Karatepe and Aleshinloye (2009) also suggested that frontline employees should be trained continuously to learn how to cope with problems that stem from emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion. This is significant, because effective and continuous training programs in the hospitality industry are not abundant. Therefore, managers should foster social support arising from both supervisors and co-workers in the workplace during these training programs and train their frontline employees in the areas of complaint handling procedures and genuine customer care. Such training programs would also comprise of potential empowerment practices frontline employees would use to deal with customers complaints. The final implication is associated with promotional

How The Brain Works Essay -- Anatomy, Nervous System

Current research shows that mental events cause physical events, and scientists believe examining single nerves is the key to understanding how the brain works as a complete unit. Understanding the brain at the nerve cell level will allow scientists to understand how human consciousness works (Blakeslee, 1992). Furthermore, the brain's thalamus is identified as the possible sensory connector because it fires 40 impulses per second that sweep through the entire brain (Blakeslee, 1995a). These findings are a serious implication to Dualism because it states the mind is not physical. If the mind is not physical, it cannot affect the physical body, so the Dualist theory of two-sided interactions between the body and mind are false. The aforementioned argument is supported by many other scientific facts and objections against Dualism. For example, phantom pain is a well-known phenomenon in medicine. When people lose a limb, they will often feel painful spasms in parts that no longer exist. Although neuroscience is still developing, scientists assume sensory conflict is responsible for this phenomenon (Blakeslee, 1995b). The brain remembers the nerves going to the missing limb and their previous function, so it can issue orders through those nerves. However, the nerves will not get feedback from the muscles in the non-existent limb, so the brain stops the movement forcibly (Blakeslee, 1995b). Over time, the brain makes new nervous pathways and adapts to the new geography of the body (Blakeslee, 1995b), so the person's perception changes and phantom pain no longer persists. Phantom pain is only one example of how the brain is linked to the consciousness. Every perception in the environment and every physical action causes changes in t... ...p paralysis prevents the body from moving while the mind dreams. In conclusion, the mind is non-physical, but there must be a common link between the body and mind because several examples show their interaction. Perhaps the image of the body and the mind as entities responsible for our ability to act in the external and the internal world (Ryle, 1949) is correct, but it is missing the brain as the link. The brain is obviously the meeting point which perceives sensations from both the external and the internal world. The mind functions in the internal world and provides thoughts to the brain. The body functions in the external world and provides sensory input to the brain. The brain combines both inputs and distributes them among the body and the mind. This is how the body and mind are able to interact even though the mind is immaterial and the body is material.

John Bunyan’s Pilgrimes Progress Essay -- Literary Analysis of Pilgri

Many people wonder what it would be like to go from a dangerous city where they live and journey to a plentiful heaven. This storyline is portrayed in John Bunyan’s allegorical book, Pilgrim’s Progress. This fascinating story describes the life of Christian, a married man living in the City of Destruction, who longs to travel to the Celestial City. As Christian struggles to stay on the right, though more difficult path, I fight to focus in school and not pay attention to distracting ideas. I also fight to get strong enough in dance to become a professional dancer, just as Christian has to climb the Hill of Difficulty to get to the Palace Beautiful. In order for Christian to arrive at the Celestial City without wasting away his life, he must be patient. In the same way, I must be patient to reach my life goal. Just as Christian struggled to get through his obstacles in his life, I must get stronger to dance, focus in school, and be patient in order to reach my l ife goal of becoming a faithful and patient person of God. Christian encounters many people who try and lead him down a different path including Worldly Wiseman. Worldly Wiseman encourages Christian to take the get rid of his burden, and take the short, easy route to his destiny, instead of the long, hard route Christian is currently taking. Christian finds that even though the short route is described as ‘better’ by Wiseman, Christian knows that he needs to stay on his own route because he finds relief: â€Å"I don’t care what I meet in the way as long as I can also find deliverance from my burden† (Bunyan 16). Worldly Wiseman focuses his life on getting rid of all burdens, and focusing on worldly comforts. Christian, on the other hand, keeps his burden, and pushes th... ...e, I struggled to get stronger to go on pointe, but in the end, my reward was actually being able to dance on the ends of my toes without getting injured. Also, I had to focus hard in school while missing the fun with friends, but my grades stayed high and it made school easier. At the time, I was not feeling very wise like Mr. Worldly Wiseman, but I soon learning that it also taught me to be patient. In all of my experiences in my own life, I learned to be more patient with myself and realized how much easier it will be to reach my life goal with new experiences. Even though I have not yet met my life goal, I still learn through my experiences just as Christian learned from his experiences going to the Celestial City. Works Cited Bunyan, John, and L. Edward. Hazelbaker. The Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English. Alachua, Florida: Bridge-Logos, 1998. Print.