Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Encountering the Animal-Alien Interspecies Communication in Octavia Butlerââ¬â¢s Dawn and Ursula K. Le Guinââ¬â¢s The Lathe of Heaven - Literature Essay Samples
Scholar Carl Malmgren describes the common science fiction trope of alien encounters as ââ¬Å"inevitably broach[ing] the question of the Self and the Otherâ⬠¦The reader recuperates this type of fiction by comparing human and alien entities, trying to understand what it means to be humanâ⬠(15). The alien can represent humanityââ¬â¢s fears of scientific and political cruelty (oftentimes entanglements of both), a symbol of various marginalized groups, and/or a metaphor for oppressive power (either as a human victim or a nonhuman agent of violence). As Heather Atwell and Elain Oââ¬â¢Quinn write, aliens have become the scientific and technological avatars of a modern world, acting as humanoid mirrors through which inter-human relationships are scrutinized (45). In light of irreversible man-made environmental disaster and growing numbers of mass species extinction, perhaps it is necessary to revisit the SF alien not just as a stand-in for humanity, but also as a representa tive of human-animal relationships. Despite cohabitating Earth and sometimes bearing biological similarities, the human view of animals has always been one of presumed superiority from the natural world. Stacy Alaimo notes that ââ¬Å"one English word, one Western conceptââ¬âââ¬â¢animalââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â somehow encompasses a vast array of creaturesbut it rarely contains humans (9). Viewing the SF alien as an animal, a new species integrating itself into Earthen ecologies, opens the possibility of bridging these troubled human/animal distinctions through new relationships where humanity is more conscious of their position within the environment and the impact their actions have on nonhuman others. Octavia Butlerââ¬â¢s 1988 novel, Dawn, and Ursula K. Le Guinââ¬â¢s 1971 novel, The Lathe of Heaven, each present human-alien relationships that disrupt anthropocentric hierarchies by inserting themselves their nonhuman selves into human social spaces (both as agents and byproducts of manmade change). While most discussions of SF aliens focus on physical appearance, the estranging ââ¬Ëalien-nessââ¬â¢ in both texts come from the aliensââ¬â¢ use of species-specific languages in the form of chemical exchanges and machine-produced translations. Language is one of the key tools humanity uses to differentiate itself from the rest of the animal kingdom, asserting their world-building identities through the categorizing (and subsequent other-ing) of human and nonhuman subjects alike. As Sherryl Vint explains, ââ¬Å"language has the power to create the perceptual and experiential worldStructures that are imbued with power relations [emerge] from the difference between those who have the power to name and those who must speak in anothers discourseâ⬠(71). But what happens when our anthropocentric, hierarchical perception of language-use is unsettled by the presence of the alien subject and its own arsenal of communication tools? By analyzing the modes of primarily non-verbal communication Butler and Le Guinââ¬â¢s aliens use to interact with human beings, one can re-examine the alien figure as a embodiment of reflections on humanityââ¬â¢s historical treatment of animals, challenging presumptions of anthropocentric exceptionalism through the aliensââ¬â¢ biotechnological linguistic strategies and opening up the possibility of healing human-animal interspecies communication. When Octavia Butlerââ¬â¢s human protagonist, Lilith, sees one of her alien captors for the first time, she canââ¬â¢t help but be horrified at Jdahyaââ¬â¢s nearly featureless ââ¬Å"flat gray skinâ⬠and the ââ¬Å"darker gray hair on its headdown around its eyes and ears and at its throat,â⬠later revealed to be rippling sensory organs that ââ¬Å"move in response to [Jdahyaââ¬â¢s] wishes or emotion or to outside stimuliâ⬠(Butler 11-12). As grotesque as these sea creature-like tentacles are to humans, the Oankali need them to ââ¬Å"experience all of the world through their bodies,â⬠acting as their primary source of perceiving and communicating with the world around them (Belk 374). The Oankali are driven to Earth not by the impulse to destroy (like Lilithââ¬â¢s generation of nuclear-annihilated humans), but rather the biological imperative to rebuild human life through the reformation of Earthââ¬â¢s ecologies and the genetic ââ¬Ëcorrectingâ â¬â¢ of the surviving humans in order to reproduce and further the growth of their own kind (Butler 26). While Jdahya speaks to Lilith in English at first, this is an early strategy meant to help ease Lilith into the Oankali world (Butler 156). Ultimately, the Oankali are fluent in biochemistry. ââ¬Å"By pushing the right electrochemical buttons,â⬠Lilith tries to explain to her fellow humans, ââ¬Å"itââ¬â¢s like a language that they have a special gift forâ⬠(Butler 169). Amongst themselves, although they can communicate verbally, the Oankali can send ââ¬Å"messages from one to another almost at the speed of thoughtcontrolled multisensory stimulationâ⬠(Butler 105). Their symbiotic relationship with their living ship-organism, which ââ¬Å"can be chemically inducedâ⬠to perform functions and produce foods, can be likened to that of a human and a domesticated animal, one species bred and altered to fit the needs of the other (Butler 33). The Oankali exper ience the world differently than usââ¬âas seen in their chemosensory expressions which parallel insect secretions and other therolinguistic forms of ââ¬Å"collective kinesthetic semioticsâ⬠mostly inaccessible to humansââ¬âbut that does not mean that the way they move through the world is less ââ¬Ëintelligentââ¬â¢ than humans, who rely on spoken and written language to articulate their experiences (Haraway 122). Through her depiction of the Oankaliââ¬â¢s advanced language system, Butler destabilizes our measurements of nonhuman ââ¬Ëintelligenceââ¬â¢ (oftentimes based on how similar or different animal actions mimic human ones) by presenting the Oankaliââ¬â¢s animal-like approach to communication as a different, yet not inherently inferior, approach to humanityââ¬â¢s ways of comprehending the world. In order to ââ¬Ëspeakââ¬â¢ Oankali, Lilith must submit to biochemical changes. Until Nikanj shares the characteristic of chemical marker communication with her, Lilith is unable to open walls, form rooms, and feed herself since ââ¬Å"there were no signs she could readEach time they opened a wall, they enhanced they enhanced the local scent markersâ⬠(Butler 65). Sheââ¬â¢s aware of her own vulnerability, how she has to rely on the Oankali for physical and emotional sustenance, and even calls herself ââ¬Å"Nikanjââ¬â¢s new petâ⬠(Butler 55). This disorientation, this shift in power dynamics as Lilith finds herself among a community she doesnââ¬â¢t fully understand who want to use her genes and repopulate the Earth, bears unfortunate similarities to animals held captive by humansââ¬âan analogy which Butler, through Lilith, repeatedly returns to. When fighting off Paul Titus, Lilith says, ââ¬Å"Animals get treated like this. Put a stallion and a mare toget her until they mate, then send them back to their ownersâ⬠(Butler 93). She questions her own position in relation to the Oankali: ââ¬Å"Experimental animal, parent to domestic animals? Ornearly extinct animal, part of a captive breeding program? Human biologists had done that before the warââ¬âused a few captive members of an endangered animal species to breed more for the wild populationâ⬠(Butler 58). Lilith is no longer able to speak for herself in a traditionally human way. The Oankali-given eidetic memories and chemical secretions eliminate the need for reading or writing. Rather than fully adapt to human structures of communication, they alter the humansââ¬â¢ brain chemistry to fit into their own species-specific subjectivity. As Patricia Melzer explains, ââ¬Å"the other becomes the norm, becomes the position from which decisions are made and from which control over others is exertedplacing us into the other (74). No longer the ââ¬Ëdominant animal,ââ¬â ¢ Lilith finds herself repeatedly ââ¬Ëmis-readââ¬â¢ in a language that is not her own. The Oankali, like humans imposing their own behavioral norms onto animals, choose to ââ¬Ëlistenââ¬â¢ to Lilithââ¬â¢s biological changes over what she speaks, leading to a loss in her personal agency at the benefit of the Oankaliââ¬â¢s highly controlled genetic breeding practices. One such ââ¬Ëmiscommunicationââ¬â¢ occurs when Nikanj impregnates Lilith at the end of the novel with a half-human, half-Oankali child. Despite Lilithââ¬â¢s pleas that ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢m not ready! Iââ¬â¢ll never be ready!â⬠, Nikanj appears to ââ¬Ëknowââ¬â¢ that she wanted to be pregnant with some of Josephââ¬â¢s offspring after his death, telling her that ââ¬Å"Youââ¬â¢re ready now to have Josephââ¬â¢s child,â⬠effectively making Lilithââ¬â¢s decision for her (Butler 248). Like humans breeding animals, the Oankali, for the most part, only read the humansââ¬â¢ uncontrollable biological outputs, leading to miscalculations of human behavior and lapses in equal exchange between human and alien. In the Oankaliââ¬â¢s embodied consciousness, Lilithââ¬â¢s body, not her voice, now speak for her. Le Guinââ¬â¢s aliens, known as the Aldebaranians, come to Earth from the far-flung corners of outer space as ââ¬Å"natives of a methane-atmosphere planetâ⬠(Le Guin 132-133). When they encounter Dr. Haber for the first time, he notices that they are ââ¬Å"encased in a [vapor-filled] suitwhich gave it a bulky, greenish, armored, inexpressive look like a giant sea turtleâ⬠and one of them speaks to him by raising ââ¬Å"its left arm, pointing at him with a metallic nozzle instrumentâ⬠through which English words (translated from the original Aldebaranian language) are emitted (Le Guin 121). While Butlerââ¬â¢s humanoid Oankali have been analyzed by scholars in great detail, these sea turtle-like creatures ââ¬Å"remain enigmatic black boxesâ⬠due to their refusal to be neatly interpreted as ââ¬Å"human stand-ins, subsumed into and judged within the human moral frameworkâ⬠(Lichfield 375). Unlike the Oankaliââ¬â¢s clearly stated biological imperative, Orr notes that ââ¬Å"they had not yet made clear what they hoped for in return, why they had come to Earth. They seemed simply to like it hereâ⬠(Le Guin 133). This confusion over the Aldebaraniansââ¬â¢ reasons for arriving to Earth is not so surprising when we recall that this alien species is the two-fold product of George Orrââ¬â¢s effective dreaming. The aliens first appear on the Moon after Haber tells Orr to dream about world peace and Orr generates this alien threat to ââ¬Å"to give us something to fightâ⬠(Le Guin 99). Then, in Lelacheââ¬â¢s attempt to get rid of them by telling him to ââ¬Å"dream that the Aliens are no longer on the Moon,â⬠they peacefully land on Earth (Le Guin 111). Over time, the Aldebaranians take on the roles of shop owners, collecting ââ¬Å"floatsam of the affluent years of America,â⬠with no typical desire for world domination or biological human alterations (Butler 153). The Aldebaranians, technologically adapted to integrate into human society, fill the role of the Other previously vacated by Haberââ¬â¢s attempts to ââ¬Ëfixââ¬â¢ and homogenize markers of human difference (like race) through effective dream manipulation. This allows readers to consider ââ¬Å"alternative forms of social organizationâ⬠where interspecies coexistence can uproot norms of human control over the environment (Malgrem 313). Since this species originates from a human subconscious, Le Guinââ¬â¢s human-alien relationship is one that is more harmonious than in most other SF works. As Orr notes, ââ¬Å"Itââ¬â¢s not surprising that the Aliens are on my side. In a sense, I invented themThey definitely werenââ¬â¢t around until I dreamed they were, until I let them be. So that there isââ¬âthere always wasââ¬âa connection between usâ⬠(Le Guin 155). While one would expect that the aliens would speak English, look and act more human than they do in their bulky encasements, the Aldebaranians rely on technological systems in the form of vocal nozzles in their turtle suits and their redistribution of human tools and technologies to translate their experience of the world into phrases humans can understand. This inevitably results in moments of alien-to-human miscommunication. When the aliens do speak, their messages take the form of ambiguous truisms, as seen in their first encounter with Dr. Ha ber: ââ¬Å"Do not do to others what you wish others not to do with you,â⬠or in their talks with George Orr: ââ¬Å"Speech is silver, silence is gold. Self is universeâ⬠(Le Guin 121-142). When Tiuaââ¬â¢k Ennbe Ennbe tries to tell George how control his ability to iahkluââ¬â¢ (effective dream), it gives him a copy of the Beatles record, ââ¬Å"With a Little Help from My Friendsâ⬠in an attempt to bridge their communication gap through allegory (Butler 154). Since the aliens retain their native tongue, certain words, concepts, and worldviews remain untranslatable. Orr tries to ask Ennbe Ennbe the literal meaning of iahkluââ¬â¢, but it replies, ââ¬Å"Incommunicable. Language used for communication with individual-persons will not contain other forms of relationshipâ⬠(Butler 153). Le Guin likens these differences of perception and expression to those between human and animals: ââ¬Å"[Orr] was not even sure that they could see, that they had any sense or gan for the visible spectrum. There were vast areas over which no communication was possible: the dolphin problem, only enormously more difficultâ⬠(133). Dr. Haber (who embodies an anthropocentric worldview of environmental and social transformation) has doubts about whether the Aldebaranians even have conscious dreaming abilities since human-based forms of measuring such activity prove indeterminate: ââ¬Å"We simply havenââ¬â¢t licked the communications problem there. Theyââ¬â¢re intelligent but Irchevsky, our best xenobiologist, thinks they may not be relational at all, and that what looks like socially integrative behavior among humans is nothing but a kind of instinctual adaptive mimicryââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ (Le Guin 166-167). While Haber takes these failed tests as a sign that the aliens are psychologically inferior, Orr embraces their untranslatable qualities, finding a connection within the two speciesââ¬â¢ different views of the world: ââ¬Å"Theyââ¬â¢re a lot m ore experienced than we are at all thisThey are of dream time. I donââ¬â¢t understand it, I canââ¬â¢t say it in words. Everything dreamsâ⬠(Le Guin 167). Orrââ¬â¢s new approach to understanding the Aldebaranians marks a shift in how humanity locates itself within the environment: ââ¬Å"A conscious mind must be part of the whole, intentionally and carefullyââ¬âas the rock is part of the whole unconsciouslyâ⬠(Le Guin 168). As seen with his retention of the phrase ââ¬Å"Erââ¬â¢ perrhnneââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ to control his dreams, Orr finds himself in a harmonious relationship where one species does not try to fully translate each other, but rather just listen to and adapt to each otherââ¬â¢s unique point of view. While Haber succumbs to his own inability to manipulate Georgeââ¬â¢s dreams and completely ââ¬Ërepairââ¬â¢ humanityââ¬â¢s problems by forcing his selfish will onto the environment, ââ¬Å"Orr stays sane because he respects the existence an d integrity of the Other (Malgrem 316). After Orr mends the unravelling fabric of reality with his enlightened dream-intervention, he exchanges words with one of the aliens, mimicking their curious, technologically-mediated manner: ââ¬Å"ââ¬ËSleep that knits up the ravellââ¬â¢d sleave of care,ââ¬â¢ it said. ââ¬ËTo sleep, perchance to dream; aye, thereââ¬â¢s the rub,ââ¬â¢ Orr repliedâ⬠(Le Guin 178). By learning to speak the language of the Aldebaranians, Orr positions himself not as above them, as seen in humanityââ¬â¢s traditional interactions with animals, choosing more wholistic multi-species environmental networks instead. In both stories, set in worlds decimated by man-made environmental destruction, Le Guin and Butler use alien communication and its non-normative modes of consciousness, expression, and subjectivity to challenge humanityââ¬â¢s presumed hierarchical position over other species. As Gordon Litchfield writes of animal-aliens, ââ¬Å"these scenarios force us to question whether we could encounter a species with whom communication is in principle impossible. If in more conventional sci-fi the aliens challenge our moral precepts, here they challenge our philosophical ones, asking us whether concepts we consider universal truly are soâ⬠(375). Both protagonists are confronted with forms of intelligence and expression that are physically (through the aliensââ¬â¢ uncanny lack of ââ¬Ëmouthsââ¬â¢) and socially (as they have to integrate these strangers into their respective altered worlds) non-normative. By shifting power relations to where mankind now finds itself at the will of the Oankali and their biological literacy, Butler ââ¬Å"undermines the privileged position of humans,â⬠causing Lilith to reflect on how animals have been historically treated as tools and test subjects within human society (Melzer 71). While the arrival of Le Guinââ¬â¢s aliens are less violent (and not actually from outer space), they too integrate themselves into human life through unusual means. Speaking through mechanized suits that both sustain their bodies and translate their words, the Aldebaranians offer their services both as new economic contributors to help rebuild Earthen society and as guides to George Orr as he seizes control over his effective dreaming by learning some of their native language. Through his interactions with them, Orr is forced to reexamine ruinous human assertions of dominance over non-human entities which take the shape of Haberââ¬â¢s anthropocentric reality-bending. Perhaps it is not so surprising that many ââ¬Ëmiscommunicationsââ¬â¢ occur over course of each novel. Moments where agency is lost (like Lilithââ¬â¢s forced impregnation) and where barriers of difference arise from misunderstandings (like Haberââ¬â¢s disavowal of alien intelligence due to inconclusive testing), come from a refusal to listen and adapt to the animal-alienââ¬â¢s special approach to the world. Animal studies scholar Sherryl Vint scrutinizes this sense of human-animal alienation by pointing out ââ¬Å"that it is not that animals cannot or are not speaking, but rather that they do so in a language that is so alien to humans that we cannot understand it. This is because language is integrally tied to a form of life, produced by concrete and embodied experience that varies among species (68). Technological advancements that try to conform one speciesââ¬â¢ ââ¬Ëspeechââ¬â¢ into the norms of anotherââ¬âlike the fictional Aldebaranian translating suit s and the Oankaliââ¬â¢s biological manipulations to give Lilith access to their living shipââ¬âcan only unite humans and nonhumans together so much as any embodied context of the animal-alienââ¬â¢s ââ¬Ëlanguageââ¬â¢ is lost in this mechanized act of translation. To prevent further lapses in understanding and possible loss of agency, Butler and Le Guinââ¬â¢s alien presences suggest that one must listen to not only what these Others have to say, but how they say it. All the miscommunications among the humans and aliens within these novels, and these extrapolations onto human-animal relationships, leads to the inevitable question: What might human-animal interconnectedness look like? Is multi-species coexistence even attainable in our anthropocentric society? Through the creation of the Oankali and the Aldebaranians, Le Guin and Butler offer us two varying blueprints for how to proceed with healing the troubled divisions between man and animal. The Oankali demonstrate a form of ââ¬Å"storying [which] cannot any longer be put into the box of human exceptionalismâ⬠as they articulate new human-alien hybrid worlds through gene manipulation techniques which parallel modern-day scientific practices (Haraway 39). As innovative as their bio-language is, itââ¬â¢s important to remember that Butlerââ¬â¢s human-alien relationship is not always an equal, mutually-beneficial. Lilithââ¬â¢s inability to regain control over own body and depravity of familiar forms of verbal communication among the Oankali speaks to the violent loss of animalsââ¬â¢ agency when humans impose their will onto the landscape for anthropocentric gain. The Aldebaraniansââ¬â¢ behavior is reminiscent of something Vint notes, that ââ¬Å"the recognition of communication in others is one of the key ways that we might begin to rethink and change our relationships with other species and thus produce a more ethical worldâ⬠(71). Humanity relies on animals to grow and sustain local and global, environmental and socioeconomic ecosystems, yet we have difficulty acknowledging these other species as fellow subjects with their own stories to tell through nonhuman languages. George Orrââ¬â¢s interaction with the Aldebaranians prove that technological innovation is not enough to bridge gaps in communication. One must embrace perspectives of the world that cannot be translated by human means to create a sense of unity that is strengthened by interspec ies difference. By presenting their alien subjects in their own native languages, where humanity must adapt physically and mentally to meet these new conditions, Le Guin and Butler complicate the persistence of authoritative anthropocentrism. Yes, these moments of interspecies communication and translation are sometimes difficult and oftentimes far from perfect. But in a time when humanity can no longer escape the consequences of its ongoing destructive transformation of the planetââ¬â¢s landscape for selfish gain, these speculative stories of human and alien encounters unsettle historical hierarchies and signal a healing movement forward. Works Cited Alaimo, Stacy. ââ¬Å"Animal.â⬠Keywords for Environmental Studies, edited by Joni Adamson et al., NYU Press, 2016, pp. 9ââ¬â13. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15zc5kw.7. Belk, Nolan. ââ¬Å"The Certainty of the Flesh: Octavia Butlers Use of the Erotic in the Xenogenesis Trilogy.â⬠Utopian Studies, vol. 19, no. 3, 2008, pp. 369ââ¬â389. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20719917. Butler, Octavia. Dawn. Warner Books, New York, 1988. Print. Haraway, Donna. Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chtulucene. Duke University Press, Durham, 2016. Print. Le Guin, Ursula K. The Lathe of Heaven. Scribner, New York, 1971. Print. Lichfield, Gordon, et al. ââ¬Å"The Aliens Are Us: The Limitation That the Nature of Fiction Imposes on Science Fiction about Aliens.â⬠ETC: A Review of General Semantics, vol. 72, no. 4, Oct. 2015, pp. 372ââ¬â378. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?qurl=https%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dehh%26AN%3d121025628%26site%3dehost-live%26scope%3dsite. Malmgren, Carl D. ââ¬Å"Orr Else? The Protagonists of LeGuins ââ¬ËThe Lathe of Heaven.ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 9, no. 4 (36), 1998, pp. 313ââ¬â323. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43308369. Malmgren, Carl D. ââ¬Å"Self and Other in SF: Alien Encounters.â⬠Science Fiction Studies, vol. 20, no. 1, 1993, pp. 15ââ¬â33. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4240211. Melzer, Patricia. Alien Constructions : Science Fiction and Feminist Thought, University of Texas Press, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/columbia/detail.action?docID=3443163. OQuinn, Elaine,J., and Heather Atwell. Familiar Aliens: Science Fiction as Social Commentary. ALAN Review, vol. 37, no. 3, 2010, pp. 45-50. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/749504728?accountid=10226. Vint, Sherryl. Animal Alterity: Science Fiction and the Question of the Animal. : Liverpool University Press, June 20, 2013. Liverpool Scholarship Online. Date Accessed 13 Dec. 2018 . Yampell, Cat. ââ¬Å"When Science Blurs the Boundaries: The Commodification of the Animal in Young Adult Science Fiction.â⬠Science Fiction Studies, vol. 35, no. 2, 2008, pp. 207ââ¬â222. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25475139.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
John Smith vs. William Bradford Essay - 1124 Words
John Smith vs. William Bradford Laura Ward To many Europeans in the early 17th century the Americas seemed as a new land of opportunity. John Smith and William Bradford were two of the first men who left England seeking adventure and freedom in the New World. Both groups had difficulties while trying to form their colonies and Smith and Bradford were both elected to lead. While they were both great leaders they had very different lives before their journey from England. While starting their new colonies they also took different approaches to making the land habitable. One of the most notable differences between John Smith and William Bradford was their writing style. John Smith and William Bradford were very different people inâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Smith returned to England in 1609 after being accidentally being wounded. John Smith had a very interesting writing style; he was able to add his own special flourishes to his work while keeping it informative. His journal was a way for him to encourage more people to come to Jamestown or settle their own colonies. In his journal he often glossed over the bad things that happened or explained that all of the problems were due to inexperience. His journal showed all of the adventure but little of the consequences and there were several times that he could have died. Smith was an egoist and his writing reflects the way he would build himself up though several of the events in his journal that are unlikely to have ever happened. William Bradford, like Smith, was born in England and became an orphan young in his life. In his youth he lived with several different family members but never stayed anywhere too long. When he was 12 years old he began attending a separatist church the neighboring town of Scrooby. By the time he was 17 he was a full member of the church and considered separating from the official Church of England. Seeking religious freedom Bradford and other members of the church fled to the Netherlands. English influence even tually forced the Separatist out of the Netherlands and they fled to the New World. When theyShow MoreRelated Smith vs. Bradford Essay641 Words à |à 3 Pages Smith vs. Bradford Have you ever wondered whose hands our country was in at the start of our time? Captain John Smith was one of the first American heroes. He was the first man to promote a permanent settlement of America. William Bradford was a Puritan who was courageous and determined to set up a colony where citizens could worship freely. Although both of these men were two of Americaââ¬â¢s heroes, they had more differences than known. Thus, Smith was a very proud and boastful man. Before reachingRead MoreSimilarities And Differences Between Plymouth And Jamestown1185 Words à |à 5 PagesPlymouth vs Jamestown Leaders of Plymouth and Jamestown are both compare because they both came from England, Native Americans aided the newly incorporated groups by supplying them for food, and both empires resulted in the starvation and death. However, in Jamestown, John Smith set a goal to make money and get rich, developed the idea of everyone for themselves, men were the dominant gender, and Smith abandoned the colony and never decided to return. As for Plymouth, William Bradford sââ¬â¢ goal wasRead MoreEssay On Jamestown Vs Plymouth705 Words à |à 3 PagesJamestown vs Plymouth The essay discusses from the story ââ¬Å"From the generall histroy of Virginiaâ⬠, by John Smith, a histrorical narrative is about the landing and the discovery of Virginia in 1607 at a place called Jamestown, this was the first permanent english settlement in the new world, the americas. Also ââ¬Å"From of Plymouth plantationâ⬠, by William Bradford, a historical account, is about when 13 years later about 100 settlers went on the big fancy ship called the Mayflower and landed in MassachusettsRead MoreBrief Survey of American Literature3339 Words à |à 14 Pagesstoriesï ¼Ëè µ ·Ã¦ º ç ¥Å¾Ã¨ ¯ ï ¼â° trickster talesï ¼Ëæ ¶Ã¤ ½Å"åⰠ§Ã¨â¬â¦Ã¤ ¼ Ã¥ ¥â¡Ã¯ ¼â° rituals / ceremoniesï ¼Ëå⦠¸Ã¤ » ªÃ¯ ¼â° songs / chantsï ¼Ëæ⺠²Ã¨ ¯ ï ¼â° Anglo Settlersââ¬â¢ Writings Highly religious and pragmatic - John Smith, founder of Jamestown, Virginia; Pocahontas - John Winthrop, ââ¬Å"A Model of Christian Charityâ⬠: ââ¬Å"â⬠¦ We shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon usâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ - William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation (1630-50, pub. 1856) - Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672), The Tenth Muse (1650), the first volume of poems published by a residentRead MoreApush American Pageant Chapter 1 -24887 Words à |à 20 Pageshalf-brother Sir Walter Raleigh organized an expedition that landed at North Carolinas Roanoke Island, but that colony also mysterioiously vanished. These failures really embarrased the English, especially when Spain was doing so wealthy. 17. Spain vs. England - Using the wealth acquired from colonized lands, Phillip 2 of spain organized and Invincible Armada for an invasion of England but the English fought back and inflicted heavy damage and defeated the Armada, which marked the end of SpanishsRead MoreResearch Hypotheses and Empirical Strategy527 Words à |à 2 Pagesthe Cityâ⬠, The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Volume 107, Issue 1. 27. 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EysenckRead MoreHistory of Globallization5628 Words à |à 23 Pagesââ¬Å"flatteningâ⬠events (Friedman, 2007, p. ix) over the 50 years preceding the statement: ï⠷ ï⠷ ï⠷ ï⠷ ï⠷ ï⠷ ï⠷ ï⠷ ï⠷ ï⠷ 1803 Robert Fulton developed the steamboat and sailed it on the Seine River (France). 1804-06 Merriweather Lewis and William Clark blazed an overland trail from the eastern 1812 John Blenkinsop (U.K.) built the first cog railway. 1814 George Stephenson (U.K.) built the first successful steam locomotive. 1815 U.S. built the first steam warship. 1820 Thomas Robert Malthus (U.K.) wrote Principles of PoliticalRead MoreHistory of Management Thought Revision17812 Words à |à 72 Pagesplacement, wage plans, and other matters that involved employee welfare. Taylor had described this role but it was others who advanced personnel management. a. Mary Gilson would be one example of the scientific management viewpoint. b. Also Jane Williams at Plimpton Press. c. The Henry Gantt/Elizabeth Briscoe clash at Bancroft Mills relates similarities and differences between the welfarists and those of scientific management. d. Henry Ford and his $5 per day minimum is worth mentioning, asRead MoreDebt vs. Equity and Asymmetric Information: a Review16933 Words à |à 68 PagesDEBT vs. EQUITY AND ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION: A REVIEW Linda Schmid Klein, University of Connecticut Thomas J. Oââ¬â¢Brien*, University of Connecticut Stephen R. Peters, University of Cincinnati March 2002; Forthcoming, The Financial Review *Corresponding author: Department of Finance, University of Connecticut, 2100 Hillside Rd., Storrs, CT 06269-1041; Phone: (860) 486-3041; Fax: (860) 486-0634; E-mail: thomas.obrien@uconn.edu Acknowledgements: The authors thank Ivan Brick, Shanta HegdeRead MoreMarketing Literature Review11908 Words à |à 48 PagesPositive and negative incidents, Content and catalyst categories, Assessment, Managerial implications.] 20 1.2 Legal, Political and Economic Issues See also 25, 30, 124 Trademark Dilution and the Practice of Marketing. Robert A. Peterson, Karen H. Smith, and Philip C. Zerrillo, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 27 (Spring 1999), pp. 255ââ¬â68. [Discussion, Federal Trademark Dilution Act, Definitional and measurement issues, Typicality and dominance, Illustration, Implications for marketing
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Moral Responsibility and Motivational Mechanisms
Question: Discuss about the Moral Responsibility and Motivational Mechanisms. Answer: Introduction: The engagement of the employees in the organisation is very important for the growth and the success of the company or an organisation. The involvement of the employees within the organisation, helps the employees to be focused on the clear goals, empowered, trusted, receiving constructive and the regular feedback, support of the new skill development and get recognition for the achievements (Chandani et al., 2016). The emotional connection of the employees towards the organisation, tend to influence the behaviour of the employee and also increases the efforts towards the activities related to the work. The more the engagement of the employee in the organisation, the more are the efforts of the employee for achieving the goals of the organisation. The employee engagement also includes the job nature itself, the individual feels mentally stimulated; communication and the trust between the management and the employee; the employee's ability to contribute towards the company performance with the better job performance; it also increases the growth opportunities within the company. Employee engagement also results in increasing the pride level of the individuals about the job or the work which relates to the organisation. (Vestal, 2012) The better performance of the organisation is based on the integrity, trust, the commitment between the two and with the better communication between the employees and the organisation (Arruda, 2016). In this case, the implementation of the new process of the different hierarchy system resulted into no direct interaction of the management with the junior staff members of the company which as a result affected the growth of the company. The two-way communication in an organisation results into the higher chances of the company growth, contributing to the individual and the organisational performance, well-being, and the productivity. The employee engagement during the Tim working period was in a great way, there was no hierarchy level and a great communication happens between the consultants and the In this case scenario in spite of the employees of the XYZ company were getting handsome wages still were not motivated towards the organisation because of the absence of the employee recognition, prestige, and status.The employees were not getting good interaction with the seniors which were managed by the Tim in a better way. The employees were also lacking the peace and the comfort. This results in the lack of the motivational tools among the employee. According to the Maslow Theory among the employees of the XYZ consultants, the self-actualization, and the self-esteem is absent. The Alderfers theory states that the employee motivation includes the three core needs, which are the relatedness, existence, and growth.The Fiona decision of removing the performance bonus also works against the employee motivation towards the organisation goals. As these incentives and bonuses act as motivational factors and increases the employee engagement in the organisational objectives and goals. H ence, the employees according to the Maslow theory of rewards were also not happy and frustrated with the rewarding concept of the organisation. Fiona new leadership Environment: In the old organisation, Tim used to follow the open management style which develops, the better and open communication between the employees, whereas Fiona applied the Hierarchy system which developed the communication gap between the employees and the management. Tim used to resolve the issues as they happened in the organisation and the Friday meetings were held which helps in resolving the organisational issues and give a clear expectation of the Tim for his clients. Tim focused on dividing the equal workload among the employees, which resulted in the healthier work-life balance which was missing at the time of Fiona management. The organizational behaviour is able to play a vital role refer the organizational development and the overall performance of the organization. Organizational behaviour also assists in the enhancement of the individual and the group satisfaction, performance, and the commitment. The senior management, whoever wants the comprehensive success of their concerned organization refers the corporate world; they are also required to properly understand the behaviour of the organization (Heather, 2005). The organization behaviour assists the organization so as to be much more effective. The organizational behaviour refers a manner or way which helps in properly recognizing all kinds of the behaviour of the staff and also to carefully identify the connection with the all other staff in a company. Thus, it is also beneficial for any of the organization to increase its advantages and the proper innovation. The motivation has been a conceptual fact that is essential to get to know the behaviour of the organization plus the organisational performance (Heather, 2005). Hence, it is vital for the organisational management to carefully understand the factors which are responsible for the motivational factor. It is an important tool by which the concerned managers are able to find out the most effective outcome by their staff and increasing the performance refer the company. The external and internal factor raises the desire and the commitment among the individual for the best performance outcome (Kocherlakota, 2015). Organisational Theory and Equity Theory of Motivation: The organisational management is required to judge the proper behavior of the staff by his activities refers the organization. The analysis declares and finds out that the meeting and also the talking to the seniors, plus the sharing of the experiences with their seniors is also a way to develop the interpersonal skills of the staff in a company. The absence of the communication that lies between the staff and the management result into the inadequate growth of the organisation, and the misunderstanding also rises among the staff and the management and this also acts as a hurdle in reach and every aspect of the workings. by providing the appropriate platform for the staff to discuss their feelings, the organisation is sure to get the success in the future (Houger, 2015). This also enhances the faith level of the employees of the organisation and results into the merry working atmosphere all around. Such kinds of the improvements are required for the overall growth of the organisation , in both shorter and the longer terms. The motivation theory of the equity gives the idea that the staff members are to be motivated by the acts of fairness which are performed by the organisation and the retention level of the staff also is mostly dependent on the equality concepts, which are operated by the organisation. In this case, there was no equivalent distribution of the workload and the wages among the staff. The staffs with the better wages are still dissatisfied with the jobs because having no further time for the professional development. Fiona Immediate Changes: The changes which the Fiona must follow are the better communication with the employees of the organisation in spite of the designation. The decision of the Fiona must not be biased rather it should be based on the facts. This will help in the application of the Herzberg theory of Motivation which includes the two factors Hygiene and the motivation. Motivation helps in the job satisfaction of the employees towards their job and will motivate the employee towards the business objectives of the organisation (Steadman, 2011). Fiona must also follow the work-life balance, so the equal workload is distributed among the employees. The performance balance shall also be followed as reward act one of the best motivators for the employees. References Arruda, C. (2016). What Kind of Theory is the Humean Theory of Motivation?.Ratio. Chandani, A., Mehta, M., Mall, A., Khokhar, V. (2016). Employee Engagement: A Review Paper on Factors Affecting Employee Engagement.Indian Journal Of Science And Technology,9(15). Heather, N. (2005). Motivational interviewing: Is it all our clients need?.Addiction Research Theory,13(1), 1-18. Houger, V. (2015). How Program Design Affects Program Performance and Participant Motivation.Performance Improvement,54(7), 10-18. Kocherlakota, S. (2015). Employee Commitment: A Giant Leap in Employee Engagement.OPUS,6(1). Steadman, J. (2011). Moral Responsibility and Motivational Mechanisms.Ethic Theory Moral Prac,15(4), 473-492. Vestal, K. (2012). Which Matters: Employee Satisfaction or Employee Engagement?.Nurse Leader,10(6), 10-11.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
McCarthyism Essays - Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, John Proctor
McCarthyism In The Crucible In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great detail. There is more to the play than the witch trials, though. The Crucible was composed during a time when a similar hysteria was sweeping through America. A virtually unkown senator by the name of Joseph McCarthy was propelled into infamy when while at a speaking engagement at thee Republican Women's Club of Wheeling, West Virginia he charged 205 persons in the U.S. State Department of being members of the Communist Party (Martine 8). Fear caused the American people to succumb to the preposterous charges brought forth by McCarthy displaying resemblance's to that of the Salem community in 1692 (Carey 51). In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, there is evidence of parallels between the Salem of 1692 and America of the 1950's, the American Government of the 1950's and its misuse of power, and the high court depicted in the play, using its power to impose a misguided justice. The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in the spring of 1692 in a village shrouded with chaos. The people of Salem were in uncertain times. Just a year earlier a witch in the nearby town of Beverly was executed and now the witch hysteria had spread to their village. Confused, the people didn't know who to blame whether it be the girls, the negro slave, or even the Devil himself. The insanity that came about was an indication of the fear of "individual freedom" (Miller 6). In The Crucible, hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. The church, the legal system, and the togetherness of the community died so that the girls and their families social status might be protected. The fact that Salem was a Puritan community did not help matters either. Puritans were a strict religous group that tolerated no devious behavior. Being isolated from any other group of people with different beliefs created a church led Puritan society that was not able to accept a lot of change. Anyone who was not in good standing with the church was not even allowed in the community (Carey 42). They believed God elected those who were to go to Heaven by the same token though they believed the Devil could choose his disciples also (Carey 43). Puritans deemed anything pleasurable was motivated by and came directly from the Devil. When The Crucible was written, the American society was threatened by communism much like Salem was threatened by witchcraft (Bly 32). On September 23, 1949, President Truman reported that the Soviet Union had developed an atomic bomb striking fear into the American nation (Martine 8). Miller even acknowledged this fear when he said, " America had just finished fighting World War II with the help of the Soviet Union against the Germans and now they felt threatened by them, knowing not wether they were still allies or if another war was inevitable. The war made people wary of communism. What Hitler had done was ugly. Americans feared this ugliness. "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18). The puritans of Salem definitely believed in witches and gaurded against them just as the Bible told them so, executing them. Once a person was accused as a witch the only way to live was to turn back to God by repenting and revealing names of other witches so that they might repent or be vanquished (Bly 88). Judge Danforth was devoted to the prosecution of witches. When he arrives in the town of Salem, Danforth sets in motion acts that "bring about an evil destructive state of chaos" (Carey 15). He believed he inherited his authority directly from God, and therefore carried on the witchhunt mercilessly (Bly 33). He did not give up easily; once he decided someone was a witch he would not rest until a confession was made as is evident in the following quote: "Will you confesss yourself befouled with Hell, or do you keep that black allegiance yet?" (Miller 111). Danforth may have had too much power also; being the Deputy Governor of Massachusetts, Danforth had the power to try, convict, and execute anyone he decide was a witch" (Bly 27). When writting The Crucible, Arthur Miller chose to speak through John Proctor on of the Salem witch trials victims. Miller uses Proctor as his character that defies the authority of the judges and their corrupt power
Saturday, March 14, 2020
A Syntax Analysis of In Cold Blood essays
A Syntax Analysis of 'In Cold Blood' essays In the early hours of November 15, 1959, Herb Clutter, a prosperous farm owner in the city of Holcomb, Kansas, was brutally murdered with his wife and two of their four children. Fascinated by the lack of motive and evidence, author Truman Capote traveled to Kansas in the company of his friend Harper Lee to write award-winning In Cold Blood, a book detailing the four murders. With his elaborate sentence structure and one-of-a-kind seen syntax, Truman Capote was able to successfully reconstruct the murders and depict the capture, trial, and execution of the two killers, Richard Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Capote structurally divides In Cold Blood into four titled sections: The Last to See Them Alive, Persons Unknown, Answer, and Corner. Within each lengthy section, the narrative switches back and forth between several characters, demonstrating the different experiences of each individual. In a small chapter in The Last to Them Alive, Capote describes the Clutters family home before becoming a murder scene. He writes, The furniture of the den, a cement-floored room that ran the length of the house, consisted almost entirely of examples of his [Kenyon] carpentry (shelves, tables, stools, a ping-pong table) and Nancy's needlework (chintz slip covers that rejuvenated a decrepit couch, curtain, pillows bearing legends: Happy? and You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Live Here But It Helps)" (38). In this passage, Capote utilizes parenthetical phrases to better develop the lifestyles of Kenyon and Nancy Clutter, two of the four murder victims. Although it may be argued that the surplus of such d etails is unnecessary, this sentence structure grants the reader an opportunity to learn more about the characters behaviors. By learning of the innocence of the young victims showcased above, the readers can sympathize for this family and realize they were not des...
Thursday, February 27, 2020
To demonstrate how the field of 'globalisation studies'has moved on Annotated Bibliography
To demonstrate how the field of 'globalisation studies'has moved on - Annotated Bibliography Example In addition, Harvey reveals that such ideals are indeed seductive and compelling. To this end, he reiterates that the seductive ideal comes from individual freedom and its ability to captivate a high number of people. The author equally narrates the genesis of neoliberalism as from an international and domestic scale in the 1960ââ¬â¢s. In addition, he elaborated how liberalism had failed. Consequently, Harvey narrates how neo-liberalism rose up as a solution to the crisis created by liberalism. The author also challenges the presumed neoliberal advantages. This is in evidently pertinent to the assumption that there is no substitute to neoliberal restructuring. To this end, the author blames neoliberization for the ââ¬Ëcreative destructionââ¬â¢ of powers, institutional frameworks, traditional state sovereignty, welfare provisions, social relations, reproductive functions, technological mixes and ways of life and ideals. Consequently, Harveyââ¬â¢s analysis of such shortcomi ngs is pertinent to the debates in neoliberal
Monday, February 10, 2020
Geared to Success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Geared to Success - Essay Example One of the things I love to do is playing rugby. It is physically demanding but I love to engage in the sport because of the values such as sportsmanship, teamwork and health benefits I gain from it. Music is another passion that I have engaged in. I can play the guitar drums and keyboard. Looking back to how my parents encouraged me to do a variety of activities in addition to the demands of schoolwork, I now understand that they always wanted me to be exposed to different activities for me to discover my talents and interests. Their efforts paid off because I found out what kind of person I am which affects my planning and decision-making these days. When I went to service trips to Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia, I found out how blessed I am to have a supportive family who sends me to school and provides me with my necessities. I have seen a lot of less fortunate children who need to work at a tender age only to help their family eat a meal. I have seen starving babies whose parent s either cannot work or have no work at all because they do not have any skill or means. In the aforementioned countries that I have visited, I have seen a lot of poverty but I also saw how people strive to live decently. Some worked hard to survive the day but they still continue to do their tasks despite their difficult situations. These situations opened my eyes to the realities of life. They have left such an impression to me that I learned to think about my own life, what I am doing about my situation and the things I plan in order for me to have a better life and continue to impact the lives of other people. The realizations did not come to me in a dramatic manner. At first, the impressions did not sink in my mind but after a number of service trips that I attended, slowly, I have come to see more of other people. I became observant of how they lived and then I compared the life that I am living to their lives. Looking back to my familial background, I then came to an understa nding of why my parents reiterated the value of education to me from time to time. I realized that my former attitude of taking things for granted will definitely bring me to a similar state that the people we visited in the different countries were experiencing. It was then that I resolved to do not just what I can in my studies but that, I will exert my best efforts to excel and succeed. As I continued to think about my future, I decided that business is what I would like to engage in as a professional. I know that there are a lot of good jobs and opportunities for me in the business world. However, I am also aware of the difficulties waiting for me. The world is becoming smaller, so they say. With the internet and other technological advancements, the business world is also becoming smaller and expanding at the same time. Businesses are going global nowadays. This means tough competition among businessmen who come from different parts of the world, with different experiences and ideas that could change global economy and their personal paths to success. Therefore, in addition to the lessons I learned, I also have come to understand the value of graduating from a school with good reputations. I believe that when good things are said about a school, it would be because of the quality of services being offered. I know that schools are a great factor in how a person is molded and informed.
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