Travels with My Aunt Essay -- English Literature Personal Narratives E

Travels with My Aunt Part 1 Chapter 1 title – The beginning of the End 1. He meets Aunt Augusta and she is 74-75 yrs old 2. Henry describes his father. His father is: - sleepy - sloppy - a building contractor - not outgoing - not motivated to do his job 3. The mother is the Hunter and the father is the Hunted. This shows that his mother dominates his father. She is the person in charge. This also shows that the role of women has changed. Usually men dominated their wives, but in this case it is the complete opposite. 4. Henry says his Aunt was dressed like a ‘queen.’ He also says that his aunt is more towards the present mode. He is amazed by her appearance, for example her red hair and her teeth. At this moment there are no hints about his true relationship with his Aunt 5. This quote has to do with Henry’s life. He says that there is so much waiting. He is a retired man and he has almost dedicated his remaining life to his dahlias. This shows that all he now waits for is death. The irony is that life is all about waiting. His mother is also waiting for eternity. 6. This trip is so memorable for Henry due to several reasons: - the incident of the urn leads to another journey - in this journey he found out that his mother wasn’t his real mother - His life changes as he takes part in the trip which lead to more trips Vocabulary a) Lethargic (10) – laziness, sleepiness b) dahlia (11) – a type of flower, a plant Chapter 2 title – The Truth / Unpleasant surprise 7. Significance in Henry’s mind - shows what he is interested in (his values, eg, the dahlias) - he doesn’t want to go to Aunt Augusta’s house - consumed with the mundane (dull, boring, ordinary) 8. Henry’s... ...entful then he thought it would be. Mr Sparrow and Mr Woodrow come to Henry’s house. They are pursuing an inquiry at the request of Interpol. Vocabulary bb) irrational – without a reason Chapter 20 65. He notes that loyalty to a person certainly involves loyalty to all the flaws of a human being. This is what he now means by loyalty now that he has met Aunt Augusta. He says that his aunt wasn’t free of the tricking and immortality. He wonders if his aunt ever stole a check or robbed a bank. 66. Detective Sergeant Sparrow was looking for Mr Visconti or any of his traces. 67. They find a postcard from Panama signed A.D. 68. Sparrow knows that Visconti was a viper. He also knows that Aunt Augusta had something to do with Mr Visconti. He knows that Mr Visconti was over 80, presumably in his nineties. Vocabulary cc) chicanery – a trick

Ghost Stories Essay -- Literary Analysis, James, Gothic Tradition

Ghost stories are a truly timeless form of literature, the ghost, like death, has no end. Stories of the supernatural date back to early ancient manuscripts involving mythology, legend, and religion. The past few centuries have seen the supernatural flourish in Gothic romanticism through tales of fantastic creatures, demonic forces, and parallel dimensions (Scarborough). Interest in the immaterial has provoked many stories involving the interaction between the living and the returned dead. The well-engineered ghost stories of M.R. James encompass these settings and satisfy the appetite for eerie skin tingling reactions. James's narrative technique and folkloric superstitions in â€Å"the mezzotint†are aimed at involving and engaging the reader's awareness, imagination, and psyche. The realistic settings, supernatural elements, and sensational fiction that is doused in mystery, builds anticipation. James's clear an intelligent knowledge of human nerves elicits fear, excitement, and curiosity through imagery, the uncanny, and subtle suggestions that transform into personal supernatural experiences. The oratory nature of James's stories bring the characters and the drama to life and elevates fear in the reader with â€Å"disembodied texuality . . . fearing that these words on the page might spring to life† (Mulbey-Roberts 236). In contrast to supernatural Gothic tradition, James's short stories shy away from the elaborate romanticism and concentrate on basic elements of fear such as realism and victimization. The narrative style of James's â€Å"The Mezzotint† is similar to the original delivery of his ghost stories. With elements of direct speech, and candid conversation, the narrator awakens the readers awareness by controlling and regulating... ...rom the fear continues as the narrator states that the picture still hangs in the Ashliean Museum. James employs many techniques when he engages the reader. What is especially fascinating is that he makes it look effortless and the approach effectively intrudes upon the reader's emotions. The literary devices and compelling use of narrative works in unison to provoke fear, anxiety, and terror. In truly timeless tradition, James's ghost stories solicit eerie, supernatural settings that entice the reader into a realm of horror. James's well crafted encounters victimize the reader by invading their consciousness and imagination; while using realistic settings and believable characters he builds a rapport with the reader and uses it to his advantage. James is a master in his artistry and his stories will continue to be frightening for generations to come.

Neural & Synaptic Transmission

The nervous system is made up of neurons and glila cells. Neurons are the basic communication links in the nervous system. Glila cell provide support for neurons and contribute to communication. Neurons normally transmit a neural impulse (an electric current) along an axon to a synapse with another neuron. The neural impulse is a brief change in neuron’s electrical charge that moves along an axon. It is an all-or-none event. Action potential triggers the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters that diffuse across the synapse to communicate with other neurons. Transmitters bind with receptors in the postsynaptic cell membrane, causing excitatory or inhibitory PSPs.Most neurons are linked in neural pathway, circuits, and networks. In the nervous system, the neural impulse functions as a signal. For that signal to have any meaning for the system as a whole, it must be transmitted from the neuron to other cell. As noted above, this transmission takes place at special junctio n called Synapses, which depend on chemical messengers. To explain in another way neural impulses are electro chemical events. When Neurons stimulated beyond threshold level, there is a rapid shift in its polarity from negative to positive charge. This reversal of charge, called an action potential or neural impulse, is generated along the length of the axon to the terminal buttons.When neural impulse reaches the terminal button, it triggers the release of neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that carry the message across the synapse to neighboring neurons. Neurotransmitters can have either excitatory or inhibitory effect to the neurons at which they dock. Example: The educational and childcare reformers who have used brain science as the base for their campaigns have primarily cited to key findings: the discovery of critical period in neural development and the demonstration that rats raised in â€Å"enriched environments† have more synapses than rates raised in  "impoverished environments.† A critical period is a limited time span in the development of an organism when it is optimal for certain capacities to emerge because the organism is especially responsive to certain experiences.Classical conditioning Classical conditioning explains how neutral stimulus can acquire the capacity to elicit a response originally evoked by another stimulus. This kind of conditioning was originally described by Ivan Pavlov. Many kind of everyday responses are regulated through classical conditioning, including phobias, fears, and pleasant emotional responses. Even psychological responses such as immune and sexual functioning and drug tolerance can be influenced by classical conditioning. A conditioned response may be weakened and extinguished entirely when the CS is no longer paired with the US. In some case, spontaneous recovery occurs, and an extinguished response reappears after a period of non-exposure to CS.Conditioning may generalized to addition al stimuli that are similar to the original CS. The opposite of generalization is discrimination, which involve not responding to stimuli that resemble the original CS. Higher order conditioning occurs when a CS function as if it were US, to establish new conditioning. Example: The art of manipulating people’s association has been perfected by the advertising industry. Advertisers consistently endeavor to pair the product they are pendling with stimuli that seem likely to elicit positive emotional response. Like advertisers, candidates running for election need to influence the attitude of many people quickly, subtly, and effectively- and they depend on evaluation conditioning to help them do so. For example , politician show-up at an endless variety of pleasant public events( such as opening of a new mall) that often have nothing to do with their public service.Stress Stress is common every day event, even seemingly minor stressors or hassles can be problematic. To a large d egree, stress lies in the eye of the beholder, as appraisals of stress are highly subjective. Major type of stress includes frustration, conflict, change, and pressure. Frustration occurs when an obstacle prevent one from attaining some goal. The three principal type of conflict are approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, and approach-avoidance. A large number of studies with the SRRS suggest that change is stressful. Although this may be true, it is now clear that the SRRS is a measure of general stress rather than just change related stress.Two kind of pressure ( to perform and conform) also appears to be stressful. Emotional reaction to stress typically include anger,  fear, and sadness, although positive emotions may also occur may promote resilience. Emotional arousal may interfere with coping. The optimal level of arousal on a task depends on the complexity of the task. The psychological arousal in response to stress was originally called the fight-or-flight response by Cann on. The fight-or-flight response may be less applicable to women than men. Selye’s general adaptation syndrome describes three stages in physiological reaction to stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.There are two major pathways along which the brain send signal to the endocrine system in response to stress. Action along these pathrelesea two set of hoemonse, catecholamines and corticosteroids, into the bloodstream. Stress may support the process of neurogenesis. Some coping responses are less than optimal. They include giving up, blaming oneself, and striking out at others with act of aggression. Indulging oneself is another coping pattern that tends to be of limited value. Defense mechanism protect against emotional distress through self-deception. Small positive illusion about oneself may sometimes be adaptive.Piaget According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the key advance during sensorimotor period is the child’s gradual recognition of the permanence of objects. The preoperational period is marked by certain deficiencies in thinking- notably, centration, irreversibility, and ego centrism. Jean Piaget (1929, 1952, 1983) was an interdisciplinary scholar whose own cognitive development was exceptionally rapid. In his early 20s, after he had earned a doctorate in natural science and published a novel, piaget turned his focus on psychology.He soon found himself administering intelligent test to children to develop better test norms. In doing this testing, piaget became intrigued the reasoning underlying the children’s wrong answers. He decided that measuring children intelligent was less interesting than studying how children use their intelligence. He spent the rest of his life studying cognitive development. Many of his ideas were based on insights gleaned from carful observation of his own three children during their infancy.Like Erikson’s theory, Piaget model is a stage theory of development. Piaget prop osed that the youngsters progress through four major stages of cognitive development, which are characterized by  fundamentally different thought process: (1) Sensorimotor period (birth to age 2), (2) the preoperational period (age 2 to 7), (3) the concret operational period (age 7 to 10), and (4) the formal operational period (age 11 onwards). Example; fathers are essential for healthy development. Over the last 40 years proportion of children growing up without a father in home has more than doubled. During the same time, we have seen dramatic increase in teenager pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, violent crime, drug abuse, eating disorder, teen suicide and family dysfunction.Erikson Erikson theory of personality development propose that individual evolve through eight stages over the life span. In each stage the person wresles with changes (crises) in social relationship. According to Erikson Personality is shaped by how individual deal with these psychological crises. Each cris is involves a struggle between two opposing tendencies, such as trust versus mistrust or initiative vesus guilt, both of which are experienced by the person. Erikson describes the stages interms of these antagonistic tendencies, which represent personality treatesthat people display in varying degrees over the reminder of theier lives. Although the names for Erikson’s stage suggest either-or-outcomes, he viewed each stage as a tug of war that determind the subsequent balance between opposing polarities in personalties.The eight stages In Erikson theory are: stage 1- Trust versus mistrust ( is my word predictable and supportive?, first year of life), stage 2-Authonomy versus sham and doubt (Can I do thing myself or must I always rely on others?, second and third years), stage 3-Initiative versus guilt (Am I good or am I bad?, fourth through six years), stage 4- Industry versus inferiority ( Am I competent or am worthless? Age six through puberity), stage 5-Identity versus conf usion (Who am I and where am I going?, adolscent), stage 6- Intimacy versus isolation (Shall I share my life with another or live alone?, early adulthood), stage 7-Generativity versus selfe-absorbtion (will I produce something of real value?, middle adulhood), stage 8-integrity versus despair (have I lived a full life?, late adulthood)Psychoanalytic (Freud/Jung) Freud’s psychoanalytic theory emphasis the importance of the unconscious. Freud described personality structure in terms of three components- the id, ego-and superego- which are routinely involved in ongoing series of internal conflict. Freud theorized that conflict centering on sex and aggression are specially likely to lead to anxiety. According to Freud, anxiety and other unpleasant emotions such as guilt are often warded off with defense mechanisms. Freud described a series of five stages of development: Oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.Certain experiences during these stages can have lasting effect on ad ult personality. Jung’s most innovative and controversial concept was the collective unconscious. Adler’s individual psychology emphasis how people strive for superiority to compensate for their feeling of inferiority. Overall, Psychodynamic theories have produced many ground breaking insights about the unconscious, the role of internal conflict and the importance of early childhood experiences in personality development. However, psychodynamic theories have been criticized for their poor testability, inadequate base of empirical evidence, and their male centered view.

Japan Culture Essay

Japan, officially Nippon, a country off the east coast of Asia. It consists of four large islands- Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku- and more than 3,300 smaller ones, including the Ryukyu chain (Gluck et. al, 1987). Japan lost some of its possessions as a result of World War II. These included the southern part of the island of Sakhalin, the Kurile Islands, Manchuria, Korea, and Taiwan. II. Discussions A. Culture Japanese culture is partly of Chinese origin and partly indigenous, for the Japanese adapted and did not merely imitate the culture of the mainland. Since the middle of the 19th century, Japan has been influenced more by the culture of Western countries than by that of its neighbors. Adoption of many Western ways produced sharp contrasts between the new and the old. Buildings and clothing, for example, are now seen in both traditional and Western styles. Among forces that have helped to mold the Japanese character are Buddhist, Shinto, and Confucian religious beliefs, the effects of a long feudal period, and the influences of Japanese industrial revolution. With industrialization came a change from rural to urban living. American influences have been particularly string since World War II (Hall et. al, 1987). B. The Arts Japanese arts have been strongly influenced by Chinese art. From the mainland came the technique of ink painting on silk and the Buddhist influences in sculpture and painting. A landscape school developed from Zen Buddhism after the 13th century. Japanese prints of the 17th and 18th century had a profound effect in Western art. Distinctive contributions have also been made in architecture. Traditional arts also include landscape gardening; bonsai; the cultivation of dwarf trees; ikebana, flower arranging; ceramics; and origami, paper folding (Beasley, 1987). Flourishing throughout Japan are no, classical plays in which the actors wear masks depicting their character; Bunraku, puppet plays; and kabuki, drama with stylized chanting and dancing. An important part of Japanese culture is the tea ceremony, a highly formal ritual, of which there are many variations (Morton, 1984). As a way of entertaining guests, it is regarded as the best expression of traditional etiquette. Some of the traditional arts- especially classical Japanese music and dance and the tea ceremony- are part of the repertoire of geisha, a female entertainers who perform for groups of men. C. Family and Home In Japan the family is a traditional and strong institution. It has a formal structure with authority vested in the male head of the family. The wife is expected to be subservient. Children learn discipline and their respective roles in the family at an early age. Sons are given preference over daughters, and the eldest son is superior to all others. However, many of the repressive aspects of the family, such as that of parents determining marriages, have weakened since World War II (Morton, 1984). Japanese homes are noted for their simplicity. Nearly all are built of wood. On many homes, paper- covered wooden frames, called shoji, are used for windows and doors. Being light and easily moved, they allow much of the house to be opened to the out-of- doors. Some homes are adjoined by landscaped gardens. Rooms are usually having thick straw mats, called tatami, on the floor and very little furniture. D. Language and Religion The Japanese language is unrelated to other Oriental tongues. However, it is written in characters that originally were adapted from Chinese writing. The Japanese constitution of 1946 provides freedom of religion and separation of church and state. The two major religions are Shinto and Buddhism. Many Japanese adhere, in varying degrees, to both. Confucianism, though not a religion in the Western sense, has had considerable influence on Japanese personal and social relationships. There are some 1,350,000 Christians, of whom about 30 percent are Roman Catholics and about 70 percent are Protestants (Morton, 1984). E. Food and Clothing The Japanese clothing includes the Uchikake, Kimono, Nagajugan, Yukata, Michiyuki, Hakama, Shiro-maku, Haori, and the Accessories like Obi, Shoes, Socks and the like. The Japanese foods includes the Wasabi or the Japanese Horseradish, Donburi which is a bowl of cooked rice, Yakitori or a grilled chicken, Gomaae which is a sesame dressing, Udon or thick Japanese noodles, Gyoza is like dumpling, Tempura which is a deep fry sea –food and vegetables, Korokke is made of potato, Sushi most famous dish outside Japan, Mushrooms or kinoko in Japanese, Soba a native Japanese noodle, Nikujaga composed of the meat and potatoes, Seaweed or kaiso, Ramen a noodle dish. Sashimi which is a raw seafood, Rice which is Japan’s important crop, Okonomiyaki is a combination of a pizza and a pancake; and Soya Bean with the soya sauce or shoyu (Christopher, 1983). F. Politics Japan’s form of government is Constitutional Monarchy. The emperor is the head of the state. Although it is Monarchy, still it is very limited because it is based on the Constitution. Prime minister serves as the President of the government of Japan. The Diet is their body of legislatives, where it is composed of the Representatives elected by the people. Their right of suffrage starts at 20 years old (Morton, 1984). G. Religious Beliefs There are three major religions in Japan and these are Shinto, Buddhism and Christianity. Japanese have these rituals that they are earnestly following. The kami which means a diety, is their god. The kami are of variety forms like those that lived in stobes, hills, and other parts of the environment; those that serves as a protector god; and the diety of the rice wagon (Christopher, 1983). Kami is worshipped at the fields of rice where in they also had their feasts. Shinto focus only on the kami. Buddhism also reached Japan which was then from India. Developments like the rising of commoners, zazen or the meditation, koan or the irrational riddles and the enlightenment which is the satori. The Japanese also believed in kamikaze which is the divine wind, the hara-kiri or the suicide where it is rarely practiced now in Japan, where the Japanese commits suicide whenever they fail from any business they establishes (Christopher, 1983). H. Economics Japan is one of the world’s leading industrial nations, ranking behind only the United States and the Soviet Union. During the 1960’s and early 1970’s, Japan’s gross national product or the GNP grew at the phenomenal average rate of about 11 percent a year- more than twice that of the United States (Packard, 1987). The worst postwar slump came in the mid- 1970’s, when worldwide recession brought high levels of unemployment and inflation and a sharp decline in economic growth. Most of Japan’s postwar economic growth has been due to keen corporate management, a well- educated, industrious labor force, high levels of savings and investment, intensive promotions of industrial development, and vigorous foreign trade. Government has also been a decisive factor. Its influence is powerful and widespread, though exercised mainly though informal, cooperative arrangements with business. Giant conglomerates, many of which are interlocked in manufacturing, finance, and trade, are of prime importance in the economy. Coexisting with them are many small and medium- sized firms. Government ownership of industry and business is negligible, limited mainly to transportation and communication services. There has been little foreign investment in Japan because of numerous governmental restrictions (Gluck et. al, 1987).

Comparing and contrasting marketing activity Essay

Comparing and contrasting marketing activity - Essay Example ortant observation that the experts make is that the reach of the end customers of today has increased by huge extent, thanks to the factors like globalisation and liberalisation. The international geographical border are almost non – existent in terms of trade and finance and the revolution brought in by inter – net has enable citizens to purchase goods or services within a few clicks of the computer mouse from any part of the world. The other important thing has been the information flow. The end consumers are informed like never before and it is this factor that distinguishes between the identical products and services. There is little doubt that marketing is the life blood of business. However good the product or service might be, if it cannot be sold in the market and revenue earned; every effort falls flat. The process of marketing is truly a dynamic one and depends largely on each and every minute changes in the buying behaviour or the related environment of the target group of customers. Today, with the boom in the service sector, the impact of marketing activities are more felt. The report analyses various activities of a marketing process namely product mix, positioning, price mix, communications and distribution of two segments i.e. high - street fashion and convenience foods. In other words, the report focuses upon the marketing mix of the two segments that operate in the similar market. The report basically deals with the market of the United Kingdom i.e. the economies of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The economy of United Kingdom is one of the most affluent among the world economies, being the sixth largest economy in the world and the third largest in the whole of Europe. The chosen companies for the report in this market segment are the famous fashion brand ‘Paul Smith’ and the leading convenient food store ‘Spar’. Both the companies are catering to the markets of the United Kingdom for quite a long time now and have

Addiction can self discipline help Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Addiction can self discipline help - Essay Example The human being primarily desires relationships. In the absence of wholesome relationships the heart remains unfulfilled. We are created to receive satisfaction and joy through interaction and attachment with others.When we are denied these an emotional hole remains which we endeavour to fulfil through other non-relational or relational means, which could be dysfunctional. Sometimes these coping mechanisms could remain harmless and not cause substantial damage to the person's lifestyle. When these coping mechanisms become dangerous and beyond control, they turn into addiction.Experts differ on the use of the term 'addiction'. Some would like to limit the use to apply only to cases of drug or alcohol use which have gone beyond acceptable levels. Nevertheless the term 'addiction' is also used to describe out of control behaviour in areas like eating, gambling or sex.This is because it is recognised that in all the above cases the 'addict' engages in behaviour that is directly or indire ctly detrimental to his well being. Often the addict is well aware of the adverse effect of his addictive behaviour, but is unable to stop the behaviour. Addiction is often characterized by a craving for more of the drug or behavior, increased physiological tolerance to exposure, and withdrawal symptoms in the absence of the stimulus. Many drugs and behaviours that provide either pleasure or relief from pain pose a risk of addiction or dependency (Wikipedia). It is normal to expect the immediate reaction to addiction as one that is judgmental where one tends to lose respect for the person having the problem. This is understandable because a lay person who is confronted with an addict cannot understand the justification for the addict to continue with the addiction. Everyone has heard of alcoholics, but even in an informed age very few sympathize with one. The more natural response is to hold the addict responsible for his addiction and put it down to failure in self discipline. The question that needs to be asked is why is it that certain people have certain addictions while others don't. On the outset it may seem that an alcoholic (for example) has a greater affinity to alcohol than other normal people. The truth is that this greater affinity for alcohol came about because this person has been denied other needs which he is trying to fulfill through his consumption of alcohol. As another example we may take a woman who has a string of disruptive relationships with men. The reason for this could be a dysfunctional relationship with her father where she does not get adequate love from him. She attempts to fulfill this unmet need through her other relationships. Sadly, she can never fulfill that need in the method she adopts because no one can substitute for her father. So she is embroiled in a vicious cycle of search and disappointment, and we have an addict to the search for love (Hart). Unless a focused attempt is made by the person with or without help professional or otherwise to expose the unmet need that is causing the addiction, the relationship between the addiction and its cause remains unknown. In fact most of the time the addict is in denial about his/her pain. This pattern of denial appears to be a response of the mind to the pain or the need in order to make the solution more effective. And this pattern only makes the addiction stronger because the person slips into dependency without being conscious of the need which the addiction is meeting. The more unconscious this relationship the more powerful the addiction (Hart). When we talk about self discipline we are saying that following a practice of abstinence from the addictive behavior will help in reducing the behaviour. There have been cases of men and women with great amount of will power who have successfully abstained and eventually

The Importance of Understanding Price Elasticity Essay - 1

The Importance of Understanding Price Elasticity - Essay Example This elasticity is used to measure how responsive the quantity demanded is or how willing the consumers are to buy the firm’s product if there is a given change in price. Inelastic products, meaning products whose quantity demanded would not be significantly affected by a change in price, include cigarettes and food items. Whereas elastic products, meaning products whose quantity demanded would be significantly affected by a change in its price, include iPod, MP3, television and other such consumer items considered a luxury or a want. Firms can use information about their product’s elasticity of demand to determine their price structure and their competition policy in the market. This information is extremely valuable for the firm’s marketing department as it allows them to determine if the people will continue buying their product if the price is increased or will there be a dramatic decline in the sales. For example if the demand is inelastic for a cigarette company then its marketing department will know that there won’t be a significant decrease in the quantity demanded by the customers to an increase in price. Hence they can afford to charge a higher price without losing too many customers. One thing that needs to be noted here is that when the price of a product is relatively inelastic, a firm’s revenue would rise because of the fact that an increase in price which not reduce quantity demanded significantly thus their revenues would rise. On the other hand, had the demand for tha t product been elastic, they would be losing revenue because quantity demanded would fall. Here, cigarettes are considered to be a relatively inelastic, hence the marketing and the finance department would be aware of the fact that they can increase potential revenue by an increase in the level of prices depending on the degree of elasticity. If the value of elasticity is closer to zero, then they can increase the