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Essay on Personal Narrative Knowledge is Bliss - 609 Words

Personal Narrative Knowledge is Bliss Just a few days before I had to do this essay, my mom shared a story with me. In the middle of a Spanish lesson, one of her students asked her a completely unrelated question: Why do Mexican children always wear frilly dresses and slippers to the supermarket, and why do the men always crowd in the back of pick-up trucks to go to work? Although some of the students thought it was funny, my mother, of course, couldnt pass up this opportunity to respond and teach a more important lesson, interestingly enough, about stereotypes. She reminded me of our trip to Mexico some time ago and related those experiences to her students. I was very young when I first visited a very large, cultural, and modern†¦show more content†¦Most Americans dont speak any Spanish or any other second language for that matter, yet we dont consider ourselves illiterate. Although we may see dusty roads in some rural parts of Mexico (which is typical for developing countries) here in the United States, with all of its technology and wealth, we see dusty roads and downtrodden communities in many areas. How would we like it if these were portrayed abroad as the typical image of the United States? Mexico City alone has a population of over 9 million people. It is the second-largest and most rapidly growing metropolitan area in the world. Mexico City has been, since 1325, a thriving city with pyramids, houses, and temples. In other words, it has existed in a civilized state long before the United States even came into existence! In 1620, when the pilgrims first landed at Plymouth Rock, Mexico City was a thriving center with over 100 million inhabitants. When my father taught school in a mostly Hispanic community in Los Angeles, I would go on campus with him during the summer breaks and I made quite a bit of Latino friends. Despite what I had often heard, the people I met were just the opposite. They were clean (like anybody else), they were not crammed either in a pickup truck nor in their apartment. Most of the children wore American styled clothes- of course there were those with the frilly yellow and pink Sunday dresses at school, but one could hardly say it wasShow MoreRelatedMonsters within a Young Girl’s Mind: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley1379 Words   |  6 Pagessickness and nature creating the foreshadowing for events to come. Mary Shelley divulges though this novel her personal approach on humanity and life’s lessons; formulating the idea that ignorance is bliss and human injustice is wrong by taking in to account the sexiest views of the later eighteenth-century. The most apparent theme divulged throughout the novel is the idea that ignorance is bliss. On Eric McMillan’s website, The Greatest Literature of All Time: the commentary on Mary Shelley’s FrankensteinRead MoreThe Hippocratic Oath, By Atul Gawande1344 Words   |  6 Pagesof practicing medicine, maintaining respect for patients, and preserving humility within themselves. Modern day practice of this oath involve patient’s stories. Rita Charon in her article â€Å"What to do with Stories? The sciences of Narrative Medicine,† explores narrative writing and how to use it as a tool in healing patients. While Charon focuses on the writing of these stories, Atul Gawande’s book Being Mortal reflects on how to make more meaningful endings out of the stories of patients who areRead MoreEssay Readers Sympathies in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein1587 Words   |  7 PagesShelley in 1818, can be interpreted as a subtle autobiography; whose narrative reflects on the characters throughout the story. It was written at the time where the Romantic period replaced the age of reason, the time where dreams and ideas replaced logic and science. The two main characters in the story, Victor and the monster are used as metaphors for this. Shelley uses them to make social and personal comments about the time when the book was written. Shellys motherRead MoreThe Demise And Destruction Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein1301 Words   |  6 Pagesthe book foreshadowing is prevalent and it begins early in the story because even though victor paints a picture of a perfect childhood there is an underlying feeling that the bliss he experienced in his adolescence will not last. Even the death of Victor’s wife to be, Elizabeth, is hinted at in the early in the narrative, â€Å"livid with the hue of death.† (Shelly 41) Victor’s life begins to go from picture perfect to dismal when his mother passes away. He leaves for Ingolstadt and begins his scientificRead MoreCreators and Creations in Mary Shelly ´s Frankenstein1341 Words   |  5 PagesFrankenstein to make statements of the nature of creation. Shelly makes uses of embedded narratives, embedding both the story of victor and Frankenstein in Walton’s letters. Using the concentric ring model, at the heart of the story is the monster as the driving force, such as the deeper we get into the novel the more distanced we feel from Walton and in parallel we relate to the monster on an escalating scale. This narrative distance is used to mirror other distances in the book such as Frankenstein detachesRead MoreLoss of Freedom in Sedaris This Old House and Angelous Caged Bird1274 Words   |  6 Pagesconstructs his feelings through narrative writing, and Angelou explores her concerns through descriptive writing with the analogy of a bird , they still are exploring the similar topic of perceived loss. The loss of freedom, demonstrated by the demand to uphold a family image, versus the caged bird, remain very similar in both pieces due to perceived entrapment, disappointment and self-nonentity. Descriptive essays leave room for misinterpretation and confusion, where as a narrative essay is straightforwardRead More The Theme of Justice in Frankenstein Essay942 Words   |  4 PagesFrom whichever way you look at it Frankenstein has a responsibility to be honest with his family. Yet Shelley chooses to make the character more to blame and in some ways more interesting by him holding the truth away from his family. He has a personal and social responsibility to admit at least some fault in Williamss death, consequently saving Justines life. At one point Frankenstein almost comes clean You are all mistaken. I know the murderer. Justine, poor, good Justine is innocentRead More`` Wild Nights `` By Emily Dickinson961 Words   |  4 Pagesnights-Wild nights† is the opening line of the poem. There is a desire of being with someone that she loves. In this poem, Dickinson uses a lot of metaphors to express her love for someone she cannot be with. â€Å"Wild Nights – Wild Nights! Contains no narrative plot to report; there is no story to tell† (Joly 1). Dickinson introduces a love affair between her and the person she was interested in which is unknown. In this line, we can learn two things: first we see that her desire toRead MoreMary Shelley s Frankenstein 1646 Words   |  7 Pagesfame and glory in creating the Monster and who â€Å"resolved to make the being out of a gigantic stature† in an attempt to make something better than human. Victor, like Satan does not consider the ramifications of his actions. He â€Å"ardently desired knowledge† in an attempt to become more than his father, his creator (of sorts) even if it lead to his destruction. The word â€Å"ardently† is typically a feminine and irrational feeling conveying his recklessness and contrasting the rationality of science causingRead MoreAboriginal Art As A Central Part Of Aboriginal Life1758 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"Nyapililngu Ancestors at Djarrakpi† depicts the creation stories of his homeland, Djarrakpi, demonstr ating the influence of his indigenous spirituality in his work. Fiona Foley is an example of an indigenous artist who uses post-modern practice in her film â€Å"Bliss† (2006). In keeping with the post-modern tradition, Foley has used contemporary art making practices to express political issues facing Aboriginals in Australian society, such as the harmful impact of opium and opium related laws. Despite the initial

A Savage Journey Free Essays

Numerous pursuits in obtaining dreams had been evident in the perceptions of many individuals.   How an individual carries himself in the realm of reality is actually dependent on how one tries to comprehend and internalize the explanations on why things consequently fall into place. As for Hunter Thompson, America has wickedly divulged on the rather comical state of rationality and thus is considerably out of track with regard to the rather important matters in life. We will write a custom essay sample on A Savage Journey or any similar topic only for you Order Now    Its innovative response to technology and corruption is swallowing up the credit of the living masses and is thus benefited by the predator of the country. Thompson’s means of establishing what seemed to be true in his immediate time showed that the country was indeed facing a critical state of confusion over ‘reality’ and ‘idealism’. Undeniably, the impact of confusion towards a certain group of people or set of community may mean much on the development and the level of thinking of many.   How individuals are actually correlated in a broader sense, is the main reason why one action, either directly or indirectly, involves another whether it is in the negative or the positive state. Analysis Thompson’s book took pleasure upon unfolding the secrets of the past and the horrifying truths of the vortex of Las Vegas, or America at that. In the most extreme sense, I could easily distinguish the initial intent of the author in producing such masterpiece in the â€Å"dope world† which as a matte of fact, transcribed during the 60’s (Thompson), and if it may not be that harsh to take into assumption, inherited by today’s contemporary dopers, at that. One of the striking perceptions which I have noted on the novel, as established in Thompson’s plot, is the harshness of the society on the concept of ‘illegal’ entities.   Perhaps it is righteous enough to implement certain laws and reputation with regard to the matter, but then again, the equilibrium of the imposition seems to boggle my sanity in that certain perspective. Thus, I realized that the callous form of justice had been crucially bias, taking for certain to a fact that even those who were held responsible for the eradication of what they introduced as ‘illegal’ were actually the catalysts of the inequity.   It takes to raise a brow in my rationality in the prudent side. The novel itself, taken with opinion based justification, is considerably a breakthrough to the society and to those who are well concerned over the matter. Perhaps ‘drugs’ is an evil commodity, but how Thompson was able to deliver his stands with the use of wickedly comical idioms and metaphors struck my amazement that his view on the society was amorously correlated and incorporated as rather the ‘evil’ one and ‘drugs’ as the hero of mankind (Thompson).   How’s that for the paradox of the universe? How to cite A Savage Journey, Papers

The Portrayal of Womenin The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy and The Fly Paper by E Taylor Essay Example For Students

The Portrayal of Womenin The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy and The Fly Paper by E Taylor Essay The main characters in both The Fly Paper by Elizabeth Taylor and The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy are women. These women come from everyday life and are set in the social settings of the writers own times. Thus, the characters in The Withered Arm come from Victorian rural England. Rhoda Brook is a poor milkmaid living with her son whose father is the farmer on whose farm she works. Whereas, the characters in The Fly Paper come from Post War England, living a small town or village life. Sylvia is a dowdy, eleven year old on her way, by bus, to the suburbs of a nearby town for her piano lesson. In both of these stories, women are represented as having limited choices in life. Compared to men they have little power and depend on the actions of men and the opinions of others. In The Withered Arm Rhoda is described as a lorn milkmaid. Rhoda has been forsaken and made wretched by Farmer Lodge, who has ruined her by not marrying her. In the same story, Gertrude is a lady because her marriage to Farmer Lodge has allowed her not to work and to be a lady. She shows marks of a lady on her. In The Fly Paper, Sylvia has no choices in life. Her grandmother makes her take piano lessons and her piano teacher bullies her. Her grandmother has total control over her life. Sylvia was: feeling hot in her winter coat, which her grandmother insisted on her wearing, just as she insisted on the music lessons. She can not stick up for herself. This is shown when the man on the bus terrorises her. Although this is probably more to do with her age than being a female. Sylvia is desribed as looking hunted in the text because nobody leaves her alone. Women in these stories are described in detail. This is because in The Fly Paper, but even more in The Withered Arm, women are very dependent on the way that they look. How they look affects their whole life because,especially in The Withered Arm, being beautiful means they can attract men, who earn the money so they can lead a happy life. Sylvia in The Fly Paper unfortunately, is plain and defeated: she was a dull girl whom nobody liked very much, and she knew it. In comparison, the woman that Silvia meets on the bus is very different to her: She was homely looking, Sylvia decided, in spite of fair hair going very dark at the roots. She had a comfortable, protective manner, as if she were keeping an eye on the situation for Sylvias sake. This makes Sylvia place trust in the woman without knowing or even talking to her. It turns out that this is to Sylvias peril. It shows that with a certain look much is possible. This fact is also displayed in The Withered Arm. Farmer Lodge is drawn to Gertrude in the beginning because of her good looks. In the end, he is repelled by her withered arm. When Gertrude is first viewed by the milkmaids she is described as a rosy-cheeked, tisty-tosty little body who has drawn Farmer Lodge away from Rhoda who has born his son. Rhoda, on the other hand, is described as a thin fading woman and at only thirty years old it seems a little unfair! This shows how much looks matter. When Gertrude starts getting a withered arm Farmer Lodge rejects her, to her great dismay. She longs for her husband back, but instead of discussing with her husband the problems that she is facing with her arm,all she can think of to get him back is to regain her looks: If I could only again be as I was when he first saw me. This idea is lodged in her head, to such an extreme, that she is led to rub her arm on the neck of a hanged mans corpse in a desperate attempt to cure her arm. In both stories, women are portrayed as swayed by fate a force that they are both powerless to prevent. .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec , .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec .postImageUrl , .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec , .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec:hover , .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec:visited , .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec:active { border:0!important; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec:active , .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua03b44ddb4324335b13485c1e0e703ec:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Twelfth Night Analysis EssayIn The Fly Paper, Sylvia just seems to have a terrible fate. Her mother died and she is now leading an unhappy life with her bossy grandmother. This makes her a glum and sullen child. Even when she takes the bus somewhere there is some misfortune awaiting her. This is in the form of a weird man who starts to pester her as she is sitting on the bus. Sylvias life seems to be out of her control: her life had taken a sharp turn for the worse, and she could not see how it would ever be any better. She had no faith in freeing herself from it, even when she was grown-up. It is obvious from this quote that Sylvia holds very little hope for her future. Then, for the first time, Sylvia seems to get some luck. A nice woman helps her and shoos off the strange man and offers to be her escort to her music lesson. But again fate catches up with Sylvia and when she goes to the womans house for tea and biscuits, the strange man walks in and it turns out that the woman and he were accomplices. Fate had doomed Sylvia all along! In The Withered Arm , Rhoda is a woman of her time and a big part of living in that time is superstition. This superstitious way of looking at life leads Rhoda to believe that she is a witch! She has a dream where Gertrude sits on her chest, peers cruelly into her face, and waves her left hand with the wedding ring on her finger mockingly in Rhodas face. With this Rhoda: seized the confronting spectre by its obtrusive left arm, and whirled it backward to the floor, Rhoda is obsessed by this dream. She thinks that it really happened. She believes that, through no intention of her own, she is bewitching Gertrude: O, can it be, she said to herself .. that I exercise a malignant power over people against my own will? Rhoda feels that fate is in control and not she. The language used to decribe the dream is full of supernatural terms, such as incubus, spectre and phantom. Rhoda is up against the enormous powers of the unknown. In conclusion, women are shown in these strories as real, complicated people, whose feelings the reader can recognise and share. Sylvias vividly described discomfort when she is so hot and anguished changes, in the course of the story, to actual terror. The reader is shocked by this and the terrifying fate that awaits such an ordinary, harmless girl. In TheWithered Arm, women gossip together, worry about their looks and are drawn together in the troubles of their lives. Rhoda forgives Gertrude and learns to appreciate her kindnesses, but she still has mixed feelings about her: In her secret heart Rhoda did not altogether object to a slight diminution of her successors beauty, by whatever means it had come about; but she did not wish to inflict upon her physical pain. This quote reveals Rhoda as a real person. As in The Fly Paper both Rhoda and Gertrude suffer an appalling fate which they can do little to alter. By the end of the story, they have changed visibly. Their situation in life has become intolerable. The reader is left without hope, caught up in a totally pessimistic view of a womans life.

Capital Punishment A Critical Evaluation of its Appropriateness in Modern Society

The public reflection on the legality and morality of capital punishment has over the years been well documented by historians, philosophers and other theorists amid the complexities and controversies the debate continues to attract.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Capital Punishment: A Critical Evaluation of its Appropriateness in Modern Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although the practice is institutionalized and practiced in some countries, the raging debate about its appropriateness demonstrates a subtle balance of thought among critics and advocates that continues to be analyzed under the rubric of moral, legal, philosophical and political underpinnings (Homans 44). It is therefore the purpose of this essay to critically examine recent arguments in support and against the practice of capital punishment with a view to elucidating facts about its appropriateness or inappropriateness in modern society . It is indeed true that a growing number of countries across the world are abolishing capital punishment, which basically implies the lawful infliction of death as a form of punishment (Arguments para. 1). However, supporters of the practice continue to echo their concerns in popular media using deep-seated rationalistic arguments and counterarguments that aim to widen the focus and the historical framework of capital punishment. One school of thought argues that damages caused by some egregious behavior such as murder and rape cannot be sufficiently compensated, hence the need to formulate legislation that will provide optimum deterrence to the offender in the form of capital punishment (Baron 855). Undeniably, the stakes in support of capital punishment are even higher if such egregious conduct is proved beyond reasonable doubt by a court of law, or if the perpetrator readily admits to taking part in the murder or rape of the victim.Advertising Looking for essay on criminal law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In such scenarios, the upholding of capital punishment is seen as a necessary antidote to such uncivilized and inhuman behavior (Steiker Stetker 649). In line with the above argument, supporters of capital punishment argue that the practice permanently removes thieves, murderers, rapists, and other criminals from the face of society, in the process making it safer for compliant members of society to leave in peace (Steiker Stetker 651). This rationalistic argument is founded on the fact that dead criminals cannot in anyway engage in further criminal activities, either within prison or after being released into the public domain (Arguments para 9). This is, in my view, a flawed argument since it does not only lack any moral justification, but it denies the murderer or rapist the chance to reform and look upon life from a positive standpoint. Assuming a rather economic perspective, some pro-capi tal punishment advocates argue that limited state resources should be used on important issues rather than on long-term incarceration of murderers, rapists, and other criminals (Arguments para 10). Supporters of this school of thought argue that countries should not use an inexhaustible commodity such as money to cater for individuals condemned for murdering or raping innocent victims. However, this argument can be challenged from the viewpoint that some techniques used to execute condemned criminals are as a matter of fact more expensive than putting such individuals on long-term imprisonment. In consequence, the issue of cost does not hold much water. Still, other proponents of capital punishment argue that the criminal must be made to suffer the full consequences in proportion to the offence he or she might have committed, otherwise known as retributive justice (Baron 855; Arguments para. 11). As such, a murderer must meet the full force of the law by being executed instead of un dergoing some form of rehabilitative treatment.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Capital Punishment: A Critical Evaluation of its Appropriateness in Modern Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, this standpoint, in my own view, is faced with a serious challenge because it does not only assumes the old-fashioned logic of an ‘eye for an eye’, but it also lacks in establishing effective standards for punishing offenders in as far as crimes such as rape, robbery with violence, and other odious criminal activities are concerned (Baron 856). For instance, a rapist cannot in anyway be raped under the instruction of the criminal justice system just to make sure that such a criminal is made to suffer in proportion to the crime committed. In consequence, this argument is a non-starter. Lastly, pro-capital punishment advocates argue that the practice has been effectively used to deter serious crimina l activities in countries such as Singapore, China, and Iran, among others. Indeed, consecutive studies reveal that there are far less serious crimes in countries that practice capital punishment, and the opposite is almost always true in countries that don’t (Arguments para. 12). Indeed, â€Å"†¦those in favor of capital punishment believe that the threat of severe punishment should bring the crime rates down and that capital punishment or the death penalty is the ultimate crime deterrent† (Cox para. 1). But as observed by this particular author, capital punishment is no longer effective in deterring crime, in part, due to the fact that it is neither swift nor certain as it used to be in early days. For instance, one can be convicted for a capital offence but the swiftness of taking the convict to the gallows or firing squad is no longer present, thus it cannot be used to deter other members of society from committing crime. In equal measure, the practice lacks c ertainty in countries such as the U.S. by virtue of the fact that different states apply the law regarding capital punishment differently (Steiker Stetker 650).Advertising Looking for essay on criminal law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Critics of capital punishment employ both moral and pragmatic justifications to argue their case. Pragmatically, critics argue that capital punishment lacks any reformative purpose in as far as re-establishing ‘a good citizen’ is concerned, thus the case for its application relies on retribution and deterrence (Homans 43). This further implies that the death penalty cannot in any valid way be used to reform society; on the contrary, it can only be used to protect society from individuals perceived to be deviating from the norm. In consequence, capital punishment fails to serve one of the basic tenets of the criminal justice system – that of reforming individuals to comply with the norms and values set by society. The moral argument against the death penalty holds that killing an individual for the sole purpose of letting justice take its course is unequivocally wrong. The basic premise for this argument is that the murderer or rapist is wicked to kill or to rape, but so is the state or the criminal justice system (Homans 43). This is a valid argument in as far as the American Constitution and many religions protect the sanctity of life. Indeed, many religions worldwide are of the opinion that life is God-given and that it is only the Almighty who can take away the life of someone. Consequently, it is morally and spiritually wrong for the state and the criminal justice system to assume the role of God (Styers 99). Moving on, critics of capital punishment postulates that it is often awarded in an inconsistent manner, not mentioning the fact that there exist a real possibility of executing the innocent (Homans 46). This incontrovertible point of view further argues that there is no possible way of compensating the innocent in the eventuality that justice was miscarried, thus the legislation does not carry much weight. In the case of murder, the shallowness of slapping capital offenders with the death penalty is further demonstrated by the fact that it is only the culprit and the victim who knows what really happened, not the prosecution and defense lawyers in a court of law. As such, it is not out of the ordinary for an individual to be convicted for murder when he should actually have only being convicted for a lesser charge such as manslaughter (Styers 115). This is undeniably wrong. Capital punishment is a cruel and unusual form of punishment. Indeed, many countries are abolishing capital punishment due to its very own inhuman nature, not mentioning the fact that international law and treaties are edging towards declaring the death penalty to be a human rights violation (Styers 117). It is interesting to note that none of the various international criminal courts and treaties provides for capital punishment, and some regional and international bodies such as the Council of Europe and the European Union are advocating for the abandonment of capital punishment as a precondition for membership. Indeed, not only does capi tal punishment projects a negative image for any country that puts it into practice, but it also seriously dents the image and esteem of innocent family members and friends of criminals lined up for executions (Homans 45). This must never be allowed to continue. To conclude, it is evidently clear from the discussion that capital punishment does not only assume a backward trajectory, but it also raises critical moral and ethical challenges that must be answered for the practice to gain credence. Yet, proponents of the death penalty have failed to provide satisfactory answers to the questions asked, not mentioning the fact that their own justifications as can be observed above rests on shallow waters. It is indeed true that no one in his sane mind can possibly deny the anguish of the victim’s family in a murder or rape case, but the anguish and despair of the murderer’s or rapist’s family must also be taken into consideration (Homans 47). In addition, knowledge ab out the poor administration of capital punishment by most countries is in the public domain. What’s more, it must be remembered that murderers, rapists and other criminals are ordinary mortals who have a life and with it the capability to experience pain, fright and the loss of family members and friends. It should also be remembered that there is no such thing as a compassionate technique of executing a criminal irrespective of what the state may claim because every form of execution is a horrendous ordeal for the criminal. As such, it is only right that capital punishment be abandoned. Works Cited Arguments for and Against Capital Punishment. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/thoughts.html. Baron, J.C. The â€Å"Monstrous Heresy† of Punitive Damages: A Comparison to the Death Penalty and Suggestions for Reform. University of Pennsylvania Law Review 159.3(2007): 853-891. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database. Cox, E.V. Why Capital Pun ishment Doesn’t Deter Crime. 2006. Web. Homans, L. Swinging Sixties: The Abolition of Capital Punishment. History Today 58.12 (2008): 43-49. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database. Steiker, C.S., Stetker, J.M. Capital Punishment: A Century of Discontinuous Debate. Journal of Criminal Law Criminology 100.3 (2010): 643-689. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier Database. Styers, R. Capital Punishment, Atonement, and the Christian Right. Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 18.3 (2007): 97-127. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database. This essay on Capital Punishment: A Critical Evaluation of its Appropriateness in Modern Society was written and submitted by user Sky Chicken to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Meta

The Meta Introduction There are a number of research methodologies that can be used for carrying out an investigation. The type of methodology chosen for use depends on the nature of the topic or question to be covered in the research. These methodologies may either be quantitative or qualitative in nature. Meta-analysis is a method which involves the statistical arrangement of all existing and related studies on a given subject matter of interest.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on The Meta-Analysis Method specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is usually with an aim of determining the collective findings of the particular investigations. The approach seeks to provide a comprehensive solution to major issues/concerns. The essay summarizes Chapter 3 of the book titled, School Leadership that Works from Research to Results. Research Methodology The chapter covers the primary research methodology that was used by the authors. Meta-analysis was the type used in this particular study. It is a technique that uses quantitative approaches during the synthesis of a study in a given domain. Well structured questionnaires were used where teachers were expected to give their perceptions of the principals leadership behaviors. The authors sought to investigate a very sensitive domain of leadership. They were interested in studying school leadership as practiced by principles. The study involved an analysis of very crucial data which had been collected and analyzed by other researchers. The authors considered any and available study findings from 1970 to those which have been done lately. The authors Marzano, Waters, and McNulty did a meta-analysis of about 69 leadership studies. All the studies were concerned with the relationship that exists between a given school’s principal leader and that of the achievement of the student. These studies included those done since 1978 to 2001. Selected Samples It is impo rtant to note that a number of studies met these outlined criteria. However, not all of them could be included in the analysis process. This is because, according to the authors, the studies dealt with leadership â€Å"styles†. These styles are general categories of leadership character and behavior that are based on some predetermined theory. The chapter provides an example of a study conducted by Evans and Teddlie (1995) who examined the relationship that exists between the initiator, manager, and responder styles of leadership and overall student achievement in schools.Advertising Looking for coursework on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another study conducted by High and Achilles (1986) sought to find out the relationship between the following styles and school achievement: referent, expert, enabler, coercer, legal authority, norm setter, and involver. These studies have been acknowledged as pr oviding very useful perspectives as far as leadership and school achievement is concerned. However, the authors did not use them during their meta-analysis due to their broad representation of behavior categories. In fact, they themselves were actually found to be summaries of more specific behaviors. Since the main purpose of the study was to identify specific types of leadership behaviors, the authors focused on researches that considered specific behaviors that had not been crumpled into very broad categories. It is evident from the chapter that there has been a small yet significantly growing collection of literature investigating the usefulness of the principal’s influence as far as gifted and talented programs are concerned. The authors of the book have included the findings as well as conclusions of all these studies/literature. Impact of the Study The authors analyzed each of the study and a correlation between general leadership and student achievement was computed o r drawn directly from the study. A total of 69 correlations were obtained which represented the relationship between general leadership behavior and student academic achievement. Findings in Light of Other Studies the authors observed that their average correlation of.25 between principals leadership and student achievement is much higher compared to that reported in a meta-analysis conducted by Witziers, Bosker, and Kruger (2003). Theirs was a correlation of.02 which indicated that there was no relationship between leadership and student achievement. Several factors contributing to the disparity in the findings are identified. A Deeper Look the authors stress the role of the results obtained from meta-analysis studies. That the results should never be an average; it should be a graph, as pointed out by the founder of modern meta-analysis. This is to facilitate a wider range of correlations from various studies of meta-analysis.Advertising We will write a custom coursework s ample on The Meta-Analysis Method specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion It is evident from the chapter that meta-analysis presents a great opportunity to collect a mass of related material that address a specific topic or issue under investigation. The authors of this book, through meta-analysis, were able to establish the relationship between the principal leadership in a school and the achievement of students. The meta Introduction The falling standards of education in American public schools have increased demands for accountability and performances in schools. Consequently, school administrators evaluate ways of improving academic performances, such as tutoring programmes. There are a number of tutoring programmes like peer, volunteer, one-on-one and cross-age tutoring.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The meta-analyses of volunteer tutoring programmes specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There have been growing evidences with regard to volunteer tutoring. Consequently, this paper presents a systematic review of The Effectiveness of Volunteer Tutoring Programs for Elementary and Middle School Students: A Meta-Analysis by Ritter and other authors. The review of meta-analysis seeks to establish the effectiveness of volunteer teaching programmes that aim to enhance the academic skills of student in public schools of the United States. The review also aims at establishing who can benefit from tutoring, and factors that influence the effectiveness of tutoring. These constitute the main of objectives of the studies by Ritter and other authors. The authors used 21 studies consisting of 28 distinct cohorts in their studies in providing guidance for assessments of the effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programmes. Through these assessments, the authors concluded that volunteer tutoring had a positive effect on students’ performance. They discovered that students who had tutors got higher marks in specific sub-skills such as oral fluency, letters and words, and writing. However, students who had no tutors scored relatively low marks compared to their counterparts with tutors. The authors used several search strategies to gather evidences to support their studies. These sources included academic sources, primary sources, middle search sources, collections of professional studies, research in the field of psychology and behavioural science, literature in sociology, education information database such as ERIC, and proquest database. At the same time, these authors used selection criteria based on randomised field trials. The authors used these methods to enable them make comparisons with the control groups that did not participate in the studies from the year 1985 to 2005.Advertising Looking for critical writing on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Meanwhile, the authors were careful to include only studies that had academic effects, and ignored other vital factors such as emotion and behaviour. The study included programmes for students in grades of K-8 with the adult non-professional volunteers.1 Summary The authors based the results of the review on information from the 28 cohorts in the study using 21 articles and reports. The results of the analyses, mainly consisting of small samples, indicate that volu nteer tutoring and coaching have positive effects on reading and language in students. Examinations of the overall consequences of volunteer tutoring programmes on reading outcomes of student showed improvements. The authors used 25 studies to assess the reading outcomes and effects of volunteer tutoring programmes where they found an effect size of 0.23. However, when they eliminated an outlier study that disproportionately influenced the results, the effect rose to an average of 0.30. The study meta-analyses also looked at specific academic areas. The volunteer tutoring also made significant improvement on reading where the effect size was 0.26. Letters and words had an overall effect of 0.41 while oral fluency had a significant effect size of 0.30, and writing effect was 0.45. The study also found positive effects on reading comprehension and mathematics. However, the effects of these two were not significant. The meta-analyses also revealed that there were no significant differe nces with regard to grade level, programme of focus, or tutor type. Detailed volunteer tutoring programmes had vital and greater effects on reading outcomes than lowly structured programmes. However, these did not affect other academic domains. The authors also established that there were no statistical significance and differences in published reports and non-published studies. They also found out that the published texts had no biases. Critique There are some grey areas in this work. Therefore, the authors must update their works and conduct further researches, and possibly contact experts in volunteer tutoring. At the same time, they should also extend their studies to other geographical areas in order to establish consistency in their conclusions and recommendations.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The meta-analyses of volunteer tutoring programmes specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These authors also u sed studies based on quasi-experimental designs. Quasi-experimental designs may lead to biases in publications. This is because such studies may test effects on an intervention without using appropriate assignment to create groups of the study. Ritter and others used small samples in their studies. There were total of 28 cohorts in meta-analysis. However, 19 out of the 28 cohorts had less than 25 students in the group. Only 3 study cohorts had a full sample of over 100 students for both treatment and control groups. This creates small chances of detecting significant programmes’ effects on students achievements. However, meta-analysis enhances this shortfall by using cumulative mean and standard deviations in enhancing statistical strength. The authors also did not show homogeneity in volunteer trainees and learner characteristics as these may affect the emotions or behaviour of the treatment groups. The meta-analyses of the study established that volunteer tutoring programme s have positive effects on students’ performances especially in literacy. These authors also showed the significant of using meta-analysis in conducting studies. Meta-analysis enabled the authors to perform multiple analyses and establish the statistical significance in 5 areas out of 7 areas studied. These results were not possible in standalone studies. Data collection and analyses reveal details of methodology and procedures such as design, outcomes of analysis, duration of study, and sample background variables such as age, gender, and race, among others. The authors coded all these aspects of studies for analysis of various volunteer tutoring programmes, and for study characteristics. According to Littell et al, â€Å"we should train coders and assess the reliability in coding. At the same time, we must pay special attention to the problem of study quality and assessment. In other words, we must be keen on how we identify variations in quality among the studies included in a systematic review and meta-analysis†.2 For instance, these authors must review all the outcomes that the studies aim to measure. They also selected a suitable effect size for meta-analysis. In order to avoid biases, they used Hedges’ unbiased measurement of g in the standard mean difference on effect size statistic. These represented differences between the control groups and the study groups mean on the outcome variable that they divided by cumulative standard deviations for every outcome of measurement.Advertising Looking for critical writing on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In meta-analysis, we must ask questions relating to variations in effects. Ritter and others do not discuss deeply how publication bias, study design, sample characteristics, intervention characteristics, and assessment of outcomes influenced their studies. The authors did not establish whether the effects had been consistent over time or not. Publication bias arguably is the most potent source of bias in meta-analysis. However, the authors tried to counteract these biases, particularly where the mean and standard deviations were missing in estimating the effect sizes. They adopted the procedure of Wilson and Lipsey and computed a cumulative mean for effect size. The study achieved it systematic objective of gathering, integrating, and summarising the empirical work on the effects of volunteer tutoring on students. The authors put up a strong research base compared to other previous studies on educational interventions. This is due to the fact that the reviews covered 21 articles an d 28 cohorts dated back to the year 1985 and 2005 in randomised field trials. Ritter and other authors use a systematic approach to present their study meta-analysis and results. They gathered several articles that effectively used experimental designs to assess the effects of volunteer tutoring on students. The systematic analysis shows that all reading outcomes had positive and statistically significant effect size of 0.30 as standard deviations. Carole Torgerson notes that systematic review and methodology has the potential to manage potentially unmanageable amounts of information, and rationalise existing evidence efficiently by determining whether research findings are consistent and generalisable, and to explain why if they are not.3 The researchers can group similar studies together statistically in meta-analyses since they know that they can use meta-analyses to increase the power, and precision in the measurement of effect sizes. The application of scientific methods in sys tematic reviews also enabled them to reduce random and systematic errors of bias.4 The authors applied this method in grouping the specific outcomes in six specific domains of study. Meta-analysis enabled them to create broad domains through the use of standardised assessments in mathematics and reading. Conversely, they also created specific four domains focusing on sub-skills of language and reading. Through these groups, the authors established that volunteer tutoring programmes have potential influences on academic performances of students and can be used to improve performances. The authors also establish consistency with references to the effect sizes of 0.26 to 0.45 standard deviations. Further, the authors established whether particular interventions were also effective or not. They demonstrated that every intervention is unique with individual studies using small units. The use of small units was effective in controlling replicas of other works. This enabled the authors to establish the characteristics of most effective interventions. They were able to establish this through computing differential mean effects sizes using different elements of study variables, such as detailed interventions, type of tutors, and age of tutors. The authors concluded that the outcomes of their studies should act as vital statistics for educators to use volunteer tutoring in order to improve students’ achievements. They also advised that school administrators should consider the use of structured and reading-based volunteer programmes as suitable strategies in enhancing reading and language skills. The researchers have effectively demonstrated the power and effectiveness of meta-analysis. Through grouping of various studies, as opposed to standalone studies, they were able to establish statistical significance of relatively large data in their domains. The research also expands the knowledge we have on the use of systematic reviews and meta-analysis about using dat a in enhancing the use of interventions in promoting the learning outcomes. These researchers provide useful information that educators can use to implement effective volunteer tutoring programmes to improve students’ achievements. Conclusion This is a positive review of the works of Ritter and others. The authors use systematic review and meta-analysis to demonstrate that volunteer tutoring can positively transform achievements of learners, particularly in language and reading skills. They emphasise that their results should serve as an essential piece of information for educators who want to use volunteer tutoring to improve performances in learners. They further advise that educators should consider structured and reading-based volunteering systems to improve their yearly students’ performances. We must acknowledge the fact that systematic review and meta-analysis can go some way towards addressing the problem of underdeveloped trials. However, they will not give a true estimate of effectiveness if the trials within the study analyses have methodological flaws. At the same time, meta-analyses may give unduly optimistic results if there is substantial publication bias. In other words, if studies have null or negative effect remain unpublished, they may not form part of any review. Ritter and other authors address the issue of trials flaws through systematic review by using inclusion and exclusion criteria. They avoided publication bias by ensuring that all data were consistent and avoided unpublished studies that they could not identify. The authors treated their trials with a high degree of caution by defining all their trials, sources of data among other elements of both treatment and control groups. They did these to avoid chances of overestimating the effectiveness of the volunteer tutor programmes. However, these authors must update their studies regularly and include large samples in their studies in order to yield positive and moderate r esults. Therefore, researchers seeking statistical significance must use large sample sizes. The probability of an educationally significant difference being statistically significant is partly a function of sample size. Reference List Cooper HM, Synthesizing Research: A Guide for Literature Reviews Applied Social Research Methods Series, vol. 2, Sage Publications, Inc., London, 1998. Littell JH, J Corcoran V Pillai, Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis, Oxford University Press, Inc., New York, 2008. Ritter GW, JH Barnett, GS Denny and GR. Albin, ‘The Effectiveness of Volunteer Tutoring Programs for Elementary and Middle School Students: A Meta- Analysis’, Review of Educational Research, vol. 79, no. 1, 2009, pp. 3-38. Torgerson C, Systematic Reviews, Continuum International Publishing Group, London, 2003. Footnotes 1 GW Ritter, JH. Barnett, GS. Denny GR. Albin, ‘The Effectiveness of Volunteer Tutoring Programs for Elementary and Middle School Students: A Meta-A nalysis’, Review of Educational Research, vol. 79, no. 1, 2009, pp. 3-38. 2 JH Littell, J Corcoran V Pillai, Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis, Oxford University Press, Inc., New York, 2008. 3 C Torgerson, Systematic Reviews, Continuum International Publishing Group, London, 2003, p. 63 4 HM Cooper, Synthesizing Research : A Guide for Literature Reviews Applied Social Research Methods Series, vol. 2, Sage Publications, Inc., London, 1998 p. 104

My significant change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My significant change - Essay Example But for the already born Croesus’s, when things turn upside down it is no less than like a catastrophe for them. This is the narrative of the experience of my friend’s father’s paralysis attack and how it transformed his life both negatively and positively and contributed toward his perspective and philosophy of life. It is the story of his family’s sudden change in fortune which transformed his life of luxury to that one of constant struggle and hardship. Sixteen years ago, it was one fine Friday of summer, encapsulated with seasonal monsoon rains. His father left for work with a promise that he would take them to their private farmhouse to spend the weekend. His mother, a young eastern wife, got busy in the preparation for the evening and he and his other two sisters and brother were counting the minutes in extreme excitement. Life could not have been better, when in sudden shift of fate everything toppled. By noon, their car driver arrived home and requ ested his mother to accompany him to the hospital. The young lady was shaken on this occurrence but prepared herself for something very distressing to come forth. On reaching the hospital, she was informed that her husband had a severe brain hemorrhage and 80% of his body had been affected by the attack.