Saturday, August 31, 2019

“A Merchant of Venice” Essay Essay

In the play The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare reveals Portia’s character in a variety of different ways. She seems to have multiple personalities, and it is very difficult for one to conclude whether she is kind or cruel. For example, she could be said to be prejudiced and sly, while also very caring. Portia is quick to judge others on appearances and first impressions. In scene II, when Portia is discussing her suitors with Nerissa, she explains all of the traits she doesn’t like about each of them. She even suggests placing a glass of wine on one of the incorrect caskets; so that the German suitor would choose it and she wouldn’t have to marry him. In fact, she does not seem to like any of the suitors that have visited, except for Bassanio, whom she remembers with fondness: â€Å"I remember him well, and I remember him worthy / of thy praise† (1.2.114-115). In addition, when consulted about the Prince of Morocco, she makes it clear to the reader that â€Å"if he had the condition of a saint / and the complexion of a devil, I had rather he should / shrive me than wive me† (1.2.124-126). This is extremely racist, especially since she hasn’t even spoken to him yet when she states this. She just immediately assumes that she would not marry him because of his dark skin, even if he had a wonderful personality. Also, Portia makes it known that she does not like people of the Jewish faith, and was extremely rude to Jessica when she first arrived in Belmont. During this scene, Portia warmly welcomes each man, but treats Jessica as if she were invisible. When Jessica tells the group that she had  heard him [Shylock] swear To Tubal and to Chus, his countrymen, That he would rather have Antonio’s flesh Than twenty times the value of the sum That he did owe him. (3.2.283-287) Portia completely ignores this piece of information, and continues talking to Bassanio as if nothing had been said. She cannot seem to accept people if they are slightly different from herself. Portia shows signs of being sly and somewhat cold-hearted. She manages to get to Venice and trick all of the men in the courtroom into thinking she is a man. Then, she craftily turns the whole bond plot around and saves Antonio from death, finding two loopholes in the bond. One of these is that Shylock cannot shed any of Antonio’s blood and the other is that he may not take any more or less than a pound of flesh. In the same scene, she decides to test her husband’s loyalty to her by convincing him to give her the ring that had been a symbol of their love, telling him that she â€Å"will have nothing else but only this† (4.1.430). Bassanio was eventually persuaded into giving up the ring to this ‘doctor’. This was very cold-hearted of her; she should have trusted Bassanio, given that he is her husband. This trick complicated their marriage, for she now probably feels like she cannot trust him. It was a cruel trick I think, and very sly. Portia loves Bassanio very much and cares for him and his friends. While it seems that Portia wants to accuse her husband of being disloyal, she still wants to help him in what ever way she can. At first, when she hears of the bond between Antonio and Shylock, she offers to â€Å"Pay him six thousand, and deface the bond; / double six thousand, and then treble that, / before a friend of this description / shall lose a hair through Bassanio’s fault† (3.2.298-301). When she discovers that money will not solve the problem, she risks getting caught and, accompanied by Nerissa, follows the men to Venice disguised as a male doctor. In the courtroom she stands up to Shylock and turns the bond to Antonio’s advantage, eventually causing Shylock to lose a lot of money and become terribly embarrassed. All of this she does out of love for Bassanio. Even though she has never met Antonio, she is very eager to help him out since he is a friend of her beloved husband. However horrible Portia may seem to be in terms of prejudice and how she doesn’t trust her own husband, she still is very loving to those she  actually likes. She can very well be described as two-faced: on the one hand she is sly, prejudiced and lacking in trust of her husband, yet on the other hand she is a kind and loving woman. It is this complex personality that makes her such an interesting character in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Bassanio may want to get to know all of her sides before committing himself to a woman whom he barely knows.

Letter from hospital

I thought I should write to let you know IM safe and IM recovering. I miss you and the rest give everyone a hug from me and tell Rosier I hope she's being good. The hospital Is constantly got new soldiers coming In suffering from nervous exhaustion and shell shock too so IM not the only one, the doctor said It Is an Injury to the nerves and told me to rest and they are putting In place electric shock treatment.All the nurses are very sympathetic but sometimes when they think we can't hear them they call us all weak and say we are cowards. Im not suffering as much as most, a young gentleman has been learning to walk again yet he still wants to get back to the frontline. Yes, am returning to the frontline soon so that's why I took this opportunity to write. We had strict orders not to take prisoners, no matter if wounded my first Job was when I had finished cutting some of their wire away, to empty my magazine on 3 errands that came out of one of their deep dugouts they was bleeding ba dly begging for them to be put out of their misery.They cried for mercy, but I had my orders, they had no feeling what so ever for us†¦ It makes my head Jump to think about It. One time I was In serious danger I was almost completely paralyses with fear. I was slating with Taylor (a fellow soldier) on the fire-step of a trench during an intense bombardment,when it seemed certain that we must be killed at any moment. Shots fired around us; each moment threatened to be the last. I was conscious of biting the fabric on my top to prevent my teeth from chattering.If I had been alone on that occasion I believe that I would be dead now; it was the presence of others that saved me. It's not all been like that, one evening me and Owen was in the barracks and I received a letter from you for my birthday and it kept me going for so long, but everyone has a breaking point: weak or strong, courageous or cowardly- war frightens everyone my breaking point has now unfortunately came. Give my l ove to everyone, Yours sincerely

Friday, August 30, 2019

A Feminist Approach to Toni Morisson’s Beloved Essay

When hearing about Toni Morrison’s novel, â€Å"Beloved†, one may imagine it as being another story about a slave’s life. And this is not wrong. â€Å"Beloved† does tell the tales of many slaves. It tells of whippings, rape, hard work and escape. But, while drawing this image of the historical aspect of enslavement and black culture, Morrison also tells the personal story of a very strong female slave. Morrison’s novel focuses mainly on the female characters – Sethe, Baby Suggs, Denver, Beloved – and their relationships. If feminism may be defined as a major movement in western thinking in western thinking since the 1960s, which puts particular emphasis upon the importance of women’s experience, then â€Å"Beloved† can be regarded through a feminist perspective. Even though â€Å"Beloved† tells the story of many slaves, because of its focus on the proactive and independent women in the novel, it also makes a feminist statement. Morrison has a particular way of writing the female body into the discourse of slavery, motherhood, human rights and morality. She presents the exploitation of the female body in both a sensory and psychological way. There are many examples in the novel that illustrate this aspect. In the case of Sethe, one of the major characters, we can observe both ways of exploitation of the human body. The stealing of her milk during the rape she suffered writes her experience as a woman slave who has no right to her body and also her experience as a slave mother with no defense, who is used to the violation of her own body, but cannot bear the forcible extraction of her milk meant for the child in her womb. The psychological trauma left behind this experience is felt by the mother who is symbolically separated from her child. The earliest need that a child has is mother’s milk. Sethe is traumatized by the experience of having her milk stolen because it means she cannot form the symbolic bond between herself and her daughter. Sethe’s body shows nothing but suffering if one takes into consideration the chokecherry tree scar on her back caused by the cruel whipping she suffered in the same night of the rape and her attempt to escape. She also felt pain when she gave birth to Denver, thing which can be judged by the bleeding feet about which Amy sais â€Å"it hurts for something new to grow†. The only time when Sethe uses her body for her own pleasure was when she has sex with Paul D. Another example of the female body being written into discourse is illustrated through Beloved, a mysterious character thought to be the daughter Sethe murdered when the girl was only two years old. Beloved’s skin is like a baby’s skin, she sleeps a lot and her faculties of speech and movement are not well developed. Physically Beloved is the embodiment of the discourse of motherhood for a slave, of the evil. Her body is a sacrifice that saves the other children’s lives from the meanness of the schoolmaster through her death. From Sethe she feeds on the attention and the maternal guilt that has been poisoning her life. Finally the physical disappearance of her body and her death is the absolving exorcism that removes the last vestiges of torment left over from the slave days. The character of Beloved is the epitome of the past and present entwined in a consciousness. She is still a baby in terms of behavior but the body is like that of the woman she would have become if she wasn’t killed. Her supernatural manifestations are the result of the unresolved conflicts in the mother-child bond between Sethe and Beloved and its very existence is because of the non linearity of her consciousness. I see Beloved’s murdering of her child a desperate gesture of a mother who wants to protect her children from salvery. The community sees Sethe’s murder an unforgivable one. Slavery created a situation where a mother is separated from her child, leaving devastating consequences behind: a whole life suffering from a bad guilt and also a psychic trauma. Motherhood feeling is universally deep and when mothers are unable to provide maternal care for their children, or when their children are taken away from her then they feel a lost sense of self. Similarly, when a child is separated from his mother, he also looses the family identity. Sethe was never able to see her mother’s true face because her smile was distorted from having spent too much time with the â€Å"bit†, so she was not able to connect with her own mother and therefore does not know how to connect with her own children even if she longs to. Concerning the language of the novel, the way of writing, one can observe a feminine way of writing, the semiotic language that Julia Kristeva mentioned sometime. There can be observed a freeplay of language, a fluidity of words free of any control unlike the fixity and linearity of male discourse. There is a passage in the third part of the novel that best illustrates this way of writing, the fluid and poetic nature of the narrative in one of the dialogues between Beloved and Sethe. There can be observed a long flowing verse in which the mother and daughter identify eachother, establishing the long lost maternal bond and acknowledging the events that took place between them: â€Å"Why did you leave me who am you/ I will never leave you again/ I drank your blood/ I brought your milk/ You forgot to smile/ I loved you/ You hurt me/ You came back to me/ You left me†. There are no punctuation marks and one sentence runs into another, each sentence is loaded with intense feelings showing accusation, guilt, assurance, love, like a rushing river that carries all the emotions in its fierce fluidity. The depth of a maternal emotional experience is rendered throughout this novel. The other female characters, Denver and Baby Suggs had the chance to see the beauty of freedom. Baby Suggs’s freedom was bought by the sacrifice of her son Halle, while Denver is far from the tormented life in slavery thanks to her mother’s protection and estrangement from the black community.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Strategic Fit Analysis of Starbucks The United States Segment Assignment

Strategic Fit Analysis of Starbucks The United States Segment - Assignment Example Our global business delivered the highest levels of service to our customers, a truly rewarding experience to our partners (employees), and a record-level performance to shareholders.† (Schultz, 2011). The Starbucks business strategy seeks to address sustainability, maintainability, and growth issues through effective management of available resources while assessing risks, opportunities and threats to ensure a sustainable growth while keeping the company’s value plan intact. The ultimate objective of business strategy is not only to earn good profits but also to win the customer satisfaction and confidence of shareholders and workforce. The Company’s Proxy statement for the year 2012 outlines some of these strategic guidelines in these words, â€Å"The involvement of the board of directors in reviewing Starbucks business strategy is an integral aspect of the board’s assessment of management’s tolerance for risk and also its determination of what co nstitutes an appropriate level of risk for the Company.† (Proxy, 2012). The purpose of the report is to establish a best strategic fit of Starbucks to further strengthen its position and share in the US coffee market. Before finding a best strategic fit for a growing company like Starbucks, it is imperative to explore various internal strengths and weaknesses of company as well as external opportunities and threats that it may face in the regional competitive market. Starbucks has a strategic insight into the growing market of coffee in United States. Ganes-Chase (2012) has explained the reasons towards changing coffee consumption trends for US in a more meaningful manner â€Å"Cof ­fee has had con ­sid ­er ­able pos ­i ­tive media cov ­er ­age about stud ­ies find ­ing drink ­ing cof ­fee to be good for your... The purpose of the report is to establish a best strategic fit of Starbucks to further strengthen its position and share in the US coffee market. Before finding a best strategic fit for a growing company like Starbucks, it is imperative to explore various internal strengths and weaknesses of company as well as external opportunities and threats that it may face in the regional competitive market. Starbucks has a strategic insight into the growing market of coffee in United States. This discussion declares that businesses are not operated in isolation they effects and got effected by Macro and Micro economic factors and forces. A successful business needs to identify the best strategic fit for its products while handling these factors and forces for the sustainability and growth of the business. Starbucks requires a carefully designed strategy to overcome various forces that may have an adverse impact on the business while cashing on the opportunities. The forth coming sections will outline various threats and opportunities posed by the multifaceted macro and micro forces. PESTEL Analysis is an effective macro-environment analytical tool. It may include the investigation of several factors that may effect the business operation of Starbucks in US to help in the decision making process of the business. This analysis will focus economic, political, legal and technological factors.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Writing Position paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Writing Position paper - Assignment Example Technically, Puget Sound is the area of water east of Admiralty Inlet where the ocean comes along the Pacific Coast providing ports for ocean transportation in cities such as Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, Washington (http://www.gonorthwest.com/washington/puget/Puget_Sound.htm). However, Puget Sound also refers to the inland port cities and towns. The Puget Sound inland area has one of the worst traffic congestion problems in the nation. In fact, drivers in this area are in the top third in terms of time lost due to waiting in traffic. This is not a list a region wants to top. Adding to the challenge is the fact that the Puget Sound area has had a large increase in population and the highest unemployment rate the area has seen in years. This means that traffic occurs at all hours, not just the traditional rush hours as one would expect (Cole, 2000). If the government officials of Puget Sound would allow the development of toll roads in the area, this would greatly reduce the amount of traffic congestion in the area. The Puget Sound’s current transportation network of roads and highways was built in the 1960’s. The population of the area is now 60% higher than it was when the roads were built. There has been little change over the years to keep up with the demand of more drivers on the road (Washington Policy Center, 2011). This is obviously the major reason that traffic gridlock is such an issue. Too many people, not enough room on the roads and not enough roads to drive on pretty much sums of the problem of the traffic in Puget Sound. Aware that the level of traffic congestion in the Puget Sound area is a real problem, the Puget Sound Regional Council, took on the project of developing a transportation plan to analyze how best to address the traffic issues. The issues that the planners faced are funding, how best to expand the current

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Reward management and performance related pay Essay

Reward management and performance related pay - Essay Example In today's fast-paced modern world, the job market seems to be getting more and more diverse, wide and inclusive of a great number of potential factors, that could affect the way one sees his job. Human Resources Management is one such area that is gaining importance by the day. Human Resources Managers work towards the fundamental problem of creating a balance between the expectations of both, employers and employees.The job market is getting highly competitive and retaining good talent is becoming an arduous task, owing to the better attractive offers being offered to talented workforces. As they say, grass on the other side of the fence is greener and therefore, employees find themselves being pulled across by alluring competitors. Under such circumstances, the compensation or pay packet goes a long way in determining the loyalties of employees. For instance, if the talented employee in question is unsatisfied with the compensation he receives from his current job, he would obviou sly consider the competitor's job that offers him greater potential and pay.Most employees prefer jobs that offer challenges and on successful dealing and completion of these challenges, would prefer better pay packets. At the end of the day, pay is a huge motivator or factor in diminishing quality of output. Therefore, jobs that offer growth potential, in terms of the hierarchical setup and the pay raise, experience great amount of success in maintaining stability in terms of employee retention and in cementing employer-employee relationships. "..the pay package is one of the most obvious & visible exchanges of the employment relationship; it is the main issue in the exchange between employer & employee, expressing the connection between the labour market, the individual's work & the performance of the employing organisation itself" (Hegewisch, 1991: 28). Therefore, the solution to this problem faced by employers in the process of reducing employee attrition rates and retaining talent, is performance-related payments and issuing rewards for quality output of work! Objectives of Employer and Employee In an organisation, both the employers, as well as, the employees possess varied objectives and expectations from each other, the job and the outcome. The objectives of the employer varies significantly from that of the employee, in formulating and pursuing the mutual contract. Here are the objectives of the employer, when he formulates and enters into a payment contract with his employee: Detainment: Employers look towards retaining the talent they spot in employees, without allowing competitors to take over the same. Therefore, they endeavour to satisfy their talented employees by formulating and putting forth a good payment contract. No one would want to lose a good employee due to under-payment levels. Thus, one of their many objectives is to retain talent and reducing the attrition rates. Steer clear: Employers attempt to steer clear of competitors and emerge victorious in alluring and maintaining some of the most skilful talent, which directly affects the positive quality of work output. Thus, they look to maintain an upper hand amongst competitors, by entering into a decent payment contract with their employees. Intelligent dealings: Employers try to attract the best possible talent within their limitations in providing payment. When they enter into the payment contract, they attempt to make the most in terms of attracting the best

Monday, August 26, 2019

Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media - Essay Example At this point, I have to admit the fact that media plays a significant role in my life and relationships by having a more or less positive impact on my life. Since I am a student, I rely heavily on the media to provide me with all sorts of information and ideas that I need in my career and personal life. The mainstream media that have a lot of impact on many people including the students are the television, radio, print media, and broadcast media. With the print media, I normally comb through the pages of various newspapers and magazines for various information. For instance, I can read the entertainment news while at the same time be updated on the latest news across the globe. Additionally, newspapers are a very good source of education especially for college students who have to keep abreast of world both regional and world affairs. When it comes to radio, I love listening to a wide variety of both local and international channels that offer insightful programs besides entertainin g me with the genres of music that I love. Frankly speaking, an hour of listening to radio makes my day and in cannot imagine my life without listening to the radio. Perhaps the most robust of all the broadcast media outlets is the television that provides both the visual and audio effects to the information being relayed. Technology has indisputably revolutionized the methods and techniques of disseminating information especially by the mainstream media. A classic example of this technology is the digital broadcast that has made it possible to keep updated with the latest news via the internet. With the advent of the internet technology, the social media also sprung up making the world a... This essay approves that technology has indisputably revolutionized the methods and techniques of disseminating information especially by the mainstream media. A classic example of this technology is the digital broadcast that has made it possible to keep updated with the latest news via the internet. With the advent of the internet technology, the social media also sprung up making the world a smaller village through globalization. While their pioneers claim that the intention of the social media was to cover a relatively small geographical area in connecting people, the interest in the same grew to the level that they had to go global. Some of the major social networking sites include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube. Through these social networking sites, I am able to chat with friends and family thus keeping my personal relationship with them healthy and vibrant. Additionally, the social media enables interactive sharing of crucial information including the participation o f both the public and the corporate world. This report makes a conclusion that the media, both social and mainstream media, have taken the center stage in everyone’s’ life particularly to the students. Besides, the global population has developed a kind of obsession for such media outlets as the television due to its intensive and extensive dissemination of ideas and information through visual and audio perspectives. The evolution of media has particularly made it possible for many media houses to venture into the practice thus providing clients with a wide variety of information.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Aviation Human Factors Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Aviation Human Factors - Case Study Example It is designed to be fixed on all aircrafts with a maximum take-off weight of over 5,700 kg or those authorized to carry above nineteen passengers. The implementation of Traffic Collision Avoidance System added a safety barrier in preventing mid-air collisions (Dumitrache, 2013). The innovation was made after the Grand Canyon mid-air collision that occurred in 1956 and led spurred aviation authorities into action. In the accident, a United Airlines Douglas DC-7 hit a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation and killing all the 128 passengers on board both flights. The innovation still required further study, training, refinements and regulatory measures because of the limitations of the Traffic Collision Avoidance System. Furthermore, misuse of the same innovation resulted in other fatal incidents and accidents. Inadequate training and poor coordination among pilots has led to low effectiveness of the Traffic Collision Avoidance System. For instance, the Uberlingen mid-air collision has been blamed on The Tupelov pilot’s failure to follow their TCAS RA and the Boeing pilot’s failure to follow the ATC instruction (Wickens, 1998). The problem presents an important gap that can only be bridged by more training and more refinements coupled with improved research. Advantages. Using Air Traffic Control is particularly resourceful in aiding the decision of the pilot and the direction of the aircraft’s maneuver. According to Wickens (1998) it allows the pilot to make the most logical decision using the two guidelines. Disadvantages. Pilots are expected to respond to the RA immediately unless that action would jeopardize the safety of the flight. This rule means that pilots can maneuver against ATC instructions or disregard the instructions altogether (Dumitrache, 2013). Furthermore, the ATC instructions could be contradictory to the

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Response of chapter 2 of Inside Rikers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Response of chapter 2 of Inside Rikers - Essay Example Confinement may seem like the easiest way to control crime and punish offenders, but it is not entirely effective in reforming criminals. This chapter makes an interesting point that solitary confinement can be one of the most inhumane psychological punishments for criminals. Criminals are put in a prison inside a prison with almost all of their liberties controlled. It is a double-edged sword which, unfortunately, reinforces criminal behavior. Wynn stressed: â€Å"Solitary confinement itself can cause a very specific kind of psychiatric syndrome.† She is saying that solitary confinement should be considered as a strong independent variable for â€Å"random violence and self-mutilation, suicidal behavior...† She gives examples of how the CPSU breeds the most violent behaviors and thoughts among criminals which Captain talks about. Captain admits that isolation can turn criminals into worse personalities. He knows how unsafe it is, for instance, to have a normal life out side prison, knowing that any ex-convict might get back on COs. Through these examples, Wynn and the Captain make a good point on how detaching inmates from social contact and treating them like animals intensify their criminal attitudes and behaviors. Corrections officers are human beings too who are trapped in prison like inmates and they often suffer from the psychological and social effects of their jobs. William West, a former CO, said: â€Å"It’s the dirtiest, most thankless job in law enforcement† (Wynn). Wynn also cited a joke that accurately portrays the effects of this job on COs: â€Å"What’s the first three things you get when you become a CO?† The answer: ‘A car. A gun. A divorce.’† Harry, one of the COs, provides an example of a CO, the first man to be punished with death penalty. Harry has a calm attitude towards COs who turn into criminals themselves, as if he knows that such consequences of

Friday, August 23, 2019

Hijack of Air France Flight 139-Operation Entebbe Term Paper

Hijack of Air France Flight 139-Operation Entebbe - Term Paper Example This will include a definition and discussion of the different groups involved, their core aims, and the ensuring situation that arose. As such, the following analysis will also be concentric on the operation by Israeli special forces in an attempt to rescue the hostages that had been taken. Through such a discussion and analysis, it is the hope of this author that wider realities concerning global terrorism response and the means through which such antics have continued to be perpetrated within the current era can be represented. Firstly, before delving into an in-depth discussion concerning the terrorist groups in the mall or the response by the Israeli government, is necessary to briefly engage in a discussion of relevant political analysis; surrounding the Europe in which the hijacking of Air France 139 was but a part. In the year in which this particular aircraft was hijacked, the state of Israel has only existed for two decades. However, within these two decades, two large-scale wars fought between Israel and its surrounding Arab/Muslim neighbors. Furthermore, tension between Israelis and Palestinians have reached a climax; due in part to the fact that continued Israelis of building and the displacement of thousands of people in Palestine created a wellspring of hatred and frustration of the native peoples within the region. Furthermore, one must consider the role and impact of the Palestinian liberation organization (one of the terrorists routes that was responsible for the Air France flight 139 hijack ing) in terms of reasons political developments that have occurred only one year prior to the hijacking itself. Ultimately, Jordan, nation borders Israel on its south east, was responsible for dismantling and removing the house that immigration organization from within its borders. As a direct result of this

Unconscionable contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unconscionable contract - Essay Example In the case at bar, Amy, who was a college student, was led to believe by the salesman that the home theater system, Alpo Model XL2, costs $3,000, when in truth and in fact, the actual standard cost of the theater system is only $1,000. The price given by the salesman was two times higher than the prevailing standard cash market price of the item bought by the buyer. Hence, the â€Å"rent-to-own† contract signed by Amy is considered unconscionable. Under the law, Amy has the remedy to demand the return of the excess $2,000 since the contract price is unconscionable, excessive and unfair on her part. Here, the salesman acted in bad faith at the time of the signing of the â€Å"rent-to-own† contract. Therefore, in order to cure the damage caused to the buyer, Amy can go to court and have the contract declared as unconscionable and oppressive, since there was a violation on the part of the salesman to fulfill his obligation in good faith in accordance with their contract.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Laundry service Industry Essay Example for Free

Laundry service Industry Essay India has a huge market for laundry business which is yet to be tapped to its potential. However, with the coming up of a number of hospitals hotels and even the Indian Railways turning to outsourcing of laundry activities, the industrial laundry sector in India is attracting foreign players. The hotel industry is witnessing a growing trend towards outsourcing its laundry. India is expected to add another 90,000 hotel rooms over the next five years, all of which are in the private sector, especially to meet the tourism demand. In 2010, 10 million people are expected to visit India. The Indian Railways run approximately 12,000 trains every day. The capacity is to carry 1. 4 Crore passengers/day. It employs around 17 lakh employees (10 lakh in Group C), including 10,000 officers. This presents a huge benefit to global players to quickly set up their laundries in India, and cater to the ever growing market. The healthcare industry, the upcoming and the existing, has started outsourcing laundry services. This sector which has been registering a growth of 9. 3% per annum between 2000 and 2009 is projected to grow by 15% per annum by 2013. Laundry services in India are classified into Industrial Laundry and Retail Laundry. Industrial laundry is in its infant stage with major demand coming from hospitals and hotels which have their in-house laundry. Retail laundry is a much organised market with some professionally managed companies catering to the retail needs. Overall, the laundry market in India is still untapped and unorganised. Industrial laundries generally require heavy capital investment in machinery and equipment for washing, spinning, ironing drying besides land and property to set-up a laundry. Since laundry market in India is dominated by the small local laundry stores and local dhobis, they are not equipped to handle the huge capital requirement. Equipment for industrial laundry An industrial laundry would require equipment for: Washing Drying Ironing * The type of equipment to be purchased would be depend on the volumes that the laundry expects from potential clientele on a daily basis. Equipment for industrial laundries are available in different sizes with varying capacities. Equipment are available in the market for small, medium as well as large industrial laundries. Equipment for industrial laundries should optimise the washing system considering criteria such as: * Usage of appropriate washing machinery which would guarantee maximum efficiency with appropriate wash cycles, high spin capacity and minimum energy consumption * Drier equipment should assure proper drying in the least amount of time with minimum energy consumption * Flatwork ironers capable of absorbing the production of the driers to assure a high quality press * Automation of the laundry handling processes in order to save personnel costs and increase productivity Stages in industrial laundry An industrial laundry generally involves five stages namely: * Soiled Retrieval The linen collected usually is dropped down a laundry chute. Laundry workers collect the soiled linen, in reserved carts and transport it to the laundry facility. * Soil Sorting The retrieved linen is unloaded and sorted. Different items often require different washing formulas. Heavy or bio hazardous stains such as blood and faeces may require longer wash times and stronger formulas. Large institutions often use a production-line method for soil sorting, with several full-time employees assigned to the task. Since soiled linen may be contaminated with biohazards or sharp objects, employees involved in the sorting process are required to use personal protective equipment and standard safety precautions. * Washing The sorted linen is weighed according to the washing machine’s load limit. Certified washer operator loads and unloads the large washing machines, decides what is to be washed according to the laundry’s schedule and monitors the chemical levels in the water. Since modern tunnel washers monitor their own chemical levels and unload linen directly into the laundry’s clean area, the operator is required only to load the linen. Over the past 20 years, many industrial laundries have switched from conventional washers to tunnel washers, also called continuous-batch washers. Since tunnel washers don’t have to be stopped for loading and unloading of linen, they provide a more continuous flow of clean laundry. Higher-volume facilities which may process over 15,000kg of linen per day often rely heavily on tunnel washers * Processing The clean linen is dried, ironed and folded. Some items, such as towels and blankets, are put through a dryer until they are no longer damp, then sent to mechanical folders. Wet work items, such as sheets, are sent through steam-powered ironers which dry, press and fold them. Ironers use heavy steam-heated rollers to dry the linen while pressing out wrinkles. Some items, such as wash cloths, may be too small to be handled mechanically. These items must be packaged by hand. * Packaging Distribution The processed linen is prepared for delivery. Individual orders are filled, based on the needs and requests of the laundry’s customers and sent to the laundry’s main distribution points and storage areas. Linen not used for orders is placed in storage areas, giving the facility a reserve of clean laundry. Trained delivery people transport the clean linen back to the customers. This is a skilled position, since the delivery person must have a thorough knowledge of both laundry operation and the principles of good customer service. In hospitals, delivery people must be familiar with patient relations, confidentiality policies. Large institutions will usually employ several full-time delivery people. Eco-friendly Chemicals Halide Chemicals has launched a new range of eco-friendly laundry chemicals. The complete professional range consists of 10 products in powder and liquid formulations. The Laundro Det and Boost-E is a powder detergent and booster; Laundro Mulse-E is a liquid emulsifier for FB laundry; Laundro Bleach-O s a powder oxygen bleach for coloured and whites; Laundro Rinse is a liquid organic neutralising rinse; Laundro Complete is a powder all-in-one detergent and oxygen bleach for coloured and whites; Laundrokleen is a liquid all-in-one detergent for guest and domestic laundry; Laundro Soft is a liquid softener for towels and linen; Laundro Soft-N is a liquid 2-in-1 neutraliser and softener for towels and linen; Laundro Chlor-10 is a liquid chlorine bleach 10% for white linen and Laundro Rinse-C is a liquid neutralizing rinse after chlorine bleaching. The range is phosphate free. The base detergent is free from slurry based detergents and made from biodegradable surfactants. Haylide has used organic biodegradable acids in rinses softeners in place of harmful, inorganic and traditional laundry rinses. The oxygen bleaches and all-in-one single shot formulations reduce cycles of bleach and rinse. The softener range with combination of cationic water soluble silicones provide softest results. The emulsifier for FB stains is biodegradable and utilises denatured ethanol in place of IPA as a natural solvent.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Language Is A Cultural Factor Social Work Essay

Language Is A Cultural Factor Social Work Essay This essay will analyse how issues of race and culture are pertinent to mental health problems and to service responses to minority communities. However, other risk or causal factors will be considered which are essential in fully understanding diagnosis, access to services and outcomes of mental health issues including poverty, racism and violence against women. It appears that a combination of cultural, structural and individualist factors are linked to mental health issues and it will be highlight why an over focus on race and culture (without considering other factors) can be dangerous. Although individual factors will not be discussed in this essay, their importance must be emphasised. Personal elements intersect with other factors (structural and cultural) contributing to mental health problems. Individual factors on their own therefore are not enough but need to be considered in combination with cultural and structural factors. This can be linked to Thompsons PCS Model which looks at Personal, Cultural and Structural issues in terms of anti oppressive practice (Thompson, 1997). It cannot be ignored that issues of race and culture are extremely relevant when considering mental health. However, this essay views race as socially constructed, with little biological validity as a risk factor that fully explains inequalities in health (Bhui et al, 2005, p.496). What is more feasible and supported in studies such as the EMPIRIC study, is that race is a factor which can be a sociological risk to individuals which can be referred to as racial discrimination having the potential to result in lower self esteem, fewer opportunities, and stress leading to mental health problems (Bhui et al, 2005). In the UK racial discrimination does not just refer to the term race as skin colour but also incorporates cultural differences as well (Bhui et al, 2005). Therefore in this essay, when race is referred to as leading to mental health problems; it will be in terms of the explanation put forward previously. It appears that race and culture impact on diagnosis, access to services and outcomes. However, this view is based on research obtained in a short amount of time it was only in 1995 that observing different ethnic groups became obligatory in mental health services which are publically funded (Mind, 2012). However this view is disputed by Glove and Evison (2010) who argue that differences in the pattern of mental health care received by minority ethnic groups in England have been noted since the 1960s and widely debated since the 1980s. Irrespective of this dispute, both agree that research has identified differences between different ethnic groups in diagnosis, treatment and availability of services. A common identification in literature is that there are high rates of psychosis (for example schizophrenia) amongst African Caribbean men and apparently low rates of mental illness among South Asians (NCSR, 2002). Influential pieces of research identifying these differences include the Count Me In census which began in 2005 and was created in support of the Department of Healths five year plan Delivering Race and Equality in Mental Health Care (Mind, 2012). The ultimate aim was to reduce admission rates, detention and seclusion amongst black and minority ethnic groups (Mind, 2012). The census identifies that 22% of 30,500 individuals receiving in-patient care were from minority ethnic groups (CQC, 2010). It also highlights that black men are more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act and that black and black/white mixed race men are three times more likely to be admitted to psychiatric wards and had the highest admission rate of all groups (Mind, 2012). CRITICISM The Fourth National Survey (FNS) of ethnic minorities supports this to an extent. It identifies higher rates of psychosis diagnosis amongst Black Caribbeans compared to white people (Mind, 2012). However, these differences are lower than previous studies have suggested. Studies undertaken prev iously have suggested psychosis occurs mostly amongst black Caribbean men however this study suggests higher rates amongst black Caribbean women (Mind, 2012). Despite these figures, findings have also suggested that Black African Caribbean and South Asian patients are less likely to have their mental health problems detected by a GP (The centre for Social Justice, 2011). Black men have been found to be more likely to be admitted to psychiatric units via the Criminal Justice System (CJS) (NMHDU, 2010). The Count Me in census highlighted that Black Caribbean, Black African and White/Black Caribbean mixed groups are between 40 and 60 per cent more likely to be admitted via the CJS (CQC, 2010). In contrast to this, findings from the census identify that admission rates among South Asian and Chinese groups have remained much lower (below average in many cases) (Care Quality Commission, 2011). This is interesting, as other research has indicated that some specific subgroups of South Asian women (ages 15-24) are at high risk of completed suicide (Raleigh, 1996). Therefore, why are they not getting the necessary support from mental health services ? The EMPIRIC study considers white people as a comparison with Bangladesh, Black Caribbean, Irish, Indian and Pakistani groups (Bhui et al, 2005). This study was undertaken in the community which is quite rare. It considers the impact of racial discrimination in the workplace (Bhui et al, 2005). The study identified that Black Caribbean people reported the highest amount of job denial and Pakistanis the highest level of insult (Bhui et al, 2005). Bangladeshi, White and Irish people were found to be less likely to report discrimination (Bhui et al, 2005). Discrimination in the workplace is common and is a risk factor for common mental disorders (Bhui et al, 2005). The differences between each group in terms of Common Mental Disorders (CMD) were small and there were some variations in terms of age and sex (Bhui et al, 2005). It found CMD were higher amongst Pakistani and Irish men ages 35-54 and higher rates amongst Indian and Pakistani women ages 55-74 (Weich et al, 2004). Common Menta l Disorders were found to be lower in Bangladeshi women than white women which is interesting considering this group has the highest level of socio economic deprivation and the accepted link between poverty and mental health (Weich et al, 2004). There were no differences in rates between Black Caribbean and White people despite them suffering the most job denial and this identifies differences to findings from other key studies which often identify higher rates of mental illness amongst black men in particular (Weich et al, 2004). Therefore this suggests this group may be more resilient or Black Caribbean people with CMD may have been excluded from jobs (Bhui et al, 2005). The EMPIRIC study actually identifies that Black Caribbean women had more CMD than Black Caribbean men (Bhui et al, 2005) and as findings from FNS also suggest an area of concern for this group, it appears further research should be undertaken. There are some criticisms on this study being that what is perceived a s racism does not always impact on current employment experiences (Bhui et al, 2005). It does not consider the fact that CMD may result in more people reporting racial discrimination (Bhui, 2005). More long term and qualitative studies may be beneficial in understanding the impact of racial discrimination (Bhui et al, 2005). However, studies undertaken late 1990s and early 2000 because there was a raise in concern regarding this issue (partially due tot the Rocky Bennett case) therefore the government commissioned this research due to these concerns. However, in recent years things have died down a bit therefore less research is being undertaken so knowledge is not developing and there is no funding available for researchers. Despite this, research already carried out seems to follow suite in identifying differences in the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of mental health for ethnic groups, however these differences are not always on par with each other and identify differences in themselves as already stated (McLean et al, 2003). It is important to understand why variations do exist between ethnic groups in terms of mental health which will be the focus of the rest of this essay. It cannot be ignored that cultural factors undoubtedly play a role in the findings identified previously. Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups may speak in a way which is considered different to white British individuals or they may have dissimilar mannerisms. As a result, this may be interpreted wrongly which could subsequently lead to an incorrect diagnosis of mental health issues (Singh, 2006). As stated western psychiatrists are more likely to misinterpret behaviour and distress that is alien to them as psychosis (Singh, 2006). Individuals may be labelled as strange or unusual because of cultural traits (Singh, 2006). Thus, this identifies that a lack of understanding of cultural differences may impact on interpretations. However, no matter what cultural training people obtain, interpretations of behaviour are always going to vary as cultures are complex and continuously adapting. Another argument relating to race and culture and its link with mental health is that some cultural groups may not react to western-type methods of dealing with mental illness. For example, in Western society, psychiatry is viewed as an objective discipline and therefore the individual receiving the support/therapy is separated from the therapist (Fernando, 2004). It is likely that the therapist will not know the individual and will rarely have any physical contact with them. As put forward the therapist learns the treatment and applies it within the overall medical model of dealing with problems as individual illnesses, disorders or disturbances of what is assumed to be normal mental functioning (Fernando, 2004, p.121). This way of approaching mental health may be different to other cultures for example where more spiritual methods of healing may be used (Fernando, 2004). As a result, certain ethnic groups may not involve themselves in western methods for example going to see a Gene ral Practitioner (GP). Koffman et al (1997) found that in comparison to non-black groups, more black patients who had been admitted were not registered with a doctor. This may be a result of different cultural methods of healing in which western practices do not fit. However, culture should not be considered as stationary or immobile it does and can adapt and change. It is important to recognise that different cultures can begin to interlink with each other as cultures may react to the environment they are in contact with (MDAA, 2012). This identifies how it can be dangerous to focus too much on culture which I will look into further on in the essay. Language is a cultural factor which can impact on the right diagnosis and support for an individual: both diagnosis and treatment are handicapped if there is no common language between doctor and patient (Farooq and Fear, 2003, p.104). Even when an interpreter is involved, they may not be trained in psychiatry which can limit understanding and can have a negative impact on translation (Farooq and Fear, 2003). However, I would argue that at least if an interpreter is involved, they can bridge the language barrier to a significant extent. As argued patients in mental health services will experience a better quality of care when accessing interpreters (Costa, 2011). This is emphasised in the NICE Guidelines for GA, Schizophrenia, Depression and Dementia which puts forward that written material should be translated into different languages and interpreters should be used where appropriate (ref). A mental health professional that comes across a patient of a different culture, who speaks a different language, may not recognise the severity of their symptoms due to the cultural and language differences resulting in lack of support from services for example. Therefore if someone presents to their GP with symptoms these may be misinterpreted if an appropriate interpreter is not present. Therefore although many mental health settings may use interpreters regularly, others may not and the importance of this must be emphasised in order to work through issues of wrong diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of mental health. Although race and culture are evidently pertinent to mental health problems and service responses, it is necessary to consider other factors as an emphasis on cultural issues can sanitize or mask other issues (Chantler et al, 2002, p.649). It seems that mental health services are focusing on cultural differences and understanding cultural diversity in an attempt to overcome the differences in diagnosis and support for different ethnic groups. However, in their attempt to do this they may actually be ignoring other key issues thus potentially making the situation worse or at least maintaining it. Some argue that there is an urgent need to develop cultural competence among nurses and other care workers if they are to meet the needs of the diverse populations they serve (Papadopoulos, L and Tilki M and Lees S). However, professionals may not treat black people any differently just because they are trained to be culturally aware (Fernando, 2004). There are lots of references to cultural competence in the Department of Health and NHS. The government strategy No Health Without Mental Health which replaced New Horizons in 2011 seems to focus on culture but does not seem to acknowledge important links between race and mental health. It is well known that there is a significant link between poverty and mental health (Chantler, 2011). It appears that mental health social work is beginning to revolve around the bio medical model therefore social factors such as poverty are not focused on as much as they should (Chantler, 2011). It has been identified that social exclusion can often be a result of poverty as a lack of financial means results in the poorer sectors of society being unable to involve themselves in societal activities thus resulting in exclusion (Gilchrist and Kyprianou, 2011). Social exclusion/isolation can impact on mental health therefore poverty can be viewed as a risk factor for mental health problems (Chantler, 2011). Being in the lowest social class is often linked with poverty and this is something which spans across different ethnicities and cultures. Therefore white, working class members of society may experience mental health issues which are instigated as a result of poverty thus race and c ulture cannot be viewed as the only factors impacting on mental health other factors which can also impact on white sectors must be recognised. However, black and minority ethnic groups may find it more difficult to move into higher classes as a result of issues such as racism and discrimination thus may remain in low socioeconomic circumstances. This highlights a link between poverty and ethnicity and emphasises the concern that peoples race and culture may result in them being forced into situations which could increase their likelihood of mental distress. It appears that there are two main ways racism can impact on individuals health: the immediate psychological and physical impact and the result of which different races and cultures are not valued within society resulting in social exclusion and disadvantage (Karlsen and Nazroo, 2000). As argued racism, whether openly hostile or lurking in institutional cultures and practices, limits the opportunities and life choices individuals make (Gilchrist and Kyprianou, 2011, p.7). Therefore, certain people of certain races or cultures may feel more comfortable remaining in commun ities together due to racist discrimination or prejudice and as a result may not seek new life opportunities thus potentially remaining in poor socioeconomic circumstances as a result of this forced exclusion (Gilchrist and Kyprianou, 2011). Similarly, discrimination and racism may result in less support within education arenas and less opportunities to excel within employment circles (Gilchrist and Kyprianou, 2011). It has been recognised that unemployment has an impact on mental health (Meltzer et al, 1995). Findings from the Fourth National Survey identify that four fifths of Pakistani and Bangladesh respondents, two-fifths of Indian and Caribbean respondents and one third of Chinese had incomes lower than half the decided national average recognised as poverty (Karlsen and Nazroo, 2000). This compares to one in four white respondents. Thus, this may be the impact of racism, discrimination and disadvantage (Karlsen and Nazroo, 2000) Therefore there seems to be a vicious cycle wh ereby BME groups feel the impact of structural oppressions resulting in fewer opportunities to break away from factors which can lead to an increased risk of mental health problems, such as poverty. Therefore, arguably social exclusion, poverty and class could be reasons why there are higher levels of mental illness in some subcultures of South Asian women for example (Karlsen and Nazroo, 2000). The fact that communities stick together may result in further antagonism and segregation thus resulting in inappropriate support for mental health problems as outsiders may not want to intrude in these cultures they may take the attitude leave them to it which can be very dangerous. Therefore a combination of factors including class and poverty can emphasise mental health issues. It seems that the role of racism as a risk factor for mental health is being ignored or at least undermined by the coalition government. Although the No Health Without Mental Health strategy acknowledges the need to consider causal factors for mental health, it appears to neglect to discuss the pertinent issue of racism/institutional racism which can be viewed as a downfall in response (Watson, 2011). Therefore, it neglects significant links between race and mental health. This is emphasised in its a call to action document, which does not include any BME organisations (Vernon, 2011). Stereotyping of different groups refers to the discrimination of groups based on views they are certain way. So, South Asian groups may be viewed as having lots of family support and not believing in mental illness. This can be dangerous as it may result in services neglecting to offer support to certain races or cultures. Therefore, it appears that some mental health professionals may inherit views regarding racial stereotypes (Fernando, 2004). Another common racist stereotype is that black men are dangerous which again impacts on diagnosis and treatment. A well known example is that of Rocky Bennett. He was killed in 2004 in a medium secure psychiatric unit after being restrained by up to five nurses and an independent inquiry into this accepted that it was a result of institutional racism (Athwal, 2004). This is not a lone incident and has been recognised as an issue across mental health services. A concern which is shared by many including Richard Stone (a member of the Bennett i nquriy panel) and Errol Francis (a campaigner on black mental health) is that cultural/racial awareness training will not reduce institutional abuse, it must be acknowledged and then the behaviour of the professionals and workers needs to change (Athwal, 2004). Once understood and acknowledged, progress can be made to tackle and understand causes (McKenzie, 2007). McKenzie (2007) put forward concern that the importance of Delivering Race Equality would be undermined, which seems to have been the case in No Health without Mental Health as it does not seem to recognise the importance of racism as a risk factor for mental health and the impact it has on service responses (Watson, 2011). Watson (2011) argues that the impression given is that we are moving to a post-racial big society where state multiculturalism is expunged from British values and public consciousness Thus the link is being undermined and if this is the case it is unlikely changes will be made. Chantler et al (2002) undertook a ten month qualitative study with a group of South Asian women who are survivors of self harm or attempted suicide. It seems that survivors highlighted issues causing mental distress including immigration status, poverty, and domestic violence in their accounts however an over focus on cultural sensitivity by professionals and policy makers means that these factors often goes unrecognised (Chantler et al, 2002). Also, important to note is that there does not seem to be much research into the fact that if people are seeking asylum, there is a possibility that their mental health needs may be higher as a result of their experiences prior to migration (Chantler, 2011). As a result of lack of recognition, inappropriate or a lack of support was offered by services. The researchers found that the survivors who had been seeking asylum mentioned policies such as the one year rule as causing them distress and oppression as it meant they were trapped (often in an abusive relationship) for a long period of time without a chance of escape (Chantler et al, 2001). As stated, current immigration legislation strips South Asian women of the legal and personal support available to white British female citizens (Chantler et al, 2002). The survivors identified that they felt these policies ensured that all power was given to the man (Chantler et al, 2002). Policies implemented trying to overcome problems in services by employing South Asian workers needs to be looked into (Chantler et al, 2002). It seems that policy makers used cultural clashes as explanations as to why issues such as domestic violence, immigration issues and poverty were not highlighted (Chantler et al, 2002). Thus in models of mental health, factors such as immigration are neglected. Services claimed to be unable to meet their needs due to cultural conflict (Chantler et al, 2002). All but one of the survivors in the study had suffered domestic violence identifying the link between domestic violence, immigration status and suicide/self harm (Chantler, 2001). It is worth noting that refugees and asylum seekers may have experienced traumatic events before arriving in the UK such as war and poverty therefore they may have higher mental health needs because of their experiences this is not covered much in research and is something which may be beneficial in our understanding. Burman et al (2005) focuses primarily on domestic violence services with regards to African, African-Caribbean, South Asian, Jewish and Irish women, it became evident that culture was seen to be more important than dealing with domestic violence issues. Thus a focus on culture can be seen as an obstruction to offering the appropriate support (Burman, 2005). The study also identifies how other issues such as immigration policies prevent asylum seeking women from being able to leave abusive relationships therefore this needs to considered more (Burman, 2005). racialised dimensions of such policies heightens their exclusionary effects. The outcome of these findings suggests that there needs to be new ways of supporting women from minoritised groups suffering domestic violence (Burman, 2005). Criticisms of study? It seems that in favour of culture, gender issues such as violence against women are often ignored in relation to minority ethnicities (Chantler, 2002). Would this be the case if it were white women? What is interesting is that violence against women is considered a gender issue in relation to white women but is seen as a cultural issue in relation to South Asian women (Chantler et al, 2002). This is something which needs to be recognised and changed. Cultural factors need to be acknowledged to a degree and particularly in certain circumstances for example honour based violence, however it needs to be recognised that culture and race are not always at the forefront of issues. It is important to move away from a complete focus culture in many instances, and consider gender issues as well. Segregating women from minority groups from white women with regards to violence can lead to lack of support thus potentially resulting in self harm/attempted suicide amongst other issues, as a resul t of the mental distress. The research undertaken by Chantler et al (2001) and Burman (2005) highlight this. Conclusion: As a social worker it is important to recognise cultural differences and be open about culture so that interventions are not so difficult however, although being culturally aware is useful, it is impossible to recognise all factors as cultural as there are numerous different cultures which are constantly adapting. Also, as this essay has identified, an over focus on culture can be dangerous. It is important to be conscious of other risk/causal factors of mental health such as violence against women, class and immigration status. It is essential label or stereotype someone based on their race or culture but rather engage, empower and empathise with service users. As Chantlers 2001 study identified, regardless of a service users race or culture, they often just want someone to listen to them. Do not always presume it is about culture as policy has tended to do in recent years. It seems that a combination of structural, cultural and individual factors including gender, poverty and cultu re will enable a greater understanding of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of mental health. Considering one without the other will limit understanding. Therefore, knowledge needs to be more nuanced. I am not undermining the importance of race and culture in relation to mental health and service responses, as I have acknowledged its importance in this essay. However, do not neglect other equally important factors. Also gender issues need to be considered for example domestic violence. Why is domestic violence considered cultural only when related to certain ethnicities e.g south Asian women SOME violence crimes are specific to certain cultures for example honour based violence, trafficking (UMHDU, 2010) However, all ethnicities within the uk experience gender based violence not just certain ethnic groups and evidence suggests that violence and abuse cause mental health issues (UMHDU, 2010). However it is sometimes only seen as a gender issue when it is white women suffering abuse. Seen as a cultural issue when minority ethnic group. Maybe it isnt a cultural issue but a gender issue Research by Chantler et al many women from different ethnicities dont mention culture/race in their study just mention abuse therefore maybe just need to consider this

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Speaking Skills Issues And Solution English Language Essay

Speaking Skills Issues And Solution English Language Essay For the longest time, the idea of testing language have always revolved around testing the knowledge of the language itself but now, the idea of testing for communicative competence is getting more and more popular. In testing communicative competence, speaking and listening tasks are commonly used. Those require tasks such as the completion of an information gap and role play (Kitao Kitao, 1996). As teachers of ESL, it is imperative for us to enhance the students delivery skills, increase their confidence, and develop their methods of organization and critical thinking skills. In order to do this, a valid and reliable way of assessment to determine whether the set goals were met is required. The oral communication field needs a clear-cut method of evaluation as can be found in discrete language skill classes such as listening comprehension (Nakamura Valens, 2001). Language teachers and language testers need a method which takes subjective qualitative observations and then transforms them into objective quantitative measures. A critical issue in the assessment is the selection of criteria for evaluating performance. Stiggins (as cited in Butler Stevens, 1997) points out that the selection of these criteria should be one of the first steps in designing performance assessments. Students should understand ahead of time what is expected of them. This can actually help them determine on what basis their performance will be judged. When students are actively involved in establishing assessment criteria for tasks, they do not only have a better understanding of what is expected of them when they perform the tasks, but they will be able to more fully appreciate why the criteria are important (Butler Stevens, 1997). The Issue of Assessing Speaking Skills. Speaking is probably one of the most difficult skills to test. It combines skills that may have little or no correlation with each other, and which do not do well to objective testing. In ( Kitao Kitao, 1996), it was mentioned that there are not yet good answers to questions about the criteria for testing these skills and the weighing of these factors. It is possible to find people who can produce the different sounds of a foreign language appropriately; hence they lack the ability to communicate their ideas correctly. This is one of the difficulties that testers encounter when testing the oral production of learners. However, the opposite situation could occur as well; some people do have the ability of expressing their ideas clearly, but at the same time they cannot pronounce all the sounds correctly. Another difficulty is the actual implementation of speaking skills testing. That is because it is difficult to test a large number of learners in a relatively short time. Therefore, the examiner is put under great pressure (Heaton, 1988). The next difficulty is that speaking and listening skills are very much related to one another; it is impossible to keep them mutually exclusive. In most cases, there is an interchange between listening and speaking, and speaking appropriately depends on comprehending spoken input. Therefore, this has an impact on testing speaking because the testers will not know whether they are testing purely speaking or speaking and listening together. Finally, the assessment and scoring of speaking skills is one of its biggest problems. If possible, it is better to record the examinees performance and the scoring will be done upon listening to the tape. The aspects of speaking that are considered part of its assessment include grammar, pronunciation, fluency, content, organization, and vocabulary. (Kitao Kitao, 1996). Depending on the situation and the purpose of the test, testers need to choose the appropriate methods and techniques of testing. The Solution: Method of Assessing Speaking Skills. 3.1. Monologue, Dialogue and Multilogue Speaking Test. Nakamura Valens (2001) conducted a study on Japanese graduate students at Keio University. They used three different types of speaking tests as a form of assessment. The first type is the Monologue Speaking Test which is also called the presentation. Students were asked to perform some tasks such as; show and tell where they talk about anything they choose. This gives the students a chance to make a mini presentation. The second type is Dialogue Speaking Test which is also known as the interview. It is an open-ended test where the students lead a discussion with the teacher, and students in that kind of test are required to use conversation skills that they have learned before. The third type is Multilogue Speaking Test that is also called the discussion and debating. Here, the discussions are student-generated, and students are put into groups where as a group, they decide on a topic they feel would be of interest for the rest of the classroom. The evaluation criteria that was used in that study was as follows: Evaluation Items: Presentations: Content Language Eye contact Interviews: Comprehensibility Pronunciation Fluency Ability to explain an idea Discussing and debating: Able to be part of the conversation to help it flow naturally Uses fillers/ additional questions to include others in conversation Transfers skills used in dialogues to group discussions The rating scale ranged between poor and good with the symbols from 1 to 4. The finding of their study reveals that among the three test types, the discussion tests was the most difficult followed by interview test and the presentation test. In Malaysia, we saw a similar system being implemented but were poorly regulated and too restrictive. Dialogues are used in the school-based assessment and Monologues and Multilogues are common in both school-based assessment and the MUET speaking test. Although it follows this model, it failed to accurately gauge students speaking ability as the tests were poorly regulated (prevalent in school-based assessment) and too restrictive (MUET). 3.2. Testing speaking using visual material Without even comprehending spoken or written material, it is possible to test speaking using visuals such as pictures, diagrams, and maps. Through a careful selection of material, the testers can control the use of vocabulary and the grammatical structures as required. There are different types of visual materials that range in their difficulty to suit all the levels of learners. One common stimulus material could be a series of pictures showing a story, where the student should describe. It requires the student to put together a coherent narrative. Another way to do that is by putting the pictures in a random order of the story to a group of student. The students decide on the sequence of the pictures without showing them to each other, and then put them down in the order that they have decided on. They then have the opportunity to reorder the pictures if they feel it is necessary. In the Malaysian context, this system is already in use in the school-based oral assessment for primar y school. Another way of using visual stimulus is by giving two students similar pictures with slight differences between them, and without seeing each others pictures they describe their own pictures in order to figure out the differences. However, there is a problem in using visual stimulus in testing speaking, it lies in that the choice of the materials used must be something that all the students can interpret equally well, since if one student has a difficulty understanding the visual information, it will influence the way he/she is evaluated (Kitao Kitao, 1996). 3.3. The Taped Oral Proficiency Test In that approach, the students performances are recorded on tapes and then assessed later by the examiner. This method has some advantage and some disadvantages. According to Cartier (1980), one disadvantage of the taped test is that it is less personal; the examinee is talking to a machine and not to a person. Another disadvantage is that it has a low validity. Moreover, the taped test is inflexible; if something goes wrong during the recording, it is virtually impossible to adjust for it. On the other hand, there are some advantages of that type of test. It can be given to a group of students in a language lab, it is more standardized and more objective since each student receives identical stimuli, and scoring can be performed at the most convenient or economical time and location. I believe that the taped test method is very practical when it comes to testing large numbers of students where the teacher would not have enough time to assess each one of them individually. However, the problem lies in not having enough language labs in some schools which, in turn, creates a big difficulty for teachers. Conclusion Previous research on classroom testing of ESL speech skills provides several models of both task types and rubrics for rating, and suggestions regarding procedures for testing speaking with large numbers of learners. However, there is no clear, widely disseminated consensus in the profession on the appropriate paradigm to guide the testing and rating of learner performance in a new language, either from second language acquisition research or from the best practices of successful teachers. While there is similarity of descriptors from one rubric to another in professional publications, these statements are at best subjective. Thus, the rating of learners performance rests heavily on individual instructors interpretations of those descriptors (Pino, 1998). In spite of the difficulties inherent in testing speaking, a speaking test can be a source of beneficial backwash. If speaking is tested, unless it is tested at a very low level, such as reading aloud, this encourages the teaching of speaking in classes. In my opinion, testing speaking skills could be a very interesting experience, and it gives teachers an opportunity to creative in selecting the test items and materials. Moreover, it has a great impact on students by making them enjoy taking the test and feel comfortable doing so if the teacher chooses the materials that interest their students and that is suitable to their age and levels of knowledge. References Butler, F. A., Stevens, R. (1997) Oral languages assessment in the classroom. Theory Into Practice, 36 (4). 214-219. Cartier, F. A. (1980). Alternative methods of oral proficiency assessment. In J. R. Firth (Ed.), Measuring spoken language proficiency (7-14). GA: Georgetown University. Heaton, J. B. (1988). Writing English language tests. Longman. Kitao, S. K., Kitao, K. (1996). Testing speaking (Report No.TM025215). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED398261) Kitao, S. K., Kitao, K. (1996). Testing communicative competence (Report No. TM025214). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED398260) Nakamura, Y., Valens, M. (2001). Teaching and testing oral communication skills. Journal of Humanities and Natural Sciences,3, 43-53. Pino, B. G. (1998). Prochievement testing of speaking: matching instructor expectations, learner proficiency level, and task types. Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, 3, (3), 119-133.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Gender :: essays research papers

Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, May 1997 v36 n9-10 p551(22) Advertising's effects on men's gender role attitudes. Jennifer Garst; Galen V. Bodenhausen. Author's Abstract: COPYRIGHT 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporation We posited that media images of men influence the gender role attitudes that men express soon after exposure to the images. A total of 212 men (87% European American, 7% Asian or Asian American, 3% African American, and 3% other) viewed magazine advertisements containing images of men that varied in terms of how traditionally masculine vs. androgynous they were and whether the models were the same age or much older than the viewers. Men who had initially been less traditional espoused more traditional attitudes than any other group after exposure to traditionally masculine models, although they continued to endorse relatively nontraditional views after exposure to androgynous models. These findings suggest that nontraditional men's gender role attitudes may be rather unstable and susceptible to momentary influences such as those found in advertising. Full Text: COPYRIGHT 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporation In the average American household, the television is turned "on" for almost seven hours each day, and the typical adult or child watches two to three hours of television per day. It is estimated that the average child sees 360,000 advertisements by the age of eighteen (Harris, 1989). Due to this extensive exposure to mass media depictions, the media's influence on gender role attitudes has become an area of considerable interest and concern in the past quarter century. Analyses of gender portrayals have found predominantly stereotypic portrayals of dominant males and nurturant females within the contexts of advertisements (print and television), magazine fiction, newspapers, child-oriented print media, textbooks, literature, film, and popular music (Busby, 1975; Durkin, 1985a; Leppard, Ogletree, & Wallen, 1993; Lovdal, 1989; Pearson, Turner, & Todd-Mancillas, 1991; Rudman & Verdi, 1993; Signorielli & Le ars, 1992). Most of the research to date on the effects of gender-role images in the media has focused primarily on the female gender role. A review of research on men in the media suggests that, except for film literature, the topic of masculinity has not been addressed adequately (Fejes, 1989). Indeed, as J. Katz (1995) recently noted, "there is a glaring absence of a thorough body of research into the power of cultural images of masculinity" (p. 133). Katz suggests that studying the impact of advertising represents a useful place to begin addressing this lacuna.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Colonial Times :: American America History

Colonial Times The colonial period was A time of much change, as is the modern period. Many people viewed things differently in the colonial period than they do today. The people of the colonial period had much more traditional values than the people of today. The people of the colonial period thought of religion much more sternly than I do. John Winthrop believed in a very stern God. John Winthrop writes, "Now if the Lord shall please to hear us, and bring us in peace to the place we desire, then hath he ratified this Covenant and sealed our Commission, [and] will expect a strict performance of the Articles contained in it" (43). He believes that God acts completely as he wishes, without any thought for man. Samuel Sewall used religion to help him when he needed help. In his diary, Samuell Sewall writes, "...My Son, the minister, came to me p.m. by appointment and we pray one for another in the Old Chamber; more especially respecting my Courtship"(63). Sewall only acted religious when it was convenient for him. I personally believe in a God much more caring than that Winthrop believed in. I also believe that God is always around, not just when I need him. Different people have many different religious beliefs. Throughout history, views of love have changed. Anne Bradstreet valued love as a strong romantic bond. In Bradstreet's poem, "To My Dear and Loving Husband" she writes, "I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, Or all the ritches that Earth doth hold"(51). In this excerpt, Bradstreet is speaking to her Husband. John Winthrop viewed love as a religious bond between all men. He writes, "Love is the bond of perfection" (39). Winthrop gives few references to romantic love. I personally think of love as something that people feel for each other just because they are both people. I believe there is an element of love between all people. Love is viewed differently by different people, but these beliefs have little to do with what time period these people lived in. It appears that as time goes by, people view marriage more romantically, and less economically. Samuell Sewell viewed marriage as a way to advance monetarily. In his diary he writes, "I said 'twould cost L100. per annum: she said twould cost but L40"(63). This is just one example of him carefully calculating the costs of marriage.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Jane Austen’s Persuasion Essay

Jane Austen is a successful classic romance novelist, one of her many novels is Persuasion, a novel that portrays love. She published six novels that all relate to the theme of love and marriage along with the consequences of making that important decision. While the novel Persuasion is romantically favourable, there are ideas presented about marriage that are not very appealing. The main story of the novel was the reunion of Anne and her shattered love with, Captain Wentworth. Though they were sincerely in love, the relationship was rejected by her father and Mrs. Russell from a financial and social class perspective. The ending of the story brings us to a beautiful happily ever after, where the engagement of Anne and Captain Wentworth takes place. The reunion of the couple, led to happiness for the two and that was all that concerned them. There are marriages however, that are quite uncooperatively performed. Some marriages usually serve the purpose of financial aid or social mobility for the significant other who is less fortunate, in this case it is usually the women. This is evident with Mrs. Clay and her desire to marry Sir Walter for wealth or Mr. Elliot and his desire to marry Anne to become baronet. Marriage in Regency England was used as a vehicle for many things (Pack 2012) . Hence, Jane Austen tells her perspective of women’s idea of why they should marry during that period of time. Overall, the ideas of marriage would be happiness; social class and wealth are what persuades most of the women into marrying in Regency England. â€Å"Why should the people be unhappy? Are there not landed gentry, country parsons, and even wealthy naval commanders for them to marry? Ruoff 2012)† For a successful marriage relationship involves the dedication and affection of both partners. During the course of the novel, the most successful and content relationship would be Anne & Captain Wentworth. Though their relationship was unapproved and disregarded by the elders of the family, they both knew from time that they were meant for each other. Jane Austen uses Anne and Ca ptain Wentworth as an example, contrary to the other marriages present in the novel to reveal her belief in the possibility of â€Å"good† marriages. The substantial ratio of love marriages to the others in the novel evidently conveys Jane Austen’s opinion on happy marriages; indicating that perhaps happiness in marriage is just a matter of chance. The love relationship with Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth in the beginning was very strong; regardless of their separation it is still continued to be one. â€Å"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Dare not say that a man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. † (Austen, page 177) When Captain Wentworth says this to Anne its describes his unconditional love towards Anne which is true, regardless of her breaking their engagement when Lady Russell discourages her from the engagement. He willingly stated the truth of his feelings which indicates the fact that he had loved nobody and thought of nobody other than Anne. In this novel Captain Wentworth was portrayed by Jane Austen as a character to show the value of men’s love. â€Å"What was most wrong to Jane Austen was to marry without at least affection if not love. Always ridiculed when young women and their mothers go into secure marriages more than love† (wit and wisdom of Jane Austen 2012). In all the novels that Jane Austen has written it showed how much of a believer she was in love marriages and how she regarded it as. Austen felt that love should be shown in all relationships within the partners. When the other reasons of marriage were looked upon it came back to the necessity of women. When looking at this argument however, men also have the equal standing and determinations regarding the decision of marriage. Throughout this story Austen points out and mocks the characters that chose to get married for security of themselves over happiness of their lives. For example, Mary was shown to be arrogant, complaining, and careless mother because she cared about social class more. Just as much as men showing their affections and happiness towards their partners, women also show the same amount of affection and happiness but in some cases women’s love towards their partner is greater than expected compared to men. If I loved a man as she loves the Admiral, I would always be with him, nothing should ever separate us, and I would rather be overturned by him, than driven safely by anybody else. â€Å"(Austen, page 61). When Louisa says this line it portrays that another character who believed in love marriages. This quote points out the depths of a women’s love in Austen’s perspective, showing her understanding of love and how it should be seen. The effectiveness of this line proves that it is not easy for a woman to accept love and it’s just as important as any other decision that you could ever make in your life. Their union, she believed, could not divide her more from other men, than their final separation. (21. 2). When Anne says this quote it shows her unconditional love towards Captain Wentworth and that there will be no other man other than him to replace her love, it also shows that even after seven years she never stopped loving Captain Wentworth still regretting her actions. This proves that women take their love seriously and that it is very strong. â€Å"†¦ is the only man she can love †¦ she in sorrow and lose beauty and youth in unveiling regret† (Kavanagh 2012). This quote reveals the sorrow of a woman when she has to part from her partner, it uses imagery to better illustrate the feelings of a woman when she goes through this. It relates to Anne because this is how she felt when she had to break the engagement between her and Captain Wentworth; and how much she regretted making that decision. Marriage is an important factor when it came to women especially when it either helps elevate their social status or bring it down. Throughout the story, Austen mainly portrays the significance of social ranking in society marriages. She pictured out which couples were more successful in the marriages, for example, the Crofts whom were well matched when it came to social status. Most of the women in this novel are put out as wanting to marry for high position in social rank. One of the marriages was Mary, it helps the purpose of marriage but it does not show the real meaning of marriage. â€Å"He thought it a very degrading alliance† (Austen, page 18). At the end of the novel, Anne and Wentworth are united but in the beginning they were disapproved especially by Sir Walter because Wentworth had no social ranking. Particularly, to the people of higher ranks, social class was tremendously important regardless of what the situation might be. No matter what the circumstance was, one does not marry below their own class. Looking at Anne’s perspective, her being a Baronet’s daughter could not marry Wentworth who was not of social rank or it was frowned upon in society and brought disgrace to the family. â€Å"Westgate Buildings! † said he, â€Å"and who is Miss Anne Elliot to be visiting in Westgate Buildings? A Mrs Smith. A widow Mrs Smith; and who was her husband? One of five thousand Mr Smiths whose names are to be met with everywhere. And what is her attraction? That she is old and sickly. Upon my word, Miss Anne Elliot, you have the most extraordinary taste! Everything that revolts other people, low company, paltry rooms, foul air, disgusting associations are inviting to you. But surely you may put off this old lady till to-morrow: she is not so near her end, I presume, but that she may hope to see another day. † ( Austen, page 14). The usage of this quote reminds Austen’s audience the consequence of marrying of low class. Since Mrs. Smith married someone of a low class she was frowned upon those who were above her like Sir Walter. â€Å"Jane Austen’s novels do affirm the value of a social order is undeniable† (Ruoff 2012). When Jane Austen wrote her novels she was extremely careful about how social class worked in marriages and the importance it gave even for the smallest issues, social class was almost a question of life or death. Marriage was undisputable. Women needed to find a husband with a high status to maintain personal status. Mary had merely connected herself with an old country family of respectability and large fortune, and had therefore given all the honour (chap 1 page 3). Mary like her father was very concerned about her personal statues and chose to get married to a wealthy and respected family. Since she was married into a family like that she was given all the honour and respect automatically regardless of what she was before. Here Austen shows that marriage in Mary’s case was to upgrade her social ranking and it shows the relationship of Mary and Charles is rather unstable and nor do they love each other. Marriage here was shown as a social mobility. â€Å"†¦by her pride, the Elliot pride† (Austen, pages 65). When Louisa said this, a believer of love marriages, suggested the pride that she had towards her husband, his family and herself. Mary is completely proud of her married life because as Baron’s daughter she held up the pride of the Elliot’s name and married into a respectful family. Even though she does not lead a happy life, she is fulfilled with the position that she has in society from the marriage she had. Jane thought the worst case scenario of a woman is not able to find a husband in her own social class and whose family cannot support her (wit and wisdom of Jane Austen 2012). Even though Jane Austen was a believer of love marriages at heart she also understood that a woman without social rank or a husband without a social rank won’t have a bright future. Especially when the woman’s family won’t support her in any way. Respect and Pride was two words that if in any case it was taken away; it is almost as life or death in most women’s lives. Mary acquired importance after becoming Mrs. Charles Musgrove; but Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character †¦ was nobody: her word had no weight†. Anne’s characteristic was portrayed as sweet, wittier and overall a better person compared to her sister Mary. However, she was barely respected or seen as a member in the family. Mary’s characteristic was portrayed as a horrible mot her, arrogant and just obnoxious and yet people respected her and treated her like an equal part of the family. Mary, being married into a wealthy and high social ranked family, secured her position as high in the social circle. Still, focusing on appearance and rank as he inserts Captain Wentworth’s name in the Baronetage. He has not changed at all (Adamson 2012). Sir Walter dismissed Captain Wentworth as a potential husband for Anne because he had no title or wealth but now Wentworth is respected by Sir Walter since Wentworth has acquired a fortune putting him stable and rich and qualified to be respected as one in the high society. This will help Anne gain everybody’s respect when she becomes dependent on Captain Wentworth and will lead a wealthy life. Throughout the past, marriages were frequently seen as a contract to protect the welfare of the family’s statues and finance, especially amongst the mist of local nobility and landlord gentlemen which is always pointed out and focused on in all her novels. Marriage was a tool and excuse to become wealthy and respected. Vastly women took the upper hand and advantage when considering marriage especially if it allows their lives to be prosperous. They are not mainly to be blamed because they have no choice, they were not educated or had the right to their parent’s wealth, marriage was the only other option for them to avoid the gutters and live royalty. Since women had no education like the men, women had no means or opportunities to make money to live their own life of their choosing. â€Å"Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. † (Austen, page 172). This quote states that education was not something woman were able to grasp at all, it was given to the men at a high degree and even if women were given education and it was just to read and write a little and that was it. In today’s world the more education you had, the better the career. However, back then, women were unfortunate as the quote suggests â€Å"The pen has been in their hands. † â€Å"Men always had the upper hand and the means of living compared to the women, â€Å"You have always a profession, pursuits, business of some sort or other, to take you back into the world immediately, and continual occupation and change soon weaken impressions. (Austen, page 173. ) When Anne says this line it bluntly says the situation of women and how they can’t have a job to rely on or anything else like the men because they have no education and mostly women were not allowed to even work in England. They were expected to stay home and look after the house and the children. Hence women relying on making good marriages financial wise in order to live happily. Women in the upper classes had the leisure to educate themselves; however, they, like their counterparts in the lower classes, were not expected to think for themselves and were not often listened to when they did. Jane Austen’s novels both reflect and challenge the period’s attitudes toward women (Smith 2012). In Jane Austen’s novels, Austen was able to portray the struggles of uneducated people in that time period. The lower class women had no education at all compared to the high class ladies so their words were not considered anywhere. While the high class ladies at least were able to read and write somewhat and because of their positions in society it was easier for higher class ladies to express themselves. Regardless, of whether a family had a daughter, as the oldest child, the parent’s wealth always ended to the closet male family member and the daughter has nothing. â€Å"She had, while a very young girl, as soon as she had known him to be, in the event of her having no brother, the future baronet, meant to marry him. † (Austen, page 4). In England back in the time, had the law where the property and wealth of the family will go to the son who will be the next in line to take responsibilities of the household. Sir Walter has no heir; son, hence, putting his nephew William Walter Elliot, cousin of Elizabeth and her sisters next in line to the Baronet title. Elizabeth knowing this well enough decided to get married to him at such a young age to gain respect and wealth, proving that women have no choice regarding the family’s wealth it never went to the daughters. Hence, forcing them to marry for just wealth and prestige. â€Å"The gentlemen, the head of the house, like you father† (Austen, page 8). Ideally the head of the house back in the time and even now the men were the head of house. Austen uses a little dryness in this quote because women were in charge of looking after the house like cooking and cleaning and they were considered as â€Å"head of the house†. However, this quote says men to be the head of the house. This shows the reality of a woman’s life and goes to prove that women had limited to no opportunity regarding credit and job opportunities. Therefore, pushing forth with women using marriage has a tool to get the hold of respect and money. She realised that it was necessary for women to marry in order to avoid poverty (Gill and Gregory, 2003).

A Bintel Brief †Jewish Daily Forward Essay

The Bintel Brief is a column in the Jewish Daily Forward, which was formed in 1906. During this time many Jewish immigrants have suffered a great deal of depression and anxiety because of being Jewish. Often separated from family and bewildered by life in a new country, thousands of Jewish immigrants wrote to the offices of the Jewish Daily Forward. Nothing like existed in the homeland. It seemed so American, so up-to-date, and so very needed. It was an advice column for the new Jewish immigrants, to help them with their new lives. It was called the â€Å"Bintel Brief†, Yiddish language for â€Å"Bundle of Letters. † The paper’s founder and editor was Abraham Cahan (1860-1951). Cahan formed the Bintel Brief to listen to the many Jewish immigrants from Russia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Middle East as they live life through hardships at the turn of the century and speak of issues through the experiences of the immigrants. Cahan would answer back with practical and sometimes very wise advice. His intended audience was mainly the immigrants of New York City. Cahan’s commitment to social realism makes his work a valuable source for insight into ways in which immigrants perceived their situation. The Jewish Daily Forward did its part to bring familiarity and bring comfort to the Jewish immigrants, to give advice, to aid those in need, and to bring together the Jewish community in America. The main detectable bias in the source is that the immigrants were lonely and needed something to turn to. Abraham Cahan founded the Jewish Daily Forward and served as the editor until his death in 1951. The major tensions of immigrant life that were revealed in the letters were the cries of help from the very poor, problems dealing with religion and discrimination, people dealing with job decisions. All the problems in the Bintel Brief are difficulties faced by immigrants and the consequences that they must face because of being who they are. Mothers were known to find their lost children through the Bintel Brief and many people lost their spouses due to discrimination. The Bintel Brief was there for any Jew to turn to if they needed it. Cahan’s responses were in likely for the Jewish immigrants. These people needed someone to discuss their problems with. Cahan’s advice given was to improve the depression and hardships the person was having. Thousands of readers wrote to the editor, asking for help with a host of issues created by their effort to blend the customs and rituals of the old world with the practices and pressures of the new. In conclusion, his advice given in the Bintel Brief is similar to the advice in columns of today such as â€Å"Dear Abby† and daytime talk shows. His advice given today is always for the good of the people.