Personal Statement Marketing Plan - 1523 Words

By completing my Social ME marketing plan, I ve developed my personal brand and improved my LinkedIn presence. This was all done at no cost and will be truly beneficial both now and in my future endeavors. All this will increase the awareness of my personal brand and position me in a positive manner relative to my competition in the mind of business professionals. Overview of Plan I ve created a LinkedIn summary that tells who I am, what I ve accomplished, and where I want to go. It shows the unique value I can offer companies. I ve also identified and segmented a target market. My goals, strategies, competitive advantages, and a social media SWOT helped me identify what I need to do to improve my presence and reach my target market.†¦show more content†¦Serving as Vice President of Events for the American Marketing Association helped develop communication, time-management, event planning, and social media marketing skills. I organized field trips, reaching out to professionals seeking meeting speakers, and helped market a local bar and grill. My sales associate position at Positively 4th Street and internship with KCJ Consulting have helped me gain experience in small business and marketing. I’ve been a sales associate at Positively 4th Street for three and a half years and over that period of time I have purchased merchandise, created employee schedules, provided customer service, and redesigned the store. As an Intern with KCJ Consulting, I marketed their retail location through social media, organized and implemented a sidewalk sale, and developed managerial skills. I m extremely ambitious and a big believer in the power of hard work and doing the right thing. I’d like to soon work for a company where I will be challenged daily and there are amble opportunities for advancement. I have a strong interest in working in social media, promotions, event planning, or fashion merchandising. Specialties: Event Planning, Social Networking and Marketing, Fashion Merchandising, Retail Management, Design, and Promotions (available at https://www.linkedin.com/in/melinda-olson-9a8191b3). Target Market On my LinkedIn profile, I am primarily targeting professionals in the promotions, event management,

Rainbow Troops Movie Review - 3075 Words

Laskar Pelangi: The audacity of hope Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Troops) is a 2008 Indonesian film adapted from the popular Indonesian novel by Andrea Hirata. The movie follows a group of 10 schoolboys and their two inspirational teachers as they struggle with poverty and develop hopes for the future in Gantong Village on the farming and tin mining island of Belitung off the east coast of Sumatra. The film is the highest grossing in Indonesian box office history[1] and won a number of local and international awards. The Rainbow Troops was a 2008 Indonesian film adapted from the popular Indonesian novel by Andrea Hirata. The movie is about an inspiring teacher and her 10 students in the poverty-stricken Kampung Gantong in Belitong. The†¦show more content†¦Mira admits she has no worries about the possibility of negative responses from adapting the novel into a film. The film will eventually bring in our audience, whether they have read the book or not, just to relax, enjoy and be ready to be affected by different experiences, she explains. The film was shot on location on Belitong Island, the setting of the novel. Twelve of the roles were played by local children. In my opinion, there wont be any actors with a deeper connection to the roles than those who were born and lived in Belitong their entire life, Riri says to explain his reasons for pursuing authenticity. Some veteran actors such as Ikranegara, Slamet Rahardjo, Alex Komang, Jajang C Noer, Mathias Muchus and Robbie Tumewu will appear. And there is also fresh blood to satisfy youngsters, such as Tora Sudiro, Rieke Dyah Pitaloka and Cut Mini. Cut Mini (playing the central character, the teacher Muslimah) admits she found it challenging to play Miss Muslimah, described as a loving, tender, patient and smart fighter. It is simply a character that differs from any other role she has ever taken. Thats why, when I got the role, I was soooo happy. I kept on practicing and memorizing the script three hours a day and got acting tutoring directly from Riri himself. I also got the chance to meet Miss Muslimah in person, to get to know and learn more of her real character directly, she says, admitting there is also aShow MoreRelated The Josephine Baker Story Essay1142 Words   |  5 Pagesthat she was a major celebrity in Europe. American audiences rejected the idea of a black woman with so much sophistication and power. Newspaper reviews were equally cruel (The New York Times called her a quot;Negro wenchquot;), and Josephine returned to Europe heartbroken. She served France during World War II in many ways. She performed for the troops, and was an honorable correspondent for the French Resistance (undercover work included smuggling secret messages written on her music sheetsinRead MoreThe Importance Of Greek Mythology1605 Words   |  7 Pagesbelieve it or not there is a big co nnection. But how come people today are inspired by Greek mythology? Also, why is Greek mythology important to us if they were just myths? It was such a while ago, so why do people still reflect off of it? Literature Review- Summary #1 In â€Å"The Greek Gods† from The Romans Anne Millard and Susan Peach describes that the Greeks had monthly festivals for the Greek gods. Their goal was to persuade the gods to grant their wishes. Some families were so religious to the godsRead MoreWhy Greek Mythology Is Still Relevant Today And Why We Still Use It1585 Words   |  7 PagesGreek Mythology. If you take modern day items that we use and compare it to Greek mythology, believe it or not there is a big connection. This essay will explain about why Greek mythology is still relevant today and why we still use it. Literature Review- Summary #1 In â€Å"The Greek Gods† from The Romans Anne Millard and Susan Peach describes that the Greeks had monthly festivals for the Greek gods. Their goal was to persuade the gods to grant their wishes. Some families were so religious to the godsRead MoreWhy Greek Mythology Is Still Relevant Today And Why We Still Use It1588 Words   |  7 PagesGreek Mythology. If you take modern day items that we use and compare it to Greek mythology, believe it or not there is a big connection. This essay will explain about why Greek mythology is still relevant today and why we still use it. Literature Review- Summary #1 In â€Å"The Greek Gods† from The Romans Anne Millard and Susan Peach describes that the Greeks had monthly festivals for the Greek gods. Their goal was to persuade the gods to grant their wishes. Some families were so religious to theRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pagesprepare periodic comparisonsof actual versus projected costs and actual versus programmed manpower allocation, update projection reports and funding schedules, and sponsor cost improvement programs. In the area of internal control, we will need to review and modify our existing internal control system to effectively meet our organization s goals related to project management. A careful and proper study and evaluation of existing internal control procedures should be conducted to determine the extentRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesPrinciples of Management, Human Resources, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior that helps you actively study a nd prepare material for class. Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis

Childrens Dual Language

Question: Discuss about theChildrens Dual Language. Answer: Introduction Dual language in children is a concept that refers to the process of teaching children to communicate in two languages or more. In the childs early life usually between one and three years, the childs ability to learn can be compared to that of an adult because it is at this stage that they begin developing approaches to learning language among other domains. Research has found out that a good number of children speak other languages other than English at home. For the purposes of second language acquisition, researchers have stated that learning of the first language is quite critical. This because if a child is not is not dexterous in their first language, this is likely to affect their ability to learn a second language (Najafi, 2011). What Researchers have Examined (Hammer et al., 2014) while studying bilingualism in children found out that economic status of the childs family plays a great role in their ability to learn two languages. He found out that Children from low income background who join kindergarten with no skills to communicate in English are unlikely to catch up with their counter parts from well of families. Research conducted by different researchers has considersdered different factors in their research on dual language development in children (Hammer et al., 2014) found out that a number of factors play a role in assessing a childs dual language ability. They considered childs mastery of their first language vocabulary, Childs mastery of their second language, as well as the childs mastery and ability to communicate in both languages. Acquisition of a second language at an early age is often referred to as early bilingualism. It is the opposite of late bilingualism which is the acquisition of a second language at a late age. Of great consideration is the context in which the childs acquires their second language. Here researchers have analyzed how different children acquire their second language by considering secondary or primary bilingualism. Primary bilingualism refers to the act of acquiring a second language through interaction with the people around you. This is particularly happens inform of unstructured communication among the people around the child. On the other hand secondary bilingualism happens in a formal context. This is whereby a child is specifically taught in order to acquire a second language. So researchers will take into consideration whether the child acquired the second language naturally or whether they were taught. Regarding the proficiency of a bilingual child, researchers have considered Receptive and Productive ability of the child. The difference between these two is the understanding and producing of the two languages. Receptive bilingualism means that a child can understand both languages but they are not able to produce the two languages on their own. On the other hand, productive ability refers to the ability of the child to understand and communicate in both languages. By putting these into consideration, the researcher is able to classify the child accordingly according to their level of competence. Researchers have also considered children from the new and the old communities. In this context, old communities in particularly country reefers to the people who have originated from the country, while on the other hand, new communities refer to the immigrants into a particular country. Dual language development abilities of these two communities are likely to be different. .immigrants may shift to their new countries without completely taking over the Grammatical system that exists in the grammar of native speakers (Collins, 2014) How they Conducted the Research Regarding the childs proficiency, they evaluated each bilingual child individually on the childs ability to express their ideas feelings, thoughts and wishes in both languages. They then rated the childs proficiency level on a linear scale. They conducted their research mostly through observation of the sample population within different contexts. They did their research within the home settings of the children m, within the larger societal setting as well as within the formal school settings. The Research involved sampling children from different economic backgrounds and gender. Findings After conducting thorough research, different researchers have come up with a wide range of findings. (Pena Halle, 2011) found out that children of the new bilingual type had had a grammatical gender loss as compared to the monolingual ones. Researchers have also found out that bilingualism in children brings a lot of advantages to these children as compared to their counterparts who have mastery of only one language. In particular, they have indentified bilingual students as having the ability of being more creative, possessing sharp problem solving skills and being able to observe tolerance towards different kinds of people. This was however, was the opposite with children who can speak only one language. Other researchers have found out that, both bilingual and monolingual and bilingual children display similar patterns in language acquisition despite the fact that bilingual children are not so much exposed to the two languages as are the monolingual children within the same setting. Researchers have also disputed the notion that a child cannot adequately learn two languages at the same time. Some people have always been of the opinion that a child is not in the capacity of learning two languages simultaneously without getting mixed up as to which words belong to which language, however, it has been argued that so long as people interacting with the child in a social context are using the two languages each at a particular time, the child will automatically learn the appropriate way of using each language within the course of time and be able to communicate effectively,. Parents also play an integral role in the childrens acquisition of more than one language. Precisely, if parents speak to their children using the two languages at different times, they are likely to make them acquire vocabularies in both languages. On the other hand, the language community has also been identified as playing a role in a childs dual language development. In this case, if they support the use of all the languages this is likely to have a positive impact on a childs multilingual capacity while on the other hand if one of the two languages is preferred by the wider community this is likely to hinder the childs dual language development. Additionally watching television in the second language has been identified as factor that has promoted the ability of children to become multilingual. However, this has been associated with deterioration of the childs use of the first language. Suggestions for Promoting Positive Dual Language Development in Children Based on research by different researchers, a number of lessons can be drowning from their findings in order to promote positive dual language development in children. The first suggestion is that parents and early childhood development should use the two languages appropriately. They are supposed to use each of the languages separately without mixing the two in single conversation .This is likely to enable the children make a distinction between the vocabularies that exist in each of the languages. Parents should also not discourage Dual language development in their children on the notion that it is likely to make them confused. Although this is not true, it could hinder the childs ability to lean a second language. This can also be achieved through engaging in communications with the children using the two languages. Parents can develop the culture of maintaining a communication flow between them and their children using different languages. This will not only encourage them to keep talking, but it will also make them acquire mastery of the languages. (Tabors, 2008) argued that teachers are tasked with the responsibility of introducing new and interesting words in all the classroom activity to enable learning. Childhood educators should therefore ensure that they break the classroom monotony which will speed up the learning process and ease the understanding of the use and meaning of the words. The children should also be allowed to interact with other children as well as adults to improve on their mastery of language. Conclusion In conclusion dual language capacity is quite important especially in the current times where knowing many languages has become the norm. Its clear that Researchers dealing with dual language development in children have those factors that they consider in their research. Such research should be objective and represent the wider picture. Parents, the society and childhood educators have roles to play in as far as promoting of dual language in children is concerned .Thy should therefore ensure that that play their roles sufficiently so that they can enhance learning among these children. References: Najafi, B. (2011). Supporting Positive Language and Literacy Outcomes for Young Dual Language Learners: Introduction. Child Development Perspectives, 5(1), 1-3. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2010.00139.x Tabors, P. (2008). One child, two languages. Baltimore, Md.: Paul H. Brookes Pub. Co. Collins, B. (2014). Dual language development of Latino children: Effect of instructional program type and the home and school language environment. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(3), 389-397. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.04.009 Hammer, C., Hoff, E., Uchikoshi, Y., Gillanders, C., Castro, D., Sandilos, L. (2014). The language and literacy development of young dual language learners: A critical review. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(4), 715-733. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.05.008 Pea, E. Halle, T. (2011). Assessing Preschool Dual Language Learners: Traveling a Multiforked Road. Child Development Perspectives, 5(1), 28-32. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2010.00143.x Hachar, S. (2014). Dual Language: A Study on Teachers and Administrators' Perceptions of Dual Language Effectiveness: Pre-K through Third Grade in Spain. Journal Of Education And Human Development, 3(4). https://dx.doi.org/10.15640/jehd.v3n4a8

Looking at characters’ from Erikson’s view Essay Example

Looking at characters’ from Erikson’s view Paper The firsts few thoughts that enter your head when you hear the word Hollywood is glamour, beautiful actors and actresses and wealth. From the first tape role, to the first cinema and movie Hollywood has portrayed this perfect, adventures, risk taking lives that all of us can just dream of. Of course in some of the movies and shows there is some little truth, but over all it is just a big fantasy world that we all escape to for a few hours. There are no super humans with super powers, cat-woman or batman, Hogward’s school where little wizards attend to learn more spells. Hollywood creates these movies for us to leave the reality for just a few hours and pretend we are someone or something else. Nothing wrong with a little bit of daydreaming, or imagination, but over all Hollywood is very misleading, especially with its characters. There are some shows, Disney shows, movies that really portray some characters as such, but it reality that would never be possible. In this paper I would like to discuss three stages of Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development. For each stage I have chosen, I have also chosen two characters that either enlighten this stage or mislead. We will write a custom essay sample on Looking at characters’ from Erikson’s view specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Looking at characters’ from Erikson’s view specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Looking at characters’ from Erikson’s view specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The first stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development theory is infancy. During this stage the child developes a sense of trust or mistrust that is provided from a caregiver. During this stage the child’s age is from birth to about 18 months. The characters that I have chosen for this stage is Stewie from Family Guy and Tommy from Rug Rats. Stewie from appearance is an infant who isn’t capable of anything yet just as we would suspect of an infant. In this show they portray Stewie as diabolical infant son of ambiguous sexual orientation who has adult mannerisms and uses stereotypical archvillain phrases. He is very intelligent, capable of walking and master planning. He definitely does show no trust for his mother, which he constantly plans of killing in some ways. He always implies how she is terrible and a horrible mother. Perhaps he was/is ignored by her most of the time, which is causing him these negatives feelings towards his own mother. Stewie shows developmental stages of a young adulthood. He definitely shows isolation towards everyone in the family. He despites his mother, talk negatively and has no respect for his father, just ignores or disrespects his two siblings. He feels no love, no connection to any of the family members. He is isolated and just cares for himself. Although one character he seems to show some intimacy with is Brian the dog. Both of them spend most of their time together. There are some traits of intimacy, love, compassion Stewie has for the dog. While it is very funny to watch him do and say the things he does, in reality there is no infant capable of what Stewie is portrayed by Hollywood to do. This is very misleading because his abilities and capabilities are exaggerated and distorted for our entertainment. The second character I have chosen for infancy stage of Erikson’s stages is a courageous, adventurous one-year-old baby named Tommy Pickles from Rug Rats. Tommy, also very similar to Stewie, is an infant who is capable of doing a lot more than an infant should be. Tommy walks, talks and comes with up intelligent plans of how to resolve some of the issues he collides with on daily bases. Him and his few infant friends are portrayed to live this young adulthood lifestyle. Using their imagination, the babies transform routine tasks into surprising adventures. In some of the episodes it shows how Tommy and a girl live in the doghouse, transformed as their own small home. It shows that the infants have intimacy between each other. They show love and compassion to one another. They had a loving, husband and wife relationship. Of course, in real life this would never happen so therefore this is very misleading, again just for our entertainment. Also could be for middle childhood children to relate to and teach them different ways of solving some of the similar conflicts, because in some episodes it shows how Tommy and his friends learn new concepts and work together to accomplish them. It shows how these infants portray industry by over coming an obstacles and feeling the sense of competence. As we look at both of these characters from the stage of infancy, we can easily conclude that they both are very misleading, and strictly created for our entertainment. In our day to day life we certainly do not have babies’ who plot against their parents, with fully cognitive abilities of a full grown adult, or infants who wonder around by themselves at home having different role plays, talking and going on adventures in the backyards. The second stage that I have chosen is Erikson’s fifth stage adolescence. During this stage teenagers begin to try and identify themselves, but sometimes they are just confused. Every teenager goes through the identity versus role confusion. That is why we have different teenager behavior. Some teenagers lash out with anger and rebellion, and some pretend to be in the young adulthood stage even thou they are mentally not there yet. The two characters’ that I believe fit this stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development are Louis Stevens and Renee Stevens from Disney’s channel show Even Stevens. Louis is a wild, youngest sibling, viewed as immature, rude, and selfish. He always pulling jokes and is described as ruining everyones lives. He never seems to change with time. He is showing the perfect resemblance of what an adolescence child would do. He is a teenager who is still confused of what his role is and he is just discovering himself through different stages adolescence. As mentioned he is rude, lashed out with anger, unable to communicate with parents, these are all the perfect examples of teenagers and their unpredictable behavior. This character is definitely enlightening to Erikson’s stage of adolescence, because he is showing typical developmental abilities and issues of this stage. The second character I have chosen is Louis’s sister Renee Stevens. Renee is an intelligent, well-behaved, perfectionist. She is the classic overachiever, constantly running for hall monitor and class president while trying to keep Louiss schemes from becoming disasters. While she is in the adolescence stage, she seems to be acting out as a young or even middle adulthood. She is constantly watching over her brother, babying him like a mother would. She plays a role of an older woman not one of a teenager. Also, she shows lots of generativity from middle adulthood. Since she is a perfectionists and an over achiever, she believes she has accomplished a lot in her schoolwork. She feels like once she is out of there, everyone will remember her as the greatest through all the activities she has done. Even thou she is still just a teenager she lives this life of an older woman. She doesn’t show any interest in her brother as a sibling, but more as a teacher, a higher authority to him. We can clearly see she is still adolescence by her appearance and some ways of reasoning. I would say that Renee is a misleading character because her abilities and actions are much exaggerated through this TV show. Teenagers are difficult to deal with and while Louis shows the traits of adolescent and is enlightening to the fifth stage of psychosocial development, Renee has more of the middle adulthood behavior and is misleading to us because we clearly see that she is still in an adolescence stage. The third and the last stage that I have chosen is Erikson’s last stage, late adulthood. Movies and shows do shows lots of different scenarios of this stage. Every dult has created a family and a great career to feel the sense integrity, or other have created the absolute opposite of integrity. As I went through the different characters, it was a bit challenging to pick the right ones. The first one that popped right into my head was Ebenezer Scrooge. Just by hearing his name, we right away associate The Christmas Carol, and the mean, old, grumpy man. I think he is the perfect example of late adulthood and integrity. At first he doesn’t show any integrity, just pure despair. He is mean and hateful towards everyone and everything. He has forgotten all the good things in his life and was left with just bitterness and regret. But as we go through the movie and as we learn more about him through the 3 different ghosts, we see the change in Ebenezer. He becomes this full of life, loving, caring man. He strongly shows signs of integrity. He is proud of what he has achieved trough out his lifetime, and he shares his accomplishments and wealth with everyone he knows. This is a great enlightening example of an older man going through his life, reevaluating everything and feeling the sense of integrity. Another great example is Carl Fredricksen, an older man from a Disney movie Up. He also is an example of Erikson’s last stage, late adulthood. At first we see him as a grumpier man who isn’t just as happy as he used to be. He has lost his beloved wife and his life just isn’t the same without her. He slightly goes through the stage of despair. Feeling disappointed and mad at himself and everybody else. Mostly he is disappointed in himself by breaking the promise he has made to his wife Ellie before passing to take their home to the cliff besides Paradise Falls. He feels unaccomplished and bitter for not being able to do so as promised. Then he gathers all his courage and strong will to take the home of Ellie and his to the place where they both dreamed. He over came his despair and bitterness, and became this happy old guy. He felt the sense of accomplishment and full filament. He looked back at his life and felt the integrity, the kept promise to his wife. This is very similar to Ebenezer’s experience as both of the characters go through despair and into integrity. This, also, is a great enlightening example of developmental abilities of the character. As we watch these TV shows and different movies we do not really pay attention to how could the characters relate to us, or how the characters are misinterpreted. There are some movies that can teach us a lesson, but there are some that is pure fiction. As I went through different stages of Erikson’s psychosocial development and applied them to different characters, I realized how some of these shows have these characters that are misleading and if looked more in depth could give a wrong message. Over all, it is good to see the picture behind it all and kind of start connecting the dots and understanding the deeper meaning.

Free Essays on Nichomachean Ethics

In Aristotle's Nicohmachean Ethics the term virtue refers to a state that exists within the soul. Virtue is a state that allows one who posses it to function and act well as a whole. Aristotle also argues that every action is aimed at some good. To be a virtuous person, one must achieve a mean between extremes. If you are able to achieve this mean you will lead the virtuous life. There are two forms of virtue, intellectual and moral. Intellectual virtues are learned through teaching. Moral virtues are instilled in us from the day we are born. In book one, chapter seven, Aristotle makes it clear that in humans the true virtue of the soul is that of reason. As the text continues Aristotle goes on to argue his point and attempts to prove it through dialogue. In book one, chapter thirteen Aristotle says, "The division between virtues accords with this difference. For some virtues are called virtues of thought, others virtues of character; wisdom, comprehension, and prudence are called virtues of thought, generosity and temperance virtues of character. For when we speak of someone's character we do not say that he is wise or has good comprehension, but that he is gentle or temperate. And yet, we also praise the wise person for his state, and the states that are praiseworthy are the ones we call virtues."(1) The first virtue pertaining to reason that Aristotle mentions is virtue of thought. It is understood that virtue of thought goes hand in hand with being a knowledgeable and academic person. This virtue of being intellectually able to comprehend concepts comes about mainly from teaching. Thus virtue of intellect does not come to one overnight, rather it is a trait that needs time to develop fully. For example if a person desires t o become a marathon runner they must put in hours each week running miles. Hours turn into days, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, and months turn into years. The person will ta... Free Essays on Nichomachean Ethics Free Essays on Nichomachean Ethics In Aristotle's Nicohmachean Ethics the term virtue refers to a state that exists within the soul. Virtue is a state that allows one who posses it to function and act well as a whole. Aristotle also argues that every action is aimed at some good. To be a virtuous person, one must achieve a mean between extremes. If you are able to achieve this mean you will lead the virtuous life. There are two forms of virtue, intellectual and moral. Intellectual virtues are learned through teaching. Moral virtues are instilled in us from the day we are born. In book one, chapter seven, Aristotle makes it clear that in humans the true virtue of the soul is that of reason. As the text continues Aristotle goes on to argue his point and attempts to prove it through dialogue. In book one, chapter thirteen Aristotle says, "The division between virtues accords with this difference. For some virtues are called virtues of thought, others virtues of character; wisdom, comprehension, and prudence are called virtues of thought, generosity and temperance virtues of character. For when we speak of someone's character we do not say that he is wise or has good comprehension, but that he is gentle or temperate. And yet, we also praise the wise person for his state, and the states that are praiseworthy are the ones we call virtues."(1) The first virtue pertaining to reason that Aristotle mentions is virtue of thought. It is understood that virtue of thought goes hand in hand with being a knowledgeable and academic person. This virtue of being intellectually able to comprehend concepts comes about mainly from teaching. Thus virtue of intellect does not come to one overnight, rather it is a trait that needs time to develop fully. For example if a person desires t o become a marathon runner they must put in hours each week running miles. Hours turn into days, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, and months turn into years. The person will ta...

Robert Louis Stevensons Classic Essay on Walking Tours

Robert Louis Stevenson's Classic Essay on Walking Tours In this affectionate response to William Hazlitts essay On Going a Journey,  Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson describes the pleasures of an idle walk in the country and the even finer pleasures that come afterwardsitting by a fire enjoying trips into the Land of Thought. Stevenson is most well known for his novels including  Kidnapped, Treasure Island and The Strange Case of  Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Stevenson was a famous author during his life and has remained an important part of the literary cannon. This essay highlights his lesser-known skills as a travel writer.   Walking Tours by Robert Louis Stevenson 1 It must not be imagined that a walking tour, as some would have us fancy, is merely a better or worse way of seeing the country. There are many ways of seeing landscape quite as good; and none more vivid, in spite of canting dilettantes, than from a railway train. But landscape on a walking tour is quite accessory. He who is indeed of the brotherhood does not voyage in quest of the picturesque, but of certain jolly humoursof the hope and spirit with which the march begins at morning, and the peace and spiritual repletion of the evenings rest. He cannot tell whether he puts his knapsack on, or takes it off, with more delight. The excitement of the departure puts him in key for that of the arrival. Whatever he does is not only a reward in itself, but will be further rewarded in the sequel; and so pleasure leads on to pleasure in an endless chain. It is this that so few can understand; they will either be always lounging or always at five miles an hour; they do not play off the one ag ainst the other, prepare all day for the evening, and all evening for the next day. And, above all, it is here that your overwalker fails of comprehension. His heart rises against those who drink their curaà §ao in liqueur glasses, when he himself can swill it in a brown John. He will not believe that the flavour is more delicate in the smaller dose. He will not believe that to walk this unconscionable distance is merely to stupefy and brutalise himself, and come to his inn, at night, with a sort of frost on his five wits, and a starless night of darkness in his spirit. Not for him the mild luminous evening of the temperate walker! He has nothing left of man but a physical need for bedtime and a double nightcap; and even his pipe, if he be a smoker, will be savourless and disenchanted. It is the fate of such an one to take twice as much trouble as is needed to obtain happiness, and miss the happiness in the end; he is the man of the proverb, in short, who goes further and fares worse. 2 Now, to be properly enjoyed, a walking tour should be gone upon alone. If you go in a company, or even in pairs, it is no longer a walking tour in anything but name; it is something else and more in the nature of a picnic. A walking tour should be gone upon alone, because freedom is of the essence; because you should be able to stop and go on, and follow this way or that, as the freak takes you; and because you must have your own pace, and neither trot alongside a champion walker, nor mince in time with a girl. And then you must be open to all impressions and let your thoughts take colour from what you see. You should be as a pipe for any wind to play upon. I cannot see the wit, says Hazlitt, of walking and talking at the same time. When I am in the country I wish to vegetate like the countrywhich is the gist of all that can be said upon the matter. There should be no cackle of voices at your elbow, to jar on the meditative silence of the morning. And so long as a man is reasoning he cannot surrender himself to that fine intoxication that comes of much motion in the open air, that begins in a sort of dazzle and sluggishness of the brain, and ends in a peace that passes comprehension. 3 During the first day or so of any tour there are moments of bitterness, when the traveller feels more than coldly towards his knapsack, when he is half in a mind to throw it bodily over the hedge and, like Christian on a similar occasion, give three leaps and go on singing. And yet it soon acquires a property of easiness. It becomes magnetic; the spirit of the journey enters into it. And no sooner have you passed the straps over your shoulder than the lees of sleep are cleared from you, you pull yourself together with a shake, and fall at once into your stride. And surely, of all possible moods, this, in which a man takes the road, is the best. Of course, if he will keep thinking of his anxieties, if he will open the merchant Abudahs chest and walk arm-in-arm with the hagwhy, wherever he is, and whether he walk fast or slow, the chances are that he will not be happy. And so much the more shame to himself! There are perhaps thirty men setting forth at that same hour, and I would lay a large wager there is not another dull face among the thirty. It would be a fine thing to follow, in a coat of darkness, one after another of these wayfarers, some summer morning, for the first few miles upon the road. This one, who walks fast, with a keen look in his eyes, is all concentrated in his own mind; he is up at his loom, weaving and weaving, to set the landscape to words. This one peers about, as he goes, among the grasses; he waits by the canal to watch the dragon-flies; he leans on the gate of the pasture, and cannot look enough upon the complacent kine. And here comes another, talking, laughing, and gesticulating to himself. His face changes from time to time, as indignation flashes from his eyes or anger clouds his forehead. He is composing articles, delivering orations, and conducting the most impassioned interviews, by the way. 4  A little farther on, and it is as like as not he will begin to sing. And well for him, supposing him to be no great master in that art, if he stumble across no stolid peasant at a corner; for on such an occasion, I scarcely know which is the more troubled, or whether it is worse to suffer the confusion of your  troubadour,  or the unfeigned alarm of your clown. A sedentary population, accustomed, besides, to the strange mechanical bearing of the common tramp, can in no wise explain to itself the gaiety of these passers-by. I knew one man who was arrested as a runaway lunatic, because, although a full-grown person with a red beard, he skipped as he went like a child. And you would be astonished if I were to tell you all the grave and learned heads who have confessed to me that, when on walking tours, they sangand sang very illand had a pair of red ears when, as described above, the inauspicious peasant  plumped  into their arms from round a corner. And here, lest you shou ld think I am exaggerating, is Hazlitts own confession, from his essay  On Going a Journey,  which is so good that there should be a tax levied on all who have not read it: Give me the clear blue sky over my head, says he, and the green turf beneath my feet, a winding road before me, and a three hours march to dinnerand then to thinking! It is hard if I cannot start some game on these lone heaths. I laugh, I run, I leap, I sing for joy. Bravo! After that adventure of my friend with the policeman, you would not have cared, would you, to publish that in the first person? But we have no bravery nowadays, and, even in books, must all pretend to be as dull and foolish as our  neighbours. It was not so with Hazlitt. And notice how learned he is (as, indeed, throughout the essay) in the theory of walking tours. He is none of your athletic men in purple stockings, who walk their fifty miles a day: three hours march is his ideal. And then he must have a winding road, the epicure! 5  Yet there is one thing I object to in these words of his, one thing in the great masters practice that seems to me not wholly wise. I do not approve of that leaping and running. Both of these hurry the respiration; they both shake up the brain out of its glorious open-air  confusion; and  they both break the pace. Uneven walking is not so agreeable to the body, and it distracts and irritates the mind. Whereas, when once you have fallen into an equable stride, it requires no conscious thought from you to keep it up, and yet it prevents you from thinking earnestly of anything else. Like knitting, like the work of a copying clerk, it gradually  neutralises  and sets to sleep the serious activity of the mind. We can think of this or that, lightly and laughingly, as a child thinks, or as we think in a morning doze; we can make puns or puzzle out acrostics, and trifle in a thousand ways with words and rhymes; but when it comes to honest work, when we come to gather ourselves t ogether for an effort, we may sound the trumpet as loud and long as we please; the great barons of the mind will not rally to the standard, but sit, each one, at home, warming his hands over his own fire and brooding on his own private thought! 6  In the course of a days walk, you see, there is much variance in the mood. From the exhilaration of the  start,  to the happy phlegm of the arrival, the change is certainly great. As the day goes on, the  traveller  moves from the one extreme towards the other. He becomes more and more incorporated  with  the material landscape, and the open-air drunkenness grows upon him with great strides, until he posts along the road, and sees everything about him, as in a cheerful dream. The first is certainly brighter, but the second stage is the more peaceful. A man does not make so many articles towards the end, nor does he laugh aloud; but the purely animal pleasures, the sense of physical wellbeing, the delight of every inhalation, of every time the muscles tighten down the thigh, console him for the absence of the others, and bring him to his destination still content. 7  Nor must I forget to say a word on bivouacs. You come to a milestone on a hill, or some place where deep ways meet under trees; and off goes the knapsack, and down you sit to smoke a pipe in the shade. You sink into yourself, and the birds come round and look at you; and your smoke dissipates upon the afternoon under the blue dome of  heaven; and  the sun lies warm upon your feet, and the cool air visits your neck and turns aside your open shirt. If you are not happy, you must have an evil conscience. You may dally as long as you like by the roadside. It is almost as if the millennium  were  arrived,  when we shall throw our clocks and watches over the housetop, and remember time and seasons no more. Not to keep hours for a lifetime is, I was going to say, to live  for ever. You have no  idea,  unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summers day, that you measure out only by hunger, and bring to an end only when you are drowsy. I know a village where th ere are hardly any clocks, where no one knows more of the days of the week than by a sort of instinct for the fete on Sundays, and where only one person can tell you the day of the month, and she is generally wrong; and if people were aware how slow Time journeyed in that village, and what armfuls of spare hours he gives, over and above the bargain, to its wise inhabitants, I believe there would be a stampede out of London, Liverpool, Paris, and a variety of large towns, where the clocks lose their heads, and shake the hours out each one faster than the other, as though they were all in a wager. And all these foolish pilgrims would each bring his own misery along with him, in a watch-pocket! 8  It is to be noticed, there were no clocks and watches in the much-vaunted days before the flood. It follows, of course, there were no appointments, and punctuality was not yet thought upon. Though ye take from a covetous man all his treasure, says Milton, he has yet one jewel left; ye cannot deprive him of his covetousness. And so I would say of a modern man of business, you may do what you will for him, put him in Eden, give him the elixir of lifehe has still a flaw at heart, he still has his business habits. Now, there is no time when business habits are more mitigated than on a walking tour. And so during these halts, as I say, you will feel almost free. 9  But it is at night, and after dinner, that the best hour comes. There are no such pipes to be smoked as those that follow a good days march; the flavor of the tobacco is a thing to be remembered, it is so dry and aromatic, so full and so fine. If you wind up the evening with grog, you will own there was never such grog; at every sip a jocund tranquillity spreads about your limbs, and sits easily in your heart. If you read a bookand you will never do so save by fits and startsyou find the language strangely racy and harmonious; words take a new meaning; single sentences possess the ear for half an hour together; and the writer endears himself to you, at every page, by the nicest coincidence of sentiment. It seems as if it were a book you had written yourself in a dream. To all we have read on such occasions we look back with special favor. It was on the 10th of April, 1798, says Hazlitt, with amorous precision, that I sat down to a volume of the new  Heloise, at the Inn at Lla ngollen, over a bottle of sherry and a cold chicken. I should wish to quote more, for though we are mighty fine fellows nowadays, we cannot write like Hazlitt. And, talking of that, a volume of Hazlitts essays would be a capital pocket-book on such a journey; so would a volume of Heines songs; and for  Tristram Shandy  I can pledge a fair experience. 10  If the evening be fine and warm, there is nothing better in life than to lounge before the inn door in the sunset, or lean over the parapet of the bridge, to watch the weeds and the quick fishes. It is then, if ever, that you taste Joviality to the full significance of that audacious word. Your muscles are so agreeably slack, you feel so clean and so strong and so idle, that whether you move or sit still, whatever you do is done with pride and a kingly sort of pleasure. You fall in talk with any one, wise or foolish, drunk or sober. And it seems as if a hot walk purged you, more than of anything else, of all narrowness and pride, and left curiosity to play its part freely, as in a child or a man of science. You lay aside all your own hobbies, to watch provincial humour develop themselves before you, now as a laughable farce, and now grave and beautiful like an old tale. 11  Or perhaps you are left to your own company for the night, and surly weather imprisons you by the fire. You may remember how Burns, numbering past pleasures, dwells upon the hours when he has been happy thinking. It is a phrase that may well perplex a poor modern, girt about on every side by clocks and chimes, and haunted, even at night, by flaming  dialplates. For we are all so busy, and have so many far-off projects to realise, and castles in the fire to turn into solid habitable mansions on a gravel soil, that we can find no time for pleasure trips into the Land of Thought and among the Hills of Vanity. Changed times, indeed, when we must sit all night, beside the fire, with folded hands; and a changed world for most of us, when we find we can pass the hours without discontent, and be happy thinking. We are in such haste to be doing, to be writing, to be gathering gear, to make our voice audible a moment in the derisive silence of eternity, that we forget that one thing, o f which these are but the partsnamely, to live. We fall in love, we drink hard, we run to and fro upon the earth like frightened sheep. And now you are to ask yourself if, when all is done, you would not have been better to sit by the fire at home, and be happy thinking. To sit still and contemplateto remember the faces of women without desire, to be pleased by the great deeds of men without envy, to be everything and everywhere in sympathy, and yet content to remain where and what you areis not this to know both wisdom and virtue, and to dwell with happiness? After all, it is not they who carry flags, but they who look upon it from a private chamber, who have the fun of the procession. And once you are at that, you are in the very humor of all social heresy. It is no time for shuffling, or for big, empty words. If you ask yourself what you mean by fame, riches, or learning, the answer is far to seek; and you go back into that kingdom of light imaginations, which seem so vain in the eyes of Philistines perspiring after wealth, an d so momentous to those who are stricken with the disproportions of the world, and, in the face of the gigantic stars, cannot stop to split differences between two degrees of the infinitesimally small, such as a tobacco pipe or the Roman Empire, a million of money or a fiddlesticks end. 12  You lean from the window, your last pipe reeking whitely into the darkness, your body full of delicious pains, your mind enthroned in the seventh circle of content; when suddenly the mood changes, the weathercock goes about, and you ask yourself one question more: whether, for the interval, you have been the wisest philosopher or the most egregious of donkeys? Human experience is not yet able to reply, but at least you have had a fine moment, and looked down upon all the kingdoms of the earth. And whether it was wise or foolish, to-morrows travel will carry you, body and mind, into some different parish of the infinite. Originally published in the  Cornhill Magazine  in 1876, Walking Tours by Robert Louis Stevenson appears in the collection  Virginibus Puerisque, and Other Papers  (1881).

Speaker evaluation memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Speaker evaluation memo - Essay Example upon the use of hand gestures and the means by which hand position to have a powerful impact with regard to the way in which a particular speaker is understood. Accordingly, it is the hope of this particular author that the following discussion will provide a useful and effective level of analysis with respect to some of the key points that Steve Bavister made within his video. Firstly, it is relevant and true that a speaker who does not utilize effective hand positioning or movement risks losing the interest for attention of the audience. Moreover, as the speaker notes, effective hand positioning and gesturing is an added way in which information can be conveyed in a non-verbal format. Yet, in much the same way that effective use of hand gesturing can help to engage the audience, ineffective or nonexistent gesturing can have it is equally detrimental effect (Bavister 1:06-1:19). For instance, the speaker noted that holding one’s hands behind the back could have a particularly negative connotations for many individuals within the audience; as they might in for this to mean that A) speaker has something that he/she is attempting to conceal B) that it is reflective of a military background and could negatively impact the power dynamics that are represented with respect to whatever discussion is being had and C) such a posture appears unnatural and sti ff. For all of these reasons, the reader can relevantly understand that body language, posture, and hand positioning has a profound impact with respect to the nonverbal cues that a particular audience might receive from the speaker (Goldin-Meadow and Alibali 261). By much the same token, holding one’s hands and placing them in front is disparaged by Steve Bavister due to the fact that it appears as if the individual is attempting to cover their genitals or that they are in fact in and overly defensive mode. Similarly, crossing one’s arms across the chest can either denote that the individual is not willing to