Employee Morale Proposal - Free Essay Example

Success of any business is directly dependent on employees’ hard work and dedication. Maximizing on employee motivation and well-being through a positive work environment is the sure way of retaining the needed dedication and business success. A positive work environment can be defined as a strategic policy that strives to maintain employees’ well-being through such initiatives as good remuneration, health insurance covers, free food and drinks, travel and vacation opportunities, team-building tasks, individual recognition and appraisal, friendly employer-employee relationship and career and educational advancement opportunities among others. The importance of having a positive work environment is because it’s conducive for maximum productivity and a minimum of employee complaints. A positive work environment does not necessarily mean meeting all the needs of the employees but rather creating a work space that appreciates and accommodates most of their requirements to perform maximally (Seppala Cameron, 2015). An environment that motivates employees to be part of the company and feel indebted to its success and development. Providing the simple things like free food, good rapport and good remuneration that are necessarily to each individual goes a long way in motivating employees. Hostile management always results in demotivated employees and increased human resource turnover. Cut throat and high-pressure environment can in the short-run provide the needed productivity from employees but has more negative implications in the long run due to the costs incurred. For one, health expenditures of these companies is usually more than 50% greater than organizations promoting a positive work environment (Seppala Cameron, 2015). Based on American Psychological Association statistics, US used over $500 billion in health expenditure for work-related stress which also culminates to 550 million lost work days annually due to such work place stress. Moreover 60%-80% of work place accidents are attributed to stress as well as 80% of doctor visits (Seppala Cameron, 2015). Work place stress leads to loss of loyalty to the company. Stress at work accounts for over 50% voluntary turnover where employees prefer to decline promotions and make voluntary resignations (Seppala Cam eron, 2015). The company therefore, stands to lose on the costs incurred in training, recruitment, low productivity and the lost expertise or talents. It is estimated that the cost incurred on employee turnover is equivalent to 20% of that employee’s salary, according to American Center for Progress (Seppala Cameron, 2015). Free Food and Drinks Policy In my organization, one of the policy to create a positive work environment is provision of free food and drinks at work place. A busy schedule and structured routine at work place usually accompanies a full-time week of work which can take a toll on employees trying to meet tight deadlines to an extent of forgetting about eating. As a responsible company, the free food and drinks initiative plans to address such dilemma. In order to boost the employee’s morale and increase productivity exponentially, offering healthy foods and drinks at the disposal of the employees makes them more satisfied since they can replenish their energies at the comfort of their offices. As they say, the best way to a â€Å"man† is through the stomach and that is exactly what the organization is planning to do. Providing a well-stocked cafeteria with a variety of meals everyday depending on the employee’s tastes and preferences is the best way to motivate them. Nature and Advantages of the Policy The free food and drinks policy will be open to all employees at no cost. Being free is an incentive because the staff do not need to worry coughing up some cash to order for meals from outside caterers or visiting a hotel nearby. The strategy to offer meals at work place is informed by the need to save on time used in tea and lunch breaks. This will allow employees to resume work in the shortest time possible hence increasing productivity and task schedules. The policy will involve employing at least three cafeteria staff who will prepare all meals every day and serve the employees at the common cafeteria or in their offices. Every employee is at liberty of requesting for an office delivery if they don’t want to visit the cafeteria for self-service. Employees thus feel more appreciated and valued (Baldoni, 2013). The policy will include breakfast, lunch and evening snacks. The policy will also involve a free snack dispenser where staff can pick snacks, energy drinks and carbonated beverages at their preferred time. All these meals will accommodate a balanced diet including carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vegetables, vitamins and fruits which ensures healthy feeding habits. Another main advantage of a common cafeteria is allowing interaction of employees (Baldoni, 2013). Many a times, employees are fragmented in their different departments and never interact. Promoting such interaction ensures harmonious coexistence, team work and professionalism. Disadvantages The policy will increase company expenses on operational costs. To maintain the cafeteria, buy ingredients and snacks and recruit cafeteria staff will cost the company a substantial amount of money which could otherwise be regarded as profits. The long-run benefits are however higher than the incurred costs because a motivated and healthy workforce will be more productive, loyal and satisfied. The profits will be on an increasing trend and cover for the food expenses. Conclusion A positive work environment is important in motivating and retaining employees in a company. One of the ways to provide a positive environment is through provision of free foods and drinks at workplace. The advantages of this policy are saving on employees expenses on food, saving time, promoting employee interaction and motivating employees to healthy, productive and loyal to the company. The pitfalls of the policy are the incurred costs of maintaining the cafeteria and kitchen staff. Overall, the policy is good for the company in terms of motivated staff and increased productivity.

How to Use the French Expression Allons-y

The French phrase allons-y  (pronounced ah-lo(n)-zee) is one you may find yourself using if youre traveling with friends or about to begin something. Literally translated, it means Let us go there, but this idiomatic expression is usually understood to mean  Lets go. There are many variations of this common phrase, depending on the context, such as lets get going,  off we go, lets get started, here we go, and more. French speakers use it to  announce that its time to leave or to indicate the beginning of some activity.   Usage and Examples   The French expression  allons-y is essentially the first person plural (nous) form of the imperative of aller (to go), followed by the adverbial pronoun  y. Rough synonyms include  On y va!  (Lets go) and  Cest parti  (Here we go). An informal variation is Allons-y, Alonso.  The name Alonso doesnt refer to an actual person; its just tacked on for fun because its alliterative (the first two syllables are the same as those of  Allons-y). So its a bit like saying, Lets go, Daddy-o. If you were to put this in the third person  plural, youd get the similarly well-known French expression Allez-y! The idiomatic meaning of allez-y in colloquial French is something like Go on! or Off you go! Here are some other examples of how you might use this phrase in conversation: Il est tard, allons-y.   Its getting late;  lets go.Il y a un nouveau resto à   cà ´tà © du cinà ©ma, allons-y.   Theres a new restaurant next to the movie theater.  Lets go (eat there).Tu veux apprendre le japonais? Moi aussi, allons-y!   You want to learn Japanese? Me too. Lets go / Lets do it!Vous à ªtes prà ªts? Allons-y!   Are you ready? Lets go!Allons-y maintenant! Lets go now.OK, allons-y. Okay, lets go.Allons-y, ne nous gà ªnons pas!  (ironic usage)   Dont mind me !Allons bon, jai perdu ma clef maintenant!   Oh no, now Ive lost my key !Allons bon, voilà   quil recommence à   pleurer!   Here we go; hes crying again !Eh bien,  allons-y  et voyons sil disait la và ©rità ©.  Ã‚  Well,  lets go  and see if he was telling the truth.Alors,  allons-y. Oà ¹ mettez-vous les mains?  Ã‚  Go on then. Do you put your hands like this?Enfin, puisque vous insistez,  allons-y.   Oh, well, if you insist.  Come  on.Je suis partante,  allo ns-y, ici, tout de suite.  Ã‚  Im ready.  Lets do it. Right here, now.A quoi cela ressemblerait-il? Alors  allons-y.  Ã‚  What would it look like? Lets  begin.Sinon, remontons nos manches et  allons-y.  Ã‚  Otherwise, lets roll up our sleeves and  get on with it.

Apollos Human Gardening in Ovids Metamorphoses Essays

Apollos Human Gardening in Ovids Metamorphoses In Ovids epic poem Metamorphoses, he uses many transformations of humanoids to explain the existence of many natural entities such as animals, plants, rivers, and so forth. Ovid uses the Roman gods to be the active agents in many of the metamorphoses, although some of them are caused simply by the will of the being. In the Melville translation of Metamorphoses, the stories The Sun in Love (book IV, ln226-284) and Hyacinth (book X, ln170-239) have occurrences of both agencies of transformation of people into plants. Apollo is the catalyst that causes the metamorphoses in each of the stories. The metamorphoses involved support the concepts of the Great Chain of Being and the†¦show more content†¦Leucothoes transformation into a frankincense shrub is Apollos grant of immortality to her through the life of the plant. The deep roots and piercing shoots are representative of Leucothoe because she was buried into the ground and her fornication with Apollo. Clyties transformation i nto a heliotrope flower represents her passion and lust in that the flower has red petals, her longing and desire in that the head of the flower follows the sun, and that she has a green stalk holding her to the ground because she was envious and static for the last nine days of her human existence. Both of these womens metamorphosis into a plant because becoming a plant is representative of death. The representation of death granted by their becoming plants also acts on another level that there is life after death in some form or another. The Great Chain of Being that Lakoff and Turner propose has a hierarchy: humans; animals; plants; complex objects; and natural physical things. In the story The Sun in Love, Clytie and Leucothoe are connected at a basic level with the plants they change into. Going along with this, Lakoff and Turner introduce the idea of a Maxim of Quantity which has the author - Ovid - being as informative as required and not more so. (pg 171) Motive for the transformation is given in the line Yet you shall touch the sky!(Book IV, ln252), but motive for changing her into a frankincense shrub is not

Mechanical design systems Essay Example For Students

Mechanical design systems Essay PROBLEM STATEMENT:The design is to engineer a drive system to operate two extrusion rolls in opposite directions to compress the caramel. The drive system consists of a flexible drive system that operates a spur gear drive, which in turn operates the extrusion rolls at equal and opposite speeds. The power source to this design is a five horse power normal torque AC electric motor, operating at 1160 rpm. The system must be designed to run 24 hours per day, 3 days per week. There will be 4 shafts is the drive system. The shaft that is being driven by the flexible drive system directly is to be called shaft A, for design reference. The extrusion rolls shafts are to be called shaft B1 and B2, for design reference. The last shaft C is in the system only to reverse the direction of rotation of one of the extrusion roll shafts. The speed of shaft A is to be determined by the designer. The speed of the extrusion rolls is to be 200 rpm. When designing this drive system calculate all forces, l ife expectancies and stresses for both systems. The centerline distance from motor shaft to shaft A is to be 72 inches. 2DESIGN DECISIONS:While designing this multiple drive system there are many decisions to be made in order to successfully design the system according to the problem statement. The first is deciding whether to use a belt drive or a chain drive; one would realize that the system is operating at fairly low speed so a chain would be ideal. The next step to designing this system is to consider and analyze a speed for shaft A. Factors must be considered while deciding the speed of shaft A. The factors are that the speed of shaft A should be high enough so that the speed ratio of the gears is large enough, so that the gear sizes make a large enough distance between extrusion rolls. When designing this system one would choose around 480 rpm. Using the rpm out of the flexible drive one would select the appropriate gears for the application. Which the designer will find is a difficult task considering contact stress. When choosing the proper chain size and sprockets one will find that a number 40, 19 tooth n1 and a 45 tooth n2 are optimal stock components and get you fairly close to the desired 480 rpm. When designing the gear drive system one must understand the configuration of the gears. The chain drive operates shaft A, shaft A has a sprocket and a gear on the opposing ends (sprocket= N2) (gear= G1A). The first decision that has to be made when designing a gear drive is what size pitch is right for the design. When deciding this one would find you can either use an 8 pitch or a 6 pitch gear. One would realize during calculations that the 8 pitch gears dont work so well for this gear design due to high contact stress which would be high material cost. The designer would see that a 6 pitch gear set yields extremely high horse power ratings but, is still the best selection. Gear G1A is a 15 tooth gear and drives two shafts, shaft B1 and C. Shaft B1 is one of the extrusion roll shafts and has power transferred to it through a 36 tooth G2A. Shaft C is in the system to cha nge the direction of rotation of shaft B2. Shaft C has a gear identical to shaft A but is called G1B for reference. Shaft B2 is the other extrusion roll shafts that is equipped with a gear identical to shaft B1 but, labeled G2B. Shaft B1 and B2 are rotating at the speeds the rolls rotate in opposite directions so the caramel is drawn though the rolls and compressed. When designing this system one would realize that this system is compressing the caramel and when compressing something that is going into another process one would always want to change the amount of compression that the system is applying on the caramel to make sure it is just the way they want it when going into the next process. One would realize there is only one way to do this. That is to make the gear G1B and G2B adjust. Making G1B adjust on an arc thats radius is equal to the center distance between shaft A and shaft C as shown on Drawing #2. Shaft C is only held in place by the control arms, stops have to be mad e so that gear G2B can not come in contact with the pinion G1A. Gear G2B shaft would be mounted on pillow blocks that are mounted on slides that would adjust on a straight line level with shafts A and B1. To keep the centerline distances perfect for the gear sets that are adjustable. Control arms must be made which will operate the amount of compression that is exerted on the rolls. Two control arms must be made for 3between shafts A and C, for between shaft C and shaft B2 and for between shaft B2 and the hydraulic cylinder that will operate the Compression. So, when the hydraulic cylinder extends shaft B1 moves closer to Shaft A but keeps required centerline distance due to the control arms and shaft C moves downward along its arc to reduce the distance between the extrusion rolls. While designing this adjustment system for the gears one would realize the control arms should be on both side of the gears so the gear teeth mesh perfectly. One would also realize that a lubrication met hod must be chosen for the chain drive system. While designing this system one would realize that an oil drip method of lubrication is sufficient being that its life expectancy is 37,000 hours. The last decision to be made is material selection. One would choose a Grade 1 flame hardened 50 HRC steel for the pinion (gears; G1A and G1B). One would decide that a ductile (nodular) iron ASTM A536 120-90-02 quenched and tempered gear is needed for the driven gears (gears; G2A and G2B). The driven gears will be moderately expensive but compared to an 8 pitch pinion that is made of Nitrided, 2.5% chrome it is much cheaper. .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae , .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae .postImageUrl , .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae , .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae:hover , .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae:visited , .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae:active { border:0!important; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae:active , .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uac3670ca1ba9b146929a80267e64a4ae:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Jordanian democracy Essay4DESIGN CONCLUSIONS: When designing this chain drive system one would realize that a no. 40 chain is the best option. In conclusion from engineering this drive system one would realize that using an 8 pitch gear set, they would run into a problem with material selection due to the extremely high contact stress. When designing this system one would realize that a 6 pitch gear seems excessive but the calculations prove that it is needed to obtain a low contact stress so that the gears can be made of a cheaper material and still be able to transmit more power than the 8 pitch gear set would have been able to using high quality steel gears that costs m uch more. Being that this a molten caramel extrusion process and one would conclude that at the end of each operation sequence more than likely this machine will have to be cleaned. The only thing is that you would not want the gears to be washed or even get wet. So, the solution to that is to make a water tight cover out of light steel where the shaft B1 and B2 exit the cover, put sealed bearings so that water can not enter to closed drive system environment. On the opposite side of the extrusion rolls of the over make a hinged seal door for maintenance. The only other things that will stick out of the cover are the hydraulic hoses that operating the compression cylinder. The hydraulic tension lever should be mounted in such an arrangement that the operating can reach easily for adjustment. The system requires no chain guard because the entire drive system is completely enclosed.

Themes of Death in Emily Dickinson’s Essay Example

Themes of Death in Emily Dickinson’s Paper Emily Dickinson, as a poetic writer, composed most of her works with the theme of death, the entirety of which can be categorised into three different periods of writings; the earliest mainly contained the themes of death and immortality, personifying death and elegiac poems and lacked the intensity and urgency of her later poems or their fascination with the physical aspects of death (VAN DAESDONK 2007). Because of Dickinson’s immense fascination with this subject it is interesting to compare her pieces against each other to see how her view of death changed over the years of her writing. ‘The Only Ghost I ever saw’, written in 1857-62, is an example of the earlier period of Dickinson’s writing. There are many different interpretations of this piece, the most obvious one is that the poem centers on an individual who has encountered the spirit of a person and is shocked by the meeting. A deeper analysis shows the possibility of the poem being about how the persona, or Dickinson, is forced to reassess her loyalty or belief of Christianity through the encounter of a ghost. In contrast ‘How many times these low feet staggered’, written 1890, can be recognised to belong in her later period as its theme centres on the viewing of the corpse of a mundane housewife and the physical aspects of her death. We will write a custom essay sample on Themes of Death in Emily Dickinson’s specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Themes of Death in Emily Dickinson’s specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Themes of Death in Emily Dickinson’s specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The poem itself is in the first person persona and contains a grotesque dreary tone; and from the poem’s fascination with the corpse we can see Dickinson’s frustration and obsession with death. Concerning the form and structure of ‘The Only Ghost I ever saw’, the piece is a ballad, one of the two main forms of narrative poetry, as the poem uses the traditional ballad metre, which is made up of rhyming quatrains of alternative four-stress and three-stress lines. It is written in Iambic metre which gives the poem a soft flowing, lilting rhythm, this along with the many pauses throughout the poem cause the pace to become slow and smooth, much like the movement of the poem’s subject, a ghost, would be. ‘How many times these low feet staggered’ differs from this in that the metre of the poem is iambic, the first syllable of each line is unstressed followed by a stressed one, however the first line of he poem intentionally breaks this pattern. ‘How many times these’ makes the rhythm disjointed and gives the impression that the sentence itself is staggering like the line is trying to describe the housewife staggering over her work. The hyphen at the end of this line also helps to throw the rhythm off as it makes us pause in our reading, but, it also gives us time to stop and envision what the life of this drab housewife would have been like, and how hard it must have been if she would be ‘staggering’ her way through it. The idea about contemplating the dead woman’s life could be linked to the words ‘low feet’ as they are such usually unnoticed things to note about a dead person when normally a person would be looking at the face, it gives the impression that the persona of the poem is staring at the corpse’s feet in her death bed and wondering about how her life was life and what she must be feeling in death. The poetic voice of ‘The Only Ghost I ever saw’ has a dreamy tone to it which shows Dickinson’s feelings about death to be innocent, almost naive, in that she seems to view death and something peaceful and or sublime. However, in the final stanza the persona’s tone changes from the earlier dreamy quality of when they were speaking about the ghost and snaps to a harsher, berating tone, where the the persona never wants to remember meeting the ghost, which could be an indication of Dickinson’s realisation that the afterlife isn’t as simple and innocent as she first viewed it to be. Throughout the first three stanzas the lines all finish in a rhyme; ‘so’ and ‘snow’, ‘roe’ and ‘mistletoe’, ‘breeze’ and ‘trees’, which gives the poem a smooth flowing rhythm to it and a dream-like quality. However the final stanza breaks that pattern using ‘shy’ and ‘day’ which don’t rhyme, ruining the original lilting rhythm that the poem previously had, the breakage in the pattern accentuates the change in tone from dreamy to harsh. In contrast to the dreamy tone of the earlier poem, ‘How many times these low feet staggered’ has a distinctly more realistic and macabre tone to it. The mention of ‘flies’ gives us the image of decomposing meat as though the corpse were rotting which helps establish the more realistic side of what physically happens when a person dies, i.e their bodies rot. However the flies also clarify how monotonous the dead woman’s life and the tone of the poem is, as flies are known to continuously bang themselves against a window in their attempt to get out though them in what is obviously a futile effort which might have been what this woman’s life was like. The mention of the window also helps to create the idea that her death is the window of freedom she needed to finally escape such a droll life, emphasising the macabre tone by making death seem better than life. The phonology of ‘The Only Ghost I ever saw’ is mainly used to create the atmosphere and help with the imagery of the Ghost. The first simile of the poem in line three shows the reader the qualities of the ghost; ‘stepped like flakes of snow’ showing that his footsteps were light and pure, the delicacy of ‘flakes of snow’ also links back to the line about his clothes being ‘Mechlin’ which is lace, a delicate and intricate material (VAN DAESDONK 2007). Also in this line is sibilance the ‘s’ sounds of the ‘flakes’, ‘stepped’ and ‘snow’ help to emphasise the delicacy and how incorporeal the ghost is and give us a softer interpretation of it. In the sixth line the alliteration in ‘rapid like the Roe-’ ironically enough slows down the sentence creating a paradox, in that a line about ‘rapid’ movement is spoken so slowly, this is like the previous line ‘His Gait- was soundless’ which is also a paradox as it seems unnatural for any type of movement to be truly ‘soundless’. The paradoxes in the poem help to create an other-worldly atmosphere, which ties in well with the subject of this poem as a ghost could most definitely be described as an other-worldly creature, which belongs better in the spiritual plane rather than the mortal plane. Contrasting this, ‘How many times these low feet staggered’ uses man-made physical images to describe death, In line two Dickinson describes the dead woman’s mouth to be ‘soldered’, this imagery gives the conception that her mouth has been welded shut like metal and also gives the rather repugnant notion of how rigor-mortis has set into her body. These images link up to the idea of how in death this woman is unable to communicate with us, the living. The long vowel sounds in this sentence like in the words ‘only’, ‘soldered’ and ‘mouth’ cause the reader to to use excessive mouth motions which helps to create a contrast between us and our ability to pronounce these words and the dead woman who is so unable to move her mouth at all. In line 5 the two monosyllables ‘hot’ and ‘so’ give the line a seriousness and weight to it that tries to sober the mind and thoughts of the reader. The line talks of how the housewife was so often hot and sweaty from her long day of work and it links back to the earlier idea of staggering and again reminds us of how hard this woman’s life was. Another contrast between the two poems is the lack of nature, aside from the mention of a fly, in ‘How many times these low feet staggered’. Nature, which seems to be another favoured subject of Dickinson’s as we can see from her other poems such as ‘I taste a liquor never brewed’ and ‘Blazing in Gold’, is often referred to in ‘The Only Ghost I ever saw’. For instance the paradox of line five about the soundless movement would seem wholly unnatural were it not for the simile that follows after; ‘like the Bird’ this connects the paradox with nature and causes what would normally seem unnatural to feel perfectly normal and natural. Also because the poem has been set in winter time, ‘flakes of snow’, using birds in the line makes it seem far more realistic that the movement soundless because in winter time there is a substantial lack of birds, so there would be no movement and thus it’s ‘soundless’. In terms of the poem’s lexis, the use of the word ‘appalling’ in the final line of ‘The Only Ghost I ever saw’ is interesting because if you look up the word ‘appalling’ in the dictionary you’ll see that the definition is ‘causing dismay or horror. ’ However if you look up the origin of the word from 1810-20 the word comes from the Middle English ‘appallen’ taken from the Old French ‘apalir’ : ‘a’, to + ‘palir’, to grow pale (Howell, no date). This could be connected with the image of the ghost, who would stereotypically be a pale apparition, and would it in well with the interpretation of the poem being about how the ghost tests the persona’s faith in religion, The way Dickinson uses the word ‘adamantine’ to describe the corpse’s fingers in ‘How many times these low feet staggered’, whilst again showing us how rigor-mortis has set in, also gives the impression of how the corpse is precious to the persona as adamantine refers to â€Å"adamantine lustre of a  diamond†. The dead woman could have been precious to the persona; in life by how useful she was in looking after the house, or that in death the dead woman is precious as her body is the persona’s link into the world of death and the afterlife. The two poems themselves have very little in common with each other which is rather unusual considering that they circle the same subject and are written by the same person. ‘The Only Ghost I ever saw’ seems to show a young Dickinson’s innocent fascination with death shown though the dream-like tone and links to nature and therefore life, the final four lines break this by bringing about a harsher tone through the broken rhyme, which could be said to show Dickinsons fist steps towards the frustration and macabre fascination she shows towards death in her later works. Of which we see a lot of in ‘How many times these low feet staggered’, a more grotesque and dreary poem of death, seen through the referrals to man-made objects such as ‘handle’ and ‘hasps’ and the physical state of the housewife’s corpse. The changes in tone and view of death could have been brought on by age, as they were written about 30 years apart, and it’s inevitable that time could have matured Dickinson’s feelings about death, whether by the Civil War she lived though, and her brother fought in (VAN DAESDONK 2007), or the fact that in aging she was approaching the end of her life itself, thus creating an urgency in the need to understand what the next stage of life would entail for her. Bibliography: VAN DAESDONK H. 2007 Emily Dickinson Notes Teignmouth College, unpublished Dickinson, E. (1997) Emily Dickinson (Everyman Poetry) Phoenix The Only Ghost I ever saw (Wayne Howell, no date) Available at:http://www. 8georgetown/. edu/centers/endls/applications/postertool/index. cfm? fuseaction=poster. display (Accessed on: 21 February 2011) Optical properties of rocks and minerals (2004) Available at:http://www. rockcollector. co. uk/opticalprop. htm (Accessed on: 21 February 2011) Appendix: 274 The only ghost I ever saw 1 The only ghost I ever saw Was dressed in mechlin, —so; He wore no sandal on his foot, 4 And stepped like flakes of snow. His gait was soundless, like the bird, But rapid, like the roe; His fashions quaint, mosaic, 8 Or, haply, mistletoe. His conversation seldom, His laughter like the breeze That dies away in dimples 12 Among the pensive trees. Our interview was transient, — Of me, himself was shy; And God forbid I look behind 16 Since that appalling day! 187 How many times these low feet staggered 1 How many times these low feet staggered— Only the soldered mouth can tell— Try—can you stir the awful rivet— 4 Try—can you lift the hasps of steel! Stroke the cool forehead—hot so often— Lift—if you care—the listless hair— Handle the adamantine fingers 8 Never a thimble—more—shall wear— Buzz the dull flies—on the chamber window— Brave—shines the sun through the freckled pane— Fearless—the cobweb swings from the ceiling— 12 Indolent Housewife—in Daisies—lain!

The Difference Between Good and Bad Writing

The Difference Between Good and Bad Writing Here are 10 writers and editors, ranging from Cicero to Stephen King, offering their thoughts on the differences between good writers and bad writers. 1. Dont Expect It to Be Easy You know what, it is so funny. A good writer will always find it very hard to fill a single page. A bad writer will always find it easy. (Aubrey Kalitera, Why Father Why, 1983) 2. Master the Fundamentals I am approaching the heart of this book with two theses, both simple. The first is that good writing consists of mastering the fundamentals (vocabulary, grammar, the elements of style) and then filling the third level of your toolbox with the right instruments. The second is that while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while it is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one. (Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, 2000) 3. Say What You Think A bad writer is a writer who always says more than he thinks. A good writerand here we must be careful if we wish to arrive at any real insightis a writer who does not say more than he thinks. (Walter Benjamin, journal entry, Selected Writings: Volume 3, 1935-1938) 4. Reach for the Best Word It is the misuse and overuse of vogue words that the good writer must guard against. . . . It is extraordinary how often you will find vogue words accompanied in the same sentence by pretentiousness or sloppiness or other signs of sickness. No motorist is to be blamed for sounding his horn. But if he sounds it repeatedly we are not only offended by the noise; we suspect him of being a bad driver in other respects too. (Ernest Gowers, The Complete Plain Words, revised by Sidney Greenbaum and Janet Whitcut, 2002) 5. Order Your Words The difference between a good and a bad writer is shown by the order of his words as much as by the selection of them. (Marcus Tullius Cicero, The Oration for Plancius, 54 B.C.) 6. Attend to the Details There are bad writers who are exact in grammar, vocabulary, and syntax, sinning only through their insensitivity to tone. Often they are among the worst writers of all. But on the whole, it can be said that bad writing goes to the roots: It has already gone wrong beneath its own earth. Since much of the language is metaphorical in origin, a bad writer will scramble metaphors in a single phrase, often in a single word... Competent writers always examine what they have put down. Better-than-competent writers- good writers- examine their effects before they put them down: They think that way all the time. Bad writers never examine anything. Their inattentiveness to the detail of their prose is part and parcel of their inattentiveness to the detail of the outside world. (Clive James, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg: Lessons on How to Write. Cultural Amnesia, 2007) 7. Dont Fake It In the course of a fairly long work, there are bound to be impasses. The writer must backtrack and choose other alternatives, observe more, and sometimes have bad headaches till he  invents something. Here lies the distinction between a good writer and a bad writer. A good writer does not fake it and try to make it appear, to himself or the reader, that there is a coherent and probable whole when there isnt. If the writer is on the right track, however, things fall serendipitously into place; his sentences prove to have more meaning and formative power that he expected; he has new insights; and the book writes itself. (Paul Goodman, Apology for Literature. Commentary, July 1971) 8. Know When to Quit Everyone who writes strives for the same thing. To say it swiftly, clearly, to say the hard thing that way, using few words. Not to gum up the paragraph. To know when to quit when youve done. And not to have hangovers of other ideas sifting in unnoticed. Good writing is precisely like good dressing. Bad writing is like a badly dressed woman- improper emphasis, badly chosen colors. (William Carlos Williams, review of Sol Funaroffs The Spider and the Clock, in New Masses, August 16, 1938) 9. Lean on Editors The less competent the writer, the louder his protests over the editing. . . . Good writers lean on editors; they would not think of publishing something that no editor had read. Bad writers talk about the inviolable rhythm of their prose. (Gardner Bots ford, A Life of Privilege, Mostly, 2003) 10. Dare to Be Bad And so, in order to be a good writer, I have to be willing to be a bad writer. I have to be willing to let my thoughts and images be as contradictory as the evening firing its fireworks outside my window. In other words, let it all in- every little detail that catches your fancy. You can sort it out later- if it needs any sorting. (Julia Cameron, The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation Into the Writing Life, 2000) And finally, heres a cheerless note to good writers from English novelist and essayist Zadie Smith: Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never  ­being satisfied.

Stereotypes In Childrens Storybooks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stereotypes In Childrens Storybooks - Essay Example It has been a practice that children’s book have portrayed people with disability in a negative manner. Some of these stereotypes assert that people with disability are pathetic and pitiable. In this sense, this image is widely written in children’s book, which in turn makes children develop a negative mind about disabled people. In addition, stereotypes of disability in children’s literature or book have portrayed people with disability as objects of aggression or violence. For instance, since handicapped people are not able to defend themselves, they are depicted as good victims or ploys of crime (Stuart 2006, 51). Further, disabled people such as the blind are depicted as evil or sinister. This stereotype is the most rampant stretching from fairy tales to stories of how blind people lost their sight because of sin or sinful behaviors. In turn, it leaves a negative impression that disabled people are sinful and therefore, they should not be associated. Addition ally, children's book creates an impression that people with disability should be used as atmosphere by describing them as undeveloped characters. It has been a common phenomenon that children storybooks depict disable people as â€Å"super crip† in that for them to be accepted in both society and children’s storybooks, they are placed in situations of being over-achievers (Baumeister & Bushman 2010, 41). Therefore, persons with disability are thought to be bestowed with super powers such as paraplegic detective. Children’s storybooks have depicted persons with disability as laughable. In the same manner, there exist ethnic jokes in children’s books. Children’s books make frequent or regular use of such jokes as gimmick to enhance and facilitate the plot of the book. For instance, a blind person or a visually impaired person becomes the suitable object for many jokes (Judd & Park 1993, 109-111). This shows an insensitive and unreasonable depiction of persons with