The folly of Human Beings is a Constant Source of Amusement to Him Explore Betjeman(TM)s Presentation of the Foolishness of Human Behaviour by Examining at Least Two Poems by Him, One of Which Should be Executive Essays

The folly of Human Beings is a Constant Source of Amusement to Him Explore Betjeman(TM)s Presentation of the Foolishness of Human Behaviour by Examining at Least Two Poems by Him, One of Which Should be Executive Essays The folly of Human Beings is a Constant Source of Amusement to Him Explore Betjeman(TM)s Presentation of the Foolishness of Human Behaviour by Examining at Least Two Poems by Him, One of Which Should be Executive Essay The folly of Human Beings is a Constant Source of Amusement to Him Explore Betjeman(TM)s Presentation of the Foolishness of Human Behaviour by Examining at Least Two Poems by Him, One of Which Should be Executive Essay Essay Topic: Poems Many of John Betjemans poems focus on the different behaviour by humans. He looks at the different aspects of human nature and explores them in different ways and very often uses satire to do so. The idea that the folly of human beings is a constant source of amusement to him is a contentious statement that is also a very strong generalisation and so to a large extent not entirely true. Amusement is a term usually used in a light-hearted way and very often Betjemans presentation of human nature goes past this and is rather more serious. In the poem Executive Betjeman presents the foolishness of human behaviour to the reader in a comical way, however it is clear that Betjeman does not find the behaviour of the Executive amusing but more appalling. The speaker of the poem is a very materialistic character, who boasts about his lifestyle, I am a young executive. No cuffs then mine are cleaner; I have a slim-line briefcase and I use the firms Cortina. The poem is a soliloquy where in the beginning the character is advertising himself. He clearly believes himself to be of high status as he describes himself as an executive which also implies to the reader that he believes himself to have a good and sturdy job. However, this is very soon challenged by the fact he carries a slim-line briefcase implying to the reader that he may not actually have that much work and also the car he is driving belongs to the firm, rather than his own and so it seems that the speaker is making himself appear more important than he really is. Sun and Fun shows a different presentation of folly as rather than presenting this behaviour in a comical way, Betjeman uses a very sad and longing tone that seems very reminiscent that makes the reader sympathise with the nightclub propiertress. Betjeman shows here that the foolishness of human behaviour can actually be quite sad, When Boris used to call in his Sedanca, When Teddy took me Down to his Estate, When my nose excited passion, When my clothes were in the fashion, When my beaux were never cross when I was late, Betjeman uses the past to tense and repeats the word when to emphasise that the life of the propiertress is totally different now and that although that was how she used to behave, in the present tense it is the complete opposite. It seems that with age she has lost her allure and although she was once wanted and desired by many different suitors and used to be courted in luxury cars now she is left wondering What on earth was all the fun for? Here it is clear that Betjeman does not see her foolishness as amusing but as distressing as he presents her folly as what caused her to feel old and ill and terrified and tight when she got older. Executive expresses the epitome of the modern world as it depicts the falseness of what society was becoming as the speaker is very superficial, Ive a scarlet Aston Martin- and does she go? She flies! Owning as Aston Martin would be a luxury, however having it in the colour red shows vulgarity as it is a very tacky colour in which to own a sports car. It is very vibrant and so it also shows that the Executive does not want to hide his wealth but wants everyone to know about it as he is also describing the speed at which he can travel. He clearly has no sense of humility and does not wish to be modest about what he has. He comes across to the reader as very pretentious and just emphasises how foolish he is for being so shallow. Betjeman also portrays the Executives thoughtless qualities when he says, Pedestrians and cats and dogs we mark them down for slaughter. I also own a speed boat which has never touched the water. Betjeman shows that the Executive clearly does not care about anyone other than himself as he would rather go fast in his car than watch out for others. It shows that he is self-important and uncaring which is further emphasised when he talks about his speed-boat as it is clear that he wants to behave as though he has money and has wonderful, expensive items but does not need to use it. The Executive is clearly devoid of all morals and Betjeman mocks him and although it is in a comical way it is not amusing because the serious undertones are clear that he is appalled by this foolish behaviour. There is an element of wry amusement however, it is clear that the Executives need to boast about his material items is portraying what Betjeman was believing the world to become and shows the parts of the modern world and developing society that he detested. On the other hand, however, the beginning of Sun and Fun shows elements of amusements as it begins by rhyming emphasising a more light hearted idea of foolish behaviour in the nightclub. Also, the title Sun and Fun seems relatively jolly and this is very ironic as actually it is about a tired, old nightclub propiertress which shows that her foolishness is amusing to him because the title of the poem is clearly suggesting the opposite idea of what the poem is about. Betjeman does show comedy within the stanza, The ashtrays were unemptied The cleaning unattempted, And a squashed tomato sandwich on the floor. Betjeman shows that the propiertress has a lot of work to do and that her life is a struggle, this is made amusing and comic by Betjemans use of bathos at the end of the stanza. This makes the stanza more light-hearted which is a contrast to the disheartening penultimate and last stanza when she is questioning what the point of it all was. At the beginning of the poem, the reader is given the impression that the propiertress is a figure of amusement; however as the poem finishes it is clear that although there may be comic elements ultimately the propiertress foolish antic when she was younger has let to depressing circumstances and the reader feels more empathetic rather than amusement. Overall, it is clear that the folly of human behaviour does not proved a constant source of amusement to Betjeman because it is clear that the behaviour that he does talk about with satire is not for amusement but what he sees as generally appalling and foolishness leading to greater distress in the future.

Report on Religious Field Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Report on Religious Field Research - Essay Example By examining deeply and becoming aware of various religious practices of every religion may contribute to understanding and appreciation of each recognized beliefs and values. This is the purpose of this paper. This will also present a unique experience of attending personally one of the church’s services to actually see what is the strength of a certain religious group that holds each member tightly organized and unified in worship to God. Report on Religious Field Service: St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church Regardless of where we live, we can see the conspicuous effects of religion in the lives of millions of people. Since religion is about our relationship with God, our spirituality, what is more expected from us is the influence of our religious teachings in our personality, daily conduct, and with our relationship towards the people around us. However, religion with its various forms, created a society characterized with conflicts, battles and even wars, instead of a pe aceful society. We are all aware of the past, wherein some dominant religions in the world played a role in great wars that devastated mankind and caused untold suffering. This may be one major reason why some people refused to talk or discuss about religion. Or maybe, some may experience a heated argument if they discuss about their differences in their religious practices and beliefs. ... Additionally, interest on knowing about other religious beliefs may correct some misconceptions about them. Among the various groups of religion in the world, the dominant one is Christianity. About one quarter of the world’s population claim to be Christian, yet, divided into various sects. The prominent forms are Roman Catholic, the Orthodox Church, the Reformists or Protestants in its numerous sects such as Episcopalian, Lutheran, Calvinist, Baptist, Methodist and other churches. All of these churches consider themselves to be established respectable religion. I am interested to examine and know more about the St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church because on my opinion, as I have observed, its religious beliefs and practices are very similar with the Roman Catholic. So, why does this church has to separate itself and be recognized differently? So, I decided to attend one of its Sunday services to see the actual liturgical ceremony and practices. I believe this is one best wa y to correct any misconception about them. To my surprise, the church or cathedral itself is far different from the Roman Catholic Church. It is very colorful because instead of various relics and icons, the church is surrounded by hand-painted illustrations of various Jesus Christ’s image, his twelve apostles, angels and even images of Mary, all painted in the walls. All the paintings have relevant stories on the life of Jesus. According to one worshiper I asked, artworks in the wall contribute to a feeling of heavenly splendor while observing the liturgical ceremony, which is very solemn and serene. He also commented that the paintings in the walls constantly reminding him of the

Critical Response #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critical Response #2 - Essay Example Different natural disasters are combined and intensified in one movie, which evokes feelings of awe and terror. Seeing hailstorms, tornados, and tsunamis in one sitting is enough to make my blood curl. As if these startling visual images are not enough, half of the world freezes. While millions of people die during these different disasters, I cannot help but feel conscious of my contribution to it. As a cosmopolitan resident in a western country, I have a much larger footprint than people in developing countries with less access to resources and do not depend so much on automobiles and electricity to perform basic tasks. Though this movie is a fictional attempt to change people’s materialistic lifestyles, I somehow feel crazily better at the ending, when the astronauts see the world half frozen and the atmosphere is clearer. It gives hope that people can reverse the damage they have done to their environment, if only they do something

Survey for my psychology class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Survey for my psychology class - Essay Example In general there was similarity to the answer on the nature of psychology, except for the youngest, who had no previous exposure to any study on psychology. The answers from the others were satisfactory as all of them have had exposure to psychology in their student days, as could be seen from their response to the second question. The best answer came from the participant undergoing a nursing course, and as such had the best exposure to the nature of psychology in her study classes. The only erroneous answer came from the youngest with the least experience, and no exposure to psychology in his study classes. He has confused psychology with psychiatry, which is a branch of psychology that deals with abnormal functioning of the brain or mental illness. Taking into consideration his exposure, he has exhibited a perception that most people would, when not aware of psychology, as psychiatry is commonly used in the treatment of mental illness. This brings us to the possibility that often perceptions derived from the environment around us need not necessarily be factual, and yet to the human mind it remains otherwise. The third question is relevant to the experiences that the participants have had during their tenure in the college. To the majority the institution is a great place, and this perception arises from the good experiences that they have had. Yet, these perceptions are expressed by members of the faculty and administration. They are bound to say nice things even if they feel otherwise. The nature of the institution from the students’ perception drops to an all right situation from the older student, and a downright condemnation of the institution from the young student, who must be having pretty bad experiences in the institution. Depending on which side of the fence the individual assesses the institution the perception changes. Therefore experience, position and age do

Critical Reflection Essay Example for Free

Critical Reflection Essay Chronic Conversion Disorder Billy Lockhart Troy University- Montgomery, AL Chronic Conversion Disorder In this article the author is doing a case study on a patient known as Ms. T. The article is on Chronic Conversion Disorder Masking Depression and Anxiety: The case of Ms. T. by Dr. Robert C. Kores. A case formulation with therapeutic focus and direction, and follow-up information regarding a patient with somatic concerns is presented. A Conversion Disorder was diagnosed with underlying depression and anxiety. A lack of secure attachment and a nurturing environment were core issues. Family of origin and suppressed feelings and choices, was ridged and hypercritical, rejecting and abusive. The reason for the research was the cause and treatment of a conversion disorder. In this article the Dr. Kores goes through the patient’s life to determine the cause of this disorder. A Conversion Disorder causes patients to suffer from neurological symptoms, such as numbness, blindness, paralysis, or fits without a definable organic cause. It is thought that symptoms arise in response to stressful situations affecting a patients mental health and Conversion disorder is considered a psychiatric disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM-5). The author came to the conclusion that Ms. T had grown up in an emotionally challenging home with excessive punishment, ridged rules and forced isolation. She felt disconnected, uninvolved and all alone. When she had married she thought that her husband would not be neglectful. However her husband was emotionally and physically abusive. When she became unable to cope with the abuse she became psychotically depressed and ultimately was psychiatrically hospitalized. She begins to cope by somatic eye closing and head shaking symptoms and was in denial. This led to hysterical blindness in her early thirties. Dr. Kores states that the eye closing may have served as behavior designed to elicit parental support and care and attachment that she never had in early childhood. He then states it could represent â€Å"this is not where I see myself† or â€Å"I cannot see myself here again†. Ms. T. may have viewed herself as a failure as a spouse or adult taking all the blame from the abusive relationship. Ms. T was believed to think she deserved all the â€Å"bad† that was happening to her and she had inadequate problem solving skills. Course of Treatment Dr. Kores states that his therapeutic efforts were directed toward altering her dysfunctional thinking and enhancing her problem solving skills. Dr. Kores used behavioral activation strategies to help her gain more positive reinforcement and increase her social interaction. Dr. Kores had to gain the trust of Ms. T. in order to help her. I believe that the reason this is important to me is because it helps me understand that stress can cause us to react in different ways. In the case of Ms. T. she began to squint her eyes and shake her head. Now if we didn’t know better it could be thought as faking to get attention. However now that I understand what Conversion Disorder is I will never think that again. I think this is important to me because I want to work with veterans someday and I want to be able to help them get through difficult situation that life has thrown at them. References: Troy Library portal, and journal by Dr. Robert C. Kores â€Å"Chronic Conversion Disorder Masking Depression and Anxiety: The Case of Ms. T.†

Following Martin Luther King, Jr :: essays research papers fc

Following Martin Luther King, Jr "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." (King, Jr.) Following Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech in the United States capital, many laws, including the Civil Rights Act and the Affirmative Action Act, were amended into the constitution. Despite these laws enforcing the equality of race, the US still faces the same dilemma of 1963: racism. Racism, or the discrimination of a distinguished group of people, remains a problem in businesses, government, universities, in relationships, and in many other situations. Although current laws prohibit the people of the United States to discriminate and harass people of other races, racial incidents continue to remain across the country, and even, around the world. For many years, humanitarians have been trying desperately to eliminate racism. The problem is the attempt to correct the effects of racism, without eliminating the cause of racism itself. In order to eliminate racism and achieve the ultimate dream of justice and equality of all people, Americans must start with teaching children the fallacies of racism and value of diversity. A new curriculum especially for race equality, should be introduced to young students all over the United States, providing all the facts and false stereotypical assumptions about races and racism surrounding them. Racism can be eliminated by creating a curriculum for understanding races. Providing a required racial understanding program for young students, will help them to understand different backgrounds and identities that surround them. Understanding the many identities that distinguish each and every person, will break down stereotypes that identify groups. Understanding creates knowledge and empathy towards people of different backgrounds. Racism can be eliminated by understanding the history of racism. By understanding the history of racism, students can learn how racism started, where it started, how racism is adopted, why it was adopted into our concept, and how its made its way to America, etc. If everybody understands that racism is, and always was, irrelevant to a person’s character, then racism will be eliminated. Racism can be eliminated by confronting the issue. Confronting the issues and being aware of racism’s destruction to society, will allow students, starting at a younger age, to be conscious of racism and its negative effects on life. Being conscious of racism will

Business continuity Essay

Just in time concept is a lean operation concept applied in supply chain management where an enterprise strives to produce only what is needed, whenever it is needed and in the amount that is needed. It allows for efficient production of quality products through complete waste elimination, avoidance of inconsistencies and also elimination of non-value addition activities within the production line. (Lieb & Miller 1988) According to (Stank & Crum 1997) the wastes that are eliminated are related to labour, where over staffing is a waste, time, in this case idle time or use of extra time to accomplish a goal is considered waste. Just in time concept emphasizes on customer requests and avoids making decisions based on forecast. In this concept, inventory is considered as an additional cost to the process. Traditionally, it would be considered to be value adding in the system. In this case, businesses and organisations are advised to eliminate any form of inventory that does not impact any additional value to the product. The just in time concept has various benefits to a business firm or enterprise. The benefits include an improvement in the flow of goods into, within and from the warehouse. There is also better planning and consistency in the organisation. Manpower can be reduced when production process has stopped mainly due to planned shut downs for maintenance, stocktaking activities, or any other reason (Stank & Crum 1997). This helps the enterprise to save on cost related to labour and other production overheads. When an organisation adopts the JIT concept and implements it, it helps in the production of better quality products and also increases the efficiency of production. All the aforementioned benefits are customer oriented. We therefore realise from the benefits customer satisfaction is enhanced. This in turn has an impact on customer loyalty and improved sales by the organisation. The net effect of this is improved profits by the organisation (Swamidass 2000). Despite having all the above benefits, the outcome of the terror attacks on September 11 has cast a lot of doubt on the just in time (JIT) concept deliveries in the supply chain. In a supply chain, each organisation along the chain depends upon a supplier and therefore in case of a hitch along the chain, the repercussions are felt along the whole chain. Before the September 11 attack the â€Å"JIT† was comfortably applicable and implemented to various businesses. Until this time, overstocking was avoided and components were delivered to the right place at the right time and in the right form with no hitch. Piling of inventory was avoided and production processes proceeded smoothly. However, the events of September 11 reversed all these, there were delays caused by grounding of aircrafts and also a longer time was required for border inspections. Transport on land was also highly affected. As an example, due to these interruptions, commodities destined for the Gap, Banana republic and the old navy stores ended up to a warehouse next to an airport. The business environment, both external and internal will always be fluctuating. External environment like the impact from natural calamities e. g. hurricanes, snow, storms, floods, earthquakes and internal environments like strikes, affect business operations. Therefore, for an organisation with a JIT system, in case of any fluctuation in the business environment, the supply chain will be disrupted and therefore flow of products downstream will not be realized (McClenahen & Jusko 2001). For a sudden change in the business environment, the shocks will be felt throughout the supply chain. There will be a gap that will be created along the chain at the point where the fluctuation is highly felt. It is a noble idea for businesses to consider having some safety stock on hand at each link of supply chain, which will take care of the emergencies in case of any eventuality. Since a supply chain consists of a network/series of suppliers and consumers, a hitch on one supplier side will affect the consumer who is also a supplier to the next consumer. Therefore in a business that has adopted the JIT system, it might end up being grounded because of lack of inventory to process or sell to the next stage of the chains. It is therefore highly recommended for such businesses to develop a Just in case system, a system that allows for a safety supplies that will take care of any eventualities. Even though the JIT system has a number of shortcomings in case of shocks within the supply chain, it is important to note that organisations can still implement JIT and maintain an attractive supply chain with lean inventories even during emergencies. To achieve this, one of the moves that a firm can make is locate where there is stock piling of inventories (Lu & Kyokai 1989). Firms can have most of its inventories stocked next to or near their locations. This will help overcome the problems due to shipment or air transport in case these modes of transport are affected. A firm can also consider having more than one supplier for a given commodity, this will be a second option during emergency situations. For an organisation to succeed in its implementation of the JIT system, major changes within the organisation need to be undertaken. The top management need to show commitment and offer full support. They are also required to lead from the front if the benefits of the JIT system are to be realised. The adoption and implementation of the JIT system will substantially affect the mode and criteria through which carriers and other logistics services providers will be recruited by the organisation. Organisations should be able to come up with service providers who are very efficient so as to pass on the efficiency downstream the supply chain. The just in time concept is highly dependent on the speed and efficiency with which products are moving at along the chain. It is therefore worthy to mention that the JIT system will highly affect the style of operations in the logistics industry. The number of logistics service providers to be recruited will also be determined by the success of the JIT system. According to (Ian 1988), constant and effective communication between business firms and their suppliers is another important factor that will affect the future of JIT in the global business environment. The quality of information that will be conveyed should also be put into consideration. The right information should be conveyed to the right place, at the right time and to the right person. A successful implementation of the JIT system in the future will highly depend on additional training of the implementing personnel (Abuhilal, Rabadi, & Sousa-Poza 2006). A lot of emphasise should be on the training of the personnel that are directly involved in the implementation of the JIT concept. This should not be taken to mean that other employees in the organisation should not be trained. An elaborate training plan on this system should be unveiled and the concerned departments or functions for example, production, logistics, marketing should be given intense training. The major areas to be considered should include: policies on JIT system, communication skills and training on commitment to the principles of JIT. The future of the just in time (JIT) system in the global environment will highly depend on the level of technology that will be embraced by an organisation. This includes both in machinery and other office operations. Adoption of improved technology for material handling is a key area that firms need to look at. They should consider embracing cross docking or flowing inventory through a distribution centre. With an improved material handling facility, the businesses can absorb shocks easily in the event that there is disruption in the supply chain (Kreng & Wang 2005) The use of information technology is in inventory management is particularly crucial if the growth and success of the JIT system is to be guaranteed. Business organisations should utilise information technology resources both in hardware and software so as to enhance the success of the JIT system. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) modules should be adopted for inventory management and controls within the organisation. Internet resources should be highly utilised for an effective JIT system. The most applicable resources include e-procurement, e- marketing. e-banking and e-mailing. When an organisation conducts procurement via internet, a variety of goods both in terms of quality and quantity may be obtained. The business deal is also conducted in an accelerated speed. Marketing via the internet allows for the organisation to reach many customers within a very short time and hence improve on the organisation’s sales. Internet banking allows for faster business transactions hence delays associated with payments are reduced and therefore the supply chain is protected from such delays (Hale 1997). To ensure that the intended results of the JIT concept are achieved, it is important for firms doing business together along a given supply chain be proactive in their operations. By being proactive, it means that a consumer should be involved directly in what their supplier is producing. The consumers should be involved in product design so as to have a product of their own making. On the hand it is very important for the suppliers to follow up and find out how their products are serving the customers. This will help in the elimination of ripples along the chain and hence easy implementation of the JIT system. The players in the supply chain should develop a culture of sharing problems when they occur at a particular point of the supply chain, this in a nutshell will reduce the overall effect that the problem would have on the entire supply chain (Titone 1996). The just in case system is another approach that will have an impact on the future of JIT system in the global environment. It is very important for firms to have a buffer stock that can bail it out when events in the supply chain don’t seem to be favourable. The idea of having safety stocks for emergency times should not be confused by firms holding inventories. It is a different concept from overstocking.