Stress Relief free essay sample

Stress affects human performance in so many ways that just to list the impact upon work would take half of this page. People under high stress become forgetful, are often late for work, miss appointments, have more sick days, have lower competence levels, are more irritable and difficult to get along with, are more likely to break things (by accident or intention) and are great candidates for the kinds of stress-related illnesses and accidents that drain Workers Compensation benefits. Stress reduction must be a constant, on-going process in all our lives.It helps us avoid pain, illness and accident. And, a low-stress (or low-distress) lifestyle is certainly the most pleasant. Once a client who was under a great deal of stress at the time said to me, urgently: Look, all these options youve shown me for stress management are getting to be too much. Its like using a technique to put a patch on me here and another to put a patch on me there. We will write a custom essay sample on Stress Relief or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I dont need to get better six months from now after Ive learned a whole bunch of new things I need to be better now!The strength of that response varies with the kind and strength of the demand and the circumstances under which the demand is made. For example, a ringing phone is a demand. It gets a different strength of response depending upon when it rings. If you are taking a usual number of calls at the office at times you expect them, the demand is relatively low and your physical reaction is probably minimal. If the phone rings in the middle of the night when youre worried about a seriously ill loved-one in the hospital, the demand and your response are going to be high.The response is generally called the fight/flight response. It should be called the fight/flight/freeze/faint/fumble response, since those are the usual possible outcomes. But, whatever we call it, heres basically what happens in your body: * Your heart rate goes up. * Your blood pressure goes up. * You begin to perspire to help keep the body cool. * Blood is directed away from hands/feet/digestive system to power large muscles. * Your diaphragm (the muscle that works your lungs like a bellows) locks and your breathing becomes shallow and rapid. Your pupils dialate to help you see the enemy better. * Your awareness of hearing becomes more focused. * Your digestive system shuts down so the energy expended there can be used where its needed. (Or, alternatively, the system may attempt to void its contents, so youll be lighter and move faster. ) * Your immune and self-repair systems go on standby. After all, the processes of these systems are incompatible with heavy action. Besides, you need the energy to fight or run. If you really need to meet a physical threat, all this is great. It prepares your body to do the job.Then, after doing the job destroying or avoiding the stressor your body returns to normal. However, almost all our stressors (stressors are whatever cause stress) today are what psychologists call psychosocial. That is, they come from how we experience our selves, our work and other activities, and our relationships with other people. So, if your boss yells at you, your body is likely to react exactly the same as if you had to deal with a charging rhinoceros. Yet, you cant literally do what your bodys prepared to do: you cant throw your spear at him and run.That means youre going to carry some tension from the encounter around with you until you find a way to discharge it. Furthermore, you are likely to face many daily psychosocial stressors that cause the fight/flight response. If you dont find satisfying resolutions to your stressors, or if there are too many stressors, or if the response is too intense, eventually youre going to experience symptoms of stress-related illness. Stress symptoms may be physical or psychological. Physical symptoms range from muscle tension and headaches through high blood pressure and gastrointestinal ulcers to heart attacks and cancer.Psychological symptoms range from chronic anxiety through recurrent depression to complete nervous breakdowns. Physical activity is necessary to stress relief in helping to dissipate the stress reactions the flight/fight response. In addition, it helps you to: * Reduce muscular tension of sedentary functions. * Promote relaxation. * Sleep easier and better. * Concentrate better. * Reduce pain. * Raise mood. (Very important in anxiety and depression. ) * Reduce fatigue/restore energy. * Increase stamina, strength and suppleness to help make you stress-fit i. e. the fight/flight response is taken with greater ease and shaken with greater ease. Understanding this, you can see that a bit of physical activity might be worthwhile as a system of discharging the tensions of that fight/flight response. What exactly do you mean by physical activity? Exercise is a great idea if you can do, dont mind doing and dont overdo. A regular exercise program helps manage physical stress buildup, makes you feel better over all and probably live a longer and healthier life. But, if you really hate it and resent it, youre not going to follow through with it.You might as well try something else you find more pleasant. Participating in sports is a more enjoyable way of releasing stress and tension for many people. Regular participation is as good as a regular exercise program. Yoga, in a class or on your own, can also provide the benefits of a regular exercise program. It is, however, far less demanding for beginners, allowing the practitioner to slowly ease into the various stretches and poses. Moreover, you feel good while you are doing it and afterward. Done properly, yoga leaves muscles pleasantly stretched and stimulated.You want to say that in English? How and what you think determine how you feel (emotionally) and how you behave. If you have awareness of and control over your thinking process, then essentially you have control over everything that happens to you. In regard to the management of stress, this means that you can seize control of your reactions at the time of the flight/fight response and take the time to understand whats happening and what you want to do. (You must remember that the flight/fight response will occur automatically its a built-in survival mechanism.But you can reduce the occasions upon which it occurs in reaction to imaginary threats and you can reduce the intensity of the response to real threats that nevertheless do not affect your life, health or general well-being. ) Furthermore, since your body doesnt know the difference between real events and imaginary ones, you can use your thoughts to directly change whats happening in your body. For example, in self-hypnosis you can imagine your hands and feet becoming warmer and warmer. They will do so and at the same time you will be balancing the flow of blood throughout your body.What do I do to be a mind master, O Swami? There are a number of methods of gaining the ability to focus and control your mind, but no matter what approach seems to fit for you, they all accomplish the same tasks for stress management: Physical Benefits * Breathing slows and becomes deep and rhyt hmical. * Heart rate slows and blood pressure drops. * Brain waves slow to relaxed but alert level. * Muscle tension eases. * You become well relaxed. Psychological Benefits * Distressing emotion is inhibited remember, you cannot be relaxed and anxious or angry at the same time. * Calm envelopes you. Awareness is heightened and/or focused, depending on the method used. * Thought clarifies or is dispensed with, depending on the method of used. Meditation. Meditation is the method I most recommend to achieve focus and control in your thinking processes. There are many possible ways to meditate including Zen-style, chanting, mantra-repetition, awareness-training and contemplation. I recommend Zen-style. Its simple, quickly-learned, compact and easily portable. Well, O. K. , its simple to explain and you can learn how in less than a minute. But it takes a lifetime to master.However, you dont have to master the method to get the benefits you need for stress management; you just have to practice every day. Heres how: find a quiet, comfortable place to sit. Either close your eyes or allow your gaze to fall unfocused on the floor about three feet in front of you. Breathe normally and count your breaths thus: breathe in, do nothing, breathe out, count 1, repeat until you reach 4, then start over again from 1. Do nothing but breathe and count. Dont think, dont talk, dont look, dont listen. Just breathe and count. Continue for about ten minutes. Visualization.Instead of not thinking about anything, you think very specifically about one thing by making an imaginary movie in you head. For example, you might imagine yourself sitting on a tropical beach at dawn. You could see the changing colors in the sky as the sun rises, feel the soft warm breeze lift your hair away from your face, hear the plaintive cry of a gull, smell the saltiness of the water, hear the surf hitting the rocks beyond. If you can become proficient at putting yourself in such scenes, you can put yourself in scenes that make you feel anything you want to feel and you can modify any experience. Self-Hypnosis.

Promptly Acknowledge Affiliation to Provide Context

Promptly Acknowledge Affiliation to Provide Context Promptly Acknowledge Affiliation to Provide Context Promptly Acknowledge Affiliation to Provide Context By Mark Nichol I was slightly put off by a newspaper article that referred to the recent appearance before a US Senate subcommittee of philanthropist Paul David Hewson. Why? Because the article, after introducing Hewson by his better-known moniker, Bono, identified him simply as â€Å"the U2 frontman.† The article, however, had nothing to do with Bono’s membership in one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed rock bands of all time. Bono spoke to the subcommittee in his capacity as an activist who has cofounded several nongovernmental organizations that seek to improve living conditions, primarily in Africa. It had everything to do with finding ways to combat extremism and terrorism without violence, including providing financial assistance to refugees victimized by perpetrators of such movements. The article was in the entertainment section, not the news section, but it was a bit flippant about one of Bono’s admittedly offbeat arguments: that humor be deployed as one cultural weapon against repressive regimes. Most important, however, it took its time presenting Bono’s credentials, implying that he was just one more in a long line of airheaded artists spouting dippy suggestions about how to save the world. The writer did not err in mentioning Bono’s identity as the face of an iconic music act- that’s what attracts eyeballs- but to be responsible, he or she should have quickly introduced the musician in his additional capacity as a respected advocate for oppressed people all over the world. Readers unfamiliar with his activism and philanthropy would then be promptly informed of the validity of his appearance before a congressional subcommittee. Following a blithe lede (that’s journalistic slang for the lead sentence or paragraph of a newspaper article, kids), the article stated, â€Å"The U2 frontman spoke during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday . . . .† If I had been the editor of the article, I would have revised it to read something like this: â€Å"The U2 frontman, also recognized for his activism and philanthropy in support of oppressed people worldwide, spoke during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday . . . .† In addition, Bono’s primary plea was for more funding for political refugees; the comment about deploying comedians was an afterthought by comparison, though he did make a valid point about how dadaists and surrealists in early Nazi Germany, employing satire in their activities and publications, were a threat to Nazi hegemony. The article underemphasized his call for a program much like the Marshall Plan, an ambitious (and expensive) but effective economic initiative that was instrumental in helping Europe rebuild after World War II. In summary, if you find yourself in a position to report on a celebrity’s more substantial activities, such as philanthropic efforts, even if the content is intended to be as much entertaining as informative (or even more of the one than the other), do a better job than the writer in question about providing context. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Program vs. ProgrammeThe Difference Between "will" and "shall"10 Varieties of Syntax to Improve Your Writing

Summary of APTA Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary of APTA Leadership - Assignment Example Particularly in 2011, the organization has had some major breakthroughs and has been able to render its services more effectively. At the 2011 House of Delegates (House) interests and opinions of its members were represented and future policies were outlined and adopted that would modify the future structure of APTA. Among policies adopted were defining the physical therapist’s role in palliative care and in the treatment of patients with concussion, elucidating the supervision requirements for student physical therapist assistants and amending its position on the transparency of contractual agreements between clients and the organization. The House introduced Principles of Governance which delineated principles for the future governing body of APTA. Its purpose is to provide guidelines to the Governance Review Task Force for reviewing governance proposals and input from sources both within and outside of the organization’s membership and volunteer groups. These proposals are scheduled to be reviewed in the 2012 House of Delegates and to be implemented in the 2013 House of Delegates. Another milestone was the consideration of the highly debated parent resolution â€Å"Health Care Professionals and Personnel Involved in the delivery of Physical Therapy†, which proposed changes to the present delivery system of physical therapy limited to â€Å"physical therapist, physical therapist assistant and physical therapy aide† (APTA). The new adopted policy is as follows: â€Å"The American Physical Therapy Association recognizes physical therapists’ abilities to utilize appropriate support personnel, including but not limited to the physical therapist assistant, when directing and supervising selected aspects of physical therapy intervention† (APTA). For this purpose, the Board of Directors formed a task force for the preparation of a report regarding the aforementioned reform for review in the next Board of Directors meeting in April 2012. In the

Work place diversity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Work place diversity - Research Paper Example Consequently, to become more open to change and innovative, all organizations require diversity. Capitalizing and maximizing on diversity in the workplace has become a significant subject for today’s management (Kelli, et al., 2012). This paper delves into workplace diversity, its importance in creating a productive and healthy work environment, as well as policies and actions for improving the situation. Introduction Workplace diversity is an issue concerning people, which concentrates on the similarities and variations that individuals bring to their place of work. Esty and co-authors (1995) define diversity as recognizing, appreciating, valuing, accepting, and celebrating disparities among individuals with regard to gender, ethnicity, age, mental and physical ability, class, sexual orientation, race, public assistance status, and spiritual practice. Apparently, the broad definition of workplace diversity goes beyond those aspects that are legally stated in affirmative actio n non-discrimination as well as equal opportunity bills. The interpretation of diversity normally incorporates aspects that affect the perspectives and identities that individuals bring for instance geographic location education, profession, and parental status. Diversity as a concept is deemed to include everybody. More often than not, diversity initiatives match non-discrimination conformity programs through the formation of the organizational culture and workplace environment for making disparities work. Diversity is all about the creation of workplace practices and environments that promote learning from other people and capturing the benefit of varied perspectives, it is about respect and dignity for all, and about learning from other individuals who are not the same (Woods, Bormann & Joseph, 2010). Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace Workplace diversity is not only beneficial to employers but it is also beneficial to associates. Even though workplace associates are co-depen dent, respecting differences among persons can boost productivity. Workplace diversity places an organization at a competitive advantage in several ways. To start with, it ensures the retention of business. Esty and co-authors (1995) explain that a good number of organizations tend to be keen on the demographics of institutions/companies with which they do business. Municipal governments and federal agencies particularly have taken the lead in declining prospective clients and suppliers who fail to demonstrate a clear commitment to diversity. A good example is one of the Midwestern cities that declined to purchase computer equipment from a high-tech company whose entire sales team was white. Workplace diversity also brings about increased productivity. As Mor (2006) explains, this is attributable to job satisfaction, which is true in the sense that in such a work place, people feel valued, respected and included, which helps them to stop acting like outsiders thus making productivit y go up. Another competitive advantage of well-managed workplace diversity is increased marketing capabilities. A group of diverse employees is capable of providing insight into the establishment of a wide range of customers. Attracting new customers makes a critical difference between going out of business and survival of a business. Moreover, as markets become more and more differentiated, smaller market segments are imperative (Esty, et al., 1995). A diverse workplace also builds the largest possible pool of talent for recruitment. This is more important especially with the present-time’s increased competition that calls for every organization to hire

Organizational Intelligence Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational Intelligence Policy - Essay Example To remain competitive and afloat in such a business environment, computer and information technology organizations must embark on the search for revolutionary and forward-looking techniques not only for creating but also for collecting, storing, capturing, organizing, managing, and distributing data/knowledge through its structure. Importantly, these techniques should allow for the easy and effective retrieval of needed information at the convenient moments (Ali et al., 2007). Organizations must however appreciate the level and nature of skills and competence required to develop and apply such knowledge and data management practices and techniques. Besides the need for IT and computer system executives, managers, systems analysts to be skilled and possess the competitive edge to perform the above functions and realize their data-related objectives, it is important that effective and elaborate Intelligence Organization policies are developed to ensure processes related to data collect ion, database systems’ security measures, data storage, diverse knowledge availability, information update, data-based decision-making processes, and data management training are not only relevant but also effective and support the attainment of organizational and personal growth among employees (Ali et al., 2007). ... Organizational intelligence Policy Organizational Intelligence refers to the capacity and the ability of an organization to utilize various methodologies, concepts, techniques, and tools to achieve information or knowledge-related functions and processes, including data collection, database systems’ security measures, data storage, diverse knowledge availability, information update, data-based decision-making processes, and data management training (James, 1999). A sound Organizational Intelligence policy should, of most importance, outline the purposes for which the OI has been developed. First, an Organizational Intelligence policy should ensure that an organization comprehends and makes productive conclusions from all the knowledge/information relevant to its operations and objectives (James, 1999). Second, an IO should outline an organization’s abilities to use knowledge, data/information to create sense out of complex business situations, prompting employees and ma nagers to act appropriately, maximizing on the opportunities presented by immediate or past circumstances. Third, an OI policy should be helpful in highlighting an organization’s ability not only to interpret but also to act on relevant circumstances, signals, or events in its environment. Fourth, an Organization Intelligence policy should promote the development, sharing, and usage of all information and knowledge relevant to an organization’s purposes by the promotion of learning by experiences and exposures. Gathering Competition Intelligence As the IT and computer industry develops, it becomes necessary that organizations develop an OI policy that would ensure the above functions are developed towards the building of a stronger, more relevant, and equally competitive Organizational

Domestic violence: Social-cultural perspectives

Domestic violence: Social-cultural perspectives Domestic violence has been a serious social problem in many families, not only in the United States and United Kingdoms, but across the world. As per the 2003 surveys of the Centers for Disease Control, domestic problems or home violence had affected at least 32 million Americans (Bancroft, LT, Jay, GS. 2003). Research studies have also shown that different countries have various ways of dealing with the family violence, its public awareness, perception and documentation are all prone to variations from State to State. Actually, the initial use of the concept Domestic violence can be traced back to 1977 when it was first identified as serious and growing phenomena, following a series of researches (Archer, J.2000, Waits, K., 1985). These are a few manifestations that domestic violence has been a critical issue in many societies. It therefore deserved or still deserves to be given extra attention. This paper delves into the same, in attempt to find out, compile and discuss on issues surrounding domestic violence from different perspectives, and perhaps shed more light on the numerous cases of violence and social turbulences in homes and families. Introduction The concept Domestic violence have also commonly been referred to as spousal abuse, domestic abuse, intimate partner violence, or child abuse depending on who is victimized or affected in a way by the violence at home (Johnson, M., 2000). Reading through the work of Bancroft and Jay, spousal, child or domestic abuse is the act or the behavior of violence against a child, or a spouse. It is a raging conflict that may exist within a relationship perceived as very intimate, the cases of violence in families, marriages, between friends, in dating and all the intimate relationships categorically enclosed (Bancroft, LT, Jay, GS, 2003). According to the U.S Office on Violence against Women, domestic violence had been defined as a pattern of abusive conduct in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and authority over the other and control over an intimate partner (Johnson, M., 2000). In the year 2004, the Spanish Measures of Integral Protection against gender Violence contended that gender violence is the violence directed at women from the very fact of being a woman. This had been one of the most controversial and brutal sense of gender inequality ever witnessed in the history of domestic violence (Waits, K.1985). Intimate partner violence (IPV) assumes many patterns of abuse. Among such things that research studies have categorized as behaviors of violence are assault, insults, beating in any form i.e. kicking, slapping or hitting with anything, shoving, sexual abuses, emotional and psychological torture, economic deprivation, maltreatments, slavery and many alike (Waits, K.1985).According to Robertson and his research counterparts, domestic violence have been attributed to a number of possible causes, ranging from alcoholism to mental illnesses (Robertson, KP, Murachver,TM., 2009). Aim and Objective The aim of this paper is to discuss at length issues of domestic violence from different social-cultural perspectives. The paper seeks to address the mushrooming challenges surrounding social demographics i.e. families and homes across the societal divides. Its objective is to give a succinct elaboration on what many researchers hold to be right or wrong about the domestic violence. It investigates into the previous research findings and methods that had been employed to establish whether the spousal, child or family abuses could be brought to a permanent end, or the society have to live with and appreciate the violence as part of life. Literature Review United States as a point of reference is the one State that researches have shown to contribute a greater magnitude of long lasting domestic violence. Prolonged account of legal precedents pertaining to spousal abuses and relationship conflicts were common trends in the United States (Waits, K.1985).Similar cases have continuously been observed in the rest of the societies of the world. This implies that domestic violence have been a worldwide socio-cultural fiasco, not narrowed to the United States alone (Waits, K.1985). Many research studies have found that the most affected by the domestic violence are women. To begin with, the research conducted by Robertson and Murachver revealed that women were the first victims of all domestic chaos in every society. They emphasize many women were being battered, assaulted, insulted, sexually abused, emotionally and psychologically tortured by family affairs, and all manners of family violence (Robertson, KP, Murachver, TM. 2009).Backing up the claims of these researchers was Bancroft and his research colleagues. They too emphasized that even though domestic violence affected all the members of families, including children and the spouses, women were faced with the most staid domestic challenges resulting from the social conflicts and violence (Bancroft, LT, Jay, GS, 2003). The arguments and assertions of these researchers were however met by stern resistance from the National Institute of Justice whose research findings pointed out that both women and men were affected equally by domestic violence, and that to some extent or in some cases, men were faced with most challenges than could be compared to their wives and children (Waits, K., 1985, The Criminal Justice Response to Battering). The findings of the National Institute of Justice further contended men from a few families were also battered, assaulted and insulted by women, and so, justice had to prevail when handling domestic issues (Wait, K., 1985). However, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) further refuted the findings of National Institute of Justice (NIJ), arguing that male and female spousal assaults could not be rated similarly as the research studies of the NIJ posited (Wait, K., 1985).The CDCP and BJS studies held there was more violence of men against women, men assaulting women, and not otherwise. Debates surrounding domestic violence were becoming controversial and highly contested. Archer Jefferson and other conflict resolution researchers also had their own stand. They opposed the assumption of gender equity or gender neutrality in domestic violence as held by some research scholars and civil rights movements (Archer, J., 2000) Pertinent to domestic violence characterized by controversial debates and arguments, there were also emerging gender movements whose major aims were to defend themselves against the claims on who between men and women violated the family peace accords the most. The first of such movements was a womens movement that beginning in 1970s (Bancroft, LT, Jay, GS, 2003).This movement was concerned with womens rights which held that men were ruthlessly abusing their wives. This move was later to be countered by the masculine movements commencing from1990s. Modern attention given to domestic chaos put into consideration factors that could have led to commencement of the gender conflicts and domestic fiascos (Bancroft, LT, Jay, GS, 2003). Survey estimates have, too, indicated that in every 1000 females, approximately 240 were victims of domestic assaults as compared to only 76 in every 1000 men going through the same domestic traumas (Robertson, KP, Murachver, TM. 2009). Nevertheless, some anonymous reports released in 1997 revealed that a good number of men who suffer from the wraths and brutalities of women fail to say so, therefore living no substantial evidence that could be used to approve to what extent men suffer the domestic violence concomitant to women The reports, however, noted that there were no certified proves that men under-reported their cases than women or the vise versa (Robertson, KP, Murachver, TM. 2009). The reports were though more categorical on the case of female reportage of domestic violence, admitting that a significant percentage of women were likely to accept they were being abused by their partners. This, according to reports, had been one of the challenges facing men, the fear to admit for safeguarding the perception of the masculine gender (Robertson, KP, Murachver, TM. 2009) Research Methodologies Among the most commonly used and criticized research methodology in investigating gender domestic violence was the use of Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) survey tool. CTS was found in 1970 as a tool used in measuring the extent of domestic and gender conflicts through surveys and compilation of data. This research methodology was, however, met with stern criticisms and dissatisfaction by other research bodies like the U.S National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) (Waits, K., 1985). The above highlighted research organs commonly contended that the use of CTS in research was not effective in a number of ways. It did not measure critical domestic violence aspects such as coercion, control, sexual assaults by ex-partners or partners, factors contributing to the domestic and gender violence (Waits, K., 1985). For such concrete assertions against the use of CTS, other research methodologies have been preferred in investigating issues of domestic violence. Such methodologies as filling of questionnaires, field researches, desk research, and interviews have commonly been utilized. Results and Findings The major findings concerning domestic violence is that women are generally the most victimized, though a number of other researches claim otherwise. Like-wisely, a significant percentage of men have fallen victims of gender violence. Debates as to whether it is women or men that suffer the consequences of domestic violence the most is still unsettled, with both genders pointing accusing fingers on who should be accused of violating the family piece accords almost always. Causes of domestic violence so highlighted indicate that alcoholism plays a significant role in instigating family violence, making the male gender to be the first culprit to be accused of the assaults and insults in the families. This follows the general notion that a better percentage of men are drunkards as compared to women. Other factors contributing towards the same are misunderstandings, mental illnesses, poverty, communication conflicts and cultural diversities (Robertson, KP., Murchver ,TM., 2009, Attributes and attributions associated with female and male partner violence). Discussions and Conclusion The so called domestic violence has no boundaries or limits. It can possibly take place in any family at any time. This, as Robertson and Murachver confirms, is very true in the cases of psychological abuses. After all, the violence doesnt need to go physical or get aggressive through attacks, and family skirmishes. Many psychological researchers have incessantly pointed out that the psychological kind of abuses in families present more severe consequences than could be compared to the equally consequential physical and aggressive domestic violence (Archer. 2000).Emotional abuses though minimal as the many surveys on domestic matters indicate, they leave prolonged and long lasting tensions (Robinson, KP, Murachver,TM, 2009). In conclusion, domestic violence may be regarded as part and parcel of life that both men and women should learn how to manage, appreciate and live with. ukessays>essays>classics Essays Roman Social Life ukessays>essays>classics Essays Roman Social Life What can the decoration and layout of the Pompeian house tell us about Roman social life? The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD, and the subsequent destruction of Pompeii, and it’s near neighbour, Herculaneum; offers us a unique glimpse into Roman life at the end of the first century AD. There are, however, certain problems that must be understood before a discussion of Roman social life can be attempted. Pompeii was not a Roman city in the sense that it had not been founded by Roman citizens. At the time of its destruction it was already very old and had been inhabited by many generations of people from disparate backgrounds that came together to form their own uniquely structured society. From the early second century BC it is possible to identify four separate and distinct concepts of urban organisation within the city. It should further be noted that only a relatively small part of the city has been excavated to this point, and so any argument from archaeology will always be incomplete. The literary sources are even more problematic, Ancient authors rarely mention Pompeii before the first century BC and even after this date the sources are far from extensive. The writings of Varro (C.116-27BC), Vitruvius (fl.20-10BC) and Pliny the Younger (C.62-110AD) are our main sources. Archaeologists working at Pompeii, and indeed elsewhere, have tended to be classically trained scholars. The tendency of such scholars has been to interpret their finds in ways that are analogous to the Latin textual tradition. This is to say that scholars tend to assume that a given room in a given house must have been for an activity typically mentioned in one the sources. From the time of the very first excavations at Pompeii, a similarity was seen between the ideal plan of a Roman house set out in Vitruvius, and the floor plans of the many houses being unearthed. Terms deriving from Varro’s language study and Pliny the Youngers’ descriptions of his own country villas have also been applied to the floor plans at Pompeii. It is indeed common practice to label a room with a Latin term as soon as it is excavated. As a result of this, perhaps natural tendency, the archaeological remains have been interpreted in combination with textual references, and plans of Pompeian h ouses are general labelled with such terms. Some modern scholars even translate the Latin terms into the assumed appropriate modern equivalent. The implication of this is that we are given the impression that we are far better informed than we in reality are, as to the nature of the activity that occurred in any given room in a Pompeian house. Some of the terminology used by ancient authors, and followed by modern scholars, was undoubtedly used by Pompeians, but any assignment of labels to rooms should be treated with a due amount of caution. Amongst other problems, this assumes that the function of rooms did not change over time and that individual rooms served only one function, such as they largely do in the modern world. Relatively recently Wallace-Hardrill has offered a very convincing description of the social structure of Roman houses, demonstrating that the entire space of the house was arranged to present the identity and status of the owner to the surrounding community. This may seem an obvious point, but in relation to the question, it is a vital one to note. The social function of a house determined both the layout of the rooms and the choice of decoration within each room. There are two especially characteristic elements to this social function, namely the different use made of space depending on the type of visitor to the house, and the significance of the extravagant dimensions and the wasted space as an example of conspicuous consumption. Ancient authors present us with an image of clients waiting in the atrium for an audience with a wealthy patron as a yard-stick of the social status of that patron. He would receive more important guests in smaller rooms closer to the interior of the house. Often more secluded rooms were used if the discussions were considered private. Close friends would come to dinner in dining areas that were specifically and deliberately located at the rear of the garden peristyle. A social pecking order was thus easily established, corresponding to the increasing access given to the interior of the house. It is evident that architects took great pains when designing the peristyles of Pompeian houses, to ensure that a guest would receive the most comprehensive impression of the size of the patrons’ home. An example of the way this was achieved was to locate the largest and most impressive rooms around the peristyle courts so that all would be visible, along with the garden, as a guest was taken to the patron. The number of reception rooms, and indeed the total number of rooms, played a significant role in determining the rank of the household and the social status of the patron within the social hierarchy of the city. A wealthy homeowner would have a home large enough to receive guests in different areas depending on their numbers, social status, time of the day, season etc. This ability to choose the location of reception was key in establishing ones social status. Although the amount of money spent on a persons house was not always directly proportional to the individuals wealth, some relationship is certain, as today, it was the most expensive item in the family budget. In order to purchase a large and impressive dwelling, one that would indicate high social rank, considerable amounts of money were required. There were also ancillary costs to consider, high social status was implied from having a large number of slaves and household attendants; all of whom had to be housed themselves. A measure of the importance of an impressive house in determining social status of the senatorial class is indicated by the amount of debt Cicero incurred in order to obtain his house on the Palatine. The character of Trimalchio in Petronius Satyricon is also not unaware of the importance of a grand house. With his expensive and extensive house he can hope to be held in high esteem. In the description of the house all of the rooms are on a grand scale. Trimalchio relates that when ‘Scaurus’ came to town he preferred to stay with Trimalchio rather than in his own house by the sea. By spending large sums of money, Trimalchio can hope to raise his social status among the wealthy elite; such thinking can no doubt be applied to any town within the Roman Empire, and certainly to Pompeii. Quite naturally, the preceding discussion only applies to the wealthy and socially prominent. They were the only rank in Pompeian society who needed (or could afford) large atria to receive clients, or large dining rooms to entertain friends. It should be noted the Pompeian society, an indeed Roman society as a whole, was competitive and there was relatively extensive upward mobility, or at least the desire sue such. The social elites created a model for their less wealthy and powerful contemporise through their activities and particularly through the style in which they lived, at least when they placed themselves on ostentatious open display, as was the purpose of a grand house. Decoration, as well as size and general layout, was also used as a means of indicating, or attaining a certain social status. Thus both architecture and interior design were employed in the competition for social status in Pompeian society. The natural side effects of this were stylistic developments in the various arts and crafts employed in interior dà ©cor, especially in painting. It has been argued that room function can be determined from the decorative schemes and that the more elaborate decoration was in rooms that were most likely to be seen by visitors; whilst probably broadly true, as Wallace-Hadrill has shown, arguments based on the premise of a precise relationship between archaeological remains at Pompeii and the surviving textual source tradition are often trapped in circular arguments. The extensive nature of the decorations in the Pompeian house, and indeed in houses throughout the Roman world, tell us much about the social life of the inhabitants. The fact that Pompeian houses were extensively decorated, and particularly those areas through which visitors would pass, or in which they would stay for extended periods, such as reception rooms and dining rooms, tells us that visitors were common. Houses, therefore, performed a very significant social function. Not only were they areas in which to live, they were also designed and decorated to present the owner in the best possible light, to indicate to the world his wealth and social standing. The Interpretation of individual rooms is, as already mentioned, problematic. Archaeologists and classical historians tend to interpret the Pompeian house without any consideration of the contents of a given room at the time of the eruption. Whilst it is obvious that some fixtures, such as cooking hearths, shrines, water-catchment areas and garden colonnades provide a good indication of room use, no systematic evaluation of room contents at Pompeii has ever been made. With this in mind, it should be recognised that an understanding of the social significance of decoration in the Pompeian house can never be complete as decoration surely implies the contents of any given room and not just the wall decoration. One final point that should be made is that decorating a part of a house for the purposes of social display was not a specifically, or even an originally Roman idea. In Greek cities of the classical period the houses of the rich were more elaborately constructed and better furnished and decorated then those belonging to people from a lower social level. A wealthy visitor to an Athenian house of the fifth or fourth century no doubt expected certain standards of decoration in the room where the symposium took place. The decorative style of Roman elite houses drew its inspiration from that of the Classical and Hellenistic period, but soon developed in the competitive climate of the late Republic and early Empire. The Pompeian house, therefore, served a number of functions. It was somewhere for an individual and his family to live in the first instance. But it also performed a significant social function as a place to receive and impress clients. Its size and exterior adornments were an open display of wealth and social standing, making a claim to be from a particular social class (even if not born into it), and the decoration, both interior and exterior all served to reinforce this impression. The more elaborate the decoration, the greater the social status of the owner. Bibliography P.M.Allison, Pompeian Households: An Analysis of the Material Culture (Los Angeles 2004) A.Boethius J.B.Ward-Perkins, Etruscan and Roman Architecture (Middlesex 1970) A. Cooley, M.G.L. Cooley, Pompeii (London 2004) M.W.Frederiksen, Caesar, Cicero and the Problem of Debt, JRS, 56, 1966, 128-141 M. Grahame, Private and Public in the Roman House: Investigating the Social Order of the Casa del Fauno in R.Laurence A.Wallace-Hadrill, Domestic Space in the Roman World: Pompeii and Beyond (Michigan 1997) M.Grant, Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum (London 1971) W.M.Jongman, Pompeii (Amsterdam 1988) A.McKay, Houses, Villas and Palaces in the Roman World (Southampton 1977) M.C.Van Binneke, Some Remarks on the Functions of Houses and Rooms in the Insula V at Herculaneum. Mededelingen van het Nederlands Instituut te Rome, Antiquity 50, 1991, 136-144 A.Wallice-Hadrill, The Social Structure of Roman Houses, PBSR, 56, 1988, 43-97 A.Wallice-Hadrill, Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum (Princeton 1994) P. Zanker, Pompeii: Public and Private (London 1998)

Improving The Literacy Of America Essay -- Illiteracy In America

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reading and writing are two of the most important functions performed on a daily basis by individuals. One problem in America is that a significant amount of the population cannot perform one or both of these tasks. These two tasks are commonly referred to as literacy. What encompasses a literate individual is a controversial topic. For example, if someone can read a sentence and decipher what it means does this mean the person is literate. Or should the individual be able to interpret a sentence as well as write and respond to a given situation to be considered literate. Due to this vagueness in what encompasses a literate individual, I will not state statistical information about the state of literacy in the United States. The statistical information is not important, rather the way the literacy rate can be risen in the U.S. is what is important. A general situation that has to occur to raise literacy rate is the situation where an individual has the desire to r ead and write and does not do so solely because of instruction from authority figures. This certainly is not occurring today, as exemplified by the event that â€Å"even a best-selling book in this country might reach 5% of the population† (Castell 38). Perhaps a better way to influence the literacy in America is to examine the classrooms where primary education geared toward literacy takes place. This refers to elementary and middle school classrooms. An examination of what processes in a classroom context help develop literacy in individuals is an important aspect of the literacy of the children in America. Three aspects of a classroom that affect literacy are: the power of the teacher, community with peers, and access to tools of literacy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Power, in this case, refers to the power of the teacher and the extent to which this person expresses this power. The teacher serves to regulate the activities of children. One of the most important things that he does is to foster the interest and learning of the pupils. In this way the teacher has infinite power over his subjects. He can assign work, manipulate exactly what the student has to know for his class, and alter his teaching styles for different subjects. Traditionally little power is given to the student in the classroom setting. Often times students regurgitate memorized information in order to perform in a well in a given class. Th... ... learning literacy desirable to the student, which obviously increases learning. The United States has to move toward implementing better literacy-directed learning in our school’s classrooms. In the long-run, this will help the U.S. compete on the national level with other countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But the advantages to a more literate society are obvious even when viewing the issue on a more personal level. Literacy is the key to the social world as well as the job market. Individuals who benefit from the increase in literacy rate will be more successful in life and maybe even have higher feelings toward themselves. The vision of a totally literate America is certainly a very promising and positive one. Works Cited Bloome, David. Classrooms and Literacy. New Jersey: Ablex , 1989. Castell, Suzanne De, et al., eds. Literacy, Society, and Schooling. New York: Press Syndicate, 1986. Harris, Karen, and Barbara Baskin. â€Å"Toward a Culturally Literate Society.† School Library Journal 35.12 (1989): 29-32. Wells, Gordon. â€Å"The Zone of Proximal Development and Its Implications for Learning and Teaching.† Sep. 1996. http://cite.ped.gu.se/network/zpddiscussion.html (31 Mar. 1999).

Night Essay

Compare the hanging of the â€Å"youth from Warsaw† and the hanging of the â€Å"sad eyed angel† and explain, using evidence from there and elsewhere in Night, why Elie Reacted differently to the two hangings. Elie Wiesel’s Night is a memoir of his horrifying childhood experiences of suffering as a Jew in the concentration camps. Eliezer was found to suffer in many camps, and during this time he witnessed the daily sufferings and deaths of many humans. His faith faltered as a result, and after so much pain he grew apathetic to the withering away of mortal life. By the end of the book nothing really surprises Elizer anymore because he knew anything could happen at any moment. However, Eliezer’s reaction towards hanging of the â€Å"youth from Warsaw† was different from the hanging of the â€Å"sad eyed angel. † Eliezer’s faith faltered daily when he witnesses the death of many innocent lives including the hanging of the youth from Warsaw, but he never loses his hope or questions the existence of God until he witnesses the hanging of the â€Å"sad eyed angel. † Eliezer witnesses many death during his time in concentration camps, and he never wept once, even when he witnesses the hanging of the youth from Warsaw. This young boy is described as tall and strong. Supposedly, he had stolen something during the alert in the concentration camp. Looking back at his execution, Eliezer expresses his feeling about the hanging saying that it â€Å"upset him deeply† (Wiesel 62) in a way quite distinct from his knowledge of the thousands who died daily in the camps. Elizer was disturb by the hanging because he did not lost all of his faith and hope, he still have humanity so that’s why he feels upset when he witness people die, deep in his heart faith and hope were just broken, now after witness the hanging of the youth from Warsaw he found the broken pieces of hope that is why that evening after the execution he finds â€Å"the soup tasted better than ever† (Wiesel 63). Another reason that Eliezer finds the soup taste better is because he was actually grateful that it was not him or his father toward the execution. Elizer realize that death is everywhere in concentration camp, and it could be either him or his father next time standing on the gallows. He is thankful that he still alive at that moment and can is still eating his ration of soup, although he knows that he could be in line next to get hang in the gallows. Eliezer also felt the youth from Warsaw brought the death on themselves. He realizes that there are rules in the concentration camp that you can never disobey, if you break the rules in the camp, you will be killed. Where is merciful God, where is He? †(Wiesel 64) It was another day when Eliezer return from work and roll call begins. There were three gallows for three prisoners that are going to be hang on the gallows for conspiring to blow up the electric power station, but among the three prisoners there is a little pipel in the middle, the sad eyed angel. At every hanging, no one in the audience will ever shed a tear or weep, but the hanging of the sad eyed angel affected not only Eliezer but many others. During the execution all eyes were on the child, the two men died immediately, but the child was too light â€Å"and so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death. † (Wiesel 65) The hanging pained Eliezer so much and it makes him wonder how God can be present in a world with such cruelty, he question the present of God and when he heard a voice saying â€Å"For God’s sake, where is God? † (Wiesel 65) he answers â€Å"Where He is? This is where –hanging here from this gallows†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wiesel 65). Following the death of the sad eyed angel Eliezer thinks that was the death of God as well. â€Å"That night, the soup tasted of corpses† (Wiesel 65), after witness the hanging of the sad eyed angel Wiesel finds the soup tasted like corpses and also like death, the death of God. The sad eyed angel represent a symbol of silent which God is presents as in the novel Night. God was a symbol of silence in the novel because when Eliezer and the other Jewish people cries out for God’s aid and mercy, their please were left unanswered. The God in Night did not save them from cruelty and death, God has remained silence throughout the novel, so when the angel was hanged Eliezer’s relates the death of angel to the death of God, as he meant that God was hanging upon the gallows and had abandoned them. Eliezer realizes that the Nazis were coming closely to destroy his faith in God and so he was unable to enjoy anything because he thinks that life, hope, and joy could not be reach because all goodness had been destroyed. â€Å"I’ve got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He’s the only one who’s keeping his promises, all his promises to the Jewish people† Wiesel 81) Hitler the ultimate evil was conquering the good Jewish people every day through death and destruction. To Eliezer there was no hope for life and no chance for survival. He thinks God had abandoned them because there seems to be no end to evil. After witness the hanging of the sad eyed angel, Eliezer was constantly being reminded of death, he feels like death was everywhere in the camp, and when he were forced to watch the hanging of the sad eyed angel, which appeared to be innocent and full of hope, he feels that he was forced to watch innocence and hope die in front of him. As Eliezer watched the young pipel struggle between life and death he felt that the boy was innocent and he did not deserve to suffer. Eliezer and the young pipel were around the same age, so when he witnesses the hanging of the young pipel he felt as he shared the pipel’s pain and suffering and that he was suffering from a slow painful spiritual death as well. The hanging of the young pipel pained Eliezer so much because he knew he could not rescue him. In Elie Wiesel’s Night the author present a significance of the hanging and the brutal elements of the surroundings in the concentration camp. He express that evening â€Å"the soup tasted better than ever† (Wiesel 63) after he witness the hanging of the youth from Warsaw, and yet after he witness the hanging of the sad eyed angel â€Å"the soup tasted of corpse. † It was trying to present how Eliezer’s slowly loses his hope and faith in God. Eliezer’s faith was being challenged under such brutal condition, and many do not get their beliefs put to the test in such extreme condition as Eliezer did, and this leads Eliezer to question his faith. The meaning of hanging in this novel represent the bad conquers good, death and evil become apparent. The goodness that had been present prior to concentration camp had been destroyed through death, evil and abandonment. Every killing that Eliezer witness deteriorated his faith and finally after witness the sad eyed angel, it was the end of hope for Eliezer, he finally understood the murderous nature of concentration camp, and he could not walk away unaffected by the hanging. At last, Eliezer walked away as a completely different person than how he entered.

Waking Up From A Midsummer Nights Dream Essays - Free Essays

Waking Up From A Midsummer Night's Dream Essays - Free Essays Waking Up From A Midsummer Night's Dream As with every play we read this quarter, we started A Midsummer Night s Dream with only a text. Reading the script is the foundation of Shakespeare, and the least evolved of the ways that one can experience it. There is no one to interpret the words, no body movement o!r voice inflection to indicate meaning or intention. All meaning that a reader understands comes from the words alone. The simplicity of text provides a broad ground for imagination, in that every reader can come away from the text with a different conception of what went on. The words are merely the puzzle pieces individuals put together to bring coherence and logic to the play. Although we all read generally the same words, we can see that vastly different plays arise depending on who interprets them. By interpreting the word-clues that Shakespeare wrote into the script to direct the performance of the play, we were able to imagine gestures, expressions, and movements appropriate to the intention of the playwright. An example of this can be seen in the different Romeo and Juliets: Luhrman clearly had a more modern vision after reading the script than did Zeffirelli did only 18 years before. The live performance at the CalPoly theatre also carried !with it a very different feel less intense, more child-like and sweet with nearly the same words. Reading also affects our experience in that without the text, we would most likely not be able to enjoy Shakespeare at all; having the text makes Shakespeare widely accessible (available for free on the web) to all that desire it. Once the script is obtained, anyone can perform Shakespeare even everyday, non-actor citizens put on Shakespeare whether it be in parks, at school, or in a forest. My experience reading Shakepearean plays has shown me that reading is necessary and fundamental part of grasping the fullness of the works. I had wanted to read A Midsummer Night's Dream for quite some time. Besides being a play by Shakespeare, I believe my desire to do so came from seeing bits and pieces of it done in Hollywood movies like Dead Poet's Society. I didn't realize how much small exposures like! those could cause me to prejudge the actual text; after I had read the play for myself I was surprised at how much the text differed from my expectations. Not knowing the whole of the plot, but rather only bits and pieces, I expected a play filled with fairy dust and pixy-women toe-dancing, laughing, with flowers everywhere, or something like Hylas and the nymphs. What I did not expect was a group of rag-tag laborers putting on a play, young females catfighting over their men, or Titania being enamored of an ass. (Act IV, Scene i, MND) Even with surprises, though, the text by itself held little detail and richness in my mind. I thought it a decent play, but certainly nothing like I had hoped, and I didn't feel involved in it or connected to it in any way. One of the things that did impressed me, though, was finding out for myself how accessible Shakespeare actually is. When it came time for me to learn my lines for Philostrate (MND), I copied them from a site on the internet which posted the text in its entirety. I realized the!n how lucky we are that plays like these survived through the ages, sometimes probably making it from one hand to the next in a form no better than the paperback I carried in my bag. Through my reading, the importance of the text was impressed upon me, and I feel that I have gained a new appreciation for the lasting and foundational qualities of pure script. Viewing Viewing a play adds a kind of second dimension to a textual reading. While our primary impressions of a Shakespearean play are established with the initial reading, those impressions are challenged when we come into contact with a play performed. At this point we have a first hand contrast between how we felt and how someone else felt about the same play. Once we have sampled another's interpretations we necessarily question ourselves on what we would have done differently, had we directed the play. Perhaps something we expected to see on stage was omitted; perhaps! something unusual was added. We might even sample the same play dozens of times, all performed by different companies; it is common, it is even expected, that none of the twelve interpretations will be much the same. Unlike

An apple is better than an orange Essay Example

An apple is better than an orange Essay Example An apple is better than an orange Essay An apple is better than an orange Essay An apple is better than an orange. Do you know that fruits are the best friends off healthy body? An apple and an orange can help a person to have a healthy lifestyle. Apples and oranges are two delicious fruits. These fruits look the same, but the truth is that they are different. A person can analyze three main aspects to understand why an apple Is better than an orange: health benefits, flavor, and color. These three aspects convert an apple In the best choice for a person. A person s health Is very Important thats why a person should consume an apple dally. An apple Ingestion benefits are many. An apple Is rich In vitamin C. Also an apple contains an element that prevents aging. Eat dally an apple prevents sclerosis. An orange instead only provides a high level of vitamin C but it is not as complete as an apple. The taste of an orange and an apple are completely different. An apple has a sweet taste. While proving an orange can be a sour experience. The apple flavor is lovely, makes that a person wants more than one apple. Maybe a person doses t like an orange s flavor because it is citric. Its flavor can be distasteful for many people. But an apples flavor can be mystical and pleasant for a person. An apple is more colorful than an orange. An apple can be red, green or yellow but these three colors are beautiful. The red color of an apple makes a person can think in love or passion. Also a red apple is a symbol of temptation. While a yellow or green orange is totally common. Green or yellow orange does not attract peoples attention. A beautiful color can attract the attention of anyone. In conclusion an apple and an orange can look the same. Of course both are delicious fruits but these are very different. The healthy benefits that an apple has, an orange has not . An unique apple s flavor, orange never can has. Finally the color that falls In love Just the apples has. For these three reasons Is that apples are better than oranges

Would the quality of news gathering diminish if news papers no longer Essay

Would the quality of news gathering diminish if news papers no longer existed - Essay Example ly affected in a negative manner by the absence of printed newspaper distribution as professional journalistic practices have evolved along with technological advances and cultural trends. Modern technologies have provided a wider selection of news sources while simultaneously providing access to numerous resources through which to verify the veracity of the information provided. While news organizations established prior to the advent of the internet have subsequently contributed web-based versions for subscribers to the digital catalogue, other companies such as Yahoo.com have elected to create a place of their own in providing news from local, regional, national, and international sources. This glut of news sharing allows a minimum of pieces which could be regarded as yellow journalism to make it into the mainstream media as misinformation. Having numerous sources makes it more apparent when unfounded or opinion based stories are found to conflict with the reality of events. However, this spirit of collaboration and information sharing is not without its pitfalls. Numerous news agencies now employ wide spread re-publication of stories linked to national and international events throughout media, a practice which could limit the scope of available accurate and relevant reporting if left unchecked. Fortunately, circumstance dictates the limitations of duplicating information. Competition in the free market lessens the possibility of such all-consuming laziness in news gathering professions as profit remains the key to the success of an organization regardless of the medium in which the news is offered to the public. As a result, the timeliness and accuracy of the news w hich has been gathered form reputable sources constitutes the intellectual property which serves as the basis for their success and is paramount to other concerns. As familiarity and access to internet sources has spread and people have lost interest in buying printed newspapers, they have become

Personal and Professional Development Statement

And Professional Development - Personal Statement Example Before starting a new course or new assignment I always attempt to reflect upon both my personal as well as professional practice. I cherish the way I have managed to nurture my career. I haven't always been a teacher at the college; I was originally employed as a gardener to maintain the college's numerous football pitches, trees and flower beds. My resume did reveal, however, several years teaching experience in Japan and an extensive background in engineering. It occurred to the administration one fine day that I could perhaps nurture the human mind better than plants. We need to revisit our prior experiences and knowledge to illustrate that we have already taken the first difficult step towards evolution. 'Maximizing an experience' is, therefore, a progressive and reflective task that can be used to action plan further development. I wish to augment upon my personal and professional development by pursuing an honours degree. I believe that the learning processes and the learning skills needed to obtain the degree are more important than the degree itself. I therefore aim to achieve more through the process of acquiring knowledge. Subsequently, the learnt skills can be transferred to both personal and professional contexts. The desire now to achieve attainment at a higher... Though I do not believe that intelligence is linked with qualifications, yet I am certain that the presence of degrees allows constructing ideas and verifying them in a professional and responsible manner. My yearning to be a teacher asks me to be qualified as well; subsequently, when I am qualified, I expect to feel a sense of intellectual enlightenment as well. This would help me develop knowledge, and perhaps spread the light through educating my pupils. Reflection here appears also to have a special learning value in that acquired learning, when the reflected upon issue will generate deeper learning vis--vis the relevance to the learner. To further my ability to teach, I will thus need to further develop my ability to reflect critically in a range of situations. Equally important, the course will continue to provide me with a selection of teaching and learning tools that can be used not only in a classroom environment but also in my personal life. Vital Areas When reflecting upon assignments that have given me confidence and a sense of worth, there are two projects which I have enjoyed more than others. These were the independent studies module, and the organisational module. These developed a level of insight and knowledge within me, which I had not experienced otherwise. Another reflective challenge was the completion of an audit. I found that this form of self-evaluation relies upon self-perception or self-awareness and a comparison of self with others. The audit has identified three perceived areas and skills within me, which need further development, namely: (a) Note Taking (b) Reflecting on my experience (c) Organizing time and myself I have realized that these three are not my