Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Important elements in An Inspector Calls

Important elements in An Inspector Calls The first act of the play by J.B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls, displays many of the essential features that will dominate throughout the whole dramatic piece. Set in the Edwardian Era, the play reflects the differences in social classes, as well as the influence of the industrialization over the entire society. Likewise, the rigid gender roles of the Edwardian Era are clearly noticeable throughout the different characters. Gerald Croft, Edna, Eva Smith and the Inspector Goole are important characters in the argument, in spite of the fact of not being part of the Birlings family. The Inspector blamed all characters for the death of Eva Smith, claiming for justice. Finally, Priestley takes advantage of the context of the time when the text was written. He plays with the audiences emotions given that the audience at that time had recently suffered the consequences of the Second World War. The play exemplifies the social structure and industrialization of the Edwardian Era all the way through the plot and the setting. The play is divided into three acts and takes place in the dining-room of a prosperous manufacturer, Arthur Birling, in the industrial city of Brumley. At the beginning of the act, the author gives the impression of a heavily comfortable house. With the arrival of the Inspector Goole, the lighting turns out to be brighter and harder reflecting the change in the atmosphere: tense and mysterious. The Edwardian Era was a period of false security, which preceded the Great War, as discerned in Mr. Birlings opinion about the unviable chance of a war or the unsinkable Titanic. These are examples of dramatic irony, as the audience of the play from 1946 had witnessed all the events that the characters in 1912 were unconscious of. It was a time of urbanization and mass production, where the upper class had the whole supremacy over the common laborers. The upper cru st was not supposed to say such things [polite, nice things] to the hoi polloi. The industrialists sought for lower costs and higher prices, touching upon the working class. The employ of the antithesis between lower and higher is really significant as the lower costs mostly take effect by paying the workers less and the higher prices make the well-to-do richer. Gerald Crofts engagement to Sheila means a tremendous lot to me [Arthur Birling], giving clues to the audience about the marriages between the moneyed which ensured the creation of new social positions. The gender roles are epitomized by the Birling family. At the time the play is set, women and men were unequally treated and lack of gender fairness was a common feature. While Arthur Birling and Eric were able to obtain well-paid jobs, and had a word in decisions, women were unable to obtain education and were kept at home. Mrs. Birling and Sheila are clearly inferior to men, and they could only aspire to make an impact on a bountiful man. Mrs. Birling is aware of these gender differences, and in occasions she suggests that Sheila and I had better go into the drawing-room and leave you men, referring to the gender-specific activities of the Era (in this case the men will talk about manly topics, and the women will leave them alone.) Mr. Birling is very proud of his achievements, and he tries to intimidate the Inspector. He is very selfish and only mind his own business and look after himself and his own. He is continually trying to protect his reputation and the one of Birling and C o. Eric, his son, is totally opposite to his father as he defends the working class, and he is unfortunately a drinker, he is genuinely curious as he asks quite a few questions. He ironically suggests that a man has to look after himself, showing his will to know the truth. Mrs. Birling, in the other hand, is a rather cold woman and her husbands social superior. We can see from her words, men with important work to do sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on their business, that she accepts the fact that men used prostitution very often. In the other hand, Sheila depicts the generational difference, considering herself modern and is morally sensible. The outsiders are fundamental figures of the plays plot. The Inspector Goole gives the impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness, the way J.B. Prestley described this central character says a lot of his personality and way of acting throughout Act 1. One person and one line of inquiry at a time, this is the way he works. This shows that he is very manipulative in his actions. He tries to find Geralds impatience by stating that Gerald has nothing whatever to do with the wretched girls suicide. The influence of the word wretched is substantial to his slow and convincing movements. Gerald Croft is also a character from outside the Birlings Family. His engagement with Sheila means a lot to her father, but his aristocratic status makes his future marriage unfavorable due to his higher social status. Edna and Eva Smith are the only characters which belong to the proletariat. Edna is the parlourmaid of the Birlings, while Eva Smith has no family, although she was described as a lively good-looking girl. Moreover, there is many discrepancy in the way in which Eva is treated among the characters in the play. Justice and morality, as well as social responsibility, are essential underlying messages throughout the first scene. The play is morally trying to find the audiences accountability for its own actions and the corporate responsibility to society. Priestley uses the authoritarian figure of the Inspector to demonstrate each of the characters responsibility for Evas suicide. As the Inspector suggests, youre partly to blame. Just as your father is. [Referring to Sheila]. The usage of short sentences makes the statements sharper and direct, however the utilization of the personal pronoun you is really significant as it appeals to the theatergoers own responsibility. Inspector Goole has the law in his hands, he is the authority figure which seeks for justice of the young Eva Smith. He is in command of giving us some more light, a subtle metaphor for truth. Sheila and Eric are morally sensible, she alleges that these girls arent cheap labour they are people. The way she claims that they ar e people shows her understanding and respect of the lower classes. It has now become clear that J.B. Priestleys first act of An Inspector Calls, is charged with standout elements which are fundamental throughout the whole piece. An evident link has therefore emerged between the Edwardian Era and the way the play is set up. The prerogative class dominated over the majority of the working class which holds a job in the industries such as that of Birling and Co. Following this, gender roles and the responsibility of the characters, as well as the moral purpose of the play show very interesting perspective of a different time, but the rich description chain of dialogues makes this play to continuously be worth watching.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Pushing Kids to the Limit Essay -- Essays Papers

Pushing Kids to the Limit Children today seem to be involved in many activities outside of school. A number of children may play soccer, swim, play an instrument, and help out around the house while at the same time trying to succeed academically. In many cases, the vast number of sports played by these children is due to the parent’s encouragement, or enforcement. Some parents may enforce after school activities in order to keep their children away from the â€Å"evils of society†: drugs, alcohol, and simply loitering and causing trouble. Unfortunately, at times, the pressure from the parents can have negative effects on the children academically and/or socially. Some reasons that parents push their kids so much, could be the small possibility of a college scholarship or money for the child in the future, keeping their children off the street, or the chance that the parents are living vicariously through their child’s sports glory. Title IX is a law that requires high schools and colleges to give the same amount of money to both girls and boys sports in an attempt to make the genders equal. However, instead of simply equalizing the two sides, this law provides more scholarships for women because they are still competing in fewer sports than men. This will usually peak the parent’s interest, making them believe that there are plenty of scholarships out there for their daughters. Unfortunately this is not exactly true. As Lester Munson, an associate editor at Sports Illustrated, explains it (in an article by Brendan Tierney), â€Å"This is the theory that many parents have that if they start their child young enough, and work him or her hard enough, that he or she will get a college scholarship or become a professional athle... ...fast. Yes, get children involved in sports and activities. In the long run it will pay off, but please, keep it all in perspective. Works Cited - Shields, David Light. â€Å"Another View: The reality of Olympic dreams for children.† 2002. (November 5, 2002). - â€Å"Study show athletes among heaviest college drinkers.† May 7, 1998. Shawnee News Star. (November 16, 2002). - Tierney, Brendan. â€Å"How to Become a Better Sports Parent.† September 18, 2002. (November 3, 2002). - â€Å"Vacation or Training Day? Shanghai Parents Shaping Their Children.† July 23, 2002. Shanghai Star. (November 17, 2002).

Sunday, January 12, 2020

HR Plan of Action for QV Solar LLC Essay

QV Solar LLC has experienced rapid growth that has seen an increase it its staff from 15 to 54 last year in spite of the global economic recession. In order to maintain the position and develop the company as a â€Å"green† company, the Company’s HR proposes a series of strategies that will encourage change and an increase in productivity. The policies will mainly focus primarily on improving the efficiency of the Company’s current workforce since hiring of new employees will not be an immediate viable scheme. The plan will target making the staff understand the company’s mission better by reevaluating their roles and understanding what is specifically expected of them for enhanced success of the company. In order to realize effective change among staff, the HR will target capacity building and teamwork as key concepts of management and ensure that adequate resources are provided to facilitate creation of an environment that favors much success. The HR will design a structure that facilitates constructive feedback from all departments in order to facilitate a systematic flow of information at various organization levels. The smooth flow of information will ultimately lead to the development of better opportunities for a more rapid growth of the company. QV Solar LLC’s HR Plan of Action will be based on Joel Ross and Michael Kami’s opinion that â€Å"managers should avoid organizational rigor mortis†¦ that change is inevitable, and the organization as well as its people must accommodate the change (McConnell 315). The plan of action will also embrace the fact that the only thing that lasts in organizations is change. That change is with organizations and keeps accelerating them. This change will not be produced by internal action only but will also be a factor of external actions- such as consideration of the value of customers to the company (McConnell 315). The HR will focus on changes in product innovation by ensuring that solar panels are tailored as per customer specifications. In order to achieve this, QV Solar LLC should focus on feedback from staff when they install solar panels for customers. Along this line, staff should be trained to facilitate better installation and human relation with customers. The training program will entail integration of staff and customer ideas to ensure that the solar panels are of the highest quality and thus promote QV Solar LLC as a â€Å"greener† company. The training program will be followed by a follow-up evaluation to monitor its effectiveness with a view that customers’ ideas are vital for the Company’s success. The Company’s objective to maintain a clean environment will be facilitated by incorporating customers in a program where they can return their panels to the company for recycling as a means of exercising corporate responsibility. This will also emphasize the fact that change is realized not only from within an organization but also from customers and the prevailing environment. In order to capture a larger share of the market, the HR will review staff performance from time to time and ensure that their skills are constantly ameliorated. This will be will be achieved by ensuring that the employees can work in various departments in different capacities in order to develop a multiplicity of skills that will enhance the company’s productivity without necessarily having to hire more staff. In summary, QV Solar LLC’s Plan of Action will entail strategies that aim at improving productivity by improving the efficiency of employees while recognizing the customer as the most important part of the organization.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Han and Roman Views on Technology - 1065 Words

â€Å"Han and Roman Views on Technology† The Hans and Romans understood the importance of technology, but unlike the Hans, the Romans viewed anyone who worked with tools or with their hands to be a person of lowly status. The Romans only showed appreciation for technologies that could hold some benefit for the upper-class. The upper-class Romans thought that craftsmen, people who made a living out of making tools, was hardly an occupation that deserved any respect. The Hans appreciated the use of tools in their labor and how it could help the people. The Hans showed a great appreciation of their technological advancements, and its effect on society. The Roman attitude toward technology was that any person who worked in workshops, devoting†¦show more content†¦These tools are also sold at very high prices considering their low quality. The Han government has dominated the trade of iron, controlling the quality of tools used by the people to do work, and the quality of tools the government uses to perform its public duties, such as repair work and the building of public structures. All the previous documents used above were all in the perspective of an upper-class citizen. An additional document that would have shown the attitude of the lower-class citizens and the women’s perspective of these technological achievements would have added authenticity to this argument. A document from the perspective of an upper-class woman in Roman or Han society would show if new technologies affected their everyday work/obligations, or if technologies were solely for the benefit of men. Another source that would have been helpful would be from a lower class woman to show the similarities and differences of the work expected of lower class and upper-class women. Men were dominate in both Roman and Han societies, but the attitude that the lower class men had of technology was excluded from the list of documents provided. The documents consisting of the feelings of the upper class citizens in the Han and Roman society’s states that people of the lower class used too ls to perform their work, but it is unknown how they personally felt about technology and its affect on them. From the informationShow MoreRelatedHan and Roman Dynasty View on Technology903 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstanding that both the Han and Roman empires thought of technology as useful and somewhat revolutionary, but both of them had somewhat different feelings of it. The Han dynasties attitude toward technology was that they thought it was very benefical, and they admired it. The reason this was because they though it to be very helpful in agriculture and construction purposes. 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