The A-Team Essay Example

The A-Team Essay The science of categorising behavioural style started with the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates in 400 BC who recognised that we could be described as fitting into one of four temperament styles. This century, behavioural theory has been used to develop self-assessment tests that aim to provide an insight into our behavioural tendencies.Over the past twenty years organisations have espoused these self-assessment instruments into their human resources tool kit(De Dreu et al. 2001). Over the last two decades I have predominantly worked in a team oriented environment within the construction industry. I have had roles that required me to both lead and follow the lead of others. In my experience I have seen examples of teams working well together and teams not working well together. I feel as though good team dynamics at work are recognisable and intuitive beyond any theoretical explanation.This is the first time I have ever considered the behavioural aspects of team dynamics and how m y personality factors in. Personality cohesion is essential to the effectiveness and efficiency of a team. The purpose of this report is to better understand myself and others in a work team context, by exploring self-assessment tools and reflecting on the relevant literature I hope to discover more about my potential as a leader. 2. Self-Assessment using Self-Assessment Exercise The self-assessment tools I selected were: 1. DiSC Personal Profile SystemThe DiSC behaviour model is based on research by William Moulton Marston, in his book Emotions of Normal People. The word DiSC is an acronym of the four primary dimensions of behaviour as described by Marsden: * Dominance * Influence * Steadiness * Conscientiousness THE DiSC assessment tool is currently used in my workplace to assist management in developing effective work teams and also to help individuals improve their relationship and communication skills. I chose the DiSC test because I am interested in developing my own self-awar eness.It is important to note that I was asked to answer the question (Assessment input) within the context of my current role and to reflect on the results in terms of that role. I found the results of this test to be informative. There were three different stages to the results of the test. The first result identified that my own strength was in Steadiness, I was provided with descriptions based on how the behavioural dimension of Steadiness is characterised. The second stage to the DiSC test was the dimensional intensity index, indicating numerically the scale to which I was awarded within the context of each of the behavioural dimension.Thirdly, the last stage of the test was related to a classic profile pattern, integrating my results from the four different behavioural dimension intensity indices and placing me into one of eighteen different classic profile patterns. I think the classic profile pattern attributed to me (practitioner) is accurate for my current role as I am cur rently employed as a technical officer. For example, I value proficiency in a specialised area; I’m motivated by being good at something; I have unrealistic expectations of others at times.It came as a surprise that the test indicated my goals were personal growth and that I fear not being recognised as an expert. 2. Dutch Test for Conflict Handling I chose this test because I believe the way we handle conflict in the workplace has a significant impact on how effective we are in our role within the organisation. I was interested in finding out about how I handle conflict in the workplace so I could look to improving or better managing my weaknesses and leverage of my strengths.The Dutch Test for Conflict Handling is a self-estimate test which allows you to estimate the extent to which you prefer to use each of the five conflict handling styles: * yielding * compromising * forcing * problem solving * avoiding The evaluation scale for this test was developed from research done by CARSTEN K. W. DE DREU et al (De Dreu et al. 2001). The format for the assessment is comprised of twenty questions asking how one handles different aspects of conflict. The results are in the form of a scale for each of the five conflict handling styles.The scale estimates the extent to which you prefer each of the styles and compares you to a range of scores from a sample. The results of my test showed me that my most preferred conflict handling style is Problem Solving, as most of the conflicts in my current role are technical in nature I can see how preferring this approach would be the most beneficial. I also scored high in the yielding style which also fits the type of work I do, often after exploring the issues I can see if in this instance, another’s oint of view is a more appropriate technical solution and I will agree with them. Though these two approaches work well for technical issues I face in my current role, as I progress in my career, to higher management I n otice the nature of conflict becoming more complex. I will need to consider how I might develop skills that enhance my ability in the areas of compromising rather than yielding. 3. Overview of relevant literature According to the Wall Street Journal, the use of self-assessment tests are becoming more prevalent in today’s business world.Self- assessment tests measure intangible behavioural and emotional dimensions as leadership tools. Lopez says that emotional intelligence enables leaders to regulate their emotions so as to cope effectively with stress and adjust to organizational changes (N Lopes et al. 2006). The recognition for the future benefits of applying this theory of self-assessment is evident through the employment of these tests in business schools, now measuring and reviewing Emotional Intelligence Quotient as part of the application process for new enrolments, in an attempt to identify future stars (Korn 2013).Cangas establishes that members of organizations who participate in the process of self-assessment are likely to develop a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles of continual improvement and an increased motivation to participate in subsequent improvement activities (Cangas 1996). Continual improvement is defined as an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. McKenna et al adds that there is a perception that significant benefits are achieved in organisations where managers understand the emotional intelligence of their employees.They write that the benefits are better hiring; career planning; job placement; as well as enhanced collaboration and teamwork; better communication; more effective conflict resolution; increased job satisfaction and morale; improved meeting effectiveness; and overall improvement in team and organizational performance. They do, however, go on to explain that very little empirical research has been conducted to support the link between understanding emotional intelligence and the outlined benefits. McKenna, Shelton, and Darling 2002). Other research indicates that there is an important link between effective team leadership and self-awareness. Sosik et al suggests that self-awareness supports a leader’s translation of purpose and meaning, turning obstacles into invigorating challenges for employers (Sosik and Megerian 1999). Following this Mayer et al claims self-awareness may help leaders to better â€Å"hear† the emotional implications of their own thoughts and the feelings on others (Mayer and Geher 1996).In the article a meta-analytical review of the relationship between emotional intelligence and leaders’ constructive conflict management by Schlaerth et al. It is proposed that, the ability to accurately perceive and manage our own emotions enables one to develop the capabilities required for understanding the perspectives of others. In the context of organisational behaviour, it is theoretically linked to positively impacting on th e rest of the team. (Schlaerth, Ensari, and Christian 2013).Technical knowledge is all too often the deciding factor when assessing the criteria of team members in the selection process. Hiring decisions are typically based on candidates’ work experiences, skills, and knowledge, termination decisions are more often a result of individuals’ behaviours (Wagner 2000). According to McKenna et al It is widely believed that teams whose members have diverse behavioural styles – for example introverts and extroverts, thinkers and feelers, people who are highly assertive and those who are less assertive – will be more effective than teams whose members lack such diversity of styles.It is also commonly believed that work groups whose individuals are aware of and respect one another’s diverse behavioural styles tend to experience improved communication and higher morale, and that individuals whose work environments most closely align with their behavioural st yles tend to be more satisfied. However they go on to say that little research has been done that demonstrates statistically significant differences between organisations that us self-assessment instruments compared with those that do not (McKenna, Shelton, and Darling 2002).Following this we could ask, is the self-assessment test the most appropriate way to achieve this self-awareness? According to Dunning et al one of the problems with using data provided from self-assessment tools is, in general, peoples self-views hold only a tenuous to modest relationship with their actual behaviour and performance. The correlation between self-ratings of skill and actual performance in many domains is moderate to meagre indeed, at times, other peoples predictions of a persons outcomes prove more accurate than that persons self -predictions.They go on to say that peoples general evaluations of their skills and character such as whether they are good leaders or verbally skilled tend not to be tethered very tightly to objective performances in tasks that should reflect those skills and character traits and, when people offer specific predictions about how they will behave in a particular future situation, they make predictions that differ systematically from their actual behaviour when that situation arrives. (Dunning, Heath, and Suls 2004).Rather than behavioural diversity and self-assessment Hackman proposes that the keys to developing effective teams, lies in five conditions that leaders of companies and other organizations must fulfil in order to create and maintain effective teams: 1. Teams must be real. People have to know who is on the team and who is not. It’s the leader’s job to make that clear. 2. Teams need a compelling direction. Members need to know, and agree on, what they’re supposed to be doing together. Unless a leader articulates a clear direction, there is a real risk that different members will pursue different agendas. 3.Teams ne ed enabling structures. Teams that have poorly designed tasks, the wrong number or mix of members or fuzzy and unenforced norms of conduct invariably get into trouble. 4. Teams need a supportive organization. The organizational context – including the reward system, the human resource system, and the information system – must facilitate teamwork. 5. Teams need expert coaching. Most executive coaches’ focus on individual performance, which does not signi? cantly improve teamwork. Teams need coaching as a group in team processes – especially at the beginning, midpoint, and end of a team project (Hackman 2002).In an article titled â€Å"Why Teams Dont Work†, J. Richard Hackman elaborates in an interview setting ‘that people generally think that teams that work together harmoniously are better and more productive than teams that don’t but in a study we conducted on symphonies, we actually found that grumpy orchestras played together slight ly better than orchestras in which all the musicians were really quite happy’. (Coutu and Beschloss 2009). This could possibly suggest that conflict mightn’t necessarily be a bad thing in teams. 4. Applications and limitationsAs the use of self-assessment tests increase. Managers need to be aware of the limitations associated with the tests. The lack of research that supports the benefits of self-assessment tests suggests there is a danger that poorly designed assessment programs could have a negative impact on the organisation. Self-assessment tests can give us an insight into how we might be behaving in the work place; how we are perceived by others, what our strengths and weakness might be and how we fit into the organisation and its objectives.They give us an insight (if we let them) into some of the less attractive of our behavioural styles that we might normally ignore. It is important to develop strategies to increase the objectiveness of the self-assessment res ults. These may include, understanding the limitations of our ability to accurately self-assess and including controls such as peer assessment comparison and the careful selection of well-designed self-assessment tests. Tests should be effective at getting to the objective truth about ones behavioural style.Once we have categorised our behavioural styles and understand the behavioural styles of our co-workers we can begin to develop strategies that maximise opportunities and strengths and mitigate weaknesses or threats, for example if my primary dimension of behaviour has been recognised as being â€Å"dominance† I might be well placed to deal quickly to critical incidents but may lack the tact to be able to negotiate with someone who likes to avoids conflict.This point leads to how self-assessment can be useful in the development and management of effective teams. If the results of team self-assessments are used to identify team constraints early on in a team’s develo pment, managers can proactively implement strategies to manage problems caused by clashing personality and make better use of the identified group strengths. When hiring new staff for existing or new team roles we traditionally base the selection criteria on the hard skills such as qualifications and work experience.It may be beneficial to create a behavioural profile that would best suit the role. In addition to creating a position description the behavioural profile for the job would highlight how a new team member might contribute to the behavioural diversity of a team. For example a software development project team that is made up of conscientious task oriented software engineers may benefit more by employing someone who is a goal orientated communicator. Understanding the context of peoples behavioural styles can help in developing work teams.A recent team assessment done in my work place, using the DiSC Personal Profile System found that a particular department who were under performing had an overwhelming number of team members that fitted into the â€Å"steadiness† behavioural dimension. The results of the assessment were interpreted not as evidence that the team lacked ability to demonstrate behavioural diversity, but the department’s policy and procedures prevented all but a few senior staff members from making decisions or taking risks.Subsequently an intuitive to redefine some of key positions in the team to include the delegated authority over decisions has improved the performance of this team. 5. Conclusion Self-assessment is an important step towards self-enhancement and self-improvement. Organisations can benefit from self-assessment programs especially in the areas of team development and recruitment. It is important that these programs are well designed so as to overcome our tendencies to distort their results. The results of these programs can transform work teams and individuals by identifying possible limitations and potenti al opportunities.

How Racism Affects Minority Students in Public Schools

How Racism Affects Minority Students in Public Schools Institutional racism doesn’t just affect adults but children in K-12 schools as well. Anecdotes from families, research studies and discrimination lawsuits all reveal that children of color face bias in schools. They’re disciplined more harshly, less likely to be identified as gifted or to have access to quality teachers, to name but a few examples. Racism in schools has serious consequences- from fueling the school-to-prison pipeline to traumatizing children of color. Racial Disparities in Suspensions Persist Even in Preschool Black students are three times more likely to be suspended or expelled than their white peers, according to the U.S. Department of Education. And in the American South, racial disparities in punitive discipline are even greater. A 2016 report from the University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, found that 13 Southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia) were responsible for 55 percent of the 1.2 million suspensions involving black students nationwide. These states also accounted for 50 percent of expulsions involving black students nationally, according to the report, â€Å"Disproportionate Impact of K-12 School Suspension and Expulsion on Black Students in Southern States.† The finding most indicative of racial bias is that in 84 Southern school districts, 100 percent of students suspended were black. And grade school students aren’t the only black children facing harsh forms of school discipline. Even black preschool students are more likely to be suspended than students of other races, the U.S. Department of Education found. The agency reported that while blacks make up just 18 percent of children in preschool, they represent nearly half of preschool children suspended. â€Å"I think most people would be shocked that those numbers would be true in preschool because we think of 4- and 5-years-olds as being innocent,† Judith Browne Dianis, co-director of think tank the Advancement Project told CBS News about the finding. â€Å"But we do know that schools are using zero-tolerance policies for our youngest also, that while we think our children need a head start, schools are kicking them out instead.† Preschool children sometimes engage in troublesome behavior such as kicking, hitting and biting, but quality preschools have behavior intervention plans in place to counter these forms of acting out. Furthermore, it’s highly unlikely that only black children act out in preschool, a stage in life in which kids are notorious for having temper tantrums. Given how black preschoolers are disproportionately targeted for suspensions, it’s very likely that race plays a role in which children teachers single out for punitive discipline. In fact, a study published in Psychological Science in 2016 suggests that whites begin to perceive black boys as threatening at just 5 years old, associating them with adjectives such as â€Å"violent,† â€Å"dangerous,† â€Å"hostile† and â€Å"aggressive.† The negative racial biases black children face, and the correlated high suspension rates result in African American children missing a great deal of school. This can lead to them falling behind academically, including not reading at grade level by third grade, and eventually dropping out of school. Pushing children out of class increases the chances that they will have contact with the criminal justice system. And a 2015 study published on children and suicide suggested that punitive discipline may be one of the reasons suicides among black boys are rising. Of course, black boys aren’t the only African American children targeted for punitive discipline in school. Black girls are more likely than all other female students (and some groups of boys) to be suspended or expelled as well. Minority Children Less Likely to Be Identified as Gifted Poor children and children from minority groups are not only less likely to be identified as gifted and talented but more likely to be identified as requiring special education services by teachers. A 2016 report published by the American Educational Research Association found that black third graders are half as likely as whites to participate in gifted and talented programs. Authored by Vanderbilt University scholars Jason Grissom and Christopher Redding, the report, â€Å"Discretion and Disproportionality: Explaining the Underrepresentation of High-Achieving Students of Color in Gifted Programs,† also found that Hispanic students were also about half as likely as whites to be involved in gifted programs. Why does this imply that racial bias is at play and those white students aren’t just naturally more gifted than children of color? Because when children of color have teachers of color, the chances are higher that they will be identified as gifted. This indicates that white teachers largely overlook giftedness in black and brown children. Identifying a student as gifted involves a number of considerations. Gifted children may not have the best grades in the class. In fact, they may be bored in class and underachieve as a result. But standardized test scores, portfolios of schoolwork and the ability of such children to tackle complex subjects despite tuning out in class may all be signs of giftedness. When the school district in Broward County, Florida, changed the screening criteria for identifying gifted children, officials found that the number of gifted students in all racial groups rose. Rather than rely on teacher or parent referrals for the gifted program, Broward County used a universal screening process that required that all second graders take a nonverbal test to identify them as gifted. Nonverbal tests are said to be more objective measures of giftedness than verbal tests, especially for English language learners or children who don’t use Standard English. Students who scored well on the test then moved on to I.Q. tests (which also face allegations of bias). Using the nonverbal test in combination with the I.Q. test led to the number of black and Hispanic students in the program tripling from 1 to 3 percent and 2 to 6 percent, respectively. Students of Color Less Likely to Have Qualified Teachers A mountain of research has found that poor black and brown children are the youth least likely to have highly qualified teachers. A study published in 2015 called â€Å"Uneven Playing Field? Assessing the Teacher Quality Gap Between Advantaged and Disadvantaged Students† found that in Washington, black, Hispanic and Native American youth were most likely to have teachers with the least amount of experience, the worst licensure exam scores and the poorest record of improving student test scores. Related research has found that black, Hispanic and Native American youth have less access to honors and advanced placement (AP) classes than white youth do. In particular, they are less likely to enroll in advanced science and math classes. This can reduce their chances of being admitted to a four-year college, many of which require completion of at least one high-level math class for admission. Other Ways Students of Color Face Inequalities Not only are students of color least likely to be identified as gifted and enroll in honors classes, but they are also more likely to attend schools with a greater police presence, increasing the odds that they will enter the criminal justice system. The presence of law enforcement on school campuses also increases the risk of such students being exposed to police violence. Recordings of school police slamming girls of color to the ground during altercations have recently sparked outrage across the nation. Students of color face racial microaggressions in schools as well, such as being criticized by teachers and administrators for wearing their hair in styles that reflect their cultural heritage. Both black students and Native American students have been reprimanded in schools for wearing their hair in its natural state or in braided styles. Worsening matters is that public schools are increasingly segregated, more than they were in the 1970s. Black and brown students are most likely to attend schools with other black and brown students. Poor students are most likely to attend schools with other poor students. As the nation’s racial demographics shift, these disparities pose serious risks to America’s future. Students of color comprise a growing share of public school students. If the United States is to remain a world superpower for generations, it’s incumbent upon Americans to ensure that disadvantaged students and those from ethnic minority groups receive the same standard of education that privileged students do.

Culture Hearths and Diffusion Around the World

Culture Hearths and Diffusion Around the World Culture is generally referred to as a certain groups particular way of life. This includes the social meanings of various aspects of life such as race, ethnicity, values, languages, religions, and clothing styles. Though many distinct cultures are prevalent around the world today, those that are the most dominant have origins in one of a few areas called culture hearths. These are the heartlands of various cultures and, historically, there are seven main locations from which the most dominant cultural ideas have spread. Early Culture Hearth Locations The seven original culture hearths are: The Nile River ValleyThe Indus River ValleyThe Wei-Huang ValleyThe Ganges River ValleyMesopotamiaMesoamericaWest Africa These regions are considered culture hearths because such things as religion, the use of iron tools and weapons, highly organized social structures, and the development agriculture started and spread from these areas. In terms of religion, for example, the area around Mecca is considered the culture hearth for the Islamic religion and the area from which Muslims initially traveled to convert people to Islam. The spread of tools, social structures, and agriculture spread in a similar manner from the culture hearths. Culture Regions Also important to the development of early culture centers are culture regions. These are areas that contain dominant cultural elements. Though not everyone in the culture region has the same culture traits, they are often influenced by it in some way. Within this system, there are four components of influence: The Core -Â   the heart of the area and shows the most strongly expressed culture traits. It is usually the most heavily populated and, in the case of religion, features the most famous religious landmarks.The Domain - surrounds the Core and, though it has its own cultural values, it is still strongly influenced by the Core.The Sphere - surrounds the Domain.The Outlier - surrounds the Sphere. Cultural Diffusion Cultural diffusion is the term used to describe the spread of cultural ideas from the Core (in the case of culture regions) and the culture hearth. There are three methods of cultural diffusion. The first is called direct diffusion and occurs when two distinct cultures are very close together. Over time, direct contact between the two leads to an intermingling of the cultures. Historically this occurred through trade, intermarriage, and sometimes warfare because members of the various cultures interacted with each other for long periods. An example today would be the similar interest in soccer in some areas of the United States and Mexico. Forced diffusion or expansion diffusion is the second method of cultural diffusion and takes place when one culture defeats another and forces its beliefs and customs onto the conquered people. An example here would be when the Spanish took over lands in the Americas and later forced the original inhabitants to convert to Roman Catholicism in the 16th and 17th Centuries. The term ethnocentrism is often applied to forced diffusion because it refers to the idea of looking at the world only from ones own cultural vantage point. As a result, people participating in this form of diffusion often believe that their cultural beliefs are superior to those of other groups and, in turn, force their ideas upon those they conquer. In addition, cultural imperialism is usually placed into the category of forced diffusion as it is the practice of actively promoting cultural characteristics such as language, food, religion, etc., of one nation in another. This practice is normally within forced diffusion because frequently occurs through military or economic force. The final form of cultural diffusion is indirect diffusion. This type happens when cultural ideas are spread through a middleman or even another culture. An example here would be the popularity of Italian food throughout North America. Technology, mass media, and the internet are both playing a huge role in promoting this type of cultural diffusion around the world today. Modern Culture Hearths and Cultural Diffusion Because cultures develop over time, new dominant areas of dominant culture have done so as well. Todays modern culture hearths are places such as the United States and world cities like London and Tokyo. Areas such as these are considered modern culture hearths because of the prevalence of their cultural aspects now present throughout much of the world. Take for instance the popularity of sushi in Los Angeles, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia or the presence of Starbucks in places like France, Germany, Moscow, and even in Chinas Forbidden City. Direct diffusion has certainly played a role in this new spread of cultural values and products, and people are now moving around frequently because of todays ease of travel. Physical barriers such as mountain ranges also no longer hinder peoples movement and the resultant spread of cultural ideas. It is indirect diffusion, though, which has had the largest impact on the spread of ideas from places like the United States to the rest of the world. The internet and advertising through the many forms of mass media have allowed people worldwide to see what is popular in the U.S. and as a result, blue jeans and Coca-Cola products can be found even in remote Himalayan villages. However cultural diffusion occurs now or in the future, it has happened many times throughout history and will continue to do so as new areas grow in power and pass on their cultural traits to the world. The ease of travel and modern technology will only aid in speeding up the process of modern cultural diffusion.

BA Social work - Values and ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

BA Social work - Values and ethics - Essay Example The working conditions and cases handled are usually very different for each case of social work. Ethical dilemma arises when the right answer to any course of action is not obvious i.e. it can be in child services to differentiate between vulnerable and exploited child. There are also some situations where the individual need of a child is overlooked over the other issues. The same was the case of Victoria Climbie, where her needs were overlooked over the housing requirement of her aunt and murderer. There may be values which contradict with each other. This theory is based upon the consequences of any particular activity. In this the net benefit resulting from any act or policy is calculated. It is based on the happiness or unhappiness a person gets from the consequences of any particular policy which is rather a difficult task. It depends upon individuals’ ability to think of consequences. It leads to lots of uncertainty in the complex situations. This theory can be utilised in the simpler issues. It can be understood by the example of Victoria Climbie case inquiry. Anonymous call was made to inform Brent Social Services for the bad condition of the child. If Brent Services had responded in time and handled the case properly with the view of the worst consequences (which happened later) may be Victoria Climbie would have saved. This theory was developed as a criticism of consequentialist theory. Consequentialist theory emphasis more on the end means that are consequences. This theory states that means which are leading to those consequences are equally important. The means have got moral importance. 18th Century Immanuel Kant had explained the theory, placing the emphasis on the duties and rules. He explained with simple examples like ignoring rules like ‘do not lie’, ‘keep promises’ and others will have bad consequences. This theory can also be

Islamic banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Islamic banking - Essay Example The authorship would remain anonymous. (4) I agree to my Project being submitted to a plagiarism detection service, where it will be stored in a database and compared against work submitted from this or any other School or from other institutions using the service. In the event of the service detecting a high degree of similarity between content within the service this will be reported back to my supervisor and second marker, who may decide to undertake further investigation which may ultimately lead to disciplinary actions, should instances of plagiarism be detected. (5) I have read the University Policy Statement on Ethics in Research and Consultancy and the Policy for Informed Consent in Research and Consultancy and I declare that ethical issues have been considered and taken into account in this research. People should be flexible enough to learn new things and this is the only key of trying new things. People, who tend to learn and try new things, bring all significant and productive change in environment. That can only save the world from repeating past mistake in future. People learn and try things in their own way and styles. VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/Write and Kinesthetic learning styles. The literature review highlights the nature of Islamic Banking, showing it to be more moral and justice based as against the misconception of it being religion based. This by itself augurs well for world communities that have been cheated of their investments through high risk securities that were based on speculation rather than healthy investments. The research carried out, though limited in nature, also points to the fact that due to its sharing of risk methods and high collaterals, the Islamic Banking system may be restrictive in a sense, yet it offers means of consolidations of investments as against throwing it away in speculative practices. Therefore, I really

The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Essay Example for Free

The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Essay â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a chilling tale of a woman forced to insanity, yet her mental state is a double edged sword. What brings her down is, in the end, her savior. The doctors in the narrator’s life give her the worst advice possible for the outcome they desire. She is forced to do nothing, and instead of pulling her back to normality, the dreariness pushes her further and further away. Left with nothing to occupy her mind, her mind occupies itself. In the beginning of the story, the woman is quite lucid in the usual sense. Due to a lack of understanding of depression, she is forced to hide the things she loves. She focuses her attention on all she has left, her mental state. However, since she is told that there is nothing wrong she does not analyze it directly, but instead watches her life play out in the metaphor created by the horrid yellow wallpaper. As the story progresses, you watch as the lady loses her touch with reality, focusing more and more on the yellow wallpaper. She pays attention every inch of it, noticing the ever watching eyes and the twists that keep what she believes to be a creeping woman trapped behind. She stops complaining of boredom, and instead analyses the paper most intently. I believe when the narrator begins to see the creeping, humiliated woman outside is the beginning of her liberation. It shows that the woman is free, at least part of the time. This is also around the time when the narrator noti ces the streak running around the room. While this could of been there before, one would think she would of noticed it previously. This indicates she created it herself, in her moments of freedom. During this part of the story she was only liberated part of the time though, as John was still there to watch her at night. The creeping woman she sees also hides herself when someone is coming. As the moon peeks through the windows, the narrator watches the woman in the wallpaper. She is no longer creeping and hiding, as the narrator is forced to also do by day, but shaking the â€Å"bars† of her prison, meanwhile the narrator is wishing John would take another room so that she could escape him. By the end of the story, she has completely forgotten about her wishes to have some kind of entertainment. As her husband is gone and she is able to trick Jennie into  leaving her alone, the narrator manages to free the woman behind the wallpaper from it’s entangling grasp. Thus, she also frees herself from the controlling grasp of her husband. She is free to do as she pleases, which at the moment is creep around the room in the most unusual fashion. However, she seems to really be enjoying herself. Not only that, but she doesn’t even want to leave her room. When John returns, he sees that he is no longer in control what so ever, and faints. While he is kind of cumbersome and in the way, as the narrator now has to crawl over him to complete her circuit, this shows how completely she has triumphed. Society may find her actions disconcerting, but it is the very same society that pushed her away into isolation in the first place. Crawling over her husband’s inert body merely emphasizes the point that she has finally completely overcome him. She finally get’s her way.

Our Value of Art Essay -- Art Philosophy Essays

Our Value of Art Art is a thoughtful, emotional expression. It has many forms, such as painting, sculpture, architecture and the written word. Rousseau proposes, "Instead of thinking of life as something to which signs and texts are added to represent it, we should conceive of itself as suffused with signs (Culler 12)." For these purposes the signs which Rousseau identifies are works of art. This statement speaks to the inseparable quality of life and art. Since life and art are connected they invariably affect one another. Life is inherently chaotic. This prompts the creation of art, which consequently promotes the stasis of chaos. Art's effect on society demands that we decide whether we value art enough to risk our own undoing. Human beings are psychologically driven creatures. As a result their endeavors are similarly psychologically driven. The compulsion to create is one of our most basic, primitive drives. From a psychological perspective this is known as sublimation, or the channeling of one's energy into a healthy, socially acceptable behavior. This behavior alludes to the idea that the act of creating something of significance makes up for life's troubles. This cognitive negotiation is known as rationalization. It would seem that productively acting in response to chaos would restore the good. However, this energy is misdirected. Channeling all of one's energy into art neglects the problems that truly need attention. In this way art is like putting a fresh coat of paint on a crumbling old home. Consider the Beat Generation. This was a passionate group of painters and poets who produced a massive body of work during the mid twentieth century. It is not a coincidence that they indulged heavily in promi scuous sex, h... ...sso wrote, "Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given to us to understand (Picasso 321)." In regard to the relationship between art and chaos art is only a lie as long as its purpose remains unexamined. For some of us, regardless of the negative ties that art has to life, nonexistence is favorable to a life without it. Art teaches us that all wonderful things have ramifications. I would argue that the greatness of a masterpiece exponentially surpasses the harm it causes because it captures its chaotic origins and builds from them. It is as if life's troubles have changed form and evolved into a worthwhile, undying entity. Works Cited: 1. Burroughs, William S., Naked Lunch, New York: 1959. 2. Culler, Jonathan, Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction, New York: 1997. 3. Picasso, Pablo, "Statement to Marvis de Zayas," 1923.