Sources of capital Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sources of capital - Assignment Example Another way through which NFPs raise funds is Grant funding which includes the funds that are awarded to NFPs by the government sector or by organizations that are charitable in nature (Landskroner, 2002). For example World Health Organization may provide a local NGO located in Pakistan with funds for the eradication of poverty in deserving areas of Pakistan. Both For Profit and NFPs can even use Loan financing and equity capital to raise funds for business. Loan financing refers to the money that is borrowed by an organization from another financial organization such as the banks (Zelman, 2009). Equity finance is the capital that is raised by both the organizations by the sale of certain amount of shares of the organization to external investors. Trading or sale of assets is even means through which both kinds of organizations raise capital. Trading is the sale of goods and services in return for money and fixed assets are the assets such as land and furniture that may be sold by or ganizations to raise capital. All these sources have finance have various pros as well as cons associated with them. The main advantage of raising funds through fundraising activities is that the money that is raised does not need to be returned and the organization does not need to provide an account of where and how it was spend. But the downside of this method is that holding fundraising programs is quite expensive. In case of grants, the money does not need to be returned but the not for profit organization has to provide an account of where and how the money was spent. The upside of loan financing is that ample amount of money can be raised at a very small period of time but the loan repayment makes the method expensive. In case of equity, there is an increase in partnership due to which the not for profit organization may lose its sight of working for the wellbeing of others. The problem with trading and sale of fixed assets is that there are certain tax

Art HIstory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art HIstory - Essay Example Meanwhile, on the other part of the globe, lies the Horyu-ji Temple (), one of the oldest existing wooden buildings of the world, exhibiting the heavy influence of Buddhism in Japanese art and architecture, especially in the 5th century AD (Asian Historical Architecture n. p.). In this case, the researcher would like to discuss the architecture and interior decoration and symbolic design from the Byzantine Empire through analyzing existing architectural artifacts of the Byzantine Empire in Ravenna Italy. Then, the researcher would compare this with the architecture and art of ancient Japan as displayed in the Horyu-ji Temple (), and will also compare how these works of art reflected the existing socio-cultural conditions from the period when they are made. According to some scholars, the Byzantine period actually produced one of the greatest period of innovation in architecture and the arts (Fletcher and Cruickshank 282-320), wherein geometric complexity and innovative structuring, a long with the prevalence of iconoclasm and mosaic art flourished (Fletcher and Cruickshank 282-320).

Compare how death is presented in three poems in the Anthology Essay Example for Free

Compare how death is presented in three poems in the Anthology Essay The three poems Remember by Christina Rossetti, Plena Timoris by Thomas Hardy and Refugee Mother and Child by Chinua Achebe all portray death in different ways. Rossetti explores the acceptance of death, whereas, in Refugee Mother and Child we see the unwavering love the mother has for the child. In the poem Plena Timoris the persona recalls how love can be so extreme that could lead to despair and death. What I found intriguing about these poems was how love could be both a dangerous and positive force towards the subject of death. Love could drive a person to their grave but also love could be the will for a person to stay strong and never giving up. Christina Rossetti a devote Anglican to whom church and family were paramount. It is known that two marriage proposals which did not live up to her religious fervour therefore she turned them down. Because of her religion Rossetti appears to have been obsessed with her own pending death in this poem. Her belief was that death was the ultimate goal for everyone, and because of such she very much planned her own pending death. The structure of this poem was in a Pertrachan Italian sonnet form. In this form poems are meant to be very structured and are need of following a strict rhyme scheme. However there was a change in rhyme scheme between the octet and sestet. In the octet the phrase â€Å"Remember me† was mentioned three times, but a sudden change was then noticed, as in the sestet â€Å"Forget me† was repeated twice. This change is used to suggest the possibility of forgetting and being happy rather having instructions to remember. This could show even before her death she was still doubtful between secular love and materialistic love. Chinua Achebe is a proud Nigerian who observed the civil war in his country and horrific suffering of the innocent refugees. In Refugee Mother and Child he relates the sadness of death between a child and a mother by writing in free verse. The line length of the whole entire poem was three lines. In the first stanza there is only one sentence, and in the last stanza two sentences were present. These long sentence increases the intensity on the images and also the enjambment suggests the suffering of these innocent refugees. Plena Timoris is set within the conservative morality of Victorian England where women had a subordinate and dependent position in a male patriarchal world. Hardy uses different tones throughout the poem to evoke how he thinks about love. He sees love in a very cynical view and is making an effort in portraying love is not everlasting but tragic and indecisive. In the first stanza the use of alliteration in â€Å"the lovers looked over† emphasizes love was lyrical and a harmony of life by the â€Å"l† sound produced. But in the second stanza onwards there was a sudden transition and the change of tone was turned emotionless and insensitive. From the phrase, â€Å"There’s a woman in the canal below† there is a sense of bluntness and matter of fact to it. This sudden contrast of tones between the stanzas just enforces how Hardy thinks about love. The rhyme scheme of this poem does not change, the structure is: â€Å"abbab, cddcd†. It is in a strict and orderly fashioned. This rhyme scheme reflects how Hardy feels abut love and death. That love would have happy times but at the end it will just lead to despair. Also by having such a strict rhyme scheme it also suggest how Hardy views women opinion in love. As this structure is so old fashioned it provides a kind of security and how the future is being set. This may be very well how women in the male patriarchal world viewed love therefore he viewed love in such a cynical way. In the poem Remember, Rossetti portrays death as an eternal and a beautiful thing, instead of fearing death like the other two poems. The persona appears to have been planning and waiting for her own pending death. Rossetti uses strong imagery to reveal about how she feels about death. The opening two lines of this sonnet â€Å"Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land† gives an idea of how she hints that she is dying. The phrase â€Å"silent land† could be translated as a cemetery or individual grave. It can also be seen as a metaphor as the phrase also suggests calm after life. All these techniques used by Rossetti could be seen that she is using euphemism to make death sound less harsh, and instead it is a goal that should be achieved by everyone. Whereas in the poem Refugee Mother and Child, Achebe reflects the sadness of death by creating a tragic atmosphere. This poem does so by introducing shocking images and strong words. In this poem it is full of pathos; it is a very emotional poem. The alliteration used in: â€Å"struggling in labored steps behind blown empty bellies† evokes a sense of harshness, as the â€Å"b† sound which is constantly repeated makes a very plosive sound. The juxtaposition used in â€Å"the rust – colored hair left on his skull† emphasizes how horrific death is towards the child. Not only is this phrase very descriptive but it also seems to describe the layers of death. It is very photo journalistic which makes the atmosphere very tragic and grave. In Plena Timoris death is conveyed in the strong imagery created by Hardy. The negative imagery in â€Å"And her arm dropt† symbolizes how because the woman in the poem sees love could lead to death it is in fear of it, therefore there is a loss of affection towards the man. The alliteration in â€Å"dim dreads† and â€Å"slowly sees† portrays a sense of insecurity coming from the woman. As she slowly sees how extreme love could lead the despair and death. Lastly, the phrase â€Å"till an arm upbore† in stanza two is a horrifying image. The word upbore gives a sense of death and the whole phrase conveys a sense of fear towards the subject death as it is being described as horror and terror. In Remember the poem creates a huge impact on readers. It is a poem which is very memorable. This is because Rossetti describes death in a very different way than most poets therefore standing out from the other poems. The repetition in this poem emphasizes the point of her point of view and the confusion between her religion and materialistic love. The phrases â€Å"Remember me† and â€Å"Forget me† was repeated a number of times and because of such it plays a great role in the poem. As it gives an impression on how Rossetti is judging between her church and her religious fervor. The strong descriptive imagery in the poem Refugee Mother and Child and the choices of word Achebe chooses makes this poem have a very strong impact on the reader. The beginning of the poem where allusion is used in: â€Å"No Madonna and Child could touch† by referring to a famous painting of Jesus and Mother Mary, emphasizes the point of love between the bonds of the mother and child very strongly. Also the strong imagery in â€Å"her eyes the ghost of a mother’s pride† gives an impression of how the mother is hanging onto the child’s life and as the child dies something inside the mother is dying too. These strong images are used often in Achebe’s poem, and because of such his poem have a strong impact on readers and this poem is very memorable. In Hardy’s poem it was very effective as the negative poetic techniques he uses describes about love in a very vivid and strong, also Plena Timoris gives an impact to readers because it shows very clearly the differences between love and death. The juxtaposition in† till hopeless despair began† gives a contrast between hope. By this phrase love is being described very negatively, and because of this the poem is very vivid in the readers mind. Also in the phrase â€Å"the girl’s heart shuddered; it seemed as to free her†. The semi colon used in this phrase is an intended pause to emphasize the sense of the women’s heart actually shuddering. Plena Timoris creates a strong impact on readers as the descriptive words he chooses allows the reader to imagine clearly what is happening. Personally I liked Refugee Mother and Child the most because Achebe boldly states that the human spirit and dignity of the Nigerian mother and the love she has for the child is greater than anything comparable in the Christian world. Though Hardy’s and Rossetti’s poem was not unforgettable pieces of work, I think Achebe’s is the better one because his comparisons stood out more than the ones Hardy had. Also the imagery he had and alliteration was stronger than Rossetti’s. By reading Achebe’s poem I felt and sympathized for the mother and child, and I thought the poets point was put forward very clearly on love and how strong it can be.

Impact of Supply Chain Strategies on Performance

Impact of Supply Chain Strategies on Performance Introduction The concept of Supply Chain Management (SCM), introduced to address the issue of integration of organizational functions ranging from the ordering and receipt of raw materials through the manufacturing processes to the distribution and delivery of products to customers with a view to enable organizations to achieve higher quality in products and customer service and to lower inventory cost, has attracted considerable managerial attention in recent times mainly because of its huge potential competitive impact (Stevens, 1989). Experience, however, demonstrates that managers adopt a variety of disparate approaches to SCM implementation. In this context, design of an effective supply chain network has become a crucial issue for any company to survive in a fiercely competitive market. The SCM concerns with issues and characteristic features of several interrelated factors and activities of an organization, such as demand forecasting, procurement, manufacturing, distribution, inventory, tr ansportation, and customer service, and the resulting integrated approach is extended to customers and suppliers (Christopher, 1992). Considering the implications of all these aspects, a number of issues in SCM have assumed importance in the context of prevailing industrial scenario in India in order to make SCM more effective. Numerous papers have been published in the literature advocating the principles and the benefits of SCM [Beesley (1997), Lurquin (1996), Mason-Jones and Towill (1998), and Towill (1996)]. Many case studies have also been published evidencing the benefits of SCM [Arntzen, et al., (1995), Calza and Passaro (1997), and Lee and Billington (1995)]. There are several studies on SCM practices in different countries reported in the literature [Gilmour et al. (1995), Handfield and Withers (1993), Cilliers and Nagel (1994), McMullan (1996), Cox (1999)], and it is felt that an effort on design and development of SCM practices including issues, such as IT application, performance measures used, and barriers of SCM implementation is very much needed in India. On reviewing the existing SCM literature, several major weaknesses in the conceptualization and modeling of SCM are found. In particular, the SCM construct is perceived as an extension of integrated purchasing and supply management, or integrated logistics and transportation management. It appears that a coherent view on SCM concept has yet to develop in the existing literature, and it makes a prerequisite to conduct a survey on the important issues of SCM before a comprehensive methodology for supply chain performance measurement and evaluation system for the Indian Tyre manufacturing industries is prescribed. This paper reports the details of a questionnaire-based survey to study the status and scope of SCM practices in Indian Tyre manufacturing companies and also provides a brief overview of the similar surveys on SCM already undertaken in different industries. Objectives of the Survey The primary objective of the survey is to explore and understand, in quantitative terms wherever possible, the issues in SCM practices and concerns of the Tyre manufacturing industries in India. In specific terms, the objectives are related to the following aspects: †¢ Present status and scope of SCM practices; †¢ Role of Information Technology (IT) in SCM; †¢ Performance measures used in SCM, †¢ Benefits of employing SCM practices; and †¢ Specific issues hindering SCM practices. It is assumed that addressing the above-mentioned issues, as all of them are related to SCM strategies and practical constraints, would lead to understanding the status and scope of SCM practices in Indian Tyre manufacturing industries. Presently, the majority of the Indian companies have a weak alignment of supply chain strategy with business strategy. This is primarily so because the companies are rigidly structured along functional lines with department-specific performance measures. Survey Methodology A survey instrument, in the form of a questionnaire, is used in order to fulfill the objectives as mentioned. The questionnaire designed for the survey, will be conducted during December, 2010, for nearly 18 companies covering Tyre manufacturing industry in various regions of the country. Various lists of manufacturing companies, Internet websites of the companies, and personal contacts were the main sources for obtaining information about the companies and creating a database. The companies were selected randomly from the database. Although the survey will be conducted for a specific time period, the issues considered remain highly relevant for understanding the operating principles, norms, problems, and implementation aspects of SCM practices in the Indian Tyre manufacturing companies. The questionnaire is designed to know about the responding companies, their main objectives of employing SCM, positions of companies in the supply chain for their primary products, and views of the respondents on the principles of effective SCM practices. The questionnaire was divided into two sections: Section A and Section B. Section A was designed for the companies which have already implemented the SCM concepts like information sharing with suppliers and customers, or have decided to implement SCM concepts in near future, contains questions pertaining to several important issues related to SCM practices, such as a companys role in servicing customers needs, its role as a customer to its suppliers, the role of IT in SCM, the performance measures used in supply chain performance evaluation, and the activities or actions hindering SCM practices. Section B presents the items related to several types of barriers and government policies commonly found in implementing SCM practices in t he Indian Tyre manufacturing industries. A combination of checks, yes/no, `Likert scale, and multiple choice questions are framed against the issues as mentioned. The following specific tests will be employed on the data obtained: †¢ Two-Tailed Significance Test-this provides a level of significance for differences between two groups to a question requiring a response using a Likert scale. †¢ Bivariate Correlation (Pearson) Coefficient-this tests the relationships between responses to two different questions. The test provides a `p value indicating the strength of the relationship. A value of p=0 represents no relationship, and p= ±1 a strong relationship, and shows the significance level of the relationships. †¢ Reliability Analysis-In order to assess the homogeneity and inter-correlations of the factors used in an item, Cronbach alpha (a) [Cronbach (1951)], a measure of internal consistency often used in cases where participants respond to questions on a Likert scale The values of a lies in the range (0, 1). For the purpose of analysis, the survey responses are divided into three categories: Category 1: Questions that need ranking of alternatives (Likert-scale questions) The importance of the alternatives under each issue is established based on the values of statistics obtained. Category 2: Questions requiring degree of agreement (multiple choice questions) For the questions requiring degree of agreement, Specific issues such as main objectives of SCM, principles of effective SCM practices, integration of divisional areas in the supply chains, information communication tools with suppliers and customers, area of IT applications, and barriers of SCM implementation are included in this category. The percent responses of all the alternatives under each issue are computed and the rankings of the alternatives are done based on the percent responses resulting in identifying the important alternatives. Category 3: Yes/No type questions For this category, two yes/no type close-ended questions have been framed against different issues. The percent responses of `Yes/No is computed against each issue, which provide the general views of the respondents on a particular issue. Company Details Apollo Tyres Ltd Shanmugham Road Cochin, KL 682031 Phone : +91-0484-2381902/2381903/ 2380720/ 2372767/ 2363760 Birla Tyres Syed Amir Ali Avenue Kolkata, WB 700019     Email :  [emailprotected]  Phone : +91-33-22814516 Ceat Tyres Ceat Tyres. D 6/5, SMB ENGINEERS, TTC INUSTRIAL AREA MIDC TURBHE NAVI MUMBAI, MH 400705 Phone : +91-22-27622079 Elgitread (India) Ltd Elgitread (India) Ltd 2000 Trichy Road Coimbatore, TN 641005 Email :  [emailprotected]  Phone : +91-422- 4321000 Falcon Tyres Ltd Falcon Tyres Ltd K. R. S. Road Metagalli Mysore, KK 570 016 Email :  [emailprotected]  Phone : +91-821-2582453/ 2582055/ 2582041 Govind Rubber Limited Govind Rubber Limited G -15,Creative Industrial Estate,Sitaram Mill Compound,72-N. M. Joshi Marg Lower Parel Mumbai, MH 400 011 Email :  [emailprotected]  Phone : +91-22-2309 5641/1784 / 309 21124 / 309 21126 JK Tyres JK Tyres 3 Bahadurshah Zafar Marg New Delhi, DH 110002 Phone : +91-11-23311112/7 Malhotra Rubbers Limited Malhotra Rubbers Limited D-4, Sector 11 Noida, UP 201301 Email :  [emailprotected],[emailprotected],[emailprotected]  Phone : +91-120-2543028/2543029/2553724 Metro Tyres Metro Tyres Metro House, 134/4, 135/5 Zamrudpur Kailash Colony New Delhi, DH 110 048 Email :  [emailprotected],[emailprotected]  Phone : +91-11-6219097/98 Modi Rubber Modi Tyres Company Pvt. Limited. NH-58, Meerut Roorkee Road Modipuram 250110 MEERUT (Uttar Pradesh) MRF Tyres MRF LIMITED KOTTAYAM MANUFACTURING UNITS  P.B.No.2, Vadavathoor P.O., Kottayam, Kerala 686 010 Tel: 0481-2570461 (12 Lines) DID: 2575196/97/98, Royal Tyres Royal Tyres C-11 Mugappair Industrial Estate(East) Chennai, TN 600037 Email :  [emailprotected]        Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚     Phone : +91-44-26565643/42690079/42690089 TVS Srichakra Ltd TVS Building 7-B West Veli Street Madurai, 625001 India +91-45-2420461 (Phone) Questionnaire for The Impact of Supply Chain Strategies on the Performance of Indian Tyre Manufacturing Companies Part 1 Company Profile 1. Name of Company 2. Address 3. Country 4. Tel 5. Fax 6. Website 7. Contact person: 9. E-mail: 8. Position in company: No of employees: [______] Turnover 2009 : [_________________] Part 2 Theme 1 How do you manage your supply chain? Tick all that apply 1 Close partnership with suppliers 2 Close partnership with customers 3 JIT supply 4 e-procurement 5 EDI 6 Outsourcing 7 Subcontracting 8 3PL 9 Plan strategically 10 Supply Chain Benchmarking 11 Vertical integration 12 Few suppliers 13 Many suppliers 14 Holding safety stock 15 Use of external consultants 16 Other, please specify How successful do you think is your company in managing its supply chain in general? Not successful at all Not successful Somewhat successful Successful Very successful 1 2 3 4 5 Which of the following you think that your company needs to do in order to manage its supply chain better? Tick all that apply. Improve Start Implementing Satisfied already Not appropriate Close partnership with suppliers Close partnership with customers JIT supply e-procurement EDI Outsourcing Subcontracting 3PL Plan strategically Supply Chain Benchmarking Vertical integration Few suppliers Many suppliers Holding safety stock Use of external consultants Other (specify) Does your company have a clear logistics strategic plan? YES NO Part 3 Theme 2 What types of systems are currently in use in your company to support Supply Chain Management? Custom-made Standard package Not in use Material Requirements Planning (MRP) Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRPII) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Warehouse Management System (WMS) Supply Chain Management (SCM) Customer Relationships Management (CRM) Supplier Relationships Management (SRM) Advanced Planning System (APS) Just In Time (JIT) Other (specify) How much did you actually benefit from using these systems? Not at all Little Average Greatly A lot Dont know (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Better quality of information Better quantity of information Flexibility Reduced lead-time in production Cost saving Forecasting Resource planning Better operational efficiency Reduced inventory level More accurate costing Increased coordination between departments Increased coordination with suppliers Increased coordination with customers Increased sales Better quality of information Better quantity of information Flexibility In what level your company is facing the problems below when using SCM systems? No problem at all Little problem Some problem Significant problem Serious problem Dont know (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Resistance to change from employees Insufficient vendor support Hidden cost Integration with existing system Integration with suppliers system Integration with customers system Other (specify) What types of systems do you plan to implement in the near future (within the next 2 years)? Custom-made Standard package Not going to implement E-commerce E-business Decision support / expert system Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Bar coding Other (specify) Part 4 Theme 3 19 How satisfied are you with the current public policy regarding SCM and IT? Not at all Somewhat Satisfied Quite satisfied Very satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 How important are the following future measures for supporting your company effort in SCM and IT? Not at all somewhat important important quite important very important (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) More education, e.g. formal qualification More funding and financial support Better infrastructure e.g. telecommunications, road, etc Improved information provision Increased regional cooperation between institutions, e.g. chamber of commerce Closer cooperation between companies and governments Other (specify)

Harmful Effects Of Smoking Cigarettes Essay -- Informative Essays Nico

Harmful Effects Of Smoking Cigarettes Mentioned Photos Not Included There are numerous effects of smoking Cigarettes that affect the individual. They can affect not only your health but also your social and family life. It can also affect the non-smoker around you. Non-smokers suffer from allergies, noise and eye irritations and headaches as a result of inhaling second hand smoke. Smoking while you're pregnant can result to the growth of the foetus and may even result in the death of the baby. Below are some long term and short term effects of smoking. Cigarette smoke contains around 4,000 chemicals, many of which are known to be highly poisonous and very harmful - over 40 are known to cause cancer. The chemicals found in a cigarette include; ? Benzene, a gasoline additive found in paints, paint thinners, adhesives and plastics. You can be exposed to benzene fumes while pumping gas. ? Asbestos, It is found in acoustic ceiling tiles, floor tiles, textured paint, exterior siding and appliances. Asbestos is only dangerous when its fibers become loose or when the material crumbles, which causes small particles to be set free and inhaled. Once inhaled, the microscopic fibers remain in the body forever. Asbestos can cause lung and bowel cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis and other lung diseases. The risk of disease is believed to increase with smoking. ? Vinyl chloride and its derivative polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These plastic resins found in many products, including pipes, hoses, flooring, windows and credit cards. The greatest risk is to workers in these industries who manufacture and handle these products daily. High levels also are found in the materials used in the interiors of new cars, making that "new-car smell" potentially dangerous. ? Pesticides. While pesticide levels in foods are relatively harmless, pesticides used in your home or on your lawn may be dangerous because of the large quantities used. In some studies, farmers with high exposure to pesticides were found to have a higher risk of several different cancers, including leukemia. ? Formaldehyde. This can be a component of many products including cosmetics, paper, textiles and drugs. Formaldehyde initially was found to cause nasal cancer in rats. Since then, there has been considerable controversy as to the role of formaldehyde in causing cancer in humans. ? Other ch... ...ia. Growing tobacco is a way for these countries to make much needed money. Many poorer countries use wood to dry tobacco and have to cut down many trees to do this. In countries where wood is used for cooking and heating then if it is also used to dry tobacco, there is less for the people to use to cook their food and heat their homes. Tobacco companies encourage many local farmers in the poorer countries to grow tobacco instead of food even when there are food shortages. This can mean less food available for the local community. Tobacco plants take more nutrients from the soil than many other crops and because of this the land is made less fit for growing food. Cutting down Forests Cigarettes are wrapped in paper and are sold in packets. They use large amounts of paper and therefore a lot of trees. Cutting down trees is one of the biggest threats to our environment. Tree roots bind the soil together. The leaves draw moisture into the air. When the trees are cut down, rainfall is reduced and erosion of the soil is increased. This can leave a bare landscape where nothing useful can be grown. Land which might have been used for food crops may be useless.

Frankenstein :: essays research papers

Frankenstein   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Love is an aspiration based on admiration and benevolence. To love another is to admire them and to have a warm attachment to them. Many things in one’s life have the ability to cloud or cover up feelings of love. Things such as rage, hate, ugliness, and revenge. Despite these negative feelings and thoughts, love is present in every being, every animal, and anything that possesses the beautiful thing we call life, because to be alive is lovin’. There is an excellent book titled Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, that displays the use of unseen love to drive a creature to destruction, murder and, devastation. Can such a being who has committed so many acts of wretchedness contain such a feeling as love?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people think that for such a being that love is not possible to obtain, and others will agree, but argue that although it may be impossible to obtain love from something , it is easy and very possible to have love for something. Throughout the whole novel, the monster talks of revenge on the doctor for making him live with his ugliness and being rejecting by people because of it. Even the doctor was frightened and ran away when he first saw his creation’s hideous looks and monstrous body. Right off the bat, the doctor could have killed the fiend and rid himself of it forever, but he didn’t. He knew that for him to kill this thing, it would be like killing his own beloved child. Seeing the reaction of Frankenstein and the other humans, the creature vowed to hunt down and destroy Victor for bestowing such looks upon this creature’s body. What the monster was looking for was love, and he never found any, but he had plenty. The monster loved Victor for letting him live. The monster didn’t know this until the end. He found out that to give someone life was to give them the ultimate show of affection and love. At anytime in the monster’s life he could have killed Victor, especially when he was weak. Victor said â€Å"...for I was a shattered wreck—the shadow of a human being; my strength was gone..†(page 175). If the monster was as mean and hateful as he appears, he could have crushed Victor with his enormous hands and unbelievable strength. Why didn’t he then, because to kill your creator is to kill yourself, plus you must love your creator for life.

Different Perspectives in Looking at Literacy

I. IntroductionThe objective of this paper is to provide a general discussion on how literacy can be understood from different perspectives. Just the like the proverbial 5 Blind Men of Hindustan who described the elephant albeit incompletely and relative to their experience, literacy can also be understood from different perspectives. We may say that though all these perspectives are correct, they are also at the same time all inadequate to describe the whole phenomena of literacy.Yet by bringing all of these perspectives together, we can come with a fuller picture and definition of what literacy really is. It is the aim of this paper to come up with a more complete understanding of literacy. In the end, we will bring together the different perspectives and come up with a wider view. Eventually it is hoped that through this, a better understanding of literacy can be achieved. Yet in the end, the definition would still be incomplete for literacy is a process and learning never really ends.The point however is to live it at its utmost definition and contribute to its enhancement. There are four perspectives that will be dealt with in this paper with which literacy is tackled. These are: 1. Literacy as a skill; where cognitive skills in speaking, reading, writing, and functional literacy are discussed 2. Literacy as socially situated; where literacy is defined by the specific social context from which it springs. 3. Literacy as a process of learning; where literacy is seen as a lifelong and unending process4. Literacy as text where critical analysis of the social constructions are processed.II. BodyLiteracy as a skill The Cognitive science perspective on literacy looks at literacy mostly as reading and writing skills where reading must become like second nature and automatic while at the same time having a very accurate interpretation. The brain must be able to process reading as fast as it can and in the most precise comprehension as possible. This skill must be practice in order to have mastery over it (Abadzi, 2004).Writing on the other hand is another skill which is intricately connected to a particular syntax of a specific linguistic script which are meaning-based and sound-based (Barton, 1994). An example of meaning based writing is the Chinese character which is not an alphabet but a representation of what is being referred. An example of sound-based writing is our current alphabet based on the Greek system of writing assigning vowels and consonant sounds to actual letters that would signify meaning. This is considered to have technological superiority over other forms of script (Olson, 1994).There is a belief that writing is more superior to speech because it is the actual transcription of the spoken word. Thus the cognitive argument emphasizes on the significance of literacy in society’s advanced capacities and progress. However this view has been criticized. To quote from Olson: ‘The focus on literacy skills seriously underestimates the significance of both the implicit understandings that children bring to school and the importance of oral discourse in bringing those understandings into consciousness in turning them into objects of knowledge.’ (Olson, 1997 cited in Street 2004)Thus one needs to factor in oral competencies together with reading and writing skills in looking at literacy as skill (Robinson, 2003). Numeracy skills also have to be added as an important component of literacy. Literacy skills must also include those that enable access to knowledge and information such as skills in surfing the internet, technological skills, computer literacy, among others (Lankshear, 2003). This new view paved the way for the concept of functional literacy which can complement the limitations of the skills based perspective.Functional literacy is defined by the World Congress of Ministers of Education on the Eradication of Illiteracy, Tehran September 1965: â€Å"Rather than an end in itself, l iteracy should be regarded as a way of preparing man [sic] for a social, civic and economic role that goes beyond the limits of rudimentary literacy training consisting merely in [sic] the teaching of reading and writing. † (Yousif, 2003) Functional literacy is most often linked to development which not only means teaching reading, writing, ‘rithmetic and speaking, but also knowing how to go about in society such as finding a job.Literacy as Socially Situated The ethnographic perspective to literacy looks into the practices of literacy in different cultural and social contexts. This perspective has been coined NLS or New Literacy Studies (Gee, 1999). This perspective looks at ‘the everyday meanings and uses of literacy in specific cultural contexts and links directly to how we understand the work of literacy programmes, which themselves then become subject to ethnographic enquiry’ (Street, 2004). This perspective looks at literacy not only as a skill but as a social practice which is socially constructed and imbedded in the culture of society.It argues that reading and writing are not neutral skills but based on concept of ideology, identity, being and knowledge. Thus this perspective emphasizes on the social situatedness of literacy. This is a more culturally sensitive approach where there is no single and universal definition of literacy but only in the social context wherein meaning is derived from (Doronilla, 1996). Most often than not the classification of illiterates are done on traditional societies on the hunting and gathering mode of economic production.However we cannot impose this definition on their lives because the applicability of being â€Å"literate† on their culture is not going to be very significant. Thus there is a call to review the literate-illiterate dichotomy. In a study by Sylvia Scribner together with Michael Cole in (The Psychology of Literacy, 1981) on the functions of literacy in Vai of north-west L iberia, they argue that literacy will only be fully understood within the context of the people’s social practices (Barton, 1994). The argument is such that being literate means that one can navigate well in his or her social world.In traditional societies, learning to read and to write is not as compelling as learning to hunt and survive in the forest. The criticism levelled at this approach is that it emphasizes too much on local context without factoring in external forces such as colonization, religious evangelization, economic globalization and others (Brandt, 2002). Others also question this overemphasis on cultural difference when literacy should be encouraging peoples of the world to integrate and create meaningful social, economic, and political linkages (Maddox, 2001).Anthropological and ethnographic researches looking into the communicative process reveals that it is the local contexts that define literacy and that the texts can only be produced within specific cul tural and social perspectives. Thus literacy should not be imposed from the outside as a dominant discourse but should naturally development from one’s culture. Literacy as a process of learning The constructivist perspective looks at literacy as a continuing process rather than an end product. Knowledge is seen as continually evolving and being socially constructed in the process of doing.This looks into the perspective of the learner and how he or she makes meaning and sense from his own experiences. In this perspective, critical reflection is the key to individual and social transformation. This was developed by Kolb in adult education where the design is experiential and learning begins by personal reflection (Kolb, 1984). Paulo Freire is one of the main theorists propounding on this perspective. I quote from Paulo Freire, â€Å"Every reading of the word is preceded by a reading of the world.Starting from the reading of the world that the reader brings to literacy progra ms (a social- and class determined reading), the reading of the word sends the reader back to the previous reading of the world, which is, in fact, a re-reading. (Freire, 1995)† For Paulo Freire, literacy is not a matter of learning to speak, then to read then to write. These are all part of the learning process. Literacy is such that it gives meaning to our life and to our world as we continue to be part of the never ending process of social transformation.The whole process of interpretation and meaning giving should not be without conscientization and resolve to higher action. Part of Freire’s pedagogy is praxis which is a combination of theory and practice where literacy can dialogically transform the world (Freire, 1995). For Freire literacy originates first and foremost, from the social practices of man and his actual encounter with the world. Literacy as text Linguists, educationalists, and literary theorists look at literacy from the perspective of it being the à ¢â‚¬Ëœsubject matter’ (Bhola, 1994)) where the nature of the given texts are created and used by individuals.These texts may vary in terms of genre and subject, the levels of difficulty in the language being used, and in ideological content which can be explicit or hidden. This perspective looks at literacy where texts are bound together in intertextuality where people’s practices and texts intertwine. Thus the texts have the power to reproduce social practices such as social inequalities, gender relations, and racism among others. This is referred to as discourse.Others improved this perspective by also including non verbal communication, gestures, body language are part of the communication process where different cultures and contexts can change the interpretation of meaning (Kress, 2001). Thus people choose ‘representational resources’ on a case to case basis depending on what situation and what context. To illustrate, even the theories of literacy are themselves embedded in the assumptions and values of institutions and individuals. This perspective requires a critical reading of the text as social constructed and at the same time socially recreating society.Meanings are constructed according to social binaries and collusion of different values and forms of life. The criticism levelled at this perspective is determining its applicability in multi cultural settings and in a rapidly globalizing information society where the internet serves as a main medium bridging different cultures. Moreover, this perspective tends toward nihilism if we begin to look at all text being socially constructed, one may conclude that there neither defining value nor stable foothold to culture. Literacy as a Dominating IdeologyNeo Marxists levels its attack on the idea of literacy itself as a western and dominating ideology that creates social inequalities. This is being done by derogatory classification of â€Å"illiterates† without even lookin g at their specific culture and life forms from their own point of view. Literacy as an ideology is said to impose a standard created by the First World which brings with its own economic system of capitalism as already accepted. Thus the space of indigenous peoples for discourse is reduced only to a certain level of â€Å"literacy† from which they can discourse.Those who cannot speak the educated language are silenced. Technical discourse is preferred over experiential discourse. Bringing it all together If we look at the various perspectives in which we have analyzed literacy, we can see some common denominators in which all these perspectives can agree upon. These are: 1. That literacy should involve the whole range of human communication skills such as reading, writing, speaking, counting and even non verbal communication and the study of proxemics and body language as forms of representation. 2.That literacy is contingent on the needs of the learners and the needs of soc iety. 3. That literacy must be able to empower and engage the people and must thrive within a positive learning environment. Yousif gives general definition of literacy based on these 4 perspectives: â€Å"Literacy is a technical capacity and a social act whose principal focus is reading, writing and numeracy as a step in a lifelong learning process that can lead to creative expression and conceptual problem-solving skills.Its principal objective is to enable the individual to achieve his goals and to  contribute to the welfare of his community (Yousif, 10-12 June, 2003). † If we examine the definition above we will observe that at the core of literacy are cognitive skills but it does not end there. The definition of Literacy further reaches out to creative expression, the ability to navigate the social world and survive, and conceptual problem solving. This definition further affirms the social roots and origins of literacy as human beings are social beings. As individuals they have to make meaning and interpret communication. As social beings, we need to be part and contribute to the welfare of society.As literacy is integral to culture and society, it is also a lifelong process of learning for human society is never static. The Significance of this definition This definition can prove to be very significant in the conduct of literacy efforts all over the world. While literacy efforts may stress on cognitive skills at the beginning, they should also emphasize on self actualization and social transformation as a direction. Literacy is also seen not as an end in itself but a lifelong process directed at creative self expression, psychological empowerment and self actualization, critical engagement, and social transformation.Literacy efforts should also look at the applicability and practicability of literacy programs on the actual life situation and culture of the people. There is no generic formula for literacy and the point of literacy programs is t o make human communities a better place to live in. While however accepting such diversity, we also have to take note that the mass media through the information high way is literally changing the communication landscape of the world.Thus we need to be open to learning how to navigate through fast developments while being critical of dominating discourses that flood the media.III. Conclusion:Education for Freedom During the last 300 years when the industrial revolution began, dramatic advances had made it a requirement for people in the modern world to have formal education in the schools. Before that, the transmission of learning and skills happened via oral tradition and the socialization of the young. Today, educational institutions are a must and acquiring formal education is already a necessity among the young.With the study of the different perspectives on literacy, we now know that literacy does not only mean skill but also competency. However, competency is not enough if one is to reach his highest potential. One needs critical self reflection to examine the deepest roots of our society and social life in order to change it. Thus literacy means gaining knowledge to understand the world and analyze society. Yet again the process never stops. For in the end, knowledge is useless if it has no goal and direction. The only worthwhile direction of human knowledge is none other than Freedom.This is what it really means when we say that reason has finally triumphed; where the world lives on free discourses and what matter is what’s right and not who’s right. This is where literacy brings not only development but also freedom and a better world guided by wisdom and reason. As information society increases global communication and makes the world smaller, so must the free exchange of culture and knowledge proceed without discrimination but with respect so there would be a diversity which is a unity in itself guided by the highest kind of literacy w e can ever imagine.