Summary of Raymond Carvers Cathedral :: essays research papers

In Raymond Carver’s story, â€Å"Cathedral,† the story tells of how a close outside relationship can threaten a marriage by provoking insecurities, aggravating communication barriers, and creating feelings of invasion of privacy. The husband in the story is given the gift of seeing the cathedral through a blind man’s eyes. Although the title suggests that the story is about a cathedral, it is really about two men who come together and share a vision and realize it is he who is blind. As the story begins, the character of the husband has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, is narrow-minded, and is jealous of his wife’s friendship with a blind man named Robert. His constantly complains that â€Å"a blind man in my house was not something [he looked] forward to† (362). The close outside friendship between the narrator’s wife and Robert provokes his insecurities. This friendship has lasted for ten years and during those years, they have exchanged countless tapes regarding experiences they have gone through. Because of this, her husband feels â€Å"she [has] told him everything or it so it seemed† (363) about their relationship. Upon the arrival of his wife’s friend, the husband is ultimately uncomfortable around Robert because he does not know how to communicate with or act around him. His discomfort is revealed when Robert and his wife were sharing their experiences â€Å"about the major things that had come to pass for them in the past ten years† (367). He felt it was necessary to join in because he thought Robert would â€Å"think [he] left the room and didn’t want [his wife] to think [he] was feeling left out† (367). It is obvious the husband is overly involved with Robert’s handicap and fails to see him as a person with his own thoughts and ideas. As the story progresses, the husband’s attitude towards Robert changes. During dinner, he â€Å"watched with admiration as [Robert] used his knife and fork† (366) on a piece of meat. As bedtime draws near, his wife heads upstairs, leaving both men alone. The husband begins to flip through channels and comes across a program about a cathedral. Robert is unaware of what a cathedral is and the husband is attempts to explain, but has a hard time in doing so. To get a better understanding, Robert suggests that he draws a cathedral while he places his hands on top of those of the husband.

Secure Attachment and Adulthood Essays -- Child Development, Infant At

To some an acorn is just an acorn, nothing more than a nut. The acorn with its tough leathery outside and rich amber color signifies nothing more than the commencement of autumn. To others it represents a great deal of potential. This tiny seed has the ability to endure many adverse effects including long periods of cold temperatures, drought, and human interference. The fragile acorn contains all the necessary elements to become the giant, majestic oak that has come to signify strength. When the conditions are favorable, the little nut will thrive and become an impressive adult tree providing oxygen and shade as nature intended. The most important factor to the budding tree is the environment. Like all other living things, the acorn needs care and ideal circumstances to develop properly. This is also true for humans and their offspring. Creating the perfect environment for an infant to flourish is quite possibly, the single most important factor to the success of a well-adjus ted, adult human. Let us take a look at the most important factor that determines the health of our adult relationships; that is infant attachment. From the time that an infant is born, those around him influence the way a child will act or react in any given relationship. It provides a firm foundation upon which all other relationships grow. The idea is that the success of all relationships is dependent upon the success of the first one, namely, of the bond between the infant and his mother or primary caregiver (Brodie, 2008). Infant attachment is the first relationship that occurs between infants and their mothers or other primary caregivers (Craig & Dunn, 2010). The mother-infant attachment begins at birth and is considered by a group of... ...ecessary to sustain sensitivity over time. In conclusion, mother-infant attachment paves the way for adult social relationships as supported by Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation experiment and its follow-up, Bowlby’s 44 Thieves study, and Henry Harlow’s classic experiment with the monkeys. Furthermore, strong secure attachments breed healthy social relationships, while insecure attachments lead to difficult social and emotional issues. The best way to prevent insecure attachments is by creating that strong mother-infant bond in the first year of life. It is crucial for potential parents to be prepared emotionally, economically, and socially for a new infant. As the acorn has the potential to become an oak with the right conditions and environment, an infant also has the potential to become a successful adult with a supportive, healthy, environment.

Death Be Not Proud

The novel, Death Be Not Proud, by John Gunther, is the story of the struggle of a child to stay alive. Johnny Gunther Jr. ’s constant hope got him out of bed every morning with a positive attitude. His outright opposition to the fact that he was going to die and his determination not to, kept a fiery spirit in him so that he didn’t give up. Johnny’s stubborn determination to not accept defeat at so early an age, along with the tremendous courage he showed when realizing that he must accept his defeat, is a strong point portrayed in this novel. Johnny’s hope, determination, and courage kept his death at bay. One of the main reasons that Johnny remained alive for so much longer than he should have lived, was the hope that he possessed. He hoped every day of his illness that he would get better, that his parents would be spared their grief, or that some doctor would come up with a revolutionary idea that would heal him. Because of his hope, Johnny never complained or protested during the entire course of his illness. He always obeyed the doctors’ wishes and followed their instructions to a  «T » because he wanted so desparatly to get well. Although he realized that eventually his life would end, he still never gave up the hope that perhaps he could outsmart his fate to die, if just to steal a few extra hours. Each day, until his last, the determination Johnny had to get well, live a normal life, and even maintain his schoolwork was phenominal. After being away from school for sixteen months, being tested constantly by doctors, and having a rapidly deteriorationg brain, Johnny still managed to graduate with his class and be accepted into Harvard. Throughout his illness, Johnny always had an unwavering will to survive, to awake the next morning and find that he was well, that he had only been dreaming the nightmare of his illness. When Johnny awoke each morning however, he felt the bandage on his head and realized that he was living this horrific nightmare. But even through this tremendous disappointment, Johnny kept fighting, determined to recuperate. Johnny should be admired for not giving up under the intense emotional burden of knowing that each breath may be his last. Johnny’s story is one that will be remembered because of the courage he had. If he had had any fears of death, they were unknown because of his consideration for others and not wanting to burden others with his troubles. One can only imagine what it must have been like to lie awake at night alone in a hospital room, wondering what it is like to die and to awaken the next morning, shed all questions and fears of the night before, and cheerfully greet those around you. Johnny’s inner struggle and turmoil was something that no one knows nor will ever know. Throughout his many medical treatments and moments of pain, Johnny was always strong and brave. He always smiled and hung in there fighting. Even with his final unconcious breath, there was still animation in him, he was still determined to live. Thankfully he died with a smile on his lips, without pain, with dignity, and with courage and strength to face the next world he would enter. Johnny’s gallant fight for life, against the most hopeless odds, should convey a message to anyone who has ever been ill. Through a child’s hope, determination and courage when about to die, a for of a hero is made. Johnny’s manner in facing the awful reality of dying is something that is looked up to by all and we should all strive to achieve this manner. Johnny Gunther accepted his fate to die and not live his life to the fullest with complete acceptance, if not full understanding. By the story of his life and death, we are in awe of how one so young could have achieved an attitude that most people will never reach.

Dr. Lindsay

The aims of this essay are to analyze Dr. Lindsay’s case study and to identify: (1) the educational roles that Dr. Lindsay held; (2) education, skills, requirements and settings for each type of role; and (3) what Dr. Lindsay could have done to be more successful in these settings. Throughout her life career, Dr. Lindsay held a variety of educational roles in different settings. These roles and settings can be generally grouped into three broad categories: (1) teaching in academia; (2) teaching in healthcare settings; and (3) delivering on-the-job education and training. The first educational role Dr. Lindsay held was to educate the employees of an agricultural company about chemical hazards and blood-borne pathogens. This type of job can classified as on-the-job education and training. While Dr. Lindsay possessed necessary qualifications and had good command of the information she had to deliver, she lacked skills in conveying this information and formulating effective teaching methodology. In order to be more successful in settings like those, one should be able to identify and adjust to audience’s diverse learning needs. It is also of paramount importance to assess audience’s readiness to learn prior to the commencement of the course. Since different learning needs dictate different learning style, each part of the audience should be presented with information in an engaging way that is relevant to their background, experience, and expectations from the learning process. Dr. Lindsay was able to make useful conclusions from the feedback she received, and effective organization of evaluation process as well as implementation of its results are two powerful tools of improving nursing education (Gaberson & Oermann, 2005; O'Connor, 2006). The second educational role Dr. Lindsay asserted was in academia, as allied health coordinator and nursing instructor at Wheatland Community College. In those settings, a prerequisite to success is the combination of organizational skills with deep knowledge of the scholarship of teaching. Dr. Lindsay felts that her qualifications were insufficient and decided to pursue a Master degree in nursing education. She successfully underwent all the three phases of reflective self-study, namely assessment, implementation, and dissemination (Drevdahl et. al., 2002). The next educational role Dr. Lindsay held was associated with delivering a course for nurses working in nursing homes. It was more practice-oriented yet still rested within the field of academia. While Dr. Lindsay’s qualifications were sufficient enough to teach it at an appropriate level, she had little autonomy to redesign the course with a view to making it more effective, since it was created by the state and had to follow specified curriculum and teaching guidelines. In order to be more successful in the settings like those, one should either pressure the superiors to reconsider the structure and content of the course — since, as Iwasiw (2005) argues, effective curriculum design is what makes nursing educational relevant to students — or combine the presentation of the formal content with experimenting with teaching methods and styles. As Stull & Lantz (2005) argue, effective nursing scholarship encompasses independent research into different teaching methods and techniques as well as keeping up to date with the development of the body of scientific knowledge on the subject of nursing. The next educational role of Dr. Lindsay was teaching staff development classes as a staff educator. In those settings, she turned out to lack administrative skills rather than educational qualifications. A good educator should be able to organize the learning process effectively both from academic and technical side. The next role Dr. Lindsay asserted was the one in healthcare settings as a nurse educator in a local WIC clinic. Despite her abundant experience and expertise in nursing education, she failed to identify learning needs of her diverse audiences, ranging from mothers who didn’t know how to make formula to the certified staff physicians. It was also excessive administrative workload that prevented her from succeeding in this position. Under that scenario, the most feasible way of solving the crisis would have been to delegate some part of her responsibilities to subordinates and focus on her core functions as a nurse educator. In the position of a nurse instructor at Carmel College Dr. Lindsay had to act as a clinical instructor, lecturer, and with a member of the committee that assessed the whole nursing program. However, in the position like this Dr. Lindsay had to acquire some additional technical qualifications, like HTML use. In addition, she had to grapple with problems of ethical character, like student plagiarizing papers. Another Dr. Lindsay’s position in academia was an assistant professor at Western State College. This position implied not only mastering her teaching techniques and effectively addressing diverse learning needs of the college attendees but also academic work like research and publishing. In other words, she had to posses not only ‘Scholarship of Practice’ and ‘Scholarship of Teaching’ but also ‘Scholarship of Discovery’ and ‘Scholarship of Integration’ (AACN, 1999). However, in order to master all these skills at a more quality level, there are certain practical steps to be taken. As Pape (2000) suggests, Scholarship of Practice can be mastered by attending seminars, workshops, and professional meetings; Scholarship of Teaching can be enhanced by community teaching; Scholarship of Discovery’ can be developed by quality improvement efforts; and Scholarship of Integration can be advanced by multidisciplinary work. And these are only singular examples of the methods that can be employed to mater these skills. Since developing research skills are a requirement for such a position, she had to pursue her PhD degree. As an associate professor at Champion University, Dr. Lindsay took a different approach to teaching, since she was working with graduate students whom she perceived as her colleagues. At Champion University, she also engaged in mentoring, which required mastering her interpersonal skills along with her academic scholarship. References AACN. (March 1999). Position  statement  on defining scholarship for the discipline of nursing. Retrieved October 3, 2007, from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/positions/scholar.htm Drevdahl, D.J., Stackman, R.W., Purdy, J.M., ; Louie, B.Y. (September 2002). Merging reflective inquiry and self-study as a framework for enhancing the scholarship of teaching. Journal of Nursing Education 41(9): 413-420. Gaberson, K.B., ; Oermann, M.H. (2005). Evaluation And Testing in Nursing Education, 2nd ed. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Iwasiw, C. (2005). Curriculum Development in Nursing Education. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. O'Connor, A.B. (2006). Clinical Instruction And Evaluation: A Teaching Resource. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. Pape, T. (2000). Boyer’s model of scholarly nursing applied to professional development. AORN Journal 71:   995, 997–999, 1001, 1003. Stull, A., & Lantz, C. (2005). An innovative model for nursing scholarship. Journal of Nursing Education 44(11): 493–497.   

Drawing from module materials, analyzing how Fair trade consumption Essay

Drawing from module materials, analyzing how Fair trade consumption shapes the ethical experience of its users. How does this pa - Essay Example Thus, the essence of Fair Trade Consumption is not just to desire to be ethical, but to believe in the concept of ethical behavior for both the corporations and individuals, to approve of such ethical behavior and to demand that such behaviors be displayed by the business community (Simon, 2007 p18). The concepts of both demand and approval therefore shape the focus of this organizational form, where the demand of any corporate product is made based on the self-approval of the necessary ethical compliance. Fair Trade Consumption demands that we, as the ethical players should not just desire to be ethical, but that ethical behavior should be the basis of all consumptions we make and a fundamental feature of what we think as self, not just as a fair practice, but out of self-approval (Simon, 2007 p23). Fair trade consumption is an organizational form that serves to shape the ethical behaviors of both the producers and consumers, as well as that of all the organizations and agencies tha t operate in between, through creating a partnership that is based on dialogue, mutual respect for all parties and transparency (Bryant & Goodman, 2004 p344). Oxfam is an example of a firm operating under the Fair trade consumption umbrella, which has opened over 750 charity shops for selling second hand clothes, books and other items, for the mere purpose of ensuring to reach the less disadvantaged, while also enhancing the environmental conservation efforts (Clarke, et al., 2007 p585). While the organization of Fair trade consumption could be perceived as political mechanism that is not compatible with the business goals and objectives, the truth is that this organizational form has helped to shape who individuals believe they are, through a process referred to as Ethical Selving (Shreck, 2005 p18). For example, the Fair trade Movement has been working towards raising awareness among the consumers, regarding the negative effects of their non-ethical purchasing, to enable such cons umers exercise their purchasing powers responsibly and positively, through supporting the organizations, business entities and corporations that are enhancing developmental sustainability through corporate social responsibility and caring for the environment (Doherty & Clarke, 2012 p297). This campaign has been geared towards enhancing conventional international trade, which is based on the precepts of transparency, dialogue and respect for all the stakeholders in trade. The organizational form of Fair trade consumption does not seek to enhance responsible trading of the trading partners through trading activities only, but also through campaigns for raising awareness, geared towards ensuring that ethical business standards are not just a preserve of the partners within the Fair trade consumption organization, but the same should hold both locally and internationally (Williams, 2013 p17). The purchase and consumption of Fair trade products does not only serve to present the individu al buyer as one who cares about the implications of poor business practices, but to define the individual as an ethical person (Bird & Hughes, 1997 p167). Therefore, through purchasing Fair trade products, the individual purchasers tend to rebrand themselves as ethical, and that fact with time sinks

The My Lai Massacre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The My Lai Massacre - Essay Example In the end people, departments and institutions flew blame from right, left and center with just a handful of people bearing the burden of prosecution despite it being quite clear that many more had been involved. The power structure at the time actually did well to evade harm from the incident not considering that it was the source of the main problem that not only architected the massacre but also tried to sugar coat it in the name of a bigger and justified war in Vietnam that was supposedly being pursued to protect American interests abroad. According to Olson and Roberts, a few days before the My Lai massacre, there were increasing number of heavy losses and casualties on the side of American soldiers (13). These were caused by snipers, booby traps and mines. SGT George Cox is one of the notable soldiers who died from a booby trap while on patrol just two days before the massacre. Those who died or suffered injuries were mostly on patrol and most of these happened near My Lai ham let. These incidents had slowly undermined American forces’ strength and ability to neutralize the Vietcong operating mainly from My Lai hamlet. These Vietcong units had managed to remain intact owing to their continuous execution of small-scale operations (14). The massacre itself took four hours where more than 400 civilians were killed by American forces from 0730hrs. The operation in My Lai hamlet started by aimless shooting around the selected soldiers landing spot and it went on for about three minutes. This was done not to kill anyone in particular but to disburse any enemy within that proximity so as to ease the access towards the hamlet. This however resulted to widespread panic from those inhabiting the hamlet that morning. Soldiers for the next 30 minutes edged towards the hamlet loaded mainly with pistols and M-16s on full automatic. The soldiers split up at around 0800hrs and begun a thorough search for Vietcong and their weaponry. In this instance lack of coordi nation started and resulted in haphazard turn of events. Frustration creped in and soldiers started shooting at anything that moved. â€Å"Soldiers shot old men sitting outside their homes, women carrying water, children searching for places to hide. †¦women were raped at gunpoint†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (22). 1LT Calley is a notable figure and was to blame for a great deal that happened that morning. However, Charlie Company herded Vietnamese in order to guard them and not to kill. Calley testified to have plainly ordered his soldiers to kill the Vietnamese whether armed or otherwise where the latter turned to be the absolute scenario. This resulted in many unarmed civilians grouped up and shot in cold blood while Calley himself was involved in most incidents. At this point an army photographer, Ronald Haeberle was taking all the action as it happened. It is important to note that only a few soldiers in the Charlie Company engaged their arms in the morning slaughter. Another was Hugh T homson Jr. who was a pilot at the time and who tried to intervene and stop a group of soldiers from killing a group of Vietnamese. What had happened all morning was nothing short of a massacre against the people of My Lai. The whole operation resulted to recovery of only three weapons. Reported official figure at that time was the killing of 128 enemies. This immediately followed efforts of cover up starting with Captain Medina. The military was made deeply aware of the incident on 29 March 1969 through a letter by Ronald Ridenhour. This led to deeper investigations which revealed a

A Priori Knowledge of Matters of Fact. Do animals acquire all their Term Paper

A Priori Knowledge of Matters of Fact. Do animals acquire all their knowledge of matters of fact and real existence from sense p - Term Paper Example In this sense, Hume regards reason as an instinct both in humans and animals. My work narrows down to animal reasoning with a few studies and comparisons to human reasoning. Animal actions depend on two sorts of reasoning: based on experience and instincts. Reasoning and experience The claim about reasoning ability being essentially different in animals and humans was rejected by Descartes by arguing that animals have reason, and concluded it with certain observed behaviors in animals. He began with claims about human understanding, indicating some behavior in which animals resemble human, therefore concluding that animals must also take after humans in their reasoning (More, 1996). Hume on the other hand disagrees to this order of argument in the opposite direction where clearly states that animals learn from experiences. He cites some examples horses learn what heights they can safely leap, and dogs learn to fear the sight of a whip (EHU 9.2-3; SBN 105). More over, animals do not c learly utilize â€Å"any process of argument or reasoning† to make such inferences. Indeed, Hume says that it is â€Å"impossible† for them to do so, due to their â€Å"imperfect understandings† (EHU 9.5; SBN 106). Reasoning and instincts We have seen in first sort of animal reasoning that it almost resembles the human reasoning. However, this is quite different in the second kind of action. Hume claims that reason is itself an instinct and this is made peculiar after considering the two types of instincts: the generalized cognitive instinct of reason which is the ability to relate ideas in various ways, and the specialized cognitive instincts that comprise knowledge of particular matters of fact required for the animal’s survival (Boyle, 2003). Hume cites an example to support the latter sort of reasoning when he says â€Å"a bird which chooses the location and materials of her nest and then sits on her eggs for the appropriate amount of time† (EH U 9.6; SBN 108). Hume argues that such knowledge comes â€Å"from the original hand of nature,† and that we call such knowledge â€Å"instincts† (EHU 9.6; SBN 108). He also argues that although humans may marvel at such knowledge, â€Å"their wonder will, perhaps, cease or diminish, when they consider, that the experimental reasoning itself, which they possess in common with beasts, and on which the whole conduct of life depends, is nothing but a species of instinct or mechanical power† (EHU 9.6; SBN 108). This way, Hume sticks to his argument that the specific instincts of animals are do not differ from the ability, both in humans and animals, to reason according to experience. It would be lame to think that humans lack instincts altogether, they do also possess instincts which are mostly portrayed in their passions such as thirst, hunger, love, resentment and attachment to other humans. They however rarely utilize such instincts for survival which seems to be the matter of fact with animals that have more of these instincts. According to Massey’s (1976), it is clearly an empirical matter whether human beings or any other