Free Essays on Narcissism

On Narcissism: Psychological Theories and Therapeutic Interventions in the Narcissistic Disorders Introduction Understanding the Narcissistic Phenomenon The so called ‘narcissistic personality disorder’ is a complex and often misunderstood disorder. The cardinal feature of the narcissistic personality is the grandiose sense of self importance, but paradoxically underneath this grandiosity the narcissist suffers from a chronically fragile low self esteem. The grandiosity of the narcissist, however, is often so pervasive that we tend to dehumanize him or her. The narcissist conjures in us images of the mythological character Narcissus who could only love himself, rebuffing anyone who attempted to touch him. Nevertheless, it is the underlying sense of inferiority which is the real problem of the narcissist, the grandiosity is just a facade used to cover the deep feelings of inadequacy. The Makeup of the Narcissistic Personality The narcissist’s grandiose behavior is designed to reaffirm his or her sense of adequacy. Since the narcissist is incapable of asserting his or her own sense of adequacy, the narcissist seeks to be admired by others. However, the narcissist’s extremely fragile sense of self worth does not allow him or her to risk any criticism. Therefore, meaningful emotional interactions with others are avoided. By simultaneously seeking the admiration of others and keeping them at a distance the narcissist is usually able to maintain the illusion of grandiosity no matter how people respond. Thus, when people praise the narcissist his or her grandiosity will increase, but when criticized the grandiosity will usually remain unaffected because the narcissist will devalue the criticizing person. Akhtar (1989) [as cited in Carson P. 271] discusses six areas of pathological functioning which characterize the narcissist. In particular, four of these narcissistic character traits bes... Free Essays on Narcissism Free Essays on Narcissism On Narcissism: Psychological Theories and Therapeutic Interventions in the Narcissistic Disorders Introduction Understanding the Narcissistic Phenomenon The so called ‘narcissistic personality disorder’ is a complex and often misunderstood disorder. The cardinal feature of the narcissistic personality is the grandiose sense of self importance, but paradoxically underneath this grandiosity the narcissist suffers from a chronically fragile low self esteem. The grandiosity of the narcissist, however, is often so pervasive that we tend to dehumanize him or her. The narcissist conjures in us images of the mythological character Narcissus who could only love himself, rebuffing anyone who attempted to touch him. Nevertheless, it is the underlying sense of inferiority which is the real problem of the narcissist, the grandiosity is just a facade used to cover the deep feelings of inadequacy. The Makeup of the Narcissistic Personality The narcissist’s grandiose behavior is designed to reaffirm his or her sense of adequacy. Since the narcissist is incapable of asserting his or her own sense of adequacy, the narcissist seeks to be admired by others. However, the narcissist’s extremely fragile sense of self worth does not allow him or her to risk any criticism. Therefore, meaningful emotional interactions with others are avoided. By simultaneously seeking the admiration of others and keeping them at a distance the narcissist is usually able to maintain the illusion of grandiosity no matter how people respond. Thus, when people praise the narcissist his or her grandiosity will increase, but when criticized the grandiosity will usually remain unaffected because the narcissist will devalue the criticizing person. Akhtar (1989) [as cited in Carson P. 271] discusses six areas of pathological functioning which characterize the narcissist. In particular, four of these narcissistic character traits bes...

Visual Learning Style Traits and Strategies

Visual Learning Style Traits and Strategies Are you one of those people who closes your eyes to envision the exact location of where you left your car keys? Do you bring up mental imagery when youre trying to remember what you did last Tuesday afternoon? Do you remember the cover of every book youve ever read? Do you have a photographic or near-photographic memory? Perhaps you are one of those people with the visual learning style. What is Visual Learning Style? Visual Learning is one of the three different learning styles popularized by Neil D. Fleming in his VAK model of learning. The visual learning style means that people need to see information to learn it, and this seeing takes many forms from spatial awareness, photographic memory, color/tone, brightness/contrast, and other visual information. Naturally, a classroom is a very good place for a visual learner to learn. Teachers use overheads, the chalkboard, pictures, graphs, maps, and many other visual items to entice a visual learner into knowledge. Strengths of Visual Learners Visual learners typically do well in a modern classroom setting. After all, there are just so many visuals in classrooms  -   whiteboards, handouts, photos, and so on. These students have many strengths that can boost their performances in school. Here are just a few of the strengths of this learning type: Instinctively follows directionsEasily visualizes objectsHas a great sense of balance and alignmentIs an excellent organizerHas a strong sense of color, and is very color-orientedCan see the passage from a page in a book in his or her mindNotices minute similarities and differences between objects and people easilyCan envision imagery easily Visual Learning Strategies for Students If you are a visual learner, you may find these things helpful when sitting in class or studying for a test. Visual learners need things in front of them to help solidify them in their brains, so dont try to go it alone when listening to lectures or studying for your next midterm. Be sure to integrate these tips into your study routine: Color-code your notes, vocabulary words, and textbookBe sure to read the diagrams, maps, and other visuals that go along with text to help you remember itMake to-do lists in an agendaStudy in solitude. You need to see things to remember them and often, any noise will distract you.Take notes during lectures to capitalize on your learning styleSit near the front so youre better able to see everythingUse outlines and concept maps to organize your notes Visual Learning Strategies for Teachers Students with the visual learning style make up about 65 percent of your class. These students are the ones traditional classrooms are designed to teach. They will pay attention to your overhead slides, whiteboard, Smartboard, PowerPoint presentations, handouts, graphs, and charts. They will usually take good notes and will appear to be paying attention during class. If you use a lot of verbal directions without visual cues, visual learners may get confused, as they prefer to have something in writing to refer to. Try these strategies for reaching those students with the visual learning type: Supplement verbal lectures with a handout, diagram, or other visualsIncorporate color into your presentations, the classroom, and handoutsGive written instructions and expectationsVary your reading in class with solitary reading time so visual learners will take in the information better.Vary your instructional methods (lectures, group work, solitary work, pairs, circles) and assignments so every learner is challengedShow your students how to complete a task instead of just telling your students how to complete a task.Show students how to make great vocabulary flashcardsUse video and still images to enhance your presentationsProvide written feedback on assignments

Evaluation of English Lit film Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Evaluation of English Lit film - Movie Review Example Black Death fabricates a trial of faith and determination between the murderous genuine devotees and a nearly similarly homicidal group of atheists. The audience will be torn between these two, and the film effectively does that. It provokes a feeling of difference and conflict. Every one of the cast endows adequate energy and life to their characters and roles. The chosen setting is ideal for the gloomy, threatening cinematography and form that excludes or prevents any shades or colors besides those that are already present in the setting’s natural environment in a damp marshland on a gloomy day. A portable camera and the realistic specifics of the setting contributed to the feeling that a film staff has one way or another visited the period of the plague using a time machine. The film attains its objectives of imitating an unenlightened, medieval Europe overflowing with pests, filth, and decaying bodies and a band of mercenaries prepared to destroy those who have the audacity not to be ill or infected by the terrible disease. It is a miserable, unhappy, dreadful period in human history and the so-called servants of God only contribute to the dilemma. Films based on the events during the medieval period, like Black Death, generally explore themes of faith and religious devotion, the concepts of morality, and the power of love, that successfully draw raw emotions from the audience. The film is quite thought-provoking and its originality is totally one of its strengths, since there are only a handful of movies that challenge such simple plot formation. The band of mercenaries under oath is generic, but seldom has this element been quite difficult to support and depicted in the barest conditions, being intimidated and marred by more than a sheer unfriendly e nvironment and adversaries, but with the disease itself hovering all around them. The character and presence of one of the leading

Assignment - Zara CaseQuest Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Assignment - Zara CaseQuest - Research Paper Example The management at the company understands that the industry is dynamic and many factors continue to drive the change including customer needs and supply. However, supply is second to customer demands. The top management holds that the company must provide what the market demands and not vice versa (Bower, 2002). Zara has various opportunities and resources that would help the group meet its goals in the process of satisfying clients. The company maintains close management of with tight running of the process of production. To achieve this, Zara maintains both manufacturing and design processes in-house. The only exception is having strategic partnerships situated next to the head offices. Across Europe, the company keeps more than eighty percent of its production in-house with Spain having the least at fifty because of being close to the headquarters. Furthermore, the company enters into agreements with local manufacturers to strategically chase the clients appearing elusive. The agreements help in timely delivery of products as well as services. The company maintains flexibility by designing and producing more than twelve thousand new products to the market every year (Casadesus-Masanell, 2006). This is in addition to the benefits emanating from proximity. Application of these strategies makes the work of chasing to achieve their targets besides satisfying consumer needs. Value chasers are intangible and tangib le in terms of benefits received by stakeholders. From the tangible perspectives Inditex that owns Zara operates a net margin of slightly more than eleven percentile both in the market capitalization and operational activities. The working capital in terms of its net is healthy running more than one hundred and thirty-three thousand Euros. The exemplary performance in the financial sector demonstrates the prowess of Zara to run business in the industry. Within four years up to the turn of the century, the

Love Jones Review Essay Example for Free

Love Jones Review Essay The consummate ladies man, Darius silky smooth presentation romises more sell than substance. And Ninas recently Jilted heart isnt looking for anymore of loves kind of trouble. love Jones begins with Nina and her good girlfriend Josie Nichols (Lisa Nicole Carson) packing up whats left of Ninas disappointing relationship. Fearful that the scars left from this failed romance may be too deep for her to heal, Josie takes her to a night-time poetry-slam at the Sanctuary, where she encounters Darius for the first time. The Sanctuary is the local haven where poetry is the prime draw, and a favorite night spot for Darius and his friends Savon Garrison (Isaiah Washington), Eddie Coles Leonard Roberts), Sheila Downes (Bernadette Clark, and Hollywood (Bill Bellamy). The romance dies between couples, we overhear Darius telling his friends from his intellectual set, because theyVe (people) given up on the possibility of it. In an awkward introduction at the bar, Nina catches Darius off-guard and, uncharacteristically, he fumbles and spills his drink on her. He recovers minutes later when called to the stage to recite one of his poems. He makes the most of the moment by calling his sensuous creation A Blues for Nina. Flattered but embarrassed, she informs him in front of his friends that there are opics for poetry other than sex. When he asks her to name one, she writes the word love on his hand. Everyone is impressed; particularly Darius. Darius runs into Nina at a record store managed by his friend, Sheila. She is there because she has Just been fired from her Job as a photographers assistant and desperately needs to hear the Isley Brothers. When Darius approaches her, she acts as thought she vaguely remembers his name. Darius seizes the opportunity though, by playing her a tender rendition of Parkers Mood. While Nina remains unreceptive at that point, she finally buckles and agrees to a date when Darius ppears, unannounced at her door presenting the very CD she had been looking for at the record store. He bribed Sheila so he could get her address and phone number off of the check she used to pay for a CD. His persistence pays off when a romantic statement l Just want to come up and talk leads to a passionate night at her apartment. The next morning, Darius and Nina confide in their respective friends Savon and Josie that, in spite of the incredible sex, It aint no love thing, they Just kickin it. Unfortunately, these two individuals arent exactly the best advisors they could have ound Josie is way down on men and lives her life vicariously through Nina, and Savon is mired in the problems of his eight-year marriage (his wife left him and took their son). But Darius is getting interested. He even reveals to Nina the sacred location of the Batcave (his apartment), where some interesting foreplay ensues when she whips out her camera and tells Darius to take off his clothes. The romance advances. Then, out of the blue, Marvin Cox (Khalil Kain), Ninas former fianc ©e, shows up asking her for a second chance. At Josies suggestion, Nina uses the offer to test Darius: Will he be Jealous, or coolly let her go? Darius pretends not to care, of course, and Nina moves to New York to see if she should resume her relationship with Marvin. Inevitably, Marvin and Ninas differences are irreconcilable, and Nina returns the engagement ring and then heads back to Chicago. Hoping to reconnect with Darius, Nina and Josie go to the Sanctuary, to no avail. Darius has settled down with a new girlfriend, Lisa Oacqueline Fleming). Enter, Hollywood, whose friendly competition with Darius enables him to sense a prime opportunity for one-upmanship. Wood stops by the portrait studio where Nina now works to cheer her up. Tensions run high when Wood brings Nina to Sheilas house for a party that he knows Darius will be attending. Nina, feeling like a pawn in a bad game of male egos, asks Wood to take her home. He refuses and Darius comes to her rescue. Its their first meeting since she went to New York. She confesses she still has feeling for him, and he assures her that Lisa means nothing to him. Swooning, they make up and head for a date at the famous Blackstone Hotel. There, legendary Chicago DJ Herb Kent is hosting a steppers ball, featuring the inimitable dance style popular in Chicago. On the floor, Nina and Darius become a eam again. The fire is relit as they complete the evening with a wet, but romantic walk around Buckingham Fountain. Nina starts to inherit habits from Darius and vica versa. She starts smoking and develops a love for poetry. In return, he develops an eye for photography. But soon after their reconciliation everything starts to crumble. Nina finds Lisas telephone number around Darius apartment, and he gets the occasional Sam call that takes him out of the room. The issue of distrust rears its ugly head. Darius tries to smooth things over by whipping out her camera and telling her to take her clothes off, as she id in an earlier scene. But it is too late. Come get your things from my apartment why would you be with someone you dont trust? The scene ends with Nina returning the key. Because of a Job offer from Vibe magazine in New York, Nina decides to move. Josie, serving as a reluctant Cupid, intercedes by telling Darius of Ninas plans. He takes the cue and makes a gallant but futile effort to talk to Nina before she leaves. A year later, his book has been published, her career is off and running and Nina has been sent to Chicago to shot a Michael Jordan layout. Looking in vain for Darius t the Sanctuary, Nina takes the stage to recite a poem of her own. Startled, Darius turns and listens to her recital, which is about love remembered. Funny what you can do in front of a room full of people, she says, and cant do in front of one person. The movie ends with Nina leaving the Sanctuary and seeing Darius outside. Darius starts off by saying, Longtime no see. I enjoyed your poem. Nina, there have been mistakes on both sides and I apologize for my part. I want to put the past in the past. Once again your timing couldnt be worse you always want what you want hen you want it why is everything so urgent, Nina says. Nina, this here, right now, at this very moment, is all that matters to me. I love you and thats urgent like a mother fucker. love Jones shows that love can be inconvenient. It encourages everyone to approach love the way Nina and Darius do scared, awkward, and even sometimes alone. Theres the obligatory handful of tragic misunderstandi ngs, prideful arguments, over-orchestrated sex scenes, and betrayal and reconciliations. ove Jones steps back, allowing its characters to closely examine what is happening to them. They analyze their own instincts; wonder about each others feelings and even plot little traps to reveal the others true intentions Nina and Darius relationship is built upon the use of some key things: sex and sexual invitations, pick-up lines and relationship openers, music and poetry, the actions of all the movies characters, friends being confidants and advisors, and the use of Baxters techniques to acquire information about the relationship play vital roles. Their relationship proves that the movement in and out of the interaction stages is not set in stone. The stages conform to your situation. Nina and Darius seem to ollow this type of pattern: initiating, experimenting, intensifying, terminating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating, bonding, stagnating, terminating, and initiating. They are also struggle with the roles society has laid out for women and men. And are both trying to fgure out how to play without getting played. Theyre both secretly wondering how you get beyond playing and move on to the love. When youre in your twenties, as Nina and Darius were, loving someone outside your friends and family can seem like a task for Mother Theresa. We twenty- somethings have been unleashed from our parents and the chances to experience exual encounters of all sorts are numerous. But flirting and playing is one thing. Building relationships with the human objects of our desires is a challenge that many of us fail at miserably. At one point in the movie, Darius asks his married friend Savon if he believes in the concept of soulmates. Savons response is that it depends on what day you ask him. Youre with who youre with, he says. Love and marriage are pretty much what you make of them. love Jones doesnt fully answer the soulmate question. In the end, we are only promised that Nina and Darius will be together as long as their belief in he possibility of romance lasts. eeting in a bar, the reluctant coupling, the Jealously and conflict, even a mad rush by one lover to stop the other from leaving on a train. love Jones showed me that there is Just no way around it: Love between a man and a woman is hard work. A conscious effort to relate to the opposite sex is whats needed if were going to get the satisfaction we crave from that someone special. Our twenties can be about a lot more than simply getting our groove on. We can build lives with people while we are enjoying the fresh experiences we are having in our y outh.

King Arthur :: essays research papers

Arthur’s Reasons Concerning War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the beginning of time, the chaotic and barbaric fighting called war has been and will happen until the end of the world, that is, unless mankind smartens up. As T.H. White puts it on pages 631-632,â€Å"They were always saying that the present one (war) was to be the last, and afterwards there was to be a heaven. They were always to rebuild such a new world as never was seen. When the time came, however, they were too stupid.† At the beginning of Arthur’s reign he dealt with psychotic men such as King Lot that waged wars for pure sport. Since they had enough money to do so, they would buy expensive armor and weaponry and would kill for game. In his old age, just before succumbing to death, Arthur ponders deeply about the causes of war. It takes him his entire lifetime to figure out the answer to stop the madness. And just when he figures this out, it is way too late to take action upon his conclusion. Although war is waged for many reasons on t he surface, Arthur at long last surmises that it all stems from one, true foundation. After perusing reasons such as people that â€Å"have† or â€Å"have not,† fear of dishonest people, and ancestral feuds, Arthur finally deduces that the true reason for war is land boundaries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most sufficient explanation for the idea of war based on the â€Å"haves† and the â€Å"have-nots† is that of Arthur versus Mordred. On page 632, it was simply stated, â€Å"I have, and Mordred has not.† Mordred grew up in shame. He is an illegitimate child with a horrible woman for a mother. Consequently, Modred was jealous of Arthur’s happiness and ability to be justified. Mordred’s jealousy of Arthur causes him to begin a war against Arthur and if this were the true reason for war, similar statements can be said for all wars. This type of war is instigated by possessiveness and greed. Arthur disproves this idea because the solution to ending war would be for everyone to either have or not to have. This idea in present-day terms would be called communism. Furthermore, as the public knows, true communism cannot be attained.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Suspicion of neighboring leaders not telling the truth is yet another one of Arthur’s ideas of why war is set off. It is a fault of the human body to not always tell the truth.

Bacteria: Good or Bad?

In the world, some people see bacteria as something that is harmful and that causes nothing but illness and infections. Bacteria can actually be helpful as well. It can provide vitamins to your body, help digestion, destroy bad organisms, help make medicines and also help out with the environment. In this research paper, it will describe two bacteria that are helpful and sometimes harmful to humans and the environment, which are E. coli and Lactobacillus Acidophilus. E. coli E. coli is the bacteria that live in the intestines of humans and animals. It and other bacteria help develop the body and keep your intestines healthy. It also provides vitamins to the body. But, E. coli can also cause food poisoning and infection of other parts of the body. It can cause kidney failure, anemia and urinary tract infections. It can get into food and water and cause us to become ill. It can also be passed from contact with another person if they haven’t washed their hands. E. coli may keep people healthy, but it only works that way if they know how to maintain good health and stay clean. Lactobacillus Acidophilus Lactobacillus Acidophilus is the bacteria found in dairy products, intestinal tract and the mouth. It helps digestion and protects the intestines from the harmful bacteria. It breaks down the bad bacteria and destroys them from becoming a hazard to the environment. Acidophilus also stops diarrhea and constipation and also protects women from yeast infection. In conclusion, there are many bacteria that can be both harmful and helpful, other than the two bacteria that was previously discussed. Bacteria can cause sickness, but it can also cure it. It can help you to become healthy, but it can also make the body and environment deteriorate. Bacteria are needed to survive and people can’t live without it.

Sylvia Plath Mirror

The paper analyzes the poem â€Å"Mirrorâ€Å", written by Sylvia Plath. What it wants to show are the multiple meanings which depend on the different readers. The paper is intended to show the importance of the â€Å"mirror† and its reflection of the person looking into it. This paper also explains how a poem can serve a writer as an instrument to describe her/his life and feelings on a sheet of paper. Silvia Plath? s husband was abusive to her. She felt lost, she was empty and had no satisfying love in her life. But mess in her life was not caused only by her husband. The purpose of this paper is also to answer the hidden question if these personal things have something in common with the poem and if she was not in some way trying to find her own identity in that â€Å"Mirror†. A short life summary Sylvia Plath was an American poet from Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. She lived a very short thirty-year life which was riddled with stress and depression. In much of her later poetry, Sylvia Plath sought to give birth to a creative or â€Å"deep† self hidden within her. [1] At the age of 20 she tried to commit a suicide. But this try was unsuccessful. She died at the age of 31 – after committing another (but this time successful for her) suicide in 1963. Before she did so, she had written a few confessional poems. The confessional poetry of the mid-twentieth century dealt with subject matter that previously had not been openly discussed in American poetry. Before then, the main issue of poetry implicitly included little of the poet? s private life, instead focusing upon public issues using a detached persona. The new â€Å"confessional† poems removed the mask that poets had been hiding behind and proved an insight into the private lives of the poets. 2] The poem â€Å"Mirror† is also one of the these poems, in which Sylvia exposes her private experiences, feelings and depression. That is why this poem is dark, full of unhappiness, and only picture the world from a pessimistic point of view. Nevertheless, it is not only about her life and feelings, there are many other people involved. What or Who is the â€Å"Mirror† â€Å"Something that truthfully reflects or gives a true picture of something else. †[3] That would be found as a definition of these things in any dictionary. There are many other things with the same function as a mirror. Windows, glasses, lakes and puddles are all means of showing ones reflection. A description used by Sylvia Plath is very similar: â€Å"I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. What ever I see I swallow immediately. Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. †[4] The â€Å"Mirror† states that whatever it sees it takes in automatically, meaning that it is objective in every way. Does not matter if it is a close friend or an enemy. It does not deal with any feelings, neither love nor hatred. â€Å"I am not cruel, only truthful. The eye of a little god, four-cornered. [5] The mirror? s purpose is not to be cruel, but to be equal. As it relates itself to â€Å"a little god†, it is supposed to be fairly-minded. The function is not to satisfy the subject looking into the mirror by showing him/her the person they want to see , but to display that person the way he/she really is. However, hearing the truth is something very hard to deal with in this life. Would any human being dares to claim: â€Å"I have no preconceptions†? There is very few people whose answer to this question would be â€Å"yes†. Still, Sylvia Plath is one of them. As her life was mostly full of sadness and loneliness, slowly but surely, she had been losing her feelings and interest in the world and in the others. What is to be pointed in this paper is that Sylvia Plath actually represents the â€Å"Mirror†. That it is her, â€Å"†¦meditating on the opposite wall†[6]. Meditate is a human characteristic, so the mirror is taking in a human habit. â€Å"The opposite wall† illustrates other people she is in touch with, e. j. her husband, children and friends. Considering previous times in her life (like getting married and having children) she finds something â€Å"†¦pink, with speckles. After living a certain time of her life with her husband Ted Hughes, he became a part of it and also his name was written deeply in her heart. † I have looked at is so long I think it is a part of my heart. † But this happiness was not neverending, after a few years of marriage, in 1962 the couple separated . It was claimed that Ted had been abusive to her and left Sylvia for another woman. That is why the last line of the first stanza finishes with: â€Å"Faces and darkness separate us over and over. † In the second stanza Plath goes on with the personification even with the shift from a mirror to a lake. It is not represented by her anymore. She stands for a woman â€Å"†¦bending over the lake, searching for what she really is. † That means that a lake provides more reflection than a mirror would have. Plath compares the mirror and the lake because in a mirror a person is not shown deformed but in a lake any little wave or current distorts a person? s surface reflection and show them who they really are underneath the skin. So many times people seem happy and healthy on the outside but in the inside underneath the perfection which Plath had once been is a distortion they hide from the world and never want to let out. And when it does come to light they only â€Å"†¦reward with tears and an agitation of hands. † But despite all of this, in everyone? s there is a hidden desire to know the truth. According to this, would be natural to wonder why everybody is â€Å"†¦turning to those liars, the candles or the moon. † As it is described at the very end of this poem, Plath is not being that young girl anymore. What was reflected in the lake and mirror years ago, is not seen nowadays. â€Å"In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman. † Sylvia, same like nobody else, is not very pleased to see that picture of herself in the lake. Comparing that image to a â€Å"†¦terrible fish,† the reader finds out the Plath? s dissatisfaction with her appearance (not only from the outside but also from the inside). Understanding the poem in general (not considering the writer) Firstly, it is necessary to ask a question what is easier: Telling the truth? or Listening to it? Would not be much easier to lie? What do actually people want to hear? Is it really always the truth what the people are looking for? The thing why these questions has been asked is because in this part the â€Å"mirror† as well as the â€Å"lake† stands for the â€Å"truth†. Mirror† shows here a truly thoughtful look into the different sights and feelings a mirror would have if it were a live conscious being, unable to lie. The truth is nothing else but: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ exact.. with not preconceptions†¦. It reflects the person faithfully. † It is something that gives a person a reason to be delighted or depressed. By this poem and by showing the thoughts and emotions a mirror would emit, Sylvia wants us to look inward towards how we present ourselves to the others and especially to ourselves. It is an eye-opening poem, suggesting to accept yourself the way you are and to present yourself this way. Not to play somebody? s else role, just because he/she is more popular for others. That is preferred to be done nowadays. Acting like others seems to be the easiest way to become popular. We are forgetting that a deal is not acting the way that others do, but being yourself. We find it hard to accept ourselves for who we truly are. But in the end we all must come to face the facts about who we are and how we must accept and come to grips with it before our socially forced ideals consume us forever in a world of self-loathing. And how is it about listening to the truth? According to this poem a woman bends over the lake seeking to find what she truly desire to discover (what is in this case beauty), but the lake truthfully reflects back to her what it sees. But because she does not find the answer she was looking for, she turns from the â€Å"wrong† reflection as if to look for the â€Å"truth† in something else, not expecting what she has just seen. It seems that people prefer â€Å"†¦turning to those liars,†¦Ã¢â‚¬  but on the other hand it also states: â€Å"I am important to her. Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness. It denotes that even if we put the lie in advance, something inside is still interested in knowing the truth. The truth has not been forgotten in this life. It has just been changed for so-called â€Å"little white lies† which slowly but surely have been changing for bigger lies. Still, there is another problem being occurred. Simple question would be: Who wants to get old? The answer would be even easier: nobody. But as it is something natural, something that cannot be changed or stopped, we have to accept it. Nevertheless, not everyone knows how to deal with it. In me she has drown a young girl, and in me an old woman. † And that is why: â€Å"She rewards with tears and an agitation of hands. † This is in many cases our own story as well. Not ready to admit the age, but still reminding it by looking into mirror or lake each day. Each day we are reminded by the mirror of our lost youth and beauty that was once projected back at us so faithfully. From a different point of view In relation to some experts already analyzing this poem, what we see in a mirror, is nothing but what is created by our own psyche, self-perceptions and self-conscience. All a mirror is, is a sketch of what we think and how we feel about ourselves, may it be an image that comes from another? s perception of us or not. So it is only up to us how we decide to see ourselves in there. Conclusion In conclusion, according to Neslihan Ekmekcioglu in Sylvia Plath? s poetry, surfaces which are capable of reflecting images from within such as the mirror, the lake, the moon, indeed, stand for her desperate search for her own identity and the reality of her inner psyche. 7] Nevertheless, it is not only reflecting Sylvia Plath? s life and feelings but it has a lot in common with people living these days. It shows the real problems of nowadays that everyone deals with. Everyone wants to be perfect and it is hard to discover our failure. The same like it is hard to find out the truth about ourselves. But only by learning from our own mistakes we can get better and only by knowing the truth about ourselves we can have a good life.Bibliography http://www.angelfire.com/zine/donnamford/confessional.html http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5650

car jacking essays

car jacking essays Car Jacking is a nation wide problem. There are many horrifying tales that people have encountered. In April of 1999 a woman and her baby were car jacked in their hometown in Georgia. The mother stepped out of the car and was giving her baby a bottle when out of nowhere a man pushed her into the back seat of her car and he jumped into the front and took off. She was screaming and yelling and trying to fight the man. Then she realized she had a cell phone in her babies diaper bag. She managed to get to the phone and then she dialed 911 and left the line open. She was scared and nervous and didnt know where she was going or what was going to happen to her and her baby. She was trying to name out landmarks so the 911 operator could lead the police to them without the car jackers knowledge. The car started slowing down and she was getting ready to jump out when she suddenly realized that there was a car following them. A man got out of his van and jumped into the backseat with her and the baby. They heard sirens from a police car but it soon faded away. She knew the police were looking for her. She wondered how she could tell the police to come back to help them. She was talking to the kidnappers loud enough so the operator could hear, that police car cant be looking for you, they went by us. Soon the police came back and pulled the car over. Everything turned out fine because of this womans quick thinking. (Weingarden 1-3). Car jacking is a problem in the United States. There has been a rise of auto theft and car jacking in the past years. There are also ways to prevent this crime and tips to be aware of if you are ever in this situation. In United States they have recorded over 35,000 attempted car jackings in the last year and they are on the rise (Brewer 1). Also, a speculation is that all victims of car jacking are women and that is not true. Early one morning, tw ...

Understanding Parasocial Relationships with Celebs

Understanding Parasocial Relationships with Celebs Have you ever wondered what a movie character, a celebrity, or a TV personality would do, even when you’re not watching them on-screen? Have you felt close to a character or celebrity even though you’ve never met them in real life? If youve had one of these common experiences, youve experienced a parasocial relationship: an enduring relationship with a media figure. Key Terms Parasocial relationship: An ongoing, one-sided bond with a media figureParasocial interaction: An imagined interaction with a media figure during a discrete viewing situation Donald Horton and Richard Wohl first introduced the concept of parasocial relationships, along with the related idea of parasocial interaction, in the 1950s. Although the relationship is one-sided, it is psychologically similar to a real-life social relationship. Origins In their 1956 article, â€Å"Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction: Observations on Intimacy at a distance,† Horton and Wohl described both parasocial relationships and parasocial interaction for the first time. They used the terms somewhat interchangeably, but mostly focused their exploration on the illusion of conversational give-and-take a media consumer experiences with a media figure while watching a TV show or listening to a radio program. This led to some conceptual confusion. Although a great deal of research has been done on parasocial phenomena, especially since the 1970s and 1980s, the most widely utilized scale in that research, the Parasocial Interaction Scale, combines questions about parasocial interactions and parasocial relationships. However, today, scholars generally agree the two concepts are related but different. Defining Parasocial Interactions and Relationships When a media consumer feels like they are interacting with a media figure- a celebrity, fictional character, radio host, or even a puppet- during a discrete viewing or listening scenario, they are experiencing a parasocial interaction. For example, if a viewer feels like they are hanging out at the Dunder-Mifflin office while watching the TV comedy The Office, they are engaging in a parasocial interaction. On the other hand, if the media user imagines a long-term bond with a media figure that extends outside the viewing or listening situation, it is considered a parasocial relationship.  The bond can be either positive or negative. For instance, if an individual adores the host of their local morning program and often thinks about and discusses the host as if he is one of their friends, that individual has a parasocial relationship with the host. Scholars have observed that parasocial interactions can lead to parasocial relationships, and parasocial relationships can strengthen parasocial interactions. This process resembles the way that spending time with a person in real-life can result in a friendship that then gets deeper and more committed when the individuals spend additional time together. Parasocial vs. Interpersonal Relationships Although the idea of parasocial relationships may seem unusual at first, it’s important to remember that for most media consumers, this is a perfectly normal and psychologically healthy reaction to encounters with on-screen individuals. Humans are wired to make social connections. Media did not exist through a majority of human evolution, and so when consumers are presented with a person or person-like individual via video or audio media, their brains respond as if they were engaging in a real-life social situation. This response does not mean that the individuals believe the interaction is real. Despite media consumers’ knowledge that the interaction is an illusion, however, their perception will cause them to react to the situation as if it were real. In fact, research has shown that the development, maintenance, and dissolution of a parasocial relationship is similar in many ways to real-life interpersonal relationships. For example, one study found that when television viewers perceive a favorite television performer as having an attractive personality and as being competent in their abilities, a parasocial relationship will develop. Surprisingly, physical attraction was found to be less important to the development of parasocial relationships, leading the researchers to conclude that television viewers prefer to develop relationships with television personalities they find socially attractive and who are attractive for their capabilities.  Ã‚   Another investigation assessed the way psychological commitments to a media figure led to the maintenance of parasocial relationships. Two different studies showed that for both fictional television characters, like Homer Simpson, and non-fictional television personas, like Oprah Winfrey, people were more committed to their parasocial relationship when (1) they felt satisfied watching the figure, (2) felt committed to continue watching the figure, and (3) felt that they didnt have good alternatives to the media figure. The researchers used a scale originally developed to assess interpersonal relationships to measure commitment to parasocial relationships, demonstrating that theories and measures of interpersonal relationships can be successfully applied to parasocial relationships. Finally, research has demonstrated that media consumers can experience parasocial breakups when a parasocial relationship ends. This can happen for a number of reasons, such as a television or movie series coming to an end, a character leaving a show, or a media consumer deciding to no longer watch or listen to a show where a character or personality appears. For example, a 2006 study examined how viewers reacted when the popular TV sitcom Friends ended its broadcast run. The researchers found that the more intense the viewers’ parasocial relationships with the characters, the greater the viewers’ distress when the show ended. The pattern of loss Friends fans exhibited was similar to that displayed by those who have lost a real-life relationship, although the emotions were less intense overall. Of course, while this research demonstrates the similarities between parasocial and interpersonal relationships, there are also important distinctions. A parasocial relationship is always mediated and one-sided, with no opportunity for mutual give-and-take. People can engage in as many parasocial relationships as they want and and can break them off whenever they choose without consequence. In addition, parasocial relationships can be shared with family members and friends without jealousy. In fact, discussing a mutual parasocial relationship can actually strengthen the bond in a real-life social relationship. Parasocial Bonds in the Digital Age While much of work involving parasocial phenomena has centered on parasocial bonds with radio, movie, and especially television characters and personalities, digital technology has introduced a new medium through which parasocial relationships can be developed, maintained, and even strengthened. For example, a researcher examined the way fans of the boy band New Kids on the Block maintained their parasocial relationships with the band members by posting to the band’s website. The analysis was conducted following the announcement of the band’s reunion after a 14-year break. On the website, fans expressed their continued devotion to the band, their affection towards its members, and their desire to see the band again. They also shared stories about how the band had helped them in their own lives. Thus, computer-mediated communication assisted fans in their parasocial relationship maintenance. Before the dawn of the internet, people could write fan letters to achieve a similar experience, but the researcher observed that online communication appeared to make fans feel closer to media figures, and that this could make the disclosure of personal feelings and anecdotes more likely.  Ã‚   It stands to reason, then, that social networks like Facebook and Twitter would make an even more substantial contribution to the maintenance of parasocial relationships. Celebrities appear to write and share their own messages with fans on these sites, and fans can respond to their messages, creating the potential for fans to develop even greater feelings of intimacy with media figures. So far, minimal research has been conducted on the way these technological developments impact parasocial relationships, but the topic is ripe for future research. Sources Branch, Sara E., Kari M. Wilson, and Christopher R. Agnew. â€Å"Committed to Oprah, Homer, and House: Using the Investment Model to Understand Parasocial Relationships.† Psychology of Popular Media Culture, vol. 2, no. 2, 2013, pp. 96-109, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0030938Dibble, Jayson L., Tilo Hartmann, and Sarah F. Rosaen. â€Å"Parasocial interaction and Parasocial Relationship: Conceptual Clarification and a Critical Assessment of Measures.† Human Communication Research, vol. 42, no. 1, 2016, pp. 21-44, https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12063  Eyal, Keren, and Jonathan Cohen. â€Å"When Good Friends Say Goodbye: A Parasocial Breakup Study.† Journal of Broadcasting Electronic Media, vol. 50, no. 3, 2006, pp. 502-523, https://doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem5003_9Giles, David, C. â€Å"Parasocial Interaction: A Review of the Literature and a Model for Future Research.† Media Psychology, vol. 4, no. 3., 2002, pp. 279-305, https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532785XM EP0403_04Horton, Donald, and R. Richard Wohl. â€Å"Mass Communication and Parasocial Interaction: Observation of Intimacy at a Distance.† Psychiatry, vol. 19, no. 3, 1956, pp. 215-229, https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049 Hu, Mu. â€Å"The influence of a scandal on parasocial relationship, parasocial interaction, and parsocial breakup.† Psychology of Popular Media Culture, vol. 5, no. 3, 2016, pp. 217-231, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000068Rubin, Alan M., Elizabeth M. Perse, and Robert A. Powell. â€Å"Loneliness, parasocial interaction, and local television news viewing.† Human Communication Research, vol. 12, no. 2, 1985, pp. 155-180, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.1985.tb00071.xRubin, Rebecca B., and Michael P. McHugh. â€Å"Development of Parasocial Interaction Relationships.† Journal of Broadcasting Electronic Media, vol. 31, no. 3, 1987, pp. 279-292, https://doi.org/10.1080/08838158709386664Sanderson, James. â€Å"’You Are All Loved So Much:’ Exploring Relational Maintenance Within the Context of Parasocial Relationships.† Journal of Media Psychology, vol. 21, no. 4, 2009, pp. 171-182, https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105.21.4.171

Stress Management in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stress Management in the Workplace - Essay Example An incident that went in front of my eyes was when one of my peers had to face a very stressful situation at the hands of her boss who was constantly harassing her in one way or the other. This meant that she had to undergo immense mental and psychological torture which was bracketed under the heading of both sexual harassment as well as stress that she was taking almost on a daily basis. It left her into resigning soon after but with the help and assistance of a few friends that even included me; she went back to work and spoke to the human resources department about the same as well (Warn, 2003). This made her feel good because her irony was documented for and she felt valuable within the domains of the organization nonetheless. The reason why she was holding back her thoughts and feelings was due to the fact that she was her subordinate and did not know how to go about dealing with such a delicate matter involving her superior. Once her friends exclaimed to her that she had to get her act together and take back her resignation because it was uncalled for, things were set right immediately. The workplace stress was such that she had started to believe that the mistake was hers and that she was a victim of some form of shortcoming on her own part, which was simply not the case at all. Her friends made her realize that she needed to get her act together and speak to the human resources department to bring an end to both her stressful regimes as well as the harassment ordeal that she was going through. I found out that she got the courage after her friends at the workplace found out and they helped her get through to the relevant individual within the human resources department which was a very quintessential aspect of the whole debate nonetheless. There were quite a few learning that were done on my part. I found out that the stress