Three Symbols in the Great Gatsby free essay sample

â€Å"The Great Gatsby† to criticise America from straying from the â€Å"American Dream†. Typically the American society tries to follow the American Dream, which is a dream of a society that allows everyone, no matter what economic class they were born into, to be able to accomplish whatever they want with hard work. With this principle no matter their social class Americans should be able to accomplish anything. Fitzgerald thought that the American society wasn’t following the American dream; he successfully used symbols to criticize different aspects of American society, showing the weakness of each deviation from the American Dream. Many symbols were used, but the three most significant symbols were: the â€Å"green light†, the godliness of the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg and the sadness of the â€Å"Valley of Ashes†. Each symbol played a key role in Fitzgerald’s criticism. How did these symbols play a key role in Fitzgerald’s criticism of the American society that doesn’t follow the American Dream? The first of the three symbols, the green light, was a powerful tool in which Fitzgerald used to criticise the loss of the American Dream from the American society. We will write a custom essay sample on Three Symbols in the Great Gatsby or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The green light was important because it represented the endless â€Å"hope† of which the American Dream promises. The hope for a desire should never be lost if the American Dream is followed correctly; Fitzgerald showed that this isn’t always true in the American society by showing that Gatsby’s hope fades away when he realizes because of class distinction he will never be able to marry Daisy. Fitzgerald emphasizes this though Nick Caraway, his narrator, who observes: -â€Å"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. † (The Great Gatsby, pg. 125) Fitzgerald used Nick to show as Gatsby begins to realize that Daisy will never leave Tom and go with him, that the green light slowly begins to fade and symbolically so does his hope, his hope was what kept him going and now it was gone he had nothing to live for. When Gatsby’s hope dies does his will to live dies also. Gatsby realizes that because he wasn’t born in the upper class he wouldn’t be able to accomplish his dream. A green light means go, but in this case Gatsby has had to stop, thus stoping his hope and his American Dream. Fitzgerald is then able to symbolise how the American Dream has â€Å"stoped† in the American society. How did this play a key role in the criticism of the American society? It allowed the reader to see that even though some Americans work their hardest for something they were still not able to accomplish their dream because of the class they were born into, this completely goes against the American dream thus allowing Fitzgerald to criticise the American society on this aspect of the American society. The eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg symbolizing God’s eyes watching over the people played a key role in the criticism of the American society because the reader was able to view the actions of various characters as being contrary to what God would agree with. Fitzgerald could then use the reader’s dislikes of the behaviour of the characters to inturn dislike the society. The readers disliking the society allowed Fitzgerald to criticise the American society more effectively. In order for a successful criticism the reader needs to agree with the criticism. If a reader sides with the group that is being criticised they probably won’t agree with the criticism, but with Fitzgerald using the eyes of Dr. T. J Eckleburg he was able to make the reader dislike the society, and in turn the reader wouldn’t want to side with them. The symbolism of the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg was made clearer to the reader when Michales looked to the billboard in the following quote: -â€Å"Standing behind him, Michales saw with a shock that he was looking into the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. †( The Great Gatsby, pg. 152 ) Michales realizing the symbolism of the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg allowed the reader to realize this symbolism too. The reader than could decide that some actions of some characters were immoral. Fitzgerald went on to write that the sign was faded. This symbolized that god was leaving the hearts of the people allowing the reader to find more fault in the American society. Why were the eyes of Dr. T. J Eckleburg one of the most important symbols in the criticism of the American dream? For Fitzgerald to show that the society was doing things against God’s will, depicts that what they are doing is very immoral. A religious reader will probably want to side with what God judges so they would also think that some characters in the American society were immoral. The reader would then be more against the American society allowing Fitzgerald to better criticise it because the reader won’t be trying to defend it if they were against it. The American Dream allows all Americans the same opportunities for self improvement. The Valley of Ashes was a key force in the criticism of the American Dream because it was used in two literary devices of setting and symbolism. Fitzgerald by establishing the setting in the Valley of Ashes allowed the reader to better relate to the working class because they could see a very detailed picture of the daily life of the working class. The Valley of Ashes depicts the working class as not getting the same opportunities as the upper class for self improve. The working class will probably stay in the working class forever and so will their children. Fitzgerald tells this with the use of his narrator Nick Caraway’s description of the Valley of Ashes -â€Å"But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (The Great Gatsby pg. 26) The bleak dust that â€Å"endlessly covers† the land symbolizes how the working class lives are static, non-changing. Fitzgerald by showing the poor conditions of the working class makes the reader feel pity for the working class, causing the reader to be against that aspect of American society that puts the lower class into poverty. The idea of someone not being able to accomplish something just because of the circumstances of which they were born shows the corruption of the American society. How was the Valley of Ashes one of the most important symbols for Fitzgerald to use in the criticism of the American society that follows the American dream? The Valley of Ashes showing the poor qualities of the working class makes readers realize that some Americans aren’t able to accomplish their dreams because of circumstances from when they were born goes against the principles of the American Dream. Fitzgerald was better able to criticize the American dream with the use of three symbols. His symbols allowed the reader to, better relate to his writing, use prior knowledge to help in the understanding of his criticism, have a visual picture of the working class, and realize the flaws of some characters in a religious sense. The green light played one of the most important roles because without out it the reader wouldn’t have realized that people in the American society that do try to follow the American dream and work their hardest sometimes aren’t able to accomplish their dream thus showing that America isn’t following the American Dream. The seconded of the most important symbols was the Valley of Ashes, without the valley of ashes the reader wouldn’t have realized that sometime a person isn’t able to accomplish something because of the status of which they were born. The last most important symbol used was the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg with this symbol Fitzgerald was able to move the reader against the actions of the American society because he showed that god was against the actions, if the reader was against the actions than Fitzgerald could criticise the actions of the American society more effectively because the reader would agree more with what he was saying. Without the above three symbols playing their key role in the criticism of the American society, Fitzgerald’s criticism of the American society not following the American dream wouldn’t have been as greatly done.

Making a standard solution Essay Example

Making a standard solution Essay Example Making a standard solution Paper Making a standard solution Paper To find the molarity of the unknown acid, first we had to create a standard solution, the solution we created was Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH). We wanted a 0. 1 molar solution of sodium hydroxide so to get this we had to dissolve 4g of NaOH into 1000cm? of water, but we didn’t want 1000cm? we wanted 250cm? so to work out how much sodium hydroxide would be needed you need to do the same equation to the number of grams (g) than with the volume of water, so to get 1000cm? down to 250cm? You divide it by 4, so you divide 4 by 4 which gives you 1, so one gram of NaOH is needed to make a 0. 1 molar solution in 250cm? of water. Next is making the solution, the equipment needed to make this standard solution is: a balance, beaker, volumetric flask, glass rod, wash bottle. And the ingredients for the solution are NaOH and distilled water. To make NaOH solution is to measure out 1g of sodium hydroxide and place on a scrap piece of paper which is on the balance, it isn’t essential that you get exactly 1g just approximately 1g. Then put some distilled water into a beaker enough to dissolve the sodium hydroxide, transfer the sodium hydroxide from the paper to the beaker and dissolve by swirling and stirring. Once dissolved transfer this solution to a volumetric flask, and wash out the beaker and glass rod which was used to stir the solid NaOH into the water, now add distilled water to the volumetric flask, up until the bottom of the meniscus is on the 250cm?line and shake and mix it up a little, then you have made your solution. In my solution it wasn’t 1g, I weighed 0. 99g. The next stage is to calculate the molarity of your solution. To work out the moles it is moles= grams ? relative molecular mass (RMM) so for my solution it will be 0. 99? 40 (40 is the RMM of sodium hydroxide, this is calculated by adding the mass of each atom in the compound together, so for NaOH it is Na=23 O=16 and H=1. 23+16+1=40 this is where the 40 comes from.) 0. 99 ? 40= 0. 02475 rounded to 4 decimal places is 0. 0248 that is the molarity of the 250cm? but molarity is always measured in 1000cm? so now you have to times 0. 0248 by 4, 0. 0248 x 4= 0. 992, and that is the final molarity of your solution so my molarity is 0. 992M. Now is to titrate you solution with the unknown acid, to do this you need: a clamp, a beaker for acid, a beaker for your standard solution and another beaker for waste, a conical flask, 50ml burette, 25ml pipette. Once all the equipment has been set up you now need to add your unknown solution into the burette and leave the tap open and put the waste beaker under it to make sure there is no air bubbles in the burette, turn the tap off and fill the burette up, now take the pipette filler and fill up your pipette with your standard solution and put that in the conical flask, add a colour indicator to the conical flask and put the conical flask under the burette open the tap, and you are looking for the first colour change that lasts for approximately 10 seconds, repeat the titration until you have 3 results within . 1 of each other. In my titrations I did 4, the first result was 22. 6ml used, the second was 23. 1ml, third was 22. 7ml and the final one was 22. 8ml. Now the calculation for the molarity of the acid can be solved. The first step in working out the concentration of the unknown acid is balancing the equation. The equation for our experiment is: NaOH + HCl i NaCl + H2O and this equation is already balanced because there is 1 atom of Na on each side, 1 atom of O on each side, 2 atoms of H on either side and 1 atom of Cl on each side. So this reaction is a 1:1 reaction. The reasons this is a 1:1 reaction can be found in the periodic table, the RMM of each side of the equation has to be the same and to work this out you need the atomic mass, Na=23, O=16, H=1 (x2) and Cl=35. The atomic mass is the larger of the two numbers on the periodic table found with an element. The total of these atomic masses is 76. And it is exactly the same on the other side it is just that the compounds are different, this is due to the groups on the periodic table that they are in and that determines the bonds between atoms. The equation to work out the concentration of the unknown acid is: moles x 1000 ? average titration. The average titration is all the titration results added together and divided by 4, but we are going to discard the 23. 1ml result because it isn’t close enough to the other three so is recognised as an anomaly, so (22. 6 + 22. 7 +22. 8)? 3 = 22. 7cm? so now using the equation you can work out the concentration of the acid. (0. 0248 x 1000)? 22. 7 = 0. 1093, the actual concentration of the acid was 0. 0984. My predicted concentration is 0. 0109 above the actual concentration this could be due to inaccuracies with the measuring of the mass of NaOH to begin with also wrongly measuring the amount of my standard solution was used to titrate the acid.

How to Format a US Business Letter

How to Format a US Business Letter How to Format a US Business Letter How to Format a US Business Letter By Ali Hale Whatever you do – whether you’re a student, employed in an office job, or working as a freelancer – I can guarantee that at some point in your life, you’ll need to sit down and write a formal business letter. It might be to a customer, to an employer with a job that you want, or to apply for university funding. Perhaps it’ll even be to a literary agent or publisher who just might take on your undiscovered novel. Of course, you’ll want the letter to be well-written – but almost as important is knowing how to format it correctly. This article is about US business letter format (for UK readers, don’t worry, I’ll be writing a follow-up one for you.) The main formats for business letters in the US are called full block format and modified block format. Full block format means that all the elements of the letter are left-justified so that the start of each line is at the left-hand margin. This is the more formal style, so use it if you’re unsure which to go for. Modified block format means that some elements of the letter are shifted over to the right. Nowadays, this style is appropriate in most contexts. Here’s a full block format letter And a modified block format one: Let’s break those down into the main elements, in top-to-bottom order: Your Address Your address, also known as the â€Å"return address†, should come first. (Note that this applies when using standard plain paper. If you have letter headed paper, you should omit this.) 123 Acacia Avenue Newtown Anywhere AN 98765 Your return address should be positioned: On the left-hand side if you’re using full block format On the right-hand side (tab across, rather than right-aligning) if you’re using modified block format Why put your address? Even if the recipient has your details in their address book, you want it to be as hassle-free as possible for them to reply – you’re likely to receive a speedier response. The Date Directly beneath your address, put the date on which the letter was written: May 15, 2008 To avoid any confusion, especially if you are writing to a business abroad, it is best to put the date in word rather than number form, and you should omit the â€Å"th†. The date should be positioned on the left-hand side, for full block format and for modified block format Why put the date? It’s standard practice to include the date on which the letter was written. Correspondence is often filed in date order. It makes it much easier for the recipient to send a timely reply, and easier for you to chase up an answer if necessary. Eg. â€Å"In my letter of May 15†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Reference Line Ive not included this on the diagram as guidance varies on where it should be placed. You may include a reference line, starting with â€Å"Re:† This is often used when corresponding with large companies, or when applying for a job. The reference line can either appear beneath the date, OR beneath the recipients address. If you use a reference line, you should usually omit the subject line (see below). The reference line should be left-aligned for both full and modified block formats. Different types of letters will require different types of subject and reference lines, so choose the one thats most appropriate to your case. Why put a reference line? You should use a reference line if the recipient has requested specific information, such as a job number or invoice number, or if youre replying to a letter. This makes it easier for the recipient to get a speedy response to you. Recipient’s Name and Address Beneath this, you should put the name and address of the person you’re writing to, just as it would appear on the envelope. If you’re using a window envelope, this should be aligned on the page to show through the window – but even if it won’t be visible until the letter is opened, it should still be included. The recipient’s name and address should be positioned on the left-hand side, for both formats. Why put their address? If you’re writing to someone in an office, it probably won’t be them who opens the post. An administrator is likely to do so – and letters may be separated from their envelopes at this stage. Particularly if there are multiple departments within one building, or if you are starting your letter â€Å"Dear Bob†, a name and address ensures your letter reaches the correct recipient. The Greeting After their address, you should leave a line’s space then put â€Å"Dear Mr Jones†, â€Å"Dear Bob† or â€Å"Dear Sir/Madam† as appropriate. Follow this with a colon. The greeting, sometimes called the â€Å"salutation†, should always be left-aligned. Why put a greeting? Business letters are a formal type of writing, and it’s considered polite to start with a greeting. Although you can get away with starting emails â€Å"Hi† or â€Å"Hello†, letters follow more conservative conventions. The Subject Optionally, you may wish to include a subject for your letter. This is becoming more common, perhaps as people have become used to the subject lines of emails. If you do put a subject line, it should be in uppercase, directly below the â€Å"Dear name:† The subject (if you include one) should be left-aligned for full block format, but can be either left aligned or centred for modified block format. Why put the subject? It’s a good idea to include a subject so that the recipient can see at a glance what the letter refers to. Try to be succinct but include as much information as possible, eg. â€Å"Funding application from Joe Bloggs, candidate 222-456†. The Text of Your Letter Now, finally, you can write the main body of your letter. Your text should have: Single-spacing between lines A blank line (NOT an indent) before each new paragraph (And, of course, you should conform to all the usual rules of grammar, punctuation and spelling: for example, ensuring that you start each sentence with a capital letter, and finish with a full stop.) Why leave blank lines? In the business world, it’s standard practise to put a blank line between paragraphs. This helps to break up the text on the page and make it more readable. The Closing After the body of text, your letter should end with an appropriate closing phrase and a comma. The safest option is â€Å"Yours faithfully† (when you don’t know the name of the person to whom you are writing, ie. when you began â€Å"Dear Sir/Madam†) or â€Å"Yours sincerely† (when you do know their name). If you are already acquainted with the recipient, it may be appropriate to use a phrase such as â€Å"Best regards†, â€Å"With warmest regards†, or â€Å"Kind regards†. The closing should be: Left-aligned for full block format On the right (tab across so it matches up with your address) for modified block format Why use these phrases? Although â€Å"Yours sincerely† and â€Å"Yours faithfully† might sound archaic, they are time-honoured ways to close a formal letter. Your Name and Signature Put several blank lines after the â€Å"Yours sincerely,† or â€Å"Yours faithfully,† then type your name. You can optionally put your job title and company name on the line beneath this. Joe Bloggs Marketing Director, BizSolutions Your name and signature should be: Left-aligned for full block format On the right (tab across so it matches up with your address) for modified block format Why leave a blank space? The blank space is so that, when you’ve printed the letter, you can sign it with your name. This is taken as proof that the letter really is from the person whose name is typed at the bottom. Sometimes, another person may sign the letter on your behalf. If this is the case, they should put the letters â€Å"p.p.† before their name, which stands for the Latin per procurationem meaning â€Å"by agency†. Business letter tone Its very important that you choose the right voice and tone when writing your business letter. Using the correct format but choosing an improper type of language might affect your desired outcome. Heres what the guys from thebalancecareers.com wrote about this: Make the purpose of your letter clear through simple and targeted language, keeping the opening paragraph brief. You can start with, â€Å"I am writing in reference to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and from there, communicate only what you need to say. The subsequent paragraphs should include information that gives your reader a full understanding of your objective(s) but avoid meandering sentences and needlessly long words. Again, keep it concise to sustain their attention. Enjoy writing your letters, and use the examples above to help you with the formatting if you do get stuck. Your Step by Step Recap Formatting a business letter correctly might seem a bit daunting, especially if you’ve never or rarely written this type of letter before – perhaps you’re applying for a job for the first time, for instance, and writing a covering letter. Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve covered, so you can use it as a handy checklist: Step #1: Decide Whether You’re Using â€Å"Full Block Format† or â€Å"Modified Block Format†. Try not to mix-and-match between these. Remember, full block format (with everything left-justified) is the more formal of the two styles – but these days, modified block format (with some elements shifted over to the right) is fine for most contexts. Step #2: Include Your Address Your address should go on the left for full block format and on the right for modified block format. Don’t right-justify the text – tab across. Step #3: Include the Date The date should go directly after your address, and should be left-justified whatever format you’re using. Write it like this: â€Å"May 15, 2008†. Step #4: Potentially Include a Reference Line If you’re corresponding with a large company or if you’ve been asked to include a specific reference number in your letter, type â€Å"Re:† then the reference line. If you’re using a reference line, omit the subject line. Step #5: Include the Recipient’s Name and Address This should be left-justified, whatever format you use. It’s important to include their full name as well as the address in case the letter becomes separated from the envelope (which it usually will in a large office). If you’re using a window envelope, make sure the recipient’s name and address are positioned to appear within the window. Step #6: Include the Greeting The greeting, sometimes called the salutation, should be followed by a colon. (E.g. â€Å"Dear Mr Jones:†) It should always be left-justified. Step #7: Consider Including a Subject Line The subject line is optional, but it’s become increasingly common practice. Your subject line should show the recipient, at a glance, what your letter is about. It can be left-justified or centered in modified block format. Step #8: Write the Letter Itself The text of your letter itself should be left-justified (in all formats) and single-spaced. You should put a blank line between paragraphs, rather than indenting them. Write in an appropriate business-like tone. Step #9: Add an Appropriate Closing Close your letter with a phrase like â€Å"Yours sincerely† (a safe formal option) or â€Å"Best regards† (a good option for someone who you already know). Follow this with a comma. Step #10: Add Your Name Leave a blank space for your signature, then type your name at the end of the letter. If appropriate, you can put your job title and company name on the line beneath your name. US Business Letter Quiz Select the correct answer for each of these questions about business letters. 1. Which business letter format has all elements of the letter left-justified? Modified block format Which format has all elements of the letter left-justified? 2. What should your greeting be followed by? A colon A semi-colon 3. Should you include the recipients name and address? Yes No 4. In the body of your letter, how should you mark the end of one paragraph and the start of the next? With an indentation With a blank line Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Masters Degree or Master's Degree?50 Synonyms for â€Å"Idea†How to Style Legislative Terms

Answer for 11 question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Answer for 11 question - Essay Example An educated character would use education to find out the very basics of life which, as it is, is the most important aspects of life. Question 2 According to Plato, the Allegory of the cave is that human beings are chained to a wall (while facing the wall) behind them another wall with figures constantly walking across it. Behind the second wall is a pit of fire casting shadows on the wall for humanity to see and determine the object from its shadow. Freedom is breaking free from this wall on which one is chained on. In today’s life, the shadows can be compared to forms of media which paint the picture of how we humans should see things. Like believing all Muslims are terrorists. Freedom is getting away from such stereotypes. Question 3 The Bible details out, in the first three chapters in the book of Genesis, hoe creation was carried out by God and what became of man after his fall from grace. This imparts a very important lesson in people’s daily lives. First of all, the fact that man was created in the image and likeness of God is reason enough for each individual to consider themselves of equal importance to one another. Each individual is thus free from discrimination and owing to the fact that everyone is in God’s image and likeliness. ... tives who have lived together in harmony for several decades until Colonel Joll comes about and sows the seeds of suspicion between the two groups of people. Fear is one of the results of the suspicion between the two groups since each sees the other not as an old friend but a new enemy. In this confusion, the colonizers become more and more ruthless and barbaric even though they had called the natives ‘barbarous.’ Fear further manifests itself in the fact that the colonel Joll leads the Empire’s forces to burn trees along the river and thus keeps the natives fearful. Question 5 In the essay whose title appears above, George Orwell argues that it is detrimental to the understanding of one’s message by using parts of speech that only complicate the message intended for the audience. He faults political language for its distortion of meaning by saying that â€Å"This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern Engl ish prose, and especially of any kind of political writing.† This, he says, is used intentional by politicians to hide meaning from those they intend to serve. To the writers, he advices them to â€Å"Bad writers, and especially scientific, political, and sociological writers, are nearly always haunted by the notion that Latin or Greek words are grander than Saxon ones, and unnecessary words like  expedite, ameliorate, predict, extraneous, deracinated, clandestine, subaqueous, and hundreds of others constantly gain ground from their Anglo-Saxon numbers.? They should thus wean themselves off the use of unnecessarily complex words for simpler ones. Question 6 Cormac McCarthy discuses several themes in his book among them religion, belief, and race. He goes against the stereotype by depicting the black man as a

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 9

Ethics - Essay Example One common practice includes amniocentesis which is used to determine whether a child will maintain chromosomal problems such as Down Syndrome. Unfortunately, this testing procedure does not identify these genetic abnormalities until the 16th week of pregnancy, long after the child is already well-formed (Ring-Cassidy and Gentles, 2003). A more modern diagnosis process, the Chorionic Villi Sampling method (CVS) occurs during the first trimester however the procedure has been known to cause limb defects (arms and leg) to healthy children (Ring-Cassidy and Gentles). There does not appear to be a viable prenatal testing system which can accurately predict genetic characteristics, plus the long-term damage to both the mother and the child creates a new ethical dilemma. Deemed bioethics, it is the study of whether prenatal, genetic results are sound enough justification for aborting the fetus. This paper describes the ethics behind this controversial abortion practice. Medical screening technology has not yet advanced to where physicians and geneticists can concretely identify future genetic deficiencies in developing fetuses. In a situation where a pregnant woman is relying on prenatal testing results to determine whether to carry a child to full-term, the current stage of medical research simply provides mothers with no viable options other than to prepare for the eventuality of raising a genetically-deficient child or abort the fetus immediately. Kuhse (1998) clearly offers that prenatal diagnostics is wrong at its very foundation, where abortion becomes the only viable alternative to carrying the child full-term. The author suggests that good-spirited attempts to locate genetic defects such as Huntington’s disease or cystic fibrosis will ultimately lead to a social shift where less-critical fetus issues are assessed

An Introduction To Human Resource Development Management Essay

An Introduction To Human Resource Development Management Essay HRD is an emerging concept to distinguish between strategic and business-oriented learning from traditional learning and development (Sambrook, 2004). HRD is generally focused on three areas in organization, viz. training and development, career development and organizational development (Fenwick, 2004, p.193). According to McCarthy et al. (2003, p. 58), the purpose of HRD is to foster the process of training in a company and to facilitate the organizational learning process. Despite with history of about fifteen year, HRD is remains as a vague and poorly defined concept (Garavan et al., 1999; Sambrook, 2004; Stewart, 2005), partly due to the difficulties in defining the scope for the concept and lack of a unified definition (Garavan et al., 1999). The concept of HRD is interrelated with a wide range of disciplines such as economics, sociology, psychology, strategic management, leadership and human resource management (Stewart, 2005, p.91). Definitions are therefore varies with different perspectives adopted by different authors (Garavan et al., 1999). Most HRD literatures are performance-oriented or learning-oriented as pointed out by Simmonds and Pederson (2003). For instance, Sambrook (2004, p.611) defines HRD as all those activities that seek to facilitate all forms of learning and development at all levels within organizations. On the other hand, Slotte et al. (2004, p.485) defines HRD as covering functions related primarily on training, career development, organizational development and research and development in addition to other organizational HR functions where these are intended to foster learning capacity at all levels of the organization, to integrate learning culture into its overall business strategy and to promote the organizations effort to achieve high quality performance. According to Hatcher; Kalra (cited in Hatcher 2003), HRD has been attacked for treating human as resources which to be manipulated or used to achieve organizational goal. The authors further argued that the HRD definition emphasis too much on resources while overlook potential (Hatcher, 2003, p.1). According to the Hatcher (2003), there are potential in each employee which exceeds the economic value. Therefore, treating human as resources places them in a subservient and compliant position to organizational goals and limits our ability to be in harmony with nature (Hatcher, 2003, p.1). On the other hand, Sambrook (2004) added to the critiques of HRD by arguing that most HRD literatures generally emphasis on performance outcome and neglect the organizational issues concerning the marginalized populations. According to Bierema (2002, p.245), the issues of diversity, equality, power, heterosexism, discrimination, sexism, racism, or other issues of oppression in organizations are ignored by current HRD literatures. Bierema and Cseh (2003) further argued that these undiscussable issues are ignored but yet, have significant impacts on both individual and organization. To address such issues, Rigg et al. (2007) had argued that it is necessary to think HRD from a critical stance. They argued that there is a need for critical turn in HRD (Rigg et al., 2007). 2.0 Critical Approach to Human Resource Development Before discussing on what is critical human resource development (CHRD), it is necessary to understand the term critical. Antonacopoulou (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p. 195) defines critical as providing voice for the repressed and marginalized, exposing assumptions and values, revealing the use of power and control, and challenging inequalities and sacrifices made in the name of efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability through a self-reflexive critique of rhetoric, traditional, authority, and objectivity. On the other hand, Burrell (cited in Sambrook, 2004, p. 614) suggested that critical theory is associated with challenging rational organizational practices and replacing them with more democratic and emancipatory practices. The two definitions implies that being critical mean to challenge unjust practices in the organization and to pursue a more democratic and justice practice. Hence, according to Kincheloe (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p.198), critical approach to HRD is dedicated to change organizations and their HRD practices towards a more just, equitable, life-giving, and sustainable workplace. However, Francis (2007) argued that critical approach to HRD is not opposed to traditional HRD. In fact, it seeks to help practitioners and academics to better understand and aware of the ambiguities in current HRD (Francis, 2007). Besides, it also seeks to demonstrate how inequalities and shift in power can affect the abilities to control the production, distribution and consumption of HRD practices and ultimately, the effects of these inequalities to the individual development and participation of employees (Francis, 2007, p.84). After understanding the meaning of critical in the context of HRD, then how to be critical in HRD? According to Antonacopoulou in his definition of critical, being critical can be achieved through self-critique on rhetoric, traditional, authority and objectivity. On the other hand, Burrell (2001) proposed that a critical approach should comprise of six components, viz. political, iconoclastic, epistemological, investigative, revelatory and emancipatory (Burrell, 2001 p. 14-17). Sambrook (2009) applied Burrells framework in the HRD context and outlined the attributes that distinguish CHRD from traditional one, which presented as follow: Political. Burrell (2001) argued that political perspective of critical approach is to understand the use of power in an organization and how political forces in organization can shape or influence human life. Hence, CHRD seek to identify the key stakeholders and influencers of HRD and examine their influence on the HRD activities (Sambrook, 2004; 2009). Unlike traditional HRD where employees and trainees are suppressed and excluded from giving their opinion, CHRD aware of the need for the shift of power to allow traditional oppressed groups to have more freedom and voicing opportunities (Sambrook, 2004; 2009). Iconoclastic. According to Burrell (2001, p.15), being critical involve breaking down the solidity of dominant imagery and icon. Therefore, CHRD attempts to challenge current perception of HRD and seeks to identify the purpose underlying each HRD activities (Sambrook, 2009). HRD suppose to serve the purpose of employees development or merely focus on performance-outcome? Asking such question will then lead to the exposure of weaknesses in current HRD activities which is performance-oriented (as argued by most critical HRD literatures) while the development of individual in organization is neglected (Sambrook, 2009). Epistemological. Sambrook (2004, 2009) argued that epistemological perspective is concerned with understanding of the foundations of HRD and the methodologies used in the construction of the knowledge about HRD. CHRD challenges currently dominant positivism and quantitative approaches in the construction of the knowledge about HRD and to adopt a more qualitative methods which will enable more in-depth study on the values, morality and ethics in HRD (Sambrook, 2009, p.66). Investigative. Burrell (2001) argued investigative perspective of critical approach try to challenge something that others have taken for granted. Being investigative in the context of HRD concerns with surfacing the social equality issues in organization which have been neglected in current research and practice of HRD (Sambrook, 2004). This maybe include an investigation of why certain groups of people having the priorities in receiving training than the others. Besides, investigative perspective can also include the investigation of the difference between what is HRD (in the eye of practitioners) and what actually been done by them (Sambrook, 2004). Revelatory. Burrell (2001, p.16) argued that, by attacking illusion, there can be a concomitant demonstration of what is illusion and what is truth. Given the difficulties and ambiguities in defining the term HRD, revelatory perspective of CHRD attempts to challenge current understanding of HRD in order to find the truth of HRD and to unified the different discourses which currently regarded as HRD (Sambrook, 2004; 2009). However, Burrell (2001) argued that it is difficult to practice revelatory perspective as it is problematic to distinguish between illusion and truth. Emancipatory. According to Sambrook (2009, p. 67), there are arguments on whether HRD should serve the purpose of freeing employees from capitalist exploitation and employment degradation. However, Burrell (2001) argued that it is difficult to achieve emancipatory as organization system always involve control and the effect of power is unavoidable. From the above attributes, it is noted that these strands are interrelated (Sambrook, 2004). Sambrook (2009) argued that individual awareness of the attributes of CHRD is important for CHRD to be put into practice. In addition, individual antecedents such as understanding and acceptance of ones role, recognition of the boundaries of ones profession, political awareness, excellent communication skills, respect and trust are also essential for the success of CHRD (Sambrook, 2009, p.66). In addition to personal antecedent, organization antecedents that involved include organizational culture of participation, democracy, learning and personal development (Sambrook, 2009, p.66) 3.0 Contributions of Critical Human Resource Development Sambrook (2009) mentioned in her article Critical HRD: a concept analysis that the practice of CHRD will result in a more democratic work production, improved (working/learning) relationship, more effective and relevant learning, enhanced transfer of learning, improved creativity and productivity, and an acceptance of alternative approaches to knowing (Sambrook, 2009, p. 68). 3.1 Political Perspective Contributions to Individual As mentioned above, political perspective of CHRD aware of the needs for the shift of power in an organization to allow traditionally oppressed groups to voice out their opinion. In line with that, Lowe (cited in Fenwick, 2004) argued that CHRD plays the mediating role to allow employees unions and management to collaborate in designing jobs, training and working condition. He further argued that CHRD can help to counter management push for new HRM practices that undercut the union, could champion a people-centered agenda and help leverage management collaboration (Lowe cited in Fenwick, 2004). Besides, the shift of power also related to the concept of empowerment. Empowerment is the shift of decision making power to employees (Erstard, 1997). According to Zeithamal; Berry and Parasuraman (cited in Ravichandran, n.d., p.2), employee empowerment is proven to have positive impact on job satisfaction and reduces role stress. It is also suggested that empowered employees experience lesser job ambiguity and have quicker response to problem as they can avoid wasting time referring the problem to their superior (Singh cited in Ravichandran, n.d., p.2). In addition, empowered employees are also demonstrating greater commitment and loyalty to the organization (Greasley et al., 2008). Contribution to Organization Employee empowerment as mentioned above also has its positive impacts on the organization effectiveness. According to Ladden (n.d.), empowerment can improve the productivity, decision making process and quality of service. The improvement of decision making process is due to the fact that decisions are made by employees who have the most appropriate information, expertise needed (Ladden, n.d.). Besides, empowered employees will also likely to have greater commitment to the decision made, thus, enable product or customer problem to be dealt more quickly which in turn will have positive impact on productivity and customer service quality(Ladden, n.d.). 3.2 Iconoclastic and Emancipatory Perspective Contributions to Individual From the iconoclastic perspective, the breakdown of the dominant performance-oriented purpose of HRD activities and the recognition of true purpose of HRD will lead to individual development in an organization. Fenwick (2004) who examines the practices of CHRD in workplace suggested that one of the CHRD practices in organization takes in the form of emancipatory action learning where employees learns as a team and collaborate to solve a problem through direct experimentation, critical thinking and communication. According to Lanahan and Maldonado (cited in Spence, 1998), action learning can help participants to solve problems more effectively compared with simple training and at the same time, develop leadership in them. Marquardt (2000) in his article action learning and leadership added to the point of leadership development by arguing that action learning can help improve individual effectiveness by developing good leadership attributes such as system thinking; risk taking and innovative; openness and share decision making; and become teachers, coach and mentor to others. Participants can develop system thinking skill through the process of asking new questions to gain better insight of a problem before coming out with its solution (Marquardt, 2000). This will in turn increase their ability to handle complex, seemingly unconnected aspects of organizational challenge (Marquardt, 2000). Besides, action learning can also increase the ability of participants to think in new ways rather than following the traditional route which will then improve their innovativeness and willingness to take risk (Marquardt, 2000). Furthermore, participants in action learning program can also learn to accept others opinion, learn from others perspective and to provide valuable feedback which will then help to create a culture of openness among participants and leaders are learning how to share their decision making power with others (Marquardt, 2000). Contributions to Organization York et al. (cited in Spence, 1998) suggested that action learning can also help to facilitate the transfer of learning as participants are able to take immediate action, thus making changes to the practices in an organization. On the other hand, Alvesson and Willmott (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p. 203) argued that emancipatory action learning can help employees to develop critical assessment about unfair practices in organization and then helps to improve the organization through actions to address such issues. According to Fenwick (2004), another practice of CHRD is in the form of emancipatory project- a small projects aims at addressing a specific oppressive issue. Meyerson and Kolb (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p. 204) has conducted such project and found that the project can yield a fruitful result to initiate changes in organization. On the other hand, Tosey and Nugent (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p. 204) demonstrated another example showing critical inquiry-focused form of action learning help transform management team of a failing small manufacturing company to think creatively about strategy and change the way they related to one another to be more supportive, caring and challenging. Challenges in Practice Despite the fruitful benefits of emancipatory action learning as mentioned above, Fenwick (2004) argued that the practice of the approach was proven to be difficult. Difficulties arise as emancipatory action learning should involve employees at the lower level of hierarchy and punitive actions from managers when the project failed to achieve expected result may caused further oppressed or violence of employees in the organization (Fenwick, 2004). Therefore, to avoid that to be happened, Fournier and Grey (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p.203) argued that the intention of emancipatory action learning should not be emphasized on performance outcome. Contrary, emancipatory action learning should emphasize on dimensions such as equality, fairness, job condition and politics of knowledge legitimation that are embedded in problems of organizational bottleneck and communication blockages (Fenwick, 2004, p. 203). However, the non-performance intention is apparently contradict with the traditional business objective that pursuing business performance, efficiency and productivity. Fenwick (2004) argued that performance is arguably the purpose of organizational existence and the original purpose of HRD is to enhance performance. The practice of CHRD that emphasize on promoting equality, fairness and emancipatory of employees condemned the hierarchical management of human learning and the productivity-driven purposes of business (Fenwick, 2004). This becomes a great challenge for practitioners in their efforts to adopt critical approach in HRD. 3.3 Epistemological Perspective Contributions to Individual From the epistemological perspective, the challenge of the methodologies used in the construction of the knowledge about HRD is related to the concept of critical reflection (Sambrook, 2009). According to Brookfield (1988), there are four major activities in critical reflection, viz. assumption analysis, contextual awareness, imaginative speculation and reflective skepticism. Van Woerkom (2004) who studies about the effects of critical reflection on HRD argued that critical reflection in HRD will helps to facilitate more effective learning of individual in an organization. Employees who engage in critical thinking are likely to display critical reflective behavior of reflecting, career awareness, experimenting, learning from mistakes, critical opinion sharing, invites others for feedback, and challenging groupthink (Van Woerkom, 2004, p. 187). The author argues that the adoption of critical reflective behavior has proven to have positive impacts on both the individual as well as organization. In the individual level, the adoption of critically reflective behavior will increase employees self-efficacy and participation in the workplace (Van Woerkom, 2004). The improvement in self-efficacy is due to the fact that employees need to have a certain degree of competency and risk-taking behavior to display critical reflective behavior in the workplace (Van Woerkom, 2004). They have to withstand social pressure and be critical instead of following the traditional ways or practices (Van Woerkom, 2004). Van Woerkom (2004, p. 187) argued that critical reflective behavior not only allow employees to develop their own competences and to connect their working life to personal development, but it also enabled them to optimize or to critically analyze and try to change work practice. In addition, Van Woerkom (2004) further argued that employees who adopt critical reflective behavior are likely to have a steeper learning curve and this will have positive effect on their self-efficacy. On the other hand, the increase in participation is due to the fact that the adoption of critical reflective behavior requires employees to get involved in the organization and to understand the work practice at different level of organization as well as the scope to solve problem and learn from mistakes (Van Woerkom, 2004). According to Van Woerkom (2004), employees that display critical reflective work behavior are more often being invited to participate in organization. Contributions to Organization In the organizational level, Van Woerkom (2004) had conducted investigation in two organizations (a textile painting factory and a forensic psychiatric clinic) and found that critically reflective behavior is effective to transform organization from Taylorism to a modern organization, with participating and self-managing workers (p. 187). Van Woerkom argued that to achieve this, employees have to reflect on their own current and future position in the organization and to reflect on their own behavior, instead of blaming others for mistakes (Woerkom, 2004, p. 187). Besides, the practices of challenging groupthink, ask for feedback, critical opinion sharing will likely to stimulate double loop learning in organization (Van Woerkom and Croon, 2008). According to Argyris (2002), Double-loop learning occurs when errors are corrected by changing the governing values and then the action. By practicing critical opinion sharing, ask for feedback and challenging groupthink, employees are able to share what they have learned with others, thereby facilitate the effectiveness of learning and working of the organization (Van Woerkom and Croon, 2008). Furthermore, Natale and Nicci (2006) in their research of critical thinking in organization pointed out that low level of conflict can help to stimulate the quality of decision making of a team. Therefore, conflict that resulted from critical thinking of individual in organization is useful to stimulate the performance of the organization (Natele and Nicci, 2006). However, the research also revealed that when conflict intensified, its positive effects will diminishes and team performance will deteriorates (Natele and Nicci, 2006). Challenges in Practice Despite the benefits of practicing critical reflection in the workplace to both employees and organization, Sambrook (2009) argued that individual and organizational barriers may arise in the effort of organization to implement CHRD which caused by dogma, misunderstanding, and perceived threat of loss of power. Particularly, the implementation of CHRD requires the shift of power which will may causes authority or management to resist the adoption of CHRD because the fear of losing their power (Sambrook, 2009). Besides, Reynolds (cited in Rigg and Trehan, 2008, p.378) argued that dissonance resulted from challenging status quo and questioning their position may cause individual to resist engaging in critical thinking. 4.0 Conclusion Current HRD is emphasis on the learning and performance while ignore the issues of diversity, equality, power, heterosexism, discrimination, sexism, racism, or other issues of oppression in organizations (Bierema, 2002, p. 245). Therefore, CHRD is emerged to address these issues. Sambrook (2009) using Burrells (2001) framework of six strands to a critical approach has constructed the attributes of CHRD, which are: political, iconoclastic, epistemological, investigative, revelatory and emancipatory. Generally, critical perspective of HRD is about challenging contemporary practices, exposing assumptions, revealing illusion, and questioning tradition (Sambrook, 2004, p. 614) in the objective to create a more just, equitable, discrimination-free working environment and to contribute toward human capital development. CHRD facilitates more effective learning of individual which will then increase the competencies and self-efficacy of individual (Van Woerkom, 2004). It is also argued that critical thinker in an organization are more often being invited to participate in the organization (Van Woerkom, 2004). Furthermore, the practice of CHRD can help individual to develop leadership as argued by Marquardt (2000). On the other hand, empowerment of employees helps to increase the productivity and responsiveness to problem while reducing the job ambiguity and work stress of employees (Ravichandran, n.d.). In organizational level, CHRD can facilitate double-loop learning which will help to change the practice of the organization (Van Woerkom and Croon, 2008). Besides, CHRD can also help to create a company with independent and participating workforce as suggested by Van Woerkom (2004). In addition, the effect of employee empowerment can also help to increase the productivity, service quality and decision making process as argued by Ladden (n.d.). However, the practice of CHRD will meet certain challenges in term of contradiction between the objective of CHRD and performance purpose of business objective (Fenwick, 2004) and the reluctance of individual to engage in the practice of CHRD (Sambrook, 2009). Therefore, Sambrook (2009) argued that organizational and individual antecedents as mentioned above are crucial for CHRD to be put into practice. (3532 words)

Desegregation Debate

The challenge of desegregating schools was brought upon in 1954 by five separate court cases, ultimately joined together and called Brown v. The Board of Education. Though each case was different, they all revolved around the main argument that segregation itself violated the â€Å"equal protection under the laws† guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, and had detrimental psychological effects on Negroes. Segregation was almost always initiated by whites, and initiated on the basis that blacks were inferior and undesirable. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. When blacks allowed themselves to accept their status at the separate school, the effect on their personalities was perpetually worse than any problem they might encounter in an integrated school. This element became a prominent part of the legal case against segregation (Stephan 9). The biggest argument against desegregation was the perception that blacks were not as intelligent as whites. Since the Fourteenth Amendment did not guarantee the right to a quality education, if a school chose not to accept them, there was nothing that could be done legally. Long after the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine became law, it was clear that blacks were indeed separate, but they were not equal. Segregation still had a firm hold in the areas of public education, public transportation, hotels and restaurants, hospitals, housing and departments of the United States Government (Stephan 7). An example was the case of McLaurin v. Oklahoma Board of Regents of Higher Education in 1950. George McLaurin was admitted on a segregated basis to the graduate school of the University of Oklahoma as a result of a federal district court order. He was required to sit in an anteroom outside of his classes and was given separate tables at the library and cafeteria (Stephan 11). The expenditure disparity between white and black children was enormous in some areas of the country. In the South, the average expenditure for white children was $44. 00, but was only $13. 00 for black children. In Georgia, the figures were $35. 00 versus $6. 00 and in Mississippi, $45. 00 versus $5. 00. Considering the national average per pupil expenditure was $99. 0, it was clear that the school system was separate and unequal and blacks were not receiving their fair share (Stephan 8). There was also the cost of integrating schools to legal specifications. To minimize transportation costs and to accommodate distinctions between the suburbs and the inner city, the people who were supposed to pay those costs were those who lived near the ghetto inside the inner city limits. Even though the cost was no more than segregation had imposed on middle-class black people, the whites argued that they now had to pay more money in taxes to solve a problem that wasn't their fault. Black children were more likely to attend an inner city school and they felt that in return for their taxes they would receive an increase in crime and a lower standard of education (Stephan 175). Another major argument regarding desegregation was the fact that there was de jure (by law) segregation in the south and de facto (by geography) segregation in the north, with the differentiating factor being â€Å"purpose or intent to segregate. † (Stephan 91) Every standing court order related to school desegregation was based on the discoveries of de jure segregation, either in the north or south. In each case, the courts found that local school districts and occasionally state educational agencies as well, had systematically carried out policies leading to or reinforcing segregation (Stephan 122). One of the disadvantages of desegregation, however, was the way it destroyed the ethnicity of blacks. While they were segregated, it was easy for them to maintain their African-American background. Once they became part of an integrated school system, they were forced to conform to white society's views on dress code, religion and behavior. The busing issue was considered to be â€Å"an educational disaster. † Whereas previously, black children had been bused long distances to segregated schools, now they were busing white children to integrated schools. It didn't help the minority children and it hurt the middle-class children, creating conflicts where they weren't any before. The white middle-class families who felt violated by having blacks being bused into their schools and neighborhoods fostered hostilities. When rioting broke out, it became so serious that the police and National Guard were called in to protect the black students. In addition, it increased educational costs with the addition of new buses and the salaries of the drivers, and jeopardized the health and safety of children (Stephan 123). According to the government, the purpose of desegregation was to integrate the population with the expectation that racially, economically and socially disadvantaged children would benefit and therefore enhance their abilities of obtaining the knowledge needed to acquire higher status and better jobs. With all of the factors contributing to the problems of desegregation, it is obvious that the blacks were caught in a no-win situation. They were already considered to be mentally inferior to whites due to the white perception of them during the times of slavery. Now they were attempting to increase their intelligence level, but their inferiority was causing them to be excluded from the same education that whites were receiving. Once they were finally granted rights into the schools, the stress they were experiencing caused even more psychological problems and learning disabilities. During this time, it was forgotten that the major function of schools was and always will be to educate, and that should never be based on race, religion or color.