Students’ fitness and their academic achievement Essay Example for Free

Students’ fitness and their academic achievement Essay Running Head: Discussion Investigations into the relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness have produced mixed results. Weber (1983) correlated fitness, using the Iowa Physical Proficiency Profile (including sit-ups, pull-ups, running), to entrance exam scores and grade point averages for 246 male college students. Fitness level had a significant positive relationship with grade point average (r = . 41), but did not relate to performance scores on entrance exams. Hart and Shay (1994) examined mathematics and verbal SAT scores and the Physical Fitness Index in 60 college women. When the relationships between verbal scores and mathematics scores and fitness index were examined, the r values were . 068 and . 146, respectively, although neither was significant at the . 05 level. A battery of fitness tests (e. g. , flexed arm hang, curl-ups, and step test) were administered to 827 female freshmen and subjects were placed in one of three categories of fitness: high, fair or poor (Arnett, 1988). Arnett (1988) found significant differences in grade point average between the groups, with participants with higher fitness levels having higher GPAs. Using various academic measures and fitness measures on school-aged children, studies have also resulted in inconsistent findings. Clarke and Jarman (1991), examining 217 boys (aged 9, 12 and 15), found that there was a consistent, and for some fitness measures, a significant tendency for the students in the high fitness group to have higher means on both standard achievement tests and grade point average. Current studies have used standardized achievement and fitness tests as measures. A study involving 1,767 students in second, fourth and sixth grades examined the relationship between performance on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Test for Reading, Mathematics and Career Education and performance on a variety of physical fitness tests from the Minnesota Performance Test, the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Health Related Physical Fitness Tests, and the Texas Physical Fitness-Motor Ability Test (Harris Jones, 1982). For the boys and girls, multiple regression analysis demonstrated a low, but significant, relationship between reading and mathematics ability and the combination of eight motor performance measures examined, five of which were fitness measures. Winn (1993) studied 302 fourth and fifth grade children and examined the relationship between scores on the California Test of Basic Skills (reading, mathematics) and performance on the AAHPERD Presidents Challenge. Using national norms, total fitness and total academic achievement scores were determined. The overall correlation between the total scores was . 213. When each test item was correlated with scores in each of reading, mathematics and language, the correlations ranged from . 043 to . 462, although none of the correlations were significant at the . 05 level. An examination of 7,961 youngsters from 7 to 15 years of age in Australia was conducted by Dwyer, Sallis, Blizzard, Lazarus and Dean (2001). School ratings of scholastic ability were compared with performance on a variety of fitness measures including sit-ups, push-ups, and a 1.6 kilometer run. Across the age groups, there were significant, but weak, correlations (ranging from. 1 to . 27) between fitness (cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular force and power) and academic performance. Most recently, the California Department of Education (2002; 2005) reported the results of two studies that examined the relationship between scores on achievement tests and the Fitnessgram. In the first study, performance on the Stanford Achievement Tests and scores on the Fitnessgram for 884,715 students in grades 5, 7, and 9 were investigated. A composite score, ranging from zero to six, was created for physical fitness, in which a student obtained one point for each of the six test items for which the student was determined to be in the healthy zone. In each of the three grades, higher levels of fitness were related to higher academic achievement. The relationship was stronger for math achievement and fitness, especially at higher fitness levels. This study has yet to be published. As a result, no statistical measures are available. Nevertheless, the results were cited by professional sources, such as the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (no date) and the PE Central web site (no date) as evidence that there is a direct relationship between physical fitness levels and academic achievement. In the latter study (California Department of Education, 2005), performance on the California Standards Tests and the Fitnessgram for 1,036,386 students in grades 5, 7 and 9 were compared. Again in this study, students were awarded a composite score, representing the number of fitness test battery items in which they were in the healthy zone. Results were similar to the 2002 study, with higher fitness scores associated with higher scores in English-language arts and mathematics (p . 05). In this study (California Department of Education, 2005), however, only means were reported; thus, no standard deviations were given for the groups compared, nor were effect size measures made to quantify the practical significance of the differences observed between groups. Conclusion In summary, research examining the relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness has produced mixed results. Of these, one study has been published only as a press release in which no statistical analysis was reported and a second study had incomplete statistical information to effectively interpret the results (California Department of Education, 2002; 2005). In the remaining investigations the interpretation of the results focused on whether a statistically significant finding was observed. A number of statistical researchers, however, have emphasized that the correct interpretation of research results requires that not only the statistical significance of the data be considered, but also the practical significance of the findings (Sterne Smith, 2001; Thomas, Salazar Landers, 1991; Vincent, 1999). This is particularly important in studies such as the present one, and the ones discussed above, which typically involve very large sample sizes of hundreds to hundreds of thousands of subjects. Due to the effect of sample size on the calculation of statistical significance, with large sample sizes it is possible to calculate statistical significance on a result that has no practical significance (Vincent, 1999). As evidenced by the history of investigations, the importance of understanding the relationship between physical fitness and academic performance in children and youth is relevant, and increased by recent evidence from studies conducted on animals and elderly humans that increased physical activity results in improved cognitive function (Colcombe et al., 2004; 2004; Rhodes et al. , 2003). References Almond, L. , McGeorge, S. (1998). Physical activity and academic performance. British Journal of Physical Education, 29(2), 8-12. Arnett, C. (1988). Interrelationships between selected physical variables and academic achievement of college women. Research Quarterly, 39, 227-230. Clarke, H. , Jarman, B. O. (1991). Scholastic achievement of boys 9, 12, and 15 years of age as related to various strength and growth measures. Research Quarterly, 32, 155-162. Colcombe, S. J. , Kramer, A. F. , Erickson, K. I. , Scalf, P., McAuley, E. , Cohen, N. J. , et al. (2004). Cardiovascular fitness, cortical plasticity, and aging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 101, 3316-3321 Creswell, J. W. (2002). Educational research. Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, N J: Merrill Prentice Hall Dustman, R. E. , Emmerson, R. , Shearer, D. (1994). Physical activity, age and cognitive function. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 2, 143-181. Dwyer, T. , Sallis, J. F. , Blizzard, L. , Lazarus, R. , Dean, K. (2001). Relation of academic performance to physical activity and fitness in children. Pediatric Exercise Science, 13,225-237. Fraenkel, J. R. , Wallen, N. E. (2003). How to design and evaluate research in education (5th ed. ). Boston: McGraw Hill. Harris, D. I. , Jones, M. A. (1982). Reading, math and motor performance. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 53(9), 21-22. Hart, M. E. , Shay, C. T. (1994). Relationship between physical fitness and academic success. Research Quarterly, 35, 443-445 Hopkins, W. G. (2001). New view of statistics: Effect magnitudes. Retrieved July 10, 2004 McAuley, E. , Kramer, A. F. , Colcombe, S. J. (2004). Cardiovascular fitness and neurocognitive function in older adults: A brief review. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 18, 214-220 National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2002). 2001 Shape of the nation report. Reston, VA: Author. Nutrition and physical activity. Overweight and obesity.. Retrieved July 15, 2004 Ogden, C. L. , Flegal, K. M. , Carroll, M. D. , Johnson, C. L. (2002). Prevalence and trends in overweight among U. S. children and adolescents, 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288, 17281732. Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. (1992). Normative data from the 1985 school population fitness survey for use with the presidents challenge youth physical fitness program. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office. Plato, The republic,Book III, 412A-B. Translated by Conford, 1945, pp. 101-102 Rhodes, J. S. , van Praag, H. , Jeffrey, S. , Girard, I. , Mitchell, G. S. , Garland, T. Jr. , et al. (2003). Exercise increases hippocampal neurogenesis to high levels but does not improve spatial learning in mice bred for increased voluntary wheel running. Behavioral Neuroscience, 117, 10061016. Sterne, J. A. C. , Smith, G. D. (2001). Sifting the evidence whats wrong with significance tests? British Medical Journal, 322, 226-231. Symons, C. W. , Cinelli, B. , James, T. C. , Groff, P. (1997). Bridging student health risks and academic achievement through comprehensive school health programs. Journal of School Health, 76, 220-227. Thomas, J. R. , Salazar, W. , Landers, D. M. (1991). What is missing in p is less than .05? Effect size. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 62(3), 344-348. Vannier, M. , Poindexter, H. B. (1964). Physical activities for college women. Philadephia: W. B. Saunders. Vincent, W. J. (1999). Statistics in kinesiology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Weber, J. R. (1983). Relationship of physical fitness to success in college and to . rsonality. Research Quarterly, 24, 471-474. Winn, K. L. (1993). A study of the relationship between physical fitness levels and the academic achievement of fourth and fifth grade students. Unpublished masters thesis, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA.

The Gediminas Castle Essay Example for Free

The Gediminas Castle Essay The funicular is 71m long and will take you 40m high. The angle is said to be 36 degrees. Opening hours 10.00 19.00 all year round. Tickets: up and down adults 3Lt, pensioners and school children 2Lt up OR down adults 2 Lt, pensioners and school children 1Lt The so called Upper Castle, or Gediminas Castle, was built at the beginning of the 14th century on the site of an earlier wooden one. A century later it was rebuilt and strenghtened. Along with the Lower Castle (now gone) and the defensive wall it formed a powerful defensive system. But slowly itlost its importance and after the damage caused in the war with Russia in 1655, it was left unrebuilt. After the World War II the best surviving tower was restored. It now houses a museum and an observa- tion platform. The museum is open: May Sept 10.00 19.00 whole week Oct April Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00 to 17.00. Entrance fee 5Ltl for adults, pensioners and school children 2Ltl. To the east of the tower are the ruins of the ducal palace. The Gediminas Tower is an important historic symbol of the city of Vilnius and of Lithuania. It is the only remaining part of the Upper Castle. The first wooden fortifications were built by Gediminas the Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. There is historic evidence of a castle being located at the top of Gediminas Hill since the early 14th century. The original castle was made of wood and there is uncertaintainty around when exactly the stone castle was built. Originally the castle was built to protect the city of Vilnius from invaders and gave a great vantage point ove the city and surrounding countryside. Over the centuries the city of Vilnius was attacked five times but the castle was never successfully taken. It was only in the 17th century, during the war with Moscow, did the castle finally succumb to foreign invasion when  it was nearly completely destroyed. Recently, parts of the castle have been restored, but access to the interior of the castle is still not possible for visitors. Fairly easy walk (assuming youre wearing good walking shoes) up Gedeminas Hill allows for wonderful views of Vilnius. The orange-red roofs of old town spread out below, while taller modern buildings can be seen in the distance, a reminder that Vilnius is both a historical site and modern, living city. At the top of the hill stands the remains of the Upper Castle, built in the 15th century. Inside the tower is a museum detailing some of the citys history. Climb to the top of the tower for even better views of the city below. For a change of pace, take the funicular down to the bottom of the hill when youre ready to leave. Its a fun ride, and quick! The first timber castle was built on Castle Mount by Grand Duke Gediminas around 1320. It was replaced by a brick one in the second half of the 14th century, which had to be re-built by Grand Duke Vytautas after a fire in 1419. The castle served the Polish kings as a bell foundry and a jail and, later, as King Sigismund Augusts library. In 1655 it was conquered by the Muscovites, which was the start of its gradual decline. The only remaining part of it at present is just one tower which houses the Museum of the Castle. From its top you can admire the panorama of Vilnius. Unfortunately, we could only see the castle from below. There were no signposts to the funicular and it was getting too late for us to attempt a walk. The pictures of the panorama of the town were taken by my friend on her stay in Vilnius. All Lithuanians know a legend about establishment of Vilnius city. It was the beginning of 14th century when Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas stopped for an overnight near confluence of Neris and Vilnele rivers. That night he dreamt an iron wolf howling on a hill. In the morning his soothsayer Lizdeika explained his dream as a sign for him to build here a city as it will become a well known and widely resounded in all over the World. Gediminas ordered to pour a mound at the same place he slept. On the hill there a castle was built, the predecessor for the nowadays Gediminas castle. According to archeological researches, the hill where Gediminas castle stands nowadays was already inhabited in a Neolithic period. In 11-13th centuries a wooden castle here stood. The same as Vilnius city, it was mentioned in 1323 for the first time. For more than 250 years since 1315, when a dynasty of GediminaiÄ iai ruled the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the complex of Vilnius castles served as a solid defensive structure. The complex included the Bottom castle, the Upper castle and the Skew castle. The Bottom castle extended in a territory of a few hectares. It stood at the same place where now the Vilnius Cathedral stands. It looked as a separate city as it included a school, an arsenal, stables, living buildings, a cathedral. However, it finally vanished in 1800. The newly built Palace of Grand Dukes of Lithuania nowadays symbolizes the former Bottom Castle. The Skew castle stood on the Skew hill, the same one which nowadays is known as the Bleak hill where a monument called â€Å"Three Crosses† is erected. The Skew castle was burnt in 1390 by German Order. Remains of the Upper castle are still standing on Gediminas hill. This castle is also called Gediminas castle. There were times when it was one of the most important political centers in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. There is also a tower of Gediminas castle located which can be seen well from any place in Vilnius Old Town. The tower nowadays serves as a museum, an observation square and a symbol of Vilnius and the whole Lithuania. The museum located in the tower of Gediminas castle is a part of National museum of Lithuania. There is an exposition called â€Å"Guns and an iconography of the castle† exposed. Visitors can get acquainted with models of the complex of Vilnius castles, historical weaponry and iconography of the old Vilnius. Tourists can climb up the Gediminas hill themselves in order to visit the castle and the tower or they can use an elevator working there daily. Marvelous views of Vilnius city open from the top of the Gediminas hill. Some people, especially youth, like settling on a spacious stone fence here and watch the city life from above. It is an impressive place where young fellows like to take their girlfriends, city guides always include this destination to tours around Vilnius, the hill is often visited by schoolchildren excursions and separate tourists. The only inconvenience about the place is that you must be on time to get down the hill in order  not to be locked in the hill territory. The hill is not available to climb up all day long.

Lean or Agile Principles in Ryanair’s Operations

Lean or Agile Principles in Ryanair’s Operations This section of the report analyses to what extent lean or agile principles in Ryanairs operations have been applied, adhered to and how these principles have contributed to the companys successful performance. Lean Operations According to Womack and Jones (2003), a company serves its customers for a certain purpose and fulfils a specific customer need. This is achieved through single processes which are in turn carried out by people the companys employees. The idea of lean operations derives from the notion that all these individual processes within a companys operations need to create value for the customer. If, however, a single process cannot be identified to add additional value, then, under a lean operations principle, this process can be considered as wasteful and should be cut out of operations. (Sutherland and Bennett, 2008; Womack and Jones, 2003) Since a lean operations process aims to remove unnecessary and no value-adding activities, it has been argued by Aitken, Christopher and Towill (2002) that the lean operations principle might be more suitable for products and services with rather constant demand and a low degree in variation. Mason-Jones, Naylor and Towill (2000) go even one step further and argue that the lean principle should primarily be applied for commodity products or services. Ryanair and the Lean Operations Principle With the above definitions in mind, a clear line to Ryanairs operations can be drawn.The company has shaped the European air-travel market and has largely contributed to the fact that air travel has been viewed more as a commodity service in recent years. Especially at Ryanair, air travel is viewed as a means of transportation, bringing their customers from point A to point B without any additional service offerings almost purely a commodity service. (Strategic Direction, 2004) With its low-cost model and its definition of air travel as a commodity service in mind, Ryanair has deliberately been striving to remove all activities from their operations which do not add customer value in the light of this definition; such activities have been described as wasteful by Sutherland and Bennett (2008) and have been grouped into seven distinct categories. Based upon these different categories, an analysis of Ryanairs lean operations model follows: In terms of Ryanairs business model, overproduction can be seen as any additional service offerings other than pure transportation. Ryanair succeeded in making its customers only demand for the pure transportation service from the company. It rigorously cuts out passenger service; food, drinks as well as baggage serviceare only available at extra cost while multi-class airplanes and inflight entertainment have been eliminated completely. (Strategic Direction 2004; Strategic Direction, 2006) Delay/Waitingis time that is lost between two activities that do add value (Sutherland and Bennett, 2008). In order to remove waste resulting from waiting, Ryanair tries to keep an airplanes time on ground, that is its turnaround time, as short as possible. This is achieved by exclusively serving smaller, secondary airports with lower traffic. In addition, minimal catering activities need to be performed and baggage handling is simplified because there is no through checking to other flights. (McCormick, 2010; Strategic Direction, 2006) Transportation/Conveyanceactivities can be sustained valuable by applying point-to-point operations in contrast to hub and spoke operations applied by many large national carriers. This system reinforces Ryanairs commitment to bring its passengers from A to B and not to intervene in their possible onward journeys. (McCormick, 2010; Strategic Direction, 2004) Motionat Ryanair can be seen as unnecessary steps in the middle of an operating process; the company removed such a step by means of disintermediation in its ticket-selling process. At the beginning, flights were sold over the phone whiletoday the company almost exclusively sells its flights through its homepage, hence avoiding the involvement oftravel agencies completely. (McCormick, 2010; Strategic Direction, 2004) Inventories are greatly reduced and more easily controlled by only using one aircraft type, the Boeing 737-800. Through such fleet standardisation, spare parts for maintenance can be acquired in bulk and used throughout the entire fleet (Strategic Direction, 2004). Furthermore, staff utilisation can be increased since all employees are able to operate on the entire fleet, increasing flexibility in operations.(Human Resource Management International Digest, 2007; McCormick, 2010) Ryanair reduces wasted space by using its capacity on each flight efficiently. By selling seats for different prices, varying according to season, time of the day and time of booking the company strives to minimise the number of lost capacity in terms of empty seats (Human Resource Management International Digest, 2007). Furthermore, at the airport, Ryanairs check-in areas are reduced to a minimum since a large part of check-in can be performed over the internet by the customer. Despite their late popularity, self-service check-in machines are not used by Ryanair since they consume additional space and represent one additional unnecessary step in the companys operations. (McCormick, 2010) Finally, the concept of reducingerrors in Ryanairs operations can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly, employee utilisation in the company is very high. Employees are responsible for carrying out a variety of different tasks; flight attendants not only sell refreshments on board, they are also required to assist in the cleaning and baggage handling process when necessary. This allows the company for more control over a variety of processes because employee involvement is higher. (McCormick, 2010) Secondly, processes that are not core to the company are outsourced and performed by specialists like check-in or baggage handling services. Using their expertise reduces the risk of errors and keeps the number of employees within the company low. (McCormick, 2010 This analysis shows that Ryanair clearly puts a lean operations strategy at the heart of its processes, resulting in doing more with less (Aitken, Christopher and Towill, 2002, p.61) to achieve its goal for customers. A Limitation to the Lean Approach As the preceding discussion shows, Ryanair has succeeded in converting their service offer to a commodity applying a lean approach and exploiting its benefits. However, it has been argued by Polito and Watson (2006) that a lean approach might get to its limits as soon as customer demand is increasing since not enough resources are available in order to meet changing demand. In the case of Ryanair a standardised fleet might represent such a limit. If demand on a certain route increases sharply, Ryanair might find it difficult to react instantly with increased capacity; as larger aircrafts are not available, a simple aircraft change for a given flight in order to increase capacity is not possible. Instead, an additional flight on the given route might be considered which involves negotiating extra landing rights (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 2005). Agility and Ryanair A Conclusion The previous example shows that Ryanair, with its high degree of leanness in process operations, might find it difficult to react to sudden, unforeseen changes in the environment instantly; such reactions require a company to be agile and have certain resources at hand that can be considered wasteful in a lean approach (Mason-Jones, Naylor and Towill, 2000). Agility is associated with higher flexibility and responsiveness to market changes (Aitken, Christopher and Towill, 2002) but as long as Ryanair is able to defend its concept of selling its service as a commodity, where flying is solely about transportation and highly valued by its customers, there might be no need for the company to incorporate aspects of agility into its lean operations processes.

What is Worldview? Essay examples -- Christian Worldview, Biblical Wor

After reading the fourth chapter heading of Consider, the first definition of worldview that came to my mind was â€Å"view of the world† just from a literary perspective. The co-authors defined worldview as â€Å"a framework a person brings to decision-making† (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011, p.51). Everyone has a worldview with main characteristics that are ever changing. Different sources influence this framework such as parenting, friendship, telecommunication or internet media, educational and religious sectors. Hindson and Caner (2008) propose standardization methods of worldview are measured either by emotions and feelings, socialism, or the truth (Hindson & Caner, 2008, p.499). Recognition of a person’s worldview can be found based on ones answer to several reality questions surrounding God (origin), human nature (identity), reality (meaning/purpose), after life (destiny), values (morality or ethics). My own definition of worldview is set of beliefs about the most important issues in life and my reaction to it. While in agreement with Jeff Baldwin’s eyeglass concept, I choose to compare my Christian worldview to an internal navigational system. When I am lost and need to be found, Christ is omnipresent. He knows my location and guides me into another direction. â€Å"It’s a roadmap, a guide for getting around in life, for interpreting reality, and for making choices† (The Importance of Worldview, 2011, p.11). Hopefully my final destination will be in the â€Å"city of gold, as clear as glass† (NLT, Revelation, 21:18). â€Æ' BIBLICAL/CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW The Question of Origin As the first book of the Old Testament convey, Genesis, and its Greek meaning â€Å"in the beginning,† life originated with God in the Garden of Eden. Accor... ...concerns that I have for others. Work Hard From Genesis throughout the New Testament, God put us humans to work. The Bible condemns laziness (Proverbs 19:15) and every man or woman should be providers of their household through hard work (Proverbs 14:23). Personally, I cannot find anything in the Scripture that will guide me towards a certain career path. However, in all jobs Christians must work wholeheartedly by exceling in performance not for the employer but for Christ (Colossians 3:23) â€Æ' References A Sure Foundation. SMI Healthcare Bible Study (The Importance of Worldview, 2011, p.11) Retrieved from http://www.thesmi.org/HCBS/hcbs2.PDF Hindson, E., & Caner, E. (2008). The Populer Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers. Weider, L., & Gutierrez, B. (2011). Consider. Virginia Beach: Academx Publishing Services, Inc

The Power of Myth Essay examples -- Literary Analysis, Joseph Campbell

According to Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth, one archetypal mythic hero appears in diverse cultures in different forms. Two protagonists in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki share similar heroic characteristics despite their different backgrounds and cultures. One of the concepts explained in The Power of Myth is the stages of human development. Campbell states that â€Å"As a child, you are brought up in a world of discipline, of obedience, and you are dependent on others. All this has to be transcended when you come to maturity, so that you can live not in dependency but with self-responsible authority† (Campbell 87). Thor and Santiago both experience the stages of human development, from dependence to maturity. In The Alchemist, Santiago decides to become a shepherd and travel the world, disobeying his parents who want him to be a priest. When his father says â€Å"Amongst us, the only ones who travel are the shepherds†, Santiago makes up his mind to become a shepherd. (Coelho 9). In Kon-Tiki, Thor was disappointed and discouraged because his theory is rejected and ignored by people. However, soon, he decides to sail the sea with few other people to show that his theory is right. Thor says to his friend, â€Å"I’m so sure the Indians crossed the Pacific on their rafts that I’m willing to build a raft of the same kind myself and cross the sea just to prove that it’s possible† (Heyerdahl 23). Santiago’s making his own decisions and Thor’s taking action to get out of his helpless situation show their developments to the more mature human beings. According to The Power of Myth, one of the characteristics of hero is to encounter troubles. He explains, â€Å"The trials are designed to see to it that the intending hero sh... ... by giving money to prepare sailing, and equipments that they need while sailing. Also, when they struggle to settle on the land, the native people help Thor and his companions. Native people helped them settle the raft on the island, and to reach the destination. According to Thor, the native inhabitants â€Å"pointed westward indicating that they were heading toward dangerous reefs† (Heyerdahl 182). Listening to this, they got prepared for the dangerous way and succeed go through there. These examples demonstrate that the two protagonists escape from their troubles with the help of other people. In conclusion, the two characters in The Alchemist and Kon-Tiki share similarities in their stages of human development, encountering troubles, and getting help from other source. These supporting details illustrate the universality of the characteristics of mythic heroes.

Prejudice to Kill a Mockingbird Essay

Prejudice denotes a prejudgment and negative opinion formed without adequate knowledge or justification. Individuals who are prejudicial are often biased and act unfavourably to other groups, particularly those of differing race and socio-economic status. Ideas and themes about prejudice are strongly evoked through Harper Lee’s 1960 novel â€Å"To Kill a Mocking-bird† and the poem â€Å"The Child† by Valerie Church. â€Å"To Kill a Mocking-bird† explores the prejudices associated with the coloured and underprivileged community group in a small town of the central Alabama which contrasts to the simplistic nature of a mentally-disabled boy in â€Å"The Child†. Through the juxtaposition of ideas conveyed in both texts, audiences are confronted with a greater understanding of the differing aspects of prejudice. Racism is and continues to be one of the most common types of prejudice experienced and exercised within the international community. Traditionally, the importance of race and skin tones was believed to signify the wealth or superiority of an individual or group. Written in the 1960’s America, Lee’s novel concentrates on the negative impact and effect of the orthodox prejudices held against the coloured community. Derogative connotation to the minority black community as â€Å"niggers†, portray the constant racial prejudice experienced by them within the small town of. Although the protagonist family are of Anglo descent, they fall victims to racial prejudice in their attempt to defend a black person in the court of law. The importance of skin tone is expressed through imagery, where Atticus explains the need to symbolically â€Å"climb† into someone’s â€Å"skin† to consider the light of their circumstances. Further, the repetition of â€Å"nigger lover† connotes the negative attitude Atticus and the Finch family experiences in response to helping Tom Robinson, one of the mockingbirds in the text. Lee’s employment of the mockingbird as a motif symbolises the harmless and caring nature of the black community who â€Å"never annoy you† but are heavily prejudiced against simply because of the colour of their skin. As the salient theme within the text, â€Å"To Kill a Mocking-bird† highlights the dire impact of radical prejudice and the disparity between members of difference races within 1960’s America. Another aspect of prejudice which is presented within the â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird†, is the importance of socio-economic class which connotes an individual’s standing within a community. Within the text, the town of Maycomb is divided into three distinct socio-economic classes from the well respected white working class, the â€Å"white trash† to the African American community. The classes are about the same as each other as they have the same type of people in each, the good and the bad. Scout soon realises, â€Å"there’s just one kind of folks. Folks†. Even the children in Maycomb are aware of the socio-economic class between the groups of people in the town. It is most noticed on the first day Scout went to school; Walter did not bring his lunch and Miss Caroline tried to lend him a quarter. As the Cunninghams did not borrow what they could not lend back, Walter refused and Miss Caroline became frustrated until Scout responded with â€Å"he’s a Cunningham† which reveals even adolescents in the community actively categorise individuals into stereotypes. Lee has used the freedom of the black community to portray a small town’s reaction to their freedom. Those from the black community fortunate enough to have an education were well respected as they had good jobs compared to the rest of the black community. There is a fourth social class briefly mentioned as there only a couple of them. Children of Dolphus Raymond, they are half black and half white. They do not fit in either the black nor white community as they have blood of the other race. As Jem says ‘Around here, once you have a drop of Negro blood that makes you all black’, refers to the townsfolk’s thoughts and beliefs on people with a black heritage. Physical and emotional separation is a prominent theme conveyed in both â€Å"The Child† and â€Å"To Kill a Mocking-bird†. Church’s â€Å"The Child† opens with the persona’s use of third person to recount their sight of a small boy with â€Å"an incomplete brain†. The use of the metaphoric connotation to the boy offers audiences the view that child is mentally- disadvantaged and is subject to prejudice of the general public with their â€Å"cruel eyes†. This representation emphasises the importance of physical appearance especially in a society which often judge and assess an individual by their exterior. As Church conveys that the boy experiences â€Å"mocking voice of the other boys†, this emphasises the importance of physical appearance to become accepted in the community even though traditionally, adolescents are presumed to be innocent and free of prejudice. Although physically, the young boy has a â€Å"simple exterior†, Church highlights that the boy is subject to prejudice due to his physical appearance which reveals his disabled nature. Further, this poem also highlights circumstances in which individuals deal with prejudices as the young boy reverts to smiling â€Å"simply at the onlookers†. Whilst â€Å"totally happy in his world†, Church use of imagery emphasises the positive responses to prejudice even though he is still physically separated from civilisation as he is standing â€Å"on the opposite kerb† being mocked by the other boys. The repetition of the young boy’s physical separation from the others assists in emphasising the physical aspect of prejudice. Valerie Church’s â€Å"The Child†, is an emotive poem which strongly addresses the physical nature of prejudice and the simplistic views by a young boy to combat issues of prejudice. Prejudice is both a physical and emotive concept which is prevalent within society. Harper Lee’s â€Å"To Kill a Mocking-bird† and Valerie Church’s â€Å"The Child† are texts which offer insight to the effect of prejudices based on both race and physical appearance. Both texts address the dire consequences of prejudicial acts and comments which continue to separate those in a society. Thus, the study of both texts has allowed audiences to gain a deeper and more extensive insight in the various aspects of prejudice. Word Count: 1,000Ã'Ž

Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman Democracy Essay

â€Å"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.† – Plato The question at hand is whether there were any similarities that led to the fall of Ancient Greek and Roman democracies. This essay will discuss how wars and territorial expansion led to a rise in populism, which brought political chaos, and how it is the fundamental cause of the decline of democracy in Ancient Greece and Rome. The first forms of democracy started in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. In Ancient Greece, democracy and politics were more related to the Athenian city-state – because Sparta was more of a military dictatorship – than any other city-state in the region. As for Rome, the brief period between the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Empire, known as the Roman Republic, came to be a symbol of democracy in the Ancient Roman time period. Though democracy is defined as a form of government in which its people make decisions that directly influence their daily lives, the ancient forms of democracy were slightly different. It is clear that the Athenian city-state was more democratic than the Roman Republic, but both had forms of oligarchy that tampered with the image of ideal democracy. The Roman Republic had its Senate, and the Athenian city-state had its Areopagos, groups of aristocrats that usually dominated the region’s politics. Some sources even suggest that â€Å"Rome n ever became a democracy in the sense that they (the citizens) ever controlled the government for long.† But whatever democracy existed in these areas was short-lived. Even though these democracies existed in different time periods, they had similar reasons to their downfall. Scholars suggest that these democracies fell because of the sheer landmass each had to control after their numerous victories. The Roman Republic stretched the Italian Peninsula and controlled parts of Northern Africa; Athens ruled much of mainland Greece and the Ionian states (the Delian League basically put the Ionian states under Athenian subjection) along the Mediterranean coastline. The constitutions built for Athens and the Roman Republic were figuratively too small to control these newly added territories. Since the constitutions were made only to satisfy the populations of the homeland itself, the constitutions had gaps in which politicians abused, ultimately  leading to political corruption. Another cause reasoned for the downfall of democracies in both states is the democracies’ fallout with thei r common citizens. Citizens of Rome and Athens consequently wanted a single strong ruler after years of war had created panic among all levels of government. However, though these two reasons are valid, there was another significant cause for the fall of these two democracies. The rise of populism in both the Athenian city-state and the Roman Republic was crucial to the deterioration of their democracies. The Athenian city-state fought many wars such as the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian Wars. To fight these wars, the Athenians needed income. The common Athenian citizen had to fund the war, similar to the Roman Plebeians and their war taxes, creating heavy discrepancies between the rich and poor. This in turn paved the way for many populist reforms – reforms that favored the working class – most importantly, Pericles’ reforms. Pericles removed the property restrictions on army enlistment to provide more troops in the Athenian war machine. This reform, along with the previous reform of Cleisthenes that enlarged the Council of 400 to five-hundred people, allowed for the â€Å"†¦ involvement of a large part or even the whole of the citizen body in the state’s affairs,† giving the citizens too much power. Citizens, w hom had no experience in politics, started to make decisions for the Athenian public. This proved detrimental in Second Peloponnesian War, when Athens could not effectively place its troops because of quarrels within the Council of 500 (and a weakened Areopagos due to Pericles’ reforms), leading to a defeat that nearly crumbled the existing form of democracy in Athens. This inefficiency of the government moved citizens and thinkers, such as Plato, to view democracy as an ineffective form of rule. Citizens now shifted their sights to Macedonia as their only hope for survival. The case for the Roman Republic is similar. The plebeians funded wars which created discrepancies between the Patrician class and the Plebeians. This allowed the Patricians to dominate the state’s resources, such as land, which started to deteriorate the economy of the Republic. To counter these movements, reformers such as the Gracchus brothers and Gaius Marius turned to populist ideals to gain a strong plebeian holding. In trying to do so, the reformers disobeyed many of the constitution’s preexisting laws which brought  political instability: Tiberius Gracchus tried to illegally obtain another year as tribune, resulting in the first â€Å"daggers in the forum,† Gaius Gracchus tried to start a plebeian reform, which failed, and Gaius Marius and Sulla created a clash between the populares and optimares, creating conflict within Rome. These attempts at populist reforms seemingly started a trend within politicians to undermine the authority of the Roman constitution. Sulla was elected dictator for two consecutive terms – Roman law only allowed for a single term in case of national emergency – and Julius Caesar declared himself dictator-for-life and crossed the Rubicon into Rome with his troops, which were both illegal. All of these attempts at populist reforms created confusion amongst the Roman public, whom now viewed dictatorships more pleasurable than the current Republ ic mess. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Octavion took over, marking the end of the Roman Republic. As discussed above, wars were the backbone to the populist movements. It is important to note, however, that in Ancient Greece, the fall was associated more with the populist reforms itself, and that in Ancient Rome, the fall was associated more with the push for populism, rather than the reforms itself. Another rather interesting fact was that the increase in democracy in Greece actually led to the demise of the democracy itself. However, in all, populism was a common factor that brought the collapse of the democracies in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Roberts, J. M. â€Å"The Making of the Roman World.† The Penguin History of Europe. London, England: Penguin, 1997. 51. Print. [ 2 ]. Roberts, J. M. â€Å"Ancient Greece.† The Penguin History of Europe. London, England: Penguin, 1997. 31. Print. [ 3 ]. A term used to describe the first appearance of violence in the Roman General Assembly; it is blamed for start of the disregard of the Roman constitution by many politicians to follow.