Cathedral written by Raymond Carver Essay Example for Free

Cathedral written by Raymond Carver Essay In the story Cathedral written by Raymond Carver, it seems that stereotypes of the blind form barriers between the blind and the sighted. The man in the story has always had misconceptions of the blind which came from the movies (Carver 1). The title, Cathedral, is significant because it helps the man envision the life of Robert. As Robert, the blind man, entered his life, it was hard for the man to form any bond with Robert due to his visual impairment. The man even created a picture in his mind of what Robert would look like, and how he would act. This is because the man has never had any interaction with a blind person, making him have preconceived ideas about Robert. Having Robert stay at the mans house left the man feeling quite uneasy. Not only was Robert a threat to his wife, he also thought that Robert may be a hassle to deal with. The man stated, I wasnt enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me (Carver 1). Because the man had such strong images in his mind about Robert, the first time he saw Robert caught him by surprise. Roberts appearance was not unordinary, and did not look like a blind person. He wore brown slacks, brown shoes, a light brown shirt, a tie, a sports coat. Spiffy (Carver 32). At this point, the mans ideas about the blind peoples appearance had been contradicted. When the man realized that his assumptions about Robert were false, and that they actually shared some things in common, he began to feel more comfortable with Robert, even being, glad for the company (Carver 84). This is the first time the man was being polite and friendly to Robert. Soon after, a bond between Robert and the man had begun after a program about cathedrals came on the television. The man becomes aware that, There were times when the Englishman who was telling the thing would shut up, would simply let the camera move around over the cathedrals (Carver 92). The silence in the room became awkward for him because he realized that Robert did not know what was happening when the narrator stopped speaking. Since the mans stereotypes were beginning to shed during the cathedral conversation, the man came more open with Robert, and realized that Robert is not much different from the rest of society. The two of them began to  compare how well each of them envisioned the cathedrals. Robert gave facts that were heard tight off the television, demonstrating his limited knowledge. The man also attempted to describe this cathedrals, theyre really big,(Carver 100) he explains, theyre massive(Carver 100). At this point, he understood just how little he actually knew about the cathedrals, even with a picture right in front of him. Now the man is awakened to his newly, humbled, equal position along side Robert, with the help of the cathedral. With the mans stereotypes diminishing, he became to trust Robert and is giving him a chance to build a relationship. When Robert brought up the idea for the man to draw the cathedral out as Robert follows, the man was able to appreciate what blind people go through. When he finished the drawing, Robert said, Well are you looking?(Carver 125) The man replied, Its really something(Carver 126). The man had allowed himself to experience, even if for just a few minutes, what Robert experiences every second of his life. This was the same man, who only a few hours ago did not want Robert to be in his house. Overcoming prejudices, fears, and misconceptions are only possible when you allow yourself to get close to a person who these feelings are directed towards. By the man becoming close with Robert, he was capable to see what was necessary to gain an understanding of what life is like for a blind man, with the help of the vision of the cathedral. The man began to draw the cathedral to try and help Robert visualize what one looked like. What he did not realize is that Robert was actually helping him visualize what blindness felt like.

Industrial Relations and Trade Unions in Brazil

Industrial Relations and Trade Unions in Brazil Introduction The development of the Brazilian system of industrial relations and its trade union movement, like in any other country is embedded in the formation of a sector of wage labor.  The debate on trade unions and industrial relations systems is unison in recognize a crisis in the labor movement that developed since the 1980s decade, and much of the efforts were spent identifying the causes of the crisis and exploring pathways to overcome it. However, the debate was stated looking mainly to the situation of the developed countries, specially the US and Western Europe, and the immense diversity of scenarios on the Global South were kept at the fringes of the academic discussion. Part of the explanation is that the theory of industrial relations and trade unions, depends of the existence of a free population performing wage labor. As the most of the Global South was kept under colonial systems sometimes as far as the 1970s decade, and the labor regimes were much more similar to slavery or serfdom than to the regimes in Western societies, the wage labor in those regions has received few attention since the early developments of the fields. Although being achieved independence from Portugal in 1822, the slavery was abolished only in 1888, giving birth to the Brazilian Research Question: Literature Review: As the thesis proposed is divided in three main sections, also the literature can be grouped in three relatively independent bodies. First, the effort to describe the Brazilian industrial relations system and the current role of trade unions start with the normative environment expressed in the Brazilian laws, mainly the Consolidation of Labor Laws (Consolidaà §Ãƒ £o das Leis do Trabalho), enacted in 1943 in the period of Getà ºlio Vargas dictatorship, in autocratic manner, and despite being updated that is still under effect The notion that workers have some power resources is present implicitly in the labor theories of value, and the assumption of the central role of labor in production brings the seed of the idea of structural power. As a development of this centrality of labor, the motto â€Å"Workers of the world, unite!† is the recognition that the organization of workers is able to create power. In that way, most of the authors that considered the workers and the working class for analysis assume the existence and/or the possibility of creation of power resources and its relations with labor conflicts. However, to provide a clearer theoretical referential, is necessary to narrow the concept towards a tipification of the power resources available to workers. The first sources to be considered is Perrone (1983, 1984) unfinished articles, both edited by Eric O. Wright. Aiming to operationalize a variable that explain the strike behavior and the wage levels in different economic sectors, the author presents a definition of â€Å"positional power†[1] as the potential of a certain group of workers to generate disruption in the economic structure. In that sense, as higher the interdependence of the whole economy to a sector, higher is the positional power of the workers in that sector. To measure this variable Perrone uses an input-output matrix to account the dependence of the economy to a specific sector. The findings of the study is that despite the positional power can explain quite well differences in wage levels, the variable isnt sufficient to explain the strike propensity. Concerned with the noncorrelation between positional power and the propensity to strike, Eric O. Wright, in the postscript of Perrone (1984), begins developing the concept of organizational power. He proposes the disruptive potential does not automatically leads to an effective bargaining power of workers, since a group of workers can be present low levels of solidarity and weak organizational resources. However, he sees the positional power as the main determinant of organizational power, assuming the disruptive potential as determinant of the cost-benefit trade-off in organizing and conducing collective actions. Wright states that we should expect very few cases of low organizational power in high positional power situation or the inverse. Wright (2000) evolves his concept to â€Å"associational power†, as the various forms of power that results from the collective organizations of workers, including â€Å"such things as unions and parties but may also include a variety of other forms, such as works councils or forms of institutional representation of workers on boards of directors in schemes of worker codetermination, or even, in  certain circumstances, community organizations†(p. 962). He maintain the concept of structural power as the resultant of the location of workers within the economic system. Analyzing the sites of class compromise, the author recognizes that is possible that an increasing in the associational power of workers can benefit the employers interests. He presents three institutional spheres of class conflict and consequently, sites where class compromise can be forged: the sphere of exchange, concerning labor market and all sort of commodity markets, being the labor unions as the ex pression of the associational power in this sphere; the sphere of production, meaning the intra-firm relations, the labor processes and technological patterns, and the works councils as the expression of workers associational power; the sphere of politics, concerning the shaping and execution of state policies and the management of the state-enforced rules, with the political parties being the form of the associational power of workers. Seeking to understand the mechanisms that allows these different forms of workers associational power to forge positive compromises with the employers. The main feature on the Wrights notion of power resources, for the purpose of the present proposal, is that he assumes workers organizations, for instance unions, works councils and labor parties as the same as workers power. This strong assumption disregards many concepts in industrial relations literature, by typifying the forms that workers organizations can assume. First, the different structures presented arent common to the different industrial relations and political systems. Second, ignore the movement/organization dualism tracked by Hyman (2004:2-3, 2000:60-1) trough the theory of trade unions. Third, other authors see a very different nature of workers power, as presented below. Elaborating the positional/structural source of workers power while looking to the workers in mass production industries, Arrighi and Silver (1984) divide the concept in market-place bargaining power of workers, as the power embodied in the scarcity of a specific skill possessed by workers, and in workplace bargaining power, as the â€Å"power of workers when they are expending they labor-power within the course of capitalist labor process†(pp 193-4). Although the concept is still incipient, it leads to a further strong development, presented in Silver (2005). In this paper, she recover the concept of Wright (2000) for the associational power and put in detail the structural power and its subtypes: marketplace bargaining power that results directly from the labor markets, an can take several forms, as â€Å"(1) the possession of scarce skills that are in demand by employers, (2) low levels of general unemployment, and (3) the ability of workers to pull out of the labor market entirely and survive on nonwage sources of income†(2005:13), and workplace bargaining power, identical to the Perrones concept of positional power. The conceptualization then is used to measure the in what extent the transformations in the organization of production and the proccess of globalization affected the workers power. Based in large extent in the same theoretical framework developed by Wright and Silver, the Jenas â€Å"power resource approach† (Dà ¶rre et al., 2009) contribute adding a new dimension to the dimensions of workers power, the institutional power, meaning the incorporation of the organizational and structural power into social institutions. They argue that Silver ignored this dimension of power, what is very improbable, since she assumes that the â€Å"associational power has been embedded in state legal frameworks that guaranteed such things as the right to form trade unions as well as the obligation of employers to bargain collectively with trade unions†(2005:14). The authors, with help of others, advance in the conceptualization of workers power, adding a new dimension, the societal power (Dà ¶rre and Schmalz, 2013). The authors then build an explicit typification of the various dimensions of power, presented below. Structural Power Associational Power Institutional Power Societal Power Forms of practice Interruption of capital appropriation Formation of workers Reference to chartered rights Interaction with other societal actors Shop floor level Labor unrest Job change Workers committee Works council Shop stewards Works constitution Cooperation and discursive power exceed inevitably the boundaries between these distinct levels Inter-company level Economic strikes Trade unions Free collective bargaining Societal level Political strikes Workers parties Constitution Laws and legislation Of course this typification is not the only one possible, and others will be considered and treated in the further research process for the master thesis, in order to compare and integrate, if valuable and feasible, to the theoretical framework. In advance, two alternative approaches, although being largely intersected, will be examined, namely the typifications developed by Donna McGuire and Christian Là ©vesque and Gregor Murray various articles. (tipyfication not valid all the times, organisation dont means power because of bureacratization, but related with Jena PRA â€Å"organisational power is a resource that can only be acquired through strategically planned collective action and formal organisation† WP and WO only are close related when the workers have the control of the organisationparties can serve to indivudual promotion or pursuit political power per se, WC can be coopted by management or signify promotion on carrer, and unions can develop leaders dettached from its social basis (trough institutionalisation) [1]The author uses â€Å"positional power† and â€Å"structural power† as sinonyms.

Teaching Children about Animal Rights Essay -- Personal Narrative, Com

The issue of animal rights is often overlooked in this society, and I've wanted that to change for as long as I can remember.   My original idea was to start a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at my high school, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to raise enough interest and the project would be a flop. For quite a while, I had a very difficult time coming up with another idea, until I started thinking of all the horrible stories of animal cruelty that I'd heard and read. Teenagers and adults who had neglected, starved, beaten and abused innocent, defenseless creatures. What was the source of all this? Obviously these people had never experienced the joy an animal can bring to your life. Perhaps I could find some children with whom to share that joy. Perhaps I could teach them a little bit about how to care for and respect animals as everyone should. I started searching for a church youth group to whom I could talk. I called several churches and got several answering machines. After playing phone tag with voice mail and secretaries for a couple of weeks, I finally got in touch wi... ...y are not the children who need education. They're already involved in something that is going to teach them these kinds of lessons - they're not the neglected, inactive children who grow up to be abusive towards animals and people. That is why I've decided that my work with children is far from over.   The children who truly need my help cannot be found in a youth group or a Cub Scout pack. How I am going to reach these children, I do not yet know. I am fortunate to have the drive, vision and experience I've gained so far to help me along the way.

The Physics of Photography Essay -- Pictures Photographs Careers Essay

The Physics of Photography The general population has become so accustomed to their simple point and shoot cameras that they do not either notice the poor quality of images that they are producing or do not have the knowledge to produce better images. For those who desire to take better photographs, photography will be an exciting life long adventure. There are many aspects to consider when taking a photograph. A good photograph is well thought out before the photographer snaps the shutter. Whether taking one’s portrait or shooting a landscape in the back yard, things must be lined up just right to get the best possible image. Different techniques are used to produce the exact feeling the photographer wishes to portray in his/her image. Depth of field is one way in which one can manipulate a photograph to produce the exact image desired. Depth of field is how much of the image is in focus from the front of the photograph to the back of the photograph. Emphasis can be placed on a certain subject by obscuring the foreground or background. There are three main features that can affect depth of field. Lens aperture (f-stop), distance from the camera to the subject, and the focal length of the lens (Heart 100). In order to understand depth of field one must first understand how light works. We can view objects because of light rays reflecting off their surfaces. These light rays are reflected in innumerable directions. In order to capture an image onto film one must be capable of controlling the light rays that enter the camera. This is done through the lens. The lens consists of a mixture of converging and diverging lenses that bend the light so it reaches the film as a real image. The light that passes through the upper po... ...of the light from the scene behind the subject must bend more to reach the film, causing the background to be blurred. When the photographer is farther away from the subject, all the light reflecting from the scene travels a straight path into the lens, making the index of refraction less and creating a sharper image from front to back. There is a wide variety of information to learn in photography and depth of field is just one aspect. Learning the different methods for controlling depth of field such as aperture, focal length, and subject distance will help in the journey of taking great photographs. Gone are the days of taking roll after roll of terrible photographs from a point and shoot camera. With just a little knowledge, taking sharp, well exposed photographs is more that just something the professionals do but rather something one can accomplish oneself. The Physics of Photography Essay -- Pictures Photographs Careers Essay The Physics of Photography The general population has become so accustomed to their simple point and shoot cameras that they do not either notice the poor quality of images that they are producing or do not have the knowledge to produce better images. For those who desire to take better photographs, photography will be an exciting life long adventure. There are many aspects to consider when taking a photograph. A good photograph is well thought out before the photographer snaps the shutter. Whether taking one’s portrait or shooting a landscape in the back yard, things must be lined up just right to get the best possible image. Different techniques are used to produce the exact feeling the photographer wishes to portray in his/her image. Depth of field is one way in which one can manipulate a photograph to produce the exact image desired. Depth of field is how much of the image is in focus from the front of the photograph to the back of the photograph. Emphasis can be placed on a certain subject by obscuring the foreground or background. There are three main features that can affect depth of field. Lens aperture (f-stop), distance from the camera to the subject, and the focal length of the lens (Heart 100). In order to understand depth of field one must first understand how light works. We can view objects because of light rays reflecting off their surfaces. These light rays are reflected in innumerable directions. In order to capture an image onto film one must be capable of controlling the light rays that enter the camera. This is done through the lens. The lens consists of a mixture of converging and diverging lenses that bend the light so it reaches the film as a real image. The light that passes through the upper po... ...of the light from the scene behind the subject must bend more to reach the film, causing the background to be blurred. When the photographer is farther away from the subject, all the light reflecting from the scene travels a straight path into the lens, making the index of refraction less and creating a sharper image from front to back. There is a wide variety of information to learn in photography and depth of field is just one aspect. Learning the different methods for controlling depth of field such as aperture, focal length, and subject distance will help in the journey of taking great photographs. Gone are the days of taking roll after roll of terrible photographs from a point and shoot camera. With just a little knowledge, taking sharp, well exposed photographs is more that just something the professionals do but rather something one can accomplish oneself.

Comparing My Last Duchess, La Belle Dame Sans Merci and A Woman to Her

Differing Views of Male-female Relationships in Three Poems In the three poems we experience three different views of how male-female relationships should take place. In ‘My Last Duchess’ we experience the view that the male should have the main role in relationships, in ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ we hear of a relationship where the woman is in total control of the man and has all the power. Finally in ‘A Woman to Her Lover’ we read that both men and women should have an equal amount of power and no one should be dominant. In ‘My Last Duchess’ the thoughts of a very possessive and arrogant Duke of Ferrara are shared. He expected his wife to behave in a very conservative manner and wanted her to treat others as inferior. The Duke shows his position of power in the poem by referring to her as; ‘My Last Duchess’. The Duke uses the possessive pronoun ‘My’ which shows that the Duke doesn’t want anyone else to enjoy his wife’s company and he wants her all to himself. This shows that he has power over his wife as he refers to her as a belonging; it also shows that he is arrogant as well as dominant. Furthermore, we can see that the word ‘last’ implies that the Duke had previous wives; it also suggests that she is his duchess no more and so something must have happened to her. As a result of this we get the impression that the Duke simply marries then divorces, or kills, his wife just to receive her dowry, and to get more money. Also, we can see that when the Duke refers to the picture of his wife, he immediately names the well known artist that painted it; â€Å"I call that piece a wonder †¦ ‘Frà   Pandolf’†. Here we see that the Duke shows off the fact that his painting was created by a famous artist, he may ... ...her main type of imagery used is sensual imagery ‘Full beautiful’, ‘sweet moan’, here, Keats allows the reader to build up a picture of the woman which helps the reader to visualise why the knight can be controlled by her. In conclusion, we can see that wherever one individual in the relationship has had more power, whether it has been the man or woman, the relationship has ended in a sad state of affairs. In each poem the relationships are completely different, Browning’s poem views women as being inferior to men, Walsh’s poem views women and men as being equal and Keats views women as being faery’s, having supernatural powers and dominating the man. The main inference among the three poems is that the role of the sexes within a relationship can change, depending upon the characters in the relationships and the amount of power each person does posses.

Benefits of Video Games

Whenever a new technology surfaces into the modern world, there will always be debates on the effects they bring to individuals and to the society in general. Though video games are hardly new, there have always been arguments whether the images they show have a huge harmful impact to people since video games are frequently associated with violence. So often people only see the negative side of what video games bring that we disregard the advantages they give.Children may be often pleaded by their parents to do anything rather than playing games. This may be because parents do not pay attention to the benefits we can acquire from video games. When playing video games, certain skills and abilities develop. Our body parts, specifically the hands and eyes, are required to work together for we perform various commands on the controller by our hands depending on what we see on the screen. Thus, it results to the enhancement of our hand-eye coordination.Video games require critical thinkin g. A gamer must not only memorize information but also analyze, conceptualize, and infer data gathered from the virtual environment. One key to complete a game is to study patterns and to use it into one’s advantage. This vital skill is utilized when creating strategies, tackling problems and making decisions. Most games involve quick reaction time and split-second decisions that can mean virtual life and death. Video games enhance people’s decision-making skills.Virtual reality is like a practice field for gamers to improve their cognitive ability, for them to be ready in the real world. With this, people are more likely to decide correctly, quickly, and accordingly depending on the situation. Gamers are often stereotyped as people sitting in front of a screen for long hours and are uninterested in social interactions. But video games often encourage players to interact with other players from around the world, with the help of the internet, and work together to accom plish tasks.This can help build social relationships and enhance people’s socialization skills. Some games’ objective is to become victorious above others. It gives a sense of competition and eagerness to win a battle. When one loses, his willingness to win intensifies the next time around. Video games stimulate people to do better and achieve the best. Video games are games. They are created with the intention to give pleasure and enjoyment to whomever they may serve. They accompany us when we are lonely and depressed. They help us pass time when we have nothing to do.They give us a taste of admirable graphics design and creativity. They offer some benefits like those of what outdoor activities give. Nothing is wrong with playing video games. But excessive hours of playing will bring anyone no good. It is necessary to keep things in moderation. The next time your parents tell you that video games will only make you violent, inform them thoroughly what good things you can acquire from playing. You can even invite them to play with you. Who knows? It could be the solution for their stress and depression.

Common Size Financial Statement Analysis Essay

When all the items of a financial statement are expressed on a common basis, it is known as a common-size financial statement. Common-sizing of balance sheet is done generally by expressing its all items as a percentage of its total assets or total equities. Similarly, income statement is common-sized when its all items are expressed as percentage of total sales. PROCEDURE OF COMMON SIZING In preparing common-size income statement, the following procedure is to be followed : †¢Total sales revenue or total revenue is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of cost or expenses is represented as a percentage of total revenue. †¢Profit or loss also shown as a percentage of revenue. Similarly, balance sheet is common-sized as follows : †¢Total of assets side or total of liability side is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of asset is expressed as percentage of total asset total of capital and liabilities. †¢Each item of the liability side is also expressed as a percentage of total assets or total of capital and liabilities. USEFULNESS OF COMMON-SIZE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS †¢Inter-firm comparison becomes more meaningful when financial statement of the firms under comparison is common-sized. †¢Common-size financial statement analysis is most suitable to evaluate the performance of a company over a period of time. †¢It is useful in understanding the relative importance of different sources of financing. †¢It helps the analyst to formulate hypothesis about the most efficient business model by means of effective inter-firm comparisons. †¢Common-size financial analysis can be used to compare a company’s financial data with industry norms or average. COMMON-SIZE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS When all the items of a financial statement are expressed on a common basis, it is known as a common-size financial statement. Common-sizing of balance sheet is done generally by expressing its all items as a percentage of its total assets or total equities. Similarly, income statement is common-sized when its all items are expressed as percentage of total sales. PROCEDURE OF COMMON SIZING In preparing common-size income statement, the following procedure is to be followed : †¢Total sales revenue or total revenue is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of cost or expenses is represented as a percentage of total revenue. †¢Profit or loss also shown as a percentage of revenue. Similarly, balance sheet is common-sized as follows : †¢Total of assets side or total of liability side is taken as hundred. †¢Each item of asset is expressed as percentage of total asset total of capital and liabilities. †¢Each item of the liability side is also expressed as a percentage of total assets or total of capital and liabilities. USEFULNESS OF COMMON-SIZE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS †¢Inter-firm comparison becomes more meaningful when financial statement of the firms under comparison is common-sized. †¢Common-size financial statement analysis is most suitable to evaluate the performance of a company over a period of time. †¢It is useful in understanding the relative importance of different sources of financing. †¢It helps the analyst to formulate hypothesis about the most efficient business model by means of effective inter-firm comparisons. †¢Common-size financial analysis can be used to compare a company’s financial data with industry norms or average.