Five-Year Career Development Paper Essay Example for Free

Five-Year Career Development Paper Essay Every year millions of college students worldwide graduate from college in hopes of obtaining a position in their career field of choice; however a lot of these students do not have a plan of action to actually help them find their career and achieve their goals. So much emphasis is put on college graduates going out and finding a job, but little focus is put on helping them find a career. A five year career plan is a road map that allows for progress tracking, and development of solutions or alternate courses of action (Crump, 2009). From personal experience I have realized that the chances of achieving my personal and career goals are increased of I actually write them out as a plan. In this paper I will discuss my career goals and objectives, my current knowledge and skills that I currently possess in my future career, the steps that I will take in order to meet my career goals, and any possible barriers that may present themselves in the path to me completing these goals. Currently I am a front desk clerk and personal trainer at Fitness Systems, a privately owned fitness center in South Sacramento. Since it is a small business and only consists of five employees, chances of promoting within the business are small. However I have used my experience from working the front counter and interacting with members of the gym, to help promote my presence of being a trainer. Also, working at Fitness Systems has allowed me to observe the procedures and responsibilities that it takes to run a successful business. Statistics show that most small businesses will fail in between 1-3 years from the initial startup time; therefore I am trying to absorb as much information as possible so that I dont fall into the same category. In order to manage a successful career it is important to develop an exceptional method of thinking strategically and exceptional execution skills. Building upon my skills in these areas will help me to achieve my long term goals. In all organizations, it is important that management sets goals for employees in accordance with the goals of the organization. When I open my fitness center, one of the main things that I want to stress among my employees (trainers), is strong communication skills. If management and staff arent on the same page, there will be an abundance of errors within  the organization. If certain skills are lacking within employees, it is the responsibility of management to identify these weaknesses and find a resolution such as training, to solve the issues. As a way to help kick start my five year career development plan, I have put together a list of some of my short term and long term career goals. My short term goals include improving upon my current skills as a personal trainer and gain experience in specific areas such as nutrition, so that I will be prepared to take on the role of being the owner of my own Personal Training Company. My personal short term goals include the following: increasing my knowledge in anatomy, improve upon my ability to map out an effective workout plan for clients, improve upon my communication skills, obtain my business degree in management, network with other local personal trainers, and gain more hands on personal training experience by recruiting more clients. My personal long term career goal is open a private fitness center that enables clients and their trainers to schedule one on one sessions in the center without having to worry about the crowds that usually plague commercial fitness centers. This goal will be achieved by the summer of 2012. My plan is to continue being a part time trainer for now, graduate with my BS in Business Management, enter and complete the MBA marketing program at the University of Phoenix, and then work on opening up my fitness center. Owning a successful business requires that you build strong relationships with your clients/customers, their families, and the surrounding communities. Maintaining a positive stance and reputation in the community that you serve, determines if youre company will be successful. In order to promote myself within the community, I have created business cards that describe the service that I provide and my contact information. I have also spoken to the founder and CEO (Plashette Robinson), of a local journal called the Sacramento Cultural Hub. Sacramento Cultural Hub is a Sacramento based journal that spotlights small businesses owned by minorities in Northern California. Ms. Robinson has agreed to post a small feature about  me in her journal. This feature will include a photo of me, current attributions to the community, my educational background, my career field of choice, and my opinion on different health/fitness related issues that are plaguing our society and communities. I feel that Sacramento Cultural Hub, along with my personal efforts, will help give me the exposure that I need to earn a good reputation within the community. As I mentioned earlier in this writing, actually mapping out a plan will help increase the chances of all objectives and goals being met. Below is a chart that displays my Five-Year Career Development plan on a year-to-year basis. Intermediate Steps Over the Next Five Years to Reach My GoalFor MeFor my supervisor/others who will support meYear OneFocus on school and earn my degree in Business Management by March 2010.Feedback from my peers and professors. Year TwoComplete the MBA Marketing program at UOP. Attend courses for first time business owners and begin looking for high traffic locations for my Fitness Center. Network with various promotional outlets.Feedback from my peers and professors. Seek advice from the owner of Fitness Systems in regards to opening a small business. Year ThreeActively recruit certified Personal Trainers in the Sacramento area. Open the Fitness Center in the summer of 2012. Network with other small business owners. Setup commercials spots with Sacramento area radio stations.Network with friends and family in order to assist me with finding local certified Personal Trainers. Year FourContinue to actively recruit Personal Trainers. Continue promotion via radio and other outlets. N/AYear FiveConsider possible methods of expanding services beyond Sacramento. N/A*Five-Year Career Plan Chart template retrieved from: mpiweb.orgRegardless of how well thought out a plan may be, there is always some kind of temporary barrier that may be encountered. In relation to my career plan, two potential barriers that I predict may take place are time management issues between my professional and personal life and a further downturn in our nations economy. Both of these issues can definitely cause a change in the objectives and goals for my business. However, the matter of time management can easily be tweaked if any issues shall arise and any issues in relation to the economy will have to be solved on a day to day basis. Both of the barriers mentioned above are vital, but they are issues that all small business ownerss struggle and deal with. In conclusion, I have shared my five-year career development plan. This plan will help assist me in achieving my career goals and at the same time help me in meeting some of my personal goals as well. Creating a development plan will assist in maximizing the potentials of an individual in the workplace. A career development plan not only helps to keep me motivated and focused; it also helps in providing the confident feeling that will in turn help me take charge of my career. References Crump, Jocelyn. (2009). Five-Year Career Plan. Retrieved July 30, 2009 from: http://www.stc.org/confproceed/1994/PDFs/PG163164.PDFFive-Year Career Plan Template. (2009) Retrieved August 1, 2009 from:http://www.mpiweb.org/CMS/uploadedFiles/Career_Development/Five-Year%20Plan.doc

Mother Courage Epic Theatre

Mother Courage Epic Theatre Mother Courage is an example of Brechts concepts of Epic Theatre and Verfremdungseffekt or estrangement effect. Verfremdungseffekt is achieved through the use of placards which reveal the events of each scene, juxtaposition, actors changing characters and costume on stage, the use of narration, simple props and scenery. For instance, a single tree would be used to convey a whole forest, and the stage is usually flooded with bright white light whether its a winters night or a summers day. Several songs, interspersed throughout the play, are used to underscore the themes of the play, while making the audience think about what the playwright is saying. Another epic feature that we find in Brechts play is the presence of the songs. Mother Courage tries to teach her children the facts of life through songs, this representing a way of bonding with them, apart from the cart. This latter keeps the family together, and probably that is why in the end we see a lonely Mother Courage pulling the cart: it reminds her of her three children as well as still being a means to make a living. We do not despise Mother Courage as, in some ways, she is admirable however, the audience is exposed to intense irony: in her desire to preserve her family, she has participated in destroying it. Brecht is very famous for his modern conception of epic theatre and is tremendously important for modern theatre as he helps the audience understand that the unchangeable can change. This is Brechts term for that which expresses basic human attitudes not merely gesture but all signs of social relations: department, intonation, facial expression. The Stanislavskian actor is to work at identifying with the character he or she portrays. The Brechtian actor is to work at expressing social attitudes in clear and stylized ways. So, when Shen-Te becomes Shui-Ta, she moves in a different manner. Brecht wished to embody the Gestus in the dialogue as if to compel the right stance, movement and intonation. By subtle use of rhythm pause, parallelism and counterpointing, Brecht creates a gestic language. Epic theatre is gestrual. [] The gesture is its raw material and its task is the rational utilization of this material. (Walter Benjamin, Understanding Brecht, 1966, pg. 3) The songs are yet more clearly gestic. As street singers make clear their attitudes with overt, grand but simple gestures, so, in delivering songs, the Brechtian actor aims to produce clarity in expressing a basic attitude, such as despair, defiance or submission. Instead of the seamless continuity of the naturalistic theatre, the illusion of natural disorder, Brecht wishes to break up the story into distinct episodes, each of which presents, in a clear and ordered manner, a central basic action. All that appears in the scene is designed to show the significance of the basic Gestus. We see how this works in Mother Courage. Each scene is prefaced by a caption telling the audience what is to be the important event, in such a way as to suggest the proper attitude for the audience to adopt to it for instance (Scene 3): She manages to save her daughter, likewise her covered cart, but her honest son is killed. The words in red express the playwrights view of how we should interpret the scene; Courages saving her business at the expense of her son is meant to prove how contemptible our actions are made by war. Anger, outrage, panic, revenge, violence => vital elements of his work, stand condemned Brecht is probably trying to master these emotions in himself, for his work exposes his desire for absolute submission, a state of being in which he can conquer his unbridled feelings, and, instead of engaging himself with the external world, merge with it. (Berstein, The Theatre of Revolt, p. 239) Throughout the twentieth century, Brechtian influence was fully present in the works of various playwrights such as John Arden, Thornton Wilder, Robert Bolt, Peter Weiss, Arthur Adamov, Roger Planchon, and even the famous director Giorgio Strehler. Compatibility between the methods promoted by Bertolt Brecht and the playwrights desire to initiate open debates on history and contemporaneity contributed to creating a strongly opinionated political theatrical genre, formed by the coalition of fringe theatre groups (who would perform on the outskirts) which the young playwrights such as David Hare, David Edgar, Howard Brenton joined. As the main proponent of political drama, Howard Brenton believed in theatres mission to shape consciences and transform society. Despite his desire to distance epic theatre, which he considered rather artificial and simplistic to suit his artistic criteria, the episodic structure and the principle of minimal scenic parts remain Brechtian in origin. In addition, just as Brecht, the playwright starts a crusade against humanist tradition of social drama, seeking for a theatrical form that would incite the lazy audience with disapproval, persuasion and argument. The English playwright is distinguished by his virulent analysis of socio-political structures and putting forward a personal dramatic style, being a master of the temporal dislocations technique and of stage embodied visual images. For him, the theatre had to be the expression of the perfect collaboration between the show and the straight-forward message of the. His first creations Christie in Love (1969), Revenge (1969) and Fruit (1970) successfully materialize this artistic goal. In Christie in Love, Howard Brenton has directed his entire attention to the effects of social injustice, which inevitably metamorphose into violence and crime (this, in fact, being a prominent feature of English political theatre of the period, where many playwrights would tell the story of society dehumanization through violence and indifference). Brenton was said to have aimed at giving the audience a feeling of moral vertigo with his short piece Christie in Love. Looking at it from this perspective, the play succeeds in fulfilling Brentons wish because it did indeed outrage the collective morality. The grounds on which Christie, the serial killer, commits the crimes can be analysed from different perspectives, with little chance of running out of options. He may be the incarnation of evil, an outburst of the brutality inherent in human nature or a psychoanalytic ritual of decompression of repressed love, a deviated revenge of the man who is vulnerable to women. The numerous possibilities of understanding this stage event proves that Brenton is closer to the Brechtian view about the open theatre, the one that does not have to give answers, but to make the audience reflect on either explanation and option they consider suitable and convincing, that he had previously stated. However, it is quite obvious that if the meanings the reader and the audience can infer from this play would stop to the psychological level of killer instinct, the brentonian theme would be much too simplified. But The real purpose of the play concerns society as a whole. What the author wants to suggest is t hat the protagonists atypical behaviour, presented in an almost naturalistic way, is actually societys behaviour, however much the latter one is trying to hide it under the guise of respectability. The equality sign the author puts between a miserable bastard and the world justifies the inversion o the characters portrayals, bringing us to one of the features of the epic form of the theatre, that of presenting an image of the world, instead of ones experience. Christie, the famous mass murderer, appears as a normal human being while the police, the defenders of the people, become abnormal, achieving the bold features of some surreal characters. Roland Barthes has pointed out that the verisimilitude of [epic] acting has its meaning in the objective meaning of the play, and not, as in naturalist dramaturgy, in the truth inherent in the actor. (Styan, Modern Drama in Theory and Practice 3, 1981, p. 142) Brenton keeps the character of Christie in the objectivity sphere, thus provoking the spectators to live with the suspense throughout the play.

What Caused the Rise of British Seaside Resorts?

What Caused the Rise of British Seaside Resorts? [1] What were the crucial factors in the rise of British seaside resorts such as Blackpool? Samantha Taylor | Metropolis | 18/07/2017 CONTENTS Introduction 1 1 Late Georgian (1800 1837) 2 1.1 Holidays 2 1.2 Fashion 3 1.3 Town Growth 4 1.4 Entertainment 5 2 Victorian (1837 1901) 7 2.1 Holidays 7 2.2 Town Development 8 2.3 Fashion 9 2.4 Entertainment 10 3 Edwardians (1901 1914) 12 3.1 Fashion 12 3.2 Town Improvement 13 3.3 Holiday 14 3.4 Women Travellers Hoteliers. 16 3.4a The Landlady. 16 3.4b Travel Tips for Women. 16 Conclusion 18 Bibliography 19 The seaside holiday is an old tradition and for many people holds fond memories. Full of sensory delights, from the bright lights of the arcades to the humble fish and chips, the British seaside holiday is so deeply ingrained in the nations identity that the origin seems almost forgotten. From the 1830s until the 1870s the resort developed massively, assisted by the newly developing railway. The 1870s to the 1940s became the high point of the seaside resort era, as it became more commercialised to cater for all classes, in particular, the working class. [2] Visiting the seaside was older than the Georgian period (1747 1837), however, these holidays were an upper-class affair as many of the working class could not afford the travel or take time off work. People may think that the seaside holiday is solely a Victorian idea, however, due to Parliamentary acts and the inventions of both the Victorian and Edwardian age the seaside resort becomes more publicly accessible and quickly became highly commercialised. Acts such as the 1850 Factory Act allowing Saturday afternoons off for mill workers and the 1871 Bank Holidays Act allowing bank staff set days off, spread to other workforces[3] and improved peoples wellbeing whilst it incidentally helped to introduce the travel agents and Wakes Weeks clubs that provided the basis of holidays in the United Kingdom and to the Continent. This assignment will look at the four main factors, holiday, fashion, town, and entertainment that were influenced and in turn influenced the development of the seaside in the late Georgian and Victorian period, along with holiday, fashion, town, and women travellers and female hoteliers that provided the same influence in the Edwardian period (1800 1914). Holidays Taking to the water was not a new concept; the Romans left structural reminders in their baths in places such as Bath. The difference being that the 19th century saw an increase in air pollution from the industrialisation of towns and increasingly poor diet that caused ill health. This made the upper class want a cure all, Scarborough is one of the earliest sea spas opening in 1625, although Brighton became one of the most favoured resorts by the Georgians. [4] In the first decades of the 19th century, doctors, including William Buchan (1803) prescribed sea bathing as a curative, and imposed the rules surrounding this ritual; such as bathing should be done in cooler months, and the wrapping of the body in dry, sea-soaked, towels after swimming, all believed to increase the health benefits of the sea. [5] By 1826 William Scott advised alternative exercising alongside swimming during the warmer months, instead of Buchans recommendations. [6] The sea air was beneficial as well, helping to prolong life. However, the local graveyards of many seaside resorts house the remains of consumptives, as they were likely to be guests to the resort. [7] George IIIs physician, Doctor Richard Jebb (1729-1787)[8], suggested the Exmouth air was as pure as that on the south coast of France. Guides suggested that the proof of how beneficial the air was, was reflected in how healthy the locals were. [9] The Napoleonic wars (1799 1815) restricted Grand Tours on the Continent, meaning many Georgians developed an interest in domestic tourism. Despite the ideas of the seaside holiday as an upper-class affair, many Lancashire working class found time to visit Blackpool in this period. [10] Despite the bathing machine, developed to protect modesty, sexual freedom was explored at the seaside, as telescopes were known to be used by women and men to spy on bathers of the opposite sex. [11] Fashion Fig.1 Sea Side Bathing Dress[12] Besides the health benefits, ladies of standing had the chance to show how fashionable they were with an excuse to wear something novel they tended not wear in London. Mrs Bell of London specialised in unusual bathing dresses; these were worn to prevent tanning, as it was recognised it was the sea air that was beneficial for health, not the sun. [13] Fig.1 is from La Belle Assemblà ©e August 1814; it is hard to tell whether the ladies wore the whole dress in the sea or just the shift. However, it can be implied that the wearer went in with just the shift as La Belle Assemblà ©e magazine of the time states, it is made in a form never before introduced, that it is equally tasteful and becoming; it enables a lady to dress herself in a few minutes without assistance [14] At the turn of the 19th-century women swam at the edge of the sea in long-sleeved flannel shifts; as the century progressed and bathing became pleasurable, the bathing dresses became shorter. Depending on the fashion some years saw the bathing dress without its sleeves, in other years the bathing dress was described as a sack. Sea bathing also posed a challenge for the ladies hairstyles; female Georgian hairstyles were complex and dressed over small cushions. [15] In the early 1800s, most sea-bathing resorts had a book or slate, where guests signed on arrival, to secure their place in the queue for a bathing hut to undress. Men who got bored with waiting often sent their footman ahead to find a secluded bay to bathe. [16] Gentlemen appeared unfazed by holiday fashion, unlike the ladies who competed with other ladies not only with their bathing costumes but also with day and evening wear. By and large, men took their everyday clothing although some eccentric males wore flamboyant formal wear in an evening. [17] Town Growth Although the pier had become synonymous with the Victorian age. It, in fact, was Georgian in origin; acting as an extra promenade for boating trips and becoming a gold mine for the local entrepreneurial fisherman. As shipping advanced from sail to steam it pushed the pier further out. Scarboroughs Old, Vincents, East and West Pier (2nd half of 1200/1732/ 1790-1812/ 1817 respectively) is the earliest collection of piers, a pioneer and epitome of English seaside architecture. [18] Margates pier helped keep and increase the visitors from the ships. In 1808 its new pier had a gallery charging a penny admission to promenade; in 1812 this led to demonstrations and the toll booth workers came close to being thrown into the sea. [19] At the start of the seaside resort, many accommodations had to adapt existing housing and by 1818 this had developed into the form of hotels we now know today. Throughout this century, the two main accommodations provided were the boarding and lodging houses. Sometimes these tended to be hard to differentiate between; however, catering was only available in the boarding house. The better accommodations listed themselves in guidebooks to enable reservations to be made in advance. [20] At the beginning of the century men tended to run the establishments, however, many guests came with no servants and expected food. This resulted in women taking up the role of front of house and housekeeper towards the end of the century. [21] Blackpool had an obscure origin with no port or established heavy industry, the buildings, mere scattered farms and fishermans huts. Blackpool was seen as far too remote to be of any historical significance, so had nothing to play to its advantage. As Blackpool transformed into a town at the turn of the 19th century, it housed the basic amenities that just satisfied the needs of its southern guests whilst at the same time being a luxury to its northern clientele. Compared to Brighton, Blackpool was a latecomer and slow in developing. [22] Entertainment Wealthy Georgians demanded a range of entertainment whilst visiting the resort; good enough entertainment to rival the spa towns. Many guests fell into a routine centred predominantly around the beach, Assembly Rooms and Circle Libraries. [23] Regattas and rowing races along the seaside became an established fixture in the calendar for resort guests. Starcross in South Devon held its first tourist regatta in 1775 and still survives today in Cowes week on the Isle of Wight. [24] Around the 1820s the Assembly Rooms provided places for gambling and socialising. A Master of Ceremonies regulated these activities to help impose a sense of etiquette. Many Assembly Rooms shared a Master of Ceremonies with neighbouring halls. By the 1830s, the Assembly Rooms lost their popularity, as the seaside clientele became a mixture of social classes. [25] The Circular Library was another amenity forming the social heart of the Georgian seaside; often competing against, or working with the Assembly Rooms. However, the library was mainly used to loan books for a 5-shillings subscription. Popularity for the Circular Libraries outlived the Assembly Rooms by 10 years. [26] Unsophisticated entertainment was also provided, such as sack races and chasing a pig with a soaped tail. [27] Hunting and shooting were a great attraction for the Georgian gentleman, the main shooting activity available at the seaside was shooting wildlife from a boat. This, unlike hunting on land, required no permission from the landowner. To provide more variety for a ladies day, cricket matches were also put on as this activity was perfectly respectable for ladies to watch. [28] Holidays Early industrial growth in neighbouring areas provided day-trippers to Blackpool long before the railway companies forged links in the area. The burgeoning of industrialisation throughout Great Britain however, saw the erosion of traditional holidays making them unregulated, this restricted the working class visits. By the 1830s, Wakes Saving Clubs allowed workers to join and save for their annual holiday to the seaside. These clubs flourished in Lancashire; providing a regular holiday for the working class. The Wakes Week varied from town to town from the end of July to the beginning of September. [29] The 1850 Factory Act improved working conditions and permitted the workers time off on a Saturday afternoon. Whilst many took this time to relax, some chose to take a day-trip to the seaside as one of the many avenues of escapism. Towards the end of the 19th century Blackpool established itself as the resort for all classes, however, it focused predominantly on the working class of the north. [30] Excursions1 was not a new concept when Thomas Cook, a printer by trade, had the idea to provide a railway excursion for the temperance movement. In fact, the railway companies had set up their own excursions as early as 1836. [31] Cooks first excursion in 1841 was successful and by managing future short excursions himself; Cook gained more understanding of the areas. With his vision of providing cheaper travel by buying in bulk, his reputation grew. [32] What also helped firmly establish Cooks reputation as the main travel agent was his first long distant excursion to Liverpool, which included Caledonia and Snowdonia in 1844. A self-published handbook, a precursor to the travel brochures; was a clever marketing tool that helped sell the tickets within a matter of days. In later years, Thomas Cook expanded into foreign travel. [33] Town Development Engineers rather than the architects of the day designed the new piers that were built in the Victorian age. Many were oriental in design, an idea left over from the Georgians. This exotic architecture intended to help the working class imagine what the Orient would look like. [34] Improvements in new piling and bracing techniques in this period allowed seaside resorts to quickly build metal framed pleasure piers. Piers by the 1860s were attracting local investors willing to risk money in bold enterprises; Preston and Manchester business owners invested in Blackpools piers. In 1885 Blackpool was the first in England to have an electric tram that still operates today. [35] Financial gain from fairground operators along with the income generated by the pier and bathing machines helped overturn Blackpool corporations desire to keep the working class away. It enhanced the seaside experience for new visitors; these features strengthened the appeal of seaside holidays in Great Britain. [36] The railway was not entirely the driving force behind the change in some seaside resorts. It was more the sheer growth in urban population and a pursuit in improvement policies that led local authorities to begin to control the development of towns by the turn of the 20th century. Some resorts diversified towards facilitating family needs by adapting to railway connections. [37] Environmental amenities, such as scenic beauty and wildlife were at risk due to the expansion of the seaside towns, entertainment and open sewerage. To tackle this in 1852 Weston-Super-Mare introduced a partial treatment plant before changing to a sea outfall in 1866 and in 1898 Exeter introduced a settling tank. Concerns about the seaside environment forced local authorities to make it mandatory for towns to build a form of biological treatment plant by the 1900s. [38] Fashion Around the 1850s people still bathed naked. Many of ladies visited the big seaside hotels or the coasts of France, away from such vulgar behaviour. [39] Unlike the French, whose seaside attire became ever more fashionable, the British seaside fashion remained subdued and changed very little in the first 80 years of the 19th century. The trims and frills remained and were too cumbersome, preventing all but the determined athletic female from swimming. [40] From the 1840s, London shops and womens fashion magazines advertised clothes and accessories for seaside fashion. This could be seen as the age of wearing clothes for one season as the items were made of cheap fabric and were damaged easily in the sea air. [41] Fig.2 (L) caleà §on tended to fall down as the man swam. (R) this costume prevented any mishaps and protect modesty[42] Around the mid-19th century, men tended to swim naked; usually in secluded Cornish beaches that women did not frequent. Swimwear was available in the form of caleà §on(French swimming shorts) although the exact date of this fashion is not clear, fig.2 (L) suggests around 1810/1815, although Avril Lansdell suggests as early as late 18th century France.[43] Many men did not wear these items of clothing as they saw them as effeminate and the drawstring had a tendency to loosen and the costume come off. [44] Swimming became serious as a form of exercise in the 1850s. The earliest male swimming club was in Brighton in 1858 and races here started in 1861. Rules stated that competitors must wear swimwear. Caleà §on were unreliable, in order to comply with these rules one-piece costumes were available from the 1870s as seen in Fig.2 (R). [45] Entertainment The Victorian age was a period that saw the seaside resorts ceasing to be solely health resorts. This was to cater for the middle class and oriented around family entertainment that centred on the beach and pier. [46] Entertainment in 1840s Blackpool focussed on the natural beauty, health, and bathing available at the resort. This was a stark contrast to the entertainment provided at the established resorts, many commentators remarked on Blackpools lack of any historical interest.[47] Due to ever-growing numbers to the seaside; a demand for leisure complexes arose in the 1870s. This lead to the beach centred entertainment of Punch and Judy and donkey rides; the characteristic entertainment we now know and love. [48] During the 1870s Blackpools pleasure beach made the town the leading pleasure resort; with its large range of all-weather entertainment, three pleasure piers that formed a complex of commercial amusement that no other British resort could compete with. [49] Despite the apparent decline of the Circular Library and Assembly Halls, Worthing had four to five Circular Libraries by 1859. Whilst Great Yarmouth and Margates Assembly Rooms still flourished beyond the 1870s. [50] The working class excursion burgeoned later in the Victorian era. The investment was heavily based on the capitalised entertainment companies in the larger resorts. This cumulated in places like the pleasure places of the 1890s and the foreshore fairgrounds that characterised many Victorian and Edwardian resorts. [51] Organised events such as bands performing on purpose built bandstands and minstrel troops from the United States all provided great enjoyment; however, both Jane Welsh Carlton; letter writer, born in 1801 and married essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle in 1826[52]; and Charles Dickens mention their distaste for the noise from the seaside promenades. [53] Fashion Seaside fashion began to change although bathing costumes changed very little in the first half of the 20th century. It was not until the outbreak of World War One that the ideas of general fashion were revolutionised with Coco Chanel as the forerunner of this later change[54] Fig.3 GB Womens Team. 1912 Summer Olympics, Stockholm. The first time women could compete in swimming. [55] However, what did change for the swimming costumes, seen in fig.3, was the removal or phasing out of the cumbersome woollen bathing dress, for the more revealing and functional swimming costumes, this left a costume for women, much like the mens. Although the woman who was conscious of her figure still had a two-piece option. [56] The corset had been around for some time, with many women bathing in them; however, the Edwardian period introduced an S-shaped corset. This corset made the women look as though their upper body was leaning forward, making the women look like stiff pigeons, and emphasised by their highly embellished blouses. However, by 1912, these corsets were phasing out of fashion, for lighter clothing that was easier to promenade along the seaside. Hats were favoured, over the bonnet, by the Edwardians; as the period progressed the womens hat became larger and became adorned with lace or feathers. [57] Fig.4 Christmas cup, swimmer [58] Mens swimwear also changed by 1914, seen in fig.4, men could now be seen wearing better fitting legless swimming trunks. However, trunks tended to be more boys swimwear. [59] In the Victorian age, men injected a nautical or exotic theme into their seaside fashion. This was carried through to the Edwardian period, although the blazers were far brighter and gaily striped. Beards in this period were seen to be for the older generation whilst the younger tended to be moustached or shaven. [60] Town Improvement Despite the advancement in science by the Edwardian age and the obsession with sewerage disposal, this ideal did not extend to the treatment of it. Brightons medical officer was quoted in 1903 to have said that with the advancement in the purification of sewerage there was no excuse in contaminating the sea water. [61] John Walton contradicts John Hassan (see pg. 10), saying that even though the local government controlled the sewerage, they cut costs that impacted on the environment, health and wellbeing by carrying on disposing of it into the sea, well after 1914. [62] The Victorian, or South Pier at Blackpool having been built in the Victorian period offered a different ambience to that at the Central Pier. By 1911 the areas taste had changed and the Victorian pavilion was built to provide concerts for audiences of up to 900 people. Despite its distance from the other Blackpool piers, Victoria Piers popularity remained consistent. Visitors to the nearby Pleasure Beach Amusement park, which in the Edwardian period was the biggest and most modern amusement park in the country, also extended their visit to Victoria Pier. [63] In 1908 Blackpools Central Pier made a feature of its electric railway. Roller-skating became a craze in 1909 and in 1911, in order to cater for the visitors to the resort, the owners of the Central Pier built a rink. [64] British coastal defences have been evolving since the Roman period and as a result, Britain tended to be the forerunners of sea defence. The most distinctive are the sea walls; these defences arose from the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. Where most local authorities constructed them as multipurpose promenades. [65] Holiday During the 1800s, Britain had strict gender segregation. Whilst visiting the continent, where segregation was non-existent, British families became familiar with these customs and insisted on relaxed rules in order to interact with their own family on British beaches. [66] It wasnt until 1901 however, when Bexhill in East Sussex, introduced mixed bathing that the rules truly became relaxed, and by 1914 a majority of the beaches had mixed bathing, leading to the decline of the bathing machines. [67] The postcard had been introduced in Britain around 1870, but the split back postcard was not accepted by the Post Office until 1902. Many artisans sold prints of their photographs or art in postcard form, becoming the first generation of postcards sent back home. [68] Continental travel rose, to over 660,000 by the 1900s, whilst it is believed that the British seaside resort in that era was barely breaking even.[69] This popularisation of continental travel to a wider variety of social class gained criticism from the likes of John Ruskin and other prominent Victorians who thought the well-educated would benefit far more from continental travel. [70] During the Edwardian period, Blackpool, despite her late start, outdid her rivals with the attractions offered, with nearly four million holidaymakers per year visiting by the outbreak of World War One. [71] Britains seaside resorts had become unique and distinctive, using a verity of techniques to compete for guests. Torquay marketed itself as a holiday town by flaunting Ruskins words, who had called Torquay the Italy of England, this was due to a large number of Italians that had settled in the resort as ice cream vendors. Although places like Newquay, a popular resort today, was a mere village in 1911. [72] The Polytechnic Touring Association (PTA) was a travelling by-product of the Polytechnic, a classroom club for those who wanted to better themselves. Due to the outbreak of war seaside activities and travel either stopped, as seen in the south and east of England where troops embarked for the conflict on the Continent, or slowed to a quieter pace as in the north. [73] Women Travellers Hoteliers. The Landlady. Many landladies depended on an extra income due to the seasonality of their work; this came predominantly from her husbands work if he did not work in the hotel industry. A majority of the landladies were not wil

Essay --

â€Å"The years that are gone seem like dreams—if one might go on sleeping and dreaming—but to wake up and find—oh! well! Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one’s life† says Edna at her appointment with Doctor Mandelet (151). In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna is constantly at odds with her own fears – her independence; however, over the course of the novel, Chopin reveals a deeper side to Edna. She does not fear being alone, she is afraid of being without herself. It is also revealed that her society is often against her self-discovering favoring a more traditional female role. In its final scene, The Awakening offers readers a more complex method to obtain freedom, death. Edna’s suicide reveals her final awakening, breaking free from all the pressures that bind her. Edna’s awakenings in Grand Isle and in New Orleans set her up for failure by forcing her to understand her lack of options. Edna’s first awakening is when she realizes that she is not happy with her life as a housewife. This awakening is realized while Edna is at a dinner party with Md. Ratignolle and her husband. When she arrived home, she â€Å"felt depressed rather than soothed† (75). She then goes on and â€Å"st[omps] upon her wedding ring† (76). This symbolizes Edna’s desire to escape from marriage altogether, but her inability to crush the ring shows her powerlessness to break free from her imprisonment. Edna breaks through the role given to her by society; she learns her own identity independent of her husband and children. Edna later realizes that she cannot be the same as Mademoiselle Reisz. Edna does not possess the carefree attitude of Reisz and stills struggles with social appro... ... and escape. With her death she is surrendering herself to freedom. Her death by sea is a symbol of her allowing herself to overcome her ambiguity about her personhood. In conclusion, The Awakening ended in the only way it could have, with Edna’s death. Edna’s lack of options and her fear of solitude lead to her death. However, Chopin turned her death into something much more meaningful than just a way to end the novel. Edna’s final awakening is realizing that she cannot do the things that wanted to do. With this she chooses death before overcoming her problems. Kate Chopin juxtaposes this fear of living alone with her fear of dying in a way that makes Edna seem triumphant. She revealed her suicide not as a defeat but as a triumph over social pressure and fears. Chopin used Edna’s death symbolizes her final awakening and her ability to overcome her obstacles.

The Impact of Pirates and of Piracy on the Spanish Empire Essay

The Impact of Pirates and of Piracy on the Spanish Empire When the word pirate is mentioned, many people think of ship carrying men across the seas as they pillage other ships. While this is true to some extent there was much more to the lives of the men that were known as pirates. Pirates were mostly men from French, English or Dutch heritage, and were privateers or merchants. Many of these men were sanctioned by their government. By the Spanish they were call piratas or unsanctioned sea-raiders, and would have a heavy influence of trade in the Caribbean and on the Spanish Empire. The first pirates were known as corsairs and appeared at the end of the 15th and into the beginning of the 16th century. It was at this time between 1530-60 when Spain began to transport the newly discovered riches in the New World. Large amounts of gold, sugar, tabacco and pearls were being sent back to Spain. In 1523 a French Corsair by the name of Jean Florin over took several weakly protected Spanish ships and captured a cargo that held 62,000 ducats in gold, 600 marks of pearls and several tons of sugar. This brought pirates into the Caribbean (Lane 16). Spain was forced to protect the cargo ships that transported the riches that they were obtaining in the New World and the cost was very great. Trade ships were required to travel in convoys and be armed. Also a Spanish fleet was formed that traveled the seas twice a year, patrolling the trade routes for pirates. There was great hesitation to form a navy that would patrol the Caribbean seas because of costs, but much would be lost because of this hesitation. Not only were merchant ships being pick off and there cargo taken, unprotected Caribbean towns were being raided and the colonists gains... ...story were used mainly for the raiding and capturing of Spanish colonies. These events would take place until the early 1670’s when governments attempted to phase out pirates. Laws were made in an attempt to make pirates give up the profession voluntarily (Lane 126). For the most part this worked, but there are many cases of raids and such after. The effect that piracy held on trade and the Spanish Empire was over after the sufficient damage that it caused. Damage that was highly influential in shaping the Caribbean and the Empires of Europe into what they are. Works Cited Kelsey, Harry. Sir Francis Drake The Queen’s Pirate. Yale University Press: New Haven. 1998. Lane, Kris E. Pillaging the Empire Piracy in the Americas. M.E. Sharpe: New York. 1998. Williams, Neville. The Sea Dogs Privateers, Plunders and Piracy in the Elizabethan Age. Macmillian: New York. 1975.

Importance of Books in Individual Life Essay

There is a well-defined comfort for those who visit book stores and libraries. The books are there like faithful friends waiting to be called upon, read, valued, and appreciated. Let us not also forget, however, the joy and anticipation when visiting used book stores. They are everywhere, and they all tell a story; but not only from within the pages. They have a history; they came from somewhere; they are going somewhere. If everyone who ever had possession of any given book had written their name, the city or town in which they obtained the book, the purchase price, and the date thereof, consider what an incredible account would exist about the adventures of just one book. To realize that a book may have traveled through numerous hands and a century of time is a fascinating and exciting concept. Just imagine the many lives it may have touched. With the pages perhaps yellowed, thick and dusty, or thin and delicate, the word is still alive and just as profound and beautiful as it was when it was created so long ago. Whether fictional or nonfictional, there can be derived a value, relevancy, and importance to the book. For example, consider a book written in 1918 on the history of Poland. Much could be learned about the country and the author’s perspective. But also consider what the author could not have known about the country’s future at the time of writing. It is a study in itself. It not only gives a story of Poland but an idea of how much things have changed since the book’s publication. Nothing can or should replace the book; not the internet or any other popular electronic devices. Consider the rudimentary and necessary efforts involved in the editing and critiquing of a book before it goes into print. Can the same be said for the deluge of information available on the World Wide Web on any given topic? Is the information being scrutinized to assure accuracy or grammatical correctness? Is too much being placed on the web that will only create more confusion and misinformation on any given topic? Appreciate the physical aspects. Turning the page of a book does less damage to the wrist than dragging and clicking. If a book is read through an electronic device, there is the memory of it, but not a physical reminder. For example, there is no book to place on a shelf, nothing to return to the library, or no book to pass on to a used book store. There is an undeniable feel to a book, to its texture, to an interesting cover and enticing title that invites the reader to open it. There is a sense of accomplishment as the reader makes his or her way, page after page and chapter after chapter. And at book’s end the reader will recall the intrigue, joy, and passion for beloved characters, their story, and a conclusion that may hone the reflective nature and spur the reader to seek more of the same. Books are as important now as they were during the dark ages when all stories of experiences and places would have been lost had it not been for the dedicated and devoted people who penned them onto parchment or labored over a manual typewriter.

Psychometric assessment Essay

Certain people tend to be more obedient than others. Individuals who have the tendency to adopt a submissive, uncritical attitude toward authority figures – authoritarian submission (Adorno, 1950) tends to perform tasks when demanded. Also, people with an external locus of control (a sense that fate rules their life rather than their own actions) tend to be more obedient. However, despite the popular myth that women are more submissive, women and men are relatively equal in the degree to which they will obey demands (Eagly & Carli, 1981). Dehumanisation or deindividuation is the loss of the sense of individual identity and control over our behaviour. Sensory overload, arousal, anonymity, and reduced self awareness are key factors which loosen inhibitions and thus uncharacteristic behaviour is not inline with usual internal standards. According to deindividuation theory, the psychological state of deindividuation is aroused when individuals join crowds or large groups. The state is characterized by diminished awareness of self and individuality. This in turn reduces an individual’s self-restraint and normative regulation of behaviour. In social psychology, deindividuation is a major theory of group behaviour: it provides an explanation of collective behaviour of violent crowds, mindless hooligans, and the lynch mob. In addition, deindividuation has been associated with other social phenomena such as genocide, stereotyping, and disinhibition in other settings such as computer-mediated communication. Several influential studies were conducted to illustrate the force of deindividuation. For example, Zimbardo (1969) carried out a study that inspired much subsequent deindividuation research. In this study, participants were rendered anonymous by clothing them in oversized lab coats and hoods, compared with normal clothes and name tags in the control condition. The participants’ task was to shock a confederate in a situation similar to the classic Milgram studies on obedience. In a first experiment using groups of female students, Zimbardo demonstrated that anonymous participants shocked longer (and therefore more painfully) than identifiable participants, in confirmation of his theory. Another area of controversy in psychology is the area of psychometric testing, which aim to make important decisions affecting individuals and society. Tests are used in a variety of settings to aid selection in education and work and for diagnosis for those with learning and psychological problems. Ability tests were amongst the first psychometric tests to be developed, and controversy has surrounded their use since. Binet and Simon (1905) were commissioned by the French government to find a method to differentiate between children who were intellectually normal and those who were inferior. The purpose was to put the latter into special schools where they would receive more individual attention. In this way the disruption they caused in the education of intellectually normal children could be avoided. This led to the development of the Binet-Simon Scale, and constituted a revolutionary approach to the assessment of individual mental ability. Revisions to the Binet-Simon Scale resulted in the concept of ‘mental age’, an easily understandable concept which significantly increased the popularity of ability testing. Further developments of the tests produced the concept of intelligence quotient (IQ) and resulted in one of the currently most widely used tests, the Stanford Binet Scale. Most intelligence tests measure the general reasoning ability that is involved in many different types of problem solving behaviour. Older types of tests referred to this intelligence factor as general ability, whereas more recent tests have tended to divide the general ability into fluid intelligence (innate and not particularly influenced by one’s environment) and crystallised intelligence (underlying fluid intelligence that is a product of environmental experiences. In recent years, the introduction of the ‘eleven plus’ exam, which is largely compiled of IQ tests, was used to distinguish those who would proceed to grammar school and those who would be relegated to academically inferior secondary schools. Research into the psychometric assessment of intelligence has been the focus of many eminent psychologists including Spearmen, Burt, Eysenck, and Cattell. The latter two also went on further to develop (separate) personality tests, Cattell’s 16PF in 1970, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) in 1975. These involve analysing a series of short â€Å"yes/no† questions in an attempt to decipher the nature and character of the person answering them. Today, personality assessments are mainly used in clinical settings, with their use in occupational settings increasing. They may also be used in educational settings in assessing individuals with learning problems and are still widely used and developed within academic and research settings. Personality tests are also widely used today within the work environment, perhaps for deciding whether to employ someone or not, or even to decide who gets made redundant. On the whole, psychometric tests have acceptable validity and therefore make them less prone to error than other types of assessment. The interpretation of psychometric data requires the use of ‘norms’, against which the scores of a particular individual can be compared. Psychometric assessments tend to be the only measures for which norms are available. Psychometric tests are fairly short and therefore time and cost efficient. Many are group tests, and so can be given to a number of people at the same time. In fact the development of computer programmes concerned with psychometric testing means that tests can be administered and scored by a computer, enabling results to be made available quickly and can form the basis of a discussion. Personality tests are particularly cost efficient as they prevent money being wasted on training unsuitable personnel. However, there can be an undue reliance on the results of psychometric tests. Simply discovering that a person has an aptitude for a particular occupation does not guarantee that they will be successful at that job. The mystique of psychometric test results means that they are frequently not discussed with those who complete them. In this sense there is a failure to use psychological testing humanely. Test scores can also be misused. The results of tests should not be used to withhold educational or occupational opportunities from those who may perform less well on tests of ability due to factors that have little to do with intelligence. In any instance, the results can be faked by the participant to influence the results in their favour, and so can be unknowingly misinterpreted anyway. Because of the cheapness and predictive success of many psychometric tests, there may be a failure to use other important information. Psychometric test results should ideally be used alongside other reliable information about a person, otherwise they may wrongly stereotype an individual. Furthermore, there are many cultural and sub-cultural issues that can arise when measuring IQ, which causes much controversy. At the extreme, IQ tests were used to keep out certain immigrant groups from the United States during the 1920’s. Jenson (1969) suggested that genetic differences were the cause of consistently lower IQ scores observed in non white racial groups. Recent controversies relate to the systematic differences attained by different groups in society. Critics say these are the results of bias in test items. Typical examples relate to previously learned information and items using verbal information, typically English, which require reading and writing. Even when tests are translated to the native language of the participants, questions are still raised over the cultural equivalence of certain items (Zindi, 1994). Even tests which explicitly attempt to be culture fair have been questioned. The Raven’s Progressive Matrices test showed that the performance of Asian immigrants has been found to improve over a five year period by an average of 15-20 points, which demonstrates that minorities will be disadvantaged in taking them until they learn different ways of approaching them (Roth, 1990). In 1972, Williams produced the Black Intelligent Test of Cultural Homogeneity (BITCH) in an attempt to highlight cultural biases in test items, which was heavily loaded towards black minorities. Using this test, it is black people who tend to score higher than whites. Particularly in IQ tests that use visual cues, participants may misinterpret an action, and their own cultural biases produce expectations which can alter what they ‘see’. They may use methods derived from an alien culture (emics/etics) and may have a hostile reception which will bias their observations. Observations are made of a sample and may not be typical of the whole culture being studies. It is also wrong to imagine a culture as being a homogenous group of people; differences within a culture may be as large as those between cultures.