The ancient civilizations of Egypt and China Essay Example for Free

The ancient civilizations of Egypt and China Essay The ancient civilizations of Egypt and China were very similar in many different aspects. Their governments and their geography were extremely alike and the religions of the two civilizations had only tiny differences. The early Egyptians also had the same concept of writing as the Chinese people who lived across the continent from them. Suprisingly, these two ancient civilizations that existed very far away from each other show a enormous amount of similarities in almost every area. The government of Ancient Egypt was headed by a king (in the New kingdom, the king assumed the name pharaoh) with absolute power. Different dynasties, or a line of rulers from the same family, would rule Egypt. Each ruler was considered to be a god whose orders were undisputable. However, the government was not only a monarchy; it was a theocracy. The king would perform religious rituals to help the harvest because this would ensure prosperity in Egypt. Likewise, the Chinese government also consisted of an emperor that would belong to a dynasty. Like in Egypt, a dynasty could rule until it would be eventually overthrown. The Chinese kings would also perform religious duties; they prayed, sacrificed, gave offerings and used oracle bones to call upon their ancestors. Both the Chinese and the Egyptian governments had similar structure and duties. If one took a look at China and Egypts geography, one would notice that they are quite similar. The natural barriers of the two civilizations are akin to each other. China has the Pacific Ocean and the Bay of Bengal to protect it from an attack on land. Equally, Egypt has the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea as an effective natural barrier against non-naval attacks. Also, deserts protect the two civilizations. While Egypt has the Libyan and Nubian Deserts, China is equipped with the Gobi Desert. Both China and Egypt have huge rivers located in them. While Egypts pride, the Nile River, is a huge producer of food and life, China has three major rivers, the Huang He, the Chang Jiang, and the Xi Jiang. The ancient Chinese and the ancient Egyptians were both polytheistic, which caused them to be very similar. The Egyptians believed that the gods were usually part human and part animal each gods each played a different role.  There were a few main gods that everybody worshipped and there were also local gods for different regions of Egypt. Egyptians also believed in a happy afterlife for everybody, in which you could only take along things you were buried with to your afterlife. The early Chinese peoples also believed in many deities and they thought that if they made sacrifices and offerings to their gods, then they would be rewarded. There were gods for everything, like in the Egyptian religion; each god would represent something. The ancient civilizations of Egypt and China were very similar. The government in both places was similarly set up and the geography of China was very much alike to the geography of Egypt. Religion was also a common trait of these two civilizations. Strangely, considering these two cultures developed isolated from each other, they share a lot of common traits.

Trifles By Susan Glaspell | Analysis

Trifles By Susan Glaspell | Analysis The play Trifles by Susan Glaspell is one of the shortest plays that I have read. It is also one of the least dramatic and extremely difficult to interpret plays. To understand the significance in this play the viewer or reader should have a better understanding of the cultural context in which this play was written. To do this it is beneficial to know what events were happening in the authors, Glaspell, life at the time she wrote this, the role of women in everyday life back then, and how the suppression of women males affected their social recognition now and then. The play Trifles was written in 1916 (McMahan, 1099). In the early 1900s, up until 1920, the womens suffrage movement was still working to guarantee all women in the United States equal civilian privileges beside men. Susan Glaspell wrote many of her plays on the social issues of feminism, socialism, Darwinism, and legal reform (Beatty, unpaginated). Along with her husband they, founded the Provincetown Players, a theater group committed to transforming American theaterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ into an artistic medium in which serious social issues could be treated realistically (Beatty, unpaginated).This is important to understanding the play because it brings up the important theme of the play of male dominance over the women. Trifles shows the audience first hand a case in where male dominance and ignorance of the womens observations actually hinders their abilities to solve the case of the murdered husband, Mr. Wright. To get a further insight into how she was able to portray such a realistic incident, it is important to know that this play was written based on a real incident that she, as a reported, covered. As a reporter for the Des Moines Daily News, she was assigned to cover the murder story of Mr. Hossack. The kitchen at the crime scene of the Hossack farmhouse played a huge role in the depiction of the kitchen in Trifles (Midnight Assassin, unpaginated). She was not an investigator, just like women in the play, but solely an observer, just like the women as well. She viewed the world and the crime scene the same way that women in the play did. Unlike the men, who were looking for large key pieces of evidence, the women noticed small, seemingly unimportant, out of place kitchen items and connected that with the emotions and feelings of the deceased husbands wife, Mrs. Wright. After the women notice a view of these minor clues, Mr. Hale says to one of the other men, , well, women are used to w orrying over trifles (McMahan, 1093). This line is the basis for the entire play. Trifles not only refers to the out of place items but also the women themselves. By them worrying about such miniscule occurrences they are, as the men see, not capable of doing a mans business. This leads into the next aspect of the play which is male dominance and ignorance. When this play was written it was the womans job in society to be around the house to raise the children, mend cloths, cook dinner, clean the houseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. They were not able to get jobs or live out on their own. In the husbands eyes they did not have significant roles in society, only in the house. Many men at this time did not show the appreciation, love, attention, and affection that most women should always be shown. Their role was to be the head of the house and provide their family with the necessities to live, nothing more. Glaspell does an excellent job of showing this by describing the kitchen setting in the play. The men overlook details about the house and Mrs. Wright that women notice almost immediately. As Jenny Cromie put it, They notice Minnies desolate, isolated existence, her broken furniture, the run-down kitchen where she had to cook, and the ragged cloth-ing she was to we ar because of her husbands mi-serly insensitivity. (Jury, 277) These clues, which could ultimately decide the guilt or innocence of Mrs. Wright, are completely overlooked as dumb or unintelligent, solely because the women found them. Also, at a point in the play Mrs. Hale describes Mr. Wright as, Yes-good; he didnt drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him. Like a raw wind that gets to the bone (McMahan, 1097). She acknowledges that he was a decent man but, by the more she looks into the life of Mrs. Wright, she notices that he was not a decent husband, as were many of the men at that time. Greg Beatty found an important part of the play in which male dominance is showed at its finest. Glaspell shows their dominance, not by words or actions but, through dramatic devices. The play follows, strictly, the outline for a tragedy. However, Glaspell leaves out the closing of the curtain to show a different or a switch of scene in the play. Instead, this brought about through the absence of the men. Beatty stats, Each time the men leave, the women exchange private information; each time they enter, the men force or prevent crucial decisions. (Beatty, unpaginated) This suppression of information was not fully by the choice of the women. Even if they did speak up and tell them about the so called evidence that they had found, the fact that they were women trying to do a mans job, would hinder the ability for the men to take them serious in their findings. The men would not be able to see how the trifles could be linked to the murder because that is not the way that they think. Beatty also made a connection between the names that the women and the men had in the play. The last names of men were befitting for them because of their position in society. Mr. Hale is hale and hearty, and, Mr. Peters, whose name means rock, is a sheriff, or a foundation of society (Beatty, unpaginated). These titles are relevant to the women because that is the only name they are referred to by throughout entirety the play. They are referred to by society through the legal connection of their husbands and not by the independence of their first names. Even though they are individuals that take care of the house and family, they do not have enough freedom from their husbands to be called anything but their husbands names. Mrs. Peters admits her duty to her husband and the law when she says, But, Mrs. Hale, the law is the law (McMahan, 1095). Here she clearly states that she is loyal to her husband and the laws. Also the County Attorney says, a sheriffs wife is married to the law (M cMahan, 1099). Contradicting what she had say earlier she agrees with him even though she is hiding key pieces of evidence from the law. She has chosen to break her obligation to her husband and law in order to stick up for her fellow woman. Sticking along the arguments of being legally bound, Bailey McDaniel claims that Mrs. Wright would not have had the right to a proper jury in todays terms. It would have more than likely consisted of just men. Bailey says, A certain irony underscoring the legislated inequality toward women is established before the play even begins (McDaniel, unpaginated). The women in the play and the people in the audience at the time knew this little fact. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters did not share the trifles with the other men because they were rebelling against the social norms. They knew she was guilty but had compassion for her after Mrs. Hale tells her story of when she was a child. She said, When I was a girlmy kittenthere was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyesand before I could get there. If they hadnt held me back I would havehurt him (McMahan, 1098). Here she states that she would have hurt the boy because he killed her cat. Mr. Wright not only killed his wifes bird, but also her., me taphorically. Beatty compares the similarities of the two by saying, The bird symbolizes Mrs. Wright, a beautiful creature who loved to sing. When her husband killed to, it was as if she had been killed, and she killed him in turn. Mrs. Wright had to put up with all of her husbands troubles but he would not put up with hers. She was lonely and only had him for company. When she got the bird she was finally a little happier. However, Mr. Wright did not like that so he killed her bird. McDaniel says that back then though, women did not have as many, if any, options after they were married. If they got married and were unhappy they were stuck and did not have the option for a divorce like current women do (McDaniel, Unpaginated). For this reason of unhappiness they are willing to show compassion for Mrs. Wright. Even though the 19th amendment gives women the same rights as men and dissuades for the domination of men over women, it is still a large part in our society today. In 2001, the film Legally Blonde came out to theaters. This movie gives a modern twist on the inequality, and the dominance and ignorance of men that was found in the play Trifles. Elle, the main character, has a hard time in her job because of her gender, a woman. She is not given the same opportunities that men of her same career are given. She, however, just like the women in the play, can see the littlest Trifles in a crime scene and solve the case. The men push her off but she is persistent in proving her evidence. The women in the play had all of the right evidence but due to society at their time could not, and would not, release it to the sheriff. Kelly Marsh describes this situation perfectly in her article Dead Husbands and Other Girls Stuff: The Trifles in Legally Blonde when she says that Trifles is about, the destructive potential of the objectification and devaluation of women by men (Marsh, 201). This problem has still not been resolved and is, in many eyes, still a very large problem in todays societies. The only difference is women have more resources and more social support to get help this devaluation occurs to them not only in the house but also in the career fields. To sum this everything up, Trifles is not just a play, but a tool. A tool used to convey, to every person that watches, the suppression and hardships that some women had and still have to go through because of devaluation in a male dominance oriented society. When reading the play it is short, unelaborated, and un-dramatic. But by now knowing the actual murder story that this play was based off of, by knowing a little more about the personality and the early life of Susan Glaspell (the author) and finally understanding the strong male domination in this play, back then, and now, it makes the play that much clearer.

Who Is To Blame? :: essays research papers

Throughout the Elizabethan Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet there have been key people responsible for the two young lovers' deaths. The main reasons for the death of these two fine individuals may be found on the consciences of the people surrounding them both. It may also be the feud. between their families, and the well-meaning but misguided assistance of others? Before all of this may by judged, we must think if this was nothing but fate that brought these two lustful teens to their deaths.Before the facts may be stated, I must first introduce the main people that may have had a powerful effect on Romeo or Juliet. The friends of Romeo, Merutio and Benvolio, are slightly to blame. Benvolio, the peace maker, may have tried to help but most likely he wasn't to blame. Mercutio, the mean prankster, was largely responsible for the death of himself and Tybalt. Mercutio was the main reason for Romeo's anger toward Tybalt. The main person responsible for Romeo's death was most likely Friar Lewernce. He was the person that took these too newly met, lustful children into their marriage. Since the two children were married so soon and at such a young age, this made them very unable to make their own important decisions. This can be proved about Romeo when he was banished he bellowed like a little baby. The nurse had to make young Romeo act like a man just to think about Juliet instead of just himself. The main reason for the Friar's decision to make the two be married is because this may help their families stop fighting. In the end this was proven to be indispensably the motivation for the two kids to kill themselves.Numerous individuals were accountable for the death of Juliet. The main people that were responsible for this happening were the nurse and lady Capulet. The nurse, being a blabbermouth out spoken person, was most responsible for her death. She never acknowledged that maybe Juliet wasn't ready for this immense of a step in her life. The nurse never took any responsibility for her deadly actions for Juliet. In Act two-Scene four the nurse warns Romeo to be true to Juliet.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Essays -- Joyce Carol Oates s

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been†, is one of the many short stories written by Mrs. Joyce Carol Oates that has become highly recognized. It was inspired by a magazine story about a serial killer. It quickly it became very popular andwas even the basis for the 1985 hit movie, â€Å"SmoothTalk†. Like many other short stories and novels written by Joyce Carol Oates, â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been† is a story that is consumed by evil, the theme. In the story evil is projected through the eyes of the characters.(Weinberger 207) Joyce Carol Oates has been labeled by many as a, â€Å"writer of psychological realism†(Wegs 69), which is seen in this story. Tied in with the theme are three particular literary elements that interlink all of the scattered details, leaving the readers in awe at the end of the narrative. The three literary elements contributing to the short story are irony, imagery and symbolism. Irony is an importa nt element in â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where HaveYou Been.† The title itself is ironic since it is two questions that Connie is never asked. No one has ever asked, where she was going, nor has anyone ever inquired where she has been.(sullivan 535) What is also ironic is that although she is the victim in this tale, she actually welcomes and invites this demonic provocation.(Hurly 64) Her fears that have always overtaken he subconscious self drive her into distorted separation of mind and body in which sher ealizes that her unconscious self has betrayed her.(Wegs 70) Something else somewhat ironic is when Arnold Friend says,† I’ll hold you so tight you won’t think you have to try to getaway or pretend anything because you’ll know youca... ...ublications of the Mississippi Philological Association 1985, p98-105 Mark Robson Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Explicator Summer 1982, v40 n4 p59-60 Christina Marsden Gillis "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?": Seduction, Space, and a Fictional Mode Studies in Short Fiction Winter 1981, v18 n1 p65-70 Kevin J. Harty Archetype and Popular Lyric in Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Pennsylvania English 1980-81, v8 n1 p26-28 Joyce M. Wegs "Don't You Know Who I Am?": The Grotesque in Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Journal of Narrative Technique January1975, v5 n1, p66-72 Walter Sullivan Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: The Short Story in Search of Itself Sewanee Review Summer 1970, v78 n3 p535-537 online sources Encarta.com Cornell university online Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Essays -- Joyce Carol Oates s "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been†, is one of the many short stories written by Mrs. Joyce Carol Oates that has become highly recognized. It was inspired by a magazine story about a serial killer. It quickly it became very popular andwas even the basis for the 1985 hit movie, â€Å"SmoothTalk†. Like many other short stories and novels written by Joyce Carol Oates, â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been† is a story that is consumed by evil, the theme. In the story evil is projected through the eyes of the characters.(Weinberger 207) Joyce Carol Oates has been labeled by many as a, â€Å"writer of psychological realism†(Wegs 69), which is seen in this story. Tied in with the theme are three particular literary elements that interlink all of the scattered details, leaving the readers in awe at the end of the narrative. The three literary elements contributing to the short story are irony, imagery and symbolism. Irony is an importa nt element in â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where HaveYou Been.† The title itself is ironic since it is two questions that Connie is never asked. No one has ever asked, where she was going, nor has anyone ever inquired where she has been.(sullivan 535) What is also ironic is that although she is the victim in this tale, she actually welcomes and invites this demonic provocation.(Hurly 64) Her fears that have always overtaken he subconscious self drive her into distorted separation of mind and body in which sher ealizes that her unconscious self has betrayed her.(Wegs 70) Something else somewhat ironic is when Arnold Friend says,† I’ll hold you so tight you won’t think you have to try to getaway or pretend anything because you’ll know youca... ...ublications of the Mississippi Philological Association 1985, p98-105 Mark Robson Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Explicator Summer 1982, v40 n4 p59-60 Christina Marsden Gillis "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?": Seduction, Space, and a Fictional Mode Studies in Short Fiction Winter 1981, v18 n1 p65-70 Kevin J. Harty Archetype and Popular Lyric in Joyce Carol Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Pennsylvania English 1980-81, v8 n1 p26-28 Joyce M. Wegs "Don't You Know Who I Am?": The Grotesque in Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Journal of Narrative Technique January1975, v5 n1, p66-72 Walter Sullivan Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: The Short Story in Search of Itself Sewanee Review Summer 1970, v78 n3 p535-537 online sources Encarta.com Cornell university online

Human Nature :: essays research papers

Human nature Grade: B Language: English System: Country: Taiwan Our life is full of problems. Reasoning is a usual way to response to problems which we concern about. We reason in response to everyday problems. For instance, asked by friends to go out dinner at a time when we have planned something else, we must decide which one is more important for us at that moment of time, and whether to decline or to adjust our schedule. Reasoning appropriate to problems like this has often been called practical. Practical reasons might be said to be reasons for acting, and it is in some sense point toward action. Practical reasoning has been much discussed by philosophers, and it is catalogued under Moral Philosophy. For Aristotle’s moral philosophy, as it appears in his document now called the Nicomachean ethics, reflects his teleological (goal-oriented) metaphyics. In the Nicomachean ethics, where Aristotle considers a science of doing, and acting in certain way to seek rational ends. The notion of Goal, or Purpose, is the principal one in his moral theory. Aristotle noted that every act is performed for some purpose, which he defined as the "good" of that act, the end at which the activity aims. We perform an act because we find its purpose to be worthwhile. Either the totality of our acts is an infinitely circular series: Every morning we get up in order to eat breakfast, we eat breakfast in order to go to work, we got to work in order to get money, we get money so we can buy food in order to be able to eat breakfast, etc., etc., etc., in which case life would be a pretty meaningless endeavor because this is just bunch of repeated and vain activities practicing if without a purpose. Or there is some ultimate good toward which the purpose of all acts are directed. If there is such a good, we should try to come to know it so that we can adjust all our acts toward it in order to avoid that saddest of all tragedies – the wasted and vain life According to Aristotle, there is general verbal agreement that the end toward which all human acts are directed is happiness; therefore, happiness is the human good since we seek happiness for its own sake, not for the sake of something else. In a sense, realizing the end of attaining happiness is an activity of making, and it’s the activity aims to make a certain kind of man, living in a certain kind of society. Happiness might be explained as the

A Checklist on Effective Team Working

Abstract This paper presents a checklist of the qualities that make individuals effective team members. The checklist comprises of seven qualities which are communication skills, commitment towards attaining the team objective, competence members’ respective fields of specialty, creativity, support and respect for other members, effective organization and management skills, and responsibility and accountability. A further explanation of the relevance of these qualities is also presented. Introduction Teamwork is defined as the collaboration of several associates, each playing a role that will contribute to the attainment of the whole group’s objective (Hill & Parsons, 2014). Effective teamwork requires team members to possess certain qualities in order to facilitate a constructive relationship amongst them (Galbraith & Webb, 2013). This paper presents a checklist and rationale of teamwork qualities. The checklist is developed from my personal career experiences. Checklist of Qualities of a Team Player Effective communication skills Commitment towards attaining the team objective Competence in one’s field of specialty Creativity Respect and support for other team members Effective management and organization skills Accountability and responsibility Rationale This section presents an explanation of the relevance of the above qualities to team work. Reference is also made to academic sources to provide a more detailed explanation of these qualities.Communication SkillsIn order to function successfully in a team, members ought to be able to effectively communicate on both emotional and intellectual levels (Lencioni, 2012). Possession of this skill enables one to effectively present their ideas to other group members or express their displeasure in certain ideas without being threatening. Communication also involves listening, which is vital for internalizing the ideas presented by other team members. The present–day technological advancements like the internet and mobile phones have further eased the communication process, which is also advantageous for team work and has led to the ‘virtual team’ phenomenon (Duarte & Snyder, 2011). Lack of communication skills often lead to conflicts within the team or groupthink, where some team members agree with ideas without any constructive debate.Commitment to Attainment of the Team ObjectiveThe level of team members’ commitment to collaborate and accomplish the team’s goals is a critical contributing factor towards the success of the team (Dunin-Keplicz & Verbrugge, 2011). All teamwork projects involve the contribution of individual members towards the attainment of an overall objective. Therefore, commitment starts by their acknowledgement of the fact that what they are working to achieve cannot be solely done by one individual (Mohammed & Harrison, 2013). Committed team members have a high regard for the roles that they have been allocated and work as hard as possible to ensure that they are well accomplished within the allocated time. Commitment however depends on how organizations motivate the team members (Sheng et al., 2010).CompetenceAllocation of roles and responsibilities in team work is done according to the specialty of each team mem ber (Lencioni, 2012). For instance, it is expected that a marketing role will be delegated to an individual who has a rich background in marketing and not engineering. By exercising competence in the roles they are allocated, team members create a sense of confidence in team leaders and other members that they will deliver the required level of quality (Galbraith & Webb, 2013). It is also necessary for team members to only accept roles in which they are sure of delivering paramount quality (Dunin-Keplicz & Verbrugge, 2011). The lack of the required levels of competence results in poor delivery of individual roles, which adversely affects the overall results of the team.CreativityCreativity is defined as the ability to come up with ingenious solution for certain issues or problems (Mumford, 2012). In teamwork, it is a very important tool, especially when the problem at hand has no pre-defined approach of addressing it. When a team has creative members, one of the main advantages is t hat the project at hand will not be hindered by common challenges that may arise in the course of its progress. Whereas creativity can be considered as an individual quality, Foss et al. (2013) also argued that creativity can be nurtured within the team because team members provide different suggestions of approaches that can be used in solving problems.Effective Management and OrganizationIn the course of a team project, there are short-term objectives to be met that contribute to the attainment of the larger goal (Mohammed & Harrison, 2013). It is therefore vital for team members to effectively manage and organize time and resources that they have been allocated to accomplish their roles. The lack of management and organization skills is likely to result in delays or failure of some team members in accomplishing their roles within the allocated time schedule and resources (Galbraith & Webb, 2013). Management and organization also determines the punctuality of team members in atten ding meetings or reporting the progress of their allocated duties.Respect and Support for other Team MembersOne of the pillars of teamwork is the acknowledgement of the roles played by each member of the group (Duarte & Snyder, 2011). This eliminates the subscription to the ideology by other team members that their roles are more important than others. According to Sheng et al. (2010), support of other team members who may be experiencing difficulties exemplifies a sense of loyalty towards one another. Expressing respect and support rather than playing the blame game builds confidence in team members and contributes towards a constructive working relationship (Galbraith & Webb, 2013). It also increases the possibility of successful collaboration in future projects.Accountability and ResponsibilityAccountability and responsibility play a major role in instilling self discipline among members when handling projects they have been assigned to (Graham & Englund, 2013). Whilst not all te am members can be allocated a leadership position in the team, they have to be responsible for the small roles they have been assigned and ensure that they deliver them on time (Sheng et al., 2010). Accountability in team work ensures that every action taken in contribution to the team project is justifiable. It is however argued that accountability limits creativity because of the fear of mistakes that can arise when trying out creative problem solving procedures (Mumford, 2012). Conclusion Teamwork is an inevitable phenomenon in any organization. It is therefore necessary for individuals to hone skills that enable them to be better team players. This paper has outlined some f the qualities that are considered as being vital for anyone who wants to be successful team player. Whereas I possess all of the discussed skills, I also intend to improve my level of perfection in them in order to be a better team player in future. References Duarte, D.L. & Snyder, N.T., 2011. Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed. San Fransisco: Josey-Bass. Dunin-Keplicz, B. & Verbrugge, ?J., 2011. Teamwork in Multi-Agent Systems: A Formal Approach. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Foss, L., Woll, K. & Moilanen, M., 2013. Creativity and implementations of new ideas: Do organisational structure, work environment and gender matterInternational Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 5(3), pp.298-322. Galbraith, D.D. & Webb, F.L., 2013. Teams That Work: Preparing Student. American Journal Of Business Education Teams For The Workplace, 6(2), pp.223-33. Graham, R.J. & Englund, R.L., 2013. Creating an environment for successful projects. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Hill, F. & Parsons, L?., 2014. Teamwork in the Management of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. New Jersey: Routledge. Lencioni, P., 2012. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Intact Teams Participant Workbook. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Mohammed, S. & Harrison, D.A., 2013. The clocks that time us are not the same: A theory of temporal diversity, task characteristics, and performance in teams. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 122(2), pp.244-56. Mumford, M.D., 2012. Handbook of Organizational Creativity. London: Elsevier. Sheng, C.W., Tian, Y.F. & Chen, M.C., 2010. Relationships among teamwork behavior, trust, perceived team support, and team commitment. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 38(10), pp.1297-305.

Destruction is Creation Essay

Two vast classifications of fiction most readers would agree to be are commercial fiction and literary fiction. The commercial fiction focuses on bringing pleasure to the readers and satisfying the readers’ expectations at the end of the story. While the literary fiction focuses on giving the reader an understanding and enlightenment about human nature and society. â€Å"The Destructors† by Graham Greene is a short literary fiction story about the loss of innocence of a gang of adolescents thru destruction. It is a dramatizing story were destruction can happen anywhere. Dramatizing the rebellion of a gang of adolescents who had grown up during World War II, the characters are extremely affected psychologically and team up against society. This literary story helps the reader understand the characters’ mischievous ways, the society’s complexity of moral issues, and the destructors creation. The Wormsley Common Gang is built of mischievous adolescents who li ved thru the World War II madness and destructions. The protagonist, Trevor, or â€Å"T† called by the other members, has been deeply affected by the city’s demolition which is why it is he who gets the wrecking idea to destroy Mr. Thomas’ house. â€Å"We’ll pull it down. We’ll destroy it†, T. says to the gang. Blackie, the ex-leader of the gang starts out in the story with victimless troublesome shenanigans. By the end of the story however, Blackie is fully supportive of the plan to destroy Mr. Thomas’ house. The society’s complexity of moral issues is demonstrated by the protagonist, T. Greene states, â€Å"There was a reason T., as he was afterwards referred to, should have been an object of mockery.† Trevor’s name is common is the upper-class level and is a symbol of his formerly affluent lifestyle and by accepting the change, T., given by the gang, the gang accepted him instead of laughing at him for down grading to the lower-class. Trevor says to Blackie, â€Å"Nobody’s going to steal anything from this house. I kept these for you and me, a celebration. We’ll burn them, one by one.† Trevor shows the gang no care for class distinctions and disregard for wealth by burning all of Mr. Thomas’ hidden life savings. . T. has resentment for the house and ruined the house out of anger and jealously because it is something the gang wish they had and it is something that symbolizes upper-class. It is said in the story, â€Å"Destruction after  all is a form of creation†, meaning that by destroying the house, T. thinks he’s creating an equal quality society and also creating the gang a more criminal identity. By Trevor accepting the shorte ning of his name, T. demonstrates change on himself thru destruction. When the gang is done destroying the house from the inside, the gang ties a rope to the back of a lorry and that’s tied to a great wooden shore that supports Mr. Thomas’ house. The next morning someone gets into the lorry, drives off and takes the house down with him. While Mr. Thomas cries out for his house, the driver can’t help but to laugh and says to him, â€Å"There’s nothing personal, but you got to admit it’s funny.† The driver is helping Mr. Thomas understand that it wasn’t about him, it was about something bigger, it was about his house. This big old house that everybody saw everyday stand there with such dignity between the bomb-sites like a man in a top hat. And in destroying his house, the gang inadvertently create for Mr. Thomas the possibility to more beyond his â€Å"Old Misery† by eliminating the anchor tethering him to a difficult past. This literary short fiction implies itself with characters that have flaws such as T. who went from living in a great environment to living in the Wormsley Common Underground Station living in poverty and knowing what it is like to suffer. The society class levels doesn’t matter to T. and it’s proven thru out the story. T. wants everybody to be the same, no lower class, no upper class, just one society, and gets the idea that by destroying Old Misery’s house he’ll accomplish. The characters deal with real life society tragedies that can enlighten a reader. The gang of adolescents lose their innocence thru the bombing of World War II because t he characters have experienced destruction, war, and life changing tragedies. The effects of the two world wars (World War II and T.’s and the gangs’ war) have given birth to a new and grimmer society, as represented by the gang. The characters experience that by destroying something, change comes along with it and a new creation can be created.