Reading report Two Kinds by Amy Tan free essay sample

Two kinds, one of the short stories in The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, first published in 1989, vividly displays a bittersweet relationship between Jing-mei, the narrator and protagonist, and her mother Mrs. Woo, and explores conflicts between a Chinese mother and her disobedient Americanized daughter. The story happened in the Chinatown in San Francisco throughout the 1950s and maybe the early 1960s. It begins with Jing-mei and her mother’s moving to America in 1949. Encouraged by the American Dream and the conventional Chinese parents’ values, Jing-mei’s mother imposed great hopes on her and expects her to become a child prodigy. She tried in all ways to discovery the special talent in Jing-mei. First, she pushed Jing-mei to be the next Shirley Temple,but that didnt work. Then she prepared intellectual tests which were clipped from popular magazines for Jing-mei everyday. Unfortunately, Jing-mei didnt show promise in this field, either. We will write a custom essay sample on Reading report: Two Kinds by Amy Tan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Finally, the mother stumbled upon the answer that Jing-mei must be a piano virtuoso, and forced Jing-mei into piano lessons which taught by Mr. Chong, an elderly piano teacher, who is deaf and whose eyes are too weak to tell when Jing-mei is playing the wrong notes. At the very beginning, Jing-mei believed in her mother that she could be a prodigy. Nevertheless, she did not enjoy the strict ways of her mother latter. As she grown up, she found her self-identity, â€Å"I won’t be what I am not†. Then she realized she must reject and rebel her mother. After that, she tried to fail her mother’s expectation in every way and made herself a nonconformist. To her surprised, her mother hit on the conclusion that she would be a pianist, and she was forced to take the piano lessons. Whereas, Jing-mei thought And right then, I was determined to put a stop to her foolish pride Latter, at a recital in the church, Jing-mei failed in her performance which deeply disappointed her mother and made her lost face in front of her friends. Next day, to her astonished, her mother asked her to practice the piano again. This was when she told her mother her real thoughts. She was terribly angry that she told her mom she wished she was dead. We can learn that her mother once had other babies but they died before she left China. Jing-mei’s word deeply hurt her mother and since then her mother completely give up the ideal of making her to be a prodigy. Many year latter, Jing-mei was shocked when her mother gave  her the piano as a thirtieth birthday present. Only after her mothers death could Jing-mei accept the piano. As she was packing her mothers things, she sat down to play the piano for the first time in many years and surprisedly to find that â€Å"Pleading Child† and â€Å"Perfectly Pleasing† were two halves in the same song, which implies that she realize she is a girl with both obedient and rebellion. An analysis of first-person narrative In accordance to the Wikipedia, the definition of first-person narrative is that, â€Å"first person perspective is a mode whereby a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive voice and represents point of view in the writing.†Now let’s look at the effectiveness of the first-person narrative in Two Kinds in the following two aspects. 1. In line of the definition above, we can see, in a first-person narrative, story is reported by a narrator, one of the characters in the story. The narrator refers to the viewpoint character as I (or, when plural, we) when he reveals the plots. When we read the story Two Kinds, we find that it is told in first person, as well, by the protagonist, Jing-mei. It is an irrefutable fact that writing in first person can bring great benefits. First and foremost, the first-person point of view will directly narrate the deeply internal, otherwise unspoken thoughts of the narrator, which can push the story closer to the readers and make them forget the plot is well designed as a piece of fiction, and even accept it as a truth. Furthermore, because the audiences tend to accept the narrator as the character, and the same, the character again as a real person, who talks to them face to face, they are more inclined not only to believe in whatever the narrator says, but they also immediately empathize with her. This story is exclusively from Jing-mei’s perspective for what she thought and did and what took place, where it happened, and how it process, which allows the readers to directly realize the progressing of the plot through her eyes. I contend that this leaves the readers closer to the plot developments, and they are somehow attached to Jing-mei. Therefore they are more easily to feel involved in the story, and resonate with her experience greatly. This might be a valid reason why the  novel can win an instant huge success in 1989. 2. Although Jing Mei is too young to know what was her mother’s real thought, she gives a clear description of what her mother said, did, how she did it. Some people might contend that she is such a young character that she can not realize that why her mother did it. They suppose that all things her mother has done is only want to give the best things for her. Although there are some sound reasons for the opposite, I personally reckon that, Jing-mei is a skillful storyteller. There are four illustrations I take out from the story to support my view. First and foremost, take the the description of her mother’s action,â€Å"Up and down, back and forth, quiet and loud† as an example. By the narrative of her in these simple words, we can visualize the vivid scene. Besides, the dialogue between she and her mother in the climax promote the movement of the plot. Meanwhile these words description clearly reveals the major conflicts in this story, for instance,â€Å" ‘Only two kinds of daughter,’ shouted in Chinese, ‘Those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient daughter!’ † Apart from this, Jing-mei’s reply to her mother, such as,â€Å"I wish I wasn’t your daughter. I wish you weren’t my mother†, â€Å"Then I wish I’d never been born! †, â€Å"I wish I were dead! Like them† , also conveys a tension that facilitate the plot go toward the climax. From this part of narration, we can learn the reasons why her mother be so strict on her and her impetuously rebellion to her mother, which immediately established a link between the rising action part to the climax and then the climax to the falling action. Since Jing-mei’s words hurt her mother deeply that she eventually give up her stubborn idea and then the story goes to the end. Additionally, Jing-mei confessed that she never did anything the best she could be for so many years, except to spite her mother. In her deep inside, she is proud when mother told her the piano is hers and she should take it. Eventually, the story comes ends with she realization that she was actually both a obedient and rebellion girl. Jing-mei’s experience makes the readers reflect on their own lives and relationships with their own parents. She constructs the story in this waythe first point of view, that makes the plot flow, and successfully attracts the readers’ curiosity in what would happen to her next. From what I have shown above, we can see story writing in first person narrative has great naturalness and persuasiveness and we can benefits a lot when we write something in the first perspective.

Free Essays on Social Change

Abstract When treating psychological patients, there are many factors which need to be considered. In fact, depending on the problem, the context under which the evaluation takes place may influence the outcome of the evaluation. Looking for solutions to psychological problems, there are times when known relationships can be leveraged to make a difference. In this paper, the relationship between education and poverty, in light of psychological inquiry, will be considered, compared and contrasted within multiple contexts. Social Change in Context: Poverty and Education Introduction During treatment, it is important to establish an open, honest relationship with the psychologist; however, often times a client may be embarrassed, or ashamed to be completely honest. For example, when an individual has not achieved even a minimal degree of education, say past grade school, or when an individual’s financial situation places him/her below the poverty line. As clinicians, the way patients are treated, the advice they are given and ultimately the path chosen to move past illness may have a profound impact on the individual’s life. As a result, many persons who are poverty stricken, or who have not gone through basic education training may choose not to reveal these facts for fear of being ridiculed. That is to say, persons who struggle financially, people who have not achieved in the world of academia may have a difficult time in treatment. Is difficulty cause by clinician bias? What about client bias? â€Å"Will the Psychologist understand the plight of someone in my situation†? â€Å"Will the psychologist treat me differently†? Surely the daily struggles of an individual who has concerns about paying for the next meal, or the daily grind of an individual who cannot read will impact the possibility for the individual to build and maintain a relationship, especially a relationship clinical in nature. Is it possible, howeve... Free Essays on Social Change Free Essays on Social Change Abstract When treating psychological patients, there are many factors which need to be considered. In fact, depending on the problem, the context under which the evaluation takes place may influence the outcome of the evaluation. Looking for solutions to psychological problems, there are times when known relationships can be leveraged to make a difference. In this paper, the relationship between education and poverty, in light of psychological inquiry, will be considered, compared and contrasted within multiple contexts. Social Change in Context: Poverty and Education Introduction During treatment, it is important to establish an open, honest relationship with the psychologist; however, often times a client may be embarrassed, or ashamed to be completely honest. For example, when an individual has not achieved even a minimal degree of education, say past grade school, or when an individual’s financial situation places him/her below the poverty line. As clinicians, the way patients are treated, the advice they are given and ultimately the path chosen to move past illness may have a profound impact on the individual’s life. As a result, many persons who are poverty stricken, or who have not gone through basic education training may choose not to reveal these facts for fear of being ridiculed. That is to say, persons who struggle financially, people who have not achieved in the world of academia may have a difficult time in treatment. Is difficulty cause by clinician bias? What about client bias? â€Å"Will the Psychologist understand the plight of someone in my situation†? â€Å"Will the psychologist treat me differently†? Surely the daily struggles of an individual who has concerns about paying for the next meal, or the daily grind of an individual who cannot read will impact the possibility for the individual to build and maintain a relationship, especially a relationship clinical in nature. Is it possible, howeve...

Market Model Patterns of Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Market Model Patterns of Change - Essay Example According to International Business (2009), the Coca-Cola Company used to be a monopoly initially when there were no competitors. This is because it was the only seller that had a well-defined commodity since there were no substantial substitutes of a similar commodity from other firms into the market. However, the Coca-Cola Company can no longer be defined as a monopoly. Its market model (monopoly) has undergone change into oligopoly. International Business (2009) argues that this is due to the presence of the Pepsi and Schweppes Companies among others that have brought plenty of competition in the market for the Coca-Cola Company, with all their products. For the oligopoly market, model, each supplier has a possibility of influencing the market price; thus, leading to competition among the suppliers. In an oligopoly market model, there are only a few industries that dominate the market. For instance, the Coca-Cola Company and Pepsi dominate the bottled and canned soft drinks indust ry, in most countries. They have control over the market prices and supplies and have high barriers to entry. Their products are nearly identical; hence, the companies involved compete for the market share, and are independent due to the market forces. According to Barlow (2005) there are short-run and long-run behaviors of oligopoly. Long run can be described as a period in which all factors of production, as well as cost, are variable. In this case, industries are able to adjust to cost. The short run refers to a period where the quality of some inputs cannot be raised beyond the priced amount that is available; hence, short run industries can only be able to influence the prices through adjustments made to production. However, in economics, long run models can shift from short run equilibrium where the supply and demand, reacts to price levels with more flexibility. Thus, oligopolistic companies share a variety of short run and long run behaviors such as interdependence, rigid pr ices, competition, mergers and collusion (Barlow, 2005). The Bertrand model and the contestable markets theory leads to a long run oligopoly market-equilibrium price and output solution, which is similar to that achieved in a competitive market (International Business, 2009). Bertrand argues that products and production costs are identical or similar the customers are likely to purchase from the company selling at the lowest possible price. In addition, the kinked demand curve model of oligopoly that was developed by Paul Sweezy assumes that a business in an oligopoly may face a dual demand curve for its product based on the reactions of other companies in the market to a change in its variables (Cameron and Green, 2009). Thus, short-lived price war between rival companies happens under this model, in which firms are seeking to seize a short term advantage and gain some extra market share. Areas in the company that could lead to transaction costs include the global environment, the competitive environment and the socio-cultural differences. The global environment has become quite sensitive forcing many companies that operate locally to join the global market; thus, resulting in globalization. The Coca-Cola Company is also sensitive to the strategies of globalization, which has led to high competition, as well as to transactions costs. The competitive environment also plays a similar role. Coca-Cola Company, which is a

Proofread Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proofread - Essay Example During physical assessment, I noted several bruises on the chin and abdomen. The patient informed me that the bruises were from a previous fall. I proceeded to monitor her heart for atrial fibrillation. During my assessment, I noted that the patient’s pulse was elevated and her blood pressure was high. I administered 40mg of Lasix by IV pulse via peripheral line and left the patient to rest. A few hours later, I went back to take the vital signs. Her blood pressure has decreased from 141/62 to 113/70. The patient was on fall precaution due to side effects of medication, which was hypotension. The Lasix was pushed slowly because it could cause hearing problems if it was pushed too fast. Thoracencetis was done and 1 liter of fluid was drained. I did not observe any ABD distention or swelling of the lower extremities. The patient was taking Lasix and void 1400CC of clear and yellow urine that was the expected outcome. I was confused during the auscultation of the lungs because I expected to hear crackles upon auscultation. However, I did not hear crackles, so I was puzzled by where all the fluid was coming from. I did not see any edema in any of extremities. The patient appeared healthy to me. After several discussions with my clinical instructor, I learned that the continuous weight loss could be an indication of cancer. The patient had PMH of hyperthyroidisms since even after consuming large amounts of nutrients, she still lost weight. At first, I thought the patient was losing weight because of thyroid. Later, I got convinced that it could have been an indication of cancer because she did not have any problems with weight loss during previous diagnoses. This patient’s symptoms were similar to my cousin’s. They were both losing weight very rapidly and coughing with no mucus. Later, my cousin was diagnosed with

Reflecting On Swot Analysis Two Student Nurse Interviews Nursing Essay

Reflecting On Swot Analysis Two Student Nurse Interviews Nursing Essay you know you have got to lift the bar a little, because you are no longer a carer or a nursing assistant, your actual on your way up to being a nurse, obviously you have got to set an exampleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (from student F.) Incident: I was struck by Fs reflection on her own change in identity and awareness of internal drive to meet a standard. She was obviously struggling with this change process and aware of feeling vulnerable. I was surprised by her sharing this with me as she was a first year student nurse and this is a level of maturity in self awareness and reflection I might expect from a more senior student nurse or even from a newly qualified staff nurse. F. had spoken at the start of interview about trying to find her feet and perhaps feeling sensitive about things. I responded with active listening through the rest of the interview and with an effective summary question/ statement towards the end that allowed F. to talk about moving on to her next placement. F. was voicing the possibility of having a different outlook towards a new experience; almost as if she was recognising the beginnings of long process of change in becoming a professional nurse. Reflective observation: In my SWOT analysis of both interviews I conducted, I saw this as the obvious opportunity for a learning moment, both for F. herself and also for myself as an aspiring future mentor. My thought during the interview was that this was a precious moment for F in becoming a nurse; and did wonder how I should respond to her verbalisation of her thoughts and feelings. When I constructed the analysis this part stood out for me again as being a chance for myself to learn, perhaps how to become more effective as a mentor. My thoughts were how to cherish and help this kind of reflection in students in the future. I also wondered how rare these kind of conversations happened during nursing training. F. reflections that she shared with me, reminded me of my own training and how some staff nurses and charge nurses had stood out for me in the process of myself acquiring the identity as a nurse. There was a protective element here in that I wondered how F.s current reflective state could be nurtured and developed in her future placements. I wondered if she was aware herself of this change process and whether she would voice this in future with her mentors and tutors. It might be possible for F. and similar students to ignore and keep quiet about vulnerabilities and internalise this change process. If mentors were open to listening and gently questioning about becoming a nurse then this might facilitate growth and awareness of the nursing identity. I considered how it might be difficult to record this type of reflection in the CAP booklet, even though the booklet explicitly encourages the use of reflection. A mentor would have to develop excellent reflective skills in order to facilitate these skills in students, and perhaps become sensitive to these opportunities for reflection arising early in the programme of nursing education. A possibility for mentors would be to use the mid and end placement meetings with students. So that as well as assessing competencies and professional role development; there could be a place to gently discuss and reflect on identity as a nurse. As well as this it might be possible for students to keep a reflective diary during placement and regularly meet with the mentor to discuss issues as they arose. There might be some reluctance for both mentor and student to explore these areas as this is very much about personal identity and occurs during a period of learning and developing in many different aspects as a nurse. Reflection might well be different for a very experienced and skilled staff nurse who is confident in their own capabilities and skills. Related Theory: Some elements of theory relating to developing as a reflective practitioner within modern nursing will be analysed in the following section. The path to becoming a nurse, can involve sharing feelings and asking for support and finding ways to handle emotions (Jarvis and Gibson, 2001). There can be an inherent vulnerability during the process of socialisation where the values and attitudes, that allow the nurse to function in his or her role within the health care system, are in a state of flux and change (Morton-Cooper and Palmer, 2000). The mentor ideally should create a warm, genuine supportive relationship based on trust and sound interpersonal skills (Jarvis and Gibson, 2001). This must be fundamental to facilitating reflection upon personal and professional identity as a nurse. Gardiner (2003) introduces the idea of professional friendship to the role of being a mentor where listening, giving of recognition and challenging are added to the friend type relationship. Some barriers to facilitating reflection on attitudes and self awareness can lie in the multi faceted role of the mentor. The mentor role is flexible and may have to cover a number of parts and elements; some of which may be contradictory. Two possibly opposing roles are informal teacher and guide and also assessor of professional competence especially with a student that is struggling or failing. So it may be difficult to add to this list that of confidant and counsellor in the broadest sense (Jarvis and Gibson, 2001). The traditional concept of being professional could hinder openness for student nurses. There is a traditional view of keeping a professional distance and restraint in health care which may not encourage the expression of feelings and vulnerabilities for student nurses. However, Morton-Cooper and Palmer (2000) argue there is some growing evidence of the importance of developing emotional work as a critical element to caring, where this is described as emotional literacy, or perhaps in plain English terms as being able to express feelings appropriately, safely and effectively. Jarvis and Gibson (2001) discuss the teacher- learner relationship as being hierarchical and the teacher having authority versus creating an inclusive, informal teaching relationship that encourages open reflection and critical thinking. There may be some difficulty for the student to reflect and be vulnerable and open about their changing identity where there is a strict authoritarian relationship (Jarvis and Gibson, 2001). However, the nurse can develop authority based on professionalism and skills and knowledge that is legitimised by colleagues and students. This also relates to the element of mentorship in being a positive role model for student nurse (Jarvis and Gibson, 2001). Morton-Cooper and Palmer (2000) state the idea of the adult learner who directs their own learning and is in a process of becoming rather than being shaped into a role. There are some ways to facilitate reflective practice and awareness. Donovan (2007) suggests using a formal reflective tool and a diary can be useful. Reflective discussion with peers and mentors also can be helpful. Trust is an important element in making reflection effective in clinical placement. Levett-Jones (2007) suggests the idea of using narratives in self assessment. Case study or narratives may be more suitable to exploring practice, assessing competencies and skills. However, this could be a starting point in developing reflective skills and a language of emotional literacy. The value of narrative could lie in allowing direction by the mentor for the beginning nurse while being flexible during nursing education. There is also the value of providing a personal and persistent record for assessment and evaluation (Levett-Jones, 2007). Some of difficulties have been examined that there may arise in developing as a reflective practitioner and how a mentor may help. There has been a short consideration of some of the possible tools such as diaries and narratives which may help in the learning process. Future Action: To be a more effective mentor, I would consider using a formal reflective tool such as Marks-Maran and Rose (1997) while mentoring students. This will be familiar to student nurses as it is used in the University of Dundee and in NHS Fife. I would try and use it more explicitly during planned learning programmes. Further I would consider some strategies to encourage reflective discussion amongst students. Some ideas might be planned case studies involving one or more students. A structured and open discussion with a student about attitudes and professional roles may be useful at mid and end placement, although I would be tempted to arrange this after assessment and filling in competencies in the CAP booklet. I t would probably be ideal to have this at separate time as students appear to be anxious about completing their booklets. Lastly, I may trial the use of narrative and or diaries to help with assessment of learning to see if this can promote reflection by students I will be working with.

Legal, Safety, Regulatory Essay

Human resources must abide by legal regulations and safety laws, along with regulations requirements. This is set in place for organizations to avoid litigation. The employee-related regulations have been established by the United States including; Department of Labor, the U. S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Department of Homeland Security. The main focus of these regulations is to prevent any manager from acting biased or irrationally. As a result, common sense and compassion have been replaced by litigation. What managers and employees fear the most is being sued. Managers will make special efforts to prevent such situations from occurring. Some managers will neglect high stress levels of their employees and lack the proper attention to legitimately discontented and unhappy employees. This throws common sense and compassion out the door. Compassion is the workplace amplifies the morale and enthusiasm of the employees along with cooperation where people are actually open to help and not move quickly into suing and organization. Experiencing compassion at work generates positive emotion and, in turn, shapes employees’ long-term attitudes and behaviors. Positive emotions generated by compassion have a cascading effect on employees’ attitudes and behaviors, thereby increasing job satisfaction and lowering job stress, (University of Michigan: Newsroom, 2003). The most recent of the major Equal Employment Opportunity laws is The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 also known as ADA. The law forbidding employment discrimination against people with disabilities who are able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010). This act also provides the definition of what a person with disability truly entails. Managers must be especially careful when it comes to this because these days employees will knit pick and strip down a situation and call it discrimination when without a doubt they were probably not fulfilling the job description. HR managers need to ensure the safety of their employees. To ensure such safety there are two important standard regulations; that is workman’s compensation laws, each slightly differing upon which state the employee is in, and OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Act established since 1970 on the federal level . Workman’s comp is a legally required benefit that provides medical care, income continuation, and rehabilitation expenses for people who sustain job-related injuries or sickness. Also provides income to the survivors of an employee whose death is job related (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010). That being the case, there are audits held to prevent employee’s from filing fraudulent workman’s comp claims. OSHA has set federal and states laws, employees are to abide by their states OSHA standards to ensure safety in the workplace (Dellpo, 2013). In violation to following such laws can result in employer fines. With compassion and common sense lacking in the workplace a real disgruntled employee could cost and employer tons of money by carelessly contributing to fines. Then when presented with such allegations will then claim discrimination. When dealing with laws that effect HR, these are brought to the EEOC, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Employment decisions should not be based on characteristics such as race, sex, age, or disability (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010). The EEOC are the ones who investigate claims and situations involving harassment, discrimination, ect. And do take everything seriously. Employers these days definitely abuse the EEOC for simple situations that common sense can be easily applied to, and under those circumstances wasting a lot of time and money for an organization. In the end, after exanimating the effect of legal safety and regulatory requirements on human resource process the main focus of these regulations is to prevent any manager from biasedly and without cause irrationally treating an employee badly. As a result, common sense and compassion have been replaced by litigation. It is unfortunate, but as managers that is why it is important to take actions that develop trust, such as sharing useful information and making good on commitments. Act consistently so that employees are not surprised by unexpected management actions or decisions. Be truthful and avoid white lies and actions designed to manipulate others by giving a certain (false) impression. Demonstrate integrity by keeping confidences and showing concern for others. Meet with employees to discuss and define what is expected of them. Ensure that employees are treated equitably, giving equivalent rewards for similar performance and avoiding actual or apparent special treatment of favorites. Adhere to clear standards that are seen as just and reasonable, for example, neither praising accomplishments nor imposing penalties disproportionately. Demonstrate respect toward employees, showing openly that they care about employees and recognize their strengths and contributions (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010). By practicing these key points compassion and common sense can be restored in the workplace.

Ethics Essay ­ “Miss Evers’ Boys” Essay

One unethical issue that I saw in the film was that the patients that were being used for the experiment were misinformed about their medical status. This is unethical because the patients were being lied to about something that ultimately affected their health and lives. A second unethical issue that I saw in the movie was that the medical service was not provided so as best to promote the participant’s interest. The service was provide to conduct an experiment to study the progression of Syphilis in African American men. The only reason patients consented to the experiment was because they thought that they had â€Å"bad blood† and were waiting for treatment. Thirdly, another unethical issue that I saw in the movie was that the information about the Syphilis treatment, Penicillin, was kept hidden from the patients. Even when Penicillin became the official treatment, patients never received it whether they were looking for it or not. The fourth unethical issue that I saw in the movie was that the nurse did not recognize that considerations relating to the well ­being of the individual participants in the research should have taken precedence of any interest of the doctors, science, or society.