Cultural Shift through the Eyes of Ginsberg and Kerouac :: Allen Ginsberg

Cultural Shift through the Eyes of Ginsberg and Kerouac    Brothers of the San Francisco Beat scene, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg lived in the midst of a consumer cultural revolution, patriots of a forgotten mindset. While the regional characters of the nation were quickly being homogenized by television, Kerouac and Ginsberg wrote poetry and prose that both captured and contemplated the moment. They were contemporaries, sharing the same circle of friends and drawing from the same influences but produced works seeking divergent means to the same conceptual end. Kerouac wrote with an enlightened nostalgia, fascinated with preserving a form of the pioneer spirit of individuals and tall tales in the midst of cultural change, while Ginsberg's poetry directly criticized the shortcomings and decay of society; neither author completing the picture or the message, leaving something for the other. American culture of the mid nineteen fifties and early sixties is described with disgust and rejection in both Kerouac's and Ginsberg's works. They bore witness to and documented a rich, variant culture homogenized and sterilized by Dial television ads and The Saturday Evening Post. Beat calls to rebellion and cancerous grey images show America on the decline and readying for revolution. In Kerouac's novel The Dharma Bums, Japhy's ideal revolutionary rejects the new developments of American culture, " refusing to subscribe to the general demand that they consume production, and therefore have to work for the privilege of consuming, all that crap they didn't really want anyway such as refrigerators, TV sets, cars, at least new fancy cars, certain hair oils and deodorants and general junk you finally always see a week later in the garage anyway, all of them imprisoned in a system of work, produce, consume..."(97). Their America was a land of mass-marketed uselessness. At a time when st ores across the nation carried identical products, and everybody saw the same three channels of television, the sparkle of regional character started to evaporate. Kerouac paints his Dharma Bums as the heirs of Whitman, poetic thoughtful wanderers. Ginsberg also used Whitman to link the past to the present in the poem "A Supermarket in California", asking the bard "Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely. / Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?

Speech on Happiness :: Happiness Essays

Today I am here to discuss a topic with you but I don’t know where to start. If I ask you, "Is Money a Prerequisite for Happiness?", how would you answer? Your answer should be NO. Definitely NO. But is this truly what you believe? Is this consistent with how you act? All of us want to make money to gain some status, some comfort and some luxurious. This money has brought; is bringing; and will bring so many differences between some of you and me. These differences will be later named as differences between the rich and the poor. If I ask you ‘Do you know what is happiness? You would thrillingly and pleasingly answer me YES, OF Course Then lets share some examples of the happiest man. One would experience happiness when a leads a luxurious life. One may also experience happiness when he had expanded his business almost across the globe. One may also experience happiness when he had his meal in the most famous and expensive hotel. One may also experience happiness when he attends honorable parties. One can’t imagine an ideal life like this. But don’t you feel I have missed out something in the above examples – yes, I have thereby missed out the actual meaning of happiness. No one can tell which philosopher in his writings has mentioned money to be as happiness. Which dictionary ever explains money to be a synonym of happiness? Which mathematician has ever given up a formula - LIFE + MONEY = HAPPINESS. None of the scientists ever brought up a formula – Money when given up at 100 degree Celsius gives you (Happiness)2 When none of us has ever come across such words and formulas, none of the great personalities has ever mentioned it, then who the hell has instilled it in our minds that money brings happiness. But among this debate one question still raises its head - What is happiness? Happiness is not actually leading a luxurious life but the luxury of living a life. Happiness is not actually about expanding your business, but it lies in expanding the horizons of life. Happiness is not having a meal in the most famous restaurant but to have it with your most beloved family. It does not lie in attending honorable parties but to attend a party with honor. Happiness is to wear a smile when it feels like crying.

Child centered educstion

The concept of child-centred education implies that the child occupies the central place in the educational process. The old concept of education emphasised the importance of the teacher who always remained at the giving end. The modern concept of education gives the pride of place to the child and places him at the centre-stage. Capacities, Needs and Interests of Child: As noted above, in child-centred education, the child is the centre of activity.This means, all programmes are geared to his requirements. In the Dictionary of Education, Prof. P. M. Lohithakshan elaborates the concept of child-centred education by saying that in this type of education â€Å"educational activities are designed and implemented on the basis of the capacities, needs and interests of children. Curricula, teaching methods, evaluation, co-curricular activities, etc. are all planned accordingly. † In the words of Prof. G. L.Arora, â€Å"Child-centred education means that for the rganisation of diffe rent processes of education, child's point of view-his needs, interests and aptitudes should get precedence over the teacher's, curriculum developer's or evaluator's point of view. † Educational programmes meaningful to Children. In child-centred education, educational programmes make learning more interesting and meaningful to children. Children-active participants In child-centred education, children become active participants in the teaching- learning process. They receive ample opportunities for active learning, social nteraction, problem solving and creative work in the classroom†, says Prof. Lohithakshan. Caters for individual differences Child-centred education caters for individual differences. Psychology and experience tells us that children differ in their innate capacities. So, child-centred education compels the teacher to plan his educational methods to suit individual differences. This means, a teacher cannot employ a particular method without taking into c onsideration the n s and requirements ot children.Child's balanced development Child-centred education leads to balanced development of the child's potentialities and his personality. This results from satisfaction of basic needs of children. Summing up: To sum up, the concept of child-centred education is â€Å"based on the assumption that individual's life is self-contained and self- sufficient . That the individual is the end and not the means. According to this view, social institutions exist only to make the individual life better, richer and happier. † Child-centred education fulfils this mission.

Touching the Void: Moitivational Theories

Touching the Void is an inspiring story about the power of the human will. To my surprise, the film left me emotionally spent as it touched on the issues of friendship, mortality and survival. I am sure many of my classmates will agree that it is an amazing story. But, for me, the thing that makes it truly inspirational is the way that Joe never gave up. In this brief paper I intend to show how Self Determination and Goal Setting theory influenced Joe’s inspiring story of survival. Self Determination Theory Self-Determination Theory draws from the research that people are inherently active organisms that strive for positive interactions with the environment (Class Lecture, February 3rd 2011). The theory suggests that people have three psychological needs that must be satisfied to initiate and regulate everyday behaviour. In addition, the theory also specifies that satisfaction of these needs also enhances intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985b, as cited in Reeve 2008). Intrinsic motivation is self-directed process which leads to more interest based behaviour rather than behaviour based on external rewards (Deci & Ryan, 1985b, as cited in Reeve 2008). The first psychological need is to feel a sense of autonomy in performing an activity. Autonomous behaviour involves having an internal locus of control and freedom to determine own behaviour. Autonomy is increased by having a choice, flexibility and opportunities for self direction (Reeve & Jang, 2006, as cited in Reeve 2008). The second need is having a sense of relatedness. This can be achieved by having close relationships with people who care about you (Baumeister & Leary, 1995, as cited in Reeve 2008). The third fundamental need is to perceive competence in relation to an activity. Competence is increased by engaging in activities that facilate optimal challenge and provides effective feedback (Deci & Ryan, 1985b, as cited in Reeve 2008). Self Determination theory provides us with a very applicable framework to understand Joe’s behaviour during his fight to stay alive. As noted by Professor Nisbet in class, intrinsic motivation is generally inherent in people and, can flourish out of people’s need for autonomy, relatedness and competence. There are many benefits an individual can attain by embracing intrinsic motivation. One of these benefits is the importance of persistence on a challenging task (Deci & Ryan, 1985b, as cited in Reeve 2008). There are numerous occasions during the film which persistence on a task is evident. Immediately after Joe breaks his leg, it obvious the persistence level of both climbers begins to escalate. Although both men know that a broken leg during a mountain ascent is likely fatal, they still persistent and work toward the goals of reaching the bottom. Joe is in excruciating pain but he continues on simply because there are no other options. There comes a point in the film where Joe is alone, and he continues to fight even though his hope of survival is slipping. Joe describes a constant â€Å"voice† in his head that urges him to â€Å"keep going†. I believe that Joe’s inner voice represents his continued persistence and determination to survive. It is clear that Joe’s high level of persistence allowed him to push him forward when he felt like giving up. Goal Setting Theory Goal setting theory is based on the idea that specific, difficult goals lead to higher task performance than do easy goals (Locke & Latham, 1990; Mento, Steel & Karren, 1987; Tubbs, 1986, as cited in Reeve 2008). Before difficult and specific goals can raise performance, the concept of goal acceptance must take place within an individual. In general, the individual must decide either to accept or reject the goal. If the goal is both accepted, it will enhance performance and facilitate goal commitment (Erez & Kanfer, 1983, as cited in Reeve 2008). In addition, Because goals refer to a future ideal state, setting goals may uncover discrepancy between a present and ideal state. This mismatch between present and ideal state will motivate an individual to achieve an ideal state and modify an ineffective plan if necessary. (Campion & Lord, 1982, as cited in Reeve 2008). Joe’s survival story is a testament to how to effective goal setting can be. With no food, no water frostbitten fingers, and a shattered leg Joe comes to the conclusion that if he wants to survive he must â€Å"set definite targets† for himself. Faced with an enormous task, Joe consistently sets small specific, attainable goals to increase the chances of his survival. For example, Joe would challenge himself to crawl to a particular rock within twenty minutes. When he got there, he set himself another goal, and then another. This is how Joes managed to mentally deal with the seemingly impossible task of getting to the bottom of the mountain. In summary, Touching the Void is an astonishing story of determination and persistence and it probably says more to me about goal-setting than anything else I have ever watched. By focusing on Joe’s 3 psychological needs and goal setting motives, we have learned much about the reasons why Joe never gave up. Although it may seem unrealistic to compare how Joe survived a life and death ordeal to our ordinary lives, extreme stories like this help us understand what drives motivational behaviours in everyday situations.

Consumerism in America

Consumerism is assumed to be the basic pattern for the modern lifestyle in the USA. Some researchers even compare it with a kind of belief. It is essential to explore the nature of this phenomenon, including its development and the contemporary situation. In addition, it is useful to give a precise definition. Eventually, its consequences and effects are to be put under analysis.Consumerism is multifaceted, resulting in a significant influence on a variety of American life aspects. It is sure to have effects on a particular individual as well as on society as an entity. The â€Å"ideologists† of consumerism state that its principles are highly beneficial for consumers. However, nowadays, the majority of literature dedicated to disclosing the peculiarities of consumerism tends to incline to recognizing the preferably negative character of consumerism consequences for economy, social ethics and even environment etc.Though, the essence of the effects, especially, whether they are adverse or positive, needs a deep exploration. In America it seems that we are driven by the need to have more could this need to have more be fueled by something other than our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as mentioned in the constitution or, could this need be socially and, commercially driven.Consumerism developed within certain conditions, predetermining the inevitable appearing of such a phenomenon. The Industrial Revolution of the 1800s shifted the way of the economic history. For the very first time, it allowed products to be available in previously impossible huge quantities. Not to mention the fact that the increase in production in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century resulted in growing markets. This meant expanding the consuming class far beyond the middle and upper classes and to include the working classes (Beder, 2004). The population rates grow only three times between 1860 and 1920 while the production increased by 12   to 14 times (Beder, 2004).The major industrial facilities tried to go with the times. That was the reason that back in 1910, Henry Ford instituted the â€Å"line production system† in his Highland Park, Michigan plant (Chandler, 1976). In spite of the innovation being in particular ways relatively unsophisticated, that was the moment of transformation of the U.S. capacity to produce (Ewen, 1976). In addition, the high level of products availability can be easily explained by rapid cost rate decrease. Moreover, the unrestricted access naturally resulted in the flourishing of the Mass Consumption era (â€Å"History of American Consumerism†).The mechanisms of mass production determined the need for markets to become more dynamic. These dynamic changes had to include various aspects. Firstly, they needed to grow horizontally, meaning nationally, secondly, vertically (expanding into such social classes that were not previously among consumers), and, eventually, ideologi cally (Ewen, 1976). The population was forced to be habituated to give a response to the newly developed demands of productive machinery. The researchers emphasize that it was even a nationwide systematic plan aiming at providing the wide masses with more buying power (Ewen, 1976).As the result, the system of consumer production was freely growing. The mass manufacturer could not depend exclusively upon an elite market in order to respond to the productive capacity. Therefore, the products' mass producer was forced to take into consideration the whole United States, ensuring the competitiveness with the other manufacturers by producing enough goods quantity for reducing the cost to the sufficient rate (Ewen, 1976).Nevertheless, the philosophy of consumerism has undergone a number of changes. It was imposed that people are almost obliged to obtain not only necessary goods, but also pay special attention to the other factors. For instance, new model of a particular product has been co nsidered to be more efficient, meaning the need for purchasing the latest configuration (â€Å"History of American consumerism†). Besides, the further changes touched the other criterion as people started buying newer models based on considerations about appearance. Nowadays, the companies tend to seek for increasingly sophisticated tricks in order to encourage consumers to get rid  of the old product and buy the new one instead (â€Å"History of American consumerism†).According to Scott, human nature is more complex to control than a material one (Ewen, 1976). The adequate approach to distribution was and still is (to the significant extend) a guarantee for high level of efficiency and profitability. Therefore, it was a necessity to create an ideological link narrowing the prejudices and covering the traditional social gaps in needs, class, taste or region. Advertising has become an inherent part of mass distribution within industries. Marketing professionals use ad vertisements in order to encourage, or even force people to strive to purchasing certain goods, starting with small, relatively cheap items and ending with luxurious houses and cars.Advertising is a legal tool for manipulating the consciousness of consumers. The camp of advertisement supporters claim that it plays a positive role by providing people with essential information. Though, such statement is quite controversial. Advertising along with mass media industry in general have made a considerable contribution into developing certain rules or norms of consumption within the American society. Such norms depict the sufficient for high standard of living level of consumption.The influence of consumerism concept is in the progress of constant increasing and expanding. The parallels with religious beliefs might be quite reasonable within analyzing the issue. Consumerism has become an inherent part of the contemporary lifestyle. It is worth noticing that alike as the belief consumerism is ephemeral and intangible, still people can perceive its effects in everyday life. It is arguably, but it might be referred as the religion of 20th and 21st centuries (Miles, 1998). To support this statement, Miles emphasizes that it apparently enters the day-to-day life, structuring everyday experience (1998, p.1). Moreover, it is rapidly altering the forms and reasserting the influences in the new spheres (Miles, 1998).Consumerism is the concept depicting the belief that happiness and well-being  depends to a significant degree of personal consumption. Basically, it means that purchasing certain material goods is likely to increase the level of satisfaction with life. The idea includes several layers: firstly, well-being depends on the standard of living, secondly that the key satisfaction in life is centered in consumption and possession of material goods benefit. â€Å"Consuming† as an activity has become one of the most valuable and worth spending time and resources . The principles of consumerist society are developing around the idea of the increasing necessity to consume.This statement can be easily paraphrased into an elementary formula: the more you consume, the better it is for you. To add to the point, the United States is the highly developed country, meaning that the consumerist society evolved to the hyper-consumerist society. The supporting facts are sure to be found in everyday life. The Americans are mostly obsessed with the idea of buying things beyond their basic needs. Certain elements of luxury have gained the perception of necessary for happiness and sufficient standard of life. Moreover, cities are transformed into the centers of â€Å"consumerism religion†. Shopping malls provide people with the enormous quantity of mostly useless goods.The lifestyle dictated by the consumerism concept brings about a variety of adverse effects. It is reasonable to start with the consequences for an individual. Consumerism might dislod ge more valuable thing from the life of Americans. People are mostly concentrated on owning money in order to satisfy the needs imposed by advertisement, mass media industry and the consumerist society in general. The ethical and spiritual part of life, along with socializing might draw back. Moreover, the consumerist society norms might be considered as those restricting the individual freedom to a significant degree. The proclaimed standards engage in bringing to life particular patterns associated with well-being and happiness of the people within a certain framework.In addition, more global long-term consequences refer to economical, social and environmental spheres. For example, environmental sustainability is put under jeopardy as the consumerism stimulates people to buy even bigger quantity of new goods, get rid of  another enormous quantity, meaning that the nature might not be capable of overcoming the severe effects of consumerist society lifestyle. Not to mention the fa ct that manufacturing of certain products needs the nonrenewable natural resources utilizing. The economical layer is also essential as the credit cards and loans, providing the members of consumerist society with an ability to keep up with the prescribed standards, contributed to the development of the economical crisis and credit crunch.Eventually, the conducted research has shown that consumerism is not as beneficial as the mass media industry tends to depict it. Consumerism might be reduced to the concept that constant and increasing consumption of goods is a guarantee for happiness and well-being. The development of such a concept was inevitable due to the economical conditions that started with the Industrial Revolution. The manufacturers are interested in profit growth, it results in a variety and diversity of marketing tricks aimed at stimulating the buyers will and power to consume. Though, the consumerist society provoked the adverse effects of individual and global charac ter.

Hamburger †Nutrition Essay

Do you like to eat fast food Nowdays people’s lives are becoming faster and faster. Because of a tight schedule, many people decide to eat fast food. Fast food is a western food. Fast food refers to any poor nutrition food that is easily prepared. Fast food may include chips, hot pies, sandwiches, burgers, kebabs, pizzas, soups, and salads. It also includes drinks, for instance, milkshakes, and soft drinks. Fast food has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages of fast food are that fast food is cheap, time saving, and quick. Fast Food Saves Time. People can order fast food on their way to or from work, without ever leaving their car, which is drive thru. Fast food is also designed to come in small packaging, So that people can consume it while traveling. Light on the Wallet Its means Eating fast food can save a lot of money for large families, students and anyone else looking to eat out without breaking the bank. Many fast food chains offer discount menus with foods costing. Customers also avoid having to leave a tip when they choose a fast food establishment over a typical restaurant. Easy to find place Some of the most popular fast food chains include McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dunkin’ Donuts, and many more. Despite of having many advantages, fast food has many disadvantages including obesity and different kinds of diseases. Obesity Extra calories can lead to being overweight or obese. As we know children nowadays like to eat fast food. So the percentages of obesity among children increase from year to year. With obesity come other problems like high blood pressure, the increasing of cholesterol and other related diseases of the heart that can lead to heart attack and many more serious diseases. Fast food has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages are that it is easy, quick, and inexpensive. On the other hand, some of the disadvantages are that it causes obesity and different kinds of diseases. Eating fast food is like playing with our health and if we lose our health neither the money, nor the time can get it back.

A Study of Change Management in Coca Cola

A Study of Change Management in Coca Cola Introduction According to a Greek philosopher Heraclitus â€Å"there is nothing permanent than change†. He believed that change is the core of universe. This quote describes the importance of managing change in human as well as organizational life. A structured approach to transfer organization, its people and processes from current state to a desired future state is called change management. This process gives employees the ability to accept changes in the existing environment of the business. Change can be of different type for example, change in technology, operations or strategies etc. company needs to implement individual strategies to cope with each type of change. Organizations need to change and adopt dynamic survival strategies to stay alive in uncertain political, social and economic environment (Hiatt and Creasy, 2003). All environmental factors present in the nature experience change on continuous basis. Human nature resists change, so managing that resistance req uires well planned change management strategies. This report is aimed at describing the importance of change management for organization its motives and objectives, change management processes, how company can involve all the stakeholders for successful implantation of change management and the strategies that an organization can adopt to implement the successful change. Reasons for adopting change Organizations need change for the following reasons: To respond to the rapidly changing environment To improve the overall performance of the company To rapidly respond to the customers’ demands To improve the effectiveness and efficiency To increase the employee performance To create the best practices inside the organization and setting standards for the industry To improve profitability and return on overall investment Change management is needed for organizational survival. So the company should adopt to change management techniques in order to maintain its worth in the industr y. Importance of change management In a study 327 project managers had responded to the question that â€Å"if you had a chance to do it again, what would you do differently?† Most of them responded that we will implement an effective change management program planned way before starting the project. This study highlights the importance of change management in an organizational perspective. Change management moderates the risks that can cause failure (Jeff and Creasey, 2003). The change management process Change management is being studied by the philosophers, researchers and business experts for many years. A number of change management theories, approaches and philosophies are developed by psychologists and management professionals to implement successful change in the organization (Paton and MacCalman, 2008). There are three phases of change management i.e. preparing for change, managing change and reinforcing change. Preparation for change phase includes assessment of cha nge capabilities and capacity and developing a strategy that fit to those capabilities. Second phase i.e. â€Å"managing change† phase includes processes like planning and implementation of strategies made in the first phase. Last phase which is the reinforcement of change includes the processes like collection and analyzing of feedback data, finding out gaps and coping with determined degree of resistance from inside and outside the organization and taking corrective actions to successfully conclude the change management process (change management learning center, 1996-2011).