A Martian

A Martian Sends a Postcard Home Craig Raine, 1979 Caxtons are mechanical birds with many wings and some are treasured for their markings– they cause the eyes to melt or the body to shriek without pain. I have never seen one fly, but sometimes they perch on the hand. Mist is when the sky is tired of flight and rests its soft machine on the ground: then the world is dim and bookish like engravings under tissue paper. Rain is when the earth is television. It has the properites of making colours darker. Model T is a room with the lock inside — key is turned to free the world for movement, so quick there is a film to watch for anything missed. But time is tied to the wrist or kept in a box, ticking with impatience. In homes, a haunted apparatus sleeps, that snores when you pick it up. If the ghost cries, they carry it to their lips and soothe it to sleep with sounds. And yet, they wake it up deliberately, by tickling with a finger. Only the young are allowed to suffer openly . Adults go to a punishment room with water but nothing to eat. They lock the door and suffer the noises alone. No one is exempt nd everyone's pain has a different smell. At night, when all the colours die, they hide in pairs and read about themselves — in colour, with their eyelids shut. A Martian Sends a Postcard Home –  Analysis Posted on April 6, 2011 by vincentmli The poem A Martian Sends a Postcard Home by Craig Raine depicts exactly what the title says: a  Martian  sending a postcard home. However, we must take into consideration that the Martian is actually on Earth, sending a postcard back to his own home; therefore the descriptions of our everyday objects are depicted so bizarrely.Every detail alludes to items as well as actions seen on Earth. In the poem Raine illustrates several things from the Martian’s perspective: a book, fog, car, clock, telephone, bathroom, and dream. The author applies a very unique technique in describing all these thing s, he breaks down each object into  unrecognisable  parts and compares them to something similar. A book is illustrated and compared to a mechanical bird with many wings. The flapping wings of a bird imitates the turning pages of a book.Raine also says â€Å"some are treasured for their markings† referring to that fact that some books are cherished by individuals because of their â€Å"markings†, the words written in them. One final things the author does to compare a book to a bird is to remove certain qualities of a bird that don’t fit in the description of a book, such as flight, but also emphasize a similarity; a book sitting compared to a bird perching on someone’s hand. This kind of dismantling of objects and  analysing  them in a new perspective is done for every object Raine depicts.Another excellent example of this would be the author’s depiction of a car. The author says, â€Å"Model T is a room   with a lock inside†, fro m an outside look, a car is nothing more than an enclosed space, exactly what a room is. Raine removes features of a room that don’t apply to a car, a room doesn’t lock from the inside but a car does. The ending of the poem is the most intriguing since it doesn’t depict anything tangible but rather the concept of dreaming or the action of sleeping. Raine states that â€Å"at night when all colours die, they hide in pairs and read about themselves — in colour, with their eyelids shut†.It is very clear in these last stanza’s Raine is illustrating a scene where two people are sleeping. The night is dark and no colour can be seen; but in our dreams, where we learn or â€Å"read† about ourselves, we see in colour. This is the only thing that the author doesn’t compare to another object but simply  analyses  what dreaming truly is, using the simplest of descriptions. | | | | | | | | | | |– Craig Raine |A poem I like becaus e of its way of startling us into new ways of looking at things – which is something I feel is very basic to poetry. Startling similes is Craig Raine's specialty, and this poem in particular displays his skill to such virtuoso effect that it lead to a new school of so-called â€Å"Martian† poetry. But I think that Raine is participating in a very ancient poetic ancient tradition. If you look at the poem as a series of riddles to be deciphered by the reader, then that takes us back centuries to the riddle poems in Anglo Saxon literature.Anyway, have fun decoding the images. Poem Summary Lines 1-6 Based on the first six lines, we understand that the poem will be a description of human culture seen through the eyes of a Martian. The speaker uses the word â€Å"Caxtons† to refer to books. Englishman William Caxton, who lived during the fifteenth century, was the first person to print books in English. In these lines, the Martian compares books to birds. Like birds, books have wings (pages), and, like birds, they are marked in ways that give them value.Birds can be distinguished by their color(s), books by the words they contain. Because the speaker does not know the words for â€Å"cry† or â€Å"laugh,† he says that books can â€Å"cause the eyes to melt / or the body to shriek without pain,† referring to humans’ emotional response when they read books. In lines 5 and 6, the speaker returns again to the comparison of books to birds, focusing on the way in which humans frequently hold books. To the Martian, a book in a person’s hands looks like a bird perching. Lines 7-10 Again, a comparison is made between a manufactured item and a natural thing.By saying that â€Å"Mist is when the sky is tired of flight,† the speaker is suggesting that the sky is like a vessel of some sort, presumably a flying saucer or a spaceship. It is often difficult to see the sky when the ground is shrouded in fog, hence the id ea that the sky is resting itself on the ground. In lines 9 and 10, the speaker returns to the image of the book. We can understand this comparison if we see the outlines of things in the world—e. g. , buildings, trees, mountains, etc. —as looking like words, or â€Å"engravings under tissue paper. This is a complicated image to visualize, but it deepens our own understanding of how mysterious the earth could be to someone who has never experienced it before. Combined with some of the other descriptions of the natural world, this image, in effect, â€Å"de-naturalizes† nature for the reader. Lines 11-12 There are several ways to read these lines. One way is to think of rain as being like a machine, in this case television. Like television, rain makes â€Å"colours darker† by shrouding our view of what is really there. This reading also raises the question of what â€Å"is† really there, suggesting that reality itself s colored by the cultural lens es one brings to the act of perception. Another way of reading these lines is to think, literally, of the static that frequently appears on television sets. We often refer to such static as rain or snow. Lines 13-16 A Model T is an automobile. Not knowing the words for the parts of a car, the speaker instead refers to it as â€Å"a room† (the seats and the space inside the car) â€Å"with the lock inside† (the ignition into which the key fits). After the car is started, it moves. The Martian compares the experience of seeing things go by, to â€Å"free[ing] the world / for movement †¦ The â€Å"film† is the rearview mirror. We can see †¦ â€Å"A Martian Sends a Postcard Home† by Craig Raine Upon first read, Craig Raine's â€Å"A Martian Sends A Postcard Home†, that was written in 1979, may seem to be a poem about random happenings on Earth. However, while reading the poem in depth and interpreting the poem it can be read as a Martian tha t was unfamiliar with Earth and its culture. This poem is filled with metaphors. In Craig Raine's poem â€Å"A Martian Sends A Postcard Home† the very literal in essence it is a Martian writing to his people back home.The theme of difference is represented by the Martians lack of the proper words and terms to describe everyday things. The Martian in the poem does this because he has a conceptual viewpoint. The first time we see a metaphor is in the first line, â€Å"Caxtons are mechanical birds with many wings. † (1) I interpreted this as somebody must have pointed at a book and called it a Claxton, or just referred to it as a Claxton, but the Martian might have thought it was a mechanical bird, seeing how an open book does resemble a bird with many wings.The Martian also notices that some books or â€Å"mechanical birds† are more important than others because of what is inside. In the next stanza the Martian says books â€Å"cause the eyes to melt,† (3) probably referring to people when they cry as they are reading. The next line in that stanza shows that at times the people yell or scream because of the books and what they are reading. In stanza three the Martian has never seen a â€Å"mechanical bird† fly but he has seen them perched on hands before. Someone could have construed this stanza as, he never saw a book fly, but he does see them being held by people in their hands.The†¦ Throughout Craig Raine's seventeen-stanza poem several functional devices become apparent with defamiliarisation being the most prominent. Raine also utilises alienation to enable the audience to observe Earth and human behaviour from a Martian's â€Å"alien† point of view. Marxist theories aid in the interpretation of this poem in that Raine suggests that the printing presses rule the world- or at least its censorship. Freudian literary theories also come in useful when analysing â€Å"A Martian Sends a Postcard Home† especial ly with the last two stanzas being about the metaphysical world of dreams.Raine's unusual world hypothetically assumes a future state, where Martians do exist to the extent that they have landed on Earth and are able to have mail delivered back to their home planet giving the poem a somewhat farcical nature . However this poem makes one of its functions very clear; it raises the question of are we alone in the universe straight to the forefront of our minds for a fresh examination. The structure of â€Å"A Martian Sends A Postcard Back Home† is very much like a postcard in itself, only this is a confused postcard. Postcards rarely require a response however, this one certainly does in the form of clarification.The Martian gets confused with the difference between a baby and a telephone, (st10-12), emphasising the confusion between technology and the natural instigated in stanza one, with â€Å"Caxtons† being â€Å"mechanical bird[s]†, meaning newspapers and book s. The suggestion of literature controlling our emotions brought forth in the early stages of the poem introduces Marxist theory into the poem; ideology in modern capitalist societies suggests that whoever owns the publishing houses controls cultural production, and therefore the strength of capitalism itself .Also reinforcing Marxist theories throughout the poem is the fact that the poem is stereotypical of all human†¦ Poem Analysis from Bob :. â€Å"A Martian Sends a Postcard Home† is a poem with seventeen stanzas. All of the stanzas have two lines. At first the title of this poem was kind of tricky for me because it made me think that it was about an actual Martian. It took me a while to figure out that he was talking about things that happen in everyday life in earth. Basically something a Martian would send home if he was on a vacation to earth is what the poem focuses on.Analysis Raine uses several riddles in this poem to show what the Martian sees when he comes to earth. He does a very good job in doing this. For example, the first stanza of the poem is talking about a book. Caxton was the first English printer of books. Mechanical birds with wings refers to the pages in a book. By saying they are treasured for their markings means that if a person enjoys reading a book they will treasure it. Raine also refers to a book in the next four lines.Stanza six comes out straight forward and lets us realize that Raine is talking about fog. It uses words such as clouds. By using context clues we understand the true interpretation. When Raine says â€Å"rain is when the earth is television† he means that the TV is snowy. This is a very good metaphor for rain because it does kind of make the TV look like it is raining. The seventh and eighth stanzas are talking about a car. This is simple as Raine refers to â€Å"Model T. † Raine gives good examples of the car in a Martiani s eyes.For instance, â€Å"Model T is a room with the locks insi de. † I like this line a lot because I have never seen a car in this way before. Raine says it is a room because you go inside of the car and you are away from the outside world. You need a key to turn the car on and off and to lock the car. In this next stanza Raine did a great job of describing a watch or clock. â€Å"Ticking with impatience† is right of the button. That is all a watch and clock do is tick for twenty four hours a day. Stanza ten, eleven, and twelve are on the subject of a telephone.All the phone is what Raine writes in this poem. It does not do anything until you pick it up and that is what Raine is saying. The cries of the ghost is when it rings. Then you â€Å"talk to it†, or answer it and when you are finished â€Å"put it back to sleep† or hang it up. Yes, we do â€Å"deliberately wake it and tickle it with a finger† when we answer it or call someone else. A â€Å"punishment room with just water† is a bathroom. I just l ove these next three stanzas because I love the bathroom. I just doni t think of it as a â€Å"punishment room. † When Raine writes â€Å"only the young are allowed to suffer openly† he is talking about a baby getting their diapers changed in the open. Yet adults have to go to the bathroom and suffer our pain alone. Raine had exceptional use of metaphors to describe the bathroom. The last two stanzas are about sleeping and dreaming. â€Å"When the colours die† is when we go to bed. â€Å"Reading about ourselves with our eyelids shut† is basically saying we are dreaming of ourselves. Raine put this at a good spot in the poem because the end of the poem symbolizes the end of the day.

Discretion in the Criminal Justice System Essay

Shifting the amount of discretion within our justice system could be for better or worse, but why fix something that’s not broken? Although most police officers use discretion, â€Å"Many police officers (and whole departments) prefer to focus on the justice aspects of police work: getting offenders off the streets, responding to emergencies, scoring big drug busts, and generally ‘catching the bad guys. ‘† (Fuller, J. R. Pg. 6. ) No matter how much discretion you give an officer, it’s ultimately their choice to use it. Although it is common throughout the criminal justice system, some authoritative figures don’t use discretion in a way to guide punishments; they stay in accordance with established guidelines. In my opinion, depending on the severity of the crime discretion should or should not be used. For example, discretion should be used for a first time offender for speeding but should not be used for a first time offender of rape. â€Å"The police are typically the first contact that young victims and delinquents have with the juvenile justice system. As with adults, law enforcement serves as the gatekeeper to the justice system. † (Fuller, J. R. Pg 17. ) It is extremely important for a police officer to make the decision of introducing a juvenile to the justice system. The responsibility for authorities to use discretion is crucial for a juvenile’s future. With adults, less discretion could be used because they have a greater sense of morals. In today’s society I have personally seen adults expect leniency just because, for example, they have a police organization bumper sticker. Enforcing the law for adults who are habitual offenders is necessary to uphold order. One can only push society and the law so far; at some point you must face the consequences. As we talked about in class, the 3-strike rule is a fair method of deciding who should be held accountable. â€Å"Three major studies were commissioned to examine police practices in detail and to update the 1931 Wickersham commission report (National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, 1971). These include the report of the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (1967) entitled The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society (1967), a report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (1968), and a report of the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (1973). Each of these commissions was a major undertaking by a large number of scholars and practitioners who focused on solving some of the problems in both policing and the criminal justice system as a whole. The commission reports include multiple proposals to tighten the controls over police discretion, including the use and abuse of force. † (Alpert, Dunham. Pg. 11. ) Whether for good or bad; laws shape citizen’s views of beliefs, actions and character. Unfortunately not all systems of morality and discretion are used properly. Discretion should be used in moderation and to preserve order in society, not used in excessive amounts to threaten the law’s purpose. In summary, I feel discretion is a necessity. With our overcrowded jails, police and judges need to use their training, insight and experience to keep the public safe from individuals that have no regard for the law. Bibliography * Alpert, Geoffrey P. ; Dunham, Roger G†¦ Understanding Police Use of Force: Officers, Suspects, and Reciprocity. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2004. p 11. * Hagan, F. (2011). Ch 1. Essentials of Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology (pp. 1-45). New York, New York: Prentice Hall, 3rd Edition. * Fuller, J. R. (2008). Juvenile Delinquency – Mainstream and Crosscurrents. New York, New York: Prentice Hall, 1st edition. * Owen, S. S. (2012). Foundations of criminal justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

American culture race and representation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

American culture race and representation - Essay Example However, the country is also commonly referred to as a ‘melting pot’ because of its habit of mixing people together who are of all nationalities and races. This concept is usually thought of when one is thinking of people from other nations who have come to America voluntarily, seeking a better lifestyle for themselves and their children. This mixing of people and cultures has not always been as easy or as smooth as it sounds, though. The blending of cultures implied in the phrase melting pot has often not been complete as immigrants of a given nation tended to settle in communities of their own kind and the best properties always seemed to go to the whites. It many instances, the mixing has involved a great deal of violence as these various communities battled for their rights to live the way they saw fit. Mixing has also often not been voluntary on either side. An investigation into the history of African Americans on this continent reveals some of heat that has occasi onally caused America’s ‘melting pot’ to boil and ultimately bring about a more even blending. In the initial phase of slavery in the New World (1519-1580), colonies were being formed on both the North and South American continents and the trade of slaves was somewhat limited. From 1580 to 1650, the slave trade from Africa soared because of massive Native American deaths due to disease, the growth of the economy in the colonies and the unification of the Portuguese and Spanish governments (Palmer, 1976). The early era of colonization in the New World was a time of enormous changes as â€Å"the native Indian populations were decimated by disease and increasingly dominated by the Spanish social and economic structure† (Meyer, 2003). However, slavery declined steadily during the years between 1650 and 1827. â€Å"From New England to Virginia to Jamaica, the English planters in seventeenth-century America developed the habit of

Outsourcing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Outsourcing - Term Paper Example e would be the hotel industry where they would include managing of the premise, catering, asset management, landscaping, and supplying the kitchen with the items required. Therefore, both of these industries have available options that an outsourced team may find relevance in as a way of promoting concerted efforts on the core activities for a business entity. Subsequently, outsourcing as a business process becomes the analyzing of the enterprise processes in a business firm to ascertain whether business process should be in house or obtained from the outside. This is because many business entities involved in either service or the manufacturing sectors of the economy have disengaged from activities that attract dismal profits for their firms. With this, many businesses involved in service delivery have opted to outsource most of their activities that range from payment collection, customer service and call answering, and billing services among a list of others. On the other hand, th e outsourcing aspect has been visible in the information technology departments within business firms as the number of IT professionals in the market has risen over time. In essence, the rapid transformation aspects that the information technology tends to experience makes it expensive for a business company to keep up. This is because of the regular trainings that the business would have to undertake to ensure that their IT department staff stays in line with the advancements. Therefore, this has resulted in many companies adopting outsourcing aspects that is relatively cheaper and essential in the continued running of a business. Certain areas within a company’s IT department have influenced companies to engage the services of professionals from the outside such computer software and... Outsourcing in business management refers to an arrangement in which an outsider company undertakes service provision that the company would have provided in house. In recent times, the outsourcing trend has become common practice in business management. The aspect of outsourcing helps in the improvement of business relations with suppliers. On the contrary, outsourcing serves as a contributor to enhanced company performance as it allows a company to focus on its competencies. The establishment of the outsourcing theory brought about significant changes to the management concept as it sought to enrich product provision and development. With these ideas in mind, this essay will delve on principles of outsourcing in management and activities that this aspect of business management oversees within a business environment. The increased cost of operations experienced by manufactures has made them adopt drastic measures that would ensure that their profit generations remain high despite th e high costs of production. Therefore, processing exports refer to the products manufactured through the process of international outsourcing by use of imported inputs. International outsourcing has generated interest for many researchers because of the relation between the choice of organizational structure and trading activities at the local and the international levels. Their subject of interest may also be on the factors that may influence a business entity to engage international outsourcing both on the theoretical and practical basis.

Trust and Power within Business Network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trust and Power within Business Network - Essay Example It is critical and strategic issue which needs to be dealt very carefully, this element of trust is vital in all kinds of relationships whether it is within the business or with the external stakeholders. It is very hard to make this trust however one mistake can hurt the reputation very badly and create serious consequences for the future of the business. Power is the acquisition of assets and its control which gives dominance to a party over the other. It is to have the control and ability to influence the decision of the other party. Power has its own benefits and draw backs within a business network. Too much or less of it has its own effects. However it has been seen that where there is trust there is less likelihood of power causing any harm to the social or business network (Group H.R., 2000). When we talk about long term success of the business then this success is dependent on the development of positive networks in the industry. Business networks are an opportunity for the owners of the business and the team of employees to improve themselves continuously. They are a collection of companies linked through agreements for business purposes who work together to get over all benefits for the members in doing so they need to make business dealings and work together and invest and divest money Thinking Made Easy, p21, 2009). A company in the business network tends to learn from one another's mistakes and successes and based on that they derive solutions to their own problems. Apart from the business perspective networking helps in social activities and events. It leads to strong bonds and close relationships with the business partner which is good for the business in the long term (Daft, p110, 2001). The relationship must be enduring and permanent in nature. Trust is by all means the most critical and significant factor in enhancing the relationship and strengthening it. This development of trust comes with the passage of time and honesty in business. It may take a long time period to develop but once it is lost one can end up loosing the chances of success of further business with any particular group or team. Countries all around the world have realized the importance of business networking and the role of relationship building, trust and power within a network. Therefore they have been working on this, such as the Australian has developed a Business Network Program (BNP) for the promotion of networks in Australia. The government has granted $24 million for this in order to increase the competitiveness and growth of SMEs (Australian Government business Initiative, 2009). Trust is a valuable asset for a business and leads to competitive advantage over the rival businesses. Where there is trust then more people would like to work with you. It will lead to increased sales, profits and turnover for the business. Trust gives more power to the business and enhances its market position. Trust facilitates the learning process within a network and moderates the effects of power and makes a positive continuation to the network as a whole. In times of global crises a lot of firms are going through losses but in order to counter the current state of the economy businesses do not stop their production. They operate on debt basis and they are able to get the raw

Relevancy of Effective Personal Health Care Communication Term Paper

Relevancy of Effective Personal Health Care Communication - Term Paper Example It has been noticed that the cases of patient complaints are likely to be lowered when effective communication activities are maintained between the service providers and the patients. It facilitates them to identify the problems faced by the patients and assists them in solving problems in a better way. Therefore, it can be stated that effective communication enhances the overall quality of care as well as the services provided by the several caregivers to the patients, and improves the satisfaction level of patients (BA & OO, 2012). Healthcare communications have a significant influence on the health outcome of individuals. It facilitates the individuals to get aware of the health hazards that they might face, and also educates them about the preventive measures which should be taken in order to minimize as well as eliminate the chances of health problems to occur. Healthcare communications provide various means for the individuals to be healthy by providing adequate knowledge to the individuals about the nutritional necessity of human body and facilitate them to lead a healthy life. This type of communication activities can also educate the individuals about the adverse effects of consuming alcohol and other such drugs. It aids individuals in minimizing the consumption of alcohol and other similar drugs. Furthermore, healthcare communications aid in improving quality of services rendered to the patient and also ensures safety of the patients (National Business Group on Health, 2012). Ineffective communications have several significant effects on health outcomes. Certain researches carried out during the period 1995 to 2005 have revealed the fact that ineffective communication has been the major cause in almost 66% percent of the medical miscalculations (Institute for Healthcare Communication, 2012). Furthermore, it has also been noticed that ineffective communication acted as a cause for physical and emotional injury to the patients.

CIPD ' understanding the organisations and the role of HR Essay

CIPD ' understanding the organisations and the role of HR - Essay Example Purpose and Goals The organizational goals are discussed below: The ABC Food Plaza will fulfill the needs and demand of customers through high quality food products. The employees of the organization will try to retain potential customers and target new customers through effective customer service. The organization will undertake sustainable business operation strategies in order to overcome several conflicts. Business priorities for 2014: 1) The organization will expand its outlets throughout the country in next three years to fulfill the market demand. 2) The organization will focus on business profitability in order to break even within three years of its business operations. Organizational chart of ABC Food Plaza The number of employees is 50 while company mainly targets the youth. The organizational chart is a sort of diagram that reveals the relation of a specific employee with another employee in an organization. This means the CEO or the director of the organization with all other employees of the departments such as strategy department, finance department, manufacture, Human resource, planning, operations and many others. In ABC Food Plaza, hierarchical organizational chart is followed in which, all sorts of plans and innovative ideas are given from the top-most authority. The same is presented in a graphical order as in the appendix. Impact of External Factors on Business Activities Political The government of the UAE is motivating the new entrepreneurs to start their business as it can help the country to reduce the challenges like increasing unemployment rate. Recently the government developed several policies for the fast food chains. Economical Global economic environment has been highly affected due to recent financial crisis and economic recession. People are trying to avoid the consumption of high priced products. Social Fast foods are quite popular among the people of UAE. Slowly and gradually, the demand for healthy food products is significa ntly increasing. Technological The organization is going to operate in a technologically developed country. The organization can get the access of advanced technology for the business purposes. Structure and Functions of the Organization The organization has board of directors, president and vice-president at the top of the structure. According to the decentralization structure, the managers of all the departments have the decision making authority. The organization has four functions, such as sales and marketing, operation, human resource and accounts. Impact of Different functions on performance of the Organization All the functions within the organization will work together in order to optimize the organizational performance. Effective strategy development of marketing managers and in-store operation activities will help ABC Food Plaza to meet the satisfaction level of the customers. Culture of the Organization The organization is following decentralizing structure. The organizat ion believes that effective and employee friendly organization culture can develop a conflict free workplace