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Analyzing Nella Larsens Novel Quicksand English Literature Essay

In the 1920s, figures such as W.E.B. DuBois and Alain Locke sought to define a new black identity that had appeared on the scene. They claimed that this “New Negro” imparted a distinctive and invaluable racial identity and culture to society and was proud of his or her race and heritage. However this is not the view suggested by Nella Larsen’s novel Quicksand. Larsen presents an indictment of this New Negro philosophy by showing Helga as a character who is ashamed and humiliated at being black. The protagonist, Helga Crane, struggles with her identity and throughout the novel attempts to dissociate herself her black identity. But Helga questioning her value is not limited to the workplace. As a mulatta, Helga is divided into two, especially for men: her light skin bestows respectability, and her blackness signifies hypersexuality (Davis). Her value to men oscillates accordingly. As James Vayle becomes increasingly assimilated to Naxos and its mission to serve primarily the white upper-class, his discomfort with her “racially” scandalous origins and “lack of acquiescence” (Larsen, 1147) with the Naxos machine grows, making her less than an ideal marriage partner. But he doesn’t break off his engagement with her, because he finds her “ancient [sexual] appeal” (Larsen, 1147) useful. Similarly, Robert Anderson insults her by incorrectly assuming that a respectable family background imparted to her “dignity and breeding” and “good stock” (Larsen, 1107), which makes her a valuable asset to Naxos, but once she proves an unsuitable “marriage” partner, he also treats her as a sexual object, in this case at Travenor’s party. Not surprisingly, she “savagely slap[s]” (Larsen, 1115) Anderson, which not only punishes him for making her feel “belittled and ridiculed” but also repays the symbolic slap she felt when devalued at the employment agency in Chicago. And, of course, she resists being objectified as a “decoration,” a “curio,” a “peacock” (Larsen, 1136) and fulfilling the sexual needs and narcissism of Axel Olsen. Indeed, Helga experiences Axel Olsen’s desire to possess her as akin to being reduced to chattel. She tells him, “I’m not for sale. Not to you. Not to any white man. I don’t at all care to be owned” (Larsen, 1137). His painting of her underscores how he replicates the racist fantasy about black women as jezebels or, as Helga puts it, “some disgusting sexual creature” (Larsen, 1138). Her refusal of his marriage proposal parallels her resignation from the college: both actions seek an escape from the stifling social roles defined for women, particularly black or mulatta women. At this point, Helga begins to truly hate her black identity and the stereotypes associated with being black. While she takes flight from debilitating relationships in Naxos, Chicago, Harlem, and Copenhagen, Helga does not escape the actualized mode of thinking integral to racism. Her conceptualization of her problems and their solutions replicates the ways society produced racial ideologies that took physical qualities–hair texture, skin coloring, skull size–as indicators of a human being’s economic function and market value. As Emmanuel Wallerstein puts it, “racism is that set of ideological statements combined with that set of social practices which have had the consequence of maintaining a high correlation of ethnicity and work-force allocation over time” (Wallerstein qtd. in Davis). Helga has internalized this transformation of an economic category–black labor value–into a metaphysical concept–black value. Simply put, for her, black means poor, enslaved, and despised and white means wealthy, free, and loved. Helga realizes that ever since childhood “she had wanted, not money, but the things which money could give, leisure, attention, beautiful surroundings. Things. Things. Things” (Larsen, 1126). This, once again, emphasizes Larsen’s protagonist’s shame in her blackness. Helga’s desire in life was “things” and the only way she can obtain these “things” is if she were white. Larsen portrays Helga as a woman who is embarrassed and humiliated by being black which directly contradicts Locke’s philosophy of the New Negro, who embraces his or her black identity and shows racial pride. Helga’s recurring sense of entrapment is certainly well founded, since the social quicksand into which she sinks is that of a Jim Crow America whose class, color, and gender lines extend from South to North. America was a hard and highly dangerous place for millions of black Americans during the era of Reconstruction. These conditions and their ideological justifications propel Helga to flee from the black working class but, just as importantly, from being associated with the black working class. By identifying with the white upper-class, she tries to break the signifying chain that links her to the black working class (Frazier qtd. in Scheper, 690). This is why she dislikes race talk among her Naxos colleagues, Harlem friends, and Copenhagen relatives and acquaintances. Before embarking for Copenhagen she thinks, “Why…should she be yoked to these despised black folk” (Larsen, 1128). Here it can be clearly seen that Helga does not possess any racial pride, but rather feels disgust towards it. And in Copenhagen, seduced by the wealth and attention she receives, Helga vows never to return to America. Shortly after she receives Anne’s letter announcing her marriage to Dr. Anderson, Helga muses on what would have became of her if she had never left Harlem and instead married Anderson herself. If she were to return to America, her fate would be that of “other Negroes [who] were allowed to be beggars only, of life, of happiness” (Larsen, 1133). Again, it can be seen that Helga tries to dissociate herself as much as possible from her fellow Negroes and her racial identity. Perhaps Helga’s most desperate attempt to free herself from the racial identity assigned by society is her marriage to a Southern reverend, Mr. Pleasant Green, whose name evokes a kind of utopian fantasy and the idea of marrying for money (Scheper, 685). The marriage is a way of finally consummating her sexual desires without feeling belittled or somehow beneath her husband (Scheper, 685). In other words, Helga hides herself in his Southern community as a way to escape the society who made her feel black and poor. Her attempt to identify with Green and his flock is, in essence, motivated by the same racist attitudes as her identification with the white upper-class: her desire not to be perceived by people as the inferior black other. However, Helga’s marriage to Green does not overcome her internalized racism. Sex with this man only temporarily gives her an “anaesthetic satisfaction for her senses” (Larsen, 1157). Before long her fear of being identified with the black working class reasserts itself in her attempt to conceal the poverty, class status, and racialization of black women, especially when she counsels the other women not to wear the racially and class-coded sunbonnets or aprons on Sundays because, one can assume, they would look like domestics–too conventionally black. Not surprisingly, her contempt for the black working class grows when she fails to uplift her neighbors and she herself becomes increasingly “proletarianized” (Scheper, 693). She must perform more and more domestic work in exchange for her sexual satisfaction, especially when she has children. Using Larsen’s own metaphor, Helga comes to view the labor cost of having a sex life as an unequal exchange, since she must pay dearly with her body–the double labor of producing children and maintaining a well-kept home. This sense of paying too much, a repetition of her observation on the novel’s first page that she “gave willingly and unsparingly of herself with no apparent return” (Larsen, 1087), grounds the realization that she has not succeeded in escaping her “fate” as a black woman. During the Harlem Renaissance, many new ideas about the Negro identity were being developed by philosophers, artists and writers. Locke and DuBois promoted the idea of a New Negro wherein the blacks of America would be proud of their rich cultural heritage and have a strong sense of racial pride. But authors like Larsen, did not necessarily support such ideas, but rather indicted such theories. As can be seen through the experiences of Helga Crane, Larsen conveys the message that the times and situations that blacks were facing during the Harlem Renaissance were not conducive to promote racial pride, but rather left blacks feeling hopeless and inferior. Quicksand shows the difficulties of being black during the 1920s and the struggles with racial identity that many (as represented by the character of Helga) faced during this time and the overwhelming desire to dissociate oneself from the black stereotype. This dissociation, unfortunately, resulted in a complete removal from the black community and one’s black identity. This shame and humiliation associated with blackness is a direct contradiction of Locke’s and DuBois’s philosophy of the New Negro.
Mycoplasma vs Mycobacterium. Mycobacteria are aerobic and slender, curved rod shaped species. Since they are aerobic they like to live in areas where oxygen levels are high; such as, apical or upper part of the lungs. Thus, a decrease in oxygen concentration can be dangerous for these organisms. On the other hand, Mycoplasma is a bacterial genus that has more than 100 species. It was first described in the late 1800s and members of this genus are very tiny. Even though most of the species of this genus are harmless, there are some that appear to be virulent and thus are responsible for “specific medial conditions in humans” (1). Mycobacteria cell wall is composed of waxes and mycolic acids, which makes them resistant to Gram staining; however, they can be stained acid-fast. Whereas, Mycoplasmas are gram negative bacteria and one interesting characteristic of these bacteria is that they don’t have a cell wall; which gives them an elastic shape that can vary easily (1). The unusual cell wall of Mycobacterium and the absence of cell wall in Mycoplasmas make them invulnerable to many drugs. Plus, both, Mycobacterium and Mycoplasma, grow very slow, this also accounts for the long time to make observable colonies on laboratory media. Both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are pathogenic bacterial species that causes respiratory tract disease. The disease that Mycobacterium tuberculosis cause is called tuberculosis and Mycoplasma pneumoniae are responsible for causing mild upper respiratory tract infection known as atypical pneumonia. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was first discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch and it belongs to the genus Mycobacterium; whereas, Mycoplasma pneumoniae belong to genus Mycoplasma. Atypical pneumonia symptoms are different from typical pneumonia. In addition, sometimes patients don’t even have any symptoms related to the respiratory tract. Frequently, patients remain ambulatory, therefore this condition is also sometimes called walking pneumonia. Tuberculosis (TB) is spread from person to person via air. If a person, who has TB, coughs, sneezes, or speaks, he can put M. tuberculosis into the air. If nearby people breathe in these bacteria they can become infected. On the other hand, Mycoplasma pneumoniae is also transmitted from one person to another through close personal contact by respiratory droplets. Symptoms, such as fever, chest pain and cough, can be seen after the organism is in the host’s system for 12 to 14 days. Common characteristics of walking pneumonia are that the size of alveoli is decreased due to inward swelling of the alveolar walls and alveoli don’t fill with fluid. Whereas a typical pathogenesis for tuberculosis is that once the bacteria are inhaled, they start dividing at a very slow pace inside the cells (white blood cells) that have phagocytized them. They then educe a host response such as infiltration of neutrophil and accumulation of fluid in the alveoli of the lung. The neutrophils are ruptured and destroyed by the organisms. Then, macrophages and lymphocytes come to the alveoli and phagocytize living tubercle bacilli. These organisms again divide within the new host cell and destroy it; as the phagocytes rupture they release infective organisms. This process goes on until enough cells have been ruptured and an acute inflammatory response has occurred. If lesions are not healed, they can result in tissue necrosis or harden to become chronic granulomas, also known as tubercles. These tubercles may contain live tubercle bacilli or macrophages, and lung tissues and function in these areas are permanently destroyed. Also, some tubercle bacilli can also enter lymphatic and circulatory system. They spread through the body and form numerous lesions; this condition is called military tuberculosis Tuberculosis and walking pneumonia can be diagnosed in a clinical sample such as sputum; however, since the bacteria grow very slowly sputum culturing process can take weeks before it is declared negative. Other options for diagnosis of tuberculosis are X-rays or skin test and for walking pneumonia other serologic tests are ELISA, indirect immunofluorescence, etc. But usually treatment is given based on clinical symptoms. Mycoplasma pneumoniae don’t possess a cell wall which results in osmotic instability, so they utilize sterol in their membrane for structural support. However, survival without a cell wall is not a problem for these organisms, because they live in an animal (human) host, which is osmotically stable (2). M. pneumoniae are invulnerable to B-lactam antibiotics, such as penicillin, because they disturb the cell wall and these microorganisms don’t have a cell wall (2). So drugs, such as azithromycine or fluroquinolone, are used to fight these microorganisms. On the other hand, Mycobacteria unusual cell wall hinders the access of drugs and makes many antibiotics ineffective. However, drugs such as isoniazid and rifampicin can be given to the patients for at least one year. In addition, bacillus of Calmette and Guérin (BCG) vaccine is world-widely used to prevent tuberculosis, but there is no vaccine currently available for walking pneumonia. Thus to prevent atypical pneumonia close contact with infected people is avoided. Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the smallest bacterial pathogen from the genus Mycoplasma. This microorganism is responsible for causing mild upper respiratory tract infection known as atypical pneumonia. This type of pneumonia has symptoms that are different from the typical pneumonia. In addition, sometimes patients don’t even have any symptoms related to the respiratory tract. Frequently, patients remain ambulatory, therefore this condition is also sometimes called walking pneumonia. Mycoplasma pneumoniae is transmitted from one person to another via respiratory droplets. Symptoms, such as fever, chest pain and cough, can be seen after the organism is in the host’s system for 12 to 14 days. Common characteristics of walking pneumonia are that the size of alveoli is decreased due to inward swelling of the alveolar walls and alveoli don’t fill with fluid. Atypical pneumonia is diagnosed “by isolating M. pneumoniae from sputum or from a nasopharyngeal swab”; however, since these bacteria grow very slowly this process can take up to 3 weeks. There are other serologic tests such as ELISA, indirect immunofluorescence, etc., but usually treatment is given based on clinical symptoms. These microorganisms don’t possess a cell wall which results in osmotic instability, so they utilize sterol in their membrane for structural support. However, survival without a cell wall is not a problem for these organisms, because they live in an animal (human) host, which is osmotically stable (2). M. pneumoniae are invulnerable to B-lactam antibiotics, such as penicillin, because they disturb the cell wall and these microorganisms don’t have a cell wall (2). So drugs, such as azithromycine or fluroquinolone, are used to fight these microorganisms. Plus, currently there is no vaccine available, thus to prevent atypical pneumonia avoid close contact with infected people. References “What is Mycoplasma?” WiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. . “M. pneumoniae.” Index of /. Web. 17 Feb. 2010. . Mycoplasma vs Mycobacterium

Justification of the use of MMR, mixed method research help

Justification of the use of MMR, mixed method research help.

Write four to five- page paper that includes the following components: Revised versions of the problem, purpose and research questions. Be sure to identify revisions. A completed version of Figure 1.6 for the proposed study.Justification of the use of MMR.A conceptual framework appropriate for the study, and an explanation for your choice. Describe how the framework you chose informs your questions, that is the research question and your planned MMR approach.Citations and References in APA. See attachments of the original problem, purpose and research question to be revised and fig 1.6.
Justification of the use of MMR, mixed method research help

Organizational Knowledge Management and Organizational Culture

professional essay writers Organizational culture is considered to be a critical factor in building and reinforcing knowledge management in organizations by impacting how members learn, acquire, and share knowledge. But there is no theoretical framework, to explain the effect of organizational culture in initiating knowledge creation, and it’s sharing and transferring in organizations. This paper endeavours to develop an integrative framework for organizational knowledge management and organizational culture by identifying the conceptual parallels between theories of organizational culture and knowledge creation and conversion frameworks. The integrative framework of organizational culture and organizational knowledge management would not only facilitate organizational learning and lead to the improvement of knowledge management practices but should also facilitate creation of processes to put that knowledge in action. This paper also presents the implications of suggested integrative framework for theory and practice, and directions for future research. Keywords: Organizational culture, Knowledge Management, Competing Values Framework, Knowledge Creation and Conversion Framework In the era of globalization, knowledge creation and knowledge management has become the dominant factor for organizations’ global competitiveness (Bhagat, Kedia, Harveston,

The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children Cause and Effect Essay

Introduction The research report investigates if the background television with adult content interrupts a child’s behavior during a play. The researchers review literature, conduct an experiment on children and obtain answers from questionnaires given to parents to obtain the information. The children are 1, 2, and 3 years old. The results reveal that children’s behavior is influenced by the background television. Although children pay little attention to incomprehensible adult content, their play is interrupted by the background television. The cognitive development and language development are affected by interruptions during child’s play. This essay summarizes the research report in part 1, and gives suggestion on possible areas for research in part 2. The article examines how background television showing adult content affects young children’s behavior when they are playing with toys. The research conducted literature review and thereafter an experiment. Literature review indicates that young children pay little attention to adult television content and pay additional attention to children television programs. The attention of the child on the play object is reduced when there is audiovisual disturbance. The kind of television programs that a child is exposed to repeatedly affects the development in language. According to Schmidt et al. (1138), uninterrupted play will result in healthy cognitive development and increased social skills. The research assessed the level of maturity in a child’s play, the length of time spent in a play and the devoted attention given to a specific object in a play. Short period spent while playing a toy is an indication of a developmental disorder. Attention on a specific object is associated with the motivation of the child. A child’s attention on an object increases with age. Younger children have a limited ability to sort out unwanted stimuli and sustain attention on a specific play object. Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Development of attention requires focused and continued attention when the child was playing. The child abandons play to view the television for a while. After the interruption, the child may abandon play and move on to another playing object. If they resume, their motivation and attention are reduced, hence they will lose the ability to return to same cognition level. After literature review, the researchers conducted an experiment. The experiment included children of 12, 24 and 36 months old. The children were observed for one hour as they played. During the first 30 minutes, the television showing adult content was left on. In the next 30 minutes, the children played with toys when the television was switched off. Besides being observed, the children were also videotaped. The participants were selected from the birth records of the state. The participants did not have earring and visual impairment. The results of the experiment revealed that the young children were affected by the background television showing adult content. When the television was on, the children were not involved in intensive play. They gave the toys less attention and played for a short period. The maturity in play was affected little when compared with focused attention. Relational play was also reduced when the television was on. Besides, the children were able to continue with complex plays when the television was off. After the television was on, children tended to view the television many times in the first six minutes, and few times after six minutes. The parents were asked to avoid initiating a play or suggesting toys for a play. We will write a custom Essay on The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This implies that parents pay attention to television and only give attention to the children when they demand it. The parents also filled questionnaires. The questionnaires enquired the child’s interaction with the media. The level of interruption increased with the number of times the child looked at the television. Reduced involvement in a play was associated with a dislocation of attention to the television. For younger children, the scheme of the play was interrupted and after looking at the television, the child cannot recall hence they move on to another toy. Moreover, there was no distinct difference in background interruption shown between children of different ages. Background television interrupts cognitive process in children. Background television can also be associated with noise, which interrupts the attention of the child during a play. Background television may also be associated with positive effects such as multitasking. Children may be able to tap multitasking skills from the destructive background television. The study observed the participant for a long time, had numerous toys for playing during the experiment and selected the general ages for the participant. Consequently, the television has an impact on the relationship between the care giver and child when the parent is watching television. Chaotic home environment characterized by the noise may affect the child’s development due to the frequent interruptions at the time of a play. The study assumed that children are exposed in their homes and that care givers do not get involved in a child’s play. Lack of the development in cognition reduces a child’s readiness to go to school. The study concluded that cumulative impacts of the interruptions caused by background television may cause poor development in cognition. The impacts may also include poor language development and the attention disorders. Therefore, Schmidt et al. (1149) suggest that background television is a potential environmental risk in the development of a child. To follow up on the investigation on the effects of background television on the toy play behavior of very young children, it is necessary to establish the impact of media exposure in the home environment to the young children’s cognitive development. Subsequent research will answer the question: Is media exposure in the home environment a risk factor for the poor cognitive development in young children? Not sure if you can write a paper on The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Cognitive development shows the healthy growth of a child memory, language skills, recognition, problem solving skills and thinking. The question will provide a guideline for the study to establish the degree of media exposure for children in the home environment and areas in child development that are affected. In line with the article, the study will increase information on other areas other than attention, maturity in play and length of play. The study will investigate problem language skill, problem solving ability, memory and thinking process. The sample to be selected for the study will include children who are two to three years old. The children will be given instructions when playing to assess their ability to sustain attention when playing with and without instructions. The number of toys for each child will be equal and all the children will be allowed to play without instruction for 15 minutes. Thereafter, they will be given few instructions that are to be followed when playing for another period of 15 minutes. Finally, the children will be given full instructions to play with toys for 15 minutes. The children will have audiovisual programs run in the first eight minutes of every session. The observers will record the child’s behavior as they play. The hypothesis to be tested is that under less destruction, comprehensive instructions enable one to remain on task. Many instructions make the child pay attention to the playful activities. Attention is given if the child has been able to understand and master the art of attentiveness. Those with attentive skills remain on a task for a long time. A child with a good development in memory, language skills, recognition and problem solving skills will be able to take many instructions. When the instructions are few and the media program is interruptive, the child is likely to lose attention and move on to other tasks. The research will also reveal the degree in which the media affect a child cognitive development in the home environment. Conclusion Schmidt et al. (1137) engages in study to establish how background television showing adult content affects young children’s behavior when they are playing with toys. Their study which involved studying the behavior of 12, 24 and 36 months old revealed that background television had an impact on the cognitive development of a child. A child’s attention on toys was reduced when the television was on. Time spent with a toy was reduced since destruction caused the child to abandon a toy and proceeded with another toy. Play was continuous and comprehensive when the television was off. The results did not show any distinctive feature of behavior that is inclined to age during the experiment. Work Cited Schmidt, Evans, Tiffany Pempe, Heather Kirkorian, Frankenfield Lund,

BUS 128 Grossmont College Week 15 Job Interview Communication Preparation Discussion

BUS 128 Grossmont College Week 15 Job Interview Communication Preparation Discussion.

On p. 558 of your textbook, Table 19.3 lists the 25 Most Common Interview questions. Pick one question and answer it in this post.In your responses to your classmates, discuss their answer and help them to improve it for a job interview.Expectations:Your first response should be a minimum of 100 words, due Wednesday.You should reply to a minimum of 2 other classmates’ responses with 50 words minimum, due Sunday.To earn full credit you need to answer more than “I agree” or “good job.” Your discussion replies may ask a clarifying question, may relate and apply to another situation, or you can probe the question deeper. But it needs to have substance in order for you to earn points.
BUS 128 Grossmont College Week 15 Job Interview Communication Preparation Discussion