Impacts Of Mass Tourism On Ecotourism Sites Tourism Essay

Impacts Of Mass Tourism On Ecotourism Sites Tourism Essay This essay will mainly deal with the social, economic and environmental impacts of mass tourism on ecotourism taking into consideration that ecotourism can be seen as a form of mass tourism (As Weaver (2001: 112) says, ecotourism can be and usually is a variant of mass tourism.). It will begin by examining ecotourism looking at what ecotourism is and some examples of ecotourism sites such as Couran Cove Island Resort and Boondall Wetlands Reserve in Queensland, Australia. It will then move onto mass tourism again looking at what defines mass tourism and looking into areas that are considered to be mass tourism sites such as Benidorm and Mallorca in Spain. This will then move onto the impacts of mass tourism on ecotourism taking into account the social, economic and environmental impacts, drawing examples from the case studies above in Spain and Australia. Then it will briefly examine ecotourism as a form of mass tourism as stated by Weaver (2001). The most common definition of ecotourism is that it is a nature-based tourism and a form of sustainable tourism ecologically, socio-culturally and economically (Font Buckley, 2001: 32; Weaver, 2001: 105; Lim McAleer, 2005: 1431) and also as Ceballos-Lascurà ¡in 1996 (cited in Scheyvens 2002: 71) says Ecotourism is environmentally responsible, enlightening travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features both past and present) that promotes conservation, has low visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations. The International Ecotourism Society has six main principles for ecotourists (this is the term this essay will use for tourists visiting ecotourism sites throughout the essay). These include: Minimizing impact on the environment Gain environmental and cultural awareness of the site to help respect and conserve the site. Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts. Provide direct financial benefits for conservation. Provide economic benefits to the host locals. Raise sensitivity to host countries political, environmental and social climate. (The International Ecotourism Society, 2010) Ecotourism can be divided into hard and soft-ecotourism. Hard ecotourism generally does not impact as much negatively on the environment as it tends to deal with tourists who are aware of the importance of sustainability, visits tend to be prolonged visits so the tourists actively engage in conserving the environment and respect the environment in which they are visiting (Weaver Lawton, 2002: 362). According to the International Ecotourism Society (2006: 4), In Europe: 20%-30% of travelers are aware of needs values of sustainable tourism. 10%-20% of travelers look for green options. 5%-10% of travelers demand green holidays. Soft ecotourism, which is the type of ecotourism that is most associated with mass tourism, is when tourists have a level of understanding of sustainability but are not as committed to actively participating in being sustainable and so do not respect the area they are visiting as much (Weaver Lawton, 2002: 363). Visits tend to be once-off day trips resulting in groups of people arriving by bus, which could happen a few times a day. These short term visits could potentially be more harmful, as the tourists may not have as much of an awareness or interest in protecting the environment they are visiting and may not be as careful as they should be they could cause physical damage, by stepping on plant species, which could in turn reduce biodiversity, which is harmful to an ecosystem. In the case of Queensland, Australia, it could be argued that it is a soft-ecotourism site, taking a figure from Lim and McAleer (2005: 1433) seen below, overnight visitors have fluctuated between 1995 an d 2000 however, in the case of intra and interstate visitors they have increased since 1995. The fact that the figure deals with overnight visitors, could be seen as a short-term stay, which coincides with soft ecotourism activity. Figure 1: Visitor arrivals in Queensland. (Source: Ibid: 1433) Examples of ecotourism sites include Couran Cove Island Resort, Boondall Wetlands Reserve Australia and the Great Barrier Reef, in Australia. Mass tourism can be defined as a quantitative notion, based on the proportion of the volume of the population participating in tourism or on the volume of tourist activity Burkart Medlik 1974 (cited in Bramwell, 2004: 7). Coming into the notion of mass tourism is the concept of the 3Ss Sun, Sea and Sand holidays. Spain became the most popular area for tourism by the 1990s there was a need to develop new products and promote new destinations (DeCleir, 2010). Mass tourism can also be associated with winter sports taking the Alps for example, which will be discussed later on in the essay. Mass tourism can tend to increase the pressure on the environment due to the large tourist volumes, which is not unlike soft ecotourism. Examples of areas that experience mass tourism are Benidorm and Mallorca in Spain and the winter sports in the Alps. Benidorm, a fishing village in Spain, so it could be deemed an ecotourism site, has seen considerable mass tourism effects The demands of mass tou rism have turned this place into a monster of an urban resort with high rise hotels, a shopping mall, bars (Schindler and Mindjov, p.1). Mass tourism can be seen to have an impact on ecotourism sites also. The three main areas where mass tourism has an effect on ecotourism are socially, economically and environmentally. Firstly, this essay will examine the economic impacts of mass tourism on ecotourism sites drawing examples from Spain. As can be seen from Table 1, tourism contributions to Spains Gross Domestic Product has increased significantly from 2000 to 2007, increasing by à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬38,995 in seven years. Table 1: Tourism Contribution to Spanish GDP. (Source: Spanish Statistics Institute, Tourism Satellite Account of Spain (cited in Spanish Tourism in Figures 2009: 8). Tourism is an economic generator, not only do the host destination benefit from the amount of money coming in from the tourists but also, the fact that the site is a tourist site, creates employment in the area. As Lim and McAleer (2005: 1432) says, For many countries and regions, tourism represents one of the few opportunities for local development, employment and revenue generation. However, regions can develop an over-dependency on tourism in relation to GDP. Taking the Maldives for example, 80% of their GDP comes from tourism (DeClair, 2010). This over-dependence on tourism can result in the tourism industry in the region declining. Another impact of mass tourism is environmental. Environmental impacts include: sustainability preservation and conservation, physical damage which can result in a reduction of biodiversity and visual impact, and pollution. Taking the effect winter sports in the Alps as mentioned earlier, as an example The Alps could be considered to be an ecotourism site as it is a natural area, however it could be argued that it has not really been very beneficial at having a low impact on its environment through extensive tourism mass tourism. The winter sports that take place on the Alps have done a lot of damage to the mountains in terms of loss of biodiversity. For example, there have been reports that the black grouse population has declined and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has suggested that this decline is linked to the spread of winter sports (Patthey et al., 2008: 2). In the Couran Cove Island Resort, they have measures in place to protect their environ ment from tourists, for example, they have put into place a re-vegetation and rehabilitation program which they hope will help conserve existing vegetation and integrated within this program they hope to provide education to the local community about the fragile ecosystem (Lim and McAleer, 2005: 1433). They have also built eco-cabins that are built on stumps, the idea being that the surrounding environment can be left undisturbed and yet the tourists can still see the habitats in their natural environment (ibid: 1434). Mass tourism can cause congestion in an ecotourism site during peak seasons this could result in pollution of an area and visual degradation. In the case of the economic and environmental, these two impacts can be linked together. If a ecotourism site is getting a lot of tourists, then they are taking in revenue. The more money generated from tourism, the more the money that can go back into the conservation and preservation the sustainability of the area. In the case of social impacts on a site, as Hall and Lew (2009: 180) say, the development of the tourism industry can contribute broadly to changes in the quality of life, social structure and social organization of destination communities. These social impacts can be both positive and negative. Generally, however, the host residents are prepared to put up with the negative impacts as the positive ones are so desirable (DeCleir, 2010). Employment, although mainly an economic impact, can also be a social impact. With employment, comes the need for education and upskilling, which can be seen as a personal social benefit. When a person has a job, they are getting a regular income and so will feel safer in knowing that they can meet their basic needs (Hall and Lew, 2009: 180). In addition to this, when people have more money, they can go out and socialise with their friends or meet new people. Acculturation (when two cultures are in contact over a long period of time, there is a danger o f them becoming similar (DeCleir, 2010)), can become a problem in a tourist area, which could eventually lead to the loss of an original culture of the area. This can lead to a reduction in diversity the loss of cultural identity can affect host destinations local people, especially the elderly, as they may lose the traditional ways of life that they grew up with, which could affect their sense of security in where they live. According to Weaver (2001:104) ecotourism as both a reality and an ideal can logically be conceived as a form of mass tourism Although mass tourism can have an effect on ecotourism, ecotourism can be seen as a form of mass tourism. Soft ecotourism in particular is more often associated with mass tourism as shorter, more intensive trips are considered more damaging than longer trips as, as said at the beginning of this essay, visits tend to be once off day-trips, with loaded tour buses arriving with groups of people to visit a site all in one day; whereas with longer trips, the tourists are less likely to stay or impact upon a site all day continuously. Mass tourism can have both positive and negative effects on ecotourism sites. Positive impacts include, an increase in popularity of a site which will lead to more revenue being created which can in turn be reinvested back into the conservation of the site. Negative impacts of mass tourism tend to outweigh the positive impacts; some negative impacts include, physical impact the damage that can be done to the site, its attractiveness and reduction of biodiversity, for example, the winter sports in the Alps increased congestion during peak seasons and seasonality for example, in Greece, most hotels are closed for six months of the year (DeCleir, 2010). All of the above effects can be separated into three categories of impacts social, economic and environmental, which have all been dealt with in this essay.

Thomas Jeffersons Contribution to the Constitution Essay -- essays pap

Thomas Jeffersons Contribution to the Constitution The purpose of this paper is to give a brief chronological accounting of the writing of the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson. A short description of the structure of the Declaration of Independence will be included. The process was relatively fast, from the formation of the committee. The committee consisted of two New England men, John Adams of Massachusetts and Roger Sherman of Connecticut; two men from the Middle Colonies, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York; and one southerner, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. In early June, the committee met as a whole and unanimously insisted that Jefferson draw up the declaration. Jefferson wrote that the other members of the committee "unanimously pressed on myself alone to undertake the draught. I consented; I drew it; but before I reported it to the committee I communicated it separately to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams requesting their corrections. . . I then wrote a fair copy, reported it to the committee, and from them, unaltered to the Congress." Jefferson's account reflects three stages in the life of the Declaration: the document originally written by Jefferson; the changes to that document made by Franklin and Adams, which resulted in the version that was submitted by the Committee of Five to the Congress; and the version that was eventually adopted. On July 1, 1776, Congress reconvened. The following day, the Lee Resolution for independence was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, New York not voting. Immediately afterward, the Congress began to consider the Declaration. Adams and Franklin had made only a few changes before the committee submitted the document. The discussion in Congress resulted in some alterations and deletions, but the basic document remained Jefferson's. The process of revision continued through all of July 3 and into the late afternoon of July 4. Then, at last, church bells including Paul Revere's bell, rang out over Philadelphia; the Declaration had been officially adopted. The Declaration of Independence is made up of five distinct parts: the introduction; the preamble; the body, which can be divided into two sections; and a conclusion. The introduction states that this document will "declare" the "causes" that have made it necessary for the American colonies to leave the B... .... Because of his absence in Europe, Jefferson had no direct part in the framing or ratification of the Constitution of the United States. The most notable achievement of Jefferson's first term as President (1800) was the purchase in 1803 of Louisiana from France for 15 million dollars. (see Lewis and Clark). During his second term Jefferson encountered greater difficulties. One of the domestic problems was the Burr-Conspiracy, with the former vice president on trial for treason. Jefferson was succeeded as president in 1809 by James Madison. During the last 17 years of his life, Jefferson remained in Virginia. As the 'Sage of Monticello' he engaged in a rich correspondence with John Adams and others. Jefferson's last great public service was the founding of the University of Virginia in 1819. He died at Monticello on July 4, 1826 on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Bibliography: Eyler Robert Coates, Sr. Quotations from the writings of Thomas Jefferson (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/ 1995-2001) David Kennedy; Lizabeth Cohen, The American Pageant (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2002), A31. David Kennedy; Lizabeth Cohen, A33

Comparing Matthew Arnolds Dover Beach and Gerard Manley HopkinsGods

Comparing Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach and Gerard Manley Hopkins'God's Grandeur      Ã‚   Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," and Gerard Manley Hopkins' "God's Grandeur" are similar in that both poems praise the beauty of the natural world and deplore man's role in that world. The style and tone of each poem is quite different, however. Arnold writes in an easy, flowing style and as the poem develops, reveals a deeply melancholy point of view. Hopkins writes in a very compressed, somewhat jerky style, using sentences heavy with alliteration and metaphors. His tone, though touched with sadness and perhaps even anger at man, unlike Arnold's poem, reveals an abiding sense of hope. Basically, each poet is presenting a very different view of Faith, and consequently of man's ultimate condition. Matthew Arnold begins his poem by describing a calm, beautiful scene. Dover Beach is lying "fair" in the moonlight. It is high tide and he sees the coast of France and "the cliffs of England... / Gleaming and vast, out in the tranquil bay." All seems lovely and quiet. According to Baum's research on the date and circumstances of the poem, Arnold is probably speaking to his new bride (86) as he says, "Come to the window, sweet is the night-air." But gradually the reader senses a shifting of mood and tone. Now he describes the "line of spray... / Where the sea meets" the land as "moon-blanched." And the tide, tossing pebbles as it comes, is a "grating roar" with a "tremulous cadence slow" that "bring[s] / The eternal note of sadness in." This melancholy mood grows deeper as he thinks of man's long span of history-- "The turbid ebb and flow / of human misery."    In the next stanza beginning with line twenty-one, Arnold gets to the reason ... ... in a sky that is brown, not completely black because God's Spirit is hovering in love over the dark world still, like a mother dove brooding over her nest.    Obviously, both poets recognize the darkness in the world; and both see love as a light in the   darkness. Arnold's love is human love from one individual to another and even that seems uncertain. The redeeming love Hopkins speaks of is God's love for man and His creation. That love is unchanging and indestructible--an abiding hope in the darkness. What a difference faith can make.       Works Cited Baum, Paull F. Ten Studies in the Poetry of Matthew Arnold. Durham: Duke UP, 1961. Boyle, Robert S.J. Metaphor in Hopkins. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1961. Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading Reacting Writing. 3rd ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1991.

Antigone Moral Dilemma

Antigone’s Moral Dilemma Perhaps the most pronounced question in the play â€Å"Antigone† by Sophocles' is the value of human law vs. divine law. In this tragic play a newly appointed king Creon declares to his people that treason was committed during battle, and one of the two brothers (Polyneices) killed shall not be buried according to the Gods, but instead â€Å"He shall be left unburied for all to watch the corpse mutilated and eaten by carrion-birds and by dogs† (Sophocles, 1900. ). This dilemma is felt by many, especially Antigone (sister of the deceased). In Greek culture it is thought that the spirit of a body cannot find rest if it is has not been laid to rest by the evening of the day it has departed, and it is condemned to roam the earth for eternity. The struggle between human law and divine law is a moral dilemma Antigone feels as she decides to go against the laws of the king. Antigone’s desire to bury Polyneices properly according a divine edict is challenged as she faces the hurdle to defy King Creon’s ruling. She acknowledges the importance of family and savors in the knowledge of defying the state. She ultimately succeeds in this moral quest to stand by belief in divine principle above and against the power and authority of the state, despite her suicide. Many Greek writers such as Homer in Iliad, reflect religious ideology in their works. A constant battle between man and the gods are apparent, and the concepts of burial rights are similarly played out. In Iliad after Achilles rejoins the battle and fights his enemies, he kills Hektor, the Trojan leader and releases his body to be buried after the gods intervene (Coughlin, 1990. ). In Antigone, the character Antigone realizes that Creon next in line to become king may have been thought to be chosen by the gods to rule, and she faces the decision to endure the law of Creon or be in contempt of Creon's edict to pursue the will of the gods. According to Greek mythology humans could endure an even far more eternal punishment for breaking the gods will. Antigone also questions, what if it was meant for Creon to be king, therefore it may be the will of the god’s for punishment to come upon Polyneices. After negating this thought she oon realizes that the will of the god’s is not only something King Creon must witness and acknowledge, but something she must enforce herself. This determination to do what is right even in defiance of patriarchal law can be seen in lines 1019-1021, â€Å"But if these men are wrong, let them suffer nothing worse than they mete out to me—these masters of injustice! † (Sophocles, 1900. ). Because, Antigone truly thinks that Creon has not rightfully been awarded king, there is resentment towards him for finding his way to the throne through the end of the true power. It is possible that Antigone did not take the king seriously or thought that she would possibly be spared. In fact, she may have perhaps just simply not cared. However, she chooses to display the importance of divine edict over the kings and takes it upon herself to give her brother a proper burial. She vocalizes this as she states, â€Å"I didn't say yes. I can say no to anything I say vile, and I don't have to count the cost. But because you said yes, all that you can do, for all your crown and your trappings, and your guards—all that your can do is to have me killed. (Sophocles, 1900). This quote shows not only faith but fate in the political heroism Antigone's portrays in her resistance to refuse the power of state. Antigone answers no to all that she finds to be vile, â€Å"I have longer to please the dead than please the living here: in the kingdom down below I'll lie forever (Sophocles, 1900. Lines 88-90). These lines show how much personal power she possesses compare d to King Creon. Antigone remains consistent, even contentious in her disobedience. By offending the king, it is as if Antigone is leaving him no choice and his prideful ways force him to sustain her sentence. After Creon realizes that fulfilling his order may be a mistake , he also knows that he cannot retract the ordering of her death. He had surrendered his actions to the power of the state, and thus rendering himself to a loathsome state. Unlike Antigone, who finds free will and faith in the laws of the god’s. Playwrights such as Sophocles attempt to understand the meaning of human suffering and reexamine the many traditions and ideals from the past. Greek mythology questions the public and private responsibilities of individuals. As in any circumstance fighting against what is valued as right can become a conflicting power. Antigone’s decision to go through this treacherous act alone enabled her to find peace within the divine laws of nature during her time. The act of surrendering to a fate that was unjust prepared her for the desire she clung to despite its unbalanced position. Antigone’s fatal removal from the human community renders a powerful and tragically beautiful character of Greek mythology. The moral decisions she sought after became apparent to everyone, especially Creon, that † Fate raises up, / And fate casts down the happy and unhappy alike: / No man can foretell his fate. † (Sophocles, 1900. ). Fate plays an important role in Greek tragedy. Antigone seemingly found that â€Å"There is no happiness where there is no wisdom; / No wisdom but in submission to the gods. † (Sophocles, 1900. ). She also raised the standards by which ordinary humanity was judged (Sophocles, 2005. Although she too suffered because of the heroic dichotomy present to all of Sophocles’ greatest characters, known as â€Å"the girl who feared to cast away the fear of heaven†, she could not have sacrificed love and life were she not on some level was cursed with a greater than human obsession for moral justice (Sophocles, 2005. ) The courageous actions of this character succeed in illustrating that not even a king’s entitlement can change a person’s fundamental natural rights. So it is possible to truly be happy, but only when man is wise. Wisdom is a necessary trait. It brings an understanding of the real values there are in this world. The pursuit of wisdom leads to happiness, as Antigone tells us. To truly gain wisdom, one must accept that it not something already possessed. All the answers are not given, and this world offers more to learn from than expected. So, did Antigone ultimately succeed in this moral quest to stand by the value of Greek mythology, despite her suicide? It seems apparent that submitting to the will of the gods allowed Antigone to gain the necessary wisdom to find true happiness, even in death. Some suggest it was the fate of the god’s, just as it had been for her father and brother’s.

Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The tell-tale heart’ and Ray Bradbury’s ‘The fruit at the bottom of the bowl’ Essay

Compare and contrast the main themes from Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘the tell-tale heart’ and Ray Bradbury’s ‘the fruit at the bottom of the bowl’. The two stories both contain crime, punishment and murder. The two stories both contain two men who become obsessed with either his own or someone else’s body part. They seem very similar but they are actually quite the opposite†¦ The writers both build up tension in there stories they make this clear by adding something about the item in nearly every line, which makes the reader clear of what is going on. Ray Bradbury tries to give us a clue in his title what the story is about, before you have read the story the title is not clear but after you have read the story it becomes clearer, the man in the story murders someone and gets obsessed with cleaning, as he wants to get rid of the evidence. The author uses the metaphor ‘the fruit at the bottom of the bowl’ to emphasise that the man is so obsessed with the evidence and what can be seen he has forgotten about the things that are deeper than the surface what the eye can’t see, like the fruit that is at the bottom of the bowl. In this story we are not given a name, sex or given any kind of information about the character, which is rather strange. Edgar Allan Poe does the same kind of thing with his title ‘the tell-tale heart’ this as well is not clear to us until we have read the story his title explains what happens when the character is caught he/she breaks down in front of two policemen because of his/her heart, his conscious is telling him what to do and finally the character breaks down. The story is about a mad person ‘†¦that I am mad’ who is disturbed by one mans eye and can’t take it no longer and eventually murders the man and gets caught when he/she breaks down in front of two officers, but he/she only thinks they have killed the eye but they don’t realise they have killed the man but deep in there heart they know they have done wrong and their conscious gets the better of them. The fruit at the bottom of the bowl is set at midnight ‘the clock ticked midnight’ and the character who is William Acton becomes obsessed with cleaning as he has killed a man (Huxley) and wants to get purge of the evidence in nearly every line it mentions something about his hands or fingers he is trying to remember what his hands or fingers have touched ‘the fingerprints were every, everywhere!’ at the end of the story it doesn’t tell us if Acton was caught it leaves us to guess what is going to happen to him. As in the tell-tale the character (who we are not told a name or sex) is mad and becomes obsessed with an eye of a man ‘I think it was his eye, yes his eye’ and that’s what causes the murder and we do know that he is caught. They both committed the crime by murder. We do assume that both the main characters are taken away and given prison sentences but it doesn’t actually tell us this is happening because of the way the stories are set out with the flash backs, the past and present tenses we do not know if the story is being told to us even from a prison cell or if they have already received there punishment it leaves us in suspense to what is going to happen to them or what has happened to them. It does give us an idea that they are already sentenced because they are telling the story in the past presents. In the tell-tale heart the narrator is telling the story he or she starts to go mad when he mentions the eye and he starts to build up tension when it comes to the end where the character breaks down in front of the two officers the character breaks down because of the heart beaten in his head but I don’t think he does hear this in his head I think it is his conscious telling him to confess to what he has done in the written story they show this by adding a lot of explanation marks because he is breaking down and it is all happening so fast ‘I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt I must scream or die!’ In the two stories the characters choose to kill their victim. In the tell-tale heart the character planned to kill the man he couldn’t take the sight of the eye anymore ‘I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever’ as in the ‘fruit at the bottom of the bowl’ it was done more spontaneously he just ended up having an argument with a man called Huxley and Acton (the main character) ended up strangling Huxley and killing him. Even though the two stories seem very alike they have their differences. In the ‘fruit at the bottom of the bowl’ the writer uses a range of sentences when he is talking about the past he uses long sentences and in present he uses shorter sentences also the author writes the story after the murder is committed and tells us how the murder is accomplished by using flash backs and includes us into the story when he is talking in the present, which makes the story seem more eerie, as the ‘the tell-tale heart’ is told in a slightly different way it doesn’t use the same style of writing he writes in one format instead of two. He writes in the first person ‘hearken I and observe how healthily- how calmly I can tell you the whole story’. He starts the beginning of the story talking to the reader which drifts you in to the story because the character is not talking sense ‘I heard all thing in heaven and in earth. I heard many things in hell so how then am I mad?’ and you become confused to what is going on and makes you want to read on to find out what the character is saying and what he is on about? In the tell-tale heart the character mentions that he has gone mad ‘why will you say then that I am mad?’ he has lost his mind and I think that is punishment enough for him because he has took away someone’s life now he has had his mind taken from him. In the fruit at the bottom of the bowl I don’t think Acton has gone insane he just becomes obsessed with trying to get disposal of the evidence and this is what makes him become obsessive. I don’t think before the murder either of the characters were mad, maybe the character in the tell-tale heart may have been a bit mentally unstable as it is a bit confusing how he becomes so obsessive over one mans eye but I think that he/she tends to lose their mind after the murder as it has got to him/her a lot. As William Acton also tends to loose his mind towards the end of the story as his hands start to take control ‘but unknown to his eyes, his gloved fingers moved in a little rubbing rhythm on the wall’ and also he starts to talk to himself ‘would u, I would, are you certain, yes’. I think both stories had a well thought out setting and both themes were superior but even though the stories both contain the same contents (murder, crime and punishment) they seem very similar but they are really quite diverse I didn’t realise that until after I had compared the two stories. The two authors use different styles of writing in their stories. I really enjoyed reading the stories but not as much as comparing them and spotting how much they are unlike.   

Khe Sahn, Leaving Home, Geography Lesson; Journey Theme Essay

Each person’s life undertakes a journey, whether it is physically or mentally. We all undergo our own adversities, tears, pains, and obstacles which can change yours and the society’s perspectives of life. Journey’s can be classified as a distance, course, travelled or appropriate for travelling. The poems â€Å"Leaving Home† by Peter Skrzynecki and â€Å"Geography Lesson† by Brian Patten both include different techniques such as metaphors and imagery to emphasise the different processes, changes, choices and conflict that each person or character may face throughout a journey. Techniques are also used in the song â€Å"Khe Sahn† composed by Donald Walker, providing a glance of how soldiers were treated in the war and the challenges they had to overcome, which all relate back to journeys. ‘Leaving home’ is not just about the destination, but the process in which he goes through to get there, and what he learns along the way is what truly counts. The character’s interview with head office caught him by surprise when the â€Å"first country appointment† left him and his family with a â€Å"dull-witted, frog-mouthed obedience†. This metaphor shows how unaware the family was about what could happen and that this was the beginning of his process through a journey. He learns along the way that he holds an unknown future and emotionally, this journey is taking its toll on him. The process within the journey helps determine the up-coming events, whether it is broken into steps or left in somebody else’s hand to determine through the ride. In comparison to ‘Leaving Home’, ‘Khe Sahn’ explores the quick change, that the main character experiences in the context, leaving the process to change his life rapidly. The hostile reception took a toll on the character and when returning from war it was extremely overwhelming. â€Å"I’ve had the Vietnam cold turkey† is Walker showing the process that the character or inspiration of the text has experienced and that he had to abruptly withdraw from the war he witnessed and fought in. The context is providing an internal look on the character and the issues and conflicts he came across after the war. Earlier in the text we find that the character ‘left his heart to the sappers round’ which means, this is him planting his heart to the Khe Sahn battle. Returning from the battle leaves him struggling to find himself mentally, indicating the process he experiences throughout his journey, and to find himself and whom he used to be so quickly. ‘Geography Lesson’ is the internal thoughts of a young student who shares his personal memories of his Geography teacher. Change is a major theme used throughout this poem. It overlooks his teacher’s life and the change he progresses. His belief that his Geography teacher should ‘sail across a warm blue sea’ to a place that he had ‘only known from maps’ glimpses into the thought of the student and the goal in which he believes his teacher should achieve. â€Å"He spoke of the lands he longed to visit† uses personal pronouns to illustrate that the journey is about his teacher and not the young student. â€Å"And I couldn’t understand why he never left†. The contrast between the two quotes emphasise the change and that he never got to the places he longed to visit, which makes the audience wonder ‘Why didn’t he go to the lands?’ ‘What happened to him?’ directing the audience’s attention to the obstacles involved in the journey, making us wonder how his journey ended. ‘Leaving home’ establishes the conflict, change and hatred the character has towards head office, by using disjointed images to describe the office boys. With his family, the main appeal is set towards the ‘unknown† where his distant future is set to thrive. Here we see the change in his attitude towards head office. It now presents his actual revulsion in them because of being sent somewhere that, to him, is unsatisfactory. Comparing the interview as trial and verdict makes the journey seem more daunting than it really is, with his disgust towards head office it is emphasised by using imagery, which highlights his loathing towards the office boys. â€Å"Stood at a window, laughing in the rain, Clapping to a fiddler’s music – Their naked hairless bodies, The colour of sour milk†. The sickening imagery used ends the poem by making it appear that head office, leaves a bad taste in his mouth. The imagery reflects on the journey by showing the change from confusion to rapid repulsion that he has towards the office people. ‘Khe Sanh’ in itself, is very much like a poem. The lyrics explore the lack of support that we, as a society, put towards a particular issue. The lyrics demonstrates that by protesting through a song, it can help influence Australian’s thoughts to sympathise with the veteran soldiers that have undertaken the hardships throughout the battle. Along the way, the society’s perspectives on the veterans changed. â€Å"Well the last plane out of Sydney’s almost gone† is a constant repetition throughout the composition, which helps get the message across that he is holding all this excess baggage from the war and all veterans hold onto that. Whilst the rest of society have moved on, forgotten about it, and don’t understand the adversity the ‘vets’ have gone through. The change from life after war takes a massive toll on the character, and the emotional journey from life after war is tough to break. But the choice for Walker to compose lyrics using the ‘Khe Sahn’ battle was to indicate the journey all veterans undertook and attempted to overcome. Whilst, ‘Geography Lesson’ uses symbolism to identify the place he had only known from maps. Patten’s devotion towards the poem indicates a life full of experience and imagination, leaving you with an urge to ‘sail across a warm blue sea’ and get to the place the teacher ‘longed to visit.’ Symbolism is used to create an effect on the audience by using repetition, (like in ‘Khe Sahn’), to describe the geography teachers ‘heaven’. â€Å"The green leaves of the orange trees burned† is a constant line in the stanza’s, used to help indicate his teacher’s dream. The imagery in this quote builds your imagination on what the place on the map is really like; seeming like it is a bright and positive place to be. The young student uses his teacher as his role model, reflecting on his own decisions in life. This emotional journey brings a sense of hope, desire, and dreams, to not waste your life, but to live it to the fullest. In conclusion, we all embark on a passage through life. Whether it be physically, mentally or emotionally. To get through a journey you only need to take one step at a time, but you must keep on stepping in order to complete your journey. This is found in ‘Leaving Home’, ‘Khe Sahn’ and ‘Geography Lesson’, by overcoming their own pathways through life. Through these texts it is found that Journeys are full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and obstacles that all lead us to our final destination. It really does change our perspective of life itself.

'managing complexity' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

'managing complexity' - Essay Example They deal with me instead of me dealing with them because I have a very narrow understanding of them. Hence, they become increasingly disturbing. My approach to solving them or overcoming them has been rather unmethodical. My perspective of the problem is part of the problem or even makes the problem more complex. Having gone through this course, I have an entirely different approach to understanding complex problems. This course has equipped with knowledge and skills of handling complex problems using simple approaches. The most basic knowledge, which I come to appreciate, is viewing complex problems as systems, and using the system approach to understand and find ways of improving them. I now know that complex problems are made up of ‘components’ (causes, influences, effects, variables, etc). To fully understand these problems, I have to structure them—break them into many bits and reconnect them like a jig saw puzzle taking note of every move I make in the process. I am also equipped with skills of using one or more system diagrams to diagrammatically or pictorially represent the problems. These diagrams make it easier for me and others to graspingly contextualize your problem with a view to unravelling areas interventions and abstractions for solving or overcoming the problems. With all these knowledge and skills, I am now a system practitioner. I can understand and manage complex problems in my office, home using systematic thinking. For every problem I devote time to study I first look at myself as being a practitioner, I appreciate the complex real world situation I engage with, I put things into perspective to enable me contextualize new and better situations, while I manage my involvement in the situation I am trying to understand and improve. Now that I can to an appreciable extent juggle with the four balls a system practitioner juggles with, I can explain convincingly why the traffic hold up on my way to the