Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address, Facts and Myths

Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address, Facts and Myths On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a few appropriate remarks at the dedication of Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. From a platform set some distance away from the ongoing burial operations, Lincoln addressed a crowd of 15,000 people. The president spoke for three minutes. His speech contained just 272 words, including the observation that the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here. Yet Lincolns Gettysburg Address endures. In the view of historian James McPherson, it stands as the worlds foremost statement of freedom and democracy and the sacrifices required to achieve and defend them. Over the years, historians, biographers, political scientists, and rhetoricians have written countless words about Lincolns brief speech. The most comprehensive study remains Garry Willss Pulitzer Prize-winning book Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America (Simon Schuster, 1992). In addition to examining the political circumstances and oratorical antecedents of the speech, Wills dispels several myths, including these: The silly but persistent myth is that [Lincoln] jotted his brief remarks on the back of an envelope [while  riding the train  to  Gettysburg]. . . . In fact, two people testified that Lincolns speech was mainly composed in Washington, before he left for Gettysburg.Though we call Lincolns text the Gettysburg Address, that title clearly belongs to [Edward] Everett. Lincolns contribution, labeled remarks, was intended to make the dedication formal (somewhat like ribbon-cutting at modern openings). Lincoln was not expected to speak at length.Some later accounts would emphasize the length of the main speech [Everetts two-hour oration], as if that were an ordeal or an imposition on the audience. But in the mid-19th century, a talk of several hours was customary and expected.Everetts voice was sweet and expertly modulated; Lincolns was high to the point of shrillness, and his Kentucky accent offended some eastern sensibilities. But Lincoln derived an advantage from his high tenor voic e. . . . He knew a good deal about rhythmic delivery and meaningful inflections. Lincolns text was polished, his delivery emphatic, he was interrupted by applause five times. [T]he myth that Lincoln was disappointed in the result- that he told the unreliable [Ward] Lamon that his speech, like a bad plow, wont scour- has no basis. He had done what he wanted to do. Above all its worth noting that Lincoln composed the address without the aid of speechwriters or advisers. As Fred Kaplan recently observed in Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer (HarperCollins, 2008), Lincoln is distinguished from every other president, with the exception of Jefferson, in that we can be certain that he wrote every word to which his name is attached. Words mattered to Lincoln- their meanings, their rhythms, their effects. On February 11, 1859, two years before he became president, Lincoln delivered a lecture to the Phi Alpha Society of Illinois College. His topic was Discoveries and Inventions: Writing- the art of communicating thoughts to the mind, through the eye- is the great invention of the world. Great in the astonishing range of analysis and combination which necessarily underlies the most crude and general conception of it- great, very great in enabling us to converse with the dead, the absent, and the unborn, at all distances of time and of space; and great, not only in its direct benefits, but greatest help, to all other inventions. . . .Its utility may be conceived, by the reflection that, to it we owe everything which distinguishes us from savages. Take it from us, and the Bible, all history, all science, all government, all commerce, and nearly all social intercourse go with it. Its Kaplans belief that Lincoln was the last president whose character and standards in the use of language avoided the distortions and other dishonest uses of language that have done so much to undermine the credibility of national leaders. To re-experience Lincolns words, try reading aloud his two best-known speeches: The Gettysburg AddressThe Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln Afterward, if youd like to test your familiarity with Lincolns rhetoric, take our Reading Quiz on the Gettysburg Address.

Community Development Workers Face

Community Development Workers Face Community development (CD) can be defined as the empowerment of members of a community. This empowerment is tailored to ensure that the members of the community are not only willing, but also able to make good decisions about their lives. Community development is relevant in any country, regardless of whether the country is a developing country or an already developed country.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Community Development Workers Face specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although term community development is mainly used to refer to the economic empowerment of a community, this is not all community development is about. CD is not only meant for economic related concepts, but also for other life concepts that are of concern. It could revolve around education, politics, and health among other things. There are very many people who work as community development workers. They include civil servants, teachers, and tho se working in non- governmental organizations that deal with community development. In as much as these and other community development workers work to make the community self sufficient, there are very many challenges, tensions, and dilemmas that get in their way. The community development workers have to be good at what they do, despite all these challenges. A community development worker is supposed to be well trained in order to do his or her work accordingly. A CD worker is also supposed to be organized, a good facilitator, a good public speaker, able to work in teams, and a good problem solver. There are, however, very many challenges that make community development workers unable to be the best that they can be. Some of these challenges are personal while others affect every community development worker regardless of the region they are located. The most common personal dilemmas that the community development workers face revolve around individual ethics. The other problems t hat CD workers face revolve around governments, funding, and social problems among other issues (Hoggett, Mayo, Miller, 2008, p. 34). One of the biggest challenges that make the community development worker’s work difficult is shallow training. There are many universities and colleges that offer community development as a course, yet most of their students cannot solve some of the common problems in their respective societies. The Kenyan society has had its share of community development projects. The country is categorized as a developing country in Africa. However, there are very many members of this country who do not know how to make fulfilling decisions. This is mainly visible in matters that concern finances. Very many of the elderly in the community are illiterate and they cannot make decisions concerning education and health.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This presents a huge challenge to the community development workers in the country. CD workers are unable to have satisfactory conversations and projects with some of the members of the community due to language barriers among other barriers. The students who have taken the course in schools have also not been well trained. The school curriculum is not sufficient for the societal problems that Kenya and other developing countries face. It is possible to find that the students taking CD courses use case studies that were relevant more than a decade ago. The students should be encouraged to use recent case studies even though the lessons of the past might be useful in solving some of the problems today. This will not only ensure that students can think on their feet, but it will also ensure that the solutions that they come up with in the future for the societal problems will be relevant. Failure to ensure that the students keep relevant can lead to low standards among community devel opment workers. Another challenge that the community development workers in many areas face is culture. There are various types of cultures that an individual can have. For example, an individual can have the culture that they were born in. One could be an Asian, thereby possessing the Asian culture. There are also cultures that one adopts as they socialize in life. Workmates in the same company have a certain work culture that might be different from the work culture of the members of another company. The cultures that are adopted through the process of socialization shape the personalities, attitudes, and beliefs of the individual in question. Some of the cultures that members of the community have made it impossible for the community development workers to do their job sufficiently. For example, one of the commonest cultures in the Latina community is that in a restaurant, the waiter should give the client the bill only after the client has asked for it. Giving the client the bil l before they ask for it is considered rude and unacceptable. This has put the Latinos in awkward positions with other cultures, especially the white people who do not agree with the practice.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Community Development Workers Face specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In relation to community development, it is possible to find that many restaurant owners believe that people from the Latino community are not good customers because they are known to run away without paying their bills. The other communities, therefore, shun the Latinos, thereby making it impossible for the community development workers work with them. The community development workers also get little support for their projects. There are governments that do not allow some types of community development projects. For example, the Gladstones Philip Street social services hub in Australia has had a hard time getting the required funding from the federal government. The project involves child care, retirement, and entertainment concepts that were to be set up in the region. All the facilities that were to be included in the project were for the benefit of the community. However, the politics and the ethics of the federal government did not allow this project to go through. This is just one example of some of the community development projects that have been rejected by governments over the years. Many of the governments have claimed that the projects that were rejected were either irrelevant or very expensive. This denied them the desired support. There are also projects that have been approved by governments but have never been implemented. These include the projects that are implemented slowly and for very many years. Such projects waste time and do not help the community in any way. This shows that the community development worker who was involved in the creation of a concept that was supposed to be helpf ul to the community did his/her part of the work had no impact on changing of the community for the better. This, in turn, means that the community involved will still be lagging behind in some aspects. For example, the Clean Development Mechanism project that is designed to help in the conservation of the environment has met one challenge after the other. This is a project that is to be implemented in very many countries that formed the treaty.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There is no one country that has achieved the full goals of this project up to today. Other countries that are also included in this treaty have not done anything toward the implementation of the treaty. The governments of these countries can be blamed for this. Politics and politicians can also present a big challenge to the community development workers. Politics can do this by refusing grants that are forwarded to fund such developments. They also present challenges by linking all the community development projects to politics. This becomes a disadvantage to the community development worker as some members of the community might not be comfortable with the project. This is mainly true in the areas that did not vote for the government in power. The bitterness that the members of the specific community might have toward the government might make them refuse any kind of community development project supported by the government. It is true that all community development projects rely on the members of the community. The project is seen as a failure if members of the community refuse to participate in the project for any reason whatsoever. The formulation of policies for the community development projects also presents several challenges. In most countries, community development projects are usually funded by non-governmental organizations and the government itself. It is very difficult to find individuals funding entire community development projects. The sponsors usually want the projects to be finished as quickly as possible since they have very little to gain from the community development project. This might mean overlooking some of the important aspects that might make a huge difference. This, in turn, leads to short term results. The community might get the knowledge that was being passed, but forget the lessons after a short while. This takes the entire community one step backwards. Such projects are usually beneficial to the sponsors who want to create a better image of themselves to the public. It has also been evident that the rate of change in general in the world is greater than that of community development policies. This means that the world is changing at a very fast rate such that community development workers have a hard time catching up. For instance, the policies that were used last year to solve the problems of a community are not applicable this year to solve the problems of the same community. This might be due to different factors. For example, new challenges might have arisen, making the specific policy that was used a year ago useless. It is also possible that the technological advancements that are experienced in the world play a major role in the failure of community development workers. These technological advancements have created new problems that CD workers have to address on a daily basis. Another dilemma that the community development workers face is intertwining and connecting social factors. In this day and age, there are very many factors in the community that are related. This means that changing one factor might affect other factors directly or indirectly and the results can be good or bad. The community development worker has to ensure that the factors that will be affected by the change they are advocating for are not depended upon by the community in question (Brake Deller, 2008, p. 94). For example, the issue of street urchins has been among the hotly debated topics in many developing and developed countries. Many of the projects that have been put up to ensure the removal of children from the streets have proven futile. Most of the developing countries have tried putting street teenagers and kids in school and children’s homes. However, many of the street urchins are unable to stay in school and in the homes. They, therefore, run away. The factors that revolve around this issue of street urchins include socialization and culture. Many parents do not feel safe when t heir children interact with street urchins. This gives the street urchins a very hard time at school. Sadly, very few people in the community want to be associated with street urchins. These, among other factors, have made the community development projects related to improving the lives of the street urchins difficult, if not impossible. In the same breath, building of rehab centres in the cities has led to an increase in the number of people abusing drugs. This might not have been the intention of the community development workers who advocated for the rehab centres. In this scenario building of the rehab centres affects another social factor by increasing the number of people who abuse drugs. There are also the ethical challenges and dilemmas that the community development worker faces. These ethical challenges also affect the work quality of the community development worker in question. Respect is one of the most conflicting factors in community development. Most community devel opment workers interact with the members of the community closely. CD workers are supposed to respect the views and opinions of the individuals that they interact with. However, there are some times when the individual themselves might be rude toward the community development worker. This puts the worker in a bad position since they are not supposed to argue with the people they are interacting, despite feeling hurt and probably wanting to become defensive (Hoggett, Mayo, Miller, 2008, p. 34). Another ethical dilemma that any community development worker faces is not being in agreement with the project at hand. For example, an individual might not be comfortable teaching the public about reproductive health because they are shy, or their culture does not allow such discussions. However, the CD worker will have to do the project if they are in need of work. Unfortunately, the fact that they are not comfortable with the work might affect the end results of the project. There are also some sponsors who engage in community development for other reasons apart from helping the society. Many governments have experienced this problem. Some of the decisions that the government makes are not only to help the citizens of the specific country, but also to benefit them individually. For example, projects that involve the construction of dams, wells, and schools among other facilities can be awarded to personal friends of the government. Even though this problem does not affect the community directly, it is an ethical dilemma for the community development worker and might affect their desire to do the project. Conclusion There are very many challenges that the community development worker has to overcome in order to do their job accordingly. Many of the problems that have been discussed are brought about by governments and the society. The problems that the community development worker faces due to personal attitude, beliefs, and culture are very minimal. Despite these cha llenges and dilemmas, the community development worker is expected to be a good facilitator and problem-solver. One thing that is clear is that the work of the community development workers will be reduced to identifying problems in the society and not being able to solve them if the problems the CD workers face are not addressed exhaustively. Reference List Brake, R Deller, U 2008, Community development: A European challenge, Barbra Budrich Publishers, Stauffenbergstr, Germany Hoggett, P, Mayo, M, Miller, C 2008, The dilemmas of development work: Ethical challenges in regeneration, The Policy Press, Bristol, UK

How to Conjugate Traverser (to Cross) in French

How to Conjugate Traverser (to Cross) in French The French verb  traverser  means to cross, as in to traverse something. That makes it a little easier to remember, though youll also need to know how to conjugate the verb. A short lesson will introduce you to the basic conjugations so you can use it in French to say things like I crossed or were crossing. The Basic Conjugations of  Traverser French students who have studied other verbs will recognize the conjugation patterns used for traverser. Thats because this is a regular -er verb, meaning it follows the most common pattern found in the French language. If you have studied words like penser (to think) or porter (to carry), the infinitive endings used here will look familiar. The most common conjugations are the imperative mood for the present, future, and imperfect past tenses. Using the chart, locate the correct conjugation by matching the subject pronoun with the appropriate tense for the subject. This will tell you which ending is added to the verb stem of  travers-. For example, I am crossing is  je traverse  and we crossed is  nous traversions Present Future Imperfect je traverse traverserai traversais tu traverses traverseras traversais il traverse traversera traversait nous traversons traverserons traversions vous traversez traverserez traversiez ils traversent traverseront traversaient The Present Participle of Traverser Adding an -ant ending to the stem of traverser gives you the present participle of traversant. Traverser  in the Compound Past Tense The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is a compound past tense that is often used in French and you might find it easier than the imperfect. Thats because you only need to conjugate the  auxiliary verb  avoir  into the present tense to match the subject, then attach the  past participle  traversà ©. The construction is rather easy. For example, I crossed is  jai traversà ©Ã‚  and we crossed is  nous avons traversà ©. Even though  avoir  is in the present tense, the past participle takes over the job of explaining that the action has already taken place. More Simple Conjugations of  Traverser There are a number of other conjugations of  traverser  and each has a different purpose, but were going to stick with the essentials for this lesson. As you expand your vocabulary, you might want to imply that the action of crossing may or may not happen. In that case, youll use the subjunctive. If, however, the crossing wont happen unless something else does, you can use the conditional.   On rare occasions, you might encounter the passà © simple or imperfect subjunctive. While theyre not essential additions to your French vocabulary, they are good to know. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je traverse traverserais traversai traversasse tu traverses traverserais traversas traversasses il traverse traverserait traversa traverst nous traversions traverserions traversmes traversassions vous traversiez traverseriez traverstes traversassiez ils traversent traverseraient traversrent traversassent Lets suppose that you need to tell someone to Cross! in an emergency or some other situation that requires a quick, short command. In these instances, you can turn to the imperative  form of traverser. When using it, skip the subject pronoun and simply say, Traverse ! Imperative (tu) traverse (nous) traversons (vous) traversez

Real world negotiation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Real world negotiation - Assignment Example At the same time, he walked towards the exit threatening to leave. Afraid to lose a sale, Chris called him back and requested him to be patient. Josh offered Chris R.200 for the shoes. However, after much bargaining, the two were approaching an agreement at R.300 for the black shoes. Josh changed his mind almost immediately, claiming that he liked the grey shoes more and would buy them if Chris offered him a free water-bottle. Chris sold him the grey pair of shoes along with the water-bottle for R.300. The â€Å"lowball/ highball† tactic is used to make the other party move towards the resistance point. The tactic is used majorly in business negotiations, where the purchasing party quotes an extremely low price to induce the seller to lower the opening offer. In the above situation, Josh’s asking price was R.200, which was much lower than the seller’s price of R.500. Eventually, the tactic paid off since Josh eventually convinced Chris to sell the shoes to him at R.300.Therefore, this situation fulfills the lowball/highball tactic of negotiation. In this case, an emotional ploy is used to force the other party into bending their will towards the intimidator’s likeness (Ghauri, Pervez and Usunier 90).When used in any negotiation, the intimidator will feign an emotion such as anger to make the other party do what they want out of fear/panic. In this situation, Josh dropped the shoes and threatened to leave the store. The act of anger intimidated Chris, forcing him to call Josh back for a better negotiation. The intimidation tactic worked perfectly for Josh. The â€Å"aggressive behaviour† tactic is used to force the other party to make concessions to reach an agreement (Ghauri, Pervez and Usunier 91). Josh uses this tactic when he notifies Chris that he does not want to waste time, and also when he asks him to explain the high price of R. 500. In this case, the tactic was not helpful as Chris does not bother explaining how he obtained his

A Study of Performances Improvement on IT Project Management Workers Dissertation

A Study of Performances Improvement on IT Project Management Workers ..A Case Study of China's C Information Technologies Co - Dissertation Example Moreover, Maslow’s motivational theory is used in understanding the motivation for improved performance within C Information Technologies Ltd. More importantly, the evaluation and discussion of factors affecting the performance of individuals and the strategies used by companies to improve performance are analysed and discussed within the paper. Introduction and Background The human resource function of contemporary organizations has revealed an increased focus on performance management for IT employees. Wikina (2008, p. 19) explains that this is attributed to the increased competitiveness within various markets and the changes in work activities which emanate from the advancement of information and communication technology. Performance management involves employee evaluation within the IT department which acts as a guideline for the needs of employees for skills, knowledge and abilities that will allow them to improve their productivity and performance at the work place (Gheo rghe & Hack, 2007, p. 17). China is a very competitive and rapidly growing economy especially within the IT sector. In addition, companies operating in China have experienced tremendous changes in the recent past which are related to the changing business environment and the demand for IT expertise. It is because of these challenges that most organizations and companies within China have demonstrated an increased regard for performance improvement for IT staff through employee development and training. This paper presents a report on the investigation on performance improvement among IT project management workers within C Information Technologies Ltd. The Chinese company acts as a case study for this investigation which is aimed at achieving a deeper understanding of the process of performance management as it is applicable within this company. More specifically, the study will achieve an analysis and evaluation of the characteristics of the company’s IT staff such as skills and attitudes towards work. This analysis will be conjugated with a study on the various factors which affect the performance of the C Information Technologies Ltd.’s IT staff with a view of determining the need for improvement. Furthermore the paper explores past literature on the topic to analyse and discuss the factors affecting performance management and the best strategies of improving the performance of the IT project workers within the IT industry. More significantly though is the fact that this study applies scientific methodology approach in meeting the following research questions and objectives. Objectives of the Study 1. To explore upon the theoretical framework on incentives and motivation of IT project staff which contributes to improved performance 2. To find out the important factors which affect job performance of IT project staff 3. To determine the most effective techniques and strategies in performance management which will improve the performance of IT pr oject staff within C Information Technologies Ltd. Research Questions 1. What are the performance characteristics of IT project staff within C Information Technologies Ltd? 2. What theoretical framework describes the motivations and incentives behind the level of performance among the c C Information Tec

Woman Crouching and Pollard Birches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Woman Crouching and Pollard Birches - Essay Example Since Van Gogh used a special ink in his drawing, an iron gall ink, the artwork got through a deterioration due to the decaying of the ink. This made the paper of his artwork consume itself. â€Å"The drawing is 34 x 54 cm in size, produced in Nuenen of March 1884. The artwork is displayed in Van Gogh Museum at Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Europe†1. The â€Å"Woman Crouching† by Egon Schiele. This drawing is a 70 x 100 artwork pencil drawing on a durable vellum paper, 1918. His artworks were known for distorted nude and semi-nude drawings that transpires eroticism and suffering. Schiele was sometime imprisoned due to immortality and during his arrest he was able to create a number of drawings and watercolors that really showcased his artistry. â€Å"He was able to produce around 3,500 artworks during his lifetime (1890 – 1918)†2. ______________________ 1 Van Gogh, Vincent. â€Å"Pollard Birches† 1884. Online, http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/Dra wing/1395/Pollard-Birches.html 7 November 2011. 2 Schiele, Egon. â€Å"Crouching Woman† 1918. Online, http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Woman-Crouching-1918-Posters_i8065143_.htm 7 November 2011. 2. Comparison The first point to compare is the aerial or the atmospheric perspective of the two images. Image number one showcases great distinctive intrusion as it transpires better depth than image number two. It gives beating of contrast and element as it draws farther in view which illustrates its depth and illusion of space. â€Å"The partial overlapping of one object from the other also brings about heightened emphasis and greater perspective to the image which supersedes its focus and identity†3. The shades, shadow, brightness and texture bring in life to the first image than the image number two. Thus for the point of foreshortening, image #2 is better than image #1. It appears that the objects emerge compacted which therefore takes in an effect on its perspective that li ves out distortion as what has mostly seen in the works of the artist in image number two. â€Å"Consequently, it makes the foreshortening of the image to be an artistic medium that brings about volume and dimension†4. It has successfully executed drama and emphasized greater space. The first picture emphasizes depth while image number two alleviates it artistry through the volume and dimension of the picture. Lastly is the value of the drawing. The aim is to make your drawing realistic. In this case, image #1 was able to create value to the drawing through shading and focus between areas. â€Å"Building up the bare surroundings and lightly shading the focus areas is the approach given to this that therefore creates an illusion of dimension†5. Image #2 thus on the other hand fails to give a value drawing for it has distinct lines which made it a linear drawing than a value one. 3 N.p. â€Å"Atmospheric or Aerial Perspective† 2004. Online, http://studiochalkboard .evansville.edu/ap-aerial.html 7 November 2011. 4 Helen South. â€Å"Foreshortening†. Online, http://drawsketch.about.com/od/drawingglossary/g/foreshortening.htm 7 November 2011. 5 Helen South. â€Å"Drawing Value – Shading Tonal Values with Graphite Pencil†. Online, http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/pencilgraphite/a/tonal_drawing.htm 7 November 2011. 3. Conclusion Taking into consideration the three bases of comparison in this paper which includes; Atmospheric Perspective, Foreshortening and Value we can now therefore conclude that image number one (Pollard Birches) is better than image number two (Crouching Woman). To support this conclusion, here are other artworks made by the two artists (Right by; â€Å"Vincent Van Gogh† 6 and Left by; â€Å"Egon Schiele† 7). It can be clearly seen that the drawings of Van Gogh are more in-depth that the works of Schiele. Though they are beautiful in

Physical Assesment Case Study # 2 Research Paper

Physical Assesment Case Study # 2 - Research Paper Example For instance; diabetes can be detected first through an eye examination (Lavine, 2001). Before admission of the patient, it is important to present a comprehensive document containing the history and exam findings of the patient. Additionally, a medical plan should be outlined in addressing the issue which led to hospital visit by the patient. In the document, the information should be arranged in a logical order. The data that has immediate relevant information about the patient’s conditions should be given priority. This information is important to the medical service providers that are going to attend to this particular patient. Finally, this document is crucial for medical purposes (Blanco et al., 2002). Jessica, 32 years lady, has experienced a decrease of vision in her left eye. The condition started this morning and it has worsened progressively over the past few hours. In the past, a month ago, she had blurring of her vision. She has been experiencing some pain when trying to move her eye. When the eye is rested there is no such pain. She also has problem of determining colors. The condition just came and it was not triggered by exposure to chemicals. The eyes do not show any sign of redness or tearing. In her argument, she thinks that past condition is related to the present condition. Additionally, she has observed that the problem might be related to overheating since the vision improved when she went to a cool air condition environment. She has always been physically healthy. It is only in her childhood that at 10 years she had chickenpox. She also had tonsillectomy at age 11. She has never been hospitalized in the past. It has also been noted that her father had coronary artery disease and her mother suffered from hypertension. Currently she has no other medical problems. In the area of education and career; she is a trained mathematics teacher at undergraduate