Skinner’s Use of Metaphor in Explaining the Behaviorism...

Skinner’s Use of Metaphor in Explaining the Behaviorism of Walden Two B. F. Skinner revolutionized the field of psychology through his numerous writings on behaviorism. However, he began his collegiate life as an English major, and his education in literary techniques and devices clearly shows through in the manipulation of metaphor in his famous novel Walden Two. Although Skinner rarely diverges from the incessant description of behavioral engineering through his mouthpiece in the novel, Frazier, he occasionally digresses from the theory and application of scientific experimentation to the literary elements that are essential to any novel. One of these elements, the metaphor of the sheep that appears at the beginning and†¦show more content†¦The novel, an exposition of behaviorist thought, is almost a Socratic dialogue with Frazier acting as the famed questioning philosopher and Castle as the ignorant pupil, through which the superiority of behavioral engineering is eventually proven. Although Castle leaves disenchanted with w hat he considers a fascist ideology, Burris eventually succumbs to the appeal of Walden Two and participates in Frazier’s experiment of humanity. Although these crucial ideas might overshadow the literary merits of Walden Two, Skinner the English major understood the importance of every minor detail and digression from the main narrative. The sheep, which serve no purpose to the plot of the story, illustrate Skinner’s behaviorist ideas through metaphor. The sheep benefit the community in a superficial sense by acting as a more efficient lawnmower, requiring only the work of moving a portable fence. Although once electrocuted, the fence is now just string, and the only other restraint is a sheepdog, the Bishop, which guards the sheep watchfully. This idea works on a deeper level to help Skinner relate his scientific ideas to literary ones. As Frazier expounds upon the

A Successful Revolution, Strong And Perspicacious Leadership

There are many different factors that make up a successful revolution, strong and perspicacious leadership (such as Girolamo Savonarola in Florence 1494), a universal set of grievances and demands and the ability to identify the weaknesses of the state (such as in the case of the Paris commune). However, perhaps the most important factor in deciding the fate of a revolution is the location. Logically, the ideal setting for a revolution is an urban area, with a dense population to allow the opportunity to quickly round up supporters, a small surface area so that no supporters have to travel further than they are willing to, nice wide streets to create the opportunity to demonstrate and protest in great numbers therefore increasing the effect of mob mentality which can be crucial to any revolution, and of course, a target. A building or person for the people to attack, be that a parliamentary building, a leader’s fortress or the leader themselves. That’s not to say revolu tions cannot begin in rural areas, however, these generally begin in these areas by quietly drumming up support before moving to a major or capital city. The most obvious example of this being the Cuban revolution, which moved from one country to another before it had truly begun. Of all of these geographical factors perhaps the most important of them is the target, the building or person that the revolution will make the enemy and focus its energy against. Without something for the rebels to attack, thereShow MoreRelatedThe Bolshevik Tactics that Allowed the October Revolution1796 Words   |  7 Pageswas mainly the tactics of the Bolshevik leadership that made possible the October Revolution. INTRO: It was undoubtedly the Bolshevik leadership that made possible the revolution. It was the excellent combination of Trotsky’s rhetoric, rallying and inspiring personality, Lenin’s astute ability to judge the political mien and the whole party’s force and power within the country that led to superb tactics that would eventually make possible the October Revolution. Most modern historians agree that the

Knowing Your Audience Free Essays

Knowing the people in your audience can play a big part on the workmanship of your communication with them. I have noticed that just because someone has good communication skills does not mean they will do well when it comes to presentations because of the variety of people they will be talking to. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowing Your Audience or any similar topic only for you Order Now Over all the years that I have been going to seminars for work purposes, I have noticed that all of the presenters have done it differently but they have all been affective. Anyone presenter can improve their presentation skills by giving him or herself time to discover and research their audience before they start their seminar. The presenter should start by knowing who will attend, and what the audience is expecting to get from the presentation, once the presenter has this information they can start preparing for their speech.(Kettenkofen, 2006) Other than rehearsing for your presentation, nothing will improve your skills more than knowing the details about your audience. There are many things to consider when someone is trying to get to know their audience. Some characteristics that I look for are male or female, age of the people, level of education, attitude, expertise of topic, cultural background, and even the geographical location (Kurtus, 2005). The presenter will need to know the percentage of males to females and the average age of his or her audience; this will help them pinpoint the audiences over time. The level of educational background within the audience makes a big difference as well does the expertise of the topic the audience already may know. Knowing if the audience has an educational background will change the way the presenter should talk to them, whether to speak to them as they would a friend or as they would to a professional businessperson. If the people in this audience want to be there at the seminar or it is something required by their employer or their position, can change the attitude and how the presenter will want to c ome across. The most important characteristic to me would be the geographical location of the presentation compared to the geographical location of the people in the audience. It will change the cultural background more than people may think. The best ways to help the presenter find out about the characteristics of their audience would be using communication channels. They could start by mingling with the  people before the presentation starts, that way they get to know some of the people and their personalities. As a presenter, I like to start with three different types of jokes and see what the people in the audience react to best, such as political, silly, or straight liners and go from there. Beware of the diversity of the audience. Beings there are so many different types of people in this world; you need to be careful of what you might say. There are techniques that presenters can use to get the people in his or her audience to warm up to him or her. The person speaking would want to start by promoting him or herself. Once the audience feels comfortable the presenter will know more about the people in the audience, and that will help with how to present. There are people in this world that take things to heart faster than others do. As presenters, we need to be careful of these people so we do not offend them, because if you do the presentation will only get harder from there. Once the person giving the information has recognized his or her audience, they will want to ensure that they come up with the perfect way to get the information across. Just like everything else, they are different ways to go about this. Some of these are to use interacting, PowerPoint, handouts, or just talking with no other material. I personally like to start with a PowerPoint presentation; depending on the information I got about my audience, I would use graphs showing progress. Giving information to your superiors (management and stakeholders) or customers, you always want plenty of detail so you can answer any question that you think might come up, and try to answer it in your PowerPoint before it is asked. Within the PowerPoint, I would put few bullet points but have plenty to talk about with each bullet point. Everyone wants to see the progress whether it is within the company or with the product that they are buying. Charts are a way to make sure the audience is watching the PowerPoint; most people do well with visual information and they will understand it better. The recommendations that I would give any person expected to give a presentation or even write a paper, would be to know the audience and know it well. Most people I talk to about this, tell me that they know the people they will be giving the presentation to. What they do not understand is just because they know who the people are; have they done their research on how the people interact wit h information. There is a difference in knowing someone and knowing how to present towards those  people. Every time that I have to give a speech, I am usually not the first person to talk to the audience. What I do is sit aside the audience and watch how they are interacting with the speaker as he or she talks. I then readjust my information to coincide with what is working best with the audience, which is present. What we need to realize is that we need not to panic when giving our presentation. Note that anything can be changed wants we have figured out our audience, whether it is the order of the information or the depth that we go into on each point, etc. Practice is well needed in anything we do, but knowing how to play the game makes you the player that you are. So practice your writing and speech, but know your audience and you will conquer. How to cite Knowing Your Audience, Papers Knowing Your Audience Free Essays Running head: KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE Knowing Your Audience Name BCOM/275 Teacher Knowing Your Audience On August 5, 2010, a small copper mine located in Chile suffered a cave-in which left 33 workers trapped underground. With workers being trapped 300 meters below ground with limited food, water, and oxygen, nobody knew for sure how long they would survive. After four days of being trapped, there was still no idea if any of the miners were even alive. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowing Your Audience or any similar topic only for you Order Now Never before have so many workers survived being trapped underground for so long (Yang, 2010). Fortunately, in this case, tears turned to amazement as all 33 miners were located and rescued without any lives lost. Nobody really ever expects to encounter a situation like this until it happens. What does the employer tell the families of those who are trapped in the mine? What does the employer tell its employees? These are questions that many people do not prepare themselves for. These types of communications must be handled delicately and with the audience in mind. What are some considerations to remember given the different roles and people in the audience? This paper will discuss some of the potential needs of the families of the miners in receiving a message about this incident. It will also discuss the potential needs of the company’s employees when receiving a message about this incident. Finally, this paper will talk about what actions a person must take before and after the message is delivered to ensure that it was received as intended. As mentioned earlier, there are some considerations a person has to remember when communicating with the families of the victims and employees in this matter because of the different roles and people in the audience. If the audience is not taken into consideration when conveying a message, the communication could be lost, misunderstood, or incomplete. This could leave the audience misinformed and angry. When communicating with the families, there should be a sense of empathy and sympathy directed toward them. Communication to the families should be prompt so that they do not have to hear about what happened to their loved ones on the news. The families of the victims would probably like to know how this could have happened and what is being done to get them out. The families don’t know as much about mining as the employees do so they would probably like an explanation of what went wrong. These types of situations are tough because the company wants to keep the families informed, but sometimes the sender knows as much about the incident as the families do. Communicating to the employees about the incident would be a little different. People that work in the mining field know about the dangers of cave-ins already. So there would be no need to go into detail about the incident. The communication should reiterate the importance of safety on-the-job. The communication should also let the employees know that everything possible is being done to rescue the trapped workers. Keeping in mind that the employees could have friends who are trapped, the communication should also mention to employees that if they are not in the â€Å"right state of mind† to work, they should take time off for their own safety. Before a message of any kind is delivered to the audience it should be proofread and double-checked for grammatical errors and misspelled words. The sender should also find out if there are going to be any language barriers when communicating with the audience. If the method of communication is a phone call, it is a good idea to have a prewritten script to read off of to ensure that the communication is clear and concise. At the end of the message, the sender should ask the audience if they have any questions regarding the message or the situation. This will make sure that the message was delivered clearly and accurately. Depending on the circumstances, a follow-up communication may be made necessary to keep the families and employees up-to-date on the situation. Conclusion All communications must be designed with the audience in mind. The communication will vary, depending on the circumstances and needs of the audience. If the needs of the audience are not considered before conveying a message, there is a good chance the communication could be incomplete, inaccurate, or unsuitable for the audience. In a situation like what occurred in the Chilean mine collapse, extra care needs to be taken when reaching out to the families of the victims. References Weik, J. (2010). Over 30 workers trapped after chilean mine collapse. Manuscript submitted for publication, Library, University of Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona. Retrieved from http://web. ebscohost. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. om/ehost/detail? sid=84e3b3de-0140- Yang, J. (2010). From collapse to rescue: inside the chile mine. The Star, Retrieved from http://www. thestar. com/news/world/chile/article/873382 Communication 1 (Phone call to families of trapped miners) This is Mike Miller, operations supervisor at San Jose mine. One of our mines suffered a cave-in today leavi ng 33 of our employees, including your husband, trapped underground for the time being. We have no information as to their physical condition or how long it will be before we can reach them. We have everyone possible working on the situation and we are hoping to have them out very soon. I just want to let you know that my prayers are with your family. If you have any questions at all don’t hesitate to call. As soon as we hear anything you will be the first to know. Communication 2 (Memo to employees) To: San Jose Mine Employees One of our mines suffered a cave-in today leaving 33 of our employees trapped underground. We are currently working on the situation and are doing everything we can to reach them. This situation should remind us how careful we need to be when we are working in the mines. As soon as we have any information on the situation we will let you know. Human Resources How to cite Knowing Your Audience, Papers

Challenges Faced by Trade Unions free essay sample

â€Å"Black labour unions in south Africa are of great value to policy makers who recognize that the industrial work force has often served as a catalyst for political progress and social change in the developing world. It was not uncommon for leaders of the independence movements to have come out of the ranks of organized labor, the trade unions were training grounds and early vehicles of political expression as they were often the only form of organized activity permitted by the colonial authorities. . (Freeman Bendahmane 1978, p. 1) INTRODUCTION The South African history is one that has had a dramatic influence on all its citizens, socially, politically and economically. The difficulties faced by south Africans during oppression and the apartheid era have made south Africans the way they are today in terms of knowing their rights and how to fight for such rights. There were massive political movements that were formed by activists who wanted to fight for the rights of all black workers within the labor market. The trade unions played an important role towards the development of new legislation laws that favored not only the white population but also the blacks Indians and colored’s . The South African economy was weakened by punishment, and sheltered by the apartheid governments protectionist policies. This has created certain challenges for organized labour. On one hand, the South African trade union movement maintained a significant following and organizational continuity in recent years combined with union decline, and enjoys an unique degree of political influence on account of its alliance with the ruling African National Congress (ANC). On the other hand, it has had to battle with a decreasing combination of possible employers as a result of increasing retrenchments and restructuring, particularly in fundamental areas of the economy such as the metal and mining industries. he challenge is to retain the integrity of a union voice whilst continuing to compromise where necessary with both state and capital. A: Unions/labour legislation. Apart from crime and the issue of education and training, in my view the single most important immediate reason for increasing unemployment is the set of interlocking labour laws that have been introduced in recent years, together with the militant behaviour of the trade unions. Because of the Labour Relations Act, The Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and the Employment Equity Act, employers cannot employ the best person for the job without potential interference of a government officials, and – most importantly – cannot get rid of people who are not turning up for work, are performing badly, are stealing, or are undermining the functioning of the organisation in other ways, without a costly, time consuming, and very aggravating process often involving labour lawyers, labour courts, and arbitration. The Minister of Labour claims that such interference in the employment process and the resulting `labour market inflexibility’ has not been proved to be a significant factor in increasing unemployment. I can only assume he has not adequately talked to the people who create employment, and in particular those who have decided not to do so in view of the onerous burdens placed on anyone wishing to create employment – and is for example ignoring the fact that the Government itself has asked to be exempted from the provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (see Business Report, Friday May 5th, 2000) because of the way they inhibit getting the job done. The phrase `labour market inflexibility’ does not begin to describe the aggravation of being treated as a criminal by a labour lawyer when one has not fulfilled the law to the letter, in the case of an employee who is drunk on the job and should face immediate dismissal for dereliction of duty . The entrepreneur trying to run a profitable business can find himself or herself spending many days and indeed in some cases months involved with labour courts and arguing the toss with people who simply do not do the work for which they are paid; apart from the aggravation and effort involved, this causes major loss of valuable time, preventing one from getting on with the real job at hand. The outcome is inevitable: a choice to replace labour by mechanisation wherever possible. There is an iron-clad law involved: the more difficult it is to dismiss someone who is not doing the work they are paid to do, the less likely one is to employ anyone at all if there is any alternative route open. For example, a local entrepreneur was setting up a company to manufacture paper plates, and had the choice of employing 20 people in a low-tech but satisfactory approach, or investing R1. 25m on a high-tech machine from Taiwan that would carry out the task, in this case employing only two people. In view of the above factors, he chose the latter route. Why then have these laws been introduced? A likely suggestion is that the Department of Labour is dominated by ex-trade unionists who have never created a job in their lives and so have not had to face the risks entrepreneurs take in so doing, but now largely control the shape of these labour laws. Now there certainly is a need for laws to protect workers from major exploitation, but the laws we now have in place are not those laws. They would be very suitable for a rich country like Switzerland or Sweden with a highly trained, disciplined, and highly motivated labour force – but that is precisely what we do not have, in the main. The essence of the current situation is that under pressure from the trade unions, the Government, through the Department of Labour, is providing an ever more privileged situation for the employed, at the expense of the unemployed. The Trade Unions themselves are acting strongly for the benefit of their own members alone, who are the labour aristocracy precisely because they are employed. The union’s professed concern for the unemployed rings very hollow when one understands the impact of the laws they have been instrumental in shaping it is the unemployed who bear the major cost of these laws, through the diminished possibility of their obtaining employment . Last year the Trade Unions engaged in `rolling mass action’ involving a series of strikes and public demonstrations to protest unemployment – while at the same time lobbying for even more onerous conditions to be put in place to block the dismissal of unproductive employees. This activity is truly ironic – apart from the immediate effects of such strikes, inevitably leading to job losses due to lost . The government is aware that something needs to be done to break the stranglehold of these labour laws on entrepreneurial enterprises, but has not showed the resolution needed to get it done. Until they do, it is a safe bet that unemployment will continue to increase . The recently proposed changes to labour law make a marginal improvement in some areas, but these are balanced by negatives in other areas – they certainly are not the clear hange that could turn unemployment issue around. The situation is clearly stated in a quote from the Malamulela Social Movement for the Unemployed: â€Å"We know from experience in trying to find jobs for the unemployed that the sector most likely to offer employment to the poor and unskilled, small and medium enterprises, is constrained by that sector’s struggling efforts to comply with our current l abour legislation. We have for long suggested that the best way to remedy this is by allowing workers and employers in that sector to enter into voluntary agreements that are exempted from the onerous provisions of the labour legislation, and that take the interests of the worker and the small enterprise into account† (P C Mashego, Business Day 2001-02-21, page 14). This view is supported by a highly pertinent quote from an employer in response to the presently announced changes: â€Å"My husband and I started our business 10 years ago and today employ about 80 people. We were full of enthusiasm and employed only unemployed people where possible, training them on the job. Sure they may have started on a low salary but if they were hard working and willing they were soon rewarded. If not, they were out. Today I hate coming to work. All we want to do is sell our business and start something that does not require labour. We fall under a bargaining council so wages, increases, hours, etc. are dictated to us and are non-negotiable. I spend much time on disciplinary action paperwork and stressing to managers that paperwork must be done. †¦ Staff generally are aware of all their rights, but have no concept of the word obligation. They are convinced ?