Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI)

Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) Discuss the weaknesses of the Occupational Stress Indicator. What are the alternatives? The Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) is one of the most frequently used measures of occupational stress. Its intention is to provide practical help to individuals and their organizations (Cooper et al., 1988). It was designed to measure the key components of the stress process and work study in a wide variety of organizations. The original occupational scale contained over 200 items scored on a 6-point Likert-type scale. The Indicator consists of one biographical questionnaire and six questionnaires each measuring different dimensions of stress. For example, source of stress, moderating factor in aspects of dealing with stress and the stressors affects on the individual and situation. The sources of pressure questionnaire have six subscales and are a measure of factors thought to have a role in the aetiology of occupational stress. There are three questionnaires for assessing moderating variables: these are for type A behaviour pattern with three subscales, locus of control with t hree subscales, and coping strategies with five subscales. A further three questionnaires for mental ill-health, physical ill-health, and job satisfaction (with six subscales), assess strain or `stress effects. In simple terms, the OSI uses questionnaire statements to assess, a) how you feel about your job b) how you assess your current state of health, c) the way you behave generally, d) how you interpret events around you e) sources of pressure in your job, and f) how you cope with the stress you experience. OSI questionnaires are based on identifying three key elements of the stress process-effects, sources, and individual differences-and the scale places appraisal at the centre of the process. In particular, it is felt that it is not the demand or the source of pressure itself that is the issue; it is the perception of that pressure (Lazarus, 1966). It follows that the perception of individual differences such as coping and support and the perception of stress outcomes such as w ell-being and job satisfaction should also be measured. Pratt and Barling (1988) stated that it is as important to measure the interpretation that individuals give to an event as it is to measure the event itself. The recognition that appraisal plays a key role in the stress process makes it appropriate to use self-report questionnaires to measure stress at work. The essence behind the OSI was to provide a measurement scale, which would in turn provide a link between theoretical knowledge – in particular Lazarus (1966) Transactional Model and empirical evidence. Before discussing alternatives, it is important to evaluate the strengths of the instrument – and assess the positive attributes that the indicator has provided for future research. Although self-report mechanisms of discovering data have had criticism for its susceptibility towards experimenter bias – i.e. participants lying for socially desirable reasons, or over-playing/down-playing their answers for personal means, self report instruments are a valuable way of seeking responses from the core source themselves. Thus responses are first hand – and not an interpretation from a second or third party. In regards to work related stress – it has been found that self- reported health is a good indicator of the health status (Farmer Ferraro, 1997) and there is a positive relationship between self-reported health and self-efficacy (Parkatti, Deeg, Bosscher, Launer, 1998). Thus, this may imply that self report responses collected from a measurement like the OSI may well yield valid responses in regards to their health and how this in turn may affect how they feel about their working environment and how they perform within it. There has been a considerable body of research that has investigated self-reported health and occupational stress. It is accepted that in work situations stress due to increased psychological demands and reduced job control is related to poor self- reported health (Andries et al., 1996). Therefore, asking employee’s to complete the complex occupational stress indicator questionnaires may indicate where this stress is coming from and how the person perceives they are dealing in the situation. The major advantage of the OSI is that it is a mechanism of which may highlight a potential damaging work-related stress problem – not only high-lighting the problem, but the scale attempts to highlight its source and potential solution as well. The OSI has been used extensively since its publication in 1988. However, up until the late 1990’s, the scale has not been changed or been amended in any way. A number of studies have reviewed the design and use of the questionnaire in attempt to test the psychometric properties of the OSI, and to see if the instrument could be improved. The original OSI suffered from being developed on the basis of a very small (N = 156) sample. Therefore, it was important in any evaluation of the scale to include a vast sample to prepare the analysis from. In attempt to evaluate the scale structure and reliability, Williams (1996) analyzed the data for over 20,000 participants working in over 100 different organizations. The data was collected between 1990 and the end of 1995 from a wide variety of organizations in the public and private sector in the United Kingdom. Accounting for errors, a sample of 4,455 individuals in total adds support to a great body of literature that presents a consi stent picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the Occupational Stress Indicator. Through analyse, the scale appears strong at measuring job satisfaction, mental and physical health, and sources of pressure (Cooper Bramwell, 1992; Rees Cooper, 1992; Robertson et al., 1990). However, if the aim of the OSI questionnaires are to identify key elements of the stress process- e.g. the effects, sources, and individual differences-the indicator is somewhat flawed. The indicator is not so strong at evaluating the extend to which the individual feels in control of their situation (i.e. locus of control) or what behaviour, coping strategies people are most likely to adopt (Kirkcaldy, Cooper, Eysenck, Brown, 1994). Thus, the scales seem to lack in the ability to address the fundamental issue of individual differences in the process of stress, and how one perceives and copes with their situation. Therefore, there is strong evidence to suggest that the scale itself needs improvement or redesi gn to account for this (Williams Cooper, 1997). To discuss alternatives or improvements for the Occupational Stress Indicator – one needs to highlight how we define stress and how this definition is relevant in the work place. Stress can be regarded as the sum of total of environmental demands that tax our mental resources. For some (e.g. Lazarus, 1975), stress only has impact if we appraise it as threatening or harmful to ourselves. Symptoms of stress are varied but often present itself as some kind of strain in psychological, physiological, behavioural or physical health. Information about the individual and stress is often accumulated through self-report questionnaires. The most common (but not necessarily the strongest method) is through the use of a cross sectional design – such as the OSI. All data collected via this method is self-report and collected from the same people at the same time. There is danger in this approach – as it can often inflate the correlations observed between job-factors and the st rain outcome, and this does not accurately indicate the direction of causality. Conclusions derived from such analysis are often in terms of ‘main effects’ (of work related factors) and modifiers (moderate, mediators – variables that serve to enhance or attenuate the effect of job stress). For example, the level of control or autonomy against level of work load put upon the individual. However, this does not clearly tell us whether these two variables are related or independent of each other. It is merely assumed that one causes the other. As mentioned before, the flaws of the OSI seem to be in its ability (or lack of ability) to reliably identify how one perceives their situation and addresses coping strategies to suit. Lazarus (1975) account of occupational stress is useful here. He purposes a transactional cognitive view of stress. Lazarus believes that it is not just the environment that needs to be taken into account when considering sources of stress, but also a look at the person and how they ‘fit’ into the environment. Lazarus (1975) believes that there is a transaction between the environment and the person. This transaction is only stressful if a) the person believes the outcome of behaviour is relevant to personal goals/beliefs and b) if the person recons that the environmental demands exceed the personal resources of the individual. Furthermore, every encounter between the environment and the person involves appraisal and coping strategies. Lazarus (1975) believes that since perception of the s tressor is all important, it is pointless to pursue objective indicators of the environment. Rather it is this perception of the situation that indicators how stressed one will feel. A great criticism of the OSI is in its complexity and its length. This makes the administration of the scale a timely process. In response to this, Faragher, Cooper and Cartwright (2004) purpose an alternative, two-stage, risk assessment process. This involves an initial screening questionnaire for all employees of a given work place, and then conventional risk assessment tools are used to evaluate in detail just those individuals identified as having a potential stress problem. There are three main sections of the questionnaire which measure employee perceptions of their job, organizational commitment and employee health. This shorter version of the Occupation Stress Indicator is termed the ASSET – A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool. Tests of just under 10,000 employees in 100 public and private sector organizations within Britain found ASSET to be quick and easy to complete, generating a high response rate. Thus in comparison to the OSI, the evaluation of the ASSET provides evidence that it possesses good reliability (a small number of reliable factors which increases the ease of interpretation) and has good reports of validity. However, it could be regarded that this shortened scale may have negative consequences for its validity. For example, the ASSET is put forward as a two stage ‘risk assessment’. This implies that the scale is administrated to assess the employee’s susceptibility to feeling stressed. Therefore, this ignores that there is an interaction between the environment and the person, but instead, puts heavy emphasis on the person’s ability to cope in a given environment. Therefore, this type of risk assessment may be perceived as more of a ‘test’ – rather than a support mechanism. Therefore, the validity of the screening scale itself is put into question – as it is highly likely that participants will want to answer in a socially acceptable manner to avoid incrimination. . Another scale that has adopted a shorter format is the Pressure Management Indicator. Williams Cooper, (1996) cite this model as more reliable, more comprehensive, and shorter than the OSI. The Pressure Management Indicator did infact evolved from the Occupational Stress Indicator. Therefore, the comparisons between the two scales here, opposed to the ASSET scale, are more valid and useful. Therefore, its inventors regard it as the replacement indicator of occupational stress. Williams and Copper (1998) examined existing measures of stress (directly and indirectly related to work) – these included questionnaires on mental health (e.g., Crown Crisp, 1979), job satisfaction (e.g., Warr, Cook, Wall, 1979), and locus of control (e.g., Rotter, 1966) and worked from the original OSI to produce a standardized, reliable, compact, and comprehensive instrument to measure work-related stress. The PMI incorporates three main scales; stress-outcome, stressor and the moderator factor. The stress-outcome scales measure, job and organizational satisfaction, organizational security, organizational commitment, anxiety-depression, resilience, worry, physical symptoms, and exhaustion. The stressor scales cover pressure from workload, relationships, career development, managerial responsibility, personal responsibility, home demands, and daily hassles. The moderator variables measure drive, impatience, control, decision latitude, and the coping strategies of problem focus, life work balance, and social support. To overcome the limitations of the original OSI, Williams and Copper (1998) embarked on a comprehensive analysis of the scale, ranging from analysis of the name of the scale – e.g. it was found that the mention of ‘stress’ in the title of the original scale implied there was a ‘stress problem’ in the organisation. Thus changing the name to ‘Pressure’ intended to imply a more neutral term (opposed to stress – the n egative consequence of pressure – William 1994). Through the extensive analysis of the OSI Williams and Copper (1998) revealed the main attributes of the original scale that existed as its weakness – and purposed to find solutions to these problems. For example, as stated the scale could be interpreted as threatening and time consuming. Thus a shortened version was essential. Another issue highlighted with the use of such a lengthy scale – was infact the possibility that a large number of items would increase the co-efficient alpha rating – and thus making the scale appear more reliable than it actually is. Therefore, the production of the PMI was designed to revise the questionnaires and number of items, without sacrificing its psychometric properties. Furthermore, it may be felt that the items on the OSI were bias towards white-collar or executive levels – ignoring the stress felt at lower levels of the organisation. The length and complexity of the OSI may have been bias towards workers who took on re ading activities regularly – opposed to the more manually skilled employee’s with more hands on day to day tasks. With this diversity in mind – it is essential that a vast number of employment scenarios are covered on any stress indicator scale. It may be interpreted that the original OSI was not so diligent in representing such diversity in the work-force. Williams and Copper (1996) were careful to use an extremely diverse data set representing over 100 different organisations from the public and private sectors. Incorporating diversity, it is also important to eradicate cultural boundaries in the questioning material. For example, the acknowledgement and understanding that many companies want to investigate work-related stress across national and ethnic boundaries is important. Therefore, can the OSI be regarded as a multi-cultural measure of occupational stress? It may be suggested that the mere fact it was based on a very small sample of just over 150 people , that it is impossible that is has gained a representative view of the world and the people and organisations within it. Furthermore, the consideration that the world of work is always changing means that the questions on the scales need to reflect changes in demand such as job insecurity and technology. The fact that, the original OSI scale has not been amended since its production renders it out-of-date in many respects. To combat these downfalls, William and Copper (1996), attempt to combine the questionnaires with organization-specific items, in hope of identifying sources of pressure and the use of coping mechanisms. The original scale lacks the ability to provide a cross-occupational and cross-company analysis. The solution was to develop a standardized measure covering all aspects of the stress-strain relationship that is, stressors, moderating factors, and stress outcomes (William and Copper, 1996). The new PMI questionnaires are intended also to help raise awareness of occ upational stress at the individual and organizational level, identify those individuals who need remedial help, and provide information for the design of appropriate interventions In light of the discussion above, the Occupational Stress Indictor has presented many weaknesses – in particular reference to its design, practical administration, validity and reliability. Many have questioned the length and complexity of the original self-report questionnaire. This has led to a revised version of the scales in the form of the PMI (Williams and Copper, 1996). The PMI, developed just under ten years after the original OSI, intended to combat many of its methological concerns such as shortening the administration process and taking into account cultural and occupational differences of its users. It would appear that through the quest to appeal to a wide audience – i.e. a diverse work base, the original OSI flawed due to its lack of ability to be able to offer a reliable source of stress indicator in reference to the individual’s perception of the situation and how they perceive they are coping. Although the original OSI was giving an accurate rep resentation of job satisfaction, mental and physical health, and the sources of pressure – i.e. concrete certainties that are easily measurable, the scale was not so reliable in measuring more abstract properties such as perceptional qualities. Therefore, it may seem a valuable option to concentrate on the perceptual properties of the scale itself to produce more reliable scale that measures how the individual feels, opposed to just how the individual acts in their environment– hence the development of the Pressure Management Indicator. This goes hand in hand with the theoretical assumptions that underpin the measurement scales – e.g. Lazarus transactional model of stress – purposing that there is a transaction between the environment and the person – which in turn may render the interaction as a stressful one or not. It is important to take into account that stress is an interactive process between the stressor and the moderator and the stress out come. The newly revised PMI scale is more advanced than the original OSI scale in that it takes into account this interaction. An important factor highlighted by the ASSET scale is that the administration of an Occupation Stress Indicator or Pressure Management Indicator needs to be as impartial as possible. A large weakness that needs to be overcome about any type of stress indicator is that it is not measuring the person’s ability to cope in stressful situations. For example, the scale is not intended to assess or question personality or to test the personal attributes of the individual, but instead, to provide an indication of how one perceives their working environment and how a number of variables interact to produce potentially stressful effects for the individual. The overall aim of a stress indicator scale is to identify physical and psychological areas of concern that can be highlighted to encourage an optimal balance of stress, coping strategies and support in the w ork place. References Books Cooper, C. L., Sloan, S. J., Williams, S. (1988). Occupational Stress Indicator. Windsor, England: NFER- Nelson. Lazarus, R. S. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York: McGraw-Hill. Lazarus, R.S. (1975). The healthy personality: a review of conceptualizations and research. In Levi, L (Ed). Society, stress and disease, vol 2. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Pratt, L. I., Barling, J. (1988). Differentiating between daily events, acute and chronic stressors: A framework and its implications. Cited in Hurrell, J.J., Murphy, L.R. Sauter, S.L., Cooper, C.L (1998) (Eds.), Occupational stress: Issues and developments in research. London: Taylor Francis. Williams, S. (1994). Managing pressure for peak performance. London: Kogan Page. Williams, S., Cooper, C. L. (1996). Pressure Management Indicator. Harrogate, England: RAD. Williams, S., Cooper, C. L. (1997). The Occupational Stress Indicator. In R. J. Wood Zalaquett, C. (1997) (Ed.). Evaluating stress: A book of resources. Huntsville, TX: Sam Houston State University. Journals Andries, F., Kompier, M. A. J., Smulders, P. G. (1996). Do you think that your health or safety are at risk because of your work? A large European study on psychological and physical work demands. Work Stress, 10, 104-118. Farmer, M. M., Ferraro, K. F. (1997). Distress and perceived health: Mechanisms of health decline. Journal of Health Social Behaviour, 38, 298-311. Cooper, C. L., Bramwell, R. S. (1992). Predictive validity of the strain components of the Occupational Stress Indicator. Stress Medicine, 8, 5760. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Crown, S., Crisp, A. H. (1979). Manual of the Crown-Crisp Experiential Index. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Kirkcaldy, B., Cooper, C. L., Eysenck, M., Brown, J. (1994). Anxiety and coping. Personality and Individual Difference, 17, 681-684. Parkatti, T., Deeg, D. J. H., Bosscher, R. J., Launer, L. L. J. (1998). Physical activity and self-rated health among 55- to 89-year-old Dutch people. Journal of Aging and Health, 10, 311-326 Rees, D. W., Cooper, C. L. (1992). Occupational stress in health service workers in the U.K. Stress Medicine, 8, 79-90. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Robertson, I. T., Cooper, C, L., Williams, J. (1990). The validity of the Occupational Stress Indicator. Work Stress, 4, 29-39. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal vs. external locus of control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80 (1), 609. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Warr, P., Cook, J., Wall, T. (1979). Scales for the measurement of some work attitudes and aspects of psychological well-being. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 52, 129-148. Williams, S. (1996). A critical review and further development of the Occupational Stress Indicator. Doctoral thesis, University of Manchester, Manchester, England. Cited in Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321 Bibliography Hurrell, J.J., Murphy, L.R. Sauter, S.L., Cooper, C.L (1998) (Eds.), Occupational stress: Issues and developments in research. London: Taylor Francis. R. J. Wood Zalaquett, C. (1997). (Eds). Evaluating stress: A book of resources. Huntsville, TX: Sam Houston State University. Schweizer, K. and DÃ ¶brich, P. (2003). Self-reported health, appraisal, coping, and stress in teachers. Psychology Science, Volume 45, (1), p. 92-105 Williams and Copper (1998). Measuring Occupational Stress: Development of the Pressure Management Indicator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 306-321

Importance of Chemistry in Chosen Profession Essay

The international year of Chemistry (2011) should be the key point in a significant growth of the diffusion of chemistry to show society its importance, how it is necessary, which can provide, in order to put it in the appropriate place to be considered by the public. Different activities have been carried out in almost all the science faculties of the Spanish Universities during 2011 to develop the interest in chemistry. Those activities also include the collaboration with teachers in levels before to the University. The Faculty of Science of the University of Extremadura, as well as, in our case, a group of professors, PhD and PhD students are carrying out actions of divulgation of science including chemistry. The aim is to carry out chemical laboratory experiences for high-school students. Experiences in the laboratory were structured in response to different levels of difficulty and looking those more attractive or those that could hit the students. Addressed aspects were related to spectroscopy, surface tension, oxidation, reduction, precipitation, acidity, chromatography, liquid – liquid distillation, etc. The students worked in each activity in groups no larger than 4-5 students and they carried out the experience with the help of the instructor. It is noticeable the great number of activities described in the literature, in the network, etc., for the diffusion of chemistry. However, a crucial aspect is the form in which those experiences are carried out, as well as the participation of the students is active and the goals such as awaken the interest in science in general and chemistry in particular are achieved. Another point is to involve the university community especially the youngest in the necessity to spread the knowledge and the interest in science. We present a catalog of chemical experiences and a plan to be developed extensively to all the levels previous to the university, including primary school level. . Answer: Chemistry has a reputation for being a complicated and boring science, but for the most part, that reputation is undeserved. Fireworks and explosions are based on chemistry, so it’s definitely not a boring science. If you take classes in chemistry, you’ll apply math and logic, which can make studying chemistry a challenge if you are weak in those areas. However, anyone can understand the basics of how things work†¦ and that’s the study of chemistry. In a nutshell, the importance of chemistry is that it explains the world around you. Chemistry Explains†¦ * Cooking Chemistry explains how food changes as you cook it, how it rots, how to preserve food, how your body uses the food you eat, and how ingredients interact to make food. * Cleaning Part of the importance of chemistry is it explains how cleaning works. You use chemistry to help decide what cleaner is best for dishes, laundry, yourself, and your home. You use chemistry when you use bleaches and disinfectants and even ordinary soap and water. How do they work? That’s chemistry! * Medicine You need to understand basic chemistry so you can understand how vitamins, supplements, and drugs can help or harm you. Part of the importance of chemistry lies in developing and testing new medical treatments and medicines. * Environmental Issues Chemistry is at the heart of environmental issues. What makes one chemical a nutrient and another chemical a pollutant? Importance of Taking Chemistry Everyone can and should understand basic chemistry, but it may be important to take a course in chemistry or even make a career out of it. It’s important to understand chemistry if you are studying any of the sciences because all of the sciences involve matter and the interactions between types of matter. Students wanting to become doctors, nurses, physicists, nutritionists, geologists, pharmacists, and (of course) chemists all study chemistry. You might want to make a career of chemistry because chemistry-related jobs are plentiful and high-paying. The importance of chemistry won’t be diminished over time, so it will remain a promising career path.

A Streetcar Named Desire †Commentary Essay

In the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams, Blanche the protagonist who is mentally fragile and depends on her sister’s help to overcome various adversities as her husband’s passing away and her paying many debts decides to move to New Orleans, where her sister lives. Throughout the play, Blanche, who is from a southern part called Laurel, strives to conform to society’s norms and attempts to ï ¬ nd a man to marry her; but she is incapable of feeling involved in the scenery and as a consequence of that, she loses her mentality at the end of the play. In this speciï ¬ c passage, Blanche returns from a date with the character Mitch who desires to marry her to please his ill mother. Through this particular scene, Williams initiates to develop the relationship between the aforementioned characters to reveal that their relationship depends merely on mutual beneï ¬ ts rather than feelings. In this particular scene, Williams establishes the codependent relationship between Mitch and Blanche, which is founded on mutual loneliness and the desire to be with anyone, to demonstrate that society employs pressure on each and every individual to conform to its norms. Initially, Williams assigns the elements of punctuation to highlight that the characters Blanche and Mitch are forced to have a relationship that only depends on the desire to be with anyone because of gender stereotypes that society puts forth. For instance, the playwright utilizes the element dash to demonstrate that Mitch and Blanche awkwardly hesitate to approach each other. Mitch states the line â€Å"Can I – uh – kiss you – good-night?†, and Blanche states the line â€Å"The one that says the lady must entertain the gentleman – or no dice!†. The dashes in these two quotes convey that both Mitch and Blanche appear to be hesitant and forced to be in this relationship. They tend to be indecisive about whether to ï ¬ nish their sentences or not. The characters’ uncertainty draws a conclusion that they feel irresolute about whether they should comply with gender stereotypes of society or not. Additionally, Williams supports the aforementioned claim by utilizing another element of punctuation called ellipsis. Blanche states the line â€Å"I liked the kiss very much. It was the other little – familiarity – that I – felt obliged to – discourage†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The utilization of ellipsis in this sentence once again proves that the characters constantly complete their sentences with hesitation and that they are uncomfortable talking to each other. Their constantly hesitating shown by these elements is due to the fact that in this particular setting, gender stereotypes are put forth by society which commands individuals to marry anyone to be regarded as â€Å"normal† by the others. Blanche and Mitch, who do not actually bear feelings for each other, choose each other to comply with these rules, but as a consequence of this situation, they appear to be forced to have this relationship in order to conform to gender stereotypes in society. Through the elements of punctuation, Williams remarks that Blanche and Mitch are forced to be together and that their co-dependent relationship is founded on the pressure that the norms of society exert. Furthermore, the playwright utilizes the elements of characterization to reveal that the relationship between Blanche and Mitch depends rather on the pressure exerted by society than on emotions. Williams depicts Blanche’s state in this scene through employing direct and indirect characterization which put forth the conclusion that Blanche feels compelled and exhausted to have her relationship with Mitch. For instance, the playwright employs direct characterization in the stage direction to depict that Blanche has â€Å"utter exhaustion† in her â€Å"voice and manner†. This direct characterization reveals that Blanche becomes disappointed in the quality of the date that she and Mitch return from. As a result of this disappointment, she reï ¬â€šects her exhaustion in her voice regarding that Mitch is not similar with the man whom she desires to have. Williams additionally utilizes direct characterization to regard Blanche’s personality as â€Å"neurasthenic†. This description conveys that Mitch’s manners aggravate her due to the fact that his manners are inadequate compared to those of the man whom Blanche desires. Hence, these examples of direct characterization prove that Blanche, who becomes dissatisï ¬ ed with Mitch’s qualities feels obliged and compelled to have a relationship with Mitch because the norms of society force her to marry anyone to be regarded as â€Å"normal†. Moreover, Williams employs indirect characterization to indicate that Blanche strives to conform to the norms of society through having a relationship with Mitch. For example, Blanche states the line â€Å"The one that says the lady must entertain the gentleman – or no dice!†. Through this instance, the playwright highlights that women in society are regarded as â€Å"worthless† without conforming to gender stereotypes. Blanche states that if she does not â€Å"entertain† her â€Å"gentleman†, she will have â€Å"no dice†. The conclusion drawn from this point is that women in society cannot endure unless they satisfy their men. Hence, Blanche regards Mitch as her last option and conforms to gender stereotypes of society through having a relationship deprived of emotions. Through the elements of characterization, Williams conveys that Blanche and Mitch has an artiï ¬ cial relationship on behalf of complying with gender stereotypes of society . Subsequently, Williams accounts the elements of ï ¬ gurative language to mention that Blanche and Mitch are coerced to be in a co-dependent relationship because of the constraint that gender stereotypes of society apply. Williams implements the element of allusion to address the aforementioned message. For instance, Mitch bears, upside down, â€Å"a plaster statuette of Mae West†. In this example, the statuette of Mae West is an allusion to the sexual desire between the couple regarding that Mae West is known as a sex symbol. However, since Mitch carries the statuette â€Å"upside down†, this signiï ¬ es that there is something wrong with the sexual connection between Mitch and Blanche. Indeed, the statuette refers to the lack of sexual tension between the couple due the fact that their relationship depends only on a mutual beneï ¬ t which is to be accepted by society. The playwright employs the allusion of â€Å"Mae West† to illustrate that there is not any sexual desire between the couple regarding that their relationship does not harbor any emotion. In addition, the playwright employs the allusion of â€Å"the Seven Sisters† to remark Blanche’s loneliness. â€Å"The Seven Sisters, also referred as the Pleiades, were the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas. They became a group of stars.† Although Blanche has a sister, she is indeed mentally unsupported because of her sister’s lack of consideration. Being compared to the Seven Sisters, she adores â€Å"the Seven Sisters† for their unity, feels lonely and seeks to be with anyone to comply with the rules of society. Hence, she decides to rely on Mitch who is her last option. This allusion once again proves that Stella and Mitch build up an unnatural relationship deprived of feelings in order to conform to the norms of society. Williams implements the elements of ï ¬ gurative language to establish the relationship between Blanche and Mitch which merely depends on the desire to be with anyone and the pressure put forth by society. In summation, Tennessee Williams applies the elements punctuation, characterization and ï ¬ gurative language to develop the artiï ¬ cial relationship between Blanche and Mitch, which originates from the desire to be with anyone, in order to illustrate that society compels each and every individual to obey its norms. Through these elements, Williams eventually clariï ¬ es that this imitated relationship arises from the enforcement exerted by the gender stereotypes of society.

Summary The Emperor Trajan - 2012 Words

In his letter to the Emperor Trajan, dated 113, Pliny the Younger offers a glimpse into the life and practice of the early Christian community within the Roman province of Bithynia. This ancient document provides what David Music calls, one of the earliest post-New Testament references to Christian singing. Certainly, the Old Testament, and New Testament point to the practice as well, (2 Samuel 22:1-51, Matthew 26:30), indicate that the expression of song has consistently operated at the heart of the liturgical, communal, and devotional life of God s people. In fact, without the utterance of song, religious worship becomes sterile, in many respects, devoid of divine artistic expression. This journey of thought will seek to explore views on hymnology and song by looking in great detail firstly at Augustine s position with regard to music as seen in book (10.33.49 - 10.33.50) of the Confessions, secondly, at the introduction to his homily on Psalm 119:The Ascents of the Christian, and finally, I will make the claim that Augustine s experiences with Manichaeism and Neo-platonism had a tremendous influence on his philosophical and ideological position with regard to music. What becomes clear when studying Augustine s view of music is that Augustine s understanding of song as art greatly transcended the artistic by taking on meaningful spiritual dimensions. As a theologian, philosopher, prolific writer, and scholar Augustine Bishop of Hippo (354-430) left anShow MoreRelatedMovie And Scene Of The Movie Spartacus 1659 Words   |  7 Pagesfilm were either heavily romanticised or simply totally made up altogether. The popular 1960 film Spartacus, directed by Stanley Kubrick and named after the famous slave revolt leader of the same name, was no exception. Movie and Scene Presentation Summary The film was set in the same setting as the titular protagonist historically started the slave revolt: in Italy, and was especially set in the time of the Roman Empire. Spartacus, the slave, was sold off to a man named Batiatus, who had the slave