The Jungle Essays (782 words) - Meat Packing Industry, The Jungle

The Jungle Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is the story of a Lithuanian family that immigrates from their home city in Lithuania to the city of Chicago. The novel begins with the strong description of a wedding in which Ona Lukoszaite and Jurgis Rudkus are united in Holy Matrimony. The two of them then move to Chicago. Soon after the wedding, Ona and Jurgis have many great debts to pay due to both the wedding and a large debt that Ona's father left them after he died. Due to Jurgis' large size and strong will he found a job in Chicago within only a half an hour of waiting in the unemployment line. Back in the newlywed's hometown of Lithuania, Ona and Jurgis' family anticipated a move to America. America uses the image of the ?American Dream? to lure immigrants to this land of opportunity. The family desperately desires higher wages and true freedom. For months and months, Jurgis works very hard to pay for the families travel to Ona and Jurgis' new hometown, Chicago. When the family finally makes it to America, their funds are very low. They met with a well off man named Jokubas Szedvilas who placed the family in a run down youth hostel. Jokubas takes the family to the meatpacking factory. He makes jokes about the sanitation of the operation (due only to the lack of quality of the meat). The family finds an advertisement for a housing complex that is very cheap. They talk to a real estate agent and they go see the housing complex. The houses aren't as big and luxurious as they are pictured in the advertisement, but the price is right. The real estate agent swindles them, and they are pulled into the contract. Sinclair emphasizes the corruption of upper class society during this era. Jurgis' father, Dede Antanas, is promised a job by a grubby worker, but only if he pays that worker one third of his wages. He takes the job despite the disgusting working conditions and his low pay. Jurgis is a very hard worker. He is the only person in the meat plant that doesn't complain. He doesn't think much of the other workers. He feels that they never get any work done, and all they do is gripe. Marija, Ona's cousin and Jonas, Ona's step brother, both get jobs, but neither one holds them for very long. From there things take a turn for the worst. The meat packing factories prove to be very unsanitary. Animal fetuses and even human corpses were processed, packaged, and distributed to the country. Working conditions became even worse for Jurgis, and after both his wife and child die, he left his job and family. Jurgis, now struggling more and more for money, turns to crime. The slums of Chicago show great contrast between the upper class and the underprivileged. The majority of the immigrant society possess very little money. Jurgis, an underprivileged person, must make his money illegally. He wanders the city aimlessly taking continuous criticism from the upper class of Chicago. He returned home to find that Ona's stepmother's child, Stanislovas, who once had a great fear of the cold after a frostbite incident, has tragically been eaten alive by a pack of rats on the job. He also finds out that his cousin in law Marija has become a whore to make money for herself. Jurgis tries to convince her to give it up, but she become addicted to morphine and she depends on the money. Jurgis' life has hit a dead end. He only finds light when he hears a political speaker involved with the Socialist party. He feels that an oversized proportion of a government is the only thing to uplift people of his kind. Back then, in the United States, being poor was a terrible crime in its self. I believe that these people looked toward a more Socialistic government because this type of government would take some of the power from the upper class and would give it to the poor. These people were working terrible shifts in horrible working conditions. If they were born poor they would remain that way unless they really got lucky, the same as

Free Essays on Teaching of Sign Language

Hearing people have a lot to offer to the deaf when it comes to language, such as the teaching of sign language, proper English, ways to communicate effectively, and much more. What they don’t realize is that deaf people can indeed return the favor. For instance, one could say that the majority of deaf people acquitted their knowledge of sign language from a hearing teacher. There are times where, after being taught, deaf people would give their teachers little cues that allow them to communicate with them more effectively. Helen E. Meador, in her article, tells of several encounters with deaf students. In one of her many experiences, she explains how she learned to sign what she means in order ensure that her students understood what she meant, not what she signed. In one of her classes, for example, she was reading them a book and upon completion, asked them to close their books and to her amazement, they didn’t. When inquiring why they didn’t do as told, one of her students told her that she didn’t say it like she meant it, since her eyebrows weren’t raised. This clearly showed that the deaf not only relied on signs to communicate, but also facial expression. After this incident she learned to use more facial expression to ensure that her students understood what she meant while she communicates with them. In another encounter, Meador learned to be creative with her signing. In one of her reading classes, after completing a short story, she asked the class their opinion of the story. One student replied, â€Å"2-4-8†. Puzzled, Meador asked the student what she meant and the student told her that it simply meant, â€Å"very interesting†. That day, Meador learned to use sign language at a different level. One of the many things Meador learned from the deaf was language tolerance. In one situation a deaf student taught her the visual mode of communication. She tells of a teacher who experienced a communicat... Free Essays on Teaching of Sign Language Free Essays on Teaching of Sign Language Hearing people have a lot to offer to the deaf when it comes to language, such as the teaching of sign language, proper English, ways to communicate effectively, and much more. What they don’t realize is that deaf people can indeed return the favor. For instance, one could say that the majority of deaf people acquitted their knowledge of sign language from a hearing teacher. There are times where, after being taught, deaf people would give their teachers little cues that allow them to communicate with them more effectively. Helen E. Meador, in her article, tells of several encounters with deaf students. In one of her many experiences, she explains how she learned to sign what she means in order ensure that her students understood what she meant, not what she signed. In one of her classes, for example, she was reading them a book and upon completion, asked them to close their books and to her amazement, they didn’t. When inquiring why they didn’t do as told, one of her students told her that she didn’t say it like she meant it, since her eyebrows weren’t raised. This clearly showed that the deaf not only relied on signs to communicate, but also facial expression. After this incident she learned to use more facial expression to ensure that her students understood what she meant while she communicates with them. In another encounter, Meador learned to be creative with her signing. In one of her reading classes, after completing a short story, she asked the class their opinion of the story. One student replied, â€Å"2-4-8†. Puzzled, Meador asked the student what she meant and the student told her that it simply meant, â€Å"very interesting†. That day, Meador learned to use sign language at a different level. One of the many things Meador learned from the deaf was language tolerance. In one situation a deaf student taught her the visual mode of communication. She tells of a teacher who experienced a communicat...

IT Architectural Considerations and Solutions Details for Proposed Case Study

IT Architectural Considerations and Solutions Details for Proposed Technology Solution - Case Study Example Themistocleous et al (n.d.) indicates that ERP systems were introduced in businesses as a means of solving different types of problems and integrating their IT infrastructure. The EpicorVista is especially suited for all kinds of businesses including manufacturing, retail and services. The solutions encompass all the requirements pointed out in the memorandum which was sent earlier. The company is involved in all three areas and putting a system in place that would facilitate the efficient and effective operations of the businesses would be worth the expenditure. This would reduce SUH’s operating cost. Instead of having three different information systems there will be only one. The number of license required could be reduced with the introduction and use of the internet as a part of the architecture. Therefore, instead of having a license for each branch of each business unit there would be a maximum of three licenses, incorporating the three business units. The diagram in th e Appendix illustrates how the IT infrastructure will look. The Progress Database that is in use at CarbonTech could be considered for all three business units. According to Smart IT Consulting (2006) Progress RDBMS supports almost an infinite number of both users and transactions and requires little maintenance and administration. In addition to that it allows for flexibility and scalability of the system and has a lot more elements to recommend it. In fact, Laudon and Laudon (2006) indicate Relational DBMS offers more flexibility in that it facilitates various types of queries. It also combines information from a variety of sources, and allows for additional data to be included without causing disruptions (Laudon and Laudon 2006). Important IT Characteristics In arriving at a decision on the information system that is required certain characteristics are of paramount importance. The IT characteristics that are most important for the proposed solution at SUH are maintainability, po rtability, scalability and usability. These are discussed in detail as follows: i. Maintainability – The system has to be adequately maintained if it is to achieve the desired results. The business environment is changing and the system has to be capable of facilitating all the necessary changes that may be required. This has to be done quickly in order to facilitate timely reporting and decision making. Additionally, the company needs to see some improvements in its operations as a result of its implementation within a limited time period. ii. Portability – The system is capable of being used on various types of devices. It allows for use by sales staff that is in the field securing business. Internet connectivity will allow them to spend more time in the field instead of returning for updates. iii. Scalability – This is a major advantage of the EpicorVista software. It can be scaled upwards in order to facilitate increased business including additional users a nd transactions. Therefore, the success that CarbonTech has achieved with the use of this system can be achieved by the other business units which are much larger. iv. Usability –