Phillis Wheatley - Slave Poet of Colonial America

Dates: about 1753 or 1754 - December 5, 1784Also known as: sometimes misspelled as Phyllis Wheatley An Unusual Background Phillis Wheatley was born in Africa (probably Senegal) about 1753 or 1754. When she was about eight years old, she was kidnapped and brought to Boston. There, in 1761, John Wheatley bought her for his wife, Susanna, as a personal servant. As was the custom of the time, she was given the Wheatley familys surname. The Wheatley family taught Phillis English and Christianity, and, impressed by her quick learning, they also taught her some Latin, ancient history, mythology and classical literature. Writing Once Phillis Wheatley demonstrated her abilities, the Wheatleys, clearly a family of culture and education, allowed Phillis time to do study and write. Her situation allowed her time to learn and, as early as 1765, to write poetry. Phillis Wheatley had fewer restrictions than most slaves experienced -- but she was still a slave. Her situation was unusual. She was not quite part of the white Wheatley family, nor did she quite share the place and experiences of other slaves. Published Poems In 1767, the Newport Mercury published Phillis Wheatleys first poem, a tale of two men who nearly drowned at sea, and of their steady faith in God. Her elegy for the evangelist George Whitefield, brought more attention to Phillis Wheatley. This attention included visits by a number of Bostons notables, including political figures and poets. She published more poems each year 1771-1773, and a collection of her poems was published in London in 1773. The introduction to this volume of poetry by Phillis Wheatley is unusual: as a preface is an attestation by seventeen men of Boston that she had, indeed, written the poems herself: WE whose Names are underwritten, do assure the World, that the POEMS specified in the following Page, were (as we verily believe) written by Phillis, a young Negro Girl, who was but a few Years since, brought an uncultivated Barbarian from Africa, and has ever since been, and now is, under the Disadvantage of serving as a Slave in a Family in this Town. She has been examined by some of the best Judges, and is thought qualified to write them. The collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley followed a trip that she took to England. She was sent to England for her health when the Wheatleys son, Nathaniel Wheatley, was traveling to England on business. She caused quite a sensation in Europe. She had to return unexpectedly to America when they received word that Mrs. Wheatley was ill. Sources disagree on whether Phillis Wheatley was freed before, during or just after this trip, or whether she was freed later. Mrs. Wheatley died the next spring. The American Revolution The American Revolution intervened in Phillis Wheatleys career, and the effect was not completely positive. The people of Boston -- and of America and England -- bought books on other topics rather than the volume of Phillis Wheatley poems. It also caused other disruptions in her life. First her master moved the household to Providence, Rhode Island, then back to Boston. When her master died in March of 1778, she was effectively if not legally freed. Mary Wheatley, the daughter of the family, died that same year. A month after the death of John Wheatley, Phillis Wheatley married John Peters, a free black man of Boston. Marriage and Children History is not clear about John Peters story. He was either a neer-do-well who tried many professions for which he was not qualified, or a bright man who had few options to succeed given his color and lack of formal education. The Revolutionary War continued its disruption, and John and Phillis moved briefly to Wilmington, Massachusetts. Having children, trying to support the family, losing two children to death, and dealing with the wars effects and a shaky marriage, Phillis Wheatley was able to publish few poems during this period. She and a publisher solicited subscriptions for an additional volume of her poetry which would include 39 of her poems, but with her changed circumstances and the wars effect on Boston, the project failed. A few poems were published as pamphlets. George Washington In 1776, Phillis Wheatley had written a poem to George Washington, lauding his appointment as commander of the Continental Army. That was while her master and mistress were still alive, and while she was still quite the sensation. But after her marriage, she addressed several other poems to George Washington. She sent them to him, but he never responded again. Later Life Eventually John deserted Phillis, and to support herself and surviving child she had to work as a scullery maid in a boardinghouse. In poverty and among strangers, on December 5, 1784, she died, and her third child died hours after she did. Her last known poem was written for George Washington. Her second volume of poetry was lost. More About Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley: Analysis of Her Poems Suggested Reading on This Site African American History and Women Timeline 1700-1799African American Writers Recommended Books Phillis Wheatley - Bibliography Vincent Carretta, editor. Complete Writings - Penguin Classics. Reprint 2001.John C. Shields, editor. The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley. Reprint 1989.Merle A. Richmond. Bid the Vassal Soar: Interpretive Essays on the Poetry of Phillis Wheatley. 1974.Mary McAleer Balkun. Phillis Wheatleys construction of otherness and the rhetoric of performed ideology. African American Review, Spring 2002 v. 36 i. 1 p. 121. Childrens Books Ages 8-12:Kathryn Lasky. A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet. January 2003.Susan R. Gregson. Phillis Wheatley. January 2002.Maryann N. Weidt. Revolutionary Poet: A Story about Phillis Wheatley. October 1997.Young Adult:Ann Rinaldi. Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley. 1996.

Why Some People Fail to React or Act during an Emergency...

SECTION I The presence of other individuals in an emergency situation tends to make people less likely to help a victim. This is known as the bystander effect. Having others around you makes you feel less responsibility and want to make the correct social decision. If a person were by himself or herself, this effect would not happen because they are not feeling judgment of those around and all the accountability is on them. The articles for this paper look at experiments conducted to test the bystander effect and how participants act according to social norms. For example, the murder of a woman in the middle of a New York street took place and not one of the thirty-eight witnesses helped her. This may seem insane but research shows most people would react the same. Social and group norms have a great influence on the social psychological concept of the bystander effect. This concept has been thought to happen due to factors of diffusion of responsibility, social influence, audience inh ibition, and an overall lack of a sense of community (Chekroun, P., 2002). SECTION II New York Times reported a story of a woman who was stabbed and died in the middle of the road in a section of New York City. The public failed to assist the woman although there were more than thirty-eight witnesses. Such cases of murders are rare, but this incident received little public attention. It was only when the New York Times covered it that the public began to gain attention. The murdererShow MoreRelatedEssay on Stress: The Silent Disease 1747 Words   |  7 Pagesto how many people really have stress in each individual’s life. People do not consider what the reasons are for the feelings and emotions they experience. There are all different types of stress, and stress can do a lot to a person. Each person also handles stress in a different way. 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Business Diploma Development of KPI

Question: Discuss about theBusiness Diplomafor Development of KPI. Answer: Introduction Customer satisfaction is the key to achieve the business success in this competitive scenario. The study will identify the two major concerns of establishing the effective customer service. The first concern is to handle the complaints of the customers and retaining them by fulfilling their queries and offering the relevant services. The second concern is to train the employees the proper way of dealing with the customers. More specifically, it is necessary to guide an underperforming employee to bring the most efficient work outcome (Zohar 2014). The development of the relevant KPI would help in resolving such issues and establishing the efficient customer service process. The study will also focus on the recommendations that will resolve such challenges and bring more efficiency to the organisational functionalities. Development of KPI (Key Performance Indicator) The case scenario is highlighting is one of the premium customers of the company did not receive the widget equipment for the mining project. However, the company promised to deliver the equipment within three days whereas even after a week it was not delivered to the client. Mary, one of the customer service team members was an underperforming candidate. She sometimes behaves very rude to the customers. In fact, in this case, she started arguing with the client due to misunderstandings. However, the issues can affect the organisational functionalities in a significant way. The development of some of the key performance indicators is essential for this case scenario. The major KPIs of customer service are as follows: Overall Satisfaction Satisfaction Improvements Customer Retention Net Promoter Score Conversion Rate Average Resolution Time Active Issues Resolved Issues Employee Productivity Employee Retention/ Employee Turnover Complaint Escalation Rate The set of KPIs addressed above are developed to handle the customers complaints and managing the underperforming employees. It is necessary to pay the attention towards the performance parameter of the associated staffs to bring the most effective outcome (Parmenter 2015). The further plan will be developed to mitigate the merging issues and provide the customers remarkable services. Development of the KPI Plan for Monitoring the Team Members Performance Task/responsibilities Key outcomes Actual Performance Overall Satisfaction Performing the regular customer satisfaction survey Daily for 3 months Satisfaction Improvement Improving the satisfaction by bringing the changes in the business process and establishing the innovative ideas (Dickson 2015). 1st month Customer Retention Involving the satisfied customers for offering the customer service. 3 months Net Promoter Score Customers would provide the net score depending on the satisfaction level. Monitoring the result on a regular basis for 3 months. Conversion Rate Conversion rate goes higher if the communicator from the customer service team is efficient enough to convince the customers (Goetsch and Davis 2014). The improvement of the communication and convincing power of the team members is essential. Therefore, the training should be provided for 1 week. Average Resolution Time The customer service provider needs to answer the queries quickly. The quick response of the service provider crates the significant impacts on the customers minds. The customer service provider needs to be knowledgeable enough for resolving the queries promptly. Active Issues If the staffs are unable to response too quickly, it is necessary to deal with one issue at a time. Too many issues may create confusions. Resolving one issue at a time will generate confidence to deal with other challenges. The staffs need to receive proper training to confront such situation. Resolved Issues The staffs can take a look on the past resolved issues to derive knowledge about the customers responses (Anitha 2014). It will be helpful enough in understanding the proper process of dealing with such challenges Guiding the employees in an appropriate way and sharing the past experiences with them would help in handling the customers in a better manner. Employee Productivity Application of the useful method of measuring the employee productivity is essential. Taking feedbacks and monitoring the performance of the employees would be helpful to measure the employee productivity. Employee Retention/Turnover If the employees are comfortable with the work environment, they tend to focus on their jobs and stay for longer time. The proper motivation and training provides to the employees would be helpful enough in retaining them for longer time. Compliant Escalation Rate The complaint escalation rate determines the satisfaction rate of the employees (Dhar 2015). The changing demands of the customers may bring more escalations. It is necessary to be much responsive and make the modifications as per the needs. Table 1: KPI Plan (Source: Created by Author) Questionnaire for Customer Satisfaction feedback Q.1) How far are you satisfied with the quality of the widget equipment offered by our company Options Response Rate Response Number Total Respondents Highly Satisfied 5% 1 20 Satisfied 15% 3 20 Neutral 25% 5 20 Dissatisfied 35% 7 20 Highly Dissatisfied 20% 4 20 Table 2: Quality Satisfaction (Source: Created by Author) The derived information from the responses is indicating that majority of customers are not really happy with the quality of the services. It is essential for the company to keep the attention towards the quality parameter that will be beneficial in attracting the customers for future. According to you what are the major areas that need improvements? Options Response Rate Response Number Total Respondents Communication 20% 4 20 Quick Response 15% 3 20 On time delivery 35% 7 20 Quality Service 30% 6 20 Table 2: Improvement Areas (Source: Created by Author) The responses extracted in this process is indicating that majority of the customers opt for on time delivery of the services. It is essential to maintain the proper time schedule and deliver the products to the customers on time. Hence, the company needs to focus on timely delivery of the services. Along with the scheduled timeline, it is even necessary to keep the focus on the responses of the employees, quality parameter of the service, and the communication process. Recommendation The above study highlights the company has been facing the issues due to the poor handling of the customer service problems. It is essential for the company to keep focus on the performance parameter of the associated employees who usually communicate with the customers and convince them to purchase the service. Therefore, it is essential to keep focus on the following recommendations that will help in developing the effective customer services. Providing the Proper Training and Development Session When the employees receive the proper guidance and training from the management, it becomes easier for them to handle the customers queries. It is noted that the customers requires quick responses and expected service delivery on time. In order to fulfil such needs, the employees need to receive the proper information and work methods. It will be helpful enough in resolving the issues that the customers are facing. Establishing the Transparent Communication Maintenance of the transparency in communication is essential for retaining the customers as well as employees. When a customer orders something, it is the responsibility of the employees to keep the entire information including the delivery time. When the customer does not receive the service within the proper time, the employees can resolve the queries by communicating in a significant way. On the other hand, the management needs to focus on motivating the employees and providing them the comfortable atmosphere to work. The establishments of the transparent communication are much helpful in identifying the demands of both the employees and the customers. Development of the Employees Interpersonal Skills The management needs to provide the proper guidance to the employees for improving their interpersonal communication skills. As per the regulations, the customers have the full rights to lodge a complaint against the company if the expected services are not received. Similarly, the employees should not behave rude to the customers in any circumstances. The right body language and polite response would be considerable for retaining the customers and the reputation of the company. References Anitha, J., 2014. Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee performance.International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. Dhar, R.L., 2015. Service quality and the training of employees: The mediating role of organizational commitment.Tourism Management,46, pp.419-430. Dickson, P.R., 2015. The adoption of customer service improvement practices.Marketing Letters,26(1), pp.1-15. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014.Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Parmenter, D., 2015.Key performance indicators: developing, implementing, and using winning KPIs. John Wiley Sons. Zohar, D., 2014. Safety climate: Conceptualization, measurement, and improvement.The Oxford handbook of organizational climate and culture, pp.317-334.

Religious Practices and Meaning

Introduction Religious practices and meaning are constructed in relation to other social institutions like economics and politics. From the anthropological perspective, religion may alter economic and political structures or the latter may change religion, as well.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Religious Practices and Meaning specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Relationship between social institutions and religion Religion plays a vital role in political change. Most religions take conservative stances about social matters. Many of these social issues are subject to political change. Consequently religion affects the overall direction that political change follows. For instance, Muslims have always had a conservative stance about women’s place in society. Some feminists in the Middle East have tried to oppose this view by advocating for better protection of women’s rights by the Quran. Strong Islamic believers have responded to these efforts by making religious decrees against such reformers. A number of them have even called for their death (Andreatta Ferraro 364). Therefore, religion and politics are intertwined because sometimes religion stalls major political changes. Muslims have always opposed different political values, as these are viewed as western and foreign. The same thing has taken place in predominantly Catholic states. This church has always taken a conservative stance against major political initiatives like abortion or gay rights (Andreatta Ferraro 149). On the other hand, religion may be a source of revolutionary change within a certain community. This happens when religious leaders take on reformist or revolutionary roles. A case in point was one by the Buddhist priests in Vietnam. A number of them burnt themselves to death in order to protest against the US-led war. This prompted US authorities to reconsider their position in Vietnam, and eventually led to their withdrawal. Another scenario occurred in South American during the 1970s. Catholic followers created a militant version of their faith in order to fight for the rights of the poor and the oppressed. Many of them lost their lives since they clashed with political authorities. Similarly, African American religious leaders have speared political change through mobilization and stimulation of the masses. Martin Luther King Jr. was first a religious leader before he became a political one (Andreatta Ferraro 364). His revolutionary stances led to substantial changes in civil rights movements and the liberation of black people. Furthermore, the Nation of Islam, which was an African American version of Islam, sensitized many blacks about marginalization in the American state.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These sentiments led to radical civil reforms, albeit through other r eform vehicles. As such, religious institutions have been a platform for political change from time immemorial. They have fought against injustice and inequality, and thus taken on a political dimension. Therefore, religion can alter political environments if members of a certain faith feel threatened. Conversely, social institutions such as economics can also alter religious practices or movements. In this regard, a dramatic change in the economic fate of a particular group may cause a religious revival of the affected group. This stems from the devastation and sense of hopelessness that the changes create. One such example was the case of a Native American group. These individuals were attacked by the Europeans and lost their land in the sixteenth century (Andreatta Ferraro 365). They could no longer carry out their traditional economic practices. Therefore the hunters, traders and warriors in this community lost their only means of survival. Many of them felt dehumanized and def eated. A series of antisocial behavior started developing, such as alcoholism. In response to this disorganization, a prophet emerged known as Handsome Lake. He created a new Native American religious movement that merged old practices with new concepts. For instance, it completely prohibited alcoholism. Furthermore, it embraced the western view of family institutions. The prophet advised men and women to participate in economic activities equally. It also encouraged members of the faith to adopt a series of agricultural practices from the Europeans. As such, an external economic change caused religious changes in the community owing to the devastation that the economic alterations created (Andreatta Ferraro 365). Another illustration of how economics affects religion is through the lives of Indonesians in the 1990s. In the previous decades Indonesians had been economically prosperous, with most of their investments emanating from the central government or foreign investors. Howeve r, in the late nineteen nineties, the economy of the country collapsed. Banks went bankrupt, foreign investors existed and unemployment levels reached massive proportions. As such, most people were disillusioned and extremely stressed. The Muhammadiyah Islamic organization arose in response to this situation. It claimed to be the ultimate solution to Indonesia’s problem (Andreatta Ferraro 365). Its followers were approximately 30 million in number.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Religious Practices and Meaning specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This movement emphasized the importance of getting back to Islam’s moral values. Most Indonesians had abandoned their religious principles during the previous decades of economic prosperity. They were corrupt and cared little about religious teachings. However, in this period of crisis, the teachings of the Islamic organization seemed quite relevant to them, so there was a revival of traditional values. The movement also initiated a number of local economic projects such as job programs, health services and schools. Religious authorities in this group wanted to create some sort of economic independence in order to place economic control in the hands of locals rather than government bodies or foreign investors. Religion and economics are interrelated because failures in economics can lead to religious revivals that intend on fixing the economic problem. When discussing the relationship between religion and politics, one must look at the question of separation of church/ religion from state. The latter has been the subject of controversy in some western nations like the United States. Many citizens argue that religious expression in public institutions ought to be restricted. They also claim that religion should not interfere with public policies. However, other individuals do not share these same sentiments. Conservatives and Republican s tend to vote for people with strong Christian values. A number of them use Christian values in order to guide their policy stances. On the other hand, a certain block of voters also vote for leaders who hold similar religious stances as their own. Consequently, religion affects politics as a social institution because political representatives need to epitomize the overall religious values of majority of the population (Moro Myers 9). Religious nationalism is also another way of looking at the relationship between religion and politics. Many nations of the Middle East merge their political institutions with their faith. In fact, Arabic identity has become synonymous to Islam. Religious nationalism causes members of such nations to abandon ideas about tolerance and democracy as these are seen as contradictory to their principles (Andreatta Ferraro 368). As a matter of fact, many fundamentalist Islamic nations reject the concept of individual freedom. They believe that followers m ust sacrifice their selfish interests in order to propagate the true way. They treat western states as enemies and sources of retrogression in their nations. As a result, most of them have used their foreign policies in order to eliminate western influences from their society. Others have tried to cut ties with western nations in order to preserve their religious principles. Economic concerns have been thrown into this equation. Some western nations, such as the US, have invaded fundamentalist nations in order to fight for freedom and democracy in those nations. However, other analysts believe that the US simply uses this excuse to protect its economic interests in those oil-rich nations. Therefore, religion, which causes these nations to scorn democracy and personal freedom, gives some western nations excuses to invade their land.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, economic reasons underlie these invasions. A typical scenario was the September eleventh attacks. It was asserted that the US was conducting a war against terror when it decided to invade Iraq (which may have been partly true). Therefore, a fundamentalist religious act of terror propelled this political decision to go to war with another nation. Nonetheless, because Iraq has oil reserves, the US government may also have intended to secure its own economic interests when entering this nation. Religious stances affected economic and political actions between these two nations. In other circumstances, religious fundamentalists may impede economic and political development. Middle Eastern states initially banned books from western nations in order to protect their citizens from western influence. A number of these countries still censor particular books today. They also control other forms of mass media, such as, television in order to minimize indoctrination of the Islamic peo ple. These radical decisions have placed followers in a cocoon, and condemned them to economic stagnation. Furthermore, since concepts such as democracy are seen as foreign, then political development is also undermined (Andreatta Ferraro 204). Politics and economics are dependent on religion in order to function. Religion helps to make people obedient and responsible. The values taught in many religious institutions promote cooperation and cohesion. They make people perform good deeds and keep their promises. Such values tend to create a very conducive atmosphere for economic activities as trade depends on trust between the exchanging parties. On the other hand, this purpose of religion also strengthens political institutions because religion encourages many people to respect others’ rights. Many people will do as they are expected to without law enforcement because of their knowledge of right and wrong. It would be much harder for politicians to pass certain policies if th ere was no respect for human rights. Religion is a predecessor to proper political laws and regulations. The Ten Commandments are an example of how this interaction occurs. The commandments instruct followers on how they can interact with each other and with God. Most of them restrict the harm of other people through stealing, killing and coveting. If these religious teachings are obeyed, then good relationships will arise and social order will prevail. Because of this, religion plays a political role because it promotes order, which paves the way for political prosperity (Moro Myers 44). A number of economic premises tend to coincide with particular religious stances. Liberal capitalists tend to stay away from religious beliefs. Nations with many liberal capitalists will not consider religious values when making political decisions. Conversely, economic conservatives tend to thrive in countries with highly religious persons. Economic conservatives as well as Christians believe tha t liberalism leads to social degeneracy. They claim that a return to traditional values would protect people from drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, gun violence and family disintegration. Conclusion Economics and politics can transform religion when frustrations arise in these social institutions. Here, religious leaders may become change agents in politics or economics. On the other hand, religious values may undermine economic and political development through views held. Works Cited Andreatta, Susan Gary Ferraro. Cultural anthropology: An applied perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Moro, Pamela James Myers. Magic, witchcraft and religion: a reader in the anthropology of religion. Boston: McGrawhill, 2010. Print. This essay on Religious Practices and Meaning was written and submitted by user Libby Blake to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.