Statement of the problem Essay Example for Free

Statement of the problem Essay This study explored the experience of subjective well-being (SWB) among the institutionalized aged: concept of well-being, indicators of the cognitive and affective components, and the factors which contribute towards their sense of well-being. It also looked into the perception of their close associates on the SWB of the elderly under investigation. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: 1. What is the concept of subjective well-being among the institutionalized elderly? 2. What are the indicators of the cognitive and affective components of subjective well-being? 3. What are the factors which contribute towards the subjective well-being among the institutionalized elderly? 4. How do the close associates of the elderly view the following: the concept of SWB, the indicators of cognitive and affective components, and the factors contributing toward SWB among the elderly? 5. Are there similarities and differences observed in the view of the elderly and their close associates with regard to the experience of SWB among the institutionalized aged? This chapter presents in detail the research design, the description of the participants, the instruments used, the data gathering and analysis procedures. Research Design The present study employed the qualitative research design (Heppner, Kivlighan, Wampold, 1999; McLeod, 2001). Qualitative research involves doing one’s utmost to map and explore the meaning of an area of human experience. Generally it examines people’s words or actions in narrative or descriptive ways more closely representing the experiences of the people involved. It emphasizes the importance of looking at variables in the natural setting in which they are found and the qualitative researchers believe that human behavior cannot be understood outside of its context. According to McLeod (2001), the knowledge generated by qualitative research through eliciting peoples’ stories, sensitive listening, building up an understanding, and checking it out is usually holistic, nuanced, personal, contextualized and incomplete. Key (1997) observes that in qualitative research detailed data is gathered through open ended questions that provide direct quotations, and the interviewer is an integral part of the investigation. The present study was exploratory in nature (Westman, 2004) and employed case study as well as interview method to collect the data. It helped in understanding the concepts and personal meanings and theories held by the people who were being studied. The study also contributed to the understanding of how the elderly in the home for the aged conceived and defined quality of life or subjective experience of well-being in their lives as perceived by their administrators. Case Study. The rationale for including case studies were: (1) case studies strive towards a holistic understanding of cultural systems of action (Tellis, 1997). The interviews on the elderly elicited holistic information and nuances about their life and subjective sense of well-being. Content analysis alone could not do justice to the nuances came across in the accumulated data. According to Tellis (1997), selecting cases must be done so as to maximize what can be learned. (2) Case study is known as a triangulated research strategy (Tellis, 1997). The present study being qualitative, employing triangulation confirmed the validity of the findings (Yin, 1994). Interviews are one of the most important sources of case study information. Interview Method. In a qualitative study human person is the primary collection instrument. Insisting upon measurable outcomes to determine the quality of life is a disservice to elders (Moberg, 2001) and the world has many accounts of what aging looks like from the outside, but we have little insight into what aging looks and feels like and their sense of well-being from the perspective of older adults (Ray, 2002). It is an unquestionable truth that questions about what makes life worth living and what is their subjective experience of well-being to individuals are answered only by asking the individuals themselves. It helped to explore and explain the complexity of the fabric of life entering to its labyrinth, expressing the personal which is always interpersonal. In other words it gave access to the phenomenological data, which is the respondents’ perception, of themselves and their world. Exploring the concept of well-being, the indicators of cognitive and affective components of subjective well-being among the elderly and different features that they thought were helping toward their subjective experience of well being in the given situation of life, the researcher was able to gather the subjective description of the lived experiences of the institutionalized elderly.

Kilgore Trout as Kurt Vonneguts Alter Ego :: Biography Biographies Essays

Kilgore Trout as Kurt Vonnegut's Alter Ego In 1922, two residents of Indianapolis, Indiana had a son who would later become one of the premiere writers in 20th century American literature. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born to Edith and Kurt Sr. on November 11, 1922. He graduated from Shortridge High School in 1940, attended Cornell University for a year, then joined the army. He fought in World War II and was captured by the Germans in 1944. As a Prisoner of War, he lived through the firebombing of Dresden, an event which inspired his acclaimed novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. After he returned from Europe in April of 1945, he married Jane Marie Cox and spent several years studying at the University of Chicago and working as a reporter for the Chicago City News Bureau. In 1947, he went to work at General Electric Corporation as a research laboratory publicist. He worked there for 3 years until he left to become a full time writer in 1950. In the past 47 years, he has become one of the most acclaimed writers of our time. Kurt Vonnegut's first novel was entitled Player Piano and was published in 1952. Since then, he has written over a dozen other novels, collections of short stories, a collection of essays and interviews, and a play, Happy Birthday Wanda June. He spent 1965 in residence at the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop and taught writing at Harvard in 1970. He also was awarded a M.A. degree from the University of Chicago. Vonnegut currently appears on the Barnes and Noble Booksellers bag and is featured on a Visa commercial in which he buys a copy of one of his own books. If one looks through Vonnegut's works, one will find many occurrences of reoccurring characters, settings, and themes. Perhaps one of the most frequently occurring characters is Kilgore Trout, an obscure science-fiction writer with a small but

Erich Maria Remarque Essay

â€Å"If you tell the truth, you won’t have to remember anything† (Mark Twain). Throughout my life I have come to recognize many truths. Sometimes I would tell the truth and sometimes I would lie, but when I lied I didn’t always get away with it. Although I do lie about some things and get away with it, I still feel bad about doing it. Throughout my life, Algernon and Jack’s false identities, Father Hooper’s sacrifices, Dr. Heidegger’s experiments, Eldorado’s disappointing truth, and Paul’s journey, we are awaken with the truth. The theme of truth has been revolving around all our first quarter readings. In the poem Eldorado by Edgar Allan Poe, a knight is on a journey to find this joyful land, called Eldorado. The knight continues to search for Eldorado, but he knows he has failed. But he keeps searching, and even though, in his mind, he knows that Eldorado is a fictional place, in his heart he still believes it’s real. The knight in Eldorado recognizes a fairly disappointing truth, that Eldorado is a nonexistent place. â€Å"But he grew old-this knight so bold-and o’er his heart a shadow fell as he found no spot of ground that looked like Eldorado† (Poe 305). This quote illustrates how the knight realizes there is no Eldorado. Another example of the recognition of truth is in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, when Paul Baumer realizes the truth about war, and how it really destroys people, physically and mentally. â€Å"I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another† (Remarque 263). This quote signifies that Paul is very young and that all he knows is death, fear, and despair, and it is because of the war. The war had destroyed him and made Paul a different person. Throughout my life I have come to recognize many truths, but one major one is that nothing in this world is free, even if it doesn’t cost any money, because it still requires work. Nowadays everyone wants to buy the new technology being created, and it has been like this for many years. They also want to buy the clothing that is popular and very expensive. But, neither of the two are free, and they both cost money and both take time to get. I realized this when I was about 8 years old. I would still ask for a lot of things, even though I knew whatever I was asking cost a lot of money, and it was just because everyone else had it. However, when you grow older, you come to recognize that nothing is free and that you have to work for everything. Another important truth that I have come to recognize is that revenge is insignificant and for the irresponsible. When someone does something to you that is cruel or hurtful, you are going to want to get revenge on them, and that’s just how every human being is. I learned that revenge was unimportant a few years ago. My brother told on me for something I did, and I got in a lot of trouble. I was grounded for one week, and that made me furious. So I decided to get revenge on my brother. In the end, when I tried to get revenge, I ended up in more trouble and was grounded for even longer. This has happened to me many times, and I have come to realize that revenge is insignificant, it just makes everything worse. A third, and final, significant truth that I have come to recognize is that everyone will die someday. No matter how old or how young you are, you won’t be alive forever, which is just how life is. So everyone must live their life to the fullest and go out and do things. Don’t kill time, because killing time is priceless, and will never grow back, so why do it. Many people have lists of what they wish to do throughout their lifetime, which is amazing, because these people to realize the fact that they won’t be here one day. I have recognized this truth and am taking it as an advantage, and so should everyone else. Everything is revolved around the truth, whether it’s in your life or in a book you read. However, not many people recognize these truths in life. Once they do, they will be taught remarkable life lessons that will help them out in life. Throughout our lives, I, as well as the characters in the books we have read, have come to recognize many truths about life, which have helped us come to discover many things. Many people should need to start recognizing the truths in their lives, as I did, and it will benefit them in the long run. Works Cited BrainyQuote. Xplore, n. d. Web. 09 Oct. 2013. Holt Elements of Literature. Fifth Course. Essentials of American Literature. Orlando, FL. : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2007. Print. Remarque, Erich Maria, and A. W. Wheen. All Quiet on the Western Front;. Boston: Little, Brown, and, 1929. Print.

10 Fiery Muhammad Ali Quotes

In 1964, when  Cassius Clay took on the indefatigable Sonny Liston, nobody realized that a star was born. Cassius Clay had just shaken up the world with his fighting spirit. Not that he was painfully shy about his talent. His announcement to the press just before his winning bout with Sonny Liston that he was the greatest failed to strike a chord with many  skeptics. In fact, his over-the-top arrogance tinged with narcissism made the world wary of this new wannabe. The Megalomania of Muhammad Ali: The Worlds Greatest Sports Star Just before the fight, Cassius  Clay aimed several taunts at the seasoned and dominating Liston, perhaps to intimidate his opponent. He shouted at Liston saying, Someone is going to die at ringside tonight. That evening would probably be the most unforgettable event for many boxing enthusiasts for two reasons. One, they saw a reigning heavyweight boxing champion go down. Two, a 22-year-old underdog with a motormouth and a fetish for trash-talking had just made history. Cassius Clay, who became known as Muhammad Ali after he changed his religion, took the world by storm. Each time Muhammad Ali won, he reminded the world that he was the greatest. He didnt say that he was the best, strongest, finest, or richest. He declared, I am the greatest! He pronounced it with  Ãƒ ©lan. He could work up a frenzy in the ring and announce his greatness to the world. Never before had anyone seen a sports figure so brazen, so in-your-face, and so brutally honest. When Muhammad Ali Went Against the US Government Most sports fan admire Muhammad Ali as the greatest boxer that ever lived. He took on many fights inside the ring and outside the ring. Those that he fought inside the ring were easy matches. He literally called the shots there. However, the ones he fought outside the ring were the toughest fights he ever had. Most of them were against the establishment. The man who could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee often got on the wrong side of the ruling class. His vitriolic statements sent the press into a tizzy. His witty comebacks and sarcasm pushed buttons of many a politician. When asked about whether he would serve in the army for the Vietnam War, he cockily replied,   Man, I aint got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Vietcong ever called me n****r. He had an uncanny sense of humor, a quick temper, a big mouth, and a soft heart. One of his wicked comments that often grab headlines is: I am America. I am the part you wont recognize, but get used to me. Black, confident, cocky. My name, not yours. My religion, not yours. My goals, my own. Get used to me.   Ali once said, Allah is the greatest. Im just the greatest boxer. And indeed, he was. As three times winner of the linear world heavyweight championship, a title held by no other boxer, Muhammad Ali was a nightmare for his opponents. He was awarded the Sportsman of the Century by the BBC and Sports Illustrated magazine in 1999. Muhammad Ali Never Minced His Words: 10 Quotes Prove His Indomitable Spirit Muhammad Ali was not just one of the greatest sporting icons that ever lived, he was also a great orator. Some of his quotes are legendary.  These 10 reveal what it takes to have a winning attitude. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands cant hit what his eyes cant see. Now you see me, now you dont. George thinks he will, but I know he wont. These words made one of the best quotes in sporting history. Ali spoke these words just  before his fight with George Foreman in 1974. These words catapulted Muhammad Ali to instant fame.   Its lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself. You think I was shocked when Nixon resigned? Wait till I whup George Foremans behind. I done something new for this fight, I done tassled with an alligator! Thats right. I have tassled with an alligator! I done tussled with a whale! I done handcuffed lightning, throwed thunder in jail! Only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone. Hospitalized a brick. I’m so mean I make medicine sick. Champions arent made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: a desire, a dream, a vision. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you. If you ever dream of beating me... you better wake up and apologize. Joes gonna be smokin an I aint even jokin but Ill be peckin and a pokin and Ill pour water on that smokin. Now this might astound and amaze ya but I will destroy Jo Frazier. There are two things that are hard to hit and see, thats a spooky ghost and Muhammed Ali. Like The Beatles, there will never be anything like them. Like my man, Elvis Presley. I was the Elvis of boxing. Im not the greatest, Im the double greatest. Not only do I knock em out, I pick the round. Im the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scientific, most skilfullest fighter in the ring today.