Why We Should Read Great Literature :: Literature Essays Literary Criticism

Why We Should Read Great Literature In Western culture, many literary works have been set apart from the rest by being termed great literature. What qualifies a work to be great literature, and why should we read it? An excellent source on this topic is Mortimer Adler, one of the premier American philosophers of the twentieth century and founder of the famous Great Books List. According to Adler, all great literature meets three criteria: the work is pertinent to contemporary life, is worth rereading, and contains "great ideas." Six of these "great ideas," defined by Adler, are three great ideas by which we judge--truth, goodness, and beauty--and three great ideas by which we live--equality, liberty, and justice. The ideas of justice, responsibilities of a society, responsibilities of the individual, nature of disobedience, and the oppression of people are all great ideas by which we live. All writers must possess strength if they are to faithfully address these great ideas. According to Anne Perez, in "Experiences of the Great Books," the great writers "dared to be creative in societies that were not always receptive to such courage." Great literature is relevant to human problems in every century, not just twentieth-century problems or problems exclusive to the time in which the work was written. In other words, great literature has stood the test of time. It still influences our beliefs and ideas, shaping our civilization. A great literary work must also have complexities. According to Adler, a great book has many meanings. This explains why all great literature is worth rereading. A good book with no more than one meaning need only be read once. In addition to Adler's criteria, great literature addresses two important issues: what is truth and how do we know it? Each work, writes Perez, has vastly different "truths" ranging from aspects of art, to matters of religion, to types of government. What each writer must do is convince his or her audience that s/he has found some way to determine truth. In conclusion, great literature has the following characteristics: it is relevant to contemporary life, it is worth rereading, and it should contain certain great ideas.

Approach to Hr Data Collection, Storage and Usage

X's APPROACH TO HR DATA COLLECTION, STORAGE AND USAGE Within X data is being collected in a systematic approach of set guidelines. Subsequently stored and made easily available to all relevant people. Reasons why X collets HR data X needs to keep certain information in order to: satisfy legal requirements provide relevant information in decision making and for consultation requirement record contractual arrangements and agreements keep contact details of employees provide documentation in the event of a claim against the organisation The most important reason for collecting the HR data is to meet the legal requirement. In case of Government Department (e. g. Inland Revenue) demanding information on the number of employees, how many hours they work, their salaries etc X is obliged to provide these data. Furthermore, HR records contain information that can protect the organisation from claims (employee discriminated against or unfairly dismissed). Mainly though the HR data is collected in order to enable the organisation to make decisions related to the organisation and/or employees e. . human resources planning. †¦ Types of data that is collected within the X and how it supports the HR practice Within X there are many different types of data which is collected. Generally these fall into the following 3 ranges: employee records, company data and statutory records. Personal data is a type of data which consist of the following information: employee name, address, telephone number, next of keen etc. It enables H R to contact employees in case of last minute changes (over the phone) or any contractual changes (letters). Payroll data consist of a ‘basic pay’ and any ‘additional payments’. It allows HR to e. g. identify who is due for annual increment (X policy) through pay history monitoring as well as incorporate additional payments to the basic (contractual) salary e. g. honorarium or simply monitor number of employees with salaries over ? 40,000. Most importantly it facilitates employees’ salaries to be paid accordingly. Time data consist of absences (annual leave, sickness, maternity etc), attendances and time quotas. Employee absence is a significant cost to the business. Therefore, this type of data is mainly used by HR in order to manage absence effectively by accurate measurement and monitoring. Methods of storing records and its benefits There are two different types of storing data within X: automated and manual. Filling cabinets or reference book/diaries these are manual methods of storing HR records. Traditionally, filing cabinets are an effective tool for document storage as they provide users with visual prompts and tangible information. They are in a way a buck-up for all the automated types of storing data, which can be affected by a virus or an electrical failure. In the purpose of the legal actions employer is obliged to provide the originals of the employment contracts/ accident record books and other personnel records. Otherwise the employer must explain what happened to the original document along with the ‘statement of truth’. The Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) is one of many automated methods of storing records within X. It is a reporting tool integrated with SAP HR that lets you request reports from inside Structural Graphics, which benefits the organisation: better analysis leading to more effective decision making higher accuracy of information/report generated more transparency in the system in higher speed of retrieval and processing of data reduction in duplication of efforts leading to reduced cost ease in classifying and reclassifying data fast response to answer queries improved quality of reports better work culture establishing of streamlined and systematic procedure mployee – Self Management UK legislation relating to the recording, storage and accessibility of HR data The most important UK legislation relating to the recording, storage and accessibility of HR data is Data Protection Act 1998. According to this act any data-user has to comply with a set of principles, which were designed to protect individuals from the misuse of data. General principles for data to be: fairly and l awfully processed; processed for limited purposes; adequate, relevant and not excessive; accurate and up to date; not kept for longer than necessary; rocessed in line with individuals’ rights; secure; and not transferred to other countries without adequate protection X is a public authority, hence The Freedom of Information Act 2000 plays very important role in data accessibility. Therefore, there are two fundamental rights with regards to the access for any person making a request for information to a public authority. The right: To be informed by the public authority whether or not the information requested is held by the Authority; and To have that information communicated to them Other UK legislations Acts: Limitation Act 1980 The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 Statutory Instruments: Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2426) The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data: Code of Practice) Order 2007 (SI 2007/2197) The Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/859) Directives: Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC Privacy and electronic communications Directive 2002/58/EC

Biography of Jim Fisk, Notorious Robber Baron

Jim Fisk (April 1, 1835–Jan. 7, 1872) was a businessman who became nationally famous for unethical business practices on Wall Street in the late 1860s. He became a partner of the notorious robber baron Jay Gould in the Erie Railroad War of 1867–1868, and he and Gould caused a financial panic with their scheme to corner the gold market in 1869. Fisk was a heavyset man with a handlebar mustache and a reputation for wild living. Dubbed â€Å"Jubilee Jim,† he was the opposite of his sullen and secretive partner Gould. As they engaged in dubious business schemes, Gould avoided attention and avoided the press. Fisk couldnt stop talking to reporters and often engaged in highly publicized antics. It was never clear whether Fisks reckless behavior and need for attention was a deliberate strategy to distract the press and public from shady business deals. Fast Facts: James Fisk Known For: Wall Street speculator and schemer, robber baronAlso Known As: Big Jim, Diamond Jim, Jubilee JimBorn: April 1, 1835 in Pownal, VermontDied: Jan. 7, 1872  in New York CitySpouse: Lucy Moore (m. Nov. 1, 1854–Jan. 7, 1872)Notable Quote: I had everything I hankered after, money, friends, stock, trade, credit, and the best horses in New England. Besides, by God, I had a reputation. There wasnt no man that could throw dirt onto Jim Fisk. Early Life Fisk was born in Pownal, Vermont, on April 1, 1835. His father was a traveling peddler who sold his wares from a horse-drawn wagon. As a child, Jim Fisk had little interest in school—his spelling and grammar showed it throughout his life—but he was fascinated by business. Fisk learned basic accounting, and in his teens he began to accompany his father on peddling trips. As he showed an unusual talent for relating to customers and selling to the public, his father set him up with his own peddler’s wagon. Before long, the younger Fisk made his father an offer and bought out the business. He also expanded, and made sure his new wagons were finely painted and pulled by the best horses. After making his peddler’s wagons an impressive spectacle, Fisk discovered that his business improved. People would gather to admire the horses and wagon, and sales would increase. While still in his teens, Fisk had already learned the advantage of putting on a show for the public. By the time the Civil War began, Fisk had been hired by Jordan Marsh, and Co., the Boston wholesaler from whom he had been buying much of his stock. And with the disruption in the cotton trade created by the war, Fisk found his opportunity to make a fortune. Career During the Civil War In the earliest months of the Civil War, Fisk traveled to Washington and set up headquarters in a hotel. He began entertaining government officials, especially those who were scurrying to supply the Army. Fisk arranged for contracts for cotton shirts as well as woolen blankets which had been sitting, unsold, in a Boston warehouse. According to a biography of Fisk published soon after his death, he may have engaged in bribery to secure contracts. But he took a principled stand in what he would sell to Uncle Sam. Merchants who boasted of selling shoddy merchandise to the troops enraged him. In early 1862 Fisk began to visit areas of the South under federal control to arrange to buy cotton, which was in very short supply in the North. According to some accounts, Fisk would spend as much as $800,000 in a day purchasing cotton for Jordan Marsh, and arranging to have it shipped to New England, where the mills needed it. Battle for the Erie Railroad At the end of the Civil War Fisk moved to New York and became known on Wall Street. He entered into a partnership with Daniel Drew, an eccentric character who had become very wealthy after starting out in business as a cattle drover in rural New York State. Drew controlled the Erie Railroad. And Cornelius Vanderbilt, the richest man in America, was trying to buy up all the railroad’s stock so he could take control of it and add it to his own portfolio of railroads, which included the mighty New York Central. To thwart Vanderbilt’s ambitions, Drew began working with financier Gould. Fisk was soon playing a flamboyant role in the venture, and he and Gould made unlikely partners. In March 1868 the â€Å"Erie War† escalated as Vanderbilt went to court and arrest warrants were issued for Drew, Gould, and Fisk. The three of them fled across the Hudson River to Jersey City, New Jersey, where they fortified themselves in a hotel. As Drew and Gould brooded and plotted, Fisk gave grandiose interviews to the press, strutting about and denouncing Vanderbilt. Over time the struggle for the railroad came to a confusing finale as Vanderbilt worked out a settlement with his adversaries. Fisk and Gould became directors of the Erie. In typical style for Fisk, he bought an opera house on 23rd Street in New York City, and placed the railroad’s offices on the second floor. Gould and the Gold Corner In the unregulated financial markets following the Civil War, speculators like Gould and Fisk routinely engaged in manipulation that would be illegal in today’s world. And Gould, noticing some quirks in the buying and selling of gold, came up with a scheme by which he, with Fisk’s help, could corner the market and control the nation’s supply of gold. In September 1869, the men began working their scheme. For the plot to work completely, the government had to be stopped from selling gold supplies. Fisk and Gould, having bribed government officials, thought they were assured of success. Friday, Sept. 24, 1869, became known as Black Friday on Wall Street. The markets opened in a pandemonium as the price of gold shot up. But then the federal government began to sell gold, and the price collapsed. Many traders who had been drawn into the frenzy were ruined. Gould and Fisk came away unscathed. Sidestepping the disaster they had created, they sold their own gold as the price had risen on Friday morning. Later investigations showed that they had broken no laws then on the books. While they had created panic in the financial markets and hurt many investors, they had gotten richer. Later Years In the years following the Civil War, Fisk was invited to become the leader of the Ninth Regiment of the New York National Guard, a volunteer infantry unit which had become greatly reduced in size and prestige. Fisk, though he had no military experience, was elected colonel of the regiment. As Col. James Fisk, Jr., the unscrupulous businessman presented himself as a public-spirited individual. He became a fixture on New York’s social scene, though many regarded him as a buffoon when he would strut about in gaudy uniforms. Fisk, though he had a wife in New England, became involved with a young New York actress named Josie Mansfield. Rumors circulated that she was really a prostitute. The relationship between Fisk and Mansfield was gossiped about widely. Mansfield’s involvement with a young man named Richard Stokes added to the rumors. Death After a complicated series of events in which Mansfield sued Fisk for libel, Stokes became enraged. He stalked Fisk and ambushed him on a staircase of the Metropolitan Hotel on Jan. 6, 1872. As Fisk arrived at the hotel, Stokes fired two shots from a revolver. One struck Fisk in the arm, but another entered his abdomen. Fisk remained conscious and identified the man who had shot him. But he died within hours, early on Jan. 7. After an elaborate funeral, Fisk was buried in Brattleboro, Vermont. Legacy Fisk reached the zenith of his fame when his scandalous involvement with actress Josie Mansfield played out on the front pages of the newspapers. At the height of the scandal, in January 1872, Fisk visited a hotel in Manhattan and was gunned down by Richard Stokes, an associate of Josie Mansfield. Fisk died hours later. He was 37 years old. At his bedside stood his partner Gould, along with  William M. â€Å"Boss† Tweed, the notorious leader of Tammany Hall, New Yorks political machine. During his years as a New York City celebrity, Fisk engaged in activities which today would be considered publicity stunts. He helped finance and lead a militia company, and he would dress in an elaborate uniform that seemed like something from a comic opera. He also bought an opera house and saw himself as something of a patron of the arts. The public seemed fascinated by Fisk, despite his reputation for being a crooked operator on Wall Street. Perhaps the public liked that Fisk seemed to only cheat other wealthy people. Or, in the years following the tragedy of the Civil War, perhaps the public just saw Fisk as much-needed entertainment. Though his partner, Gould, seemed to have genuine affection for Fisk, its possible that Gould saw something valuable in Fisks very public antics. With people turning their attention to Fisk, and with Jubilee Jim often giving public statements, it made it easier for Gould to fade into the shadows. Though Fisk died before the phrase came into use, Fisk is generally considered, due to his unethical business practices and extravagant spending, an example of a robber baron. Sources â€Å"James Fisk: A Bigger Than Life Figure in the Gilded Age.†Ã‚  United States History.â€Å"Jim Fisk.†Ã‚  American-Rails.com.â€Å"The Murder of Jim Fisk: Vermonts Robber Baron. New England Historical Society, 5 Feb. 2019.