A Degree for Meter Readers Essay Example for Free

A Degree for Meter Readers Essay South Illinois Electric Company is a Member-Owned, Non-Profit Service Organization whose mission is to provide our member-owners with competitively priced, reliable electricity, superior customer service and innovative solutions to enhance the quality of life in our communities. Organized in 1938 for the purpose of making electricity available to rural areas, South Eastern Illinois Electric Cooperative has grown steadily and now serves over 23,000 accounts through some 3,500 miles of power line. (South Eastern Illinois Electric Cooperative, Inc. ) Meter Readers A meter reader is a utility employee who reads consumption meters for the purpose of billing. He or she may read gas, electric, and water meters, in addition to inspecting meters and utility boxes to confirm that they are in good condition, and checking for signs of tampering or fraud. There are no educational requirements for members of this profession, although most meter readers hold a high school diploma. The need for this profession is also on the decline, as many utilities have turned to automated systems which read meters remotely or read large numbers of meters via handheld units which communicate wirelessly, reducing the need for employees. Every meter reader has a route that he or she follows. Many often complete large portions of their route on foot, driving to a central point and fanning out from their vehicles, so they need to be in good physical condition. They must also be willing to tolerate inclement weather, as meter readings are not canceled for things like rain. See more:  The Story of an Hour Literary Analysis Essay Each one carries a handheld device which is used to record meter data or to interface directly with meters to collect data. At each household on the meter readers route, he or she notes down the customer identification and the reading on the customers meter. People in this position often face challenges like locked gates, hostile dogs, or inaccessible meters along their routes, although many utilities issue meter reading dates to their customers and ask them to plan ahead for their reading. If a meter cannot be read, the meter reader leaves an appointment card, asking to reschedule a date to read the meter. Once the meter readers route is finished, he or she returns to the office to submit the data to the billing department, and bills are issued. Because most utilities cover a large area, there are usually enough routes to keep readers busy every day. Many grow very familiar with their routes and they are able to complete them  quickly. Working as a meter reader requires a high degree of self-discipline, because people in this position work alone in the field, without supervision. They may have varying degrees of interaction with the public, depending on when they set out on their routes and the communities they work in. Experienced meter readers may also periodically be asked to accompany trainees as they learn the process of meter reading and following a route.

The Use of Force Essay -- Health Care

The Use of Force, written by William Carlos Williams is a story about a conflicted unnamed doctor using physical force to determine a diagnosis. The question that is brought up is whether or not the doctor’s use of force was one of ethical duty or infuriating violence. The doctor makes it his duty to save the patient, Mathilda as she does not cooperate he makes a choice to go on and use force to open her mouth to determine her diagnosis. The choice of using force isn’t necessarily the questionable part, the motive on using physical force is debatable. The ultimate question that the short story, the Use of Force asks is whether or not the doctor’s motives become one of dutiful compassion or desirable violence. As the story begins, the unnamed doctor is introduced as one who appears to be strictly professional. â€Å"Aas often, in such cases, they weren’t telling me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them; that’s why they were spending three dollars on me.† (par. 3) The doctor leaves the first impression that he is one that keeps his attention about the job and nothing out of the ordinary besides stating his impressions on the mother, father and the patient, Mathilda. Though he does manage to note that Mathilda has a fever. The doctor takes what he considers a â€Å"trial shot† and â€Å"point of departure† by inquiring what he suspects is a sore throat (par. 6). This point in the story, nothing remains out of the ordinary or questionable about the doctor’s methods, until the story further develops. The doctor contains his professionalism, but as it goes on, pieces of frustrated irregularities begin to surface. As the doctor learns that the parents say no, that the girl says she doesn’t have a sore throat, he purs... ...der what motive? He had to justify his motives, perhaps to add some morality to ensure what he was doing was ethical. He would flip that thought, perhaps to try and downplay his desire to unleash his violent frustration onto the girl. He ultimately saved Mathilda’s life in a sense, but under which motive? I believe the this is the question William Carlos Williams’ The Use of Force has the reader ask themselves. Under a emergency situation the human condition can be torn between a code of ethics or a dominance of dark desire. No doubt in The Use of Force, the end of the situation turned out well as the girl could be saved, but the method to find out was ambiguous. How well would the case between doing the right thing and doing what you desire turn out in any other situation? I believe this is the question that William Carlos Williams wanted the reader to think about.

Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman Controversial Tragedy Essay

Tragedy was a very controversial issue in literature until recent years. Recent figures in literature have set a clear definition for tragedy. Author Miller is one of these figures. Plays and novels have distinguished the definition of tragedy. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary tragedy is a serious piece of literature typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror. Miller’s explains that a tragic hero does not always have to be a monarch or a man of a higher status. A tragic hero can be a common person. A tragedy does not always have to end pessimistically; it could have an optimistic ending. The play Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, is a tragedy because it’s hero, Willy Loman, is a tragic figure that faces a superior source, being the American dream and the struggle for success. Loman also excites pity in the reader because of his defeat and his ina bility to become a success or teach his children how to make their lives successful. Miller defines a flaw as â€Å"an inherent unwillingness to remain passive in the face of what one conceives to be a challenge to one’s dignity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Loman fulfills many of the requirements of being a tragic hero. Willy is not â€Å"flawless† in his actions, which by Miller’s standards make him a tragic hero. It is not wrong for Willy to have flaws and it does not make him a weaker man but a tragic figure. Miller designed the play so that Willy could be a tragic hero and for this he needs to have a flaw. Willy’s flaw is that he is unable to see things in a more realistic perspective. Charley says something in the play that sums up Willy’s whole life. He asks him, â€Å"When the hell are you going to grow up?† Willy’s spends his entire life in an illusion. He sees himself as a great man that is popular and successful. Willy exhibits many childlike qualities. Many of these qualities have an impact on his family. His two sons Bif f and Happy pick up this behavior from their father. He is idealistic, stubborn, and he has a false sense of his importance in the world. The extreme to which he followed the dream brought him to disillusionment and a loose sense of reality. Willy created a reality for himself where he â€Å"knocked ’em cold in Providence,† and â€Å"slaughtered ’em in Boston.†(p.33)  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Five hundred gross in Providence† becomes â€Å"roughly two hundred gross on the whole trip.† The ultimate result of his disillusionment is his suicide. It is ironic that he dies for his ideals although they are misconstrued. Another of Willy’s flaws is his disloyalty to Linda. Willy is unable to hold strong against temptations such as the women he slept with in Boston. Biff’s faith in his father is lost after he encounters the situation. This may have been the cause for Biff’s failure in life. Another of Miller’s guidelines for a tragic hero is that a common man can be a tragic hero. Willy sums up to many of the characteristics shown in Arthur Miller’s article, â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man.† Willy is the common man Miller speaks of in the article. Willy awakes each day to face the hard struggle of work. Although Willy is not very successful as a businessman he still goes to work everyday because he must support his family. Willy placed a great deal of importance on the success of Biff. Willy believed that the best way to achieve success was the fast way. Willy’s dreams for his children to become successful shows his role as a common man. Willy went to extremes to try and reach his goal of Biff becoming successful. Biff is the most important thing in Willy’s life because he is Willy’s last shot at success. If Biff doesn’t want to be successful and doesn’t love him, then Willy would be more satisfied in killing himself in order to try and show Biff that he really is a success. If Biff does love him and wants to become a success then Willy is satisfied in killing himself in order to give Biff a better shot at success with his life insurance money. Willy’s actions and his desire for Biff to become a success and live happily make him a common man. Miller says a tragedy usually deals with a greater power that is taking the freedoms of a lesser power. The lesser power deals with this and fights back against the greater power, while putting something of importance on the line, making him/her a tragic hero. Willy is unable to become a success because he is not able to reach the American dream and work for this successfulness. Although he fights for this successfulness, he fails. Willy has wasted his life on trying to become a success. Willy puts his final stride toward success is in Biff. Willy has spent his life raising Biff and  trying to teach him how to become successful. The problem is that Willy doesn’t know how to reach success and he teaches Biff that success is fast and easy when it’s not. Willy always believes he can achieve that kind of success. He never lets go of his wasted life. He dreams of being the man who does all of his business out of his house and dying a rich and successful man. Furthermore, Willy also dreams of moving to Alaska where he could work with his hands and be a real man. Biff and Happy follow in their father’s footsteps in their lofty dreams and unrealistic goals. Biff wastes his life being a thief and a loner; furthermore, Biff, along with happy try to conjure up a crazy idea of putting on a sporting goods exhibition. Biff really knows that Willy has never been successful and he looks down upon Willy for teaching him the wrong ideal. Biff does realize that Willy has wasted his life in order to make Biff’s better. â€Å"Miss Forsythe, you’ve just seen a price walk by. A fine, troubled prince. A hardworking, unappreciated prince. A pal, you understand? A good companion. Always for his boys.† (p. 114) Another idea that supports the fact that Death of a Salesman is a tragedy is that there is a possibility of victory. Miller speaks about the things that make a piece of literature a tragedy is his article â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man.† Miller says that for a piece to be truly tragic an author can not hesitate to leave anything out and must put in all the information they have â€Å"to secure their rightful place in their world.† Although it does not happen in this play and Willy is unable to overcome the greater force, he is able to make an impact on it. Willy’s failure sets an example that Biff understands. Willy could have still been successful if he was able to see the flaws in his ways and teach Biff the right way to be a success, which is in hard work. If Willy had not killed himself and taught Biff that working hard at anything would make his successful then Biff may have reached success for himself and make Willy a successful father as well. The reader must look at Willy’s suicide through Willy’s eyes. He killed himself in order to give Biff a better shot at being a success. Willy doesn’t understand that killing himself is wrong and he is not looking for any pity. Willy has sacrificed his own life so that Biff could have a better life. This truly does make him a tragic hero. Willy Loman is a tragic figure in the play Death of a Salesman. Willy faces a superior source in the play and puts his life on the line for his beliefs and the beliefs of others. He meets the requirements of Miller’s article for a tragic hero. Death of a Salesman also meets Miller’s requirements for a tragic play because of Willy’s role in the novel along with the other standards that Miller sets for a tragedy. The exploration of tragedy by people such as Miller helps to define it more clearly.

Symbolism in the Truman Show

Analyse how one or more symbols were used to present an important idea or ideas. In The Truman Show, directed by Peter Weir, three recurring symbols were used to present important ideas. These motifs; the dome, the circle and the chest present important themes, such as entrapment, repetition and an extreme invasion of privacy. These motifs are evident throughout the film, and reinforce the superficial nature of Truman’s life. The dome; the enclosure where Truman has lived his whole life; presents the important idea of entrapment.Truman’s hometown of Seahaven is a television set, built under a giant arcological dome in Hollywood. Due to his extreme aquaphobia; forced upon him by his father’s tragic drowning, Truman has no way of leaving this isolated community. Truman is trapped, with no means of escaping his superficial life. Peter Weir utilises bird’s eye view shots over the dome to demonstrate the dome in its entirety, and the inescapable nature of it. T his shot shows the audience the true cage-like appearance of Truman’s life.His life in the dome is comparable to animals in a zoo; he has no privacy, no escape, and is being observed 24/7. The dome not only symbolises entrapment; it is the trap which Truman is caught in. The circular motifs represent the important idea of repetition in Truman’s life. Just like the cycle of actors who pass his house â€Å"Lady†¦ flowers†¦ dented Beetle†, his life is revolving in a never-ending circle. Truman’s life is boring; his days have little variability from one day to the next. Truman yearns for change and adventure, but his aspirations are never reached as he continues on this cycle.The filmmaker has used other circular motifs, such as the revolving door and the round-about, observed form a bird’s eye view shot, to develop the symbolism of Truman’s life being a continuous, repetitive loop. These motifs develop the audience’s understand ing of Truman’s life, as they sympathise with his need for change and adventure. Our overall understanding of Truman is deepened by his need and search for change. Truman is â€Å"On the air, unaware†. This is demonstrated by the lack of privacy, represented by his opening of the chest.When Truman goes into the basement, he thinks he is alone, but in fact, he is being broadcasted live to millions of people around the world. Here we see Truman at his most vulnerable, as he sorts through his private possessions; his map of Fiji, Sylvia’s cardigan, and the collage he constructed of her face. This unknown privacy invasion is shown by the extreme close-up shot of the padlock as he enters his secret combination. Here the audience empathises with Truman’s need of privacy with our own. This is used to show the audience Truman’s true feelings and makes us realise how genuine he is.Peter Weir has used the dome, the circular motifs and the chest to demonstrat e important ideas. The theme of entrapment is represented by the dome, the inescapable structure in which Truman lives. The circular motifs symbolise repetition and consistency in his life, and the Truman’s struggle to break free from this never ending cycle. The theme of an unknown lack of privacy is shown by the shots of Truman in the basement, when he is at his most vulnerable. These ideas not only contribute to the plot, but to the audience’s understanding of Truman, and his struggle to break free.

simuulation games essays

simuulation games essays Simulation Games- To take the appearance or form of; to pretend; to make a model of Simulation games have come a long since they first began a long time ago. Graphics and sound have gotten much better, complexity of the game engine and multiplayer capabilities have also made great leaps. People still wonder if it has actually gotten better or had just changed. Now, 3-D cards and huge program files have become the standard to run the simpler Sims. Since simulation games try to accurately represent or mimic real life situations technology will continue to make them better until we no longer separate fiction from reality. When simulation games first came out they were not that big amongst kids. Though they would try and sneak off into a computer lab and try to play as much as they could. When flight simulation games came out kids were amazed at the fact that they could fly around the sky and have it feel like that they are actually in the plane. The game that really turned games around for the future was SimCity. To build an entire city was a new revolution for what games could be. Today the market of simulation games continues to spread really rapidly. Developers of games seem to come up with new ideas daily. SimCity has advanced the whole gaming market. There have been more islands, towers, colonies, and life built. There has been SimCity 3000 and now they are working on SimCity 4000, which should be released by the year 2000. Other games such as helicopter games have also come along way and are rising rapidly. Gunship launched a lot of helicopter games including its latest version Apache Havoc. This gives the option to fly either American or Russian Choppers. Soon Gunship 3 will come out and Apache Havoc will be just another old game. What we see in the future is very amazing, technology is going to continue to grow and everything is going to become much faster. ...

Soldiers Home Essay Example

Soldiers Home Essay Example Soldiers Home Paper Soldiers Home Paper Soldier’s Home By Ernest Hemingway In the battlefield soldiers are experiencing war, death, loss – they kill and watch fellow soldiers getting killed. Being a soldier is in no way an easy life, and it is hard for people, who have not experienced war to understand. When these soldiers returns from war they need to adjust themselves to their old lives – adjust themselves to live in a place that has not change a tiny bit, even though they are in no way the same person as they were when they left. The main character in Hemingway’s short story â€Å"Soldier’s home† experiences the conflicts connected with returning from war. What strikes me the most when reading Ernest Hemingway is his style of writing. This short story is characteristic due to the few adjectives, adverbs and Hemingway does not tell us about the characters’ feelings and thoughts and one must interpret these from actions and conversations. His style is simple, direct and his grammar is almost grade school-like. When first reading the short story one might find the short story in lack of substance due to the missing direct statements and descriptions of emotions. The reader needs to be active to understand Hemingway’s stories. Harold Krebs went to take part in World War 1 immediately after finishing college. Although World War 1 ended in 1918 Krebs did not return to his hometown before 1919. After his arrival he is not greeted as a war hero like his fellow students. The hysteria was rampant in the area, but at the time he arrives the hysteria has passed. People find it difficult to understand why he returned as late as he did ( people seemed to think it was rather ridiculous for Krebs to be getting back so late, years after the war was over. † (ll. 8-9)). It seems as though Krebs has returned so late, because he has a hard time interacting with â€Å"ordinary people† – people who has not experienced the war as he has. At first he does not want to talk about his experiences in the war, but when he feels the need to do it, people do not listen. Due to his desire to talk about it he starts lying to make his stories more interesting. I believe talking is an important part of the â€Å"healing process† when someone has experienced war – Krebs does not like talking to people due to the fact that they do not understand him. He would like to have a girlfriend, but the talking makes him change his mind, â€Å"now he would have liked a girl if she had some to him and not wanted to talk,† (l. 40). His mother pressurizes Krebs to find a girlfriend and she calls attention to the fact that the boys from his old school has settled down and â€Å"on their way to being really a credit to the community† (ll. 85-86). To Krebs this is a â€Å"hard slap in the face† – a veiled critic. The mother is very religious and she does not believe that going to war is the solution to anything – she does instead believe that a good job, a nice wife and children are the real â€Å"credit to the community†. Furthermore, the mother does not understand that Krebs is no longer like the boys he used to hang out with – he has seen death and death changes people. Death has made him incapable of loving something we are shown when the mother asks him â€Å"don’t you love your mother, dear boy? † (l. 97) and Krebs truthfully answers â€Å"no†. It was not his intention to hurt his mother, and he ends up promising her that he in fact loves her. This is yet another lie, and he realises that he has to move on. Krebs was once religious (â€Å"†¦ from a Methodist college in Kansas,† (l. 1)) but he has now lost his faith to God and he is no longer â€Å"in His Kingdom† (l. 4). His faith in religion has faltered due to his experiences in the war. Although he wants to break with the family’s religious values, but he cannot break with the authority he still feels religion is. Krebs feels sorry for his mother because she (and her religion) has made him lie – and made him feel guilty as well (â€Å"He had felt sorry for his mother she had made him lie. He would go to Kansas City and get a job and she would feel all right about it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (ll. 23-24)). I believe that isolation from society is an important theme in this short story due to the fact that it has such an impact on the main character. During the war Krebs felt important and useful but now no one even wants to listen to his story unless he lies. He has turned into a passive observer – he observes the girls walking by, but he does not want to interact with them – he just sits on the porch reading. Hemingway wanted the reader to believe that his short stories’ and novels’ reflected himself as person. In Soldier’s Home it is obvious that Krebs does not like his mother – Hemingway did as well detest his mother. Hemingway was raised in a very religious way but as he grew older he became more rebellious and wanted to break with his former religious believes, just like Krebs.

Overcoming Math Anxiety

Overcoming Math Anxiety Math anxiety or fear of math is actually quite common. Math anxiety, like test anxiety is quite similar to stage fright. Why does someone suffer stage fright? Fear of something going wrong in front of a crowd? Fear of forgetting the lines? Fear of being judged poorly? Fear of going completely blank? Math anxiety conjures up fear of some type. The fear that one wont be able to do the math or the fear that its too hard or the fear of failure which often stems from having a lack of confidence. For the most part, math anxiety is the fear about doing the math right, our minds draw a blank and we think well fail and of course the more frustrated and anxious our minds become, the greater the chance for drawing blanks. Added pressure of having time limits on math tests and exams also cause the levels of anxiety grow for many students. Where Does Math Anxiety Come From? Usually math anxiety stems from unpleasant experiences in mathematics. Typically math phobics have had math presented in such a fashion that it led to limited understanding. Unfortunately, math anxiety is often due to poor teaching and poor experiences in math which typically leads to math anxiety. Many of the students Ive encountered with math anxiety have demonstrated an over reliance on procedures in math as opposed to actually understanding the math. When one tries to memorize procedures, rules and routines without much understanding, the math is quickly forgotten and panic soon sets in. Think about your experiences with one concept - the division of fractions. You probably learned about reciprocals and inverses. In other words, Its not yours to reason why, just invert and multiply. Well, you memorized the rule and it works. Why does it work? Do you really understand why it works? Did anyone every use pizzas or math manipulatives to show you why it works? If not, you simply memo rized the procedure and that was that. Think of math as memorizing all the procedures - what if you forget a few? Therefore, with this type of strategy, a good memory will help, but, what if you dont have a good memory. Understanding the math is critical. Once students realize they can do the math, the whole notion of math anxiety can be overcome. Teachers and parents have an important role to ensure students understand the math being presented to them. Myths and Misconceptions None of the following is  true! Youre born with a math gene, either you get it or you dont.Math is for males, females never get math!Its hopeless, and much too hard for average people.If the logical side of your brain isnt your strength, youll never do well in math.Math is a cultural thing, my culture never got it!Theres only one right way to do math. Overcoming Math Anxiety A positive attitude will help. However, positive attitudes come with quality teaching for understanding which often isnt the case with many traditional approaches to teaching mathematics.Ask questions, be determined to understand the math. Dont settle for anything less during instruction. Ask for clear illustrations and or demonstrations or simulations.Practice regularly, especially when youre having difficulty. Take good notes  or use journals effectively.When total understanding escapes you, hire a tutor or work with peers that understand the math. You can do the math, sometimes it just take a different approach for you to understand some of the concepts.Dont just read over your notes - do the math. Practice the math and make sure you can honestly state that you understand what you are doing.Be persistent and dont over emphasize the fact that we all make mistakes. Remember, some of the most powerful learning stems from making a mistake. Learn from mistakes. Find out more about the myths of doing math and you too will overcome math anxiety. And, if you think making mistakes is a bad thing, look again. Sometimes the most powerful learning stems from making mistakes. Find out how to learn from your mistakes. You might also want to find out what the 3 most common errors in math are and review the remedies to overcome them.