Wordplay Functions In Literature And Literary Theory English Language Essay

Wordplay Functions In Literature And Literary Theory English Language Essay Abstract: Wordplay occupies a significant position in several important conceptions and theories of literature, principally because it has both a performative and a critical function in relation to language and cognition. This article describes the various uses and understandings of wordplay and their origins in its (Whose?) unique flexibility, which involves an interaction between a semiotic deficit and a semantic surplus. Furthermore, the article illustrates different methods of incorporating theories of wordplay into literature and literary theory, and finally, it demonstrates the ways in which the use of wordplay often leads to the use of metaphors and figurative language. Introduction Puns and wordplay occupy a significant position in literature as well as in various ways of reflecting on and conceptualizing literature. They can be used to produce and perform a poetic function with language and they can be used critically, which entails considering them from a distance(?) as utterances that undermine meaning and sense and that ultimately accomplish a deconstructive performance. A dictionary definition of the word pun illustrates that both homonymy (when two words with unrelated meanings have the same form) and polysemy (when one word form has two or more, related, meanings) can properly be used to form puns: a play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words (American Heritage College Dictionary 1997, Third Edition). However, this definition could also be extended to embrace the term wordplay, mainly because pun seems to cover only single words.  [1]  So a more precise definition of pu n might be a play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same expression and sometimes on the similar senses or sounds of different words (This is between inverted commas. Where is the citation?). The various uses and understandings of wordplay originate from a flexibility which this article attempts to identify and describe from both a historical and a contemporary perspective. Wordplay involves an interaction between a semiotic deficit and a semantic surplus and is therefore primarily understood and used in two different ways in literature and literary theory. Literary scholar Geoffrey Hartman succinctly articulated this interaction in an essay titled The Voice of the Shuttle: Language from the Point of View of Literature (1970) I dont know which system of citation the author is using. If it is APA, this citation is wrong: You can define a pun as two meanings competing for the same phonemic space or as one sound bringing forth semantic twins, but, however you look at it, its a crowded situation (1970: 347). The semiotic deficit is caused by one sign or expression signifying at least two meanings. The semantic surplus, on the other hand, refers to the cognitive event happenin g in the individual (in literature, the reader) experiencing the play on words. The article describes these two features of wordplay with the help of a few examples of wordplay in literature and literary theory, and it also demonstrates that the use of puns and wordplay often leads to the use of metaphor and figurative language or a semantic surplus like Hartmans twins. Furthermore, the article presents an argument for distinguishing between exploring the intention behind the use of wordplay and exploring wordplay itself. In the previous paragraph, the author talked about an essay by Hartman. Is he/she still referring to that essay when he/she talks about the article? Paranomasia and traductio In the beginning was the pun (1957: 65), writes Samuel Beckett in his novel Murphy from 1938 The citation is wrong, according to APA standards, but although puns and wordplay as such may have been with us from the very beginning (of what?) Beckett is paraphrasing the Bible), actual descriptions of wordplay do not appear until the rhetorical studies of Cicero and Quintilian. Parts of Platos Cratylus do; however, bear a superficial resemblance to wordplay because Socrates makes fun of etymological argumentation, showing the reader how language can lead to sophistic blind alleys and dead ends, which can be deceptive to those who are not familiar with the well-known schism between the world of ideas and the world of phenomena. Moreover, in Phaedrus, Socrates argues that in the written word there is necessarily much which is not serious (277E) It wasnt written by Socrates, but by Plato. It is this argumentation which Jacques Derrida later criticizes in Platos Pharmacy (1998) the system of citation does not seem to be consistent. Names of books are alternatively written in bold type, without inverted commas, or in normal type, with inverted commas, in which Derrida attempts to demonstrate the erosion of Platos argumentation through the two-sidedness and ambiguity of the word pharmakon and through the way Plato plays on the multiple meanings of this word. Writing is both a remedy and a poison, producing both science and magic. Platos antidote to sophism is episteme, or, in Derridas view, mental or epistemological repression. Derridas text demonstrates an interesting and intimate connection between writing, wordplay, oblivion and memory, but since this is a perspective a bit outside the framework of this article I will carry on a more historical view..  [2]   Over time, wordplay has been linked to the rhetorical terms of traductio and adnominatio. The anonymous Rhetoric to Herennius (Rhetorica ad Herennium), written in the period 86-82 BC and ascribed to Cicero until the fifteenth century, states that [t]ransplacement [traductio] makes it possible for the same word to be frequently reintroduced, not only without offence to good taste, but even so as to render the style more elegant (1954: 279) The work of Derrida was not cited like this. Traductio is classified below figures of diction and is compared to other figures of repetition. Common to these figures is an elegance which the ear can distinguish more easily than words can explain. (1954: 281). Identifying wordplay as traductio, however, may not entirely correspond with the understanding we have of wordplay today, although the lack of explanatory words within this rhetorical figure is comparable to the above-mentioned thesis. Today, we would perhaps rather characterize wordplay as adn ominatio [called paranomasia in the English translation]. The Rhetoric to Herennius states that wordplays should be used in moderation because they reveal the speakers labour and compromise his ethos: Such endeavours, indeed, seem more suitable for a speech of entertainment that for use in an actual cause. Hence the speakers credibility, impressiveness, and seriousness are lessened by crowding these figures together. Furthermore, apart from destroying the speakers authority, such a style gives offence because these figures have grace and elegance, but not impressiveness and beauty. (1954: 309) I have indented this, according to APA norms. Wordplay must therefore be used economically so as not to seem childish or to monopolize the listeners attention. In addition, the author of the Rhetoric points to the fact that one very quickly becomes too clever by half if the frequency of paronomasia is too high. In Quintilians treatise on rhetoric, The Orators Education (Institutio Oratoria), wordplay is reckoned among figures of speech (9.13). Another style of citation. Quintilian divides these into two types, the first of which concerns innovations in language, while the second concerns the arrangement of the words. The first type is, according to Quintilian, more grammatically based, while the latter is more rhetorically based, but with indistinct limits. At the same time, the first one protects the speaker against stereotypical language. Wordplay belongs to what Quintilian refers to as figures which depend on their sound; other figures depend on alteration, addition, subtraction or succession. Quintilian treats wordplay immediately following the chapter on addition and subtraction, thereby suggesting its status as something which neither subtracts nor adds. Otherwise his conception of wordplay is similar to that of the Rhetorica ad Herennium: wordplay should be used with cautiousness and only if it to some extent strengthens a point, in which case it can have a convincing effect.  [3]   What we can learn by reading these passages on wordplay in Quintillian and the Rhetorica ad Herennium is that ever since the beginning of literary studies our understanding of wordplay has oscillated between at least two different extremes: traductio and adnominatio / paranomasia, or, one could say, between an outer understanding concerned with the context and an inner understanding mostly concerned with language itself. This could also be one of the main reasons why literary theory has tended to describe puns and wordplay in two ways: either as magical (iconic) language use or as critical language use. Magical language use has much in common with wordplay as a rhetorical figure, and thus also with the way wordplay was used in antiquity and in the romantic era, between which periods the literature of Shakespeare creates an important link. For instance, it is quite remarkable that at first Shakespeare was admonished for his plays on words. In Germany, the Enlightenment poet and transl ator of Shakespeare, C.M. Wieland citation?, also complains about the wisecracks. He calls them albern (silly) and ekelhaft (disgusting). When A.W. Schlegel citation?, on the other hand, gets hold of Shakespeares texts, he is much more attentive to and respectful of the latters excesses in language. Schlegel is in debt to Herder citation?, who is one of the first in Germany to appreciate the poetry in Shakespeares works (their rhythm, melody and other more formal qualities) (cf. Larson (1989)). We cant carry out this comparison, because the works have not been properly cited. By using the rather odd term magical language, this article aims to carry on colloquial a German tradition of treating wordplay as Sprachmagie. Walter Benjamin, for instance, construes language as magical or self-endorsing citation?.  [4]  Critical language use, however, is more comparable to the use of wordplay and the discussion of wit in the Age of Enlightenment, and thus more generally to humour, including, for instance, the joke and the anecdote (whereas in relation to magical language use, wordplay should be regarded as akin to the riddle, the rebus and the mystery). Much literary theory may therefore have adopted these two ways of dealing with and understanding wordplay: it is treated as exceptionally poetic and almost magical precisely because it is untranslatable, or as something which can be used in a general critique of language in which this untranslatableness is used as an argument for the arbitrariness of the relationship between signifià © and signifiant .citation ?The words were not coined by the author of this paper. Wordplay as part of language criticism The work of the linguist Ferdinand de Saussure citation may be seen as a prism for the two understandings of wordplay throughout the twentieth century. On the one hand, there is the scholar Saussure, who later became famous for his hypothesis of the arbitrary relationship between signifià © and signifiant and for his statement that language only contains differences without positive terms. On the other hand, there is the other Saussure, who, besides his more official scholarship, occupies himself with anagrams in Latin texts (cf. Starobinski 1979). In his private scholarship Saussure considers the sign highly motivated, which stands in contrast to his thesis of the arbitrariness of the sign in his official scholarship. Saussures remarkable occupation with language alternates between an almost desperate confidence in language and a growing distrust of its epistemological value. The discussion in the last part of this article will be based on this distrust, orienting it toward Nietzsc he and Freud, since they represent two of the most predominant views on language and thus wordplay in several important literary theories of the twentieth century, not least Russian Formalism and deconstruction. Franz Fà ¼rst (1979) wrongly cited, according to APA norms mentions that wordplay changes character during the nineteenth century. First, the romantic age idealizes it, changing its characteristics. Wordplay is not only connected to wit, but also to in my free translation from Bernhardis Sprachlehre (1801-1803) citation the eternal consonance of the universe through its heterogeneous homogeneity.  [5]  The coherence between sound and meaning was therefore at first considered deeper than might be expected, but the coherence, as the future would show, also had another side displaying a quite different function of wordplay. Fà ¼rst explains: Aus einer à ¤hnlichen Bemà ¼hung um die Wiederherstellung der engen Wort-Ding-Beziehung, jedoch mit karikaturistischer Absicht, entstand eine neue Technik des Wortspiels, die von Brentano und ihm folgend von Heine und Nietzsche verwendet wurde. Diese Technik verzichtet auf das Urwort und begnà ¼gt sich mit der Wortentstellung, der Karikatur eines ehemals organisch-sinnvollen Wortes zur Bezeichnung einer entstellten Wirklichkeit. (1979: 49) We need a translation of this. In Fà ¼rsts view, from pointing out a deeper coherence, wordplay now stands at the service of a distorted reality. It becomes an example of the play of falseness and designates a disfigured reality, especially concerning epistemological questions. The connection with this deeper coherence is therefore eliminated from language and discarded. For example, wordplay and other rhetorical figures which build upon likeness, like the metaphor, are denigrated in Nietzsches work from 1873, On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense citation , when he proclaims that the truth is only [a] mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, and anthropomorphisms in short, a sum of human relations which have been enhanced, transposed, and embellished poetically and rhetorically (1982: 46-47). Martin Stingelin points out that Nietzsches wordplay gewinnt (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) seine reflexive Qualità ¤t gerade durch Entstellung (1988: 348) Translation, citation. Precisely because everything is rhetoric anyway, we must turn the sting of language against itself. In this connection, wordplay is the least convincing example of false resemblances made by language and can therefore participate reflectively and ironically in such an Enstellung (distortion). The failure to convince should indicate, and thereby ironically convince us, that there is something inherently wrong with language and the epistemological cognition it attends to for us. Besides Nietzsches critique, we also find Freuds general distrust of language in the beginning of the twentieth century. Most relevant to wordplay is his work The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious. Date, citation.With this as a starting point, it is possible to make some more general remarks about the fundamental importance of the relationship between wordplay and metaphor in the different ways in which wordplay is understood and used in twentieth-century literary theory. Freud believes that play on words is nothing but condensation without substitute-formation; condensation is still the overriding category. A tendency to parsimony predominates in all these techniques. Everything seems to be a matter of economy, as Hamlet says (Thrift, thrift, Horatio!) Speech marks (2003: 32). Freuds interest in wordplay therefore goes by way of the joke, which is primarily characterized by economization and condensation.  [6]  A substitution is omitted; in other words, wordplay is not a translation of something unconscious, but a translation which more precisely takes place in language. This is also one of the definitions that Walter Redfern arrives at (1997: 265). Redferns study of wordplay is without doubt the most comprehensive yet in a literary context, but the many metaphorical classifications for instance, ubiquity, equality, fissiparity, double-talk, intoxication (2000: 4) or bastard, a melting-pot, a hotchpotch, a potlatch, potluck (2000: 217) are char acteristic of the relationship between wordplay and metaphor. Wordplay therefore has to do with something fundamentally poetic in language, or as Roman Jakobson puts it, poetry is precisely characterized by being untranslatable: In poetry, verbal equations become a constructive principle of the text. Syntactic and morphological categories, roots, and affixes, phonemes and their components (distinctive features) in short, any constituents of the verbal code are confronted, juxtaposed, brought into contiguous relation according to the principle of similarity and contrast and carry their own autonomous signification. Phonemic similarity is sensed as semantic relationship. The pun, or to use a more erudite and perhaps more precise term paronomasia, reigns over poetic art, and whether its rule is absolute or limited, poetry by definition is untranslatable. (1987: 434) If wordplay may be characterized as a translation in language, metaphor may be considered a translation with language, and each time this inner translation or untranslatability of a pun or wordplay is translated, words for this translation are lacking. Arguably, this is exactly where metaphor helps, like a Band-Aid for a small wound. For this lack or deficit of words produces a poetic surplus which is precisely able to express itself in metaphors and figurative language in general. The latter is an attempt to explain the translation or translate it to something more comprehensible. Whereas the metaphor gives the sense of an effective blend between two semantic fields which together create a third one, wordplay gives a very different impression. The third place which the wordplay creates in its expression is not intellectually comprehensible, but rather inscribed in the form of its own manifestation, a distinctive blend of sound and sense. The incomprehensibleness is an argument for both of its general understandings, partly according to a view which considers language something which can reveal the nonsense of a truth (language criticism) and partly according to a certain kind of nonsensical truth, the idea that language contains m ore than we are aware of (magical language use). Consequently, it is not so odd that metaphor is useful for describing wordplay: metaphor creates a convergence between several semantic fields by covering up the differences between them and in so doing often makes poetry happen. Wordplay, on the other hand, fixes the difference in the mind, thus maintaining the convergence in its very expression. Take, for instance, the literary example of Shakespeares Sonnet CXXXII: THINE eyes I love, and they, as pitying me, Knowing thy heart torment me with disdain, Have put on black and loving mourners be, Looking with pretty ruth upon my pain. And truly not the morning sun of heaven Better becomes the grey cheeks of the east, Nor that full star that ushers in the even, Doth half that glory to the sober west, As those two mourning eyes become thy face: O! let it then as well beseem thy heart To mourn for me since mourning doth thee grace, And suit thy pity like in every part.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then will I swear beauty herself is black,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And all they foul that thy complexion lack. The sonnet is replete with wordplay and puns, especially on the words I and eye, and morning and mourning no inverted commas here?, but also and perhaps less importantly on the words ruth and truth. Appropriately, the sonnet contains two instances of the word I, punningly mirroring the two eyes. But an expression and a metaphor like the grey cheeks of the east would simply not emerge without the existence of the pun between morning and mourning. The poem develops and invents a vocabulary and uses expressions which would simply not exist or appear without the puns and plays on words. It actually manages to connect blackness with beauty because of the pun between mourning and morning which also connects the sun with the full star and in this manner with the night. Hence, everything that the I in the sonnet lays eyes on is polluted by a look of mourning and pity. The connection mentioned above causes most scholars to describe wordplay as a potential metaphor; even Freud (especially read in the perspective of Jacques Lacan citation  [7]  ) indicates that we should understand wordplay this way. However, no one has shown that metaphor is a potential wordplay. The question must be whether the connection goes both ways or if wordplay simply is a more initial metaphor? In any case, following Lakoff and Johnsons now classic theory (1980), it is easy to suspect that so-called dead metaphors can be played on more easily than other words for example, the word leg, which is used in connection with chairs, tables and human beings, or words like root or rose, which function in countless contexts. The ambiguity is most severe in connection with some of the key examples provided by Lakoff and Johnson, such as our value-laden and metaphorical organization of space in up and down, in and out, and so forth. The reason for this is probably not that these e xpressions are metaphorical, but rather that they belong to the trite vocabulary which often activates wordplay makes it alert, as Redfern citation writes. In other words, a revitalizing process in language takes place between wordplay and metaphor. Wordplay is not more original than metaphor, nor is the reverse true, for that matter. Experience has shown that wordplay has a tendency to generate metaphors when we attempt describe what they exactly mean and that dead metaphors have a tendency to generate wordplay. Regarding the latter, the same applies to dead language in general, such as hackneyed proverbs, phrases and clichà ©s. Along with the dead metaphors, these expressions make up an un-sensed language which often activates wordplay. The more remarkable of these two relations is without doubt the first one, which I will therefore focus on. The relation between wordplay and metaphor outlined above corresponds with the one that Maureen Quilligan (1992) identifies between wordplay and allegory. Below, we will examine Quilligans understanding of their connection. Wordplay and allegory Quilligan tries to redefine allegory as a genre in which wordplay plays a central part due to its ambiguousness, or as Quilligan writes, [a] sensitivity to the polysemy in words is the basic component of the genre of allegory (1992: 33). Quilligan sees wordplay as initiating the unfolding of the relationship of the text to itself. The text comments on itself, not discursively, but narratively. In this way an author does the same thing with allegory as the literary critic, but the difference is that the author makes commentary on that is, enacts an allegoresis of his own text, which is due to the fact that language is self-reflexive. But this self-reflexivity is only brought about through the reader, who therefore constantly plays an important role in Quilligans reading and re-evaluation of allegory. Self-reflexivity is, however, potentially inscribed in the text through certain traces, especially through polysemy, which expresses itself on the most fundamental literal level specif ically, in the sounds of the words and it is in this respect that wordplay enters the picture alongside allegory. Quilligan uses Quintilian to differentiate between allegory and allegoresis. Allegoresis is literary interpretation or critique of a text, and it was this concept that Quintilian was referring to when he wrote that allegory means one thing at the linguistic level and another at the semantic level; in other words, as a figure, allegory could retain a separation between several semantic levels for a long time for example, between a literal and a figurative level. However, the other which the word allegory points towards with its allos is not someone floating somewhere above the text, but the possibility of an otherness, a polysemy, says Quilligan, on the page and in the text. The allegory designates the fact that language can mean numerous things at once. This very redefinition causes Quilligan to turn towards wordplay. Besides, Quilligan wants to escape from a vertical understanding of allegory such as it has been inherited from Dante, who organized his Divine Comedy according to the Bible, which he believed had four layers of meaning. Quilligan suggests that allegory works horizontally, so that the meaning is increased serially by connecting the verbal surface before moving to another level for example, beyond or above the literal level. And this other level which she refers to has to be located in the reader, who will gradually become aware of the way he or she creates the meaning of the text. Out of this awareness comes a consciousness, not just of how the text is read, but also of the human response to the narrative. Self-reflexivity occurs, and, finally, out of this a relation is established to the other (allos) towards which the allegory leads its reader through the allegoresis. This sensation of the real meaning can be called sacred. Quilligan aims to grasp allegory in its pure form before it becomes allegoresis. Through her readings, she tries to identify a more undetermined conception of allegory on a linguistic level before it gets determined by and in the reader. Quilligan could have used Quintilians definition of allegory as a continued metaphor (III, 2001, 8:6: 44) to establish a relation between allegory, metaphor and wordplay. In my view she thus misses something essential in the contiguous relationship between wordplay, allegory and allegoresis, and this is the making of metaphors. The relation between wordplay and metaphor constitutes a more intimate bond than that between wordplay and allegory, or, as James Brown puts it: The pun is the first step away from the transparent word, the first step towards the achievement of symbolic metaphor (1956:18). But this does not mean that wordplay is some sort of metaphor, as Brown seems to suggest. More accurately, it would be reasonable to suggest that wordplay gives rise to creative language usage, including metaphors and figurative language use in general. This very use is an attempt to translate the relative untranslatability of wordplay, and thereby to satisfy a natural human desire for understanding. Russian formalism vs. deconstruction By treating the text as described above, Quilligan can read several texts in a new and constructive manner inspired by the way that early literary works such as The Faerie Queene way of writing titles deal with language. But it is principally Quilligans starting point and to a lesser degree her treatment of the text that I aim to pinpoint with my focus on wordplay. This article does not claim that the twentieth century should only be understood in the light of wordplay, but rather that in some periods wordplay was used with very specific intentions, and that it offers an understanding of language which several literary theories benefit from. Wordplay stands out particularly in two twentieth-century literary theories namely, Russian formalism and literary deconstruction in the wake of Jacques Derrida citation but it is used in very different ways in these theories. In Russian formalism, wordplay involves a revitalization of language,  [8]  parallel to the concept of skaz,  [9]  which refers to an illusion of a kind of orality or even realism in literary language. In contrast, in deconstruction, wordplay is often tied to writings influence on language in general to a grammatology, to borrow Derridas term. From a deconstructive perspective, wordplay deals with the inadvertent or unintended in the intended (cf. Gordon C.F. Bearn 1995a: 2), or with absence in presence; the exact opposite is true in Russian formalism, which deals with puns and wordplay as a form of oral presence in writing, likening this to a kind of absence. Here, as in other cases, wordplay is involved in a fundamental shift in perspective between a semiotic deficit and a semantic surplus in what may be called a constructive and deconstructive construction of meaning. An example of this problematic is a book by Howard Felperin citation problems with the symptomatic title Beyond Deconstruction. The Uses and Abuses of Literary Theory. In this book, Felperin differentiates between what he calls the enactment and counter-enactment of wordplay, emphasizing counter-enactment at the expense of enactment: If the figures of enactment, of speaking in effect in Shakespeares phrase, work cumulatively to integrate the jigsaw puzzle of language into concrete replica of the sensory world, the pun is precisely that piece of language which will fit into several positions in the puzzle and thereby confound attempts to reconstruct the puzzle into a map or picture with any unique or privileged reliability or fidelity of reference. Whereas metaphor and onamatopeia attempt to bridge the precipitate fissures between signs and their meaning, paronomasia [or wordplay; Felperin does not make a distinction] effectively destabilizes further whatever conventional stability the relation between sign and meaning may be thought to possess. (1985: 185) (My addition) In Felperins view, wordplay turns our understanding of things upside down in respect to both language in general and certain overall views of life and so forth. This is the reason why wordplay has been disliked for so many years. Felperin analyses Shakespeare and finds that wordplay is at the disposal of language in various ways in Shakespeares work, precisely in the form of a counter-enactment. However, what he seems to forget is that not only does wordplay oppose similarities, but it also conveys likeness for instance, in the wordplay between eye and I, which may underlie a much deeper understanding of the sonnets and of subjectivity in Shakespeares works in general (cf. Fineman 1988). Arguing against the theory of enactment, Felperin criticizes, among other things, Russian formalism as a theory founded on metaphor (which from Felperins deconstructive perspective is the wrong foundation when it comes to an ontology of language): The Russian formalists, for example, like the Elizabethans, see language as aboriginally poetic, and similarly identify its performative potential in the storehouse of metaphor that lies buried within it (1985: 180). Only Shakespeare escapes this sort of criticism, which appears typical of the period and untenable. Metaphor almost seems like a dark, anthropomorphic enemy in such a deconstructive point of view. Furthermore, Felperin of course makes considerable efforts to define wordplay as a matter

Ethical Issues in the Work Place

Latoya J Week 2 1/18/2012 Discussion 1 Analyze your current work (or School) environment through the lens of the content in Chapter 2 and determine the most significant ethical issue and its impact on overall productivity and moral. Explain your rationale. ? Although I have only been working at Saint Joseph’s University as temporary administrative assistant for a few short months, I have noticed one major discrepancy involving the registrars department of the university. The most significant ethical issue suffered by this particular department involves Lawrence Kohlberg’s social contract stage within the stages of moral development. Kohlberg states that in the social contract stage although employees understand that there are rules and regulations they must follow in the work place, sometimes employees will break those rules to satisfy ones’ own wants and needs. (Hellriegel, Slocum, 2010) In Saint Joseph’s University’s registrar’s office I constantly see employees take off days just to get rest knowing there is a lot of work to be done. This current week in particular one of the receptionist took the week off to have a week relaxation in their hometown. Unfortunately, this individual choose the most important week of the semester, the first week of a new semester. During this week students are not only visiting the registrar’s office with questions regarding things like classroom locations, teacher confirmations, registration errors and alterations, transcript requests, and graduation applications, they are also contacting us via telephone. Since there are only two receptionist her and myself, I was left to manage a lot of the traffic on my own. There is one other front office employee that orks in the registrar’s office who is not an assistant registrar so she was there to lend a helping hand at times, but she too has her own work to finish. Due to the absence of the other receptionist, the office was behind on completely transcripts in a timely manner that we received online through the National Clearinghouse. On Wednesday, January 18, 2012 we had a total of 40 missed calls accompanied by voicemails because the other phone line went unanswered during times when I was either with another student, on another call I could not put on hold, or the other front office employee was not able to answer it. This caused a bit of stress within myself and the others within the office. Students were coming in so fast I was unable to appoint them to the correct assistant registrar to help them solve some of their questions because their offices were also over loaded with students, or faculty in need of classroom assignment alterations. Although I tried my best to help everyone, those individuals who needs were not met because we were shorthanded could possibly view the office as being unorganized as whole, or unprepared. The registrar’s office need to enforce the importance of attendance at work, especially during the extremely busy times of the year. When one is slacks off on their job by being absent when their presence counts the most it makes it creates a ripple in the organization. In this particular case calls were left unanswered, students were forced to either come back to the office at a later time or leave their information in hopes of being contacted at a later time, and transcripts were not sent out as quickly as they normally are.

Short Story - 1290 Words

After talking about Alice for a few minutes, they fell into a tranquil silence as the car made its way towards home. The only words Lia said aloud were to comment on the distinction between being here again in the flesh rather than by astral projection. He could feel her equilibrium slightly quake as they turned onto the road leading up to Beak’s End, and she tightened her grip on his left hand. â€Å"There’s our chapel,† she whispered, â€Å"and the little bridge.† She then clasped his hand close to her chest and he could feel her heart palpitations. â€Å"The apple orchard... the trees look so beautiful and healthy.† â€Å"Just wait until the fall—they still give the most delicious apples. Dad’s pet project was getting the orchard back in shape and we’re†¦show more content†¦Security is paramount these days. This isn’t the same world in which Cecilia and Daniel lived. The house looks magnificent, David. You’ve done a fantastic job.† Leaning over, he kissed her. â€Å"The real transformation of Beak’s End starts right now. All this is just cosmetic.† As they drove through the gate, the Wych Elm came into view. â€Å"The Wych Elm is more majestic than ever!† Lia exclaimed. â€Å"The Wych Elm knows she is Queen of the trees. She and I have always gotten along very well. According to Dad, a little too well.† Lia was confused at the last part. â€Å"Huh?† David smiled. â€Å"I’ll explain later when we go to the farmhouse.† Since it was Good Friday, the workers had the day off. The only car that was there belonged to Marcus, who was a workaholic, and still there at almost 6:00 in the evening on a holiday weekend. The restoration of the fountain wasn’t complete, so it was still covered, but the gas lamps were already on, as he’d requested, a detail which Lia didn’t fail to notice. â€Å"Even the gas lamp posts have been restored! I am speechless!† The garage was almost finished, but David still had to park on the side of the house. â€Å"I love those lamp posts,† he declared, helping Lia, holding Bartholomew’s carrier, out of the car. After setting the suitcases on the ground, he spotted Marcus in the window waving at them. Within a minute, he ran outside to greet them. The man with the boyish grin, lanky shape and shock of darkShow MoreRelatedshort story1018 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Short Stories:  Ã‚  Characteristics †¢Short  - Can usually be read in one sitting. †¢Concise:  Ã‚  Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told.  Ã‚  This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot †¢Usually tries to leave behind a  single impression  or effect.  Ã‚  Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act. †¢Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing  personal experiences  and  prior knowledge  to the story. 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Essay on Social Networking Harmful or Helpful - 738 Words

Twitter and Facebook are only two of the online connections people use today to stay in contact with friends and family. The internet is the place to interact with new people and a way to expose yourself to strangers. The partial anonymity available online can be used as a mask for sexual offenders and psychos; they can appear to be ordinary normal people, and you have no way of really knowing what is the the truth and what is the lie. Too much personal information is at risk on these social networking sites. You cant really build a relationship with an online friend because on the internet you can become whoever you want to be. Many people tend to agree that the socializing network can be both harmful or helpful. Many like the†¦show more content†¦Others are not paranoid about online interaction, but rather cautious. Too much information posted is very risky. Yes, there are private settings but your personal information can be tracked down. Some people dont change their pe rsonal settings, â€Å"four out of five simply accept the default setting.† (Melber, America Now, pg.92) â€Å"Social networking is a free service, but abdicating control of person information, photos, writing, videos, and memories seems like a high price to pay.† (Melber, America Now, pg.98) Not every stranger is has a dangerous intention. Sometimes people prefer to get advice from online pals because they feel that they would be less judged. It also helps to stay in touch with old friends and extended family. Instead of writing a heavy email, today people Tweet their everyday routines. Social networking can help you connect with friends from all over the world. Distance can only tighten up a friendship with online connection. Unimaginable stories can be shared and common interests can be discovered. It isnt dangerous to know how others live their lives in different parts of the world. There is also the negative side to social networking, as in identity theft and you r common hackers. You have to use your best judgement and trust your gut, if someone sounds fishy or you believe they are fraud, it would be the best to to ignore or block them. Todays young generation of kids are quite gullible. They are quick to get offendedShow MoreRelatedSocial Networking : Harmful Or Helpful1405 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Networking: Harmful or Helpful Introduction When you think of social networking what comes to mind? YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat. They have similarities in that they make it easy to reach many individuals easily and quickly. Social networking sites and applications have given rise due to the popularity of the internet and the advancement in technology. There are many impacts on society due to social networking. Social networks can have a positive or negativeRead MoreSocial Networking Is Not Good For The Young Children1571 Words   |  7 PagesSocial Networking is an important aspect of communication in our modern world. It helps communicate between different entities and businesses. Due to vast technology, anything and everything can be conveyed to the consumers by the touch of the button. Social Networking is also the fastest way to promote any innovation in the business market. Business gains more reputation, if they stay ahead of their game and make social networking the platform for intera cting with consumers. Facebook, twitter areRead MoreResearch Paper on Facebook Diminishing Privacy1087 Words   |  5 Pages If that was taken away from daily life the world would become a collection of omniscient beings that walk around with potentially harmful information about those surrounding them. Stalking would be unnecessary because the internet would do all for the work for us. Social networking sites are creating many such concerns. One of the most widely known social networking sites is Facebook. When reviewing Facebook’s privacy policy, you may want to keep in mind that â€Å"an examination of Facebooks privacyRead MoreControversial Issues essay about Social Networking2034 Words   |  6 PagesThe Benefits of Social Networking Abstract In the following essay, the benefits and consequences of social networking are explained and the different uses of social media are revealed. Websites, such as Facebook, have grown so popular that they have been created into mobile apps for individuals to use when he or she is unable to access a computer. With the significant increase in the number of its users, social networking has become a universal activity with its positive effects outweighing itsRead MoreSocial Media s Apparent Advancements Essay1158 Words   |  5 PagesToday, social networking is a popular way of communicating with family and friends all around the world. It is among the top communication methods, even surpassing the telephone. Although for a lot of people social networking is a positive thing, it comes with many risks. Social media’s apparent advancements may cause harm to an individual in many ways: including loss of privacy, cyber bullying, as well as distraction. In the past there were party lines , which not many people remember, but social networkingRead MoreEffects Of Plastic On Marine Life, And Increasing Plastic Waste On Land1406 Words   |  6 PagesIn this paper, I will explain the overuse of plastics, and how plastic is affecting marine life, and increasing plastic waste on land. I will also be explaining how social media’s are affecting the lives of teenages and adults all over the world, because of how much we depend on them. More than 80% of the litter in the ocean originates on land. Most of the litter is plastics. In an interview, Richard Thompson stated, â€Å"Plastics are very long-lived products that could potentially have service overRead MoreThe Negative Effects Of Social Media1106 Words   |  5 PagesThere is no doubt that social media has greatly impacted our society. Though, it is questionable whether that impact has been helpful or harmful. Social media can be useful, though it has been proven to cause self-centeredness, loneliness, and sadnes s. Also, the rise of social media lead to the invention of cyberbullying, and using social media can be risky. This topic is important because if society continues to overlook these factors, the results could be disastrous. Social media began it’s popularRead MoreSocial Networking : An Important Aspect Of Communication1357 Words   |  6 Pageshow social networking is an important aspect of communication in the modern world. Social networking is the fastest way to promote any innovation in the business market. A business can gain reputation by staying ahead of their game and use social networks to interact with their consumers, such as Wendy’s on Twitter. Small businesses can use Facebook and Twitter to excel in a short period. The usage of important sources, educational support and plenty of other data can be accessed via social networkingRead MoreSocial Media And Its Impact On The Workplace Essay1563 Words   |  7 PagesSocial media becomes important in people’s lives despite age, gender, social level, profession, language or locality. Modern technologies are used by individuals including student nurses across the world for different purposes, such as, to stay up to date wi th worldwide news; exchange information or ideas and share views; aid in recovery and education; keep in touch with family and friends. This comes with great responsibilities for nurses not only to become confident social media users and incorporateRead MoreSocial Media And Its Impact On Society1563 Words   |  7 PagesSocial media has consumed our society. 47% of American adults used social networking sites in 2011 like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter; up from 26% in 2008(quoted from procon.org) the aspects of social media both have a positive and negative impact on life. Social networking sites promote interaction with distant family and friends. Social networking sites can demonstrate opportunities to strengthen existing relationships and to develop new friendships as well. The downfall of social media sites