I Never Sang for My Father – Family Therapy

Tom Garrison was a mayor of a small town in Westchester County and highly respected by the community but most did not know that he was distant, cold and egocentric with his family. He had a negative relationship with his own father and idealized his mother. He drove his daughter away when she decided to marry a Jew, and alienated his son with his egocentricity, ritual storytelling and possessiveness. Tom has a history of being abusive toward his children, as Alice described to Gene, â€Å"he beat you when you were a kid. You've hated and feared him all your adult life. † Even Margaret admits that she suffered neglect from her husband. Tom's behavior causes difficulty forming close relationships with his family, and his strained relationship with his son peaks after his wife dies. Neither of them know what to do without her and they start to argue again. He shows two different sides of himself to the world and his family. His history seems to have impacted the way he interacts with his family members. He was distant from his father and is repeating that pattern with his own wife and children. He maintains distance from them and encourages the triangulation between his him, his wife, and his son, because it feels safer for him. He is also triangulated with the television. While he struggled during his childhood, he had become very successful and well respected as an adult. During the film he stated â€Å"early in life I developed a will of iron,† but Tom used that same â€Å"will of iron† to raise and control his children, and even drove away his own daughter because he refused to accept her choice of a husband because he was Jewish. The main conflicts within the family are that everyone fears Tom and that he pushes everyone away by ritually telling the same stories, bragging about his success, and showing little to no interest in his wife and children. His demanding methods and distant emotions prevent him and his grown children from being able to love and communicate with each other. The triangulated relationship begins to become evident when Tom and Gene were in the garage and Tom explained that he received Gene's letters from California. Gene's letters triggered Tom's anxiety about him moving away, so he talks to Gene about his mother, trying to transmit the anxiety onto his mother's health and Tom not being able to care for her in Gene's absence. If you were to go out there, I mean to live, it would kill your mother. God, you know you're her whole life† he said. He makes no statement about what effect it would have on him if Gene moved to California. Tom reinforces Gene as his mother's emotional lifeline because he is distant from both Tom and Margaret and can only work with the other two members by bringing in a second person. When Gene spoke to his mother about it, she confirmed the triangulation and asked him â€Å"wh y doesn't your father just admit that it would upset him? † If I had this family in therapy, I would start with creating a genogram, because I feel that's the least intrusive way to get a holistic picture of the family and help me understand multigenerational patterns. I would try to join the family by asking questions to get everyone on board, such as â€Å"Do you want to continue to react to him in ways that keep conflict going, or would you rather feel more in charge of your life? † to help build an environment conducive to movement and change, and ask the family to role play so that I could see and intervene with how they interact with one another. If the wife was still alive, the goal would be to bring the husband and wife into a closer relationship to prevent the triangulation from continuing. If the wife had already passed then the goal would be to help the remaining three in the family talk about the role of the mother and come up with rules for boundaries so that expectations could be clear and they would have a better understanding of themselves. At the end of the movie Gene and Tom's relationship was very strained, because they didn't have the support of the mother anymore and they were left to deal with their relationship with each other as it was, without her help. When Gene asked Tom to move with him to California, Tom became angry, seeming to feel like â€Å"No one cares about me, I'm just the money making machine. † He refused to go and felt abandoned that Gene had even asked. If Tom had changed his response to Gene's proposal to move to California then it could have seriously impacted the future of the family because Tom and Gene didn't speak very much until he died. Tom could have asked Gene to tell him more about it, to invite a conversation, rather than to receive Gene's suggestion as an attack toward his quality as a father. Or if Tom saw his son's invitation as gesture of affection and had considered moving to California, the quality of their relationship would have likely improved. The story â€Å"I Never Sang For My Father† was touching and easily-personalized. Most families have difficulties trying to attain or maintain an adult relationship with one's parents. The relationship parent-child changes when the child grows into an adult and the child feels more empowered. Tom did not entertain the idea of Gene feeling more empowered as an adult, he treated him more like a child because it helped his ego. I felt angry at the father, seeing him as impossible, ignorant, and stubborn, but it's important for me to note that it's imperative that I'm aware that is my opinion based on projection from past experiences, and that some may become angry with the son for not confronting his father sooner. Keeping these biases in mind is helpful so that I remain neutral during family therapy and I look at the family from a systems perspective, not a â€Å"he's right and she's wrong† perspective. I resonate with this story because I'm an only child and I was triangulated with my parents for a while before my dad passed away. My dad wanted to be the good guy, so he would always go up to my mom to tell her to scold me for doing something, losing something, or anything. This was because my father didn't feel secure enough in himself to be able to scold me and know that we would still have a solid relationship. So in order to make up for his handicap of not being able to give me instructions, he had my mom step in, who was willing to be â€Å"the bad guy,† and had her scold me for him. In the end, he needed my mom to help him communicate with me because he had depended on her for so much. This makes me think of how Gene's mother was the bridge between Gene and his father, and when she died they were stuck with the relationship that they had. Fortunately, in my family center triangulation, my mother and I had a more solid relationship and could talk about things. This makes me think about my future with my spouse. What baggage will I carry with me from my family life? What will I likely triangulate for? I like to say that I have good communication and I don't see a reason to triangulate, but I don't believe myself because I think that the issue doesn't have to be big in order for triangulation to manifest. After watching this movie, I felt like family therapy looks like an impossible feat. I realized how many eyes are on you all the time when you're in session with a family. I imagine that those with social anxiety disorders or therapists who tend to be more introverted don't especially like group therapy or family therapy. If there is one thing that I take away from this class, it's that everything happens for a reason in a family. Everything manifests for a purpose, to serve some function in the family.

Comparison of the Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou?>

Platt Pre AP English 9 5/9/2012 O Brother, This is Not Even Close To the Odyssey Everyone loves to immerse themselves into a dramatic and extraordinary story with evil monsters, brave hero's, and the desperate will to survive. It allows you to escape your troubles and take you to a new and exiting please with each and every second. However, there are some stories that simply do not capture the essence of breathtaking adventure. The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? created by the comedic team of Ethan and Joel Coen, simply does not capture the perplexing classic story.O Brother, Where Art Thou? Is the big screen remake of Homer's epic poem, â€Å"The Odyssey†. This original story is about the adventure of Odysseus as he escapes his seven year imprisonment from the goddess Calypso. This Epic hero battles numerous monsters on his desperate attempt to return home to his wife Penelope, whom he meets again in a heartfelt reuniting. However, in the re-make film, a man named Ulysseus is a prison escapee that is desperate to keep his wife, Penny, from marrying another man, lying and cheating his way to reach his goal.The Coen brothers have created such a disappointing excuse for capturing a real hero and his adventures to be reunited with his true love. It is near idiotic. The story is so foggy and distracted by the unneeded details, and it abandons the true meaning of the heartwarming story. When a person imagines the heartfelt reuniting of a husband and wife after being separated for seven painstakingly long years, you dream of the relief and joy of the meeting. The story of â€Å"Penelope† in â€Å"The Odyssey† by Homer reflects this idea exquisitely. The Coen brother's O Brother, Where Art Thou?Has a somewhat similar take on the story of Penelope. No matter the specific and thoroughly shown facts that the epic poem is much greater than the comedic film. The wife of Odysseus in the epic poem is named Penelope, and extremely similar to the name of Ulysseus's wife, Penny. In the movie, they were separated by the federal imprisonment of Everett Ulysseus, and the time it took to return back home. Also similar, the original hero Odysseus was kept from his wife Penelope by his imprisoner Calypso for many years, and the additional years of fighting for his life to return home to her.Also, in the poem, Odysseus was in his hometown while he saw his wife for the first time after all of those years. So was the place that Ulysseus was reunited with Penny in the film. There are few similarities between the film and the epic poem, but it is still believable that the similarities can not be compared to the shining differences. The poem is such an inspirational and heartfelt spectacle, it makes the film appear unimportant and no deep emotion involved with it. There are extremely few similarities, but there are certainly no shortage of differences between these two stories.Penelope is such a heartwarming, in depth part of the poem where ody sseus meets his wife once again. That is how it takes place in the epic poem anyway. In the film, it is the short, awkward moment of Ulysseus and his wife meeting again, to find out that Penny has completely and totally moved on. Also, Odysseus, in the poem, was disguised as a beggar, and his wife Penelope, had no idea who he really was. She tells him of the whole in her heart ever since her love disappeared, and he knowingly reassured her that her love would return.However, in the film, Ulysseus angrily approached Penny and demanded why she would ever lie to their children about his death. Penny went on to describe about how she had not missed him one bit. A complete and utter opposite of how the poem's Penelope had felt. In â€Å"The Odyssey† Penelope had many, many suitors that she would never accept for marriage. They ate her out of house and home, practically destroyed her life, only making her want Odysseus even more. All too differently, in the film, Penny had but one suitor, who she was set to marry that weekend, with no remorse.Ulysseus didn’t even disguise himself to her. This entire reenactment was both rude and uncaring. It showed no relief in the fact the hero of the story survived and was so heroic that he beat the odds. Indeed, it was very disappointing of a story. Most movies have a change to a story to emphasize or make it clearer to the viewers. However, it is clearly disappointing when the changes to the story are unnecessary. Everyone has heard of the saying â€Å"the book was better than the movie. † This is the case for the film translation of â€Å"The Odyssey†.The scene of Penelope is once of those specific scenes where it would be more reasonable to make it more similar to the original. However, it did work for a more comedic plot line. It exemplified crude humor and a lack of true deep emotions. It is exactly what the Coen brothers think when it comes to movie creating. Even though the changes are completel y pointless, it adds a somewhat depth to the all-around immature story. But it also creates this unloving relationship between the hero and his love.This relationship is full of jealousy and unneeded feuding. It may do something for the movie, yet it is simply not enough to make it enjoyable. When a person sits down with a good book or a bowl of popcorn waiting for a movie, it is assumed that there will be a thrilling, capturing story. Unfortunately, the film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? , directed by the team of brothers, Ethan and Joel Coen, is not one such story as determined by the disappointing and idiotic differences to the original epic poem â€Å"The Odyssey†.The differences in the two were blaringly overwhelming in comparison to the similarities. In this case, the differences did not help in rewriting this incredible tale of â€Å"The Odyssey†. Even in the most deep, beautiful scenes such as Penelope, there was a distinct failure by the creators of the film. Pe nelope called for such romance and heart-lifting emotion, the crude joke of it was almost criminal. Even if the film was taken in a more serious direction, it would have only scraped the surface of such a beautiful epic poem.

High School Journals English 1 for lesson 5 and 6 Essay

High School Journals English 1 for lesson 5 and 6 - Essay Example We are more than satisfied. You taught her things to do, how to behave. She's more manageable, cleaner. Annie Sullivan: Cleaner? Captain Arthur Keller: Well, we say cleanliness is next to godliness. Annie Sullivan: Cleanliness is next to nothing! Give me more time with her. Captain Arthur Keller: Look, what's she spelling? Teaching a dog to spell? The dog doesn't know what she means any more than she knows what you mean, Miss Sullivan. I think you ask too much of her and yourself. God may not have meant Helen to have the eyes you speak of. Annie Sullivan: I mean her to." This section of the play is informative in a number of ways. Firstly, it shows how Captain Arthur Keller feels towards his daughter, describing her as a 'dog'. It illustrates the attitudes of people at the time towards people who are deaf, blind and mute, and allows the achievements of Helen Keller to seem even more amazing than they previously did. Helen Keller survived and accomplished a lot despite this negative a ttitude from her father. The determination of Annie Sullivan is also illustrated well here, as she demands another week with Keller to help improve her spelling and other skills. She demands this time despite the protests of her boss, and is determined that Keller should be able to learn all the skills available to other children. It was the determination of Annie Sullivan against all odds that has allowed the development of Helen Keller into the famous figure she is today. Lesson 5 Journal Entry 3 The theme I have chosen for my interpretive essay on The Miracle Worker is perception. The main role of perception in this play is that it is a contrast between someone without typical perception, Helen Keller, and those around her with normal perception. It is about how the characters in the play assume that Keller cannot learn language because of her deafness, blindness and muteness. The perception of Keller also changes because Annie Sullivan shows that it is possible for someone with these setbacks to possess language and become involved in daily life. Lesson 5 Journal Entry 4 This entry is written from the perspective of Anagnos. Today, I awoke and performed my daily ablutions before walking to the Perkin's Institute for the Blind. I have a meeting with Annie today, someone who I placed into the home of a girl who is not only blind, but deaf and mute; Helen Keller. She's a highly intelligent girl with a lot to give as governess, although she tends to have a high opinion of herself and believe she can work miracles. It is both a blessing and a curse to have someone so dedicated working with the blind, as she gets rather frustrated when she cannot complete the task she has set herself, something which occurs frequently when working with other people, particularly young people. Annie today speaks to me of how Captain Arthur Keller, Helen's father, will not allow her to work with Helen longer, although she feels that she has something more to give to the child. It' s upsetting to see Annie might fail at her job, but I placed her in this household for a reason. She has to do as the Captain wishes, although she does present a good number of reasons why she should stay and be allowed further interaction with the girl. This is an example of the determination that I mentioned earlier. It will be interesting to see how this case progresses. Lesson 5 Journal Entry 5 The following timeline is based on how the perception of the world for Helen Keller has changed

Avoiding System Development Pitfalls in the IT Decision Making Dissertation

Avoiding System Development Pitfalls in the IT Decision Making Processes - Dissertation Example Likewise, a brief observation of these categorized characteristics of various applications, many categories have been projected. Sprague and Watson proposed the performance dimension of the systems can be categorized or can be divided in to four levels i.e. basic data processing systems, integrated data processing systems, management information systems and decision support systems (Hogue, 1985). However, the research and technology for the DSS continue to revolutionize and by 1996, Whinton and Holsapple proposed five particular types of DSS. These specialized DSS types were text-oriented DSS, database-oriented DSS, spread-sheet-oriented DSS, solver-oriented DSS, and rule-oriented DSS (Power,). Moreover, these last four DSS types were again divided into seven categories proposed by Arnott and Pervan (Burstein & Holsapple,). The seven categories are (Burstein & Holsapple,) personal DSS, group support systems, negotiation support systems, intelligent DSS, knowledge management-based DSS , executive information systems/business intelligence, and data warehousing. However, these sub categories overlaps with some of them but they introduced a diverse advancement of past research. Afterwards, these four levels were categorized as transaction processing systems (TPS), Management Information Systems (MIS) and Decision Support Systems (DSS). Information Technology has revolutionized. Business organization dependent on information systems, cater information for decision making. The revolutionized information technology completely modified the business structure and the information required for decision making process. A term called strategic management focuses on building a powerful competitive advantage. It also involves the development of corporate strategy along with the management of the organization according to that strategy (Strategic management.2007). The BRAC university has launched a world class Integrated library system (ILS) (BRAC university launches integrated library system koha dhaka, bangladesh — koha - open source ILS - integrated library system). It is â€Å"an interrelated group of computer programs that automates multiple library operations† (Ebenezer, 2002). The ILS will redefine customer services by advance information technology services that will enhance the process of delivering both electronic information and printed documents. Keeping in mind the long term perspective, the strategic goals for the ILS are constructed as: The infrastructure of the library will be enhanced and well maintained Maximizing the access to the customers for the printed information resources (not digital). Maximizing access to the customer of digital information resources. Establishing strategic affiliation with other libraries locally and globally including schools, colleges and universities. Build learning environments in all accessible locations connected with the library. The strategic goals are to define the library’s strate gic plan and as well as Information technology strategic plan. The current infrastructure has inadequate capacity, size and functionality which are not fulfilling user requirements. Current system has issues related to performance and functionality which is affecting the users. The system cannot be maintained as it needs to be re-designed. The decision for the replacement of the system was made because of

Corporate strategy(powergen case study) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate strategy(powergen case study) - Essay Example Power generation is a crucial component of a countrys economy as it affects industry and businesses to a very large extent and greatly contributes to its economic progress. In past years, electricity demand showed little growth (only 0.6% a year) during the period 1990 to 1997 in the UK and there was excess generating capacity of 11,000 MW in 1990-1991 (based on projected demand of 50,000 MW vs. 61,000 MW capacity) in the country at the time. However, electricity demand grew by healthy percentages such as the USA (projected at 30% for next 2 decades), big developing countries like India (10%), China (9%) and poorer nations possibly more. On average, global electricity generation will grow at 2.6% annually until 2030 (Economy Watch, 2010:1). Changing conditions due to the technology innovations used in generating electricity brought about industry consolidation and vertical integration of most big players. PowerGen was not so well prepared for the industry shakeup despite its size and lost market share due to its failure to acquire a regional electricity company (REC) which is a crucial component for industry players because it deals with the retailing of electricity. The electricity industry is very important to a nations growth and progress. This has a profound impact on a country by providing its citizens with the conveniences of modern life. Many nations in the poorer regions of the world such as Africa and Latin America where a big majority (4/5 of the worlds entire population) live (Hofstede, 1993:11), the tendency of most governments is to somehow price their electricity artificially low. This social pricing structure does not reflect actual or true cost. The industry was recently liberalised to allow big players to make the necessary big investments to make electricity cheaper and also improve service to consumers through healthy competition. Many external factors affect industry players like environmental

Commercial aircrafts (such as Boeing 787 Dream liner) for Airline Research Proposal

Commercial aircrafts (such as Boeing 787 Dream liner) for Airline Industry (such as Qatar Airways) - Research Proposal Example In this paper, the purpose is to present a sales proposal to one of the leading airline companies, Qatar airways on behalf of the Boeing Commercials. Boeing 787 Dream liner is one of the aircrafts that Boeing Commercials is fond of producing and one that has caused great excitement in the airline industry. Its development started in 2003, but it was not until 2009 that the first flight took off in an amazing way. The Boeing 787 Dream liner offers a host of comfort not just to the airline companies, but also to the clients. First, this plane is the first of its kind especially concerning fuel-efficiency. The previous version Boeing 767 consumed more fuel than this make, and this simply means that Qatar Airways will save money in terms of fuel efficiency. Earlier, it was asserted that no business is started without profitability being the target; profitability is only realized when the selling prices exceed the buying one. Thus, this plane will ensure Qatar Airways’ fuel expenses fall significantly, by 20% to be precise (Barratt & Dowd, 2014); this will translate to a higher profit margin. Composites materials have been used in the making of this plane in a bid to ensure that fuel efficiency becomes a reality besides providing the need noise reduction. Additionally, the plane is two-engine, and this means its speed is somewhat higher than both its competitors and predecessors. There is a 3-class setting in the plane, a windshield that is four-paneled among other features, which make the plane outstanding (Barratt & Dowd, 2014). In addition to all these, the plane is already operating in a number of other companies, and has full approval Federation Aviation Authorities (FAA). Businesses thrive mainly because of the networking capability its owner has, and this calls for the right partnerships (Khalid, 2006). This would require that the other

Main activities of commercial and investment banks in the capital Essay

Main activities of commercial and investment banks in the capital markets - Essay Example Commercial banks provide capital market related services, depository services, advises on portfolio management or investment counseling, etc. Many banks have now started offering investment services to the retail customer, which is essentially advice and execution of mutual fund investments and redemptions.The Commercial Banks can be referred to as institutions that are involved in credit activities. Credit activities can be classified into deposit acceptance and borrowing funds from other banking institutions. Other activities are credit extension, risk management and risk advice.The classification of the types of services that are offered by a commercial bank is as follows:†¢ Discretionary Services – Decisions are taken on behalf of the clients/customers by a portfolio manager keeping in view the different parameters of asset allocation. †¢ Non-discretionary Services – In this kind of services, portfolio managers do not have the right to take decisions on behalf of clients/customers. The client or the customer is needed to authorize all the transactions happening with respect to their account.Advisory services – Flexible, unbiased investment advice customized to meet the client’s needs.Transaction support – All transactions, both in the primary and secondary markets facilitated through a panel of brokers.Custodial services – Important from the point of view of removal of settlement hassles and efficient follow-up of all corporate actions.Commercial banks approach the brokers for information about the quotes of other commercial banks. The broker serves three important purposes in the foreign exchange markets. First, instead of hunting around in the market for quotes, one can approach a broker and find out these prices. Second, brokers help the prospective buyer or seller keep his identity secret till the deal is struck. This prevents the quote being affected by the inquirer's position, i.e. whether he needs to buy or to sell. Lastly, even when there is no buying or selling requirement, commercial banks can keep their quotes from going too far away from the quotes being given by other banks, by inquiring about the market quotes from the brokers. Investment banks help both the government and corporate in raising money by trading in the securities markets. Large investment banks deal in the market both to execute their clients', (both corporate and individuals) orders and on their own account. They act as market makers in the foreign exchange markets, i.e. they stand ready to buy or sell various currencies at specific prices at all points of time. The commercial banks give, on demand, a quote for a particular currency against another currency, i.e., the rate at which they are ready to buy or sell the former against the latter. At these rates they stand ready to take any side of the transaction (buy or sell) that the customer chooses. The maximum and the minimum amount of the currencies acceptable to the bank at these rates, though not specified at the time of making the quote, are generally understood according to the conventions of the market. These rates may not necessarily be applicable to amounts smaller or larger than th ose acceptable according to the going conventions. In the foreign exchange markets there are numerous market makers, and all of them would be giving different quotes for the same pair of currencies simultaneously, at any point of time. It would be very difficult for a player to keep track of all the quotes available in the market, and hence choose one which is considered the most favorable. As a result, a number of trades may be taking place simultaneously at different exchange rates. The market making activity of the commercial banks, along with speculation, makes markets extremely liquid, especially for the major currencies of the world