In Praise of Margins

In the essay â€Å"In Praise of Margins† Ian Fraizer upholds the importance of margins as â€Å"a higher sort of unpurpose† (Fraizer 45) defined by his time in â€Å"the woods† (44). Fraizer and his friends spent most of their time in their margins also known as stomping ice in â€Å"the woods†. Fraizer says that marginal place and activities are â€Å"the most important kind† (46) because they are â€Å"where you can try out odd ideas†. Margins could be visiting a park, a friend’s house, a dance studio or even a football field, also doing things such as swinging on a tire, reading, watching movies, dancing or playing a sport.He argues that margins- whether places or activities- are valuable because they allow a person to be themselves, have fun and use their imagination without worrying about impressing anyone. I agree with Fraizer that margins play an important role in people’s lives because although they have no purpose they can have positive results. Fraizer and his friends spent most of their childhood in the woods because that was where they felt comfortable and had fun with each other.This type of margins reminds me of the book â€Å"Bridge to Terabithia† a story that embraces margins in every page. In the novel two kids ironically meet in the woods. There the kids used their imaginations extensively by creating their own kingdom Terabithia, where they reigned over everything and were loved by all the creatures who roamed their land. The woods acted as the two kid’s marginal place because it allowed them to be creative. Marginal places such as these are important because they show a person what they are cable of accomplishing.These kids built a world with waterfalls, mountains and its own civilization. Margins are valuable to have because they let people acquire skills to expand their creativity. According to Fraizer â€Å"a book without margins is impossible to read†. This stat ement enforces Frazier’s belief about the necessity of margins and that attempting to live life without them makes everything unnecessarily more complicated. Fraizer and his friends did anything and everything in the woods.As they told themselves a frequent activity was exploring and the reader understand this was marginal when he mentions they were all easily distracted from their exploration with the sight of the perfect ice to stomp on. Fraizer explains these distractions to extend the understanding of margins and that they don’t require uninterrupted focus because a person doesn’t have something to accomplish, a marginal activity could result in another marginal activity that could have an outcome. I consider watching movies a marginal activity for many, people go to the theater to simply relax and get their mind off of other things.Movies let a person engulf themselves in the lives of others, fall in love all over again with a romance, laugh away all proble ms with a comedy, or feel a rush of adrenaline with an action movie. Films similar to these can create inspiration in people to find love, to become a director, even to become a writer to create a script that will affect people as the film affected them. Margins being without any purpose unintentionally result with a person having a purpose â€Å"every purpose-filled activity we pursue in the woods began as just fooling around†.Through observing his kids actions when they encountered a ditch Fraizer remembers his personal experiences with margins. To Fraizer and his friends â€Å"the woods† played an important role in their childhoods, it acted as a place where they could let their imaginations run wild and pursue what their minds came up with. Fraizer says margins are places or activities that don’t â€Å"account for themselves economically†; however, they are valuable because they can result in a new kingdom, a life changing film or a better understandi ng of life.

Preventive Priorities Survey 2014 Essay

In this article the author has written about a survey conducted by The Center for Preventive Action which is Preventive Priorities Survey (PPS) that assess the current and all the possible conflicts which can occur in the coming years of US and how they can influence U.S. interests . The purpose of PPS is to help the U.S. policymaking community primarily to prevent conflicts and all the incentives that can erupt a conflict . In the conflict preventive survey there are many possible sources of instability and conflict around the world that the United States should try to avoid. Predicting which conflicts are more likely to occur and can pose a greater threat to U.S. interests than others helps to decide where to focus attention and resources. PPS is a qualitative evaluation that uses the informed judgement of the experts to check all the possible threats and risks that can destroy US interests by erupting a conflict. To help the experts with their estimations and cope up with the situ ation , the survey offered general guidelines to check the relative probability and impact of potential contingencies which a US could face. These contingencies were categorized in different levels as high , moderate and low based on their chance of occurring and their intensity of impact on US interests. The PPS did not include the potential economic or financial crises or any natural calamity or environmental problems , PPS is primarily concerned with the discrete geopolitical contingencies .Also the PPS represents the expert’s opinion at the time the survey was conducted. Risk assessments can change rapidly and oftenly. The results, therefore, could be quite different after several months. There is a certain methodology to carry out this survey which the center for preventive actions performs in different stages of which first stage is soliciting the PPS contingencies in which CPA used a variety of social media platforms as well as its blog on CFR.org to seek suggestions for contingencies to include in the 2014 survey. With the help of the Council on Foreign Relations’, CPA extracted hundreds of suggestions into thirty contingencies considering both ,possibility to occur over the next twelve months and potentially harmful to U.S. interests. The nest stage was polling of experts in which the survey was sent to more than 1200 government officials ,foreign policy experts and academics to evaluate the likelihood and poteintial impact of each contingency on US inetrest  according to the definite criteria. Ultimately the most popular suggestions were included in the survey. Then comes the final stage that is categorizing the contingencies in which the survey results were uniformly scored and contingencies were sorted into one of three preventive priority tiers in accordance to their placement in the risk assessmemnt matrix. There are three tiers in assessing the contingencies in PPS . In Tier 1 Contingencies judged high preventive priorities for U.S. policymakers because in tier 1 those contingencies were included which had a severe impact on US interests and their chance to occur was moderate like the Syrian civil war ,a highly disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure ,threat of military strikes against Iran , a mass casualty terrorist attack on the U.S. homeland ,a severe North Korean crisis caused by a military provocation, internal political instability, or threatening nuclear weapons/ ICBM-related activities. Then comes the contingencies which had moderate impact but high likelihood such as growing violence and instability in Afghanistan resulting from the drawdown of coalition forces and/or contested national elections ,increasing internal violence and political instability in Pakistan ,strengthening of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula resulting from continued political instability in Yemen and/or backlash from U.S. counterterrorism operations , civil war in Iraq ,growing political instability and civil violence in Jordan triggered by spillover from the Syrian civil war. In Tier 2 Contingencies judged mid-level preventive priorities for U.S. policymakers as those contingencies are includedin tier 2 which had moderate effects and moderate chance to occur such as deterioration of the political situation in Egypt, increased sectarian violence and political instability in Lebanon ,continuing conflict in Somalia, political instability and growing militancy in Libya ,drug-related violence in Mexico, a severe Indo-Pakistani military confrontation due to Kashmir. Also there were contingencies which had high impact and low likelihood which are an armed confrontation in the East China Sea between China and Japan ,an armed confrontation in the South China Sea between China and Southeast Asian plaintiff to disputed mari- time areas. It also includes contingencies with low effect on US and high likelihood of occurrence like increasing sectarian violence and political instability in Nigeria ,violence and risk of mass killing in the Central African Republic . In Tier 3 Contingencies judged low preventive priorities for U.S.  policymakers as it included those contingencies which had moderate effect on US interests and their chance of occurrence was low such as a Sino-Indian clash .it also included contingencies with low impact and moderate likelihood which were destabilization of Mali, growing popular unrest and political instability in Sudan , military conflict between Sudan and South Sudan due to border resource disputes ,conflict in the Kurdish- dominated regions of Turkey and the Middle East , growing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo , internal violence in Bangladesh surrounding the general elections. Tier 3 also included contingencies with low impact and low likelihood such as political crisis in Venezuela leading to civil violence and potential regional instability , an outbreak of military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan . So this survey played a vital role to find out and take preventive measures for all t he current and upcoming conflicts which could have any adverse effect on US interests. This survey helped the experts to assess the contingencies and suggest those to CPA which could adversely influence US so the policymakers then worked according to the intensity of the contingencies suggested . PPS is very helpful for the center of preventive action to check the impact and likelihood of the contingencies which could occur and they carried out all their activities according to the strength of the contingencies which they measured on the risk assessing matrix and placed them in different tiers and took precautionary measures to protect the US interests and security.

A Study Of Change Management At Mcdonalds Commerce Essay

A Study Of Change Management At Mcdonalds Commerce Essay McDonald’s  is one of the biggest food organisation in the world, and  has  established it’s own operating restaurants and it’s franchises   which is  about  28,700  selling points  in 110 countries.  Another most important aspect is  Food business is  much interested  among  young adults,  children  and  adolescents.  Therefore,  The Company  provides an enjoyable environment to their customers which is very secure and safe  where  all of their customers spend to  joyfully and they can get less expensive  food in a clean installation  as well as the food company offers a unique interior  designs and its own inner clown  (Debre, 2005).  Furthermore,  McDonald’s  put tremendous  efforts to  maintain  healthy  relationships with its  suppliers and  franchisees.  The organisation continuously enhancing their services, supporting timely management and it’s capital operations to the ir partners. Therefore, this makes  its  suppliers and  the franchisees  loyalty  I think, this kind of strategies will make their partners involve more effectively in work to achieve the organisation goals  (Aswathappa, 2006).  However, the food corporation  continuously  works with innovative  ideas  towards the needs and  to grow during the operation without problems (Russell and  Gubman,  2006).  In this research paper, I  am determined to find out  key strengths and challenges of  managing change  at Mc Donald’s and will present a comprehensive documentation by discussing an important areas with examples about How this food company managed  to survive  competitively  in the  global  business environment. The most surprising news is that from over 110 countries everyday approximately about 53 million customers eat at McDonald’s. Although McDonald’s  has huge private  franchisees to its chain of  restauran ts. However I think, the core management  functions  play a vital role to determine the success of the any organisation.  Therefore, i would like to take an opportunity to  discuss how  the core functions influencing the organisational management with the impact of  globalization  such as  controlling, directing, organising and  planning. McDonald is constantly leading as a present and future leader in the global food business environment.  At the same time, it is very important that the company must have to focus on international and local investment and trade as this food corporation working more than in 100 countries. Moreover,  the company should keep utilizing creative and new technologies to enhance  the business and to promote  new solutions and products to sustain  its  position as a global business leader in food business.  Furthermore, McDonald’s should look at  its  common goal and also, take care of  publicity and  Customers   satisfaction. The demands McDonald, McDonald strongly urge for what he strongly component McDonald should win for that diversity with McDonald’s is thinking about the meet. With a daily reach of every culture daily scope McDonald McDonald’s just about access to almost all cultures, which many operations ambiguous / moral issues is clearly working. To solve more complex than the wider dissemination of a culture growing demand for spreading culture and morality. In this letter, we will examine how / external / internal factors impact the McDonalds impact of globalization, technology, innovation, diversity, one of four work ethics affect management.

Psychology Behind Substance Abuse Research Paper

Psychology Behind Substance Abuse - Research Paper Example From the report it is clear that  more and more people presently are turning towards substance abuse for seeking relief from the distress of many everyday annoyances like paralyzing sense of failure, broken relationships, and other complex tragedies of life.  Thid discussion stresses that  most of the people turn towards the option of drug abuse when they are psychologically saturated from the aggravated worries and this saturated point tempts them to abuse drugs so that they may be able to negate or exchange their blackened depression for positive pleasure or psychological reward. Whether the substance used by the abuser is a stimulant or a depressant, it helps him/her in temporarily forgetting the harsh or ruthless realities or failures of life. Psychological assessment helps in identification of the fact that the patient is habitually and inadequately using drugs because he/she is obsessive about seeking denial from mounting depression. The psychological disorder of substanc e abuse can be managed by effective communication with the patient rather than abruptly referring him/her to a rehabilitation centre without any psychological therapy. The initial euphoric sense that is experienced by a substance abuser serves as a potent psychological pleasure or reward for him/her, which is immediately followed by strengthened feelings of self-confidence in case of a stimulant abuse and relaxation in case of a depressant intake. The street name for such potent and weird psychological effects is rush, which is the bait for all drug abusers who desperately seek refuge from the brutal challenges of life which they find too hard to manage. Psychological analysis of rush reveals that this is experienced by a substance abuser because of the stimulation of the pleasure reward pathway in brain that results in excessive dopamine release, which is responsible for the regulation and transfer of drug and producing the overpowering sensations of pleasure, indulgence, confidenc e, and ego gratification. This gratifying but unearned psychological reward modulates the brain of a substance abuser in such a way that he/she develops a persistent longing for the preferred drug. 4. Rebellion and defiance lead to substance

Sussmayrs and Maunders Editions of Mozarts Requiem Essay

Sussmayrs and Maunders Editions of Mozarts Requiem - Essay Example It is reported that Mozart’s Requiem mass was assigned by Count Walsegg to Mozart in the memory of his wife in early 1791. Mozart started his work on this classical work in the fall of 1791, during this work he suffered from fever and died without completing his requiem (Levin et al., 2008). According to Grout, Burkholder and Palisca (2005), the requiem Aeternam, figured bass, choral, and several essential instrumental components of first 8 measures of Lacrimosa; Domine Jesu Christ as well as Hostias were at the initial stages. It was Franz Xaver Sussmayr, who was working with Mozart at that time, who completed the incomplete Mozart’s Requiem. From definition, a requiem refers to the mass for the dead as the first line of the introit says, â€Å"Eternal rest grant them, O Lord† (Mozart, 1998). There are different editions of Mozart’s Requiem and all are dissimilar from each other. There is controversy on the script and structure of different editions. However, it is very evident that it was written in 1791 in ‘Requiem in D minor, K. 626’ by Mozart and was the last as well as best recognized and the most impressive composition of his life (Harrison, 1997). Its music was a classical addition to western music and its complicated compositional history. The recent studies reveal that the aeternam was also added with some orchestral bars by another composer. Kyrie and Dies Irae to Confutatis were in the form of vocal parts at the death of Mozart. Moreover, some of the most well-known orchestral parts were also indicated by him, example of the orchestral contribution from Mozart include violin element of Confutatis and melodious links in the Recordare (Leeson, 2004). During twentieth century, many musicologists pointed out several weaknesses in the traditional edition of Mozart’s Requiem which was accomplished by Sussmayr. Therefore, they offered alternative editions of the Requiem. After the traditional edition, five other editions of Mozart’s work have been represented by Beyer, Druce, Maunder, Landon and Levin. Every one of these musicologists completed the Requiem by following a different approach. Beyer presented an edition that offered revisions of Sussmayr’s orchestration and claimed to make them more familiar to Mozart’s style. On the other hand, Maunder’s edition agreed with the orchestral parts of Sussmayr’s edition but decided to retain the Agnus Dei when he discovered an exclusive phrase in Sparrow Mass, K. 220 (Davies, 2004). The next section gives detailed overview of the two editions of Mozart’s Requiem, the traditional edition of accomplished by Sussmayr and Maunder’s edition, assessment of the resources and their mutual relationship be discussed. An investigation in to the sources of Sussmayr’s and Maunder’s Editions of Mozart’s Requiem and their relationship to each other Wolff and Whittall (1998) described the tradition edition of Requiem completed by Sussmayr. They expressed a strong belief in the authenticity and originality of this score. It is the only score that must be protected as the most existing, chronological,

Securities Analysis and Portfolio Management Essay

Securities Analysis and Portfolio Management - Essay Example Louis is no longer working as a stock broker and Simon is now using the services of Cheryl who has strong views about Simon’s portfolio. Cheryl, a graduate in finance from York University, believes that markets are essentially efficient and admires the work of Harry Markowitz and Fama and French. She believes that the important thing is to have a good portfolio rather than good individual investments. Cheryl tells Simon that she doesn’t feel that he even has the best companies now even if they had been when the portfolio had been set up. Cheryl goes on to say that that a good portfolio needs to include exposure to overseas companies and smaller companies thus reducing the â€Å"beta† and improving the â€Å"alpha† of the portfolio. Cheryl also argued that it is vital to watch the â€Å"momentum† and have stop-losses on all the holdings in order to protect against primary downside movements. Simon is very concerned about his share holdings after talk ing to Cheryl and has approached you for advice. You ascertain that Simon, who doesn’t work, is 65 years old and is receiving a more than adequate income from his existing portfolio. Simon rents a flat in a seaside resort and does not wish to buy property. Simon is not willing to take on any additional risk. In addition to the shares discussed above Simon has ?14,000 in a bank account and ?300,000 in medium dated conventional gilts. Simon has two children from his short lived marriage to Susan who both have well paid jobs. Simon does not wish to transfer assets to his children as he would prefer to support any future grandchildren he has through their education. Simon’s ten equity holdings are: Company PE Ratio Dividend Yield Dividend Cover Equity Market Capitalisation (?m) BAE Systems 7.9 4.96% 2.5 11,003 BP 7.2 8.84% 1.6 77,353 British American Tobacco 15.4 4.2% 1.5 47,264 BT Group 7.6 4.89% 2.7 10,956 Diageo 14.8 3.47% 1.9 66,234 GlaxoSmithKline 10.5 4.78% 2.0 66,23 4 HSBC 29.9 3.34% 1.0 116,479 Marks and Spencer 10.9 4.16% 2.2 5,705 Rolls Royce 14.7 2.56% 2.6 10,847 Unilever 16.1 2.31% 3.2 23,281 Required: (a) With relevant statistics, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Simon’s existing portfolio above (make reference to eps/dps growth; betas; price performance; and sector spread of the ten shareholdings). (35 marks) Simon’s stock portfolio has been constructed according to the established views of modern portfolio theory, which seeks â€Å"alpha† by selecting stock holdings in companies that will outperform the return of the general stock indices or interest rates over time. Modern portfolio theory is based in the tenets of risk management, which analyze security investments according to â€Å"beta† or the volatility of stock pricing due to company specific business activities, market factors, macroeconomic changes, natural disasters, wars, etc. Investors have different expectations, personal, and professional motivations in building their investments and with this also comes varying appetites or tolerances for risk. Modern portfolio theory was developed largely before ETF vehicles existed to track index performance through large, distributed

Macbeth Act 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Macbeth Act 2 - Coursework Example But then, once Macbeth was granted a title of Thane of Cawdor, both Banquo and Macbeth saw it as a fulfillment of a prophecy received. Therefore the prospect of becoming a king became more real in Macbeth’s mind and he even wrote a letter to his wife, telling about everything that has happened and of what is yet to happen. â€Å"This have I thought good to deliver thee, /my dearest partner of greatness, that thou mightst not lose/ the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is/promised thee† (1.5.9-12) But how can Macbeth become the king if Duncan has two sons, one of which he pronounced â€Å"The Prince of Cumberland† (1.4.55). That is when Macbeth realized there is an obstacle on his way to become a king, and some dark thoughts settled in his heart â€Å"For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;/Let not light see my black and deep desires†. (1.4. 57-58) Banquo realize that too, that is why he has fears. When they are in Macbethâ€℠¢s castle, he senses some danger, and even before going to sleep, he keeps his sword nearby. â€Å"Give me my sword.†(2.1.15) 2. The line "Thou marshal'st me the way that I was going" (2.1.42) is ambiguous and has been the subject of a great deal of literary debate.

The Great Purge in the Soviet Union Research Paper

The Great Purge in the Soviet Union - Research Paper Example This essay discusses that the victims were of varied educational backgrounds as Arthur reveals in his work. Rubashov meets other inmates in solitary confinements and realizes that their drive and pattern of thoughts were little inspired by literacy. Their concerns were different, and some would not add value to the noble course that Rubashov believed. A fellow inmate desires to know about his sexual encounters, and that does not ogre well with Rubashov. The suffering and abuse underwent by these individuals are supposed to be more fruitful and shape the future of the other generations. Stalin’s regime featured many trials and was unique in the way they were conducted as they targeted leaders of the Communist Party who had serious allegations leveled against them. They were accused of responsibility for working with the fascist and liaising with capitalistic power in an attempt to have Stalin killed so that they would take power. They would be tried for other accusations regarding the desire to assassinate other Soviet leaders and possibly assume their positions. In 1938 marked the end of the great purge though there are records of committed atrocities between this period and 1953. Arrests and execution would continue until 1953. Arthur’s work would influence many as it shared some insights on the terror posed by the rivals of Stalin. The trials would have many executed and suffer in the hands of this regime. The death of intellectuals would leave the world void of the utterly needed services.

PAPER ON HUMANS AND ANDROIDs based on books I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC Essay

PAPER ON HUMANS AND ANDROIDs based on books I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC and movie THE ELECTRIC GRANDMOTHER - Essay Example Terror Management Theory that is built mostly from the notions of Ernest Becker begins with the idea that humans, as opposed to other creatures, face something that is possibly terrifying: the attention of our own death rate in addition to the desire to stay alive. In the words of Terror Management Theory co-creator Sheldon Solomon, the attention that you are intended to wither away to nothingness, and in turn are no more significant than a reptile or a spud, is not particularly impressive to anyone. So how do individuals deal with this awareness? From a Terror Management Theory strategy, individuals deal with death rate by doubting their own death rate, and preventing considering it. They hold back the terror, generally (for example, loss of lifestyle ideas enhance a prevention inspiration, lead individuals to embellish the potential length of their lifestyle and death ideas lower after individuals are advised of death). But, this strategy certainly is not able to a degree. We know we will die, no matter how much we try and avoid considering it. So, individuals developed social signs of significance and value that offer a sense of significance and significance, and eventually, growing old, when individuals stay up to and maintain the factors of these values (hence the human need for self-esteem), as a means of dealing with their own loss of lifestyle. This immortality can either be representational, such as by splitting information or causing worldviews and categories that continue beyond a persons loss of lifestyle, or actual, as in perception in lifestyle after death. In ‘Electric Grandmother’, a mother is replaced by an android in order for them to stay with the father and not be taken away. We find that they find an advertisement for Facsimiles’ Unlimited, a company who proclaims "I Sing the Body Electric," which is a robotic grandmother who will provide care and love to families. This is initially is just to take care

Managing the Environment for Tourism and Events Essay

Managing the Environment for Tourism and Events - Essay Example nclusion of the conference was that the tourism industry needed awareness on the negative effects, and that there was a need to promote the adoption of behaviors that were more responsible in tourism for the future, if tourism was to attain significant sustainability in the future (Moscardo, Konovalov, Murphy and McGehee, 2013). The climatic change resulting from global warming is among the most critical challenges of environment in the 21st century practices. The scientific explanations that are widely acknowledged associate the steady rise in average earth temperatures and in the oceans to the high level of concentrated anthropogenic greenhouse gases (Shakeela, Breakey and Ruhanen, 2012). Hotel facilities and other tourism-related departments are considered as among the top consumers of energy within the commercial and service sector. Among these, waste constitutes a substantive amount of the energy use in the industry, hence the need for energy-efficiency enhancement and conservation of resources in the industry (Saufi, OBrien and Wilkins, 2014). Several studies have thus been carried out in order to establish the environmental issues within the industry with the aim of formulating the ideal industry practices for environmental sustainability. The main aspect of responsible environmental practices is the general product or enterprise life cycle. This includes the management of the business, as well as the integration of establishment with the management of the environment (Hall, 2011). All enterprises in tourism are capable of making important contributions towards sustainable environment of practice such as through support of local products producers and offering advice to the guests concerning the making of responsible decisions on purchases (Shakeela, Breakey and Ruhanen, 2012). Establishments have the responsibility of minimizing the energy requirements, reduce pollution of light, noise and air, as well as considering the neighborhood of the business

Project Management and Tran Essay Example for Free

Project Management and Tran Essay Tran was taking his dog Callie on her evening walk as the sun began to set over the coastal range. He looked forward to this time of the day. It was an opportunity to enjoy some peace and quiet. It was also a time to review events on the Ajax project and plot his next moves. Ajax is the code name given by CEBEX for a high-tech security system project funded by the U. S. Department of Defense (DOD). Tran is the project manager and his core them consisted of 30 full-time hardware and software engineers. Tran and his family fled he was 18 and used the education stipend to attend Washington State University. He joined CEBEX upon graduating with a dual degree in mechanical and electrical engineering. After working on a variety of projects for 10 years Tran decided he wanted to enter management. He went to night school at the University of Washington to earn an MBA. Tran became a project manager for the money. He also thought he was good at it. He enjoyed working with people and making the right thing happen. This was his fifth project and up to now he was batting. 500,with half of his projects coming ahead of schedule. Tran was proud that he could now afford to send his oldest child to Stanford University. Ajax was one of many defense projects the CEBEX Corporation had under contract with DOD. CEBEX is a huge defense company with annual sales in excess of $30 billion and more than 120,000 employees worldwide. CEBEX’s five major business areas are Aeronautics, Electronic Systems, Information Solutions, and Space Systems. Ajax was one of several new projects sponsored by the Integrated Systems Solutions division aimed at the homeland security business. CEBEX was confident that it could leverage its technical expertise and political connections to become a major player in this growing market. Ajax was one of several projects directed at designing, developing, and installing a security system at an important government installation. Tran had two major concerns when he started the Ajax project. The first was the technical risks inherent in the project. In theory the design principles made sense and the project used proven technology. Still the technology had never been applied in the field in this matter. From past experience, Tran knew there was a big difference between the laboratory and the real world. He also knew that integrating the audio, optical, tactile, and laser subsystems would test the patience and ingenuity of his team. The second concern involved his team. The team was pretty much split down the middle between hardware and electrical engineers. Not only did these engineers have different skill sets and tend to look at problems differently, but generational differences between the two groups were evident as well. The hardware engineers were almost all former military, family men with conservative attire and beliefs. The electrical engineers were a much motlier crew. They tended to be young, single, and at times very cocky. While the hardware engineers talked about the Seattle Mariners, raising teenagers, and going to Palm Desert to play golf, the software engineers talked about Vapor, the latest concert at Gorge amphitheater, and going mountain biking in Peru. To make matters worse, tension between these two groups within CEBEX festered around salary issues. Electrical engineers were at a premium, and the hardware engineers resented the new hires’ salary packages, which were comparable to what they were earning after 20 years of working for CEBEX. Still the real money was to be made from the incentives associated with project performance. These were all contingent on meeting project milestones and the final completion date. Before actual work started on the project, Tran arranged a tow-day team-building retreat at a lodge on the Olympic peninsula for his entire team as well as key staff from the government installation. He used this time to go over the major objectives of the project and unveil the basic project plan. An internal consultant facilitated several team-building activities that made light of cross-generational issues. Tran felt a real sense of camaraderie within the team. The good feelings generated from the retreat carried over to the beginning of the project. The entire team bought into the mission of the project and technical challenges it represented. Hardware and electrical engineers worked side by side to solve problems and build subsystems. The project plan was built around a series of five tests, with each test being a more rigorous verification of total system performance. Passing each test represented a key milestone for the project. The team was excited about conducting the first Alpha test one week early—only to be disappointed by a series of minor technical glitches that ook two weeks of problem solving to resolve. The team worked extra hard to make up for the lost time. Tran was proud of team and how hard members had worked together. The Alpha II test was conducted on schedule, but once again the system failed to perform. This time three weeks of debugging was needed before the team received the green light to move to the next phase of the project. By this time, team goodwill had been tested, and emotions were a bit frayed. A cloud of disappointment descended over the team as hopes of bonuses disappeared with the project falling further behind schedule. This was augmented by cynics who felt that the original schedule was unfair and the deadlines were impossible to begin with. Tran responded by starting each day with a status meeting where the team reviewed what they accomplished the previous day and set new objectives for that day. He believed these meetings were helpful in establishing positive momentum and reinforcing a team identity among the engineers. He also went out of his way to spend more time with the â€Å"troops,† helping them solve problems, offering encouragement, and a sincere pat on the back when one was deserved. He was cautiously optimistic when the time came to conduct the Alpha III test. It was the end of the day when the switch was turned on, but nothing happened. Within minutes the entire team heard the news. Screams could be heard down the hallway. Perhaps the most telling moment was when Tran looked down at the company’s parking lot and saw most of his project team walking by themselves to their cars. As Callie chased some wild bunnies, Tran pondered what he should do next. 1. How effective has Tran been as a project manager? Explain. 2. What problem(s) does Tran face?

Encouraging younger members of our communities Essay Example for Free

Encouraging younger members of our communities Essay If we allow children to make some decisions and be involved how does that help them develop? The advantages of encouraging younger members of our communities to become more actively involved in making decisions can be influential to their future. When children and young people have the opportunity to identify the problems that affect their lives and, most importantly, find and implement the solutions, it builds their self-confidence and encourages them to value the positive impact they can have on the lives of others. Through increasingly meaningful and active participation in decision-making children can develop their own identity, a sense of belonging and usefulness. This encourages them to respond to educational opportunities and enter more fully into life at school. A child, whose active engagement with the world and who has been encouraged from a young age, will become more confident to make correct decisions later on in life from skill and mistakes previous involved in. Why is it important you are a positive role model and how do you do this? Having a role model can give a child focus in their lives and something to work towards. Often a role model has a character trait or job that your child desires to have. Because of the role models example children are more likely to work to achieve their goals. A role model can inspire a child to dream big. Often circumstances make dreams seem impossible. A child who has no role model cannot imagine overcoming. A child whose role model has achieved can inspire a child to work harder and achieve their dreams. Those who often find success do so because they had a role model who spurred them on to great things. There are setbacks in every persons life. Knowing that someone else has overcome and achieved will help your child during the hard times. They can look at their role model and realise that at one point they were a child and faced adversity. Yet they were able to achieve their goals. This will help give the child the strength to overcome. Having a role model can help a child develop good habits. If your child has a desire to succeed and become like their role model they will develop those habits necessary to achieve that goal. How can disability affect some children? Having a learning disability has some effect on a childs ability to interact with other students. A child quickly realises that differences exist in the ability to learn certain subjects, compared to peers. A child with a learning disability must work much harder than peers do to complete school assignments. Long hours are spent trying to complete the same homework that other students complete in a much shorter space of time. Because the learning disabled child must work harder than other students, yet not do as well on test or assignments, the child will struggle with self-esteem. It is quite common for fellow students to call learning disabled students names, or talk about the disabilities behind their backs. Therefore, the learning disabled student may have few true and long-lasting friendships. A childs self-esteem and self-worth, is quite often closely tied to the opinions of peer groups and close friendships. A child with a disability may find learning to read complicated. This may allow the child to become frustrated and problems could arise at home or in school, behavioural problems could also be seen, as well as the child becoming unenthusiastic or disliking school. What support can families with a child with disabilities access? Think respite care, short-term breaks, support services in the home, out of school clubs. When a care relationship is not professional and not based on shifts and normal working hours, but is continuous for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a break is not a luxury but essential to maintain the caring role. Day respite can be provided to offer short periods of respite in a range of different ways either in the home or in day centres for older people, or via adult day care resources and enhanced care units. It may also be possible to access services provided by the private and voluntary sectors. Residential respite and phased care can be provided in a residential setting to enable carers to have a break from their caring role. The council has a number of units, which may provide this. Short breaks give disabled children and young people enjoyable experiences away from their primary carers, contributing to their personal and social development and reducing social isolation. They also give parents and families a necessary and valuable break from caring responsibilities and disabled children and young people access to inclusive activities in their local community.There are many different ways to provide short breaks. Each break will differ and depend on the needs of your child and family.Short Breaks can include group based support – for example holiday clubs, after school clubs, sports groups individual short breaks – for example personal assistants, care in the home Children’s centres and extended schools are designed to support children and young people in achieving the five outcomes set out in Every Child Matters, to stay safe, be healthy, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being.

The International Labour Migration Economics Essay

The International Labour Migration Economics Essay There has been considerable debate about the effect of increased labour migration from developing countries to developed nations. Many commentators have argued that such increase in migration is informed by economic factors and that those who migrate from developing countries drain the human capital resources of sending nations which in the long run, negatively affects their economy. On the other hand, other scholars believe that migration helps the economy of developing countries as the incomes they receive by way of remittances contribute significantly to reducing poverty and their gross domestic product [GDP] Moin Siddiqi, 2008]. People migrate for various reasons, which may be as a result of civil wars, unemployment, changes due to the environment, or to improve their standard of living. Sociologists on the other hand, have long analysed migration in terms of the push -pull models (A project of the Levin Institute, n.d, p.8.) The model differentiates between push factors that drive people to leave their home countries from pull factors that attract migrants to other countries or new locations. Migration has always been a dominating fact of our everyday life [Kathleen Beegle and Carlo Azzarri 2004] and mankind has always lived with it even in biblical times. For example, Jacob, the father of Joseph and members of his family left Cannaan for Egypt because of severe famine that swept through the middle-east belt where they lived at that time [The Bible, Genesis: 45]. ii] Outline of the paper In discussing the reasons for migration, the essay will first and foremost attempt to define migration and why it happens by examining push and pull factors which sociologists refer to as the main reasons for migration and their effect on sending nations. The essay will further discuss the empirical effects of migration on sending nations during the last 20 years. iii] Organisation of the essay The essay will be organized around four sections namely: What is migration? Why does it happen? Empirical effects of migration on sending countries. Conclusion Section 1 1.0 What is migration? Migration is the movement of persons from one country or location to another. Migration is common to all living creatures and it is often done for survival and economic reasons by those seeking to migrate. For example, some birds migrate according to W. Alice Boyle and Courtney J. Conway in the report of their research findings, explained that it is not just whether you eat insects, termites, nectar or candy bars or where you eat them, it matters how reliable that food source is from day to day. In the case of humans, the World Bank estimates that there are currently 200 million people living in countries where they were not born [Russel, nd] The global mobility of skilled workers has increased in recent years according to the report due to the expansion of the knowledge economy, the progressive globalization of markets and companies, the growing demand for scarce skills and wider political and economic issues. This increase in global mobility is a practical reality of the inter-inde pendence that affects us all and is not necessarily a problem except where critical skills needed by source countries are lost and are not readily replaced; a brain drain [Myburgh, 2002]. 1.1 Migration Barriers Migrations come in legal and illegal forms and while countries seek and promote integrated markets through liberalization of trade and investment, they have largely resisted liberalizing migration policies. Many countries have extensive legal barriers preventing foreigners from entering for purposes of seeking work or residency according to World Bank in its report Globalisation, Growth, and Poverty. In fact, immigration policies across the world are getting tighter as governments attempt to limit the economic, cultural and security impact of large movement of people from one country to another. Despite the reluctance of governments to liberalise immigration policy, the number of people living outside their country of origin is rising. (A project of the Levin Institute, n.d, p.2). According to the 2010 United Nations Human Development Report, migrants account for approximately 3.1 percent of the world population [as of 2010]. Section 2 2.0 Why people migrate A poll conducted by Gallup Polls across 82 countries revealed that more than one in four participants displayed a desire to move abroad. The figure when put together, represents a median of about 26 percent. In certain countries, such as Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria, more than half of participants surveyed said they wanted to emigrate. On the lower end, participants in Thailand [8%], Australia [8%], and Saudi Arabia [1%] displayed nearly no desire to emigrate [A project of the Levin Institute, n.d, p.2]. People migrate for various reasons, bringing back what I said earlier when I mentioned a few reasons, which may be as a result of civil wars, unemployment, environmental or climatic changes or to improve their standard of living. The major two reasons encouraging an individual to migrate can be divided into push or pull factors. The former refers to circumstances which encourage migrants to leave the country of origin while the latter refers to the attraction that make migrants leave for a particular destination country because of the special skills and technical training the migrant possesses which the developed country may be lacking in quantity [Gbemiga Bamidele, 2001 check date]. 2.1 Push Factors Push factors come in many forms. Sometimes these factors leave people with no choice but to leave their country of origin. Following are three examples of push factors that drive people to emigrate from their home country. a] Unemployment/Poverty: Economics provides the main reason behind migration. In fact, according to the International Labour Organization, about half of the total population of current migrants, 100 million women and men migrant workers, have left home to find better job and lifestyle opportunities for their families. In some countries jobs simply do not exist for a great deal of the population. In others, the gap between the rewards of labor in the sending and receiving country are great enough so as to warrant a move. The unemployment situation in developing countries is a big problem to youths who have left schools waiting to be engaged in the labour market and the various governments who find it difficult to find a solution to it. In Morocco for example, unemployment which represented less than 17% of the economic causes of emigration before 1960, far behind the search for a more lucrative work [50%] or the improvement of the living standard [25%] became the principal economic cause of emigration in the 90s. According to the data collected by Hamdrouch [2000], 41% of answers ? indicate unemployment as the first cause of emigration whereas the search for a more lucrative work and the improvement of the standard of living represent 38% and 14% respectively as the reasons for emigration [Fida Karam, Bernard Decaluwe, 2007]. In Kenya, it is reported that people are unable to contribute to the economic growth, not because they are weak, but because they are unable due to lack of jobs. Those who are qualified, willing and dedicated are unable to secure themselves a job. Another reason for unemployment is the low education level of a large percentage of the population. Because they lack the technical knowledge and cannot specialize in carrying out roles in factories they, for example, are unable to secure a job. Another is the high population growth rate which also is a major factor that has made Kenya not to secure jobs because of the high competition and fewer jobs [Patrick Kioko Katli, 2000à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.?]. In Nigeria, the two decades of economic stagnation and micro-economic instability, corruption and poor resource management, most Nigerians especially young people consider migration as a panacea to economic problems. In recent years, there has been unprecedented rate of rural-urban migration and emigration into other countries of Africa, Europe and America. For example, due to migration and subsequent urban growth, Lagos a city in Nigeria, which did not appear in the list of fifteen largest cities in 1950, occupied the fifteenth position in 1955 and is expected to jump to number three position in 2015 with over 24 million inhabitants [Toredo, 1997]. As regards movement outside Nigeria, there has been a remarkable increase in emigration to Europe, North America, the Middle East and South Africa from the 1980s following economic down-turn, introduction of liberalisation measures and emergence of repressive military dictatorship [Adedokun, 2003]. Thousands of professionals, especially s cientists, academics, and those in the medical fields have emigrated mainly to Western Europe, the United States of America and the Persian Gulf States. At the same time, unskilled Nigerians with little education have gone abroad to work as street cleaners, security guards, taxi drivers and factory hands. In Southern Nigeria, for example, between 50 and 80 percent of households have at least one migrant member [Bah et al, 2003]. Migration is considered essential to achieving success and young men who do not migrate or commute to town or abroad are often labelled as idle and may become object of ridicule. India has recently experienced a surge in emigration due to a combination of these factors. Indias unemployed have never been properly estimated, but they could total 100 million, with a further annual job loss rate of around 10 million as the global recession continues to take its toll on the Indian economy. [Globalisation]. The number of skilled workers coming out of Indian universities has never been higher. Meanwhile, the number of domestic jobs available to them is minimal. Only about 0.7m jobs a year have been created in the past few years, most of them in the public sector. This will not keep skilled workers in the country. Many instead go to the United States, where their skills and their lower wage demands are sought after by high-tech companies. In fact, about 40 percent of recent immigrants from India to the U.S. have been accepted due to employment based preferences, thus showing the high degree of American corporations demand for Indian skilled labor. As the population g rows at 20 million per year, and more and more students graduate from technical universities, India may experience a great deal more emigration. b] Civil Strife/ War/ Political and Religious Persecution People also migrate to avoid civil strife, war, political and religious persecution in their own country. For example, when there was widespread political unrest in Albania which eventually led to war in 1999, there was mass exodus of people from the country, which by 2001 had led to one sixth, possibly even one fifth of the countrys population leaving abroad. Initially, people left by sea to Italy and move to other European destinations, including the UK. [Eugenia Markovaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.]

An Analysis of Lilith (Bodys Beauty) :: Lilith Essays

An Analysis of Lilith (Body's Beauty) First published in 1868 in Swinburne's pamphlet-review, "Notes on the Royal Academy Exhibition," the sonnet entitled "Lilith" was written to accompany the painting "Lady Lilith." The poem and picture appeared alongside Rossetti's painting "Sibylla Palmifera" and the sonnet "Soul's Beauty," which was written for it. In 1870, both of these poems were published among the "Sonnets for Pictures" section of Rossetti's Poems. In 1881, however, "it occurred to Rossetti to contrast the two as representatives of fleshly and spiritual beauty," and thus he transferred them to "The House of Life" (Baum 181). The Lilith sonnet was then renamed "Body's Beauty" in order to highlight the contrast between it and "Soul's Beauty," and the two were placed sequentially in "The House of Life" (sonnets number 77 and 78). Because Rossetti originally named the sonnet "Lilith" and only changed the name to highlight the contrast between it and "Soul's Beauty," this study will refer to it by its original name. "Lilith" reads as follows: Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told (The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,) That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive, And her enchanted hair was the first gold. And still she sits, young while the earth is old, And, subtly of herself contemplative, Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave, Till heart and body and life are in its hold. The rose and poppy are her flower; for where Is he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scent And soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare? Lo! as that youth's eyes burned at thine, so went Thy spell through him, and left his straight neck bent And round his heart one strangling golden hair. (Collected Works, 216). Much like "Lady Lilith," "Lilith" celebrates the pleasures of physicality. As an enchantress, she "draws men to watch the bright web she can weave," but she does not invite them to be mere voyeurs of her charms (line 7). Instead, she invites them to her and then ensnares them in her "web" of physical beauty, ultimately causing their death (line 8). "Subtly of herself contemplative," a phrase echoing Pater's famous description of the "Mona Lisa," highlights Lilith's attitude of "voluptuous self applause," an attitude which was so visually apparent in Rossetti's painting (Baum 185).

Original Writing :: Plagiarism Influence Authors Argumentative Essays

Original Writing My writing as a poet has been heavily influenced by writers like Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Alice Walker and Slam poets such as Black Thought and the Last Poets. These writers write and speak about the struggles and uniqueness of Black culture. Their individual experiences and political stances as well as the influences of other artist are evident in their work. For example in Giovanni’s poem â€Å"Revolutionary Music† she quotes some of the lyrics from Sam Cooke and James Brown to illustrate her personal views on racism and the equal rights movements. Hughes in his piece titled â€Å"Message to the President† skillfully incorporates the political events of his time into his poem using it to sardonically articulate his view on racial inequalities that were occurring in his time. Black Thought and the Last Poets utilize jazz and urban hip hop along with their idea of Black to relay their message. In writing my individual poems, I find it difficult not to incorporate the style of the writers mentioned. I gained my consciousness of Black culture and struggle through the words of these writers their ideas have no choice but to be reflected in my own writing. I wrote a piece titled â€Å"Books not Bombs† which originated during the time the troops were being sent to Iraq to fight a war that was unnecessary in my opinion. The students at my high school and schools around the city were walking out of class to protest in city hall; however, we were told that we would be suspended by the principal if we left. I felt that the administration was silencing our voices by holding us with the threat of suspension. In this poem I used a line from a local pop song from the group OutKast, â€Å"They’re throwing bombs over Baghdad, but what about the bombs that are exploding right here, right now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Using this mimics Giovanni and Hughes’ incorporation of musica l lyrics of the time to make the piece relatable to the intended audience. I was also influenced by the social political climate that was being hotly debated at the time (war). My particular social influence is reflective of Robert P. Yagelski’s essay â€Å"Who’s Afraid of Subjectivity†. In his essay he used Donald Murray’s experience of writing and rewriting his piece which was reflective of his war years and the political controversy of his time. â€Å"†¦which provided impetus to write the poem and helped and helped shape the very content of the poem.

moralhf Essays - Adventures Of Huck Finn And Moral Progress :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Adventures Of Huck Finn And Moral Progress    The main character of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn undergoes a total moral transformation upon having to make life defining decisions throughout his journey for a new life. Huck emerges into the novel with an inferiority complex caused by living with a drunken and abusive father, and with the absence of any direction. It is at this point where Huck is first seen without any concept of morality. Fortunately, Huck is later assisted by the guidance of Jim, a runaway slave who joins him on his journey and helps Huck gain his own sense of morality. Throughout Huck's adventures, he is put into numerous situations where he must look within himself and use his own judgement to make fundamental decisions that will effect the morals of which Huck will carry with him throughout his life. Preceding the start of the novel, Miss Watson and the widow have been granted custody of Huck, an uncivilized boy who possesses no morals. Huck looks up to a boy named Tom Sawyer who has decided he is going to start a gang. In order for one to become a member, they must consent to the murdering of their families if they break the rules of the gang. It was at this time that one of the boys realized that Huck did not have a real family. They talked it over, and they was going to rule me out, because they said every boy must have a family or something to kill, or else it wouldn't be fair and square for the others. Well, nobody could think of anything to do- everybody was stumped, and set still. I was most ready to cry; but all at once I thought of a way, and so I offered them Miss Watson-they could kill her (17-18). At this moment, Huck is at the peak of his immorality. A person with morals would not willingly sacrifice the life of someone else just in order to be part of a gang. It is at this point where Huck can now begin his journey of moral progression. Huck encounters his first major dilemma when he comes across the wrecked steamboat and three criminals. When J im and Huck take the skiff for themselves, leaving the three robbers stranded, Huck realizes that he has left them to die. moralhf Essays - Adventures Of Huck Finn And Moral Progress :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays Adventures Of Huck Finn And Moral Progress    The main character of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn undergoes a total moral transformation upon having to make life defining decisions throughout his journey for a new life. Huck emerges into the novel with an inferiority complex caused by living with a drunken and abusive father, and with the absence of any direction. It is at this point where Huck is first seen without any concept of morality. Fortunately, Huck is later assisted by the guidance of Jim, a runaway slave who joins him on his journey and helps Huck gain his own sense of morality. Throughout Huck's adventures, he is put into numerous situations where he must look within himself and use his own judgement to make fundamental decisions that will effect the morals of which Huck will carry with him throughout his life. Preceding the start of the novel, Miss Watson and the widow have been granted custody of Huck, an uncivilized boy who possesses no morals. Huck looks up to a boy named Tom Sawyer who has decided he is going to start a gang. In order for one to become a member, they must consent to the murdering of their families if they break the rules of the gang. It was at this time that one of the boys realized that Huck did not have a real family. They talked it over, and they was going to rule me out, because they said every boy must have a family or something to kill, or else it wouldn't be fair and square for the others. Well, nobody could think of anything to do- everybody was stumped, and set still. I was most ready to cry; but all at once I thought of a way, and so I offered them Miss Watson-they could kill her (17-18). At this moment, Huck is at the peak of his immorality. A person with morals would not willingly sacrifice the life of someone else just in order to be part of a gang. It is at this point where Huck can now begin his journey of moral progression. Huck encounters his first major dilemma when he comes across the wrecked steamboat and three criminals. When J im and Huck take the skiff for themselves, leaving the three robbers stranded, Huck realizes that he has left them to die.

A Passage to India disseminates a horde

E.M.Forster in his celebrated novel A Passage to India disseminates a horde of messages, one of which is liberal-humanistic attitude that can help stall SEPARATION, which is again a major theme of the novel. Like Whitman’s cry â€Å"Passage to more than India†, Forster’s novel is more than an historical novel about India: it is a prophetic work in which Forster is concerned not only with the path to greater understanding of India but also with man’s quest for truth and understanding of the universe he lives in.Forster shows in the novel how man’s attempts to create unity are continually dominated and shattered by forces he cannot control. On this theme of Separation, Lionel Trilling comments, â€Å"The theme of separateness of fences and barriers , the old theme of   Pauline epistles, which runs through all Forster’s novels is in A Passage to India, hugely expanded and everywhere dominant.† The separation of race from race, sex, cult ure from   culture is what underlies every relationship.In this context, the most obvious of these separations is that between the Indians and the English. The earlier part of the novel is concerned with showing the wide gulf between the rulers and the ruled, between the white Englishmen and the colored Indians.As pointed out in the first chapter of the novel, Chandrapore is divided into two sections: the English Civil Station and the Native Section, the one having nothing to do with the other: the Civil   Station â€Å"shares nothing with the city except the overarching sky.† This division in landscape is symptomatic of the wide gulf that separates the rulers from the ruled. â€Å"Is it possible to be friends with an Englishman ?†the Indians ask and Forster’s answer in the novel is a clear NO as long as the English remain unfeeling, proud and autocratic towards the Indians. Even the Bridge Party thrown to bridge the gulf   between the English and the Indi ans ends in a fiasco. After having invited the Indians to the Bridge Party ,the English do not bother to go out and meet them.It goes without saying that after such humiliation, the Indians harbor nothing but a collective attitude of fear and hatred in response to the collective attitude of contempt shown by the Englishmen. Love and fraternal feelings could have been the right way of treating the modest Indians, feels Forster.Another dramatic   instance of separation in the novel is that which comes to exist between Aziz and Fielding. Here is a crucial situation in which an Englishman sets aside his snobbishness and attempts a genuine rapport with a warm, impulsive Indian, and yet final understanding is shown to be impossible. It is, perhaps, because the primary barrier between them had been their identities: one a member of the ruler class while the other was a member of the subject race. As Arnold Kettle points out, there are political pressures of imperialism which distort the relationship between Aziz and Fielding.But the ebb and flow   of their relationship is disturbed by more serious factors—differences of background and values by the clash of standards on beauty, propriety and emotional expression. â€Å"Kindness, kindness and more kindness†Ã¢â‚¬â€this prescription of Aziz about the racial problem does not seem to go a long way ;a trust in the power of affectionate friendship is not enough to bridge the growing hiatus between close friends even.Further there is the glaring contrast in their characters :between the liberal Englishman â€Å"traveling light† and the impulsive Aziz rooted in â€Å"society and Islam.† While goodwill and spontaneous affection breaks down the initial barriers between them, there are signs that Fielding’s immature imagination   and Aziz’s sensitiveness are going to bode ill for their future relationship.And this is what exactly happens later. Misunderstanding crops up between th em in their attitudes towards Adela and leads to the break in their relationship.After Aziz’s release from the prison, Fielding asks Aziz to withdraw the brutally revengeful demands clamped on Adela   Ã‚  and Aziz refuses and they part ways. When they are reunited at the end ,their ways of life have changed too radically –Fielding supporting the Anglo Indians and   Aziz   ,Indian nationalism.Apart from these major schisms there are other minor separations and gaps in the novel . Men themselves are segregated from the rest of the creation. Young Mr. Sorley ,an advanced Christian Missionary ,accepts that God in his divine love brooks no separations and will extend his hospitality to the animals too, to the monkeys and jackals. But he is less sure about wasps and cannot at all admit into Divine Unity things like â€Å"oranges, cactuses, crystals and mud.Or for that matter the â€Å"bacteria inside Mr. Sorley’s head!† â€Å"We must exclude something f rom our gathering or we shall be left with nothing†, he nervously insists. And yet the forced exclusion is inane because men, after all, are only a small part of Creation: â€Å"It matters so little to the majority of living beings what the majority that calls itself human , desires or decides.†

Poetry changed alongside wider society Essay

We learn that Arnold can no longer draw comfort from the â€Å"sea of faith† or religion which encompassed him and like the â€Å"folds of a bright girdle furled. † Instead, the coast and sea is an analogy for religious trend. Christianity is ebbing away because of scientific dispatch. This results is the â€Å"naked shingles of the world†; a place that is unprotected and fragile with no supreme power to guide man. This confusion is emphasized the informality of its structure. The lack of a coherent rhythm and rhyme scheme creates the illusion of tide, â€Å"But now I only hear, Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Retreating to the breath,† which swashes and washes along the coast just like the different line lengths. As we can see, Arnold is hesitant of change and acceptance for him results in apprehension. This is unusual in the sense that, conventionally, acceptance results in peace of mind. Ironically, in god’s Grandeur, when Hopkins refutes absolute science, he is more buoyant and cheerful towards which is not the usual characteristics of denial. In the poem, despite the fall of contemporary Victorian society, â€Å"nature is never spent† and permeates the world with â€Å"the dearest of freshness. † Hopkins conveys an image of god being a regenerative force who is able to bring morning following the â€Å"last lights of the black west. † He is defiant of the theory of evolution and instead believes in the â€Å"holy ghost. † Gods Grandeur ends with: â€Å"World broods with warm breast and with ah! Bright wings. † This imagery is inspired with hope and resembles the techniques by Romantic poets where an animal would be used as the vehicle to escape misery; for example the skylark in Keats poem. On the other hand, Dover Beech is not optimistic but instead shares the pessimism associated with poems in the 1900. Arnold depicts the world as a stagnant site with â€Å"neither joy, nor love nor light. † In the last stanza, he talks personally to his wife: â€Å"Ah, love, let us be true† In a place of no faith, Arnold wishes to pin their faith on each other- the language becomes poetic with a series of semantically related adjectives: â€Å"So various, so beautiful, so new† The Victorians lived through a time of change however change in the near future results in â€Å"neither certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain. † This apprehension is felt by Arnold who is â€Å"swept with confused alarms†; the complete antithesis of Hopkins.

Royal Ploughing Ceremony

The Royal Plowing Ceremony The Royal Plowing Ceremony is one of the most important annual royal traditional ceremonies, which is held at the open square of Veal Preah Merhu in front of the National Museum in Phnom Penh every year. This ceremony is deemed one of the marvelous blessings of the Cambodian people. Each king has led this celebration since ancient times. According to the tradition, the Royal Plowing ceremony is celebrated to predict the upcoming orn, bean, grass, sesame, water, wine. It is also celebrated to give a blessing to farming and to pray to God for sufficient seasonal rainfall, which is essential to encouraging all of the Cambodian farmers to produce a high crop yield. This year’s Royal Plowing Day was celebrated on May 21st, presided over by His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Baromneath Norodom Sihamoni, King of the Kingdom of Cambodia. It was held in the Meru field (Viel Men), north of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. For this year, Keo Chanmony, a CPP Member of Parliament from Kampong Chhnang province, was appointed as Mehour, while Cambodian lawmaker, Say Chhum, acted as Sdech Meak. After finishing the symbolic plowing and throwing seeds of a portion of the field, a pair of sacred oxen were led to eat rice, corn, beans, sesame, grass, water and alcohol, which had been prepared on trays. It was seen that the sacred oxen ate corn, beans, and grass but shunned rice grain. The oxen’s choice of corn, beans, and grass led the Royal Palace’s chief astrologer Kang Keng to declare that this year’s corn and beans harvests will be bountiful. However, he warned that the eating of grass signaled that Cambodia’s livestock will suffer from some pandemic diseases. Any way, the astrologer did not spell out to the crowd what it meant for the rice yield, sparking concern among superstitious farmers. â€Å"I am very worried that we will not have a good paddy harvest,† farmer Ros Makara, 52, told AFP after the ceremony, â€Å"but I will try my best to grow rice. I don’t totally rely on the prediction. † Ok Men, 46, from Prey Veng province, said she was worried about her cows. I have to be careful in taking care of and preventing my cows from contracting diseases,† she said. Another corn and bean farmer from Kandal province, Chhit Sorphea, said the prediction made him confident of a good harvest, and he would expand his planting. After the rite, the participants could enjoy the exhibition of agricultural products, agro-industrial products, forest products and by products, domestic animal products, rubber output, tourism potential, and agro-tourism which was held for three days, from 21-23 May 2011, in Viel Men. In that occasion, there have been many media coverage of the Royal Plowing Ceremony this year. In country’s broadcasting such as national TV which transferred to all Cambodia’s TV and radio, Koh Samtepheap newspaper, DAP news, many website on the internet like: www. rfa. org/khmer, www. cambodia. org/news , www. everyday. com. kh , www. news. bbc. co. uk , www. chanbokeo. com, and so on, all of the them have been broadcast this royal ceremony through same source by different style of each.

A Book Review on “Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”

In the political and social satire A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur†s Court, Mark Twain demonstrates his excessive pride and glory in the political, economic, and technological advances of his time by developing an interesting plot in which an 19th century mechanic travels back to the time of a cruel feudalistic Camelot and attempts to modernize and improve it. Overall, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur†s Court, Mark Twain compares the basic political, social, and technological principles of the 19th America to the medieval ages of Great Britain. On a political scale, the novel denounces that the medieval period exemplified strict rule by the monarch, unity between church and state, and showed that many of the people had extremely harsh judgment. On a social scale, Mark Twain demonstrated that the Middle Ages carried a strict separation of classes where the nobility and clergy had much control, while the peasantry had almost non. Last, on a technological scale, Mark Twain implies that magic is not real and he goes on further to prove that the technology and tools of his time frame could have greatly improved the Middle Ages. All in all, Mark Twain creates an ideal character from his time that ends up creating a semi-utopian environment in Camelot. When Hank Morgan awakened into the medieval world of King Arthur and Camelot, he saw political injustice. To compensate for this injustice, Morgan used his status as a beneficiary tool and combated against the church and the royal privileged. Overall, he made the people of Camelot aware of the injustice of their time and gave them the hope for an optimistic future. From this, we can see that Mark Twain believed that his time frame possessed the best type of government in which church was separated from state. Furthermore, Mark Twain implies that the people of his time had better judgment. For example, in order to save himself from death, Morgan remembers that an ellipse occurred on that day and informs the people that he will cover the whole world in darkness. As he said those words, the ellipse occurred thus making all the gullible citizens of Camelot to believe that he was extremely powerful. As a result, he was spared. Thus from this example, it is evident that the people of the middle ages were quick to rational supernatural phenomenon even though it was just pure science at work. Conclusively, Mark Twain glorified his time period to an extent that the he used the horrid faults of the Middle Ages as an example in his novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur†s Court. The next major point that Mark Twain wanted to concentrate on was based on the social conditions. In the novel, Hank Morgan is a witness of injustice and social inequality that he believes needs to be altered. Once again, it is noticeable from this that Mark Twain shows bias towards all other types of social distinctions, and rather favors the American democratic way. Furthermore, Twain enforces various principles of what he believes to be â€Å"good government† in which the nobility and commoners alike enter into a life of respect, dignity, and purpose towards each other. Moreover, through Morgan, it obvious to see that Twain is against slavery and is pro-education. All of these characteristics are evident because Morgan eventually abolishes slavery and builds various schools including West Point. Lastly, Mark Twain shows great respect for the technological advances of his time through the characterization of Morgan. For example, as a mechanic, Hank Morgan realized that his life would be unbearable with out technology. As a result, he begins inventing various equipment like telephone, telegraph, and even bicycles; inventions that otherwise would seem preposterous to exist at that time but were greatly revered in the 19th century. It also becomes evident that Mark Twain had great respect for education and very little in superstition or magic. For example, because of Morgan†s scientific knowledge, he was able to predict the eclipse and he was even able to turn aside a half-dozen charging knights by simply blowing a column of pipe smoke from beneath his armored face shield. Furthermore, another example of where education outpoured magic was when Morgan restored the flow of water to a fountain by simple mechanics, while Merlin†s â€Å"magical† methods did not work. In conclusion, the social and political satire, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur†s Court, by Mark Twain, uses a character from 19th century America as a type of savor to the horrible feudalistic times of the Middle Age Camelot. By stressing bias beliefs about the political, social and technological advance of his time, Mark Twain creates a nearly utopian environment for Camelot. Oppression, social injustice, and slavery were abolished, while education, inventions, just government, new professions like engineering and even belief of a virtuous approach to life was introduced. All in all, by showing mans inhumanity and then its victories through a utopian type of middle age society in a satirical fashion make this literary pieces one of the best literary works of our time.

Japanese Automobile Manufacturers as Multinationals Essay

Japanese Automobile Manufacturers as Multinationals - Essay Example Strategies created by Japanese experts were used by Toyota and other Japanese automobile manufacturers to achieve the imposing in the markets and the business development. Japanese strategy called KAIZEN is widely famous for using by Toyota and other major producers. According to Funaru this strategy includes continuous improvement and its impact on the product quality’s level (Funaru M. 2010). This strategy is considered to be integrative and cross-functional in meaning it involves all staff in the gradual improvement, management and business activities for increasing company’s productivity, quality of the products and competitiveness of the business. Speaking of Toyota’s product strategy, it’s built on the following: new innovative technologies development, highest quality, discovering of new sources for creativity and focusing on research. Toyota Company is one of the largest automobile manufacturing companies in the world. The designs of the products are quite impressive thereby commanding lots reliance by several customers around the globe. However, it is of crucial significance to note that there are a number of problems that face the Japanese Automobiles in general. Some of these problems may include the issue of globalization and its associated implications, stiff competition, striking a balance between marketing and branding as well as dealing with pressure to attain efficiency and maintain sustainability in the markets and production. These have presented major challenges to a number of automobile industries thereby compromising their competitive advantages over the other world producers.

Critical Response Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical Response - Research Paper Example David Grindstaff’s Queering marriage: An Ideographic Interrogation of Heteronormative Subjectivity â€Å"maps the contemporary scene of heteronormative power and resistance through two rhetorical performances of gay male identity† using his and other theorists’ ideas. I totally agree with him when he said: â€Å"The recent controversy surrounding same-sex marriage marks the institution, practice, and concept of marriage as a significant site of power and resistance within American culture (p. 258)†. In my opinion, human rights apply to everybody regardless of gender, race, and preferences. Grindaff said that â€Å"†¦the decision to sanction same-sex marriage would extend legal and economic advantages to same-sex couples, which appears to carry the promise of social equality on a broader scale† (p. 258). I totally agree with him. There are advantages that married couples enjoy and when same-sex marriage is approved, it will be unfair for the cou ple not to enjoy such advantages. As Pastor Allen has shared: Though my partner and I had a commitment ceremony in 2003, and obtained a marriage license this past July in Washington D.C., we learned that marriage is more than our religious convictions and our commitment, but also about laws that will protect us. Marriage equality is not about religious rights, but the right to equal benefits. At the end of 2003, the U.S. Government Accountability Office identified 1,138 federal provisions where marital status is a factor in determining or receiving benefits, rights and privileges. These include next-of-kin hospital visits and medical decisions where one partner is too ill to be competent; automatic inheritance in the absence of a will and inheritance of jointly owned real and personal property through the right of survivorship. These benefits allow all marriages access to the social and emotional supports that can produce healthy families and communities (Same-sex marriage is about equality, not religion. August 2010). Wilson’s â€Å"conservative† response to Andrew Sullivan rejects same-sex marriage for purely symbolic reasons. He first locates his grounds for equating â€Å"heterosexual marriage† (identity) with procreation (act) in scripture: the Torah links â€Å"sex to procreation the highest standard by which to judge sexual relations† (p 159). In other words, heterosexual marriage, in its ideal or symbolic form, serves procreative purposes (p. 267). Although I must admit that this is true it does not mean I agree. There are couples who get married but do not have children on purpose and there are married couples who cannot have children for several reasons such as physical and financial. And there are people who opt to have children but never get married. Kristen Houghton said in her article, â€Å"The reality of the word "marriage" is a meeting of two minds and the joining of two lives. Husband and wife need not always beco me Daddy and Mommy. Decide how you want to live and be realistic about your expectations, your needs, and your wants. To become or not become parents is a personal

The Sustainable Agribusiness Model Research Paper

The Sustainable Agribusiness Model - Research Paper Example ted practices used in agriculture were found to be productive in the short run but less effective in the long-term due to nutrients depletion (Paoletti and David 7). In fact, soils that have been overly farmed with commercial fertilizers have become overly dependent on fertilizers, without which they are unproductive. That does not imply that fertilizers should not be used in farming, but that there should be a guide on the quantity used over a certain period. Therefore, there is a need to find a balance between resource efficiency and agricultural productivity. Finding such a balance is often challenging although its results are desirable. Agricultural production can be approached through incorporation of cleaner production techniques that are sustainable and eco-friendly. Such an approach is anticipated to help agribusinesses create sustainable solutions through an innovative and cost-effective process (Allen et al. 3). This paper shall discuss some of the possible perspectives on sustainable agribusiness model that may be adopted as possible models. There have been various perspectives on the adoption of a sustainable agribusiness model. According to Agrios, there is increased desire to adopt methods that are perceived as environment friendly for the agribusiness model. Such methods have been seen as offering the best approach to agribusiness, as they do not pollute the environment. Research has shown that sometimes farmers overuse fertilizers on their farms. After a while, such practices lead to nutrients loss in the soil such that the land cannot do without secondary fertilizer. Combined with chemical controls, research shows that continued use may result into the chemicals finding their way into other environments and later various tropical levels (Agrios 34). In a bid to alleviate such possibility, some scholars had recommended the use of non-chemical controls in farming. Agrios (12) observes that the other danger to adopting such a model is that farmers

Technology in retailing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Technology in retailing - Essay Example Retailing can take many form depending on the individual concerned since he/ she may decide to take on a door-to-door delivery system where he/ she goes to the consumer even if they at times might not have ordered the same (Baker, Grewal & Levy, 2004). This at times influence impulse buying. Another form involves the use of a given permanent location that may be a shop, mall or even market place. In this second scenario the customer only buys when they themselves have gone to the said place. From the above small description of what retailing is we can proceed and take a keen look at the various models of retailing we have. The first model involves independent retailers who are basically ones who have built a given business from its inception to its current state. They are those who we call the entrepreneurs who see to it that a business grows from an idea they had, its early stages of growth until it is fully established (Emmitt, 2012). Independent retailers are very different from t he second group of retailers who only acquire an already existing business. These retailers either acquire the business through buying the said business or at times it through inheritance. We can see that these group does not have the difficulties of coming up with a plan and executing it to inception. Theirs is just to maintain and improve on an already existing business. In this group we can say in one way or another may entail franchise where there is a purchase of a franchise which is like buying the legal approval to use a brand name, or the concept and business plan of an existing business. The final model of retailing we look at is the technology based business which involves the use of technology in the acquisition, retaining and servicing of consumer needs. Thus due to a still competition from already existing models of retailing, technological retailing has to establish and follow given guidelines in order to stay among the top models. After all is said and done we have to take a look at the E-strategies used in retailing to one way or another ensure the success and practicality of the retailing business (Baker, Grewal & Levy, 2004). The first option involves offline shopping which we have looked at in detailed in the previous paragraphs. It is also known as bricks where consumers are at liberty to try, feel and even measure or fit on product before they can acquire the said product. This is not to mean that they may accept returns from consumers as this varies depending on the terms and conditions of the retailer. In this category as we have seen may involve clothing stores, supermarkets and malls among other on location retailers. Another very familiar option involves the seeing of the products online and buying the same offline which is commonly known as bricks and some clicks.in these scenario, consumers tend to gather information about a given service or good online via the internet and after some comparison and analysis goes ahead to buy the sa id product in a store that has the same. This strategy might not work for the website operator especially if the site is not part of the ownership of the store (Emmitt, 2012). This is because a consumer might research on a given alien site and proceed to buy the product from a different store thus the website operator gets nothing. Another issue with online research before purchasing is that if the information on the site is

E-government. bpmn module Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

E-government. bpmn module - Assignment Example On eligibility at this level, the request is taken to the ministries of commerce and finance where the commercial eligibility is then checked. The request is checked against the ownership of any other property, inheritances and company information before being passed to the interior ministry to check on crime history. A clean record is returned to the finance section for confirmation, approval and notification to the client. Evidently as noted, considering that it is a manual process, so many places are visited. The processes indicated and explained in the flow chart are physical and involves the client submitting the documentation to the authorities for the checks indicated. Such a process is time consuming and wastes a lot of money as the person applying is supposed to travel a lot as they submit the documents to the departments, in person. In the approval of a housing grant and a financial loan, the beneficiary needs to follow the same process right from the start to the end, which wastes more time to the persons, and can be very frustrating. The processes are too bureaucratic. Before one is allowed to have the grants, the beneficiary is required to transverse a lot of government departments, following a series of protocol. Within the process as described in the current flowchart, the acquisition process involves some repetition of some steps. This repetition adds to the overall time required and the expense of handling the requests. Such a procedure leads to the very many delayed requests within the various government departments, leading to millions of pending applications (Arab News, 2013). Another disadvantage of the manual applications is high propensity to loss of documents, and thus a repeat of the whole application procedure. This is frustrating to the applicants who can as well lose trust in the government. A manual system, despite being tedious and discouraging, has a potential of preventing many potential

'The global financial crisis (2007-2009) is an evidence of the Essay - 1

'The global financial crisis (2007-2009) is an evidence of the weaknesses of the existing international and national regulator - Essay Example An economy is a self-sustaining cycle with the financial activities in one sector rapidly spiraling its effects on many other industries thus crippling the economy1. The same was the scenario with the causes and rapid spread of the consequences of bad financial activities in some of the greatest economies such as the United States and the United Kingdom among others across Europe. Such ripple effects as increased unemployment and reduced government spending affects the purchasing power of the population thus resulting in the rapid collapse of economies as was the case during the financial crises. Major companies reduced their financial activities owing to the increasing cost of doing business. Most companies closed down while others reduced their sizes. Both the actions resulted in increased and prolonged joblessness that accounted for the breadth and depth of the crises both in the developed and developing economies. The Basel 2 accord provided for specific operational features of b oth investment and commercial banks. These included the amount of money that the banks ought to set aside for emergencies to cushion the economy from such shocks. Additionally, the regulations define the roles of both commercial and investment banks. Disregarding the laws including the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act in 1999 instituted by the Clinton administration was among the key causes of the crisis. The act sought to cushion from financial crises following the lessons learnt from the great depression. According to the provisions of the act, the government clearly distinguished commercial banks from investment banks. An effective regulation of the banking industry cushioned the economy from financial crises since banks could maintain appropriate financial activities2. By repealing the act, the government permitted commercial banks to take part in risky investments with the view of increasing their profitability. The repeal of the acct was an embodiment of the weaknesses of the regulation of the economy thus validating the escalation of the crises3. The liberation of the act, commercial banks began investing their money in the economy. Such big commercial banks as the Wells Fargo and the American Bank became active investors in the economy. Among the industries that appeared lucrative included the housing industry as the commercial banks increased their investments in the sector4. The American government for example, provided the citizens with incentives thus encouraging the citizens to acquire mortgagees and purchase homes. The banks saw that as an opportunity to invest in the industry and benefit from the increased financial activity in the market. Without any clear regulation, the government watched as commercial banks competed with the investment banks for the few investment opportunities. Before long, the economy began experienced declining liquidity as both investment and commercial banks both began lacking adequate money to stay operational. The deb t levels thus increased as most of the people who had acquired mortgages lost their jobs owing to the worsening economy and the increase in layoffs5. Commercial banks just as their names suggest make their profits from the financial transactions undertaken by their customers. They sustain the liquidity of the economy by availing the money whenever the customers want. This way,

Parental Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Parental Responsibility - Essay Example The Children Act of 1989 provides for guidelines as to the responsibilities, rights and duties that parents have over and to their children. Parental responsibility refers these duties, in the context of family and in the spirit of ensuring that the child is taken care of. It also helps in outlining how certain situations can and should be handled in cases where the difference sources of authorities may be in disagreement or where there is a disagreement between the child and the parent. In the United Kingdom, the majority age is 18. This means that before this age, there is always a need to make sure that the parent can protect them. Responsibilities come with rights and vice versa (Hendrick, 2011). One of the historic issues with regard to the parental responsibility is the Gillick case where Mrs. Gillick had sued to stop doctors from prescribing contraception and offering contraction advice to people below the age of sixteen. After a long battle that ended in the House of Lords, G illick lost because the house of lord voted in favor of giving people under sixteen the choice when it comes to such issues. However, this was to be done within the Gillick competence guidelines that would be use to determine when a teenager can decide regardless of the parent’s decision, when to take such treatment. The issue of Gillick covers the problems of the fact that although there are some age limits that are kept to define who is an adult and who is a child, people mature at very different rates regardless of the chronological

Harassment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Harassment - Essay Example The Directive defined harassment as, "[...] unwanted conduct related to the sex of a person occurs with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, and of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment" (European Parliament, 2002). The purpose of the directive was to protect equal access to employment, education, opportunity, and working conditions. Individual EU states can pass laws that are more restrictive that the EU standard, but they are required to attain the minimum standard set by Directive 2002/73/EC. Ireland broadly defines harassment as, "spoken words, gestures or the production, display or circulation of written words, pictures or other material which is unwelcome and could reasonably be regarded as offensive, humiliating, or intimidating" (Quinlivan, 2004). Outside the workplace harassment may include threatening telephone calls, bullying, stalking, or instilling fear through intimidation. According to the US Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, sexual harassment in the workplace in the United States is defined as "Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature [...]" (Sexu

Learning Team Reflection Essay Example for Free

Learning Team Reflection Essay Learning Team D discussed the learning objectives provided for Week Three. Each Team Member posted a response to three informational questions posted by the Team Leader. During week three The Team Members felt comfortable with different topics. Sherly, Andrea and Katrina all felt the most comfortable with the topics dealing with Technology, R D, and Efficiency which were covered in chapter 11W. Sherly found the topic of invention the most fascinating because it allows people to just think up of an idea, experiment with it and develop it before finally developing it with the intent of putting it out on the market and earning some profits. An example of invention at work is a TV show on ABC called Shark Tank where inventors present their invention to members of the panel who are entrepreneurs/potential investors with the intention of selling a percentage of their business or product. Andrea felt that the chapter was an easy read and was more of a review on how businesses stay profitable and viable. From this chapter Andrea was able to learn that creating a fresh product at the optimal price is the key to success. Katrina was most interested in Technological Advance and Efficiency section covered in the chapter. The fact that improving ones technology can also contribute to economic efficiency was something that Katrina found interesting. Mark was comfortable with all the topics covered in week three and especially enjoyed learning more about the differences in operating in a monopoly, monopolistic competition, and an oligopoly. Danielle felt most comfortable with the process of supply and demand and how it plays an important role in the economy. Danielle feels that understanding how the supply and demand process works is beneficial and can be used to analyze decisions about prices and quantity. For Danielle having Learning Team D struggled with different topics that were covered during week three. Sherly struggled with Exploiting University and Government Scientific Research. Sherly thought that any product or potential product created by an individual or members of an organization could be patented. Andrea found it hard to understand visual presentations of the data by the example graphs. Andrea considered herself to be a visual learner but cannot seem to understand the graphs given. Katrina, like Andrea, found it hard to follow the examples given within each chapter but the reason behind her confusion dealt with actually being able to match the example to the reading. Katina felt that having to flip back and forth while reading to match the example that was given within the reading caused her to not fully understand what the example was trying to get across. Nonprice barriers to entry was the topic that Mark felt the most unsure about this week. Mark found it challenging to look beyond the numbers when analyzing something. Danielle struggled with pricing decisions, price elasticity, inelasticity, and elasticity of demand. The differences in monopolies and oligopolies was a bit of a struggle for Danielle but the examples that were provided within the reading helped her to grasp the information better. Each Team Member was able relate topics of the week to their organization’s field of business. Sherly works as an underwriter for an insurance company which provides health, life and disability insurance products and services. Reduced cost via process innovation was the topic that Sherly felt related to Underwriting. Sherly and her team are always looking for ways to change/update processes, reduce turnaround times between the receipt of an application for life/disability insurance coverage request to making the final determination whether to approve, postpone or decline a file. As an example, the introduction of a new system where applicants could go online to apply and depending on the information entered and the amount being requested, a determination can be done right there. This new system saved the company both time and money. We do not have to go through the omission process with this system since every question must be answered for the online application to be processed. When, we have to send applicants omission letters, the entire process takes longer since we have to wait to receive the missing information back from the applicant before the application can be processed. Andrea works in the finance industry for an airport. Andrea was able to apply the topic of mergers the most to my daily business field. At the airport, the airlines and rental car agencies combined resources on a regular basis. Department of Justice generally gets involved with these types of mergers to prevent monopoly behavior. For example, American and US Airways are currently under review and comment period for their merger. In addition to combining ticket counter space, it is anticipated that gates will be combined as well. The airport will lose money on the merger but customers will benefit from lower fares. The more customers that fly will make up for the shortfall in revenue for space rent lost by the airport. Katrina works in the field of Worker’s Compensation as a Claims Assistant. The topic of invention related the most to the type of work Katrina does at her job. Each day new claims are called into her office on a day to day bases and the way in which those calls are entered into the system must be efficient. Katrina and her team at her office created a new system for entering a new claim that is called into the office. Mark relates the topic of most of cost control and using developing technologies to lower cost to his field. That is an area we are constantly trying to improve upon whether the ideas come from our staff or from outside our organization and we work out a plan to implement them to help our business. Our franchise location does not develop technology but we have the opportunity to seek technology to increase the efficiency of our workers and also help save costs. Danielle works as a project manager for an energy efficiency consulting agency. As a project manager Danielle’s role is very significant in budgeting for a project for he/she is the one who determines the project costs and project budgets in line with the stakeholder’s specifications and resources. Budget allocation, collaborates with the project stakeholders and project financial coordinators to build a sensible budget plan that will sustain the whole project in all of its phases. Using cost control measures to insure they are staying within budget, as we understand the importance of increasing revenue and staying within budget. Revenue management is integral to a companys long-term strategy; without adequate income administration, the company may not be around long enough to implement its operating tactics. Each member of the Learning Team experienced a learning curve for Week Three. Sherly learning curve increased a little bit during this week. The additional information on monopoly provided Sherly with more information that helped her better understand what was taught in week two. The fact that certain opics such as monopoly, oligopoly, short run and long run, are being covered more in depth has also helped to increase her learning curve. Andrea’s still struggles with the graphs presented representing the demand curves. The economy of scale section has also been a struggle for her this week but Andrea has gone over the text in these sections multiple times for a better understanding. To increase her learning curve she finds that the lectures provided by our instructor breakdowns the topics in a mor e day to day format for easier comprehension. This week Katrina’s learning curve increased because she started to feel more comfortable with the terms and having a chapter that was easy to read through and understand made her feel more at ease with learning new Economic information. Mark’s learning curve for this week was changing his focus to look at big picture items using more theoretical concepts rather than concrete numbers. Mark enjoys the challenge that is presented by applying a different approach to analyzing what will impact a business from a market structure standpoint which will continue to increase his learning curve. Danielle feels that she’s beginning to understand the importance of Economics and how it relates to more than just money. Danielle hopes to continue to improve her understanding of the mathematical equations and graphs representing demand curves as the week’s progress. As the weeks go by the team still struggles with a few concepts but as the team moves forward they are developing and getting a better hold on the topics that are covered on a week to week bases.